Cloaked for God

~~~ 1 Kings 19:19-21 ~~~ Psalm 16 ~~~ Matthew 5:33-37 ~~~

The call of Elisha;
his name means 'my God is salvation'.

Elijah went over to him (Elisha) and threw his cloak over him.

God worked threw Elijah to claim him for his own symbolized by his cloak.
Elijah claimed Elisha for himself with his cloak.

Cloaks were made of animal's hairs, typically worn by kings and prophets.
Elijah did not need to give any explanation to Elisha
 when he covered him with his cloak.

In effect he took him under his wing.
Elisha gladly became the servant of Elijah.
God had chosen Elisha to follow in the prophetic footsteps of Elijah,
but Elijah did not feel that he was smart enough. 

Elijah says look come with me and I will teach
 you what I know and God will do the rest...don't worry.

At first Elisha was torn between leaving with Elijah
 and pausing to kiss his parents goodbye.

When God calls it is not
always at a convenient time in our lives.

We have many excuses of our own
 when God enters into our lives.

Covering another person with your cloak
means you are now connected to them...
you are committing to take care of them.

God sent Elijah to Elisha.
God gave Elisha the faith to answer the invitation.
Elisha was not in the temple learning the Scriptures;
he was working in the field for his parents.
He even humbly admits he is not equipped
 to become one of God's prophets.

Elisha was busy living his life.
He was not trying to become a learned man of God.
He was not someone most would
 have ever suspected God would use.
Elisha responded and was greatly blessed by God.

Jesus says...
You do not chose me, I chose you.

This was true for the young prophet to be;
it is true for us today as well.

We are blessed to be chosen by God.
Are you running away?
Are you giving excuses?
Are you answering his call even though
you do not feel prepared?

~~~Peace~~~

God, Where are You?

~~~Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua~~~

 ~~~Priest and Doctor of the Church~~~

~~~ 1 Kings 19:9A, 11-16 ~~~ Psalm 27 ~~~ Matthew 5:27-32 ~~~

At the mountain of God, Horeb,

Elijah came to a cave, where he took shelter.

But the word of the LORD came to him,

“Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD;

the LORD will be passing by.”

A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains

and crushing rocks before the LORD—

but the LORD was not in the wind.

After the wind there was an earthquake— 

but the LORD was not in the earthquake.

After the earthquake there was fire—

but the LORD was not in the fire.

After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.

When he heard this,

Elijah hid his face in his cloak

and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.

A tiny whisper causes Elijah to hide his face in his cloak.

Why?

Sometimes God is not where we expect him to be.

Sometimes he is not where we thought he would be.

Sometimes he is not where we want him to be.

Many times he surprises us with where he turns up;

like in today's reading from 1 Kings.

God is in the whisper, not the wind, earthquake, or fire.

Certainly God could have been in any 

of those three powerful images, but he chose the whisper.

Maybe Elijah covered his face because he was embarrassed;

he was looking for God in the wrong places. 

Maybe he covered his face because he realized just how close

 he came to completely missing the presence of God.

God does not need to reveal himself through power and might.

God can reveal himself in quiet subtle ways.

Does God live up to your expectations of him?

Have you ever felt like covering your face 

after noticing the presence of God?

God sees Elijah and calls out to him,

just as he called out to Adam and Eve in the garden...

just as he calls out to us when we go into hiding.

God spoke to Elijah and calmed his fears.

God delivered him from his enemies with only a whisper.

God did knock Saul from his horse to get his attention,

but he speaks to Elijah in a soft gentle whisper.

Dear Lord, bless me with the desire
 to cherish the times your presence is but a whisper in my soul.
~~~Peace~~~

