Thursday 12/1/22

Readings: Is 26:1-6; Ps 118:1, 8-9, 19-21, 25-27a; Mt 7:21, 24-27

Title: “The Will of My Father in Heaven”

This pair of passages from Matthew 7 (Matt 7:21, 24-27) contains a very important lesson regarding the will of God, as well as an elucidating illustration to help us to better understand this concept.  These two passages from Matthew 7 are very closely related, and if we look carefully, we may find that the second (Matt 7:24-27), rather than being a separate teaching, actually further describes the first (Matt 7:21-23).  In the first teaching here, we find a lesson about doing the will of God: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers’” (Matt 7:21-23).

And in the second teaching, we find the parable about the two foundations: “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined” (Matt 7:24-27). 

Necessary to understanding either of these passages is the ultimate context of the passage itself.  What occurs before and after it in the text?  And as we look to this lesson about doing the will of God (Matt 7:21-23), we may wonder, what does it look like to do the will of God?  What exactly does this entail; what does this mean?  To live as if professing Jesus, but then not follow any of the teachings of the faith, is to build one’s house upon sand.  This is an unstable foundation, and it is bound to fall.  Determining God’s will in very specific ways may require discernment, spiritual direction, much thought, research or study, and sometimes outside consultations; however, the determination of God’s will in more general ways should be fairly well-known by anyone within the faith.  As Catholic Christians, we know Christ’s teachings in the Bible, and we also have Sacred Tradition, and the Church’s teaching office of the Magisterium to guide us into all truth (John 16:13-15; cf. John 14:25-26).  For just as Christ said, He has not abandoned us (John 14:15-18).

And so, based upon what we have learned of God through the resources He has given us to know Him, we should have at least a basic understanding of His will (cf. Matt 7:21-23; cf. Matt 12:48-50; cf. Luke 11:28; cf. Rom 12:2; cf. Heb 5:11-14; cf. Heb 10:36).  And further than this, our desire to do His will in more specific ways within the context of our own lives should be the guiding compass that directs all our actions, pursuits, goals, and desires.  The teachings of Christ and our desire to do God’s will should be that firm bedrock upon which our fruitful lives are constructed, through baptism, with both integrity and grace.

As we know from 1 Corinthians 3, Christ is the foundation (1 Cor 3:11), and Christ is the rock (cf. 1 Cor 10:3-5; cf. Eph 2:19-22; cf. 1 Pet 2:1-10).  But historically, more than one or two builders have rejected this stone, as we know from the Psalm (Ps 118:22; cf. Ps 18:2-3; cf. Ps 89:27-30; cf. Isa 26:4; cf. Matt 21:42-44; cf. 1 Pet 2:6-8).  And so, we can certainly live lives and build unholy “temples” apart from God and Christ, despite what we would say.  And conversely, we can also act upon our beliefs without hypocrisy, and truly live out our faith and choose our actions based upon our desire to do God’s will, and based upon our beliefs.  There are plenty of examples of these two different types of living abounding in both camps. 

The question is, which life do we choose?  Do we take time to learn of Christ and of God’s will so that we can then act upon it (cf. Matt 12:48-50; cf. Luke 11:28), and build upon that rock?  For as sturdy as some structures seem, a day may come when they are revealed to be built upon the hypocrisy of shifting sand (cf. 1 Cor 3:9-17).  Let us take the time to lay a good foundation, and take care to build upon rock.  For if we proceed in this manner, we shall have full confidence (cf. 1 John 3:19-24) far ahead of time that Christ knows us (cf. Matt 7:21-23), for we know that we are only really alive by virtue of our living faith, and our loving relationship with God in Christ.  Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 18:1-4

¹ For the leader. Of David, the servant of the Lord, who sang to the Lord the words of this song after the Lord had rescued him from the clutches of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. ² He said:

I love you, Lord, my strength,
³     Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer,
My God, my rock of refuge,
    my shield, my saving horn,^[b] my stronghold!
⁴ Praised be the Lord, I exclaim!
    I have been delivered from my enemies.

2. Psalm 89:27-30

²⁷ He shall cry to me, ‘You are my father,
    my God, the Rock of my salvation!’
²⁸ I myself make him the firstborn,
    Most High^[h] over the kings of the earth.
²⁹ Forever I will maintain my mercy for him;
    my covenant with him stands firm.
³⁰ I will establish his dynasty forever,
    his throne as the days of the heavens.

3. Psalm 118:1, 8-9, 19-27

¹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    his mercy endures forever.

⁸ Better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to put one’s trust in mortals.
⁹ Better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to put one’s trust in princes.

¹⁹ Open the gates of righteousness;
    I will enter and thank the Lord.
²⁰ This is the Lord’s own gate,
    through it the righteous enter.
²¹ I thank you for you answered me;
    you have been my savior.
^22 [b]The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone.
²³ By the Lord has this been done;
    it is wonderful in our eyes.
²⁴ This is the day the Lord has made;
    let us rejoice in it and be glad.
²⁵ Lord, grant salvation!^[c]
    Lord, grant good fortune!

²⁶ Blessed is he
    who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
²⁷     The Lord is God and has enlightened us.
Join in procession with leafy branches
    up to the horns of the altar.

4. Isaiah 26:1-6

¹ On that day this song shall be sung in the land of Judah:

“A strong city^[b] have we;
    he sets up victory as our walls and ramparts.
² Open up the gates
    that a righteous nation may enter,
    one that keeps faith.
³ With firm purpose you maintain peace;
    in peace, because of our trust in you.”
⁴ Trust in the Lord forever!
    For the Lord is an eternal Rock.
⁵ He humbles those who dwell on high,
    the lofty city he brings down,
Brings it down to the ground,
    levels it to the dust.
⁶ The feet of the needy trample on it—
    the feet of the poor.

5. Matthew 7:21-27

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,^[j] but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ ²³ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you.^[k] Depart from me, you evildoers.’

^24 [l]“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. ²⁵ The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. ²⁶ And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

6. Matthew 12:46-40

⁴⁶ While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. ⁴⁷ [Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.”]^{[ag] 48} But he said in reply to the one who told him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹ And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

7. Matthew 21:33-46

³³ “Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,^[aa] put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. ³⁴ When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants^[ab] to the tenants to obtain his produce. ³⁵ But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. ³⁶ Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. ³⁷ Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ ^38 [ac]But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’ ^39 [ad]They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰ What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?” ⁴¹ They answered^[ae] him, “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times.” ^42 [af]Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the scriptures:

‘The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
    and it is wonderful in our eyes’?

^43 [ag]Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit. ⁴⁴ [^[ah] The one who falls on this stone will be dashed to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.]” ⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees^[ai] heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ And although they were attempting to arrest him, they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.

8. Luke 11:27-28

²⁷ While he was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” ²⁸ He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

9. John 14:15-31

¹⁵ “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate^[h] to be with you always, ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth,^[i] which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you. ¹⁸ I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.^{[j] 19} In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. ²⁰ On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. ²¹ Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” ²² Judas, not the Iscariot,^[k] said to him, “Master, [then] what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” ²³ Jesus answered and said to him, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. ²⁴ Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.

²⁵ “I have told you this while I am with you. ²⁶ The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that [I] told you. ²⁷ Peace^[l] I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. ^28 [m]You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. ²⁹ And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe. ³⁰ I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world^[n] is coming. He has no power over me, ³¹ but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me. Get up, let us go.

10. John 16:12-15

² “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. ^13 [e]But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. ¹⁴ He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵ Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.

11. 1 Corinthians 3:9-17

⁹ For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

^10 [f]According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But each one must be careful how he builds upon it, ¹¹ for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ. ¹² If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, ¹³ the work of each will come to light, for the Day^[g] will disclose it. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire [itself] will test the quality of each one’s work. ¹⁴ If the work stands that someone built upon the foundation, that person will receive a wage. ¹⁵ But if someone’s work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved,^[h] but only as through fire. ¹⁶ Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? ¹⁷ If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.

12. 1 Corinthians 10:1-5

^1 [a]I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, ² and all of them were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. ³ All ate the same spiritual food, ⁴ and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them,^[b] and the rock was the Christ. ⁵ Yet God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert.

13. Ephesians 2:19-22

¹⁹ So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, ²⁰ built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.^{[j] 21} Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; ²² in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

14. Hebrews 5:11-13

^11 [g]About this we have much to say, and it is difficult to explain, for you have become sluggish in hearing. ¹² Although you should be teachers by this time, you need to have someone teach you again the basic elements of the utterances of God. You need milk, [and] not solid food. ¹³ Everyone who lives on milk lacks experience of the word of righteousness, for he is a child. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties are trained by practice to discern good and evil.

15. Hebrews 10:36

³⁶ You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised.

16. 1 Peter 2:1-10

^1 [a]Rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, insincerity, envy, and all slander; ² like newborn infants, long for pure spiritual milk so that through it you may grow into salvation, ³ for you have tasted that the Lord is good.^{[b] 4} Come to him, a living stone,^[c] rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God, ⁵ and, like living stones, let yourselves be built^[d] into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For it says in scripture:

“Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion,
    a cornerstone, chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in it shall not be put to shame.”

⁷ Therefore, its value is for you who have faith, but for those without faith:

“The stone which the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone,”

⁸ and

“A stone that will make people stumble,
    and a rock that will make them fall.”

They stumble by disobeying the word, as is their destiny.

^9 [e]But 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.

¹⁰ Once you were “no people”
    but now you are God’s people;
you “had not received mercy”
    but now you have received mercy.

17. 1 John 3:19-24

¹⁹ [Now] this is how we shall know that we^[g] belong to the truth and reassure our hearts before him ²⁰ in whatever our hearts condemn, for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything. ²¹ Beloved, if [our] hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God ²² and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. ²³ And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us. ²⁴ Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit that he gave us.

Friday 12/2/22

Readings: Is 29:17-24; Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14; Mt 9:27-31

Title: “Do You Believe?”

In this passage from Matthew 9 (Matt 9:27-31) about the healing of two blind men, what is most peculiar is not the healing itself, but the details by which the healing proceeds.  Jesus does not just heal them, in a showy display of power.  He first says to them, “‘Do you believe that I can do this?’” (Matt 9:28).  This helps to make it clear that what ensues is not the product of God’s miracle alone; it also involves the participation of the one receiving the healing (cf. Matt 9:22; cf. Mark 5:34; cf. Luke 7:50; cf. Luke 17:19).  The fact that Jesus can make the blind men see is indeed significant; however, this alone is not enough for mankind.  For many were alive in Jesus’ day who would have witnessed this sort of healing and who nevertheless refused to believe in Him (cf. Matt 21:31-32; cf. John 5:36-40; cf. John 10:22-42).  The problem Jesus confronted was certainly not His inability to perform miracles; it was humankind’s inability to believe in Him despite the many miracles He performed.

And so, while Jesus is indeed willing to heal the blind men, His will is not what is in question.  Rather, it is the willingness of humankind to believe that is in question, and Jesus makes this concern very explicit in His preliminary question, “‘Do you believe that I can do this?’” (Matt 9:28; cf. John 11:25-26).  And we would do well to ask this same question of ourselves.  Do we believe in Jesus?  Do we have full confidence in the power of God, the authority of Jesus, and the supremacy of grace over human nature?  Because this belief is necessary, and Jesus Himself has let us know just how important it is.  As He says in John 20: “‘Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed’” (John 20:29). 

The ability of God to cure human ailments and provide salvation is not lacking.  It is only ever our ability to believe in Him that is lacking or underdeveloped.  But, we are never just left in a state of helplessness, lacking, or unbelief (cf. Matt 8:26; cf. Matt 17:14-21; cf. Mark 9:23-24).  What we ourselves can do is practice our worship and reinforce our habits of belief, in order to establish and strengthen our tendency of faith, and fortify the inclination of belief.  For we may all have the rudiments of some form of faith, but how often we rely on it, practice it, think about it and meditate on it, and call it to mind will have a direct impact upon how strong it is, how useful it can be to us, and how it can really be employed by us to bring about change in our own lives. 

As Jesus says, “‘Let it be done for you according to your faith’” (Matt 9:29; cf. Rom 12:3-8).  We can use our faith to welcome Jesus into our lives, and see what He can and will do with us through grace if only we will believe.  And if our belief is not strong, whose fault is that?  For if we do not exercise a habit, like a muscle, should we not expect it to be weak?  But if we place ourselves in the habit of relying on our faith and thinking about it regularly, we will find that, just as with any practice, it grows stronger and stronger over time.  The practice of living life as an act of worship (cf. Rom 12:1-2) is an art, and it takes time and practice to develop skill and comfort with this act.  By our prayer lives we can reinforce our tendency to believe, and by this faith we can welcome Jesus into our lives, for even though we do not see Him, we do believe (cf. John 20:29).  Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14

¹ Of David.

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
    whom should I fear?
The Lord is my life’s refuge;
    of whom should I be afraid?

⁴ One thing I ask of the Lord;
    this I seek:
To dwell in the Lord’s house
    all the days of my life,
To gaze on the Lord’s beauty,
    to visit his temple.

¹³ I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness
    in the land of the living.^[d]
14 Wait for the Lord, take courage;
    be stouthearted, wait for the Lord!

2. Isaiah 29:17-24

¹⁷ Surely, in a very little while,
    Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard,
    and the orchard be considered a forest!
¹⁸ On that day the deaf shall hear
    the words of a scroll;
And out of gloom and darkness,
    the eyes of the blind shall see.
¹⁹ The lowly shall again find joy in the Lord,
    the poorest rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
²⁰ For the tyrant shall be no more,
    the scoffer shall cease to be;
All who are ready for evil shall be cut off,
²¹     those who condemn with a mere word,
Who ensnare the defender at the gate,
    and leave the just with an empty claim.
²² Therefore thus says the Lord,
    the God of the house of Jacob,
    who redeemed Abraham:^[f]
No longer shall Jacob be ashamed,
    no longer shall his face grow pale.
²³ For when his children see
    the work of my hands in his midst,
They shall sanctify my name;
    they shall sanctify the Holy One of Jacob,
    be in awe of the God of Israel.
²⁴ Those who err in spirit shall acquire understanding,
    those who find fault shall receive instruction.

3. Matthew 8:23-27

^23 [q]He got into a boat and his disciples followed him. ²⁴ Suddenly a violent storm^[r] came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep. ²⁵ They came and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us!^[s] We are perishing!” ²⁶ He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?”^[t] Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm. ²⁷ The men were amazed and said, “What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?”

4. Matthew 9:18-22, 27-31

^18 [m]While he was saying these things to them, an official^[n] came forward, knelt down before him, and said, “My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.” ¹⁹ Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples. ²⁰ A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel^[o] on his cloak. ²¹ She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.” ²² Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” And from that hour the woman was cured.

²⁷ And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed [him], crying out, “Son of David,^[r] have pity on us!” ²⁸ When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they said to him. ²⁹ Then he touched their eyes and said, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” ³⁰ And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” ³¹ But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.

5. Matthew 17:14-21

¹⁴ When they came to the crowd a man approached, knelt down before him, ¹⁵ and said, “Lord, have pity on my son, for he is a lunatic^[n] and suffers severely; often he falls into fire, and often into water. ¹⁶ I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.” ¹⁷ Jesus said in reply, “O faithless and perverse^[o] generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring him here to me.” ¹⁸ Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him,^[p] and from that hour the boy was cured. ¹⁹ Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” ^20 [q]He said to them, “Because of your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” [²¹ ]

6. Matthew 21:28-32

²⁸ “What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ He said in reply, ‘I will not,’ but afterwards he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, ‘Yes, sir,’ but did not go. ^31 [x]Which of the two did his father’s will?” They answered, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. ^32 [y]When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him.

7. Mark 5:25-34

²⁵ There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years. ²⁶ She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse. ²⁷ She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. ^28 [i]She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” ²⁹ Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. ³⁰ Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?” ³¹ But his disciples said to him, “You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, ‘Who touched me?’” ³² And he looked around to see who had done it. ³³ The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth. ³⁴ He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”

8. Mark 9:14-29

¹⁴ When they came to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them. ¹⁵ Immediately on seeing him, the whole crowd was utterly amazed. They ran up to him and greeted him. ¹⁶ He asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” ¹⁷ Someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I have brought to you my son possessed by a mute spirit. ¹⁸ Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to do so.” ¹⁹ He said to them in reply, “O faithless generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring him to me.” ²⁰ They brought the boy to him. And when he saw him, the spirit immediately threw the boy into convulsions. As he fell to the ground, he began to roll around and foam at the mouth. ²¹ Then he questioned his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” He replied, “Since childhood. ²² It has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” ²³ Jesus said to him, “‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.” ²⁴ Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!” ²⁵ Jesus, on seeing a crowd rapidly gathering, rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it, “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you: come out of him and never enter him again!” ²⁶ Shouting and throwing the boy into convulsions, it came out. He became like a corpse, which caused many to say, “He is dead!” ²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up. ²⁸ When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private, “Why could we not drive it out?” ^29 [g]He said to them, “This kind can only come out through prayer.”

9. Luke 7:44-50

⁴⁴ Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You did not give me a kiss, but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered. ⁴⁶ You did not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with ointment. ⁴⁷ So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love.^[m] But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” ⁴⁸ He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” ⁴⁹ The others at table said to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” ⁵⁰ But he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

10. Luke 17:11-19

¹¹ As he continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.^{[d] 12} As he was entering a village, ten lepers met [him]. They stood at a distance from him ¹³ and raised their voice, saying, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” ¹⁴ And when he saw them, he said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.”^[e] As they were going they were cleansed. ¹⁵ And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; ¹⁶ and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. ¹⁷ Jesus said in reply, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸ Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” ¹⁹ Then he said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”

11. John 5:31-40

³¹ “If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony cannot be verified. ³² But there is another^[l] who testifies on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true. ³³ You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth. ³⁴ I do not accept testimony from a human being, but I say this so that you may be saved. ³⁵ He was a burning and shining lamp,^[m] and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. ³⁶ But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. ³⁷ Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form, ³⁸ and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent. ³⁹ You search^[n] the scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. ⁴⁰ But you do not want to come to me to have life.

12. John 10:22-42

²² The feast of the Dedication^[i] was then taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter. ^23 [j]And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. ²⁴ So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense?^[k] If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” ²⁵ Jesus answered them, “I told you^[l] and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me. ²⁶ But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,^[m] and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. ^30 [n]The Father and I are one.”

³¹ The Jews again picked up rocks to stone him. ³² Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?” ³³ The Jews answered him, “We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God.” ^34 [o]Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’? ³⁵ If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came, and scripture cannot be set aside, ³⁶ can you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated^[p] and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? ³⁷ If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me; ³⁸ but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize [and understand] that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” ³⁹ [Then] they tried again to arrest him; but he escaped from their power.

⁴⁰ He went back across the Jordan to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained. ⁴¹ Many came to him and said, “John performed no sign,^[q] but everything John said about this man was true.” ⁴² And many there began to believe in him.

13. John 11:21-27

²¹ Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² [But] even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” ²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” ²⁴ Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” ^27 [f]She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”

14. John 20:24-29

²⁴ Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” ²⁶ Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” ^28 [q]Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” ^29 [r]Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

15. Romans 12:1-8

^1 [b]I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. ² Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.

³ For by the grace given to me I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than one ought to think, but to think soberly, each according to the measure of faith that God has apportioned. ⁴ For as in one body we have many parts, and all the parts do not have the same function, ⁵ so we, though many, are one body in Christ^[c] and individually parts of one another. ⁶ Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them:^[d] if prophecy, in proportion to the faith; ⁷ if ministry, in ministering; if one is a teacher, in teaching; ⁸ if one exhorts, in exhortation; if one contributes, in generosity; if one is over others,^[e] with diligence; if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Saturday 12/3/22

Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, Priest

Readings: Is 30:19-21, 23-26; Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6; Mt 9:35-10:1, 5a, 6-8

Title: “Without Cost You Are to Give”

In this passage from Matthew (Matt 9:35-10:1, 5a, 6-8), we hear about Jesus in His public ministry.  There are several main components mentioned here, which we would do well to dwell upon and meditate over.  First, we hear this description of Jesus: “At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt 9:36).  This is significant.  The mention of Jesus’ heart being “moved with pity” (Matt 9:36) describes the compassion of God, and Jesus’ motivation in performing certain miracles (Matt 14:14; Matt 15:32; Matt 20:34; cf. Matt 18:37; cf. Luke 15:20) and acts of intercession with humankind.    

This description of being moved with pity as a primary motivating factor for God’s action among humankind is necessary for us to understand if we wish to understand God’s nature, God’s purpose, and Jesus’ role as God among us.  This pity, compassion, mercy, or love is the way God expresses Himself among us, and it is usually the reason for His actions among us.  Implied by this understanding of God’s motivation, is that this should be our motivation and driving force too (cf. 1 John 3:11-18; cf. 1 John 4:7-21).  The better we understand God, the better we can emulate Him (cf. 1 Cor 11:1; cf. Eph 5:1-2), and bring His power and love into our lives, and the lives of those around us.  And this is a constitutive component of our mission as Christians, and being sent into the world. 

Next in this passage from Matthew (Matt 9:35-10:1, 5a, 6-8), we hear mention of a harvest (Matt 9:37-38), referencing the reaping of souls.  This is significant imagery, and it is also how the end of days is described in the Book of Revelation (Rev 14:14-20).  We must take care to ensure that we work to reap good fruit in our lives (cf. Matt 7:15-20; cf. Matt 13:33-37; cf. Gal 6:7-10), and work to be the good fruit (cf. Matt 13:18-23, 36-43; cf. John 4:35-38), which will be harvested at the end of the age.  This is a common analogy used by Jesus to describe the reaping of souls (Matt 13:36-43), and so it would benefit us to understand the final judgment in this way too.  For would we not like to understand this concept the same way as Jesus?  This is a part of imitating Him (cf. 1 Cor 11:1; cf. Eph 5:1-2). 

