He who is of God hears the words of God---the reason you do not hear the words of God is that you are not (born) of God, for flesh gives birth to flesh, and Spirit to spirit.
We read the Logos (the written word) so that we may learn to hear the Rhema--the living, spoken word---the voice of God. We are given not only the written word, but the Spirit who both speaks the word and "hears," or interprets the word in us and for us. To those without the Spirit, who have only the Logos, the word remains without life. Paul puts it this way: To this day, when the word is read, a veil covers their hearts. Only in Christ Jesus is the veil removed. (That's someplace in Romans).
With the Spirit, the word springs to life like dry bones in the desert. John the Baptist heard the voice of Mary, carrying Jesus, and lept for joy in his mother's womb. The Pharisees heard the words of Jesus and sneered, even though they knew the Scriptures backwards and forwards. Go figure!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
The Foolishness of God
God calls to each of us, as He did to Adam in the Garden: Where are you? He searches for those who answer, Here I am! But man in general runs, saying, I hid because I was ashamed; I was naked.
All of us seek to be covered before God; we seek a cover of righteousness for the nakedness of our souls. In His compassion, God covers us with the skin of His own Son, so that, like Isaac, He "confuses" us with the first-born Son and gives to us the blessing of the first-born. We are no longer ashamed in His Presence, for it is Christ Who covers us with His own purity and obedience. The blind Father then "rewards" us with all that belongs to His only Son.
What a plan---that God would allow Himself to be "tricked!"
All of us seek to be covered before God; we seek a cover of righteousness for the nakedness of our souls. In His compassion, God covers us with the skin of His own Son, so that, like Isaac, He "confuses" us with the first-born Son and gives to us the blessing of the first-born. We are no longer ashamed in His Presence, for it is Christ Who covers us with His own purity and obedience. The blind Father then "rewards" us with all that belongs to His only Son.
What a plan---that God would allow Himself to be "tricked!"
Sunday, March 28, 2010
The High Priest
When I come to the Father in prayer, those I love are carried with, or inside, me. I carry them in heart and mind just as the Old Testament priests carried the 12 tribes of Israel into the sanctuary on "ephods," or breastplates, bearing 12 jewels, one for each tribe. When I come into the presence of God, those I love are also sanctified by His Presence.
So, too, when we are "in" Christ Jesus, he carries us in His heart and mind into the Presence of His Father. He is able to save us fully by His intercession for us and by bearing our burdens to the Father, Who refuses His Son nothing.
So, too, when we are "in" Christ Jesus, he carries us in His heart and mind into the Presence of His Father. He is able to save us fully by His intercession for us and by bearing our burdens to the Father, Who refuses His Son nothing.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
The School of the Spirit
Just as God created the physical body and breathed into it His own Spirit and breath, so He created the physical Torah and breathed into it His living Spirit and living word. As the man without breath has no life in him, so the Word/Torah without the Spirit has no life in it, but brings condemnation and death. But the Spirit brings the word to life and puts flesh on its "dry bones." Out of the desert, the Word rises and speaks; it becomes a living Word, imparting life and health to all our bones: Then He opened their minds to understand the Scripture.
Years ago, when I'd first begun to read the Bible, I wanted to know it, to "get" it. I (not by accident) met a woman at a banquet who opened the Scriptures to me in a way I had never heard. She really "got" it. Amazed, I asked her how she had come to know the Scriptures so well; I thought maybe she had gone to Divinity School. She said, "Whenever I read, I pray and ask God to open my mind to understand what I am reading." Oh. Later, when I asked the Lord if I could go to Bible school, He answered me: I've got you in the school of the Holy Spirit.
That settled it; I finally understood that when the Scriptures "open" to us, it is not because someone teaches us, but because the Spirit of God Himself is teaching us. Paul says, "I did not consult the other apostles, but learned by revelation the things of God." We still must learn by revelation, no matter how often we go to church or attend classes in Scripture. The Word without the Spirit remains hidden to us. Some Greek icons depict Christ holding the closed book with His fingers raised in the position of a teacher. If we knew how to "read" the icon, we would understand that the Book remains closed to us until Christ Himself opens it.
Years ago, when I'd first begun to read the Bible, I wanted to know it, to "get" it. I (not by accident) met a woman at a banquet who opened the Scriptures to me in a way I had never heard. She really "got" it. Amazed, I asked her how she had come to know the Scriptures so well; I thought maybe she had gone to Divinity School. She said, "Whenever I read, I pray and ask God to open my mind to understand what I am reading." Oh. Later, when I asked the Lord if I could go to Bible school, He answered me: I've got you in the school of the Holy Spirit.