Stealth Anger

~~~ 1 Kings 18:41-46 ~~~ Psalm 65 ~~~ Matthew 5:20-26 ~~~

The problem with anger is...
How do you complete that sentence?
What makes you angry?

Jesus says,
...whoever is angry with his brother
will be liable to judgment...
...go first and be reconciled with your brother...

Even though anger might be a normal human
 response in certain circumstances,
it does not mean it is good.

We all know the killing of another person
 is a grave sin according to the written commandments.
But today Jesus says wait a minute...step back...take a closer look...
Where is the real problem?
I suggest, Jesus is telling us the real problem is anger.
Anger is the first step toward committing murder.
The more steps you take in anger the more difficult it is to retreat.
If you keep stepping deeper into anger you get closer
 to being able to take another's life.

Anger clouds your better judgement towards rationalizing the wrong decision.
The opposite is true for love.
Love clouds your judgement towards making the better decision.

Jesus does not want us to be comfortable residing in a state of anger.
Jesus wants us to find a way to be reconciled with others.
Where is the place you can see the other person in a more loving way?

Elijah sent Ahab to look for the rain cloud.
For six trips to the lookout post he saw nothing.
Finally the seventh trip up he saw a very small cloud...
“There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.”

So it is with anger;
at first it may begin as something small
...not really important...

If allowed it continues to grow...
occupying more and more of your heart.

The same analogy can be applied to forgiveness and reconciliation. 

At first it may be very small...just a passing thought...
But if we keep trying to see the person as God sees them, then
we have a greater chance of rooting out the anger.

Anger is stealth as it often creeps up on you.
Your anger is specific to your personal disposition.
Anger is stealth because it can present itself
in your life in a quiet and clever way.
The word stealth is Archaic: the act of stealing.

Anger is stealth because it steals your peace and your joy.
Anger is covert; this is how it hides in your soul.
Anger replaces your peace and joy.

So I ask you.
What do you want more of in your life...
Anger or Peace and Joy?

Personally my desire is to choose peace and joy over anger.

Lord, please bless me with sufficient grace
 to never let feelings of anger keep me from your presence.
I thank you, Lord, for filling my soul with your peace and joy.
Amen.

Visible Face of Grace

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 11:21B-26; 13:1-3 ~Psalm 98~~Matthew 5:17-19 ~~~

Barnabas arrives in Antioch
and is pleasantly surprised at what he sees.
The Gentiles have become so exemplary
 in the way they are following the teachings of Jesus.
Barnabas remarks he saw the grace of God...
'visible grace'.

He stays for a year because he is so impressed at what he is witnessing.
Basically he tells them to keep up the good work.

...remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart...

He returns to his home town convicted
than before to preach for Christ.

...it was in Antioch that the disciples

were first called Christians.

If we call ourselves Christians
 then we too must make the grace of God visible.
We cannot just wear the Christian label like a fashion designer garment.
It is so much more than just a label...it is the visible grace of God.

You are the new evangelism in the church.
You are the one who must reveal God's grace in the world today.
You are the one God is Blessing for his kingdom.
You are the one he wants to send.
You are the one who is the visible face of grace.

Are you up to the challenge?
His message is not for the person next to you;
his message is for you.

His grace sustains us in times of trial and hardship.
If his grace is sufficient,
then we must make it visible to others.

Dear Lord, please help me today.
I want to make your grace present to those I meet.
May the Lord bless us
and keep us in his grace today.

~~~Peace~~~

Prophet in the Middle

~~~ 1 Kings 17:7-16 ~~~ Psalm 4 ~~~ Matthew 5:13-16 ~~~

O LORD, let the light 

of your countenance shine upon us!

The name “Elijah” means “the Lord is my God.” 

Elijah stands in the middle of the battle between
 the fertility god Baal and The Lord.
Who will the Israelis pledge their loyalties to,
 Baal or the Lord of Elijah.

Being a prophet must be both challenging and rewarding.
You are both the bearer of good and bad news.
Your message is either heeded or you are ousted.
Whatever the result it is never easy.
Oftentimes the one chosen by God to be a prophet
does not want to accept this anointing.

Elijah had a most difficult task, because Baal was the favored god
of King Ahab's wife, Jezebel.

One can only imagine her outrage at Elijah's
 announcement of the drought.

Jezebel could have easily ordered him to be executed.

God saw fit to protect him by sending him away.

God protects us in ways we do not see or understand too.
God provided for Elijah's well-being;
he sent food by raven.
He led him to the poor widow
who was preparing to die with her son. 

She was an unlikely one to rescue him from starvation.
She had very little left in the cupboard.

She, however, listens to Elijah and complies with his request.
Sometimes God asks us to do something out of our expectations.
The widow was resigned to her fate;
God entered in and changed her whole life.
God not only changed her immediate life, he gave her a new life.
The flour sack and the oil jar mysteriously replenished themselves...
of course we know God did this for her obedience.

For the LORD, the God of Israel, says,
‘The jar of flour shall not go empty,
nor the jug of oil run dry,
until the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth.’

God watches over those he has appointed to do his work.
The work of a prophet was one of the most rewarding
 and one of the most dangerous.

That day God Blessed the house of the widow.
Later God allowed Elijah to perform a miracle
when the widow's son suddenly dies.

She had been a good and faithful servant of the Lord;
 God in turn gave her son back to her.

Certainly we cannot expect such demonstrative
miracles from God on a regular basis.

God is always at work on our behalf.
He does shine the light of his countenance down upon us.

Being in the middle is not so bad when
God is part of the mix. 

Being in the middle can be a Blessing
 when you are bringing forth the Kingdom of God.

What are you in the middle of today?
Where is God in this picture?
~~~Peace~~~