Next, we hear of Jesus calling His Twelve to Him, and giving them authority to do three main things: proclaim the Kingdom, drive out unclean spirits, and cure every disease and illness (Matt 10:1, 5a, 6-8).  These are the fundamental components of Jesus’ own ministry, and likewise, when He sends out the Twelve, this is what He instructs them to do also.  And the most crucial component is this last line: “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give” (Matt 10:8).  This brings us back to the way in which Jesus was motivated to act, out of mercy or pity, at the beginning of this passage (Matt 9:36).  He is moved to works of God and mercy because His heart is moved with pity.  This movement of the heart always leads to a movement of the body in the execution of good deeds.   

God Himself gives freely, for God only ever gives freely, for all things are His.  It is without cost that He gives, and purely out of love and goodness that He acts and gives.  This is a primary feature of His divine love: it is utterly gratuitous, and utterly free.  We too, are called to love and give of ourselves (cf. Matt 10:39-42; cf. Matt 16:24-28; cf. Phil 2:6-8) likewise.  Without cost, without expectation of return, and by the love which was given freely to us (cf. 1 John 3:11-18; cf. 1 John 4:7-21), when the Sacred Heart of Jesus was first “moved with pity” (Matt 9:36; cf. Matt 14:14; cf. Matt 15:32; cf. Matt 18:37; cf. Matt 20:34).  This is how we love by the divine mercy of God, and this is what that mercy is for—not to keep for ourselves, but to motivate us to give, and to give freely.  Amen. 

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 147:1-6
¹ Hallelujah!

How good to sing praise to our God;
    how pleasant to give fitting praise.
² The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem,
    and gathers the dispersed of Israel,
³ Healing the brokenhearted,
    and binding up their wounds.
⁴ He numbers the stars,
    and gives to all of them their names.
⁵ Great is our Lord, vast in power,
    with wisdom beyond measure.
⁶ The Lord gives aid to the poor,
    but casts the wicked to the ground.

2. Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26

¹⁹ Yes, people of Zion, dwelling in Jerusalem,
    you shall no longer weep;
He will be most gracious to you when you cry out;
    as soon as he hears he will answer you.
²⁰ The Lord will give you bread in adversity
    and water in affliction.
No longer will your Teacher^[h] hide himself,
    but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher,
²¹ And your ears shall hear a word behind you:
    “This is the way; walk in it,”
    when you would turn to the right or the left.
²³ He will give rain for the seed
    you sow in the ground,
And the bread that the soil produces
    will be rich and abundant.
On that day your cattle will graze
    in broad meadows;
²⁴ The oxen and the donkeys that till the ground
    will eat silage tossed to them
    with shovel and pitchfork.
²⁵ Upon every high mountain and lofty hill
    there will be streams of running water.
On the day of the great slaughter,
    when the towers fall,
²⁶ The light of the moon will be like the light of the sun,
    and the light of the sun will be seven times greater,
    like the light of seven days,
On the day the Lord binds up the wounds of his people
    and heals the bruises left by his blows.

3. Matthew 7:15-20

¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ So by their fruits you will know them.

4. Matthew 9:35-10:1, 5-8

^35 [u]Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. ³⁶ At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned,^[v] like sheep without a shepherd. ^37 [w]Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; ³⁸ so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

^1 [a]Then he summoned his twelve disciples^[b] and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.

⁵ Jesus sent out these twelve^[d] after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. ⁶ Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ ^8 [e]Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.

5. Matthew 10:37-42

³⁷ “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸ and whoever does not take up his cross^[o] and follow after me is not worthy of me. ^39 [p]Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

⁴⁰ “Whoever receives you receives me,^[q] and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. ^41 [r]Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man’s reward. ⁴² And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple—amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”

6. Matthew 12:33-37

³³ “Either declare^[w] the tree good and its fruit is good, or declare the tree rotten and its fruit is rotten, for a tree is known by its fruit. ^34 [x]You brood of vipers, how can you say good things when you are evil? For from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks. ³⁵ A good person brings forth good out of a store of goodness, but an evil person brings forth evil out of a store of evil. ^36 [y]I tell you, on the day of judgment people will render an account for every careless word they speak. ³⁷ By your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

7. Matthew 13:18-23, 36-43

¹⁸ “Hear then the parable of the sower. ¹⁹ The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. ²⁰ The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. ²¹ But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. ²² The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. ²³ But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

³⁶ Then, dismissing the crowds,^[q] he went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” ^37 [r]He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, ³⁸ the field is the world,^[s] the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age,^[t] and the harvesters are angels. ⁴⁰ Just as weeds are collected and burned [up] with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom^[u] all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. ⁴² They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. ^43 [v]Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.

8. Matthew 14:13-21

¹³ When Jesus heard of it, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. ¹⁴ When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. ¹⁵ When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” ¹⁶ [Jesus] said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” ¹⁷ But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” ¹⁸ Then he said, “Bring them here to me,” ¹⁹ and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking^[e] the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. ²⁰ They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over^[f]—twelve wicker baskets full. ²¹ Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.

9. Matthew 15:32-39

³² 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.” ³³ The disciples said to him, “Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?” ³⁴ Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” “Seven,” they replied, “and a few fish.” ³⁵ He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. ³⁶ Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks,^[n] broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. ³⁷ They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over—seven baskets full. ³⁸ Those who ate were four thousand men, not counting women and children. ³⁹ And when he had dismissed the crowds, he got into the boat and came to the district of Magadan.

10. Matthew 16:24-28

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,^[t] take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.^{[u] 26} What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? ^27 [v]For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct. ^28 [w]Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

11. Matthew 18:21-35

²¹ Then Peter approaching asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” ^22 [s]Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. ²³ That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. ^24 [t]When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. ²⁵ Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. ^26 [u]At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’ ²⁷ Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. ²⁸ When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount.^[v] He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ ²⁹ Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ ³⁰ But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt. ³¹ Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. ³² His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. ³³ Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ ³⁴ Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt.^{[w] 35 [x]}So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”

12. Matthew 20:34

²⁹ As they left Jericho, a great crowd followed him. ³⁰ Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “[Lord,]^[m] Son of David, have pity on us!” ³¹ The crowd warned them to be silent, but they called out all the more, “Lord, Son of David, have pity on us!” ³² Jesus stopped and called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” ³³ They answered him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” ³⁴ Moved with pity, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight, and followed him.

13. Luke 15:11-32

¹¹ Then he said, “A man had two sons, ¹² and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them. ¹³ After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. ¹⁴ When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. ¹⁵ So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. ¹⁶ And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. ¹⁷ Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. ¹⁸ I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’ ²⁰ So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. ²¹ His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ ²² But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, ²⁴ because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began. ²⁵ Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. ²⁶ He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. ²⁷ The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. ³⁰ But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ ³¹ He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. ³² But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”

14. John 4:27-38

²⁷ At that moment his disciples returned, and were amazed that he was talking with a woman,^[l] but still no one said, “What are you looking for?” or “Why are you talking with her?” ²⁸ The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, ²⁹ “Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Messiah?” ³⁰ They went out of the town and came to him. ³¹ Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat.” ³² But he said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” ³³ So the disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought him something to eat?” ³⁴ Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work. ³⁵ Do you not say, ‘In four months^[m] the harvest will be here’? I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest. ³⁶ The reaper is already^[n] receiving his payment and gathering crops for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. ³⁷ For here the saying is verified that ‘One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸ I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the work, and you are sharing the fruits of their work.”

15. 1 Corinthians 11:1

¹ Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

16. Galatians 6:6-10

⁶ One who is being instructed in the word should share all good things with his instructor.^{[d] 7} Make no mistake: God is not mocked, for a person will reap only what he sows, ⁸ because the one who sows for his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows for the spirit will reap eternal life from the spirit. ⁹ Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up. ¹⁰ So then, while we have the opportunity, let us do good to all, but especially to those who belong to the family of the faith.

17. Ephesians 5:1-5

¹ So be imitators of God,^[a] as beloved children, ² and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma. ³ Immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is fitting among holy ones, ⁴ no obscenity or silly or suggestive talk, which is out of place, but instead, thanksgiving. ⁵ Be sure of this, that no immoral or impure or greedy person, that is, an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

18. Philippians 2:6-11

⁶ Who,^[c] though he was in the form of God,
    did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.^[d]
7     Rather, he emptied himself,
    taking the form of a slave,
    coming in human likeness;^[e]
    and found human in appearance,
⁸     he humbled himself,
        becoming obedient to death,
        even death on a cross.^[f]
9 Because of this, God greatly exalted him
    and bestowed on him the name^[g]
    that is above every name,
¹⁰     that at the name of Jesus
    every knee should bend,^[h]
    of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹     and every tongue confess that
    Jesus Christ is Lord,^[i]
    to the glory of God the Father.

19. 1 John 3:11-18

^11 [e]For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another, ¹² unlike Cain who belonged to the evil one and slaughtered his brother. Why did he slaughter him? Because his own works were evil, and those of his brother righteous. ¹³ Do not be amazed, [then,] brothers, if the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. Whoever does not love remains in death. ¹⁵ Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. ¹⁶ The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. ¹⁷ If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? ¹⁸ Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.

20. 1 John 4:7-21

^7 [c]Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹ In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. ¹⁰ In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.

^13 [d]This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. ¹⁵ Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. ¹⁶ We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.

God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. ¹⁷ In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. ¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God^[e] whom he has not seen. ²¹ This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

21. Revelation 14:14-20

¹⁴ Then I looked and there was a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud one who looked like a son of man, with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. ¹⁵ Another angel came out of the temple, crying out in a loud voice to the one sitting on the cloud, “Use your sickle and reap the harvest, for the time to reap has come, because the earth’s harvest is fully ripe.” ¹⁶ So the one who was sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

¹⁷ Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven who also had a sharp sickle. ¹⁸ Then another angel [came] from the altar,^[l] [who] was in charge of the fire, and cried out in a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle and cut the clusters from the earth’s vines, for its grapes are ripe.” ¹⁹ So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and cut the earth’s vintage. He threw it into the great wine press of God’s fury. ²⁰ The wine press was trodden outside the city and blood poured out of the wine press to the height of a horse’s bridle for two hundred miles.

Sunday 12/4/22

Readings: Is 11:1-10; Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17; Rom 15:4-9; Mt 3:1-12

Title: “The One Who Is Coming after Me Is Mightier Than I”

The importance of St. John the Baptist cannot be underscored enough.  For as Jesus had said, “he is Elijah” (Matt 11:14), and, “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Matt 11:11).  In fact, as we acknowledge our Catholic saints, John is listed second, directly after the Blessed Mother, and even before Saint Joseph.  In acknowledging the long tradition of veneration for this important saint, we can strive to see through the eyes of Jesus, and the eyes of our Mother Church, to see what it is about this saint that is so worthy of our veneration.

We may begin with this passage from Matthew 11 (Matt 11:7-15), to see Jesus’ proclamation regarding John the Baptist.  For His statement that, “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Matt 11:11), is the primary root of this veneration.  But in then turning to other sources of scriptural evidence, this passage from Matthew 3 (Matt 3:1-12) is perhaps most elucidating.  This passage introduces us to this mysterious prophetic figure, as well as sums up his mission concisely.  What we do know of John from this passage is that he identified with “the voice” from Isaiah 40 (Isa 40:3-5), he baptized with water (cf. Acts 19:1-5) as people acknowledged their sins, he urged repentance, and he made straight the path for the coming Messiah, who would “baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire” (Matt 3:11), whom he also acknowledged to be Jesus.

There are several key features in the description of John the Baptist, and we can find additional information to round out the illustration of John the Baptist in John 1 (John 1:6-37), John 3 (John 3:22-30), John 5 (John 5:31-40), and Luke 3 (Luke 3:1-22).  We can furthermore find information on His death and martyrdom in Mark 6 (Mark 6:17-29; cf. Matt 14:3-12), and, of course, we can find his infancy narrative and a description of his birth in Luke 1 (Luke 1:5-25, 57-80).  John was the last of the prophets to foretell of the Christ, because Christ actually came within his own lifetime.  John offers us a pristine image of what our own relation to Jesus should be like, as we must pave the way for Jesus in our lives and hearts, just like John did.  And as was foretold of John in Malachi 3: “Now I am sending to you Elijah the prophet, Before the day of the LORD comes, the great and terrible day; He will turn the heart of fathers to their sons, and the heart of sons to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the land with utter destruction” (Mal 3:23-24; cf. Mal 3:1-5).

What is perhaps most characteristic about John is his preaching of repentance.  We can find a more exhaustive list of his specific instructions in Luke 3 (Luke 3:10-14).  But the main point was that he did not shy away from his prophetic mission to turn the hearts of God’s children back to the Father, for as John had said, “For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones” (Matt 3:9).  As God’s children (cf. John 1:6-19), we are expected to repent of all evil, and to bring forth good works and “good fruit as evidence of your repentance” (Matt 3:8).  He could be said to have had a zero-tolerance policy for hypocrisy, as he wished for God’s children to prove themselves as such by acting like it.

Another unusual thing about John was how he baptized with water.  This perhaps is a prefiguration of Jesus’ baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire, an allusion to how ceremonial cleansing was meant to be internalized, as an image of the cleaning of the human soul (cf. Matt 23:25-26), and a prophetic sort of participation in the baptism of Christ with the Holy Spirit, alluding by action to the things that were to come.  But perhaps the most memorable description of John the Baptist is in Jesus’ words from John 5, as Jesus says, “He was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light” (John 5:35). 

And we would do well to think, to pray, to live, and to do as John has done, as in His own words he confesses of Jesus in John 3, “John answered and said, ‘No one can receive anything except what has been given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said [that] I am not the Messiah, but that I was sent before him. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease’” (John 3:27-30, emphasis added).  Let us sacrifice our own selfishness, so that the presence of Jesus can increase in our lives (cf. Matt 10:37-39; cf. John 16:24-28; cf. Phil 2:5-11).  Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17

¹ Of Solomon.

² O God, give your judgment to the king;
    your justice to the king’s son;^[b]
That he may govern your people with justice,
    your oppressed with right judgment,

⁷ That abundance may flourish in his days,
    great bounty, till the moon be no more.

^8 [c]May he rule from sea to sea,
    from the river to the ends of the earth.
¹² For he rescues the poor when they cry out,
    the oppressed who have no one to help.
¹³ He shows pity to the needy and the poor
    and saves the lives of the poor.

¹⁷ May his name be forever;
    as long as the sun, may his name endure.
May the tribes of the earth give blessings with his name;^[g]
    may all the nations regard him as favored.

2. Isaiah 11:1-10

¹ But a shoot shall sprout from the stump^[c] of Jesse,
    and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
^2 [d]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,
³     and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.
Not by appearance shall he judge,
    nor by hearsay shall he decide,
⁴ But he shall judge the poor with justice,
    and decide fairly for the land’s afflicted.
He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,
    and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
⁵ Justice shall be the band around his waist,
    and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.
^6 [e]Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
    and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat;
The calf and the young lion shall browse together,
    with a little child to guide them.
⁷ The cow and the bear shall graze,
    together their young shall lie down;
    the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
⁸ The baby shall play by the viper’s den,
    and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.
⁹ They shall not harm or destroy on all my holy mountain;
    for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord,
    as water covers the sea.

¹⁰     On that day,
The root of Jesse,
    set up as a signal for the peoples—
Him the nations will seek out;
    his dwelling shall be glorious.

3. Isaiah 40:3-5

³     A voice proclaims:^[d]
In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord!
    Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
⁴ Every valley shall be lifted up,
    every mountain and hill made low;
The rugged land shall be a plain,
    the rough country, a broad valley.
⁵ Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
    and all flesh shall see it together;
    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

4. Malachi 3:1-5, 22-24

¹ Now I am sending my messenger—
    he will prepare the way before me;^[a]
And the lord whom you seek will come suddenly to his temple;
The messenger of the covenant whom you desire—
    see, he is coming! says the Lord of hosts.
² But who can endure the day of his coming?
    Who can stand firm when he appears?
For he will be like a refiner’s fire,
    like fullers’ lye.
³ He will sit refining and purifying silver,
    and he will purify the Levites,
Refining them like gold or silver,
    that they may bring offerings to the Lord in righteousness.
⁴ Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem
    will please the Lord,
    as in ancient days, as in years gone by.
⁵ I will draw near to you for judgment,
    and I will be swift to bear witness
Against sorcerers, adulterers, and perjurers,
    those who deprive a laborer of wages,
Oppress a widow or an orphan,
    or turn aside a resident alien,
    without fearing me, says the Lord of hosts.

²² Remember the law of Moses my servant,
    whom I charged at Horeb
With statutes and ordinances
    for all Israel.
²³ Now I am sending to you
    Elijah^[g] the prophet,
Before the day of the Lord comes,
    the great and terrible day;
²⁴ He will turn the heart of fathers to their sons,
    and the heart of sons to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike
    the land with utter destruction.

5. Matthew 3:1-12

¹ In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea^{[b] 2} [and] saying, “Repent,^[c] for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” ^3 [d]It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:

“A voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
    make straight his paths.’”

^4 [e]John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him ⁶ and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.

⁷ When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees^[g] coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. ⁹ And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. ¹⁰ Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹ I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire.^{[h] 12 [i]}His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

6. Matthew 10:37-39

³⁷ “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸ and whoever does not take up his cross^[o] and follow after me is not worthy of me. ^39 [p]Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

7. Matthew 11:7-15

⁷ As they were going off, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? ⁸ Then what did you go out to see? Someone dressed in fine clothing? Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces. ⁹ Then why did you go out? To see a prophet?^[g] Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is the one about whom it is written:

‘Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
    he will prepare your way before you.’

¹¹ Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.^{[h] 12} From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence,^[i] and the violent are taking it by force. ¹³ All the prophets and the law^[j] prophesied up to the time of John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is to come. ¹⁵ Whoever has ears ought to hear.

8. Matthew 14:2-12

³ Now Herod had arrested John, bound [him], and put him in prison on account of Herodias,^[c] the wife of his brother Philip, ⁴ for John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁵ Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the people, for they regarded him as a prophet. ⁶ But at a birthday celebration for Herod, the daughter of Herodias performed a dance before the guests and delighted Herod ⁷ so much that he swore to give her whatever she might ask for. ⁸ Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” ⁹ The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests who were present, he ordered that it be given, ¹⁰ and he had John beheaded in the prison. ¹¹ His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. ¹² His disciples came and took away the corpse and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.

9. Matthew 16:24-28

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,^[t] take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.^{[u] 26} What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? ^27 [v]For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct. ^28 [w]Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

10. Matthew 23:25-26

^25 [n]“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean.

11. Mark 6:17-29

¹⁷ Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. ¹⁸ John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹ Herodias^[m] harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. ²⁰ Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him. ²¹ She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee. ²² Herodias’s own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.” ²³ He even swore [many things] to her, “I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom.” ²⁴ She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the Baptist.” ²⁵ The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request, “I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” ²⁶ The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her. ²⁷ So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison. ²⁸ He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother. ²⁹ When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

12. Luke 1:5-25, 57-80

⁵ In the days of Herod, King of Judea,^[c] there was a priest named Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah; his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ Both were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. ⁷ But they had no child,^[d] because Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years. ⁸ Once when he was serving as priest in his division’s turn before God, ⁹ according to the practice of the priestly service, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense. ¹⁰ Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense offering, ¹¹ the angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of incense. ¹² Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid,^[e] Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of [the] Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink.^[f] He will be filled with the holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, ¹⁶ and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah^[g] to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.” ¹⁸ Then Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” ¹⁹ And the angel said to him in reply, “I am Gabriel,^[h] who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. ²⁰ But now you will be speechless and unable to talk^[i] until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”

²¹ Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary. ²² But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He was gesturing to them but remained mute. ²³ Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home. ²⁴ After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she went into seclusion for five months, saying, ²⁵ “So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others.”

⁵⁷ When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. ^59 [r]When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, ⁶⁰ but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.” ⁶¹ But they answered her, “There is no one among your relatives who has this name.” ⁶² So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. ⁶³ He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. ⁶⁴ Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. ⁶⁵ Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶ All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.

⁶⁷ Then Zechariah his father, filled with the holy Spirit, prophesied, saying:

^68 [s]“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    for he has visited and brought redemption to his people.
^69 [t]He has raised up a horn for our salvation
    within the house of David his servant,
⁷⁰ even as he promised through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old:
⁷¹     salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,
⁷² to show mercy to our fathers
    and to be mindful of his holy covenant
⁷³ and of the oath he swore to Abraham our father,
    and to grant us that, ⁷⁴ rescued from the hand of enemies,
without fear we might worship him ⁷⁵ in holiness and righteousness
    before him all our days.
⁷⁶ And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High,
    for you will go before the Lord^[u] to prepare his ways,
⁷⁷ to give his people knowledge of salvation
    through the forgiveness of their sins,
⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God
    by which the daybreak from on high^[v] will visit us
⁷⁹ to shine on those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow,
    to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

⁸⁰ The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.

13. Luke 3:1-22

¹ In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,^[b] when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, ² during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,^[c] the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert. ^3 [d]He went throughout [the] whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, ^4 [e]as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one crying out in the desert:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
    make straight his paths.
⁵ Every valley shall be filled
    and every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The winding roads shall be made straight,
    and the rough ways made smooth,
⁶ and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

⁷ He said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce good fruits as evidence of your repentance; and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. ⁹ Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰ And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” ¹¹ He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two tunics should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” ¹² Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” ¹³ He answered them, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.” ¹⁴ Soldiers also asked him, “And what is it that we should do?” He told them, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.”

¹⁵ Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah. ^16 [f]John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing fan^[g] is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” ¹⁸ Exhorting them in many other ways, he preached good news to the people. ^19 [h]Now Herod the tetrarch, who had been censured by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil deeds Herod had committed, ²⁰ added still another to these by [also] putting John in prison.

