Joy in the Desert

~~~ Isaiah 35:1-10 ~~~ Psalm 85 ~~~ Luke 5:17-26 ~~~

 

When God comes all will bloom and his fragrance will fill the air.

 

The long awaited hope will come to fruition.

All that is good will burst forth from above and below...

from within and without.

The joy of this new birth will be jubilant.

All that humankind has hoped for will be made known...

the lame will walk, the blind will see, the deaf will hear,

the mute will sing, streams will burst forth from the desert,

pools of fresh cool water will appear in the desolate wasteland.

 

 

One act of God will cause all of these things to take place.

In the midst of all this energy and excitement

"...A highway will be there,
called the holy way...It is for those with a journey to make,
and on it the redeemed will walk."

 

The 'yellow brick' road of sorts where God will lead the way.

The road where justice and peace come together.

The road where joy and gladness prevail.

The road where sorrow and mourning are transformed.

The road where the travelers will forever be changed.

 

"What are you thinking in your hearts?"

 

This is the question Jesus asked those who questioned

his authority to forgive sins.

 

 

The one who comes is hope for all who come to him.

Even if your friends carry you to him he can see what is in your heart.

 

If faith had a color what do you think it would be?

To me the color of faith is blue because it is the color of water.

Without water we have no life.

Jesus is the living water from which springs forth abundant blossoms

of faith, hope, mercy, and love.

God Leads in Joy

~~~ Second Sunday of Advent ~~~

 

~~~Baruch 5:1-9~~~Psalm 126~~~Philippians 1:4-6,8-11~~~Luke 3:1-6~~~

 

The message of joy rings out with each of the scriptures selected for this second Sunday of Advent.

The time of our waiting for the Messiah to come should be enriched with

the fragrance of joy.

A joy that originates with the Annunciation from the angel to Mary.

Joy is an emotion felt deep within your heart...

an emotion of quiet peace.

 

"...The forests and every fragrant kind of tree
have overshadowed Israel at God's command;
for God is leading Israel in joy
by the light of his glory,
with his mercy and justice for company."

 

We are attracted by different odors; today the very joy of God

emanates from nature.

God himself is ushering us by the light of his glory to our

salvation. God knows the way...he is leading us...

he is teaching us.

He leads us with great joy evident by our desire to laugh and sing.

Research has proven that laughing is good for our whole person...

mind, body, and soul.

Joy brings forth music and laughter...

Joy lifts our spirit.

 

Paul writes of his personal joy when he remembers and prays for

his supporters in Ephesus.

 

"...I pray always with joy in my every prayer for all of you,
because of your partnership for the gospel..."

 

Today I am filled with joy because God has given

me every blessing I could ever imagine.

If love is increasing in your life it is through the workings

of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.

 

I believe with all my heart that God affectionately

longs for us to be with

him in heaven.

 

 

There are occasions for joy all around us.

Sometimes we miss the opportunity to joy even when

it is right before our eyes.

Even as I sit here now with a broken water pipe, a soggy carpet,

and no water to the house for a while

there is still reason to be joyful.

 

At least I was home and made the soggy discovery before

too much damage was done.

 

As we progress through this second week of Advent

make a point to notice where joy

is making it's appearance.

 

Consider it all

JOY,

as Paul would say to his loved ones.

Hide and Seek

~~~ Feast of the Immaculate Conception ~~~

 

~~~Genesis 3:9-15, 20~~~Psalm 98~~~Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12~~~Luke 1:26-38~~~

 

"Where are you?"

Here we are naked and hiding in the Garden of Eden... 

 

God is looking for you just as he looked for Adam and Eve that day in the garden.

He has chosen us to be his own.

Why would we feel the need to hide from him?

We would be foolish to even think that we could hide from God,

but nonetheless he calls out to us.

 

He wants us to come to him.

He want us to understand that even in our nakedness

we have no reason to hide from him.

 

Typical of our weak human nature Adam tries to give God excuses.

He tries to shift the blame from himself.

I have come to the realization in my old age...

no one else is to blame for our poor decisions.

 

Adam was the first to play the blame game...

the woman made me...

"The woman whom you put here with me--
she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it."

 

The woman quickly catches on to this game...

"The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it."

We frequently try to escape the consequences of our behavior.

 

It is impossible to win playing hide and seek with God.

He always wins...he can always find you no matter where you

try to hide.

 

He asks the question

"Where are you?"

hoping that you will come forward and come to him yourself.

 

God has given us everything that we could imagine to ask him for

including every spiritual blessing.

He chose us to be holy without flaws,

but our pride gets us into trouble.

It is pride that causes us to eat from the forbidden tree.

Once we have eaten the fruit we discover how silly it was for us

to think that what we wanted was more important than

what God desires for us.

 

Only nakedness before God can heal the soul from the

torment of pride.

In order to come out of hiding we must strip ourselves of pride

and stand before God as he created us to be in the Garden of Eden.

 

 

We have been adopted through Jesus

"...in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace
that he granted us in the beloved."

 

Wherever you are  hiding; come back into the garden.

Join in the celebration...

dance around the tree of life singing his praises.

 

The light of the Lord shines down on the tree it bears fruit for the Lord.

There is no reason to hide...

You have been given unconditional love.

With this unconditional love comes mercy and forgiveness.

 

Nakedness before God reminds us of our need

to trust in his providential care.

Will you come out of hiding when God asks,

"Where are you?"

Gaze Upon His Loveliness

~~~ Isaiah 29:17-24 ~~~ Psalm 27 ~~~ Matthew 9:27-31 ~~~

 

"...One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple..."