That settled it; I finally understood that when the Scriptures "open" to us, it is not because someone teaches us, but because the Spirit of God Himself is teaching us. Paul says, "I did not consult the other apostles, but learned by revelation the things of God." We still must learn by revelation, no matter how often we go to church or attend classes in Scripture. The Word without the Spirit remains hidden to us. Some Greek icons depict Christ holding the closed book with His fingers raised in the position of a teacher. If we knew how to "read" the icon, we would understand that the Book remains closed to us until Christ Himself opens it.
Friday, March 26, 2010
If We Want to Pray....
Most of us do not discover the joys of regular prayer because we have never "made space" for it in our lives. One of the things I learned from reading Genesis is that God always makes first the space, and then fills it with teeming life---see Chapter 1 of Genesis. The first 3 days of Creation are devoted to pushing back the unformed chaos to "make space" in the heavens, the earth, and the sea. The next 3 days, He returns to the empty spaces to fill them with overflowing life and abundance.
From that, I learned that anything we want to happen in our lives must first have the space to happen. If we want to paint, we must create a space where painting can occur---a place devoted to painting, if you will, with supplies out and ready, so that when we are in that space, we paint---not do a dozen other things.
Now, how many of us have devoted a space for prayer in our homes? I don't mean a family altar; I mean a comfortable chair, or even the bed---preferably a place near a window so that we can gaze out on the sacrament of our world, which brings the Presence of God. If possible, the place of prayer should have easy access to the Bible, an inspirational book or two, and a pen and notebook for recording our thoughts. St. Benedict taught that lectio divina, or sacred reading, "primes the pump" for prayer.
At first, it takes awhile to make the neuronal connections for prayer; our brains do not recognize the new pattern, so they wander into more familiar territory. That is okay; we do not need to "produce" anything in prayer---but simply to create a space where God can enter. We do not worry before a friend visits about what we will talk about, or structure a pattern for our conversation. We simply make space for our friend and welcome him/her with joy; the conversation will take care of itself. If we think about Who is coming to sit with us in our "sacred space," it is enough!
Soon, however, we will discover that our reading and thoughts are being directed; we might want to begin writing so as not to lose the new insights. We will notice a new and profound peace in our sacred space; we will notice that our prayer becomes almost automatic after awhile, when we arrive at our "prayer chair." If all we do is gaze out of the window, we have still entered the place of prayer, and that is enough.
But God does want to commune with us, and He will not leave us long before He begins to speak to us. Like Samuel, we cannot allow His words to us to fall to the ground; if, like Mary, we store up His word to us, turning it over in our hearts, we find our old patterns of thought beginning to change, and new, unexpected hope and faith beginning to take shape in us.
If we "make space" for God in our lives, He will surely enter and "make space" for us in His life.
From that, I learned that anything we want to happen in our lives must first have the space to happen. If we want to paint, we must create a space where painting can occur---a place devoted to painting, if you will, with supplies out and ready, so that when we are in that space, we paint---not do a dozen other things.
Now, how many of us have devoted a space for prayer in our homes? I don't mean a family altar; I mean a comfortable chair, or even the bed---preferably a place near a window so that we can gaze out on the sacrament of our world, which brings the Presence of God. If possible, the place of prayer should have easy access to the Bible, an inspirational book or two, and a pen and notebook for recording our thoughts. St. Benedict taught that lectio divina, or sacred reading, "primes the pump" for prayer.
At first, it takes awhile to make the neuronal connections for prayer; our brains do not recognize the new pattern, so they wander into more familiar territory. That is okay; we do not need to "produce" anything in prayer---but simply to create a space where God can enter. We do not worry before a friend visits about what we will talk about, or structure a pattern for our conversation. We simply make space for our friend and welcome him/her with joy; the conversation will take care of itself. If we think about Who is coming to sit with us in our "sacred space," it is enough!
Soon, however, we will discover that our reading and thoughts are being directed; we might want to begin writing so as not to lose the new insights. We will notice a new and profound peace in our sacred space; we will notice that our prayer becomes almost automatic after awhile, when we arrive at our "prayer chair." If all we do is gaze out of the window, we have still entered the place of prayer, and that is enough.