The Radical Default

~~~ 1 Kings 17:1-6 ~~~ Psalm 121 ~~~ Matthew 5:1-12 ~~~

Pentecost is over...we have the Holy Spirit...what is next?

Today, what does the church do?

It plunges us right into the Sermon on the Mount or the Beatitudes.

These eight sentences are meant to challenge us

 and indeed they are successful.

Without the breath of the Spirit how could we 

hope to live these Beatitudes?

The Beatitudes are a Christian's "identity card" and "life plan", 

said Pope Francis at Mass this morning.

Everything about the text of the Beatitudes

 goes against everything we see and hear from our world today. 

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the land.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the clean of heart,

for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,

for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you

and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.

Rejoice and be glad,

for your reward will be great in heaven.

Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

We do desire to enter the Kingdom of heaven...

we want to be comforted and satisfied...we hope 

one day to see our merciful God.

Ultimately we want to rejoice and be glad, 

but it is more often than not a struggle.

We live in a world that is constantly looking for ways to avoid suffering...

suffering of any kind; from hunger to physical pain.

We routinely turn a blind eye to those treated unjustly in our society.

We simply look the other way or we create

 our own excuses to soothe our feelings.

We avoid confrontation at all cost.

We believe those who advocate justice for all are too radical.

The truth is Jesus was very radical in how he treated everyone.

Jesus gives us the blueprints in the Sermon on the Mount

for the most fulfilling Christian life.

A life, many would say, filled with contradictions.

Sometimes the truth lies within the contradictions of our life.

For Jesus, contradiction was something he met with on a regular basis.

If you are serious about living a holy life...as a complete Christian;

then you must put into practice these Eight Beatitudes.

It is not enough to practice them when it is 

convenient; they must become the default manner

 in which we live our lives.

Blessed to be given these eight ways to be a better Christian.

Lord, help me to put these into daily practice.

Make them my default program.

!!!Peace!!!

He Breathed on Them

~~~Pentecost Sunday ~~~

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11 ~~~ Psalm 104 ~~~

~~~ 1 Corinthians 12:3B-7, 12-13 ~~~

~~~ John 20:19-23 ~~~

Come, Holy Spirit, come!

And from your celestial home

Shed a ray of light divine!

Jesus entered into the upper room passing through the locked doors.

He calmed their hearts and souls with words of peace.

And then he did something most unusual...

...he breathed on them and said to them,

“Receive the Holy Spirit.

At that very moment the breath of Jesus...

given to him form God the Father

was passed on to us.

We received the Spirit, the same Spirit 

given in the upper room thousands of years ago.

The breath of Jesus became

 the conduit for the Spirit to come down upon us.

The wind and the fire give evidence of the force of the Spirit.

If you take away their breath, they perish

and return to their dust.

When you send forth your spirit, they are created,

and you renew the face of the earth.

Once we no longer have the breath of God to sustain us we perish.

Does that come at the hour of our death?

It is the breath of God that keeps us alive...the spirit supplies 

each breath we take.

With each breath we are being created again.

Without this life giving breath there is no possible

 way for the face of the earth to be renewed.

It is through us that the Spirit carries 

out the Divine plan for renewal of the earth.

To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit

is given for some benefit.

Our gifts are brought to full fruition

 through the wind and fiery power of the Spirit. 

Let the Spirit into your life...

Let the Spirit rule in your heart...

Let the fire of Passion carry you from one day to the next.

It is both awe-inspiring and humbling

 to step back and give witness to the workings of the Spirit.

It gives me goose bumps when I recall 

the many times I have been blessed to recognize the presence of the Spirit.

The Spirit orchestrates all things good in the appropriate time.

The Spirit leaves no details to chance;

everything is put together with precision...dare I say perfection.

...we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

There is only one Spirit.

Jesus breathed it into you and into me.

There is nothing you can do to stop the power of the Spirit.

Give them joys

 that never end. Amen.

Peace from Jesus, giver of the Spirit.