The Word of God

Daily Reflections

• Reflection – Lectionary: 290

  People are always disappointed. Think about the hateful disappointment of those over 2,000 years ago who were expecting their own created version of the Messiah! They were expecting a revolutionary who would wield such political and military power that anyone associated with him would be called “his friend.” Selfishly, they would then somehow share in that tremendous and overwhelmingly amassed power. It is little wonder why such as these rejected Jesus Christ flat out because, astoundingly, he promoted service as a basis for greatness. He even washed feet and wounds and ate with sinners and outcasts:  “Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him.”

  Those who rejected Jesus when He first came were steeped in their own mistaken ideas about who God promised and how he would save them from their sins. This still happens today as Jesus comes to us every single day of our lives which calls upon us to set aside any biases or unrealistic expectations and accept the Lord Jesus just as He says He is for the world: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above,  where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.”  Love Jesus today with all your heart, and then allow that remarkable decision to permeate and affect everything you do and say from now on. Sometimes the human heart needs more time to accept what the mind already knows.

  “Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ, and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.” C. S. Lewis

• Reflection – Lectionary: 289

  “I call you my friends, says the Lord, for I have made known to you all that the Father has told me.” Perhaps one of the greatest gifts we each have in this life is that of solid, lasting, and supportive friendship. We often do not think about this treasure in our lives, but it is one that we certainly miss when it is gone. Jesus offers the most remarkable share in His life by calling us His friends and providing to us the same comforts and encouragements that come from good friends. And He promises that He is also present in those relationships that bring us closer and closer to Heaven and help build our relationship with Jesus Himself. “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.” 

  The Lord also offers a deeper insight into love and friendship when he states what might have been so obvious beforehand: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” The utmost extent of a loving commitment of one friend to another is found in the ultimate sacrifice that people make for each other. Sometimes that sacrifice is carried out in one singular moment, or lived out over many, many years of life. Nevertheless, friendship in the Lord Jesus is the greatest gift of all, nourished by the Word of the Scriptures and the Bread of Life. 

  And friends are friends forever
  If the Lord’s the Lord of them
  And a friend will not say never
  ‘Cause the welcome will not end
  Though it’s hard to let you go
  In the Father’s hands we know
  That a lifetime’s not too long
  To live as friends.  

  Michael W. Smith

• Reflection – Lectionary: 287

  “Remain in me, as I remain in you, says the Lord; whoever remains in me will bear much fruit.” This is yet another profound and useful image to understand our role and purpose in this life. How often have we asked ourselves or heard others ask about why we are here and what exactly is our purpose. Sometimes our vision for ourselves falls short of what is actually going on in our lives. At times, our perspective on the world around us becomes bitter, and thus our actions and words become rude, unkind, and thoughtless with numbing regularity. We mistakenly think there is no good fruit to be found, but the real truth lies in the fact that we haven’t spent enough quality time with our beautiful and loving God. When we allow ourselves the time to realize how great our God is, we begin to see and bear good fruit. Then and only then does it become much easier to choose gratitude over complaining.

  This now brings us to this very telling and provocative warning from the Lord: “Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned.” At the heart of the battle for our souls is a real enemy who prowls around seeking someone to devour. Evil will never stop to gain new ground and move others away from the Lord. This is yet another reason why we must be aware of those who just “talk the talk.” “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.” We must also realize that we will be able to recognize the true person living in every human being by their fruits. That includes you and me, especially in our day-to-day interaction with our fellow sojourners on this planet toward Heaven, always knowing and trusting that the Lord Jesus will make a great harvest even out of our most humble intentions as long as we remain faithful. Be great today! You may never know what kind of rich harvest you will be planting. 

  “Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed.” Robert Schuller

• Reflection – Lectionary: 288

  “I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete.”

  Joy is both a mysterious and complicated matter for some reason. What brings joy to one and not to another? Why do some people avoid being happy while others thrive on it? Perhaps part of the understanding of human nature is revealed within each person who feels and experiences life through their own prism of life and love. Each person makes a fundamental decision practically every day of their lives as to what is going to make them happy, sad, angry, or even apathetic. We could say here, for our purposes in trying to unlock the Scriptures, that joy, like happiness, is a choice, and from the looks of things, a very important one. 