But God does want to commune with us, and He will not leave us long before He begins to speak to us. Like Samuel, we cannot allow His words to us to fall to the ground; if, like Mary, we store up His word to us, turning it over in our hearts, we find our old patterns of thought beginning to change, and new, unexpected hope and faith beginning to take shape in us.
If we "make space" for God in our lives, He will surely enter and "make space" for us in His life.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Spirit to spirit
For them do I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified (Jn. 17:19)
Jesus, knowing that He would pour out His own Spirit in us, kept Himself from all uncleanness, and he cried out to the Father who could save Him from (spiritual)death. He accepted the death of His body so that we could pass from death to life by the gift of His Spirit in us.
If we thought that we we could pass on to those we love the spirit / passion/ fire that animates us in this life, we too would keep ourselves from sin and cry out to God to keep us from death. How often do we desire to give to others the knowledge, understanding, wisdom, truth, fire that burns within us, the Spirit that comforts us, that teaches us, that shows us the way to go----but they cannot receive what animates us. Jesus said to the disciples, "How slow you are to understand!" But then, after His resurrection, no longer impeded by the slowness of the flesh, "their hearts were burning within them as they talked with Him."
When we are no longer in the flesh, maybe we too will be able to communicate spirit to spirit with those we love and to pour out in them the fire that animates our lives.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Ask and Receive....
The Love of God is poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5)
We cannot know the Father unless the Son reveals Him to us. But we cannot know Jesus unless He is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. So "the Gift of the Father" is the Spirit, Who teaches us all things and Who gives us all that belongs to Jesus, including His knowledge of and relationship to the Father.
Jesus died in the flesh so that the "natural man," (Adam), who lives in enmity to God, would also die, and in his place, a new man, of one spirit with God, able to hear and see the things of God, would arise. If we do not receive the things of God, if we do not walk in the Spirit of Truth, Jesus then has died in vain. In that case, we can only know about God, but we cannot "know" God.
This is the pearl of great price, for which a man gives all that he has: the intimate knowledge of God, given to us in the heart and mind of Jesus, through the Spirit He breathes into us. And how do we receive that Spirit? Jesus told us to simply ask the Father for His Gift---see Matthew 7 and Luke 11.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Jumping Into the River
I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
As English, Gentile, readers of Scripture, we cannot possibly know the weight, the import, of these words as they would have been heard by a Jewish audience. "Way" means very little to us, other than in a general sense of "path." To the Jew, however, the word Halakha/ Way means everything:
Halakha is the way Jews implement God's commands in daily life, the sum and substance of the written and oral Torah, the rabbinic legislation and the commentaries. When Jesus says, "I am the Halakha," He means that He is the Life contained in the commandments/ laws/ teachings of God. To accept Him as our Life, as did Paul [It is no longer I that live, but Christ Who lives in me to the glory of the Father], is to fulfill the entire law brought to perfection.
There is no "other" way; to live the law by our own effort is futility---who can blame the Jews who abandon the "way"? To be scrupulous in obedience to every jot and tittle in the law is to be satisfied with our own 'perfection,' rather than with the fullness of life offered by the overflowing abundance of God living in us---the River of Living Water.
We need only allow God to live in us and through us, for we ourselves can never know enough or do enough to be as fully alive as God created us to be. What a marvelous plan---God does expect us to follow the Way, but only by surrender to the One Who Himself is the Way, the Life, and the Truth!
Monday, March 22, 2010
the Humility of God
The Creator of the universe, the Source of all wisdom and truth, is meek and humble of heart. For Jesus says, "he who sees Me sees the Father." A bruised reed He does not break, but strengthens. He does not cry aloud in the streets, but His whisper is more powerful than the shouts of the world's mobs. He lifts up the poor from the dungheap and casts down the rich and the powerful.
His work is so subtle that, while visible to the smallest child, it is hidden to those who cannot see. If God wanted us to know Him in His beauty and majesty, it must first be that He had to approach us in the weakness of human flesh. Else we would not believe that He is so humble as to wash the dust from our feet and to indwell us with His divinity.
His work is so subtle that, while visible to the smallest child, it is hidden to those who cannot see. If God wanted us to know Him in His beauty and majesty, it must first be that He had to approach us in the weakness of human flesh. Else we would not believe that He is so humble as to wash the dust from our feet and to indwell us with His divinity.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Watching God at Work....
God does not love us because we are good; His love makes us good in spite of ourselves. He is the healer of all infirmity, the Great Physician Who closes all wounds of body, mind, and spirit. For us, Jesus took those wounds that we might be restored in the Resurrection of His body. Now we are good as He is good--because of the His own Spirit living in us and making us like God.