²¹ After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying,^[j] heaven was opened ^22 [k]and the holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

14. John 1:6-37

^6 [e]A man named John was sent from God. ⁷ He came for testimony,^[f] to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. ⁸ He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. ⁹ The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

¹⁰ He was in the world,
    and the world came to be through him,
    but the world did not know him.
¹¹ He came to what was his own,
    but his own people^[g] did not accept him.

¹² But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, ^13 [h]who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God.

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh^[i]
    and made his dwelling among us,
    and we saw his glory,
    the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
    full of grace and truth.

^15 [j]John testified to him and cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’” ¹⁶ From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace,^{[k] 17} because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God,^[l] who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.

^19 [m]And this is the testimony of John. When the Jews^[n] from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites [to him] to ask him, “Who are you?” ^20 [o]he admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, “I am not the Messiah.” ²¹ So they asked him, “What are you then? Are you Elijah?”^[p] And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” ²² So they said to him, “Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?” ²³ He said:

“I am ‘the voice of one crying out in the desert,
“Make straight the way of the Lord,”’

as Isaiah the prophet said.” ²⁴ Some Pharisees^[r] were also sent. ²⁵ They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet?” ²⁶ John answered them, “I baptize with water;^[s] but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, ²⁷ the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.” ²⁸ This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,^[t] where John was baptizing.

²⁹ The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God,^[u] who takes away the sin of the world. ^30 [v]He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ ³¹ I did not know him,^[w] but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.” ³² John testified further, saying, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove^[x] from the sky and remain upon him. ³³ I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.’ ^34 [y]Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”

³⁵ The next day John was there again with two of his disciples, ³⁶ and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.”^{[z] 37} The two disciples^[aa] heard what he said and followed Jesus.

15. John 3:22-30

^22 [j]After this, Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea, where he spent some time with them baptizing. ²³ John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim,^[k] because there was an abundance of water there, and people came to be baptized, ^24 [l]for John had not yet been imprisoned. ²⁵ Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew^[m] about ceremonial washings. ²⁶ So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.” ²⁷ John answered and said, “No one can receive anything except what has been given him from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves can testify that I said [that] I am not the Messiah, but that I was sent before him. ²⁹ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man,^[n] who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. ³⁰ He must increase; I must decrease”

16. John 5:31-40

³¹ “If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony cannot be verified. ³² But there is another^[l] who testifies on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true. ³³ You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth. ³⁴ I do not accept testimony from a human being, but I say this so that you may be saved. ³⁵ He was a burning and shining lamp,^[m] and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. ³⁶ But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. ³⁷ Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form, ³⁸ and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent. ³⁹ You search^[n] the scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. ⁴⁰ But you do not want to come to me to have life.

17. Acts 19:1-5

^1 [a]While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the country and came [down] to Ephesus where he found some disciples. ² He said to them, “Did you receive the holy Spirit when you became believers?” They answered him, “We have never even heard that there is a holy Spirit.” ³ He said, “How were you baptized?” They replied, “With the baptism of John.” ⁴ Paul then said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” ⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And when Paul laid [his] hands on them, the holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. ⁷ Altogether there were about twelve men.

18. Romans 15:4-9

⁴ For whatever was written previously was written for our instruction, that by endurance and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. ⁵ May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony^[b] with one another, in keeping with Christ Jesus, ⁶ that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷ Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you, for the glory of God. ⁸ For I say that Christ became a minister of the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, to confirm the promises to the patriarchs, ⁹ but so that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written:

“Therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles
    and sing praises to your name.”

19. Philippians 2:5-11

⁵ Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus,

⁶ Who,^[c] though he was in the form of God,
    did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.^[d]
7     Rather, he emptied himself,
    taking the form of a slave,
    coming in human likeness;^[e]
    and found human in appearance,
⁸     he humbled himself,
        becoming obedient to death,
        even death on a cross.^[f]
9 Because of this, God greatly exalted him
    and bestowed on him the name^[g]
    that is above every name,
¹⁰     that at the name of Jesus
    every knee should bend,^[h]
    of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹     and every tongue confess that
    Jesus Christ is Lord,^[i]
    to the glory of God the Father.

Monday 12/5/22

Readings: Is 35:1-10; Ps 85:0ab, 10, 11-12, 13-14; Lk 5:17-26

Title: “Who but God Alone?”

This passage from Luke 5 (Luke 5:17-26) is excellent for its description of a concrete event used to demonstrate how Christ is God (cf. Matt 27:54; cf. John 20:28).  For it is one thing to simply say that Jesus is God, but it is quite another to show how He is God.  This distinction is part of why the Gospels are so compelling.  Through their description of the narrative of Christ’s life, they not only tell us that Jesus is God, but they show us how.  And so, as we look more deeply into this passage from Luke, a few main details stand out.  First, we see the desperation—and creativity—on the part of those seeking a healing.  They cannot get close enough to Jesus, so they climb up on the roof, and “lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles into the middle in front of Jesus” (Luke 5:19).  An action like this might give us pause, but as we read how Jesus responded: “When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘As for you, your sins are forgiven’” (Luke 5:20).  The extreme measures taken on the part of those seeking healing, Jesus sees as “faith.”  If only we were all similarly willing to employ such measures to get to Mass!  For faith is shown in our action and devotion, rather than existing separately from it.  As we know from James 2: “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26; cf. James 2:14-26; cf. 1 John 3:11-18).    

As we read on, we hear their dismay at Jesus’ forgiveness of sins, because only God can forgive sins (cf. Luke 5:21).  There are two logical alternatives: either Jesus is God, or Jesus is committing blasphemy.  And we get a hint about what is to proceed as we read, “Jesus knew their thoughts…” (Luke 5:22).  And He asks them, “‘What are you thinking in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Rise and walk”?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’–he said to the one who was paralyzed, ‘I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home’” (Luke 5:22-26).  Jesus shows that He can heal a man’s physical infirmity as a sign that He can also heal his internal infirmity, namely, that of sin.

And as this story of a healing ends, the man “went home, glorifying God” (Luke 5:25), and, “Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God, and, struck with awe, they said, ‘We have seen incredible things today’” (Luke 5:26).  Jesus’ divinity was demonstrated to the crowd, to the glory of God.  And as we ponder what just took place, two main conclusions jump out.  The first is that this man is God, for His authority to forgive sins.  Not enough could ever be said about this.  The second is that Jesus prizes the internal healing over the external healing, as the greater and harder thing.  For we cannot know of a healing of sin except by faith; however, a healing of paralysis we can easily see as the infirm picks up his stretcher and walks away.  Thus, can we see how we are to treat our internal sins as a sort of unseen infirmity or paralysis?  We must not doubt Jesus, but cling on to His gift of grace, and feel our hearts and souls as being like the healed paralytic, able to walk away from the scene and go home to God.  For when we read that Jesus forgives sins, that is essentially what He does.  And when He says, “go home” (Luke 5:24), we truly can, by His gift of grace.  For the only real home any of us ever has, is in the grace and presence of God (cf. Matt 8:18-22; cf. 2 Cor 5:1-10; cf. Phil 1:19-26).  Amen. 

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 85:9-14

^9 [b]I will listen for what God, the Lord, has to say;
    surely he will speak of peace
To his people and to his faithful.
    May they not turn to foolishness!
¹⁰ Near indeed is his salvation for those who fear him;
    glory will dwell in our land.
^11 [c]Love and truth will meet;
    justice and peace will kiss.
¹² Truth will spring from the earth;
    justice will look down from heaven.
¹³ Yes, the Lord will grant his bounty;
    our land will yield its produce.
¹⁴ Justice will march before him,
    and make a way for his footsteps.

2. Isaiah 35

¹ The wilderness and the parched land will exult;
    the Arabah will rejoice and bloom;
² Like the crocus it shall bloom abundantly,
    and rejoice with joyful song.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
    the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
They will see the glory of the Lord,
    the splendor of our God.
³ Strengthen hands that are feeble,
    make firm knees that are weak,
⁴ Say to the fearful of heart:
    Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God,
    he comes with vindication;
With divine recompense
    he comes to save you.
⁵ Then the eyes of the blind shall see,
    and the ears of the deaf be opened;
⁶ Then the lame shall leap like a stag,
    and the mute tongue sing for joy.
For waters will burst forth in the wilderness,
    and streams in the Arabah.
⁷ The burning sands will become pools,
    and the thirsty ground, springs of water;
The abode where jackals crouch
    will be a marsh for the reed and papyrus.
⁸ A highway will be there,
    called the holy way;
No one unclean may pass over it,
    but it will be for his people;
    no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray on it.
⁹ No lion shall be there,
    nor any beast of prey approach,
    nor be found.
    But there the redeemed shall walk,
¹⁰ And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
    and enter Zion singing,
    crowned with everlasting joy;
They meet with joy and gladness,
    sorrow and mourning flee away.

3. Matthew 8:18-22

¹⁸ When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side.^{[m] 19} A scribe approached and said to him, “Teacher,^[n] I will follow you wherever you go.” ²⁰ Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man^[o] has nowhere to rest his head.” ²¹ Another of [his] disciples said to him, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” ^22 [p]But Jesus answered him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.”

4. Matthew 27:45-56

^45 [aa]From noon onward, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. ⁴⁶ And about three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”^[ab] which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ^47 [ac]Some of the bystanders who heard it said, “This one is calling for Elijah.” ⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge; he soaked it in wine, and putting it on a reed, gave it to him to drink. ⁴⁹ But the rest said, “Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to save him.” ^50 [ad]But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, and gave up his spirit. ⁵¹ And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom.^[ae] The earth quaked, rocks were split, ⁵² tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. ⁵³ And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many. ^54 [af]The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus feared greatly when they saw the earthquake and all that was happening, and they said, “Truly, this was the Son of God!” ⁵⁵ There were many women there, looking on from a distance,^[ag] who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him. ⁵⁶ Among them were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

5. Luke 5:17-26

^17 [e]One day as Jesus was teaching, Pharisees^[f] and teachers of the law were sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem, and the power of the Lord was with him for healing. ¹⁸ And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed; they were trying to bring him in and set [him] in his presence. ¹⁹ But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles^[g] into the middle in front of Jesus. ²⁰ When he saw their faith, he said, “As for you, your sins are forgiven.”^{[h] 21} Then the scribes^[i] and Pharisees began to ask themselves, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who but God alone can forgive sins?” ²² Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in reply, “What are you thinking in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? ^24 [j]But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.” ²⁵ He stood up immediately before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God. ²⁶ Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God, and, struck with awe, they said, “We have seen incredible things today.”

6. John 20:24-29

²⁴ Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” ²⁶ Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” ^28 [q]Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” ^29 [r]Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

7. 2 Corinthians 5:1-10

¹ For we know that if our earthly dwelling,^[a] a tent, should be destroyed, we have a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven. ^2 [b]For in this tent we groan, longing to be further clothed with our heavenly habitation ³ if indeed, when we have taken it off,^[c] we shall not be found naked. ⁴ For while we are in this tent we groan and are weighed down, because we do not wish to be unclothed^[d] but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ Now the one who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a first installment.

^6 [f]So we are always courageous, although we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, ⁷ for we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸ Yet we are courageous, and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord. ⁹ Therefore, we aspire to please him, whether we are at home or away. ¹⁰ For we must all appear^[g] before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.

8. Philippians 1:19-26

^19 [j]for I know that this will result in deliverance for me^[k] through your prayers and support from the Spirit of Jesus Christ. ²⁰ My eager expectation and hope is that I shall not be put to shame in any way, but that with all boldness, now as always, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹ For to me life is Christ, and death is gain. ²² If I go on living in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. And I do not know which I shall choose. ²³ I am caught between the two. I long to depart this life and be with Christ, [for] that is far better. ²⁴ Yet that I remain [in] the flesh is more necessary for your benefit. ²⁵ And this I know with confidence, that I shall remain and continue in the service of all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶ so that your boasting in Christ Jesus may abound on account of me when I come to you again.

9. James 2:14-26

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? ¹⁷ So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

¹⁸ Indeed someone may say, “You have faith and I have works.” Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works. ¹⁹ You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble. ²⁰ Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless? ²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? ²² You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works. ²³ Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called “the friend of God.” ²⁴ See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route? ²⁶ For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

10. 1 John 3:11-18

^11 [e]For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another, ¹² unlike Cain who belonged to the evil one and slaughtered his brother. Why did he slaughter him? Because his own works were evil, and those of his brother righteous. ¹³ Do not be amazed, [then,] brothers, if the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. Whoever does not love remains in death. ¹⁵ Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. ¹⁶ The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. ¹⁷ If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? ¹⁸ Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.

Tuesday 12/6/22

Readings: Is 40:1-11; Ps 96:1-2, 3, 10ac, 11-12, 13; Mt 18:12-14

Title: “In Search of the Stray”

In this parable of the lost sheep from Matthew 18 (Matt 18:12-14), we hear about the ninety-nine sheep that do not stray, and the one sheep who does.  And as Jesus says of the shepherd, “And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray” (Matt 18:13).  As we know from the same parable in Luke 15 (Luke 15:1-7), this is clearly stated as an analogy for calling back sinners into the mercy of God (Luke 15:7).  We know of Jesus that He is the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-30), and He watches after His flock of sheep.  What is more, is that His sheep hear His voice and follow Him, but they will not follow after any other voice (John 10:4-5, 26-30). 

And so, as we read this passage while contemplating conversion, and how to call back sinners, we must remember, that the true sheep of Jesus’ flock will only respond to His voice—not ours.  We may all agree that rejoicing over a converted sinner is a great good and a goal for us all.  But just how to go about reclaiming that lost sheep is where it gets difficult.  And we must always keep in mind, that, as Jesus says, “In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost” (Matt 18:14). 

Indeed, we may also read this sentiment elsewhere, as well: “The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard ‘delay,’ but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9); and, “This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:3-4); and, “I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not become wise [in] your own estimation: a hardening has come upon Israel in part, until the full number of the Gentiles comes in, and thus all Israel will be saved, as it is written…. For God delivered all to disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all” (Rom 11:25-32).

And so, since Jesus’ true sheep will respond to the call of His voice, but not ours, what does this tell us about evangelization movements?  That they must proceed from Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the will of the Father, and the Gospel, and not merely from us.  What we ought to be doing is re-vocalizing or echoing the message of God, and not at all speaking on our own initiative or saying something of ourselves.  The extent to which we can conform (cf. Rom 12:1-2; cf. Phil 3:17-21) our minds and lives and hearts to God’s word is the extent to which we can effectively speak the words of Jesus in the will of God, instead of simply speak our own minds out of sin or self-will. 

And as we read in the Gospels, “When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matt 10:19-20; cf. Luke 12:111-12); and, “Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute” (Luke 21:14-15).

If Jesus’ sheep hear His voice only, are we striving in our evangelization mission to also speak with Jesus’ voice, and not our own?  Because these lost sheep are not made to respond to the call of a stranger (John 10:4-5, 26-30), but only to the call of God.  And so, we must take great care not to drive them further away by speaking as strangers, out of self-will and our own initiative.  We must strive to listen (cf. 1 Sam 3) ourselves to the still, small voice of God (1 Kings 19:11-13), so that we can echo it, and thereby, in reiterating and vocalizing Jesus’ call, bring the lost sheep back effectively. 

This is one of the major problems in modern evangelization today: the sinful impulses of self-will and domination get in the way of the preaching of God’s word (cf. Mal 2:6-9).  We must strive to get our self-will out of the way, so that there is no obstacle between the word and will of God calling back sinners to mercy and repentance, and the way we ourselves convey that message, of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, in our voices when we speak.  For we are only meant to be voices (cf. Isa 40:3-5; cf. Matt 3:3; cf. John 1:22-23), used to convey the one Word who is Christ.  Amen. 

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. 1 Samuel 3

¹ During the time young Samuel was minister to the Lord under Eli, the word of the Lord was scarce and vision infrequent. ^2 [a]One day Eli was asleep in his usual place. His eyes had lately grown so weak that he could not see. ³ The lamp of God was not yet extinguished,^[b] and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was. ⁴ The Lord called to Samuel, who answered, “Here I am.” ⁵ He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called me.” “I did not call you,” Eli answered. “Go back to sleep.” So he went back to sleep. ⁶ Again the Lord called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli. “Here I am,” he said. “You called me.” But he answered, “I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep.”

⁷ Samuel did not yet recognize the Lord, since the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. ⁸ The Lord called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, “Here I am. You called me.” Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling the youth. ⁹ So he said to Samuel, “Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” When Samuel went to sleep in his place, ¹⁰ the Lord came and stood there, calling out as before: Samuel, Samuel! Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” ¹¹ The Lord said to Samuel: I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears it ring. ¹² On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I have said about his house, beginning to end. ¹³ I announce to him that I am condemning his house once and for all, because of this crime: though he knew his sons were blaspheming God, he did not reprove them. ¹⁴ Therefore, I swear to Eli’s house: No sacrifice or offering will ever expiate its crime.^{[c] 15} Samuel then slept until morning, when he got up early and opened the doors of the temple of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, ¹⁶ but Eli called to him, “Samuel, my son!” He replied, “Here I am.” ¹⁷ Then Eli asked, “What did he say to you? Hide nothing from me! May God do thus to you, and more,^[d] if you hide from me a single thing he told you.” ¹⁸ So Samuel told him everything, and held nothing back. Eli answered, “It is the Lord. What is pleasing in the Lord’s sight, the Lord will do.”

¹⁹ Samuel grew up, and the Lord was with him, not permitting any word of his to go unfulfilled. ²⁰ Thus all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba came to know that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord. ²¹ The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, manifesting himself to Samuel at Shiloh through his word. Samuel’s word spread throughout Israel.

2. 1 Kings 19:9-18

⁹ There he came to a cave, where he took shelter. But the word of the Lord came to him: Why are you here, Elijah? ¹⁰ He answered: “I have been most zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, but the Israelites have forsaken your covenant. They have destroyed your altars and murdered your prophets by the sword. I alone remain, and they seek to take my life.” ¹¹ Then the Lord said: Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord;^[c] the Lord will pass by. There was a strong and violent wind rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the Lord—but the Lord was not in the wind; after the wind, an earthquake—but the Lord was not in the earthquake; ¹² after the earthquake, fire—but the Lord was not in the fire; after the fire, a light silent sound.

¹³ When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, Why are you here, Elijah? ¹⁴ He replied, “I have been most zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, but the Israelites have forsaken your covenant. They have destroyed your altars and murdered your prophets by the sword. I alone remain, and they seek to take my life.” ^15 [e]The Lord said to him: Go back! Take the desert road to Damascus. When you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king of Aram. ¹⁶ You shall also anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king of Israel, and Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, as prophet to succeed you. ¹⁷ Anyone who escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill. Anyone who escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. ¹⁸ But I will spare seven thousand in Israel—every knee that has not bent to Baal, every mouth that has not kissed him.

3. Psalm 96:1-3, 10-13

¹ Sing to the Lord a new song;
    sing to the Lord, all the earth.
² Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
    proclaim his salvation day after day.
³ Tell his glory among the nations;
    among all peoples, his marvelous deeds.

¹⁰     declare among the nations: The Lord is king.
The world will surely stand fast, never to be shaken.
    He rules the peoples with fairness.

¹¹ Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
    let the sea and what fills it resound;
¹²     let the plains be joyful and all that is in them.
Then let all the trees of the forest rejoice
¹³     before the Lord who comes,
    who comes to govern the earth,
To govern the world with justice
    and the peoples with faithfulness.

4. Isaiah 40:1-11

^1 [b]Comfort, give comfort to my people,
    says your God.
² Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
    that her service^[c] has ended,
    that her guilt is expiated,
That she has received from the hand of the Lord
    double for all her sins.

³     A voice proclaims:^[d]
In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord!
    Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
⁴ Every valley shall be lifted up,
    every mountain and hill made low;
The rugged land shall be a plain,
    the rough country, a broad valley.
⁵ Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
    and all flesh shall see it together;
    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

⁶ A voice says, “Proclaim!”
    I answer, “What shall I proclaim?”
“All flesh is grass,
    and all their loyalty like the flower of the field.
⁷ The grass withers, the flower wilts,
    when the breath of the Lord blows upon it.”
“Yes, the people is grass!
⁸     The grass withers, the flower wilts,
    but the word of our God stands forever.”

⁹ Go up onto a high mountain,
    Zion, herald of good news!^[e]
Cry out at the top of your voice,
    Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Cry out, do not fear!
    Say to the cities of Judah:
    Here is your God!
¹⁰ Here comes with power
    the Lord God,
    who rules by his strong arm;
Here is his reward with him,
    his recompense before him.
¹¹ Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
    in his arms he gathers the lambs,
Carrying them in his bosom,
    leading the ewes with care.

5. Malachi 2:6-9

⁶ Reliable instruction was in his mouth,
    no perversity was found upon his lips;
He walked with me in integrity and uprightness,
    and turned many away from evil.
⁷ For a priest’s lips preserve knowledge,
    and instruction is to be sought from his mouth,
    because he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.
⁸ But you have turned aside from the way,
    and have caused many to stumble by your instruction;
You have corrupted the covenant of Levi,^[a]
    says the Lord of hosts.
⁹ I, therefore, have made you contemptible
    and base before all the people,
For you do not keep my ways,
    but show partiality in your instruction.

6. Matthew 3:1-3

¹ In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea^{[b] 2} [and] saying, “Repent,^[c] for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” ^3 [d]It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:

“A voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
    make straight his paths.’”

7. Matthew 10:16-25

¹⁶ “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. ^17 [h]But beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, ¹⁸ and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. ¹⁹ When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. ²⁰ For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. ^21 [i]Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. ²² You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end^[j] will be saved. ²³ When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.^{[k] 24} No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, for the slave that he become like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul,^[l] how much more those of his household!

8. Matthew 18:12-14

¹² What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? ¹³ And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. ¹⁴ In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.