 

A new mother gazes into the face of her newborn baby.

To gaze means to look intently with great curiosity, interest,

pleasure, or wonder.

 

To gaze on the loveliness of God seems so simple.

In order to gaze one must be present and still.

It is the stillness that allows us to look intently.

It is the stillness that allows us to see the loveliness.

 

Lovely might be used by a father to describe how his daughter

looks on her wedding day.

Loveliness inspires love and beauty.

How would you describe the beauty of the Lord?

Can our puny words even do this loveliness justice?

 

Must we be inside the house of the Lord in order to gaze upon

his loveliness?

I relish to think about the loveliness of God.

As I look around at the beauty he has given us here on earth

how awesome must be his beauty.

 

Loveliness is a beauty that not only is physically appealing

but also emotionally appealing.

I believe God wants us to experience his

beauty through our emotions.

Beauty is not restricted to what you can see with your eyes.

The psalmist implies that we will want to sit

and gaze upon the loveliness of God

all the days of our life.

In heaven that would translate to all of eternity.

Our eyes will want to remain transfixed on the Lord.

This beauty will satisfy every need we have ever experienced.

 

 

The next phrase of this verse directs our attention

to the temple...God's house.

This is of course just for us because God certainly

does not need a 'place' to reside.

 

A favorite part of traveling for us is to visit the churches in different cities.

I have written before about how inspiring

La Familia Sagruda in Barcelona, Spain

is for me.

We are to encouraged to turn our thoughts toward God

while we are in his house. If this is to be then the structure

rightfully should reflect something of the qualities of God.

 

Consider just the quality of loveliness...

What is it about your place of worship that speaks of

the loveliness of the Lord?

Perhaps it is one statue, one candle, or the altar.

So often for me it has been

the sun streaming through the stained glass windows...

The colors dancing off the walls as the sun slowly

moves across the window...

this inspires me to contamplate the

loveliness of the Lord.

 

I have been blessed to witness the reflections from

the stained glass windows illuminate the altar during the Consecration.

We are surrounded with the loveliness of the Lord.

How often are we still long enough to gaze at the sight?

Take time to Gaze upon the Loveliness

of the Lord.

It will be good for your soul.

The Cloud of Dust

~~~ Isaiah 26:1-6 ~~~ Psalm 118 ~~~  Matthew 7:21, 24-27 ~~~

 

Most of the time when I read the Bible I try to visualize the scene,

that is after all what comprehension is all about.

Today there were a couple images used that conjured very vivid pictures

because of events we have experienced in recent years.

 

Isaiah speaks of the Lord being like a Rock.

No matter how firm your foundation.

No matter how safe you believe your city to be God can bring it down.

 

"...He humbles those in high places,
and the lofty city he brings down;
He tumbles it to the ground,
levels it with the dust."

 

On the terrible day the twin towers tumbled to the ground the dust created

as they fell was unbelievable.

The scene of people running trying to escape the huge cloud

of dust and debris was frightening.

While I certainly do not believe this was an act of punishment from God;

nevertheless it provides more meaning for these words from the prophet, Isaiah.

 

"Trust in the Lord"

is the advice from the prophet.

God is really the only one we can completely trust.

 

The psalmist echoes the same message...

"...It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man."

 

Build your faith and beliefs on the Lord.

Hear his words and act accordingly.

The word of the Lord is constant and firm as the Rock of Gibraltar.

When you build upon trusting in God you are

free to act according to his will.

If you do not place your trust solely in the Lord you are left

to the unpredictablity of yourself and others around you.

 

If you do not put your trust in the Lord

you will be like the house washed away from the recent hurricane

on the northeast coast.

When the storms of life hit and shake you to your foundation.

It is then that you take notice of whether or not you have built

on firm rock solid ground.

 

 

Throughout the liturgical cycle of readings

we are reminded time and time again to trust in the Lord.

 

Why, you might ask do we need to be reminded repeatedly

about something that makes so much sense.

Somehow as we go about our day to day routines we begin to rely

more and more on ourselves and our

accomplishmentsin this world.

It takes something as visual as being chased down by a cloud of dust

to bring us to our knees in the reality that we

only have God.

He is the only one who is deserving of our complete trust.

 

The word of God never lies to us.

The word of God is never designed to trick or deceive us.

The word of God is always the basis and foundation of all truth.

If we cannot trust God

then who is it that we can trust?

 

Saint Nicholas, pray for us,

especially during this season of Advent.

It truly is in giving that we receive.

Teach us to trust in the Divine Providence.

Compassionate God

~~~ Isaiah 25:6-10a ~~~ Psalm 23 ~~~ Matthew 15:29-37 ~~~

 

The Lord is my shepherd...psalm 23

one of the most well known

and often quoted scripture verses.