No longer do we see people from a natural standpoint, but from the viewpoint of God, Who is at work in them just as He is in us.
No longer do we see people from a natural standpoint, but from the viewpoint of God, Who is at work in them just as He is in us.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Thanking and Praising
If we could see what God is doing in us and for us, we would not stop thanking Him and praising Him.
Some time ago, when I thought I was going through a rough time, I learned the difference between praising and thanking God.
When we say, "Let it be done to me according to Your Word," we say this with confidence and trust only because we know Him as He is, and our knowing is the source of our praise.....or acclamations for His Goodness, His Beauty, His truth, His wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and power.
When we thank Him, it is for specific applications toward us of His nature--which we have been praising. Not only is Truth His very nature, but He has given us truth in the person of Jesus, limited not by His ability to give, but by our capacity to receive. Not only is He Love, but His very own love for Himself and for people is shed abroad in our hearts by the Gift of His very Spirit placed in us.
We praise Him for Who He is; we thank Him that He pours out His nature in us.
We praise another person for his/her innate goodness, but we thank that person when we have been the recipient of that goodness, in a specific way. A friend of mine is known for her ability to make wonderful salads; when she brings me one of them, I thank her profusely, and devour the gift, afterwards confirming her reputation as a great salad-maker and contributing to the universal chorus of praise.
Some time ago, when I thought I was going through a rough time, I learned the difference between praising and thanking God.
When we say, "Let it be done to me according to Your Word," we say this with confidence and trust only because we know Him as He is, and our knowing is the source of our praise.....or acclamations for His Goodness, His Beauty, His truth, His wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and power.
When we thank Him, it is for specific applications toward us of His nature--which we have been praising. Not only is Truth His very nature, but He has given us truth in the person of Jesus, limited not by His ability to give, but by our capacity to receive. Not only is He Love, but His very own love for Himself and for people is shed abroad in our hearts by the Gift of His very Spirit placed in us.
We praise Him for Who He is; we thank Him that He pours out His nature in us.
We praise another person for his/her innate goodness, but we thank that person when we have been the recipient of that goodness, in a specific way. A friend of mine is known for her ability to make wonderful salads; when she brings me one of them, I thank her profusely, and devour the gift, afterwards confirming her reputation as a great salad-maker and contributing to the universal chorus of praise.
Friday, March 19, 2010
The Courtesy of God
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone will open to me, I will come in and sup with him, and he with Me (Rev. 3:20).
The courtesy of God, waiting to be invited into the lives of those He made in His Image and ransomed by the life of His Son! It is as though, after giving one's children money to buy a house, we wait to be invited into the house. And if they do not ask, we wait again, respecting their privacy and attention to other details of life.
But how sad never to be invited in to share a meal, to be treated as a stranger in the life of one to whom you had given life and everything else you owned. Yet, this is what happens in almost every case--we are busy about so many things, overlooking the one important thing---communion with God, eating at His table and allowing Him to share in the life He has given us.
The courtesy of God, waiting to be invited into the lives of those He made in His Image and ransomed by the life of His Son! It is as though, after giving one's children money to buy a house, we wait to be invited into the house. And if they do not ask, we wait again, respecting their privacy and attention to other details of life.
But how sad never to be invited in to share a meal, to be treated as a stranger in the life of one to whom you had given life and everything else you owned. Yet, this is what happens in almost every case--we are busy about so many things, overlooking the one important thing---communion with God, eating at His table and allowing Him to share in the life He has given us.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Prayer of the Burning Bush
Set me afire, O Lord, with the light of Your Divine Countenance.
Let me burn with Your Holy Presence,
that Moses and his friends--those who seek Your face--
draw near and inquire,
"What is this burning bush that lights up the desert of our hearts?"
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Making Room for God
All the earth proclaim the Lord; sing your praise to God.
Whoever wrote that psalm must have been in Kentucky and Tennessee at the end of October, when the earth literally sings with the brillance of fall colors. Lunching on a deck looking across the Tennessee River with water so clear I can count the stones on the bottom, I watch one perfect star-shaped leaf float downstream.
Across the River, maybe 100 yards, rises a symphony of yellows, oranges, reds, and shades of green so perfect it feels like a high Mass sung in Latin. At the top of the ridge, the trees reach up for the bluest sky ever created.
The earth shouts for joy in the Presence of God. Why do our small battles drown out its song?