9. Luke 12:10-12

¹⁰ “Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven. ¹¹ When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. ¹² For the holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.”

10. Luke 15:1-7

^1 [a]The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to him, ² but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” ³ So to them he addressed this parable. ⁴ “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? ⁵ And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy ⁶ and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.

11. Luke 21:12-19

¹² “Before all this happens,^[d] however, they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. ¹³ It will lead to your giving testimony. ¹⁴ Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, ¹⁵ for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking^[e] that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. ¹⁶ You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. ¹⁷ You will be hated by all because of my name, ¹⁸ but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. ¹⁹ By your perseverance you will secure your lives.

12. John 1:19-28

^19 [m]And this is the testimony of John. When the Jews^[n] from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites [to him] to ask him, “Who are you?” ^20 [o]he admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, “I am not the Messiah.” ²¹ So they asked him, “What are you then? Are you Elijah?”^[p] And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” ²² So they said to him, “Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?” ²³ He said:

“I am ‘the voice of one crying out in the desert,
“Make straight the way of the Lord,”’

as Isaiah the prophet said.” ²⁴ Some Pharisees^[r] were also sent. ²⁵ They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet?” ²⁶ John answered them, “I baptize with water;^[s] but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, ²⁷ the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.” ²⁸ This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,^[t] where John was baptizing.

13. John 10:1-30

^1 [a]“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold^[b] through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. ² But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ^4 [c]When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. ⁵ But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.” ⁶ Although Jesus used this figure of speech,^[d] they did not realize what he was trying to tell them.

^7 [e]So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. ^8 [f]All who came [before me] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹ I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰ A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. ¹¹ I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. ¹³ This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep^[g] that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. ¹⁷ This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.^[h] This command I have received from my Father.”

¹⁹ Again there was a division among the Jews because of these words. ²⁰ Many of them said, “He is possessed and out of his mind; why listen to him?” ²¹ Others said, “These are not the words of one possessed; surely a demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?”

²² The feast of the Dedication^[i] was then taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter. ^23 [j]And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. ²⁴ So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense?^[k] If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” ²⁵ Jesus answered them, “I told you^[l] and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me. ²⁶ But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,^[m] and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. ^30 [n]The Father and I are one.”

14. Romans 11:25-33

²⁵ I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not become wise [in] your own estimation: a hardening has come upon Israel in part, until the full number of the Gentiles comes in, ²⁶ and thus all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

“The deliverer will come out of Zion,
    he will turn away godlessness from Jacob;
²⁷ and this is my covenant with them
    when I take away their sins.”

²⁸ In respect to the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but in respect to election, they are beloved because of the patriarchs. ²⁹ For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.

^30 [e]Just as you once disobeyed God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, ³¹ so they have now disobeyed in order that, by virtue of the mercy shown to you, they too may [now] receive mercy. ³² For God delivered all to disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all.

^33 [f]Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!

15. Romans 12:1-2

^1 [b]I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. ² Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.

16. Philippians 3:17-21

¹⁷ Join with others in being imitators of me,^[l] brothers, and observe those who thus conduct themselves according to the model you have in us. ¹⁸ For many, as I have often told you and now tell you even in tears, conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ Their end is destruction. Their God is their stomach; their glory is in their “shame.” Their minds are occupied with earthly things. ²⁰ But our citizenship^[m] is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. ²¹ He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself.

17. 1 Timothy 2:1-4

^1 [a]First of all, then, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, ² for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. ³ This is good and pleasing to God our savior, ⁴ who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.

18. 2 Peter 3:8-10

^8 [f]But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years^[g] and a thousand years like one day. ⁹ The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,” but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. ¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief,^[h] and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be found out.

Wednesday 12/7/22

Memorial of Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Readings: Is 40:25-31; Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10; Mt 11:28-30

Title: “Take My Yoke upon You”

“Jesus said to the crowds: ‘Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light’” (Matt 11:28-30).  This is perhaps one of the most peaceful and reassuring Gospel passages to call to mind in times of struggle or distress.  We can delve into this passage more deeply as we go through it slowly, line by line.  As it begins, “Jesus said to the crowds: ‘Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28). 

This immediately tells us the “who” of the call given here, as those who are overworked or under pressure.  Perhaps we may recall the situation of the Israelites in Egypt in being overburdened with much toil in their slavery under the Egyptians.  God worked many miracles to bring them to the promised land, and He wills to bring us, too, to salvation, provided that we hear Him, follow Him, obey Him (cf. Matt 17:5; cf. John 15:14), and “not harden your hearts” (Ps 95:8).  The rest God gives is a sabbath rest, achievable under two conditions: this rest occurs only in God, and only as the peace attained after a battle, work, labor, or struggle.  We must first put in labor, in order to then enter into God’s rest. 

Next, it says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves” (Matt 11:29).  Jesus urges us to take His yoke upon us, and learn from Him.  This is a two-fold injunction.  First, we must consider His yoke.  In one sense it is the law of God, which in the new covenant is summed up by love of God and love of neighbor, and obedience to the teachings of Christ. (cf. Matt 22:36-40; cf. John 13:31-35; cf. John 15:11-17; cf. Rom 13:8-10; cf. 1 John 2:7-11; cf. 1 John 3:11-18; cf. 1 John 4:7-21). 

In the second sense, this yoke bears some semblance of the cross.  And as we know of Jesus’ instruction in other places, “whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me” (Matt 10:38); and, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Matt 16:24).  This cross is necessary to the salvation given by Christ, through the crucifixion, and it is necessary that we take it up too in our own lives, in order to enter into the grace and presence of God.  Christ cannot be separated from His cross, and the only sure way to Jesus is, likewise, through the cross.  It is no mistake that this cross is emblematic of the Christian faith and Christian living.  And so, we must be sure to enter into it in our presence of mind and prayerful awareness of God, and take care to always bring it with us, as we enter into it in new ways as a way of establishing and reestablishing union with Christ in God, and with God in Christ (cf. John 14:10; cf. John 17:20-26). 

Jesus is meek and humble of heart, and this is one fruit (cf. Gal 5:22-26) of the cross, as our participation in suffering makes us perfect as Christ (cf. Matt 5:48; cf. Heb 2:10-11; cf. Heb 5:7-9; cf. Heb 12:23)—humble, docile, and obedient, but also strong, resilient, patient, and steadfast.  For through this yoke, the cross, we rely on the strength of Christ, and not ourselves (cf. 2 Cor 12:8-10; cf. Phil 4:13).  We find rest for ourselves in the cross of Christ in just the same way that true peace comes from a clean conscience (cf. Heb 9:14-15; cf. Heb 10:22), and the sure knowledge through faith and learning that we are doing the right thing. 

And as this passage ends, “For my yoke is easy, and my burden light’” (Matt 11:30).  This may call to mind the passage from 1 Corinthians 15: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Cor 15:58).  Work done in Christ is never a waste, and it is its own reward (cf. Isa 40:10-11; cf. Rev 22:12-13), for the presence of God that we enjoy during this work.  The harder the struggle, the more tightly our souls fuse onto God in divine union as we cling to Him in our hearts.  In this way, the cross is our greatest joy, in bringing us deeper into God, and it is easy and light, for when we work with Christ and in Christ, the power of God and grace shoulders that burden, and brings us into a divine bliss—not merely despite that struggle, but rather, through that struggle—that words alone cannot even convey.  The struggle of the cross never fails to bring our hearts to glorify God.  Amen.   

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 95:6-11

⁶ Enter, let us bow down in worship;
    let us kneel before the Lord who made us.
⁷ For he is our God,
    we are the people he shepherds,
    the sheep in his hands.

Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
⁸     Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah,
    as on the day of Massah in the desert.^[b]
9 There your ancestors tested me;
    they tried me though they had seen my works.
¹⁰ Forty years I loathed that generation;
    I said: “This people’s heart goes astray;
    they do not know my ways.”
¹¹ Therefore I swore in my anger:
    “They shall never enter my rest.”

2. Psalm 103:1-4, 8, 10

¹ Of David.

Bless the Lord, my soul;
    all my being, bless his holy name!
² Bless the Lord, my soul;
    and do not forget all his gifts,
³ Who pardons all your sins,
    and heals all your ills,
⁴ Who redeems your life from the pit,
    and crowns you with mercy and compassion,

⁸ Merciful and gracious is the Lord,
    slow to anger, abounding in mercy.

¹¹ For as the heavens tower over the earth,
    so his mercy towers over those who fear him.

3. Isaiah 40:9-11, 25-31

⁹ Go up onto a high mountain,
    Zion, herald of good news!^[e]
Cry out at the top of your voice,
    Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Cry out, do not fear!
    Say to the cities of Judah:
    Here is your God!
¹⁰ Here comes with power
    the Lord God,
    who rules by his strong arm;
Here is his reward with him,
    his recompense before him.
¹¹ Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
    in his arms he gathers the lambs,
Carrying them in his bosom,
    leading the ewes with care.

To whom can you liken me as an equal?
    says the Holy One.
²⁶ Lift up your eyes on high
    and see who created^[j] these:
He leads out their army and numbers them,
    calling them all by name.
By his great might and the strength of his power
    not one of them is missing!
²⁷ Why, O Jacob, do you say,^[k]
    and declare, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
    and my right is disregarded by my God”?
²⁸ Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?
The Lord is God from of old,
    creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary,
    and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny.
²⁹ He gives power to the faint,
    abundant strength to the weak.
³⁰ Though young men faint and grow weary,
    and youths stagger and fall,
³¹ They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength,
    they will soar on eagles’ wings;
They will run and not grow weary,
    walk and not grow faint.

4. Matthew 5:42-48

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors^[ab] do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same?^{[ac] 48} So be perfect,^[ad] just as your heavenly Father is perfect.

5. Matthew 10:37-39

³⁷ “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸ and whoever does not take up his cross^[o] and follow after me is not worthy of me. ^39 [p]Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

6. Matthew 11:28-30

^28 [o]“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,^[p] and I will give you rest. ^29 [q]Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

 7. Matthew 16:24-28

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,^[t] take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.^{[u] 26} What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? ^27 [v]For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct. ^28 [w]Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

8. Matthew 17:1-8

¹ After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.^{[b] 2 [c]}And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. ^3 [d]And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. ⁴ Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents^[e] here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁵ While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them,^[f] then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” ^6 [g]When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” ⁸ And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.

9. Matthew 22:34-40

³⁴ When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, ³⁵ and one of them [a scholar of the law]^[t] tested him by asking, ³⁶ “Teacher,^[u] which commandment in the law is the greatest?” ³⁷ He said to him,^[v] “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the greatest and the first commandment. ³⁹ The second is like it:^[w] You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ^40 [x]The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

10. John 13:31-35

^31 [j]When he had left, Jesus said,^[k] “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. ³² [If God is glorified in him,] God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once. ³³ My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, ‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you. ³⁴ I give you a new commandment:^[l] love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. ³⁵ This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

11. John 14:6-14

⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth^[e] and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you know me, then you will also know my Father.^[f] From now on you do know him and have seen him.” ⁸ Philip said to him, “Master, show us the Father,^[g] and that will be enough for us.” ⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. ¹¹ Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. ¹² Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.

12. John 15:11-17

¹¹ “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. ¹² This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. ^13 [e]No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵ I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends,^[f] because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. ¹⁶ It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. ¹⁷ This I command you: love one another.

13. John 17:20-26

²⁰ “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹ so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. ²² And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, ²³ I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. ²⁴ Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am^[g] they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵ Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. ²⁶ I made known to them your name and I will make it known,^[h] that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.”

14. Romans 13:8-10

⁸ Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹ The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this saying, [namely] “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law

15. 1 Corinthians 15:58

⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brothers, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

16. 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

⁸ Three times^[d] I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, ^9 [e]but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses,^[f] in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. ¹⁰ Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

17. Galatians 5:16-26

¹⁶ I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.^{[m] 17} For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want. ¹⁸ But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ^19 [n]Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, ²¹ occasions of envy,^[o] drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. ²⁴ Now those who belong to Christ [Jesus] have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not be conceited, provoking one another, envious of one another.

18. Philippians 4:10-14

¹⁰ I rejoice greatly in the Lord that now at last you revived your concern for me. You were, of course, concerned about me but lacked an opportunity. ¹¹ Not that I say this because of need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I find myself, to be self-sufficient. ¹² I know indeed how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live with abundance. In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need. ¹³ I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me. ¹⁴ Still, it was kind of you to share in my distress.

19. Hebrews 2:10-11

¹⁰ For it was fitting that he, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering. ¹¹ He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin. Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them “brothers,”

20. Hebrews 5:7-10

⁷ In the days when he was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death,^[e] and he was heard because of his reverence. ⁸ Son though he was,^[f] he learned obedience from what he suffered; ⁹ and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, ¹⁰ declared by God high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

21. Hebrews 9:11-22

^11 [i]But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be,^[j] passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation, ¹² he entered once for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. ¹³ For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes^[k] can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed, ¹⁴ how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit^[l] offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

^15 [m]For this reason he is mediator of a new covenant: since a death has taken place for deliverance from transgressions under the first covenant, those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance. ^16 [n]Now where there is a will, the death of the testator must be established. ¹⁷ For a will takes effect only at death; it has no force while the testator is alive. ¹⁸ Thus not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. ^19 [o]When every commandment had been proclaimed by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves [and goats], together with water and crimson wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, ²⁰ saying, “This is ‘the blood of the covenant which God has enjoined upon you.’” ²¹ In the same way, he sprinkled also the tabernacle^[p] and all the vessels of worship with blood. ^22 [q]According to the law almost everything is purified by blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

22. Hebrews 10:19-25

¹⁹ Therefore, brothers, since through the blood of Jesus we have confidence of entrance into the sanctuary ^20 [j]by the new and living way he opened for us through the veil, that is, his flesh, ^21 [k]and since we have “a great priest over the house of God,” ²² let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience^[l] and our bodies washed in pure water. ²³ Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy. ²⁴ We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works. ²⁵ We should not stay away from our assembly,^[m] as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near.

23. Hebrews 12:18-24

^18 [d]You have not approached that which could be touched^[e] and a blazing fire and gloomy darkness and storm ¹⁹ and a trumpet blast and a voice speaking words such that those who heard begged that no message be further addressed to them, ²⁰ for they could not bear to hear the command: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” ²¹ Indeed, so fearful was the spectacle that Moses said, “I am terrified and trembling.” ²² No, you have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and countless angels in festal gathering, ²³ and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven,^[f] and God the judge of all, and the spirits of the just made perfect, ²⁴ and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and the sprinkled blood that speaks more eloquently^[g] than that of Abel.

24. 1 John 2:7-11

⁷ Beloved, I am writing no new commandment to you but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. ⁸ And yet I do write a new commandment to you, which holds true in him and among you,^[d] for the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. ⁹ Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness. ¹⁰ Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is nothing in him to cause a fall. ¹¹ Whoever hates his brother is in darkness; he walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

25. 1 John 3:11-18

^11 [e]For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another, ¹² unlike Cain who belonged to the evil one and slaughtered his brother. Why did he slaughter him? Because his own works were evil, and those of his brother righteous. ¹³ Do not be amazed, [then,] brothers, if the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. Whoever does not love remains in death. ¹⁵ Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. ¹⁶ The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. ¹⁷ If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? ¹⁸ Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.

26. 1 John 4:7-21

^7 [c]Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹ In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. ¹⁰ In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.

^13 [d]This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. ¹⁵ Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. ¹⁶ We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.

God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. ¹⁷ In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. ¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God^[e] whom he has not seen. ²¹ This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

27. Revelation 22:12-13

¹² “Behold, I am coming soon. I bring with me the recompense I will give to each according to his deeds. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

Thursday 12/8/22

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Readings: Gn 3:9-15, 20; Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4; Eph 1:3-6, 11-12; Lk 1:26-38

Title: “The Immaculate Conception”

Today’s three readings (Gen 3:9-15, 20; Eph 1:3-6, 11-12; Luke 1:26-38) all cohere around the role of Mary as our Mother, the Church, and her Immaculate Conception.  For when we think of Mary, we never think about Mary as an isolated identity, just as we never think of Jesus as just man, or of Jesus as just God.  He can only rightly be thought of as both.   And so, in considering Mary, we never think of her as just Mary, because she is so much more than that.  She is Mary, and the symbol of our Mother Church.  Any time we think of Mary, we also think of the Church, because she is not meant to be pondered or venerated in isolation from it, but only in relation to it.  As we look at the significance of Mary in history and Sacred Scripture, we can begin with this passage from Genesis 3 (Gen 3:9-15, 20), because Mary is both the new Eve, and alluded to along with the coming Savior, Jesus, in the protoevangelium (Gen 3:15). 

And Jesus’ coming through Mary was no coincidence or mistake.  As we read in Ephesians 1: “In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved. In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ” (Eph 1:4-6, 11-12).  This passage tells us humankind’s meaning and purpose—”that we might exist for the praise of his glory” (Eph 1:12)—and it also tells us how this is brought about—”In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ” (Eph 1:5).  We can see how this both contrasts with and complements the narrative of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3.  We see an explanation of original sin, and we see how this coincides with God’s plan and divine providence.  For as we read in Luke 1, “nothing will be impossible for God” (Luke 1:37), and God is more powerful than death (cf. Song 8:6; cf. 1 Cor 15:54-57), than evil, than humankind, and humankind’s sin. 

But in contemplating the mystery of humankind’s fall and God’s gift of salvation through Christ, there is one very important part of this plan that we must not neglect, and that part is Mary.  Mary is the Immaculate Conception, meaning, she was conceived without original sin, thus enabling her to be filled with grace and offer God her humble fiat even before Christ was born to her.  That Christ’s Mother should be so sinless and holy is right, fitting, and just.  Even before official Church teaching on the Immaculate Conception, this is traditionally how Mary has been treated since the time of Christ, and so it is only appropriate that we honor her with formality, and not only with custom. 

Mary brings about the coming of the Savior to all of humankind, and in this way, all that Mary does is necessarily oriented to God.  For as she says, “‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word’” (Luke 1:38; cf. Luke 11:27-28).  And as Elizabeth remarks to her, “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled” (Luke 1:45).  Mary is for us a representation of the Church, our real and true Mother, just as Christ had told the beloved disciple in John 19, “‘Behold, your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home” (John 19:27). 

And what is more, is that just as Mary is our Mother, so are we to take after her ourselves, for a child is the child of whomsoever they take after (cf. Matt 7:15-20; cf. John 1:12-13; cf. John 8:39-47; cf. 1 John 2:28-29; cf. 1 John 3:4-10).  And just as our first mother was Eve, so our second Mother is Mary (cf. 1 Cor 15:45-49), as we mirror her holy fiat with the sanctity we show in our own lives, by directing our hearts to her.  For all that is placed in the hands of Mary, is always and perfectly placed, through her holy Motherhood, example, and intercession, in the hands her Son, Jesus, and God, the Father (cf. John 10:27-30), for our salvation and God’s glory.  Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Genesis 3:9-15, 20

⁹ The Lord God then called to the man and asked him: Where are you? ¹⁰ He answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid.” ¹¹ Then God asked: Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat? ¹² The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it.” ¹³ The Lord God then asked the woman: What is this you have done? The woman answered, “The snake tricked me, so I ate it.”

¹⁴ Then the Lord God said to the snake:

Because you have done this,
    cursed are you
    among all the animals, tame or wild;
On your belly you shall crawl,
    and dust you shall eat
    all the days of your life.^[d]
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and hers;
They will strike at your head,
    while you strike at their heel.

²⁰ The man gave his wife the name “Eve,” because she was the mother of all the living.

2. Psalm 98:1-4   

¹ A psalm.

Sing a new song to the Lord,
    for he has done marvelous deeds.
His right hand and holy arm
    have won the victory.^[b]
2 The Lord has made his victory known;
    has revealed his triumph in the sight of the nations,
³ He has remembered his mercy and faithfulness
    toward the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
    the victory of our God.

⁴ Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth;
    break into song; sing praise.

3. Song of Songs 8:6-7

⁶ Set me as a seal^[c] upon your heart,
    as a seal upon your arm;
For Love is strong as Death,
    longing is fierce as Sheol.
Its arrows are arrows of fire,
    flames of the divine.
⁷ Deep waters^[d] cannot quench love,
    nor rivers sweep it away.
Were one to offer all the wealth of his house for love,
    he would be utterly despised.

4. Matthew 7:15-20

¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ So by their fruits you will know them.

5. Luke 1:26-45

²⁶ In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” ²⁹ But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,^[k] and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, ³³ and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” ³⁴ But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”^{[l] 35} And the angel said to her in reply, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived^[m] a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; ³⁷ for nothing will be impossible for God.” ³⁸ Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

³⁹ During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, ⁴⁰ where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, ⁴² cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. ⁴³ And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord^[n] should come to me? ⁴⁴ For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ Blessed are you who believed^[o] that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

6. Luke 11:27-28

²⁷ While he was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” ²⁸ He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

7. John 1:12-13

¹² But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, ^13 [h]who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God.

8. John 8:39-47

^39 [t]They answered and said to him, “Our father is Abraham.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works of Abraham. ⁴⁰ But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God; Abraham did not do this. ⁴¹ You are doing the works of your father!” [So] they said to him, “We are not illegitimate. We have one Father, God.” ⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I did not come on my own, but he sent me. ⁴³ Why do you not understand what I am saying? Because you cannot bear to hear my word. ⁴⁴ You belong to your father the devil and you willingly carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ But because I speak the truth, you do not believe me. ⁴⁶ Can any of you charge me with sin? If I am telling the truth, why do you not believe me? ⁴⁷ Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not listen, because you do not belong to God.”

9. John 10:22-30

²² The feast of the Dedication^[i] was then taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter. ^23 [j]And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. ²⁴ So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense?^[k] If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” ²⁵ Jesus answered them, “I told you^[l] and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me. ²⁶ But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,^[m] and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. ^30 [n]The Father and I are one.”