  “My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me.” What it comes down to is this: it all depends who you listen to. We all know friends and acquaintances that are news aficionados and who basically have their hands on the pulse of all things newsworthy, or not. We know people whose very worldview is determined by those few people who occupy their inner circles. And of course, there are those who seem aimless and lost because they apparently have no one. That is why listening for the voice of Jesus today is critical. What is He saying to you, right here, right now? So much is riding and depends on the answer to this question. If we want complete joy in Christ, we must listen. And we listen, we follow.  Then our joy might be complete. 

  “Prayer is, first of all, listening to God. It’s openness. God is always speaking; he’s always doing something. Prayer is to enter into that activity… Convert your thoughts into prayer. As we are involved in unceasing thinking, so we are called to unceasing prayer. The difference is not that prayer is thinking about other things, but that prayer is thinking in dialogue,… a conversation with God.” Henri Nouwen

• Reflection – Lectionary: 286

  “And when they arrived, they called the Church together and reported what God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. Then they spent no little time with the disciples.” At that wonderful moment in life when everything is so clear and lucid, you just do not want time to end. We might say that in those special episodes around us, time was relative. “Time is relative” means the rate of change of time is not the same for every frame of reference. Two people sitting in two other frames of reference can measure different rates of time, i.e., one’s clocks can tick faster than others or vice-versa. When the grace of God surrounds you, time stands still, and everything comes into such clear focus that we just do not ever want to leave that space. But unfortunately, reality knocks relentlessly, and there we go back to the grime and gristle of it all. The joy that literally overwhelmed the disciples in our First Reading, understood that very well. They knew and quickly realized that great things take great sacrifices but yield even greater rewards: “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.”  They couldn’t spend enough time listening to all the wonders that God had done for those who never lost trust or faith in Him. 

  “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you.” In order to find these deep, wonderful moments of clarity, we must slow down. If we think that somehow and somehow we are going to finish everything we think we need to accomplish, we will definitely wear ourselves down. This leaves little time to survey and realize how God our God is to us. Try slowing down today. You’ll be so glad you did. 

  “Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.” Saint Francis de Sales

• Reflection – Lectionary: 285

  “When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they cried out in Lycaonian, ‘The gods have come down to us in human form.” Have you ever wondered why so many have a seemingly preoccupation with movie, sports, and music superstars? Just take a look at the raw energy at concerts, movie premieres, award shows, and of course sport events and notice how literally crazy people get over these people, who like Paul and Baranabas in our First Reading, are just human beings like ourselves. Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that too many people do not have God in their lives, so they will and have settled for a bunch of little, passing, inconsequential gods. They last for a moment until the next rage appears. So sad!

  “I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.”

  “Then he brought them out and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ And they said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus and you and your household will be saved.”  The only remedy for this obsession over human idols, as we have heard in today’s Readings, is to be open to the Holy Spirit for wisdom and knowledge. Belief and trust in the Lord Jesus promise that we will have clarity in this life, peace in our hearts, and right judgments, especially when we watch the news of any given number of movies and television shows, not to mention sporting events. Jesus truly loves us, and is not looking for fame or good looks, but just loving Him back in return. 

  “God will not look you over for medals, degrees, or diplomas, but for scars.”  Elbert Hubbard

• Reflection – Lectionary: 52

  “You are ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises’ of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” Everyone on this planet has a purpose. There is simply no way around that. The fact that we are alive and breathing and asking such deep questions about life and death and meaning clearly points to the reality that there is definitely more to life than it seems. When you and I believe God has a purpose for our being here, we can work through obstacles, overcome disappointments and endure many hardships and crosses. It is what Jesus showed us. The more we dig into our experiences and plant with faith and hope, the greater the harvest, not just later in eternity but right here and now. The fact that God wants to save us from all the power and forces of death and darkness signals the great purpose for which we were created and the immeasurably joyous destiny that truly awaits us.

  “I am the way, the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father, except through me.” Following Jesus does not mean that every day is going to be perfect. It means that the harder the moment, the more willing he is for us to hold on to Him for dear life. Telling someone with anxiety to just calm down is like telling someone with epilepsy just to stop having a seizure. However, inviting a person to join the pain and suffering of those of the Lord will have lasting effects. This is what is meant by dying to oneself so that a great harvest can be witnessed. Dying to self does not mean giving up what may be good for us. This means letting go of what is not beneficial so we can see and accept what is.

  Wouldn’t you rather suffer and die with Christ to live with Him forever? I know I do.

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