Therese of Lisieux traveled to the mountains of France before entering the cloister at 15, because she said, "Nature opens my soul and makes room for God." Those memories never left her. How poor are those who never see the world in song!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
The God of Contradictions
"Don't you think the Bible contradicts itself?" asks a friend.
"Yes, of course, it does," I reply; "the world is full of contradictions united only in God and by God."
Only God Himself can be far above the earth and yet closer to us than a brother. Only God can fashion a virgin mother or make sinners holy while they are still sinners. Only God can put His own Spirit of truth into delusional and even lying hearts.
Only God can make Himself incarnate and suffer in the flesh, so carying the impossible burdens of His beloved children. Truly He carries within His own heart all of our contradictions, uniting them within His own Person. Truly He bears our sufferings and becomes our peace.
"Yes, of course, it does," I reply; "the world is full of contradictions united only in God and by God."
Only God Himself can be far above the earth and yet closer to us than a brother. Only God can fashion a virgin mother or make sinners holy while they are still sinners. Only God can put His own Spirit of truth into delusional and even lying hearts.
Only God can make Himself incarnate and suffer in the flesh, so carying the impossible burdens of His beloved children. Truly He carries within His own heart all of our contradictions, uniting them within His own Person. Truly He bears our sufferings and becomes our peace.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Thirsting for Goodness
Comfort the sorrowing; instruct the ignorant; visit those in prison; feed the hungry----who is equal to such things? But the Spirit of Jesus, who dwells in us, does all things well.
We need to allow Him free reign in us, removing those things which stand in His way. Did not Jesus say, "From his belly will flow streams of water"? His only requirement was that we be thirsty enough to come to Him, the Source of Living Water: Blessed are they that thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied. But even the thirst is a gift from God.
Here, "Justice" is not a legal term, but a spiritual one meaning "righteousness," or "goodness." Those who thirst for goodness will be satisfied, and out of them will flow rivers of goodness. Sirach 24 tells of a person who "...sought to water his own little garden, and the rivelut became a stream, and the stream became a river, and the river flowed out to water the lands."
If we seek to water our own souls with the goodness of God, we will become like rivers of living water in the desert of a thirsty world. Let us begin....
We need to allow Him free reign in us, removing those things which stand in His way. Did not Jesus say, "From his belly will flow streams of water"? His only requirement was that we be thirsty enough to come to Him, the Source of Living Water: Blessed are they that thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied. But even the thirst is a gift from God.
Here, "Justice" is not a legal term, but a spiritual one meaning "righteousness," or "goodness." Those who thirst for goodness will be satisfied, and out of them will flow rivers of goodness. Sirach 24 tells of a person who "...sought to water his own little garden, and the rivelut became a stream, and the stream became a river, and the river flowed out to water the lands."
If we seek to water our own souls with the goodness of God, we will become like rivers of living water in the desert of a thirsty world. Let us begin....
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
The Truth Shall Set You Free
Our minds are made to apprehend TRUTH, and so we rejoice to find truth; when we "see" it, and recognize it, we leap for joy, so to speak. Integrity means embracing the truth with our whole being---mind, emotions, body---that is, living in the truth and living out the truth with all that is ours.
That is why the truth makes us free--we no longer live enslaved, in fear, to anything else; the opinions of other men, power, wealth, etc. Everything we are serves only the truth. And the truth is that we belong to God; we have come from Him and are returning to Him. When we venture from that path toward something else we live out a lie, and the truth is not in us.
Jesus told the Pharisees that they were not sons of God, but that their father was the Devil, the father of lies. And why? Because they appeared to be on the path to God, but in reality they desired something more than God; they desired the approval of other men; they desired positions in Israel; they desired "learning" in the sense of "being learned" more than they desired a relationship with God.
The reason Jesus "taught with authority" was that His only desire was not to please men, or even to please Himself, but only to please His Father. His words were not His own, but were given to Him in an exchange of love and knowledge with the Father. And He embraced ("ate") the words as they were given to Him. He conformed His entire life to the TRUTH: He knew where He had come from and where He was going, and He took no side paths along the way.
Set our lives along Your path, O Lord, and give us the grace to follow it faithfully.
That is why the truth makes us free--we no longer live enslaved, in fear, to anything else; the opinions of other men, power, wealth, etc. Everything we are serves only the truth. And the truth is that we belong to God; we have come from Him and are returning to Him. When we venture from that path toward something else we live out a lie, and the truth is not in us.