10. John 19:25-27

^25 [j]Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother^[k] and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” ²⁷ Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

11. 1 Corinthians 15:45-49, 54-57

⁴⁵ So, too, it is written, “The first man, Adam,^[u] became a living being,” the last Adam a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶ But the spiritual was not first; rather the natural and then the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man was from the earth, earthly; the second man, from heaven. ⁴⁸ As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly, and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly. ⁴⁹ Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image^[v] of the heavenly one.

^54 [z]And when this which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality, then the word that is written shall come about:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.
⁵⁵ Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”

⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin,^[aa] and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

12. Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12

^3 [c]Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,^{[d] 4} as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love ⁵ he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, ⁶ for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.

¹¹ In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, ¹² so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped^[f] in Christ.

13. 1 John 2:28-29

^28 [n]And now, children, remain in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be put to shame by him at his coming. ²⁹ If you consider that he is righteous, you also know that everyone who acts in righteousness is begotten by him.

14. 1 John 3:4-10

⁴ Everyone who commits sin commits lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness.^{[c] 5} You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. ⁶ No one who remains in him sins; no one who sins has seen him or known him. ⁷ Children, let no one deceive you. The person who acts in righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous. ⁸ Whoever sins belongs to the devil, because the devil has sinned from the beginning. Indeed, the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the devil. ⁹ No one who is begotten by God commits sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot sin because he is begotten by God.^{[d] 10} In this way, the children of God and the children of the devil are made plain; no one who fails to act in righteousness belongs to God, nor anyone who does not love his brother.

Friday 12/9/22

Readings: Is 48:17-19; Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4, 6; Mt 11:16-19

Title: “Wisdom Is Vindicated by Her Works”

“Jesus said to the crowds: ‘To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, “We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.” For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, “He is possessed by a demon.” The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, “Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” But wisdom is vindicated by her works’” (Matt 11:16-19).

This passage from Matthew 11 (Matt 11:16-19) is enlightening for its description of “this generation” (Matt 11:16).  And the generation Jesus describes is not much different than ours today.  As He describes it, “It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn’” (Matt 11:16-17). And this sounds much like an immature and obstinate will to dominate, in trying to influence another to bend according to one’s will.  The idea of controlling or dominating another, to have power or influence over them, is cardinal to both original sin and the sin of pride, and it more often than not goes hand in hand with arrogance and ignorance, leading one to be as erroneous as one is presumptuous in this manifestation of sin. 

And Jesus is not merely speaking abstractly or hypothetically.  He refers directly to John the Baptist and Himself, in not adhering to “this generation’s” expectations or standards, and not bending and conforming to that culture’s will.  There is some semblance of peer pressure in Jesus’ description of this generation’s childish will to dominate, as they sulk petulantly when they don’t get their way.  As Jesus says, “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners’” (Matt 11:18-19).  But we know that we are not meant to conform to worldly standards, nor live up this smug generation’s expectations of sin. 

For as we read in Romans 12: “I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect” (Rom 12:1-2).  And also in Philippians 2 and 3: “Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world” (Phil 2:14-15); and, “Join with others in being imitators of me, brothers, and observe those who thus conduct themselves according to the model you have in us. For many, as I have often told you and now tell you even in tears, conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction. Their God is their stomach; their glory is in their ‘shame.’ Their minds are occupied with earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself” (Phil 3:17-21).

We are not meant to bow and bend to the fleeting whims and fancies of the world, for that is the dynamic that works in opposition and contrast to the will of God, and that is what we must resist in order to do God’s will.  For as we read in 1 John 2: “Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever” (1 John 2:15-17).  And also in James 4: “Adulterers! Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4).  And as we also know from Hebrews 10: “You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised” (Heb 10:36).  And also from James 4: “So submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you of two minds. Begin to lament, to mourn, to weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you” (James 4:7-10).

John the Baptist and Jesus both came with their own mission and purpose, and specific ways of going about it that helped them conform to the will of God.  This meant standing apart from certain customs, and perhaps raising a few eyebrows in doing so.  But if one is not willing to displease the world in order to adhere to God, then one is just as childish as Jesus’ description of “this generation” (Matt 11:16), and one needs to seriously reevaluate one’s position, because it looks like one is on the side of the world rather than the side of God, based on one’s actions, inclinations, and behavior. 

And as Jesus ends this passage, “But wisdom is vindicated by her works” (Matt 11:19; cf. Luke 7:35).  Many times, what we do may feel uncomfortable or strange, or we may go through an awkward period of not quite finding our place, because this in-between phase is part of the natural process of finding our place, not in the world, but in God (cf. John 15:18-25; cf. John 17:6-19).  And as we persist in our own mission, even when we raise eyebrows or make “this generation” (Matt 11:16) of pride, arrogance, and sin uncomfortable in doing so, this is part of what it means that “You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised” (Heb 10:36).  So let us not give up on our own mission in God as a result of some worldly peer pressure from a sinking ship (cf. 1 Tim 1:18-20).  For we know that our baptism means something, just as did Noah’s ark (cf. Matt 24:36-44; cf. 1 Pet 3:18-22), and we know too that just as Noah’s faith was vindicated, so too, “wisdom is vindicated by all her children” (Luke 7:35; cf. Matt 11:19).  Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 1:1-4, 6

¹ Blessed is the man who does not walk
    in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the way^[b] of sinners,
    nor sit in company with scoffers.
² Rather, the law of the Lord^[c] is his joy;
    and on his law he meditates day and night.
³ He is like a tree
    planted near streams of water,
    that yields its fruit in season;
Its leaves never wither;
    whatever he does prospers.

⁴ But not so are the wicked,^[d] not so!
    They are like chaff driven by the wind.
⁶ Because the Lord knows the way of the just,
    but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.

2. Isaiah 48:17-19

¹⁷ Thus says the Lord, your redeemer,
    the Holy One of Israel:
I am the Lord, your God,
    teaching you how to prevail,
    leading you on the way you should go.
¹⁸ If only you would attend to my commandments,
    your peace would be like a river,
    your vindication like the waves of the sea,
¹⁹ Your descendants like the sand,
    the offspring of your loins like its grains,
Their name never cut off
    or blotted out from my presence.

3. Matthew 11:16-19

¹⁶ “To what shall I compare this generation?^[k] It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, ¹⁷ ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ ¹⁸ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”

4. Matthew 24:36-44

³⁶ “But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son,^[v] but the Father alone. ^37 [w]For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ In [those] days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. ³⁹ They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be [also] at the coming of the Son of Man. ^40 [x]Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. ^42 [y]Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. ⁴³ Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.

5. Luke 7:31-35

^31 [i]“Then to what shall I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? ³² They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another,

‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance.
    We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.’

³³ For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine, and you said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ ³⁴ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ ³⁵ But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

6. John 15:18-25

¹⁸ “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. ¹⁹ If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word I spoke to you,^[h] ‘No slave is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. ²¹ And they will do all these things to you on account of my name,^[i] because they do not know the one who sent me. ²² If I had not come and spoken^[j] to them, they would have no sin; but as it is they have no excuse for their sin. ²³ Whoever hates me also hates my Father. ²⁴ If I had not done works among them that no one else ever did, they would not have sin; but as it is, they have seen and hated both me and my Father. ²⁵ But in order that the word written in their law^[k] might be fulfilled, ‘They hated me without cause.’

7. John 17:6-19

⁶ “I revealed your name^[e] to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, ⁸ because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. ⁹ I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, ¹⁰ and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them. ¹¹ And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are. ¹² When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³ But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely. ¹⁴ I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. ^15 [f]I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. ¹⁷ Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.

8. Romans 12:1-2

^1 [b]I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. ² Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.

9. Philippians 2:12-18

¹² So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.^{[k] 13} For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work. ¹⁴ Do everything without grumbling or questioning, ¹⁵ that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,^[l] among whom you shine like lights in the world, ¹⁶ as you hold on to the word of life, so that my boast for the day of Christ may be that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. ¹⁷ But, even if I am poured out as a libation^[m] upon the sacrificial service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with all of you. ¹⁸ In the same way you also should rejoice and share your joy with me.

10. Philippians 3:17-21

⁷ Join with others in being imitators of me,^[l] brothers, and observe those who thus conduct themselves according to the model you have in us. ¹⁸ For many, as I have often told you and now tell you even in tears, conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ Their end is destruction. Their God is their stomach; their glory is in their “shame.” Their minds are occupied with earthly things. ²⁰ But our citizenship^[m] is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. ²¹ He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself.

11. 1 Timothy 1:18-20

¹⁸ I entrust this charge to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophetic words once spoken about you.^[j] Through them may you fight a good fight ¹⁹ by having faith and a good conscience. Some, by rejecting conscience, have made a shipwreck of their faith, ²⁰ among them Hymenaeus^[k] and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.

12. Hebrews 10:32-36

³² Remember the days past when, after you had been enlightened,^[p] you endured a great contest of suffering. ³³ At times you were publicly exposed to abuse and affliction; at other times you associated yourselves with those so treated. ³⁴ You even joined in the sufferings of those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, knowing that you had a better and lasting possession. ³⁵ Therefore, do not throw away your confidence; it will have great recompense. ³⁶ You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised.

13. James 4:1-10

¹ Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions^[b] that make war within your members? ² You covet but do not possess. You kill and envy but you cannot obtain; you fight and wage war. You do not possess because you do not ask. ³ You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. ⁴ Adulterers!^[c] Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you suppose that the scripture speaks without meaning when it says, “The spirit that he has made to dwell in us tends toward jealousy”?^{[d] 6} But he bestows a greater grace; therefore, it says:

“God resists the proud,
    but gives grace to the humble.”

⁷ So submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you of two minds. ⁹ Begin to lament, to mourn, to weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.

14. 1 Peter 3:18-22

¹⁸ For Christ also suffered^[e] for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the spirit. ¹⁹ In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison,^{[f] 20} who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water. ²¹ This prefigured baptism, which saves you now. It is not a removal of dirt from the body but an appeal to God^[g] for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²² who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.

15. 1 John 2:15-17

¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things of the world.^[g] If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world, sensual lust,^[h] enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. ¹⁷ Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever.

Saturday 12/10/22

Readings: Sir 48:1-4, 9-11; Ps 802ac, 3b, 15-16, 18-19; Mt 17:9a, 10-13

Title: “Speaking to Them of John the Baptist”

John the Baptist was a remarkable character.  This saint—“among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist” (Matt 11:11)—was a revolutionary figure, trailblazing prophet (Luke 1:76-79), and inspirational guide.  He was the last great prophet in the Old Testament tradition, because all of the Law and Prophets merely foretold of the coming Christ, who is Jesus, and so there is no further revelation beyond Jesus that a prophet could foretell.  Christ is the fullness of revelation—the epitome of God’s revealed word—and the extent to which we focus on Christ and resist looking past Him is the extent to which we follow God’s will and receive God’s word, allowing Christ Jesus, as God’s ultimate meaning for us, to really sink in.

Now, John the Baptist lived in the desert (Luke 1:80), perhaps in the Essene community of spiritual ascetics.  He certainly sounds radical enough in this description from Matthew 3: “John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins” (Matt 3:4-6).  A man living on locusts and wild honey, clothed in camel’s hair and preaching repentance while baptizing in the wilderness must have struck the locals as out of the ordinary; and yet, he attracted his own crowd of followers.  In fact, he developed such a cult following after his death, that the Messiahship of Christ and not John actually needed to be emphasized and reiterated to the early Christian community (cf. John 1:15-34; cf. John 3:28). 

But, though John was not the Christ, he still played an important role in the life of Christ, in paving the way for Jesus, as it ways in Malachi 3 and Sirach 48: “Now I am sending to you Elijah the prophet, Before the day of the LORD comes, the great and terrible day; He will turn the heart of fathers to their sons, and the heart of sons to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the land with utter destruction” (Mal 3:23-24); and, “You are destined, it is written, in time to come to put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD, To turn back the hearts of parents toward their children, and to re-establish the tribes of Israel” (Sir 48:10).   

John lived just as we should, in striving not to take the place of Christ—“He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:30)—but to make room in one’s own soul to allow Christ to be the center and focal point.  For the extent to which Christ takes the place of the self or ego in our hearts (cf. Matt 10:37-39; cf. Matt 16:24-28) is the extent to which we can fulfill God’s plan for us and find true happiness and spiritual success in our lives.  John the Baptist is a great role model in showing us how to properly relate ourselves to Christ, and how to practice repentance and purgative self-abnegation, or mortification of the will, so that Christ’s light (cf. John 1:1-9; cf. John 8:12) can enlighten our hearts and lives. 

For human glory is nothing (cf. 1 Cor 1:26-31; cf. 1 Cor 3:21-23)—less than rubbish (cf. Phil 3:7-11)—but Christ’s glory is everything, such that in comparison to it or without it, everything else is literally nothing at all (cf. Wis 9:6).  And so, we must acknowledge John the Baptist’s role as Elijah (Matt 11:7-15; Matt 17:9-13), in paving the way for the Messiah, Jesus, and we must allow this knowledge to facilitate the continual coming of Jesus into our minds and hearts.  For He has come, He is coming, and He will yet come again (cf. Rev 1:7-8; cf. Rev 22:20), and we can experience this reality more deeply, in all three of these ways, by meditating on John the Baptist, and conforming our hearts to him, for he perfectly conformed his to Christ (cf. Rom 12:1-2; cf. Phil 3:17-21).  Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19

² O Shepherd of Israel, lend an ear,
    you who guide Joseph like a flock!
Seated upon the cherubim, shine forth
³     upon Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Stir up your power, and come to save us.

¹⁵ Turn back again, God of hosts;
    look down from heaven and see;
Visit this vine,
¹⁶     the stock your right hand has planted,
    and the son^[f] whom you made strong for yourself.
¹⁸ May your hand be with the man on your right,^[g]
    with the son of man whom you made strong for yourself.
¹⁹ Then we will not withdraw from you;
    revive us, and we will call on your name.

2. Wisdom 9:1-6

^1 [b]God of my ancestors, Lord of mercy,
    you who have made all things by your word
² And in your wisdom have established humankind
    to rule the creatures produced by you,
³ And to govern the world in holiness and righteousness,
    and to render judgment in integrity of heart:
⁴ Give me Wisdom, the consort at your throne,
    and do not reject me from among your children;
⁵ For I am your servant, the child of your maidservant,
    a man weak and short-lived
    and lacking in comprehension of judgment and of laws.
⁶ Indeed, though one be perfect among mortals,
    if Wisdom, who comes from you, be lacking,
    that one will count for nothing.

3. Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11

¹ Until like fire a prophet appeared,
    his words a flaming furnace.
² The staff of life, their bread, he shattered,
    and in his zeal he made them few in number.
³ By God’s word he shut up the heavens
    and three times brought down fire.
⁴ How awesome are you, Elijah!
    Whose glory is equal to yours?

⁹ You were taken aloft in a whirlwind,
    in a chariot with fiery horses.
¹⁰ You are destined, it is written, in time to come
    to put an end to wrath before the day of the Lord,
To turn back the hearts of parents toward their children,
    and to re-establish the tribes of Israel.
¹¹ Blessed is the one who shall have seen you before he dies!

4. Malachi 3:1-5, 22-24

¹ Now I am sending my messenger—
    he will prepare the way before me;^[a]
And the lord whom you seek will come suddenly to his temple;
The messenger of the covenant whom you desire—
    see, he is coming! says the Lord of hosts.
² But who can endure the day of his coming?
    Who can stand firm when he appears?
For he will be like a refiner’s fire,
    like fullers’ lye.
³ He will sit refining and purifying silver,
    and he will purify the Levites,
Refining them like gold or silver,
    that they may bring offerings to the Lord in righteousness.
⁴ Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem
    will please the Lord,
    as in ancient days, as in years gone by.
⁵ I will draw near to you for judgment,
    and I will be swift to bear witness
Against sorcerers, adulterers, and perjurers,
    those who deprive a laborer of wages,
Oppress a widow or an orphan,
    or turn aside a resident alien,
    without fearing me, says the Lord of hosts.

²² Remember the law of Moses my servant,
    whom I charged at Horeb
With statutes and ordinances
    for all Israel.
²³ Now I am sending to you
    Elijah^[g] the prophet,
Before the day of the Lord comes,
    the great and terrible day;
²⁴ He will turn the heart of fathers to their sons,
    and the heart of sons to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike
    the land with utter destruction.

5. Matthew 3:1-12

¹ In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea^{[b] 2} [and] saying, “Repent,^[c] for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” ^3 [d]It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:

“A voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
    make straight his paths.’”

^4 [e]John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him ⁶ and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.

⁷ When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees^[g] coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. ⁹ And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. ¹⁰ Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹ I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire.^{[h] 12 [i]}His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

6. Matthew 10:37-39

³⁷ “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸ and whoever does not take up his cross^[o] and follow after me is not worthy of me. ^39 [p]Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

7. Matthew 11:7-15

⁷ As they were going off, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? ⁸ Then what did you go out to see? Someone dressed in fine clothing? Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces. ⁹ Then why did you go out? To see a prophet?^[g] Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is the one about whom it is written:

‘Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
    he will prepare your way before you.’

¹¹ Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.^{[h] 12} From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence,^[i] and the violent are taking it by force. ¹³ All the prophets and the law^[j] prophesied up to the time of John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is to come. ¹⁵ Whoever has ears ought to hear.

8. Matthew 16:24-28

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,^[t] take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.^{[u] 26} What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? ^27 [v]For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct. ^28 [w]Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

9. Matthew 17:9-13

⁹ As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, “Do not tell the vision^[i] to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” ^10 [j]Then the disciples asked him, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” ¹¹ He said in reply,^[k] “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things; ¹² but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.” ^13 [l]Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

10. Luke 1:57-80

⁵⁷ When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. ^59 [r]When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, ⁶⁰ but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.” ⁶¹ But they answered her, “There is no one among your relatives who has this name.” ⁶² So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. ⁶³ He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. ⁶⁴ Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. ⁶⁵ Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶ All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.

⁶⁷ Then Zechariah his father, filled with the holy Spirit, prophesied, saying:

^68 [s]“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    for he has visited and brought redemption to his people.
^69 [t]He has raised up a horn for our salvation
    within the house of David his servant,
⁷⁰ even as he promised through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old:
⁷¹     salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,
⁷² to show mercy to our fathers
    and to be mindful of his holy covenant
⁷³ and of the oath he swore to Abraham our father,
    and to grant us that, ⁷⁴ rescued from the hand of enemies,
without fear we might worship him ⁷⁵ in holiness and righteousness
    before him all our days.
⁷⁶ And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High,
    for you will go before the Lord^[u] to prepare his ways,
⁷⁷ to give his people knowledge of salvation
    through the forgiveness of their sins,
⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God
    by which the daybreak from on high^[v] will visit us
⁷⁹ to shine on those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow,
    to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

⁸⁰ The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.

11. John 1:1-9, 15-34

¹ In the beginning^[b] was the Word,
    and the Word was with God,
    and the Word was God.
² He was in the beginning with God.
^3 [c]All things came to be through him,
    and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be ⁴ through him was life,
    and this life was the light of the human race;
^5 [d]the light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness has not overcome it.

^6 [e]A man named John was sent from God. ⁷ He came for testimony,^[f] to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. ⁸ He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. ⁹ The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

^15 [j]John testified to him and cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’” ¹⁶ From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace,^{[k] 17} because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God,^[l] who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.

^19 [m]And this is the testimony of John. When the Jews^[n] from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites [to him] to ask him, “Who are you?” ^20 [o]he admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, “I am not the Messiah.” ²¹ So they asked him, “What are you then? Are you Elijah?”^[p] And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” ²² So they said to him, “Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?” ²³ He said:

“I am ‘the voice of one crying out in the desert,
“Make straight the way of the Lord,”’

as Isaiah the prophet said.” ²⁴ Some Pharisees^[r] were also sent. ²⁵ They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet?” ²⁶ John answered them, “I baptize with water;^[s] but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, ²⁷ the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.” ²⁸ This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,^[t] where John was baptizing.

²⁹ The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God,^[u] who takes away the sin of the world. ^30 [v]He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ ³¹ I did not know him,^[w] but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.” ³² John testified further, saying, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove^[x] from the sky and remain upon him. ³³ I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.’ ^34 [y]Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”

12. John 3:22-30

^22 [j]After this, Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea, where he spent some time with them baptizing. ²³ John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim,^[k] because there was an abundance of water there, and people came to be baptized, ^24 [l]for John had not yet been imprisoned. ²⁵ Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew^[m] about ceremonial washings. ²⁶ So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.” ²⁷ John answered and said, “No one can receive anything except what has been given him from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves can testify that I said [that] I am not the Messiah, but that I was sent before him. ²⁹ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man,^[n] who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. ³⁰ He must increase; I must decrease.”

13. John 8:12

¹² Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

14. Romans 12:1-2

^1 [b]I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. ² Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.

15. 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

²⁶ Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, ²⁸ and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, ²⁹ so that no human being might boast^[k] before God. ³⁰ It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, ³¹ so that, as it is written, “Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.”

16. 1 Corinthians 3:21-23

^21 [j]So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you, ²² Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or the present or the future: all belong to you, ²³ and you to Christ, and Christ to God.

17. Philippians 3:7-11, 17-21

⁷ [But] whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss^[g] because of Christ. ⁸ More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God, depending on faith ¹⁰ to know him and the power of his resurrection and [the] sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death, ¹¹ if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

¹⁷ Join with others in being imitators of me,^[l] brothers, and observe those who thus conduct themselves according to the model you have in us. ¹⁸ For many, as I have often told you and now tell you even in tears, conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ Their end is destruction. Their God is their stomach; their glory is in their “shame.” Their minds are occupied with earthly things. ²⁰ But our citizenship^[m] is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. ²¹ He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself.