Not because we know much about sheep and shepherds,

but because we find comfort in trusting that God will take care of us.

None of have had the experience of tending for a herd of sheep, but

we believe that the shepherd only wants what is good for his sheep.

It is an analogy that gives us comfort when we consider

our relationship with God.

A shepherd watches over his flock night and day.

He does not allow the dangers of darkness access to his sheep.

When we contemplate God as our shepherd we somehow know

 that even in our darkness he is there watching over us.

 

God will provide for all of our needs.

We must keep admit that our 'needs' may not always be what we think.

We have the human tendency to be selfish.

Often our 'needs' are nothing more than 'wants'.

 

 

~~ Compassionate God ~~

 

Great crowds followed Jesus.

They were attracted to him for many reasons;

one being his compassion for others.

You cannot be selfish and compassionate at the same time.

 

The last few weeks I have been listening to a series on compassion and our brain.

It was produced by Sounds True titled The Compassionate Brain.

I invite you to check it out on their site.

 

The latest research confirms the positive effect compassion has on our brain.

When we step away from ourselves and think of others

we are actually improving our mental and spiritual welbeing.

 

Jesus exhibits his compassion through most of his miracles and

interactions with those around them.

"...Great crowds came to him,
having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute,
and many others.
They placed them at his feet, and he cured them."

 

Up on the mountain the sick and the lame were carried to him for healing.

He could have just extended his compassion in healing to those before him,

but he went a step farther.

 

Jeus was also concerned about all of the people present...

even those who dod not come to be healed.

Jesus was sensitive to their real physical hunger.

 

Jesus summoned his disciples and said,
"My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
for they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.
I do not want to send them away hungry,
for fear they may collapse on the way."

 

 

Climbing up the hill in the heat to see and hear Jesus

was exhausing, especially if you are now also very hungry.

 

Coming to Jesus may require sacrifice, but not starvation.

Jesus healed the lame and he nourished all those present.

 

Today food trucks would have swarmed to the area

hoping to sell a few thousand tacos.

Hoping to make their monthly quota in a couple hours.

 

There were no such luxuries during the time of Jesus.

He took it upon himself to provide for the needs of the crowd

because of his compassion for others.

 

Then he took the seven loaves and the fish,
gave thanks, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied.
They picked up the fragments left over--seven baskets full.

 

Jesus used what was gathered from the people...

through his blessing the meager amount of food

was more than enough to feed the large crowd.

 

Jesus took the time to be mindful of his surroundings.

He was aware of more then just those who had come for healing.

We miss the fact that God is always aware of our needs.

He is the Good Shepherd who cares for his flock day and night.

He is the Good Sheperd who protects his little sheep

from the attack of the wolf.

 

I invite you to find ways during the Advent time to reach out

to those around you who are less fortunate.

Now is the time to put aside selfishness.

Now is the time to put compassion into practice.

You may even need to begin with compassion for yourself...

this is not being selfish, by the way.

All that Jesus gave he already had within...

given to him from the Father.

We have a Compassionate God

who loves us.

Living the Prophet's Vision

~~~ Isaiah 11:1-10 ~~~Psalm 72 ~~~ Luke 10:21-24 ~~~

 

If you read Isaiah carefully you may just notice his writing foreshadowed

the gifts of the Holy Spirit and even hints of the Beatitudes.

 

The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:
a Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
A Spirit of counsel and of strength,
a Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,
and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.

 

The beginning and the end of today's reading contains the words..

On that day

 

We know that day was when God the Father sent Jesus

down to earth to dwell with us;

to be one of us.

 

God has a knack for bringing impossible things together.

The wolf and the lamb will peacefully share a common space.

Rivals will lie beside one another.

The young of these rivals will run and play games together.

Humans and the animals will coexist in harmony with one another.

In effect all will be right with the world.

We are still waiting for this scene to materialize.

Only through the eyes of authors, like C.S. Lewis and screen writers

do we get to see this kind harmony play out.

 

Only those who will risk going too far

can possibly find out how far one can go.

T. S. Eliot

Perhaps to some Isaiah may have gone too far with his prophesying,

but in truth God takes all things to the extreme...

at least what to us would be extreme.

We might even consider it foolish and naive to think such opposites

as wolves and lambs could

be brought so close together as suggested.

 

Jesus came as one who gives peace...

He is the Prince of Peace.

He gives us his own peace; not for us to hide away for ourselves,

but rather for us to extend his peace to others.

 

 

Turning to the disciples in private he said,
"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see..."

 

 We are not all granted the gift of sight at the same time,

but when it comes we become intoxicated with joy.

 

The Prince of Peace is also the Light of the World.

Without light we might as well not have eyes with which to see.

Whether or not you can physically see

the eyes of your heart must be open.

 

Through the eyes of the heart we can imagine the wonderful world

we  do not behold with our physical eyes.

A world brought together from opposite ends of the spectrum.

A world where wolves and lambs live in peace and harmony.

A world where differences are celebrated...

not because they are different but because they have

been gifted with the Spirit of wisdom and understanding.

On that day

all things will come to pass.