Jesus told the Pharisees that they were not sons of God, but that their father was the Devil, the father of lies. And why? Because they appeared to be on the path to God, but in reality they desired something more than God; they desired the approval of other men; they desired positions in Israel; they desired "learning" in the sense of "being learned" more than they desired a relationship with God.
The reason Jesus "taught with authority" was that His only desire was not to please men, or even to please Himself, but only to please His Father. His words were not His own, but were given to Him in an exchange of love and knowledge with the Father. And He embraced ("ate") the words as they were given to Him. He conformed His entire life to the TRUTH: He knew where He had come from and where He was going, and He took no side paths along the way.
Set our lives along Your path, O Lord, and give us the grace to follow it faithfully.
Monday, March 8, 2010
The Pure of Heart
Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.
It is the office of the Holy Spirit to gradually purify our hearts so that we can see God. We ourselves cannot see how cluttered, how impure we are, how much we desire all that is not God. Purity of heart is not something we "acquire" by our own effort--it is the Gift of God:
"When the Holy Spirit comes, He will convict the world of sin."
"Search me, O God, and let me know if there is anything in me that displeases you" (ps. 39)
Impurity can be revealed only by God Himself, because we cannot see it in ourselves and no one else can judge our motives. It is painful to allow God to search our hearts; we do not know what He will uncover there, but we do know that whatever He finds is something to which we are soulfully attached, something we have been depending on "to see us through" life, something we are afraid to let go of. If we give it up, we have nothing left for our defense. We do not yet believe that God Himself is our "shield and our very great reward," and as Paul says, "we do not want to be found naked."
God offers us the skin of His very own Son, but we prefer our fig leaves as clothing, so we continue to hide from His gaze. The Pharisees, seeing Jesus with Mary Magdalene, thought that He did not know "what sort of woman was touching Him," but she knew that He did know her. She was not hiding from Him, as were the Pharises who were afraid to expose their own shamefulness to His gaze. She was justified because she allowed the Holy Spirit to bring her to Jesus for healing; they remained in their sin. Her heart was pure; theirs, impure. They wanted something else more than they wanted God's action in their lives.
When Jesus taught us to pray, "Thy kingdom come," He was teaching us purity of heart. If we want anything else more than that, we need a heart transplant.
It is the office of the Holy Spirit to gradually purify our hearts so that we can see God. We ourselves cannot see how cluttered, how impure we are, how much we desire all that is not God. Purity of heart is not something we "acquire" by our own effort--it is the Gift of God:
"When the Holy Spirit comes, He will convict the world of sin."
"Search me, O God, and let me know if there is anything in me that displeases you" (ps. 39)
Impurity can be revealed only by God Himself, because we cannot see it in ourselves and no one else can judge our motives. It is painful to allow God to search our hearts; we do not know what He will uncover there, but we do know that whatever He finds is something to which we are soulfully attached, something we have been depending on "to see us through" life, something we are afraid to let go of. If we give it up, we have nothing left for our defense. We do not yet believe that God Himself is our "shield and our very great reward," and as Paul says, "we do not want to be found naked."
God offers us the skin of His very own Son, but we prefer our fig leaves as clothing, so we continue to hide from His gaze. The Pharisees, seeing Jesus with Mary Magdalene, thought that He did not know "what sort of woman was touching Him," but she knew that He did know her. She was not hiding from Him, as were the Pharises who were afraid to expose their own shamefulness to His gaze. She was justified because she allowed the Holy Spirit to bring her to Jesus for healing; they remained in their sin. Her heart was pure; theirs, impure. They wanted something else more than they wanted God's action in their lives.
When Jesus taught us to pray, "Thy kingdom come," He was teaching us purity of heart. If we want anything else more than that, we need a heart transplant.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Seeing and Hearing
There is nothing spoken that will not be heard; there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed.
If we ourselves yearn to tell others the good news of what God is doing, how much more does the Spirit of love Himself yearn to reveal, to teach, to uncover the surprising action of God in our universe. God does not "hide;" He is everywhere in plain sight---but we do not have the eyes we need to see Him at work nor ears to hear what He is saying. Somewhere the Scripture says,
Morning by morning you open my ears
To hear the word you speak for the day at hand.
First, God speaks. We hear, and our prayer is only a response to His words. If our words come first, prayer is tiresome and hard. But if God speaks first, and we hear, it is the most delightful conversation one can imagine.