18. Revelation 1:7-8

⁷ Behold, he is coming amid the clouds,
    and every eye will see him,
    even those who pierced him.
All the peoples of the earth will lament him.
    Yes. Amen.

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,”^[f] says the Lord God, “the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty.”

19. Revelation 22:20

^20 [l]The one who gives this testimony says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

Sunday 12/11/22

Readings: Isa 35:1-6a, 10; Ps 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10; Jas 5:7-10; Mt 11:2-22

Title: “Make Your Hearts Firm”

In today’s reading from Isaiah (Isa 35:1-6a, 10), we hear, “they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God. Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak, say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you” (Isa 35:2-4; cf. Heb 12:12-13).  And in James 5, we hear, “You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another, that you may not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates. Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers and sisters, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord” (James 5:8-10). 

This idea of restraining oneself with self-control (cf. Gal 5:22-23; cf. 2 Tim 1:7) and not giving into fear goes hand in hand with the practice of patience.  For what it means to “Make your hearts firm” (James 5:8), is to practice endurance, to build up a thicker skin with resilience, and to not give so easily into fears or emotions.  For to be driven by fear is just as bad as to be led by any other sort of base desire or emotion (cf. Gal 5:16-26; cf. James 1:26; cf. James 3:1-12; cf. James 4:1-5), and the disordering of the soul, placing the passions or emotions over top of the reason, intellect, and deliberate rational choice, is typically the source of sinful behavior.  It disrupts the good ordering and virtuous hierarchy within the soul, which places God first, and allows humankind to do God’s will by placing humankind’s reason second, and the emotions last.  For if the emotions are placed before the intellect, then a person will be led by potentially sinful desires or base instincts, rather than the rational choice to do the will of God. 

This passage from James 5 tells us, “Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers and sisters, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord” (James 5:10).  And as we read in Matthew 11, we hear of John the Baptist as one such example of a prophet.  Jesus reiterates to John the reason for rejoicing and believing in Him as the Messiah (cf. 1 Pet 3:15-17), as He alludes to today’s passage from Isaiah (Matt 11:4-6; cf. Isa 35:1-6a, 10).  The source of strength (cf. 2 Cor 12:8-10; cf. Phil 4:13) in all the prophets was their belief in the goodness of the LORD and their hope in God.  It is this rightly placed hope that allows one to remain steadfast in purpose and firm in heart (cf. James 5:8), even in the midst of hardship or persecution, because they have their true hope satisfied spiritually, even if it is not visible to the world. 

And as Jesus says, “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Matt 11:11).  And so, if we are to take for “an example of hardship and patience, brothers and sisters, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord” (James 5:10), John the Baptist would certainly be a fine choice of an example to take.  John was in prison, about to be executed, and how did he keep his heart firm?  He sent word to Jesus (Matt 11:2-6).  And Jesus answered back with reassurance and words of Scripture from Isaiah, about the expectation of the coming Messiah fulfilled in Him. 

And so, what can we do?  We can send word to Jesus through prayer and contemplation, for when we pray for God, God will answer, and God is what we will receive.  As we read in James 1: “But if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it” (James 1:5).  And in the Book of Wisdom, we read, “Reflecting on these things, and considering in my heart That immortality lies in kinship with Wisdom, great delight in love of her… I went about seeking to take her for my own…. And knowing that I could not otherwise possess her unless God gave it—and this, too, was prudence, to know whose gift she is—I went to the LORD and besought him, and said with all my heart:” (Wis 8:17-21). 

And as we read in Luke 11: “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him?” (Luke 11:9-13; cf. Matt 7:7-11).  And so, let us find ways to imitate the prophets in our own lives, for they themselves lived by imitating Christ.  For the one source of strength, capable of sustaining any heart through hardship with patience, is the strength that comes from God.  Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 146:6-10

⁶ The maker of heaven and earth,
    the seas and all that is in them,
Who keeps faith forever,
⁷     secures justice for the oppressed,
    who gives bread to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free;
⁸     the Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord raises up those who are bowed down;
    the Lord loves the righteous.
⁹ The Lord protects the resident alien,
    comes to the aid of the orphan and the widow,
    but thwarts the way of the wicked.
¹⁰ The Lord shall reign forever,
    your God, Zion, through all generations!
Hallelujah!

2. Wisdom 8:17-21

¹⁷ Reflecting on these things,
    and considering in my heart
That immortality lies in kinship with Wisdom,
¹⁸     great delight in love of her,
    and unfailing riches in the works of her hands;
And that in associating with her there is prudence,
    and fair renown in sharing her discourses,
    I went about seeking to take her for my own.
^19 [d]Now, I was a well-favored child,
    and I came by a noble nature;
²⁰     or rather, being noble, I attained an unblemished body.
²¹ And knowing that I could not otherwise possess her unless God gave it—
    and this, too, was prudence, to know whose gift she is—
I went to the Lord and besought him,
    and said with all my heart:

3. Isaiah 35:1-6, 10

¹ The wilderness and the parched land will exult;
    the Arabah will rejoice and bloom;
² Like the crocus it shall bloom abundantly,
    and rejoice with joyful song.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
    the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
They will see the glory of the Lord,
    the splendor of our God.
³ Strengthen hands that are feeble,
    make firm knees that are weak,
⁴ Say to the fearful of heart:
    Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God,
    he comes with vindication;
With divine recompense
    he comes to save you.
⁵ Then the eyes of the blind shall see,
    and the ears of the deaf be opened;
⁶ Then the lame shall leap like a stag,
    and the mute tongue sing for joy.
For waters will burst forth in the wilderness,
    and streams in the Arabah.
¹⁰ And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
    and enter Zion singing,
    crowned with everlasting joy;
They meet with joy and gladness,
    sorrow and mourning flee away.

4. Matthew 7:7-11

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. ⁹ Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread,^{[e] 10} or a snake when he asks for a fish? ¹¹ If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.

5. Matthew 11:2-11

^2 [b]When John heard in prison^[c] of the works of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to him ^3 [d]with this question, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” ⁴ Jesus said to them in reply, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: ^5 [e]the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. ⁶ And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”

⁷ As they were going off, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? ⁸ Then what did you go out to see? Someone dressed in fine clothing? Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces. ⁹ Then why did you go out? To see a prophet?^[g] Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is the one about whom it is written:

‘Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
    he will prepare your way before you.’

¹¹ Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.^{[h] 12} From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence,^[i] and the violent are taking it by force. ¹³ All the prophets and the law^[j] prophesied up to the time of John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is to come. ¹⁵ Whoever has ears ought to hear.

6. Luke 11:9-13

⁹ “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. ¹¹ What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? ¹² Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? ¹³ If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit^[e] to those who ask him?”

7. 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

⁸ Three times^[d] I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, ^9 [e]but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses,^[f] in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. ¹⁰ Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

8. Galatians 5:16-26

¹⁶ I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.^{[m] 17} For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want. ¹⁸ But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ^19 [n]Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, ²¹ occasions of envy,^[o] drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. ²⁴ Now those who belong to Christ [Jesus] have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not be conceited, provoking one another, envious of one another.

9. Philippians 4:10-14

¹⁰ I rejoice greatly in the Lord that now at last you revived your concern for me. You were, of course, concerned about me but lacked an opportunity. ¹¹ Not that I say this because of need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I find myself, to be self-sufficient. ¹² I know indeed how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live with abundance. In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need. ¹³ I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me. ¹⁴ Still, it was kind of you to share in my distress.

10. 2 Timothy 1:6-8

⁶ For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God^[e] that you have through the imposition of my hands. ⁷ For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. ⁸ So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,^[f] nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.

11. Hebrews 12:7-13

⁷ Endure your trials as “discipline”; God treats you as sons. For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸ If you are without discipline, in which all have shared, you are not sons but bastards. ⁹ Besides this, we have had our earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not [then] submit all the more to the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰ They disciplined us for a short time as seemed right to them, but he does so for our benefit, in order that we may share his holiness. ¹¹ At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it.

¹² So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees. ¹³ Make straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed.

12. James 1:2-8, 26-27

² Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials,^{[b] 3} for you know that the testing^[c] of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. ⁵ But if any of you lacks wisdom,^[d] he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it. ⁶ But he should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind. ⁷ For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, ⁸ since he is a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways.

^26 [m]If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue^[n] but deceives his heart, his religion is vain. ²⁷ Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows^[o] in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

13. James 3:1-12

¹ Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you realize that we will be judged more strictly, ² for we all fall short in many respects. If anyone does not fall short in speech, he is a perfect man, able to bridle his whole body also. ³ If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we also guide their whole bodies. ⁴ It is the same with ships: even though they are so large and driven by fierce winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot’s inclination wishes. ⁵ In the same way the tongue is a small member and yet has great pretensions.

Consider how small a fire can set a huge forest ablaze. ⁶ The tongue is also a fire. It exists among our members as a world of malice, defiling the whole body and setting the entire course of our lives on fire, itself set on fire by Gehenna. ⁷ For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, ⁸ but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹ With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings who are made in the likeness of God. ¹⁰ From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. This need not be so, my brothers. ¹¹ Does a spring gush forth from the same opening both pure and brackish water? ¹² Can a fig tree, my brothers, produce olives, or a grapevine figs? Neither can salt water yield fresh.

14. James 4:1-5

¹ Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions^[b] that make war within your members? ² You covet but do not possess. You kill and envy but you cannot obtain; you fight and wage war. You do not possess because you do not ask. ³ You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. ⁴ Adulterers!^[c] Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you suppose that the scripture speaks without meaning when it says, “The spirit that he has made to dwell in us tends toward jealousy”?

 ^15. James 5:7-10

^7 [c]Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.^{[d] 8} You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand. ⁹ Do not complain, brothers, about one another, that you may not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates. ¹⁰ Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

16. 1 Peter 3:13-17

¹³ Now who is going to harm you if you are enthusiastic for what is good? ¹⁴ But even if you should suffer because of righteousness, blessed are you. Do not be afraid or terrified with fear of them, ¹⁵ but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, ¹⁶ but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame. ¹⁷ For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil.

Monday 12/12/22

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Readings: Zec 2:14-17 or Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab; Judith 13:18bcde, 19; Lk 1:26-38 or Lk 1:39-47

Title: “A Great Sign”

As we read this beautiful and cryptic apocalyptic text of the Book of Revelation, we may find that more and more things stand out to us as symbolic or significant the more we ponder these words.  Part of the elegance of prophetic or apocalyptic literature is that everything means something, and the richness of meaning of this text is a diamond mine of spiritual value that only brings forth more spiritual jewels the more consistently we delve into it.  One thing we can take away from today’s reading from chapter 11-12 of Revelation (Rev 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab) is that Mary is the ark of the covenant.  This understanding of Mary has been posited in other places, and this is an acceptable understanding of Mary in Catholic Tradition. 

As we read in chapters 11-12, “God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth” (Rev 11:10-12:2).  The description of the woman in chapter 12 is an explanation of the vision of the ark in chapter 11: the woman is the sign of the ark.  And as we read on, we can find out even more about this ark, and how she is the Church pitted against the worldly city of evil and humankind, epitomized by the dragon and two beasts.  Pagan symbolism is prominent in John’s Revelation, which is perhaps the source of the symbolism of the dragon. 

We can see the dragon, the first beast (Rev 13:1-4), and the second beast (Rev 13:11-17) constituting a charade or mockery of God, with the dragon as opposed to God, the first beast corresponding to the Lamb, and the second beast, or false prophet, as pitted against the angels and the 144,000 (Rev 7:4).  The first beast be seen as symbolic of the Roman emperor, and the second beast as corresponding to a Roman governor.  The seven heads of the first beast (Rev 17:9-11) represent the Roman emperors, the sixth being Claudius, the seventh as Tiberius, and the eighth who comes back as Nero (Rev 17:11), as the head that was mortally wounded, but healed (Rev 13:3), as he was reputed to have faked his own death.  The number of the beast corresponds to the name Caesar Nero, whose Greek name in Hebrew letters equates to the number of the beast (Rev 13:16-18). And so, the authority that the dragon, with the seven heads, ten horns, and seven diadems (Rev 12:3), gives to the beast, is associated with the rulership of the Roman Empire in the time of the author of Revelation, John.

This is a densely symbolic description of worldly, Roman affairs, but we hear of the woman’s escape despite the terror of the dragon: “The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God” (Rev 12:6).  This cosmic battle carried on between the dragon and the woman is symbolic of the state of affairs for Christians in this world (cf. John 14:30-31; cf. James 4:4; cf. 1 John 2:15-17), as it is in entering into the desert of prayer and safety that the powers of this world are eventually overcome.  And as we can take this reading in conjunction with today’s readings from Luke, we hear Mary say, “‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word’” (Luke 1:38); and as Elizabeth remarks, “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled” (Luke 1:45). 

As we know of the woman, Mary, “She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and his throne” (Rev 12:5).  And so, keeping this final end in view (cf. Phil 3:12-16; cf. Heb 12:1-4) allows us to keep all things in proper perspective, so that we may persevere in this desert until the time of salvation has come.  And even now, with Jesus in our hearts just as the law was in the ark, we can say, with the “loud voice in heaven” (Rev 12:10), “Now have salvation and power come, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed” (Rev 12:10).  Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Judith 13:18-19

¹⁸ Then Uzziah said to her, “Blessed are you, daughter, by the Most High God, above all the women on earth; and blessed be the Lord God, the creator of heaven and earth, who guided your blow at the head of the leader of our enemies. ¹⁹ Your deed of hope will never be forgotten by those who recall the might of God.

2. Zechariah 2:14-17

¹⁴ Sing and rejoice, daughter Zion! Now, I am coming to dwell in your midst—oracle of the Lord. ¹⁵ Many nations will bind themselves to the Lord on that day. They will be my people,^[h] and I will dwell in your midst. Then you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. ¹⁶ The Lord will inherit Judah as his portion of the holy land,^[i] and the Lord will again choose Jerusalem. ¹⁷ Silence, all people, in the presence of the Lord, who stirs forth from his holy dwelling.

3. Luke 1:26-47

²⁶ In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” ²⁹ But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,^[k] and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, ³³ and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” ³⁴ But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”^{[l] 35} And the angel said to her in reply, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived^[m] a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; ³⁷ for nothing will be impossible for God.” ³⁸ Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

³⁹ During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, ⁴⁰ where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, ⁴² cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. ⁴³ And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord^[n] should come to me? ⁴⁴ For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ Blessed are you who believed^[o] that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

⁴⁶ And Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
⁴⁷     my spirit rejoices in God my savior.

4. John 14:30-31

³⁰ I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world^[n] is coming. He has no power over me, ³¹ but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me. Get up, let us go.

5. Philippians 3:12-16

¹² It is not that I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity,^[i] but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ [Jesus]. ¹³ Brothers, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession. Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ Let us, then, who are “perfectly mature” adopt this attitude. And if you have a different attitude, this too God will reveal to you. ¹⁶ Only, with regard to what we have attained, continue on the same course.

6. Hebrews 12:1-4

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us^[b] and persevere in running the race that lies before us ² while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God. ³ Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart. ⁴ In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.

7. James 4:1-4

¹ Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions^[b] that make war within your members? ² You covet but do not possess. You kill and envy but you cannot obtain; you fight and wage war. You do not possess because you do not ask. ³ You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. ⁴ Adulterers!^[c] Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

8. 1 John 2:15-17

¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things of the world.^[g] If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world, sensual lust,^[h] enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. ¹⁷ Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever.

9. Revelation 7:1-8

¹ After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth,^[b] holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on land or sea or against any tree. ² Then I saw another angel come up from the East,^[c] holding the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who were given power to damage the land and the sea, ³ “Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” ⁴ I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal, one hundred and forty-four thousand marked^[d] from every tribe of the Israelites: ⁵ twelve thousand were marked from the tribe of Judah,^[e] twelve thousand from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand from the tribe of Gad, ⁶ twelve thousand from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand from the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand from the tribe of Manasseh, ⁷ twelve thousand from the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand from the tribe of Issachar, ⁸ twelve thousand from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand from the tribe of Joseph, and twelve thousand were marked from the tribe of Benjamin.

10. Revelation 11:19; 12:1-6, 10

¹⁹ Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a violent hailstorm.

^1 [a]A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman^[b] clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. ² She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.^{[c] 3} Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon,^[d] with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems. ⁴ Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth. ⁵ She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.^[e] Her child was caught up to God and his throne. ⁶ The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God, that there she might be taken care of for twelve hundred and sixty days.

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have salvation and power come,
    and the kingdom of our God
    and the authority of his Anointed.
For the accuser^[j] of our brothers is cast out,
    who accuses them before our God day and night.

11. Revelation 13:1-4, 11-18

¹ Then I saw a beast come out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads; on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads blasphemous name[s]. ² The beast I saw was like a leopard, but it had feet like a bear’s, and its mouth was like the mouth of a lion.^[b] To it the dragon gave its own power and throne, along with great authority. ³ I saw that one of its heads seemed to have been mortally wounded, but this mortal wound was healed.^[c] Fascinated, the whole world followed after the beast. ⁴ They worshiped the dragon because it gave its authority to the beast; they also worshiped the beast^[d] and said, “Who can compare with the beast or who can fight against it?”

¹¹ Then I saw another beast come up out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb’s but spoke like a dragon. ¹² It wielded all the authority of the first beast in its sight and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound had been healed. ¹³ It performed great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of everyone. ¹⁴ It deceived the inhabitants of the earth with the signs it was allowed to perform in the sight of the first beast, telling them to make an image for the beast who had been wounded by the sword and revived. ¹⁵ It was then permitted to breathe life into the beast’s image, so that the beast’s image could speak and [could] have anyone who did not worship it put to death. ¹⁶ It forced all the people, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to be given a stamped image on their right hands or their foreheads, ¹⁷ so that no one could buy or sell except one who had the stamped image of the beast’s name or the number that stood for its name.

^18 [h]Wisdom is needed here; one who understands can calculate the number of the beast, for it is a number that stands for a person. His number is six hundred and sixty-six.

12. Revelation 17:7-14

⁷ The angel said to me, “Why are you amazed? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, the beast with the seven heads and the ten horns. ^8 [g]The beast that you saw existed once but now exists no longer. It will come up from the abyss and is headed for destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world shall be amazed when they see the beast, because it existed once but exists no longer, and yet it will come again. ⁹ Here is a clue^[h] for one who has wisdom. The seven heads represent seven hills upon which the woman sits. They also represent seven kings: ¹⁰ five have already fallen, one still lives, and the last has not yet come,^[i] and when he comes he must remain only a short while. ¹¹ The beast^[j] that existed once but exists no longer is an eighth king, but really belongs to the seven and is headed for destruction. ¹² The ten horns that you saw represent ten kings who have not yet been crowned;^[k] they will receive royal authority along with the beast for one hour. ¹³ They are of one mind and will give their power and authority to the beast. ¹⁴ They will fight with the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and king of kings, and those with him are called, chosen, and faithful.”

Tuesday 12/13/22

Memorial of Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr

Readings: Zep 3:1-2, 9-13; Ps 34:2-3, 6-7, 17-18, 19, 23; Mt 21:28-32

Title: “Change Your Minds and Believe Him”

The parable of the two sons from Matthew 21 (Matt 21:28-32) is one of the most helpful and realistic parables to illustrate for us the folly of humankind.  For we very often come head-to-head with a lack of follow-through in our lives, either in our own commitments or those of others, and this is a very common yet frustrating problem in the modern world.  Also central to the meaning of this parable is the concept of repentance.  For repentance, or metanoia, in Greek, means to change one’s heart or mind, and this metanoia, or repentance, is what conversion is all about.  Even steadfast believers must still practice a continuing conversion, as the path of faith is a continuous process of growth, spiritual development, and turning more and more deeply into the heart of God.  This turning to God and away from the world and created things (cf. James 4:4; cf. 1 John 2:15-17) is what conversion is all about.

And as we look back to the details of this parable, we can see how doing and saying can quite often be very incongruous, and how merely saying something can fall sadly short of bringing it into reality, action, and fruition.  The failure to live up to one’s commitments is a failure most of us have encountered, and if we let it creep into our mundane tasks, it is only a matter of time before it creeps into our faith life, if left unchecked.  For as we know from Luke 16, “The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?” (Luke 16:10-12).  And as frustrated as we may get when someone perhaps overcommits themselves, cannot live up to their promises, and falls away, proving unreliable, how does this make us feel?  If this is something we try to avoid in human matters, what does it mean to be willing to act this way to God (cf. Heb 10:26-39; cf. 2 Pet 2:20-22)? 

We must take care to know what is expected of us as Catholics, and promise to deliver on these vows and obligations.  Because it does not matter less with God—because He is so understanding and merciful.  To the contrary, it matters more with God, for our relationship with Him is the one all our other relationships are merely symbolic of, based upon, and in preparation for (cf. Matt 22:29-32).  This is the time when our promises really matter: when we make them to God.  And so, understanding our duties and baptismal vows, with a good understanding of moral teachings and the commandments, is a necessary part of living out our faith, knowing what to do, and actually doing it. 

For God has not placed upon us too great a burden, that we cannot do it (cf. Deut 30:11-20; cf. Matt 11:28-30; cf. 1 John 5:2-5).  And what is more, He has sent us Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the gift of grace to accomplish all things through God’s strength and not our own (cf. 1 Cor 1:18-31; cf. 2 Cor 12:8-10; cf. Phil 4:13).  We really have no excuse not to make good on our word, in upholding the faith, if we want to call ourselves Catholic Christians.  For the one who denies Christ, and then does God’s will through repentance—by following the conscience—will enter the Kingdom of heaven before those who know God’s will, and yet do not do it (cf. Matt 21:31-32).  For as we know from Luke 12: “That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more” (Luke 12:47-48).

With responsibility comes action, and it is this quality of action that separates the men from the boys, if you will, the children from adults, and those who will enter the Kingdom of God from those who will not (cf. Matt 21:31-32).  For if those who call themselves followers of Christ do not actually follow Jesus, then those who are looked upon as unchristian (cf. 1 Cor 15:33-34; cf. 2 Cor 6:14-18), may actually end up proving themselves, by their deeds and behavior (cf. Matt 7:15-27; cf. Matt 16:27-28; cf. James 2:14-26; cf. 1 John 3:11-18)—though not their words—as more Christian than any faithless “believer.”   

For as we know from James 2 about belief: “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,’ but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead. Indeed someone may say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works. You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble. Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless?” (James 2:14-20; cf. 1 John 3:16-18).  It is not enough just to say we will do God’s will: we must actually do it (cf. Matt 7:21-23; cf. Matt 21:28-32).  Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Deuteronomy 30:11-20

¹¹ For this command which I am giving you today is not too wondrous or remote for you. ¹² It is not in the heavens, that you should say, “Who will go up to the heavens to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may do it?” ¹³ Nor is it across the sea, that you should say, “Who will cross the sea to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may do it?” ¹⁴ No, it is something very near to you, in your mouth^[c] and in your heart, to do it.

¹⁵ See, I have today set before you life and good, death and evil. ¹⁶ If you obey the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I am giving you today, loving the Lord, your God, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and ordinances, you will live and grow numerous, and the Lord, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. ¹⁷ If, however, your heart turns away and you do not obey, but are led astray and bow down to other gods and serve them, ¹⁸ I tell you today that you will certainly perish; you will not have a long life on the land which you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. ¹⁹ I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, ²⁰ by loving the Lord, your God, obeying his voice, and holding fast to him. For that will mean life for you, a long life for you to live on the land which the Lord swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them.

2. Psalm 34:2-3, 6-7, 17-19, 23

² I will bless the Lord at all times;
    his praise shall be always in my mouth.
³ My soul will glory in the Lord;
    let the poor hear and be glad.

⁶ Look to him and be radiant,
    and your faces may not blush for shame.
⁷ This poor one cried out and the Lord heard,
    and from all his distress he saved him.

¹⁷ The Lord’s face is against evildoers
    to wipe out their memory from the earth.
¹⁸ The righteous cry out, the Lord hears
    and he rescues them from all their afflictions.
¹⁹ The Lord is close to the brokenhearted,
    saves those whose spirit is crushed.
²³ The Lord is the redeemer of the souls of his servants;
    and none are condemned who take refuge in him.

3. Zephaniah 3:1-2, 9-13

¹ Ah! Rebellious and polluted,
    the tyrannical city!^[a]
2 It listens to no voice,
    accepts no correction;
In the Lord it has not trusted,
    nor drawn near to its God.

⁹ For then I will make pure
    the speech of the peoples,
That they all may call upon the name of the Lord,
    to serve him with one accord;
¹⁰ From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
    and as far as the recesses of the North,
    they shall bring me offerings.

¹¹     On that day
You will not be ashamed
    of all your deeds,
    when you rebelled against me;
For then I will remove from your midst
    the proud braggarts,
And you shall no longer exalt yourself
    on my holy mountain.
¹² But I will leave as a remnant in your midst
    a people humble and lowly,
Who shall take refuge in the name of the Lord—
¹³     the remnant of Israel.
They shall do no wrong
    and speak no lies;
Nor shall there be found in their mouths
    a deceitful tongue;
They shall pasture and lie down
    with none to disturb them.

4. Matthew 7:15-27

¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ So by their fruits you will know them.

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,^[j] but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ ²³ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you.^[k] Depart from me, you evildoers.’

^24 [l]“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. ²⁵ The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. ²⁶ And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

5. Matthew 11:28-30

^28 [o]“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,^[p] and I will give you rest. ^29 [q]Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

6. Matthew 16:24-28

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,^[t] take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.^{[u] 26} What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? ^27 [v]For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct. ^28 [w]Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

7. Matthew 21:28-32

²⁸ “What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ He said in reply, ‘I will not,’ but afterwards he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, ‘Yes, sir,’ but did not go. ^31 [x]Which of the two did his father’s will?” They answered, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. ^32 [y]When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him.

8. Matthew 22:23-32

²³ On that day Sadducees approached him, saying that there is no resurrection.^[o] They put this question to him, ²⁴ saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies^[p] without children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up descendants for his brother.’ ²⁵ Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died and, having no descendants, left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ The same happened with the second and the third, through all seven. ²⁷ Finally the woman died. ²⁸ Now at the resurrection, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had been married to her.” ^29 [q]Jesus said to them in reply, “You are misled because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God. ³⁰ At the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven. ³¹ And concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you^[r] by God, ³² ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” ³³ When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.

9. Luke 12:41-48

⁴¹ Then Peter said, “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?” ⁴² And the Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute [the] food allowance at the proper time? ⁴³ Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. ⁴⁴ Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. ⁴⁵ But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’^[i] and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, ⁴⁶ then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. ⁴⁷ That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; ⁴⁸ and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.

10. Luke 16:8-13

⁸ And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.

“For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.^{[e] 9} I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth,^[f] so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. ^10 [g]The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. ¹¹ If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? ¹² If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? ¹³ No servant can serve two masters.^[h] He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

11. 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

¹⁸ The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
    and the learning of the learned I will set aside.”

²⁰ Where is the wise one? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made the wisdom of the world foolish? ^21 [i]For since in the wisdom of God the world did not come to know God through wisdom, it was the will of God through the foolishness of the proclamation to save those who have faith. ²² For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³ but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

²⁶ Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, ²⁸ and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, ²⁹ so that no human being might boast^[k] before God. ³⁰ It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, ³¹ so that, as it is written, “Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.”

12. 1 Corinthians 15:33-34

³³ Do not be led astray:

“Bad company corrupts good morals.”

³⁴ Become sober as you ought and stop sinning. For some have no knowledge of God; I say this to your shame.

13. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

^14 [j]Do not be yoked with those who are different, with unbelievers.^[k] For what partnership do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? ¹⁵ What accord has Christ with Beliar? Or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said:

“I will live with them and move among them,^[l]
    and I will be their God
    and they shall be my people.
¹⁷ Therefore, come forth from them
    and be separate,” says the Lord,
“and touch nothing unclean;
    then I will receive you
¹⁸ and I will be a father to you,
    and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.”

14. 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

⁸ Three times^[d] I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, ^9 [e]but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses,^[f] in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. ¹⁰ Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

15. Philippians 4:10-14

¹⁰ I rejoice greatly in the Lord that now at last you revived your concern for me. You were, of course, concerned about me but lacked an opportunity. ¹¹ Not that I say this because of need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I find myself, to be self-sufficient. ¹² I know indeed how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live with abundance. In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need. ¹³ I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me. ¹⁴ Still, it was kind of you to share in my distress.

16. Hebrews 10:26-39

^26 [n]If we sin deliberately after receiving knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains sacrifice for sins ²⁷ but a fearful prospect of judgment and a flaming fire that is going to consume the adversaries. ²⁸ Anyone who rejects the law of Moses^[o] is put to death without pity on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ Do you not think that a much worse punishment is due the one who has contempt for the Son of God, considers unclean the covenant-blood by which he was consecrated, and insults the spirit of grace? ³⁰ We know the one who said:

“Vengeance is mine; I will repay,”

and again:

“The Lord will judge his people.”

³¹ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

³² Remember the days past when, after you had been enlightened,^[p] you endured a great contest of suffering. ³³ At times you were publicly exposed to abuse and affliction; at other times you associated yourselves with those so treated. ³⁴ You even joined in the sufferings of those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, knowing that you had a better and lasting possession. ³⁵ Therefore, do not throw away your confidence; it will have great recompense. ³⁶ You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised.

³⁷ “For, after just a brief moment,^[q]
    he who is to come shall come;
    he shall not delay.
³⁸ But my just one shall live by faith,
    and if he draws back I take no pleasure in him.”

³⁹ We are not among those who draw back and perish, but among those who have faith and will possess life.

17. James 2:14-26

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? ¹⁷ So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

¹⁸ Indeed someone may say, “You have faith and I have works.” Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works. ¹⁹ You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble. ²⁰ Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless? ²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? ²² You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works. ²³ Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called “the friend of God.” ²⁴ See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route? ²⁶ For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

18. James 4:1-4

¹ Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions^[b] that make war within your members? ² You covet but do not possess. You kill and envy but you cannot obtain; you fight and wage war. You do not possess because you do not ask. ³ You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. ⁴ Adulterers!^[c] Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

19. 2 Peter 2

¹ There were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will introduce destructive heresies and even deny the Master who ransomed them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. ² Many will follow their licentious ways, and because of them the way of truth will be reviled. ³ In their greed they will exploit you with fabrications, but from of old their condemnation has not been idle and their destruction does not sleep.

^4 [b]For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but condemned them to the chains of Tartarus^[c] and handed them over to be kept for judgment; ^5 [d]and if he did not spare the ancient world, even though he preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, together with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the godless world; ⁶ and if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah [to destruction], reducing them to ashes, making them an example for the godless [people] of what is coming; ⁷ and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man oppressed by the licentious conduct of unprincipled people ⁸ (for day after day that righteous man living among them was tormented in his righteous soul at the lawless deeds that he saw and heard), ⁹ then the Lord knows how to rescue the devout from trial and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, ¹⁰ and especially those who follow the flesh with its depraved desire and show contempt for lordship.

Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to revile glorious beings,^{[f] 11 [g]}whereas angels, despite their superior strength and power, do not bring a reviling judgment against them from the Lord. ¹² But these people, like irrational animals born by nature for capture and destruction, revile things that they do not understand, and in their destruction they will also be destroyed, ¹³ suffering wrong^[h] as payment for wrongdoing. Thinking daytime revelry a delight, they are stains and defilements as they revel in their deceits while carousing with you. ¹⁴ Their eyes are full of adultery and insatiable for sin. They seduce unstable people, and their hearts are trained in greed. Accursed children! ¹⁵ Abandoning the straight road, they have gone astray, following the road of Balaam, the son of Bosor,^[i] who loved payment for wrongdoing, ¹⁶ but he received a rebuke for his own crime: a mute beast spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

¹⁷ These people are waterless springs and mists driven by a gale; for them the gloom of darkness has been reserved. ¹⁸ For, talking empty bombast, they seduce with licentious desires of the flesh those who have barely escaped^[j] from people who live in error. ¹⁹ They promise them freedom, though they themselves are slaves of corruption, for a person is a slave of whatever overcomes him. ²⁰ For if they, having escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of [our] Lord and savior Jesus Christ, again become entangled and overcome by them, their last condition is worse than their first. ²¹ For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment handed down^[k] to them. ^22 [l]What is expressed in the true proverb has happened to them, “The dog returns to its own vomit,” and “A bathed sow returns to wallowing in the mire.”

20. 1 John 2:15-17

¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things of the world.^[g] If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world, sensual lust,^[h] enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. ¹⁷ Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever.

21. 1 John 3:11-18

^11 [e]For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another, ¹² unlike Cain who belonged to the evil one and slaughtered his brother. Why did he slaughter him? Because his own works were evil, and those of his brother righteous. ¹³ Do not be amazed, [then,] brothers, if the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. Whoever does not love remains in death. ¹⁵ Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. ¹⁶ The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. ¹⁷ If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? ¹⁸ Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.

22. 1 John 5:1-5

^1 [a]Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God, and everyone who loves the father loves [also] the one begotten by him. ² In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. ³ For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, ⁴ for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith. ⁵ Who [indeed] is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Wednesday 12/14/22

Memorial of Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church

Readings: Is 45:6c-8, 18, 21c-25; Ps 85:9ab, 10, 11-12, 13-14; Lk 7:18b-23

Title: “Salvation Bud Forth”

Today’s two readings (Is 45:6c-8, 18, 21c-25; Lk 7:18b-23) form a complementary composite, as like two halves forming a whole.  In Isaiah (45:6c-8, 18, 21c-25), we hear about the works of the LORD from the foundation of the world, as it reads: “I am the LORD, there is no other; I form the light, and create the darkness, I make well-being and create woe; I, the LORD, do all these things” (Isa 45:6-7); “For thus says the LORD, The creator of the heavens, who is God, The designer and maker of the earth who established it, Not creating it to be a waste, but designing it be lived in: I am the LORD, and there is no other” (Isa 45:18); “Who announced this from the beginning and foretold it from of old? Was it not I, the LORD, besides whom there is no other God? There is no just and saving God but me. Turn to me and be safe, all you ends of the earth, for I am God; there is no other!” (Isa 45:21-22). 

What is emphasized here is the oneness of God, and the LORD’s absolute sovereign authority over all things.  What also stands out in this passage is God’s role in creation.  It is only God who creates, God who formed the heaven and the earth, God who created light and darkness, and God alone who does all these things.  The crucial key tying this together with today’s second reading (Luke 7:18b-23; cf. Matt 11:2-6), wherein Jesus also cites Isaiah (Isa 26:19; Isa 29:18-19; Isa 35:5-6; Isa 61:1), is the fall of man, his need for salvation, and the coming of Christ.  For God in the beginning created all things.  However, by the fall of Adam, original sin ensued, and into the world came blindness, lameness, leprosy, deafness, death, and poverty (cf. Luke 7:22-23). 

What was created in the beginning required restoration and re-creation in Christ.  Indeed, as we read in 2 Corinthians 5: “Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer. So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor 5:16-21).

And so, not only is God the Creator of all things, but He is the re-Creator of all things too, when humankind deviates from God and requires His mercy and healing.  Humankind needs salvation, and this salvation only makes proper sense in the context of original sin.  Christ’s entire mission was to issue grace and salvation—from original sin—and so to fully appreciate the new creation in Christ (cf. 2 Cor 5:16-21), we must first fully appreciate the nature and effects of original sin.  What God created in the beginning, humankind sullied and damaged by free choice.  And so, what was in the beginning created by God, needed to be restored by God too, and this is the effect of salvation.

As Jesus tells John’s disciples, “‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me’” (Luke 7:22-23; cf. Matt 11:4-6).  We have all been face to face with human suffering and the effects of sin.  But Jesus came healing and restoring these effects and infirmities, making it plain to anyone with eyes and ears the effect His presence has upon sin and human ailments.  The nature humankind had before Adam is restored into something better and made new in Christ, as this fact of God’s recreation of creation was foretold by the prophets (cf. Isa 43:19; cf. Rev 21:5-6), and then delivered and manifested in Christ. 

If we know the Law, the Prophets, and the Old Testament, and if we know the Gospels, the narrative of Christ’s life, and the New Testament, then we cannot but see that Christ is the fullness of revelation, the one who is to come such that we should look for no other (Luke 7:20; cf. Matt 11:2-3).  Understanding that we need to keep our eyes fixed on Christ (cf. Phil 3:12-16; cf. Heb 12:1-4), and not seek beyond Him, is essential to finding fulfillment in life, because God has intended for us to find our fulfillment in Christ (cf. Eph 1:2-23; cf. Rev 4:11).  Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 85:9-14

^9 [b]I will listen for what God, the Lord, has to say;
    surely he will speak of peace
To his people and to his faithful.
    May they not turn to foolishness!
¹⁰ Near indeed is his salvation for those who fear him;
    glory will dwell in our land.
^11 [c]Love and truth will meet;
    justice and peace will kiss.
¹² Truth will spring from the earth;
    justice will look down from heaven.
¹³ Yes, the Lord will grant his bounty;
    our land will yield its produce.
¹⁴ Justice will march before him,
    and make a way for his footsteps.

2. Isaiah 26:19

^19 [c]But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise!
    Awake and sing, you who lie in the dust!
For your dew is a dew of light,
    and you cause the land of shades to give birth.

3. Isaiah 29:18-19

¹⁸ On that day the deaf shall hear
    the words of a scroll;
And out of gloom and darkness,
    the eyes of the blind shall see.
¹⁹ The lowly shall again find joy in the Lord,
    the poorest rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

4. Isaiah 35:5-6

⁵ Then the eyes of the blind shall see,
    and the ears of the deaf be opened;
⁶ Then the lame shall leap like a stag,
    and the mute tongue sing for joy.
For waters will burst forth in the wilderness,
    and streams in the Arabah.

5. Isaiah 43

¹ But now, thus says the Lord,
    who created you, Jacob, and formed you, Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name: you are mine.
² When you pass through waters, I will be with you;
    through rivers, you shall not be swept away.
When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned,
    nor will flames consume you.
³ For I, the Lord, am your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your savior.
I give Egypt as ransom for you,
    Ethiopia and Seba^[a] in exchange for you.
⁴ Because you are precious in my eyes
    and honored, and I love you,
I give people in return for you
    and nations in exchange for your life.
⁵ Fear not, for I am with you;
    from the east I will bring back your offspring,
    from the west I will gather you.
⁶ I will say to the north: Give them up!
    and to the south: Do not hold them!
Bring back my sons from afar,
    and my daughters from the ends of the earth:
⁷ All who are called by my name
    I created for my glory;
    I formed them, made them.
⁸ Lead out the people, blind though they have eyes,
    deaf though they have ears.

⁹ Let all the nations gather together,
    let the peoples assemble!
Who among them could have declared this,
    or announced to us the earlier things?^[b]
Let them produce witnesses to prove themselves right,
    that one may hear and say, “It is true!”
¹⁰ You are my witnesses^[c]—oracle of the Lord—
    my servant whom I have chosen
To know and believe in me
    and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
    and after me there shall be none.
¹¹ I, I am the Lord;
    there is no savior but me.
¹² It is I who declared, who saved,
    who announced, not some strange god among you;
You are my witnesses—oracle of the Lord.
    I am God,
¹³     yes, from eternity I am he;
There is none who can deliver from my hand:
    I act and who can cancel it?

¹⁴ Thus says the Lord, your redeemer,^[d]
    the Holy One of Israel:
For your sake I send to Babylon;
    I will bring down all her defenses,
    and the Chaldeans shall cry out in lamentation.
¹⁵ I am the Lord, your Holy One,
    the creator of Israel, your King.
¹⁶ Thus says the Lord,
    who opens a way in the sea,
    a path in the mighty waters,
¹⁷ Who leads out chariots and horsemen,
    a powerful army,
Till they lie prostrate together, never to rise,
    snuffed out, quenched like a wick.
¹⁸ Remember not^[e] the events of the past,
    the things of long ago consider not;
¹⁹ See, I am doing something new!
    Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
In the wilderness I make a way,
    in the wasteland, rivers.
²⁰ Wild beasts honor me,
    jackals and ostriches,
For I put water in the wilderness
    and rivers in the wasteland
    for my chosen people to drink,
²¹ The people whom I formed for myself,
    that they might recount my praise.

²² Yet you did not call upon me, Jacob,^[f]
    for you grew weary of me, Israel.
²³ You did not bring me sheep for your burnt offerings,
    nor honor me with your sacrifices.
I did not exact from you the service of offerings,
    nor weary you for frankincense.
²⁴ You did not buy me sweet cane,^[g]
    nor did you fill me with the fat of your sacrifices;
Instead, you burdened me with your sins,
    wearied me with your crimes.
²⁵ It is I, I, who wipe out,
    for my own sake, your offenses;
    your sins I remember no more.
²⁶ Would you have me remember, have us come to trial?
    Speak up, prove your innocence!
²⁷ Your first father^[h] sinned;
    your spokesmen rebelled against me
²⁸ Till I repudiated the holy princes,
    put Jacob under the ban,
    exposed Israel to scorn.

6. Isaiah 45:6-8, 18, 21-25

⁶     so that all may know, from the rising of the sun
    to its setting, that there is none besides me.^[c]
I am the Lord, there is no other.
⁷     I form the light, and create the darkness,
I make weal and create woe;^[d]
    I, the Lord, do all these things.
⁸ Let justice descend, you heavens, like dew from above,
    like gentle rain let the clouds drop it down.
Let the earth open and salvation bud forth;
    let righteousness spring up with them!^[e]
    I, the Lord, have created this.

¹⁸     For thus says the Lord,
The creator of the heavens,
    who is God,
The designer and maker of the earth
    who established it,
Not as an empty waste^[j] did he create it,
    but designing it to be lived in:
I am the Lord, and there is no other.

²¹ Come close and declare;
    let them take counsel together:
Who announced this from the beginning,
    declared it from of old?
Was it not I, the Lord,
    besides whom there is no other God?
    There is no just and saving God but me.

²² Turn to me and be safe,
    all you ends of the earth,
    for I am God; there is no other!
²³ By myself I swear,
    uttering my just decree,
    a word that will not return:
To me every knee shall bend;
    by me every tongue shall swear,
²⁴ Saying, “Only in the Lord
    are just deeds and power.
Before him in shame shall come
    all who vent their anger against him.
²⁵ In the Lord all the descendants of Israel
    shall have vindication and glory.”

7. Isaiah 61:1

^1 [a]The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me;
He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted,
    to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
    release to the prisoners,

8. Matthew 11:2-6

^2 [b]When John heard in prison^[c] of the works of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to him ^3 [d]with this question, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” ⁴ Jesus said to them in reply, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: ^5 [e]the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. ⁶ And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”

9. Luke 7:18-23

¹⁸ The disciples of John told him about all these things. John summoned two of his disciples ¹⁹ and sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” ²⁰ When the men came to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’” ²¹ At that time he cured many of their diseases, sufferings, and evil spirits; he also granted sight to many who were blind. ²² And he said to them in reply, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. ²³ And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”

10. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

¹⁶ Consequently,^[k] from now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer. ¹⁷ So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. ^18 [l]And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹ namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ^21 [m]For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

11. Ephesians 1

¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the holy ones who are [in Ephesus]^[b] faithful in Christ Jesus: ² grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

^3 [c]Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,^{[d] 4} as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love ⁵ he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, ⁶ for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.