St. Benedict always taught his monks that reading (lectio divina) comes before prayer and stimulates prayer. He wanted the best part of the day, when the monks were fresh, devoted to reading, not when they were tired at the end of the day. Most of us cannot pray because we do not first "prime the pump" by reading, then listening. Once we get in the habit of listening, it is hard to "say prayers" because to do so, we have to stop listening.
Open our ears, Lord, to hear Your voice; open our eyes to see Your hand of blessing in the smallest things......
If we ourselves yearn to tell others the good news of what God is doing, how much more does the Spirit of love Himself yearn to reveal, to teach, to uncover the surprising action of God in our universe. God does not "hide;" He is everywhere in plain sight---but we do not have the eyes we need to see Him at work nor ears to hear what He is saying. Somewhere the Scripture says,
Morning by morning you open my ears
To hear the word you speak for the day at hand.
First, God speaks. We hear, and our prayer is only a response to His words. If our words come first, prayer is tiresome and hard. But if God speaks first, and we hear, it is the most delightful conversation one can imagine.
St. Benedict always taught his monks that reading (lectio divina) comes before prayer and stimulates prayer. He wanted the best part of the day, when the monks were fresh, devoted to reading, not when they were tired at the end of the day. Most of us cannot pray because we do not first "prime the pump" by reading, then listening. Once we get in the habit of listening, it is hard to "say prayers" because to do so, we have to stop listening.
Open our ears, Lord, to hear Your voice; open our eyes to see Your hand of blessing in the smallest things......
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Where the wind blows.....
We cannot "figure out" the things of God, any more than Augustine could have "figured out" that a child's voice would suddenly have said to him, "Take up (the Bible) and read," and that from that moment everything in his life would change.
So our attitude from one moment to the next must be one of listening, of receiving revelation from a God Who actively participates in each moment of our lives. Nothing is too small to be beneath His care or concern---Scripture says, "He has taken up all the causes of my life."
Will He cause us to win today's football or soccer game? Maybe not, but He is with us in the event, teaching us that neither profit or loss can separate us from His love and care. Will He arrange that we meet our mentors? Will He place people in our path at critical moments who can lead, support, or sustain us in our spiritual growth? In this case, yes----because while the football game depends on strength, practice, and strategy, those who love Him and give themselves to His purpose depend on the Holy Spirit and go where He leads them. And Jesus has already told us that just as we cannot tell where the wind comes from or where it is going, so it is with the Spirit. Suddenly we are refreshed by a "chance" meeting with a kindred soul; we are uplifted and set in a new direction---and we know that God's Spirit has been at work once again.
So our attitude from one moment to the next must be one of listening, of receiving revelation from a God Who actively participates in each moment of our lives. Nothing is too small to be beneath His care or concern---Scripture says, "He has taken up all the causes of my life."
Will He cause us to win today's football or soccer game? Maybe not, but He is with us in the event, teaching us that neither profit or loss can separate us from His love and care. Will He arrange that we meet our mentors? Will He place people in our path at critical moments who can lead, support, or sustain us in our spiritual growth? In this case, yes----because while the football game depends on strength, practice, and strategy, those who love Him and give themselves to His purpose depend on the Holy Spirit and go where He leads them. And Jesus has already told us that just as we cannot tell where the wind comes from or where it is going, so it is with the Spirit. Suddenly we are refreshed by a "chance" meeting with a kindred soul; we are uplifted and set in a new direction---and we know that God's Spirit has been at work once again.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Waiting....
He has the most compassion on those far away. To the elder son, He says, "Everything I have is yours---you eat daily at my table; you lie down at night in safety; my kingdom is yours to command as you wish-----But your brother is far off and afraid, not knowing how he will eat or where he will lie down at night. He knows not whom he can trust, and everyone will take advantage of him if they can. I want him here, where I can provide what he needs and he need never live again in terror."
And His heart breaks, waiting.....He sends messengers in search of his son, with good news that the Father welcomes back His son. Finally, he sends His own Son in search of the lost. Christ makes His appeal through us, and our mission is to those who most need Him. It would be arrogant to suppose that we ourselves have the resources to supply their need. All we can offer them is the space in which to meet the Christ themselves. If we have 2 fish and 5 loaves, freely given, Jesus will multiply these to feed 5000 hungry people. And He Himself will joyfully welcome them into His Father's house.