⁷ In him we have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace ⁸ that he lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight, ⁹ he has made known to us the mystery^[e] of his will in accord with his favor that he set forth in him ¹⁰ as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.

¹¹ In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, ¹² so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped^[f] in Christ. ¹³ In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed^[g] with the promised holy Spirit, ¹⁴ which is the first installment^[h] of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.

¹⁵ Therefore, I, too, hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love^[j] for all the holy ones, ¹⁶ do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. ¹⁸ May the eyes of [your] hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, ¹⁹ and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might, ²⁰ which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens, ²¹ far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come. ²² And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, ²³ which is his body,^[k] the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.

12. Philippians 3:12-16

¹² It is not that I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity,^[i] but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ [Jesus]. ¹³ Brothers, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession. Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ Let us, then, who are “perfectly mature” adopt this attitude. And if you have a different attitude, this too God will reveal to you. ¹⁶ Only, with regard to what we have attained, continue on the same course.

13. Hebrews 12:1-4

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us^[b] and persevere in running the race that lies before us ² while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God. ³ Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart. ⁴ In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.

14. Revelation 4:9-11

⁹ Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall down before the one who sits on the throne and worship him, who lives forever and ever. They throw down their crowns before the throne, exclaiming:

¹¹ “Worthy are you, Lord our God,
    to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things;
    because of your will they came to be and were created.”

15. Revelation 21:5-8

⁵ The one who sat on the throne^[f] said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then he said, “Write these words down, for they are trustworthy and true.” ⁶ He said to me, “They are accomplished.^[g] I [am] the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give a gift from the spring of life-giving water. ⁷ The victor^[h] will inherit these gifts, and I shall be his God, and he will be my son. ⁸ But as for cowards,^[i] the unfaithful, the depraved, murderers, the unchaste, sorcerers, idol-worshipers, and deceivers of every sort, their lot is in the burning pool of fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Thursday 12/15/22

Readings: Is 54:1-10; Ps 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12a, 13b; Lk 7:24-30

Title: “The Plan of God”

As we read this interesting parenthetical from today’s Gospel reading from Luke (Luke 7:24-30), a thought-provoking correlation begins to emerge: “(All the people who listened, including the tax collectors, who were baptized with the baptism of John, acknowledged the righteousness of God; but the Pharisees and scholars of the law, who were not baptized by him, rejected the plan of God for themselves.)” (Luke 7:29-30).  The baptism of John was in contrast to the baptism of Jesus.  As we can read in John the Baptist’s own words in Matthew 3, “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” (Matt 3:11-12).    

And as we know of this difference also from Acts 19: “He said to them, ‘Did you receive the holy Spirit when you became believers?’ They answered him, ‘We have never even heard that there is a holy Spirit.’ He said, ‘How were you baptized?’ They replied, ‘With the baptism of John.’ Paul then said, ‘John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.’ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid [his] hands on them, the holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied” (Acts 19:2-6).

The baptism of John was not with the Holy Spirit, but only with water, in anticipation of the baptism of Jesus, with the Holy Spirit and fire.  Central to the baptism of John was repentance.  As we also read in Matthew 3: “At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance” (Matt 3:5-8).  What John did was to turn the hearts of God’s children back to God, with repentance, and pave the way for Jesus, the coming Christ (cf. Sir 48:1-11; cf. Mal 3:1-5, 22-24; cf. Luke 1:67-80).

And so, what those baptized by John all had in common is this crucial and fundamental feature of repentance, whereby we admit our wrongs, desire to amend our ways, and begin to actually change (cf. Luke 3:10-18), in conformity with the will of God (cf. Rom 12:1-2; cf. Phil 3:17-21).  And this is all before Christ’s crucifixion, and so it is done before the gift of the Holy Spirit, and without that special provision of God’s grace, given by Christ on the cross.  So, what those baptized by John have in common is not necessarily God’s doing by grace, but it is on the part of humankind, in freely choosing to reform their lives and amend their souls to God. 

Thus, when we look at the two groups of people mentioned in this passage from Luke (Luke 7:29-30)—those baptized by John and those not baptized by John—what creates the difference between them is not necessarily God’s selection (cf. Matt 22:14), but humankind’s own choosing to repent and turn to God.  Thus, this aspect of humankind’s free choice, always seen as secondary to the primary cause of God’s will (cf. Rom 9:14-33; cf. Rom 11:25-36), is what makes the difference between those who “acknowledged the righteousness of God” (Luke 7:29), and those who “rejected the plan of God for themselves” (Luke 7:30).  This is a huge difference, and so pinpointing this fact—of repentance—as a variable in this equation can help us to better understand this effect of salvation, and better institute the workings of it in our own lives, as repentance is a necessary cause leading to the desired effect, of entering into the Kingdom, and closeness with God in divine union by conforming to His will (cf. Matt 7:21-23; cf. Rom 12:1-2). 

And so, as we now circle back to the first reading from Isaiah (Isa 54:1-10), we hear of the “deserted wife” (Isa 54:1).  We hear, “Fear not, you shall not be put to shame; you need not blush, for you shall not be disgraced. The shame of your youth you shall forget, the reproach of your widowhood no longer remember. For he who has become your husband is your Maker; his name is the Lord of hosts; Your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, called God of all the earth. The Lord calls you back, like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, A wife married in youth and then cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great tenderness I will take you back. In an outburst of wrath, for a moment I hid my face from you; But with enduring love I take pity on you, says the Lord, your redeemer” (Isa 54:4-8).

This is an excellent way to understand the dynamics of repentance: as like a cast-off wife or widow who is reunited with her spouse, who is the LORD.  “I will take you back” (Isa 54:7), says God to the wife, who is His people, Daughter Zion, Israel, Daughter Jerusalem (Gal 4:21-31), or the Church (Eph 5:21-33), and the reason God can and will take us back, is because in repentance, we turn to Him and plead for His mercy.  God takes us in because we turn to Him, and so this crucial aspect of repentance, is not only helpful in leading worshipful, prayerful lives, but more than that, it is necessary, for both salvation, and knowledge of God and divine union with the LORD, for the role of humankind in the marriage of the soul to God.  Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 30:2, 4-6, 11-13

² I praise you, Lord, for you raised me up
    and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
⁴ Lord, you brought my soul up from Sheol;
    you let me live, from going down to the pit.

⁵ Sing praise to the Lord, you faithful;
    give thanks to his holy memory.
⁶ For his anger lasts but a moment;
    his favor a lifetime.
At dusk weeping comes for the night;
    but at dawn there is rejoicing.

¹¹ Hear, O Lord, have mercy on me;
    Lord, be my helper.”

¹² You changed my mourning into dancing;
    you took off my sackcloth
    and clothed me with gladness.
¹³ So that my glory may praise you
    and not be silent.
O Lord, my God,
    forever will I give you thanks.

2. Sirach 48:1-11

¹ Until like fire a prophet appeared,
    his words a flaming furnace.
² The staff of life, their bread, he shattered,
    and in his zeal he made them few in number.
³ By God’s word he shut up the heavens
    and three times brought down fire.
⁴ How awesome are you, Elijah!
    Whose glory is equal to yours?
⁵ You brought a dead body back to life
    from Sheol, by the will of the Lord.
⁶ You sent kings down to destruction,
    and nobles, from their beds of sickness.
⁷ You heard threats at Sinai,
    at Horeb avenging judgments.
⁸ You anointed the agent of these punishments,
    the prophet to succeed in your place.
⁹ You were taken aloft in a whirlwind,
    in a chariot with fiery horses.
¹⁰ You are destined, it is written, in time to come
    to put an end to wrath before the day of the Lord,
To turn back the hearts of parents toward their children,
    and to re-establish the tribes of Israel.
¹¹ Blessed is the one who shall have seen you before he dies!

3. Isaiah 54:1-10

¹ Raise a glad cry, you barren one^[a] who never bore a child,
    break forth in jubilant song, you who have never been in labor,
For more numerous are the children of the deserted wife
    than the children of her who has a husband,
    says the Lord.
² Enlarge the space for your tent,
    spread out your tent cloths unsparingly;
    lengthen your ropes and make firm your pegs.
³ For you shall spread abroad to the right and left;
    your descendants shall dispossess the nations
    and shall people the deserted cities.

^4 [c]Do not fear, you shall not be put to shame;
    do not be discouraged, you shall not be disgraced.
For the shame of your youth you shall forget,
    the reproach of your widowhood no longer remember.
⁵ For your husband is your Maker;
    the Lord of hosts is his name,
Your redeemer,^[d] the Holy One of Israel,
    called God of all the earth.

⁶ The Lord calls you back,
    like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,
A wife married in youth and then cast off,
    says your God.
⁷ For a brief moment I abandoned you,
    but with great tenderness I will take you back.
⁸ In an outburst of wrath, for a moment
    I hid my face from you;
But with enduring love I take pity on you,
    says the Lord, your redeemer.

⁹ This is for me like the days of Noah:
As I swore then that the waters of Noah
    should never again flood the earth,
So I have sworn now not to be angry with you,
    or to rebuke you.
¹⁰ Though the mountains fall away
    and the hills be shaken,
My love shall never fall away from you
    nor my covenant of peace^[e] be shaken,
    says the Lord, who has mercy on you.

4. Malachi 3:1-5, 22-24

¹ Now I am sending my messenger—
    he will prepare the way before me;^[a]
And the lord whom you seek will come suddenly to his temple;
The messenger of the covenant whom you desire—
    see, he is coming! says the Lord of hosts.
² But who can endure the day of his coming?
    Who can stand firm when he appears?
For he will be like a refiner’s fire,
    like fullers’ lye.
³ He will sit refining and purifying silver,
    and he will purify the Levites,
Refining them like gold or silver,
    that they may bring offerings to the Lord in righteousness.
⁴ Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem
    will please the Lord,
    as in ancient days, as in years gone by.
⁵ I will draw near to you for judgment,
    and I will be swift to bear witness
Against sorcerers, adulterers, and perjurers,
    those who deprive a laborer of wages,
Oppress a widow or an orphan,
    or turn aside a resident alien,
    without fearing me, says the Lord of hosts.

²² Remember the law of Moses my servant,
    whom I charged at Horeb
With statutes and ordinances
    for all Israel.
²³ Now I am sending to you
    Elijah^[g] the prophet,
Before the day of the Lord comes,
    the great and terrible day;
²⁴ He will turn the heart of fathers to their sons,
    and the heart of sons to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike
    the land with utter destruction.

5. Matthew 3:1-12

¹ In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea^{[b] 2} [and] saying, “Repent,^[c] for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” ^3 [d]It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:

“A voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
    make straight his paths.’”

^4 [e]John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him ⁶ and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.

⁷ When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees^[g] coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. ⁹ And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. ¹⁰ Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹ I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire.^{[h] 12 [i]}His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

6. Matthew 7:21-23

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,^[j] but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ ²³ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you.^[k] Depart from me, you evildoers.’

7. Matthew 22:1-14

¹ Jesus again in reply spoke to them in parables, saying, ² “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast^[b] for his son. ^3 [c]He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. ⁴ A second time he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’ ⁵ Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. ⁶ The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. ^7 [d]The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. ⁸ Then he said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. ⁹ Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.’ ¹⁰ The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,^[e] and the hall was filled with guests. ^11 [f]But when the king came in to meet the guests he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. ¹² He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?’ But he was reduced to silence. ^13 [g]Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’ ¹⁴ Many are invited, but few are chosen.”

8. Luke 1:67-80

⁶⁷ Then Zechariah his father, filled with the holy Spirit, prophesied, saying:

^68 [s]“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    for he has visited and brought redemption to his people.
^69 [t]He has raised up a horn for our salvation
    within the house of David his servant,
⁷⁰ even as he promised through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old:
⁷¹     salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,
⁷² to show mercy to our fathers
    and to be mindful of his holy covenant
⁷³ and of the oath he swore to Abraham our father,
    and to grant us that, ⁷⁴ rescued from the hand of enemies,
without fear we might worship him ⁷⁵ in holiness and righteousness
    before him all our days.
⁷⁶ And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High,
    for you will go before the Lord^[u] to prepare his ways,
⁷⁷ to give his people knowledge of salvation
    through the forgiveness of their sins,
⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God
    by which the daybreak from on high^[v] will visit us
⁷⁹ to shine on those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow,
    to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

⁸⁰ The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.

9. Luke 3:7-20

⁷ He said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce good fruits as evidence of your repentance; and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. ⁹ Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰ And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” ¹¹ He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two tunics should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” ¹² Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” ¹³ He answered them, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.” ¹⁴ Soldiers also asked him, “And what is it that we should do?” He told them, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.”

¹⁵ Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah. ^16 [f]John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing fan^[g] is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” ¹⁸ Exhorting them in many other ways, he preached good news to the people. ^19 [h]Now Herod the tetrarch, who had been censured by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil deeds Herod had committed, ²⁰ added still another to these by [also] putting John in prison.

10. Luke 7:24-30

^24 [h]When the messengers of John had left, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John. “What did you go out to the desert to see—a reed swayed by the wind? ²⁵ Then what did you go out to see? Someone dressed in fine garments? Those who dress luxuriously and live sumptuously are found in royal palaces. ²⁶ Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is the one about whom scripture says:

‘Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
    he will prepare your way before you.’

²⁸ I tell you, among those born of women, no one is greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” ²⁹ (All the people who listened, including the tax collectors, and who were baptized with the baptism of John, acknowledged the righteousness of God; ³⁰ but the Pharisees and scholars of the law, who were not baptized by him, rejected the plan of God for themselves.)

11. Acts 19:1-7

^1 [a]While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the country and came [down] to Ephesus where he found some disciples. ² He said to them, “Did you receive the holy Spirit when you became believers?” They answered him, “We have never even heard that there is a holy Spirit.” ³ He said, “How were you baptized?” They replied, “With the baptism of John.” ⁴ Paul then said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” ⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And when Paul laid [his] hands on them, the holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. ⁷ Altogether there were about twelve men.

12. Romans 9:14-33

^14 [f]What then are we to say? Is there injustice on the part of God? Of course not! ¹⁵ For he says to Moses:

“I will show mercy to whom I will,
    I will take pity on whom I will.”

¹⁶ So it depends not upon a person’s will or exertion, but upon God, who shows mercy. ¹⁷ For the scripture says to Pharaoh, “This is why I have raised you up, to show my power through you that my name may be proclaimed throughout the earth.” ¹⁸ Consequently, he has mercy upon whom he wills, and he hardens whom he wills.

^19 [h]You will say to me then, “Why [then] does he still find fault? For who can oppose his will?” ²⁰ But who indeed are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Will what is made say to its maker, “Why have you created me so?” ²¹ Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for a noble purpose and another for an ignoble one? ²² What if God, wishing to show his wrath and make known his power, has endured with much patience the vessels of wrath made for destruction? ²³ This was to make known the riches of his glory to the vessels of mercy, which he has prepared previously for glory, ²⁴ namely, us whom he has called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles.

“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’
    and her who was not beloved^[i] I will call ‘beloved.’
²⁶ And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
    there they shall be called children of the living God.”

²⁷ And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “Though the number of the Israelites were like the sand of the sea, only a remnant will be saved; ²⁸ for decisively and quickly will the Lord execute sentence upon the earth.” ²⁹ And as Isaiah predicted:

“Unless the Lord of hosts had left us descendants,
    we would have become like Sodom
    and have been made like Gomorrah.”

³⁰ What then shall we say? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have achieved it, that is, righteousness that comes from faith; ³¹ but that Israel, who pursued the law of righteousness, did not attain to that law? ³² Why not? Because they did it not by faith, but as if it could be done by works. They stumbled over the stone that causes stumbling,^{[k] 33} as it is written:

“Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion
    that will make people stumble
    and a rock that will make them fall,
and whoever believes in him shall not be put to shame.”

13. Romans 11:25-36

²⁵ I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not become wise [in] your own estimation: a hardening has come upon Israel in part, until the full number of the Gentiles comes in, ²⁶ and thus all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

“The deliverer will come out of Zion,
    he will turn away godlessness from Jacob;
²⁷ and this is my covenant with them
    when I take away their sins.”

²⁸ In respect to the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but in respect to election, they are beloved because of the patriarchs. ²⁹ For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.

^30 [e]Just as you once disobeyed God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, ³¹ so they have now disobeyed in order that, by virtue of the mercy shown to you, they too may [now] receive mercy. ³² For God delivered all to disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all.

^33 [f]Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!

“For who has known the mind of the Lord^[g]
    or who has been his counselor?”
^35 [h]“Or who has given him anything
    that he may be repaid?”

³⁶ For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

14. Romans 12:1-2

^1 [b]I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. ² Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.

15. Galatians 4:21-31

²¹ Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? ²² For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the freeborn woman. ²³ The son of the slave woman was born naturally, the son of the freeborn through a promise. ²⁴ Now this is an allegory. These women represent two covenants. One was from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; this is Hagar. ²⁵ Hagar represents Sinai,^[o] a mountain in Arabia; it corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery along with her children. ²⁶ But the Jerusalem above is freeborn, and she is our mother. ²⁷ For it is written:

“Rejoice, you barren one who bore no children;
    break forth and shout, you who were not in labor;
for more numerous are the children of the deserted one
    than of her who has a husband.”

²⁸ Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of the promise. ²⁹ But just as then the child of the flesh persecuted the child of the spirit, it is the same now. ³⁰ But what does the scripture say?

“Drive out the slave woman and her son!
    For the son of the slave woman shall not share the inheritance with the son”

of the freeborn. ³¹ Therefore, brothers, we are children not of the slave woman but of the freeborn woman.

16. Ephesians 5:21-33

^21 [e]Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.^{[f] 22} Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the church, he himself the savior of the body. ²⁴ As the church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything. ²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her ²⁶ to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, ²⁷ that he might present to himself the church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. ²⁸ So [also] husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church, ³⁰ because we are members of his body.

“For this reason a man shall leave [his] father and [his] mother
    and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.”

³² This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church. ³³ In any case, each one of you should love his wife as himself, and the wife should respect her husband.

17. Philippians 3:17-21

¹⁷ Join with others in being imitators of me,^[l] brothers, and observe those who thus conduct themselves according to the model you have in us. ¹⁸ For many, as I have often told you and now tell you even in tears, conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ Their end is destruction. Their God is their stomach; their glory is in their “shame.” Their minds are occupied with earthly things. ²⁰ But our citizenship^[m] is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. ²¹ He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself.

Friday 12/16/22

Readings: Is 56:1-3a, 6-8; Ps 67:2-3, 5, 7-8; Jn 5:33-36

Title: “A Burning and Shining Lamp”

“Jesus said to the Jews: ‘You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth. I do not accept testimony from a human being, but I say this so that you may be saved. John was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me’” (John 5:33-36).

Jesus’ description of John as “a burning and shining lamp” (John 5:35) is perhaps one of the most memorable descriptions we receive of John the Baptist, as well as one of the most helpful analogies about what our relationship to God should be, as God is light.  At the core of the meaning of this statement, that God is light, is the idea of truth.  For this light is an analogy and metaphor for spiritual light, which is both goodness and truth.  We know that God is truth (John 8:31-32; John 14:6-7), and God is light (John 1:4-9; John 8:12; John 9:5; 1 John 1:5), and these are two ways of explaining the same thing, as the nature of God.  An additional helpful description occurs in Revelation 21-22, where we hear, “I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb. The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb” (Rev 21:22-23); and, “Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever and ever” (Rev 22:5).

And as John’s Gospel opens, Jesus is described as the light of humankind: “What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:3-9). 

We have also read in Matthew 5, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father” (Matt 5:14-16).  And we have also read in John, “Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’” (John 8:12); and, “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5).

These statements from Matthew and John, that we are the light (Matt 5:14-15), and that Jesus is the light (John 8:12; John 9:5), are both true, but they require further nuancing to understand, and this passage from John 5 (John 5:33-36) helps us to do this.  To be more specific, humankind is the lamp that holds the light (Matt 5:14; cf. John 5:35) more so than the light itself.  It is in this way that we are carriers of Christ and vessels oof the Holy Spirit.  This is an important distinction to make in order to understand the difference between God and the self, which self is brought into divine union with God, within the soul (cf. Matt 10:37-39; cf. Matt 16:24-28). 

Fundamental to appreciating the goodness of God in all His glory is knowing that all that is good comes from God and not ourselves (cf. Matt 19:17; cf. John 3:27-30; cf. 1 Cor 1:18-31; cf. 1 Cor 4:7; cf. James 1:16-18), so this is a very important distinction to make.  John the Baptist too recognized the importance of this point, as he said in John 3: “John answered and said, ‘No one can receive anything except what has been given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said [that] I am not the Messiah, but that I was sent before him. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease’” (John 3:27-30; cf. James 1:16-18).   

And so, as we read this passage from John 5 (John 5:33-36), it can help us to better understand our relation to God as light, and more than that, the relation of God as light to truth.  This light is truth, and it is by setting truth—the Truth who is God—upon that lampstand that we may testify to God.  It is by upholding God’s truth and righteousness in our lives that we do not “light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house” (Matt 5:15).  And it is by understanding that “He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:30) that we can go about exalting and glorifying the true light, who is God (cf. Matt 5:16), and not merely ourselves.  For God and God alone is the light, and without Him we are only darkness.  As we read in Matthew 6: “The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be” (Matt 6:22-23).  It is by enkindling the divine flame of God (cf. Isa 33:14; cf. Acts 2:3-4; cf. 2 Tim 1:6; cf. Heb 12:29) within the soul that our soul becomes light, or by which we can merely share in God’s light, to put it more precisely. 

And so, understanding our role as merely lampstands (cf. Matt 5:14-16; cf. John 5:35; cf. Rev 11:3-5), not the light itself (cf. John 1:3-9), and as merely testifying to the truth (cf. John 1:7-9; cf. John 5:31-40) in being lampstands