And His heart breaks, waiting.....He sends messengers in search of his son, with good news that the Father welcomes back His son. Finally, he sends His own Son in search of the lost. Christ makes His appeal through us, and our mission is to those who most need Him. It would be arrogant to suppose that we ourselves have the resources to supply their need. All we can offer them is the space in which to meet the Christ themselves. If we have 2 fish and 5 loaves, freely given, Jesus will multiply these to feed 5000 hungry people. And He Himself will joyfully welcome them into His Father's house.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
What Are You Looking For?
Every good gift comes down from above......wisdom, truth, justice, holiness, goodness, joy, peace.....
If we knew the Gift of God, we would ask....but not knowing means we strive on our own to attain what can only be received from above. And these things He freely gives to those who love Him. Let us not hesitate to ask for what we need.
If we need joy, and ask for it, we open ourselves to the gift we cannot give ourselves. More than that, we trust that if we ask, we will receive. And trust in God will never disappoint us. Didn't Jesus say, "If you ask your father for a fish, will he give you a snake? (looks like the eel eaten in His culture, but isn't). And if you ask for a loaf, will he give you a stone?" (looks like bread, but isn't).
And if we know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more our heavenly Father knows how to give the Spirit to those who ask. TRUST HIM.
If we knew the Gift of God, we would ask....but not knowing means we strive on our own to attain what can only be received from above. And these things He freely gives to those who love Him. Let us not hesitate to ask for what we need.
If we need joy, and ask for it, we open ourselves to the gift we cannot give ourselves. More than that, we trust that if we ask, we will receive. And trust in God will never disappoint us. Didn't Jesus say, "If you ask your father for a fish, will he give you a snake? (looks like the eel eaten in His culture, but isn't). And if you ask for a loaf, will he give you a stone?" (looks like bread, but isn't).
And if we know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more our heavenly Father knows how to give the Spirit to those who ask. TRUST HIM.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
The Gift of God
If thou didst know the Gift of God and Who it is that asks, you would ask Him, and He would give you living water (John 4:10--Jesus to the Woman at the Well).
The Gift of God is friendship with God by His Presence/Spirit, which makes us (gradually) one with Him and one with others, destroying boundaries and barriers between the two, as Christ did in His own flesh. He is the reconciliation of man with God and man with man, restoring to the earth the original harmonies in the Garden of Eden.
Those who will not accept the Gift of God--His own Spirit-- can never overcome the barriers to unity (i.e., the Tower of Babel) because each one will always strive to build a name for himself at the expense of others---or each tribe or nation will build a name for itself at the expense of others. But God's Gift to us is a blessing that we may then become a blessing to all others.
The woman at the well received the living water of acceptance/ friendship/ revelation from God and also acceptance/friendship/ revelation from others in her village. She, the outcast, the shunned, the rejected and alone, became the center and source of blessing/living water for all the rest. The came to the well--the center of the village--to find Jesus. Of all the people in the village, she was the one chosen to become the well for the rest. He made her "acceptable" and valuable, the one thing she had sought all her life through five husbands and a sixth relationship.
The Gift of God is friendship with God by His Presence/Spirit, which makes us (gradually) one with Him and one with others, destroying boundaries and barriers between the two, as Christ did in His own flesh. He is the reconciliation of man with God and man with man, restoring to the earth the original harmonies in the Garden of Eden.
Those who will not accept the Gift of God--His own Spirit-- can never overcome the barriers to unity (i.e., the Tower of Babel) because each one will always strive to build a name for himself at the expense of others---or each tribe or nation will build a name for itself at the expense of others. But God's Gift to us is a blessing that we may then become a blessing to all others.
The woman at the well received the living water of acceptance/ friendship/ revelation from God and also acceptance/friendship/ revelation from others in her village. She, the outcast, the shunned, the rejected and alone, became the center and source of blessing/living water for all the rest. The came to the well--the center of the village--to find Jesus. Of all the people in the village, she was the one chosen to become the well for the rest. He made her "acceptable" and valuable, the one thing she had sought all her life through five husbands and a sixth relationship.
Monday, March 1, 2010
John the Baptist
God is real. He is present and wholly active in each life He has created. But so rarely do we have the opportunity to reflect upon and recognize Him at work in us---"He came unto His own, and His own received Him not."
We all need a John the Baptist who can say with certainty---Look/ Behold! There He is! Behold, He comes. We need a John the Baptist who can recognize and point out to us where the Spirit of God descends, where Jesus emerges in our lives.
We all need a John the Baptist who can say with certainty---Look/ Behold! There He is! Behold, He comes. We need a John the Baptist who can recognize and point out to us where the Spirit of God descends, where Jesus emerges in our lives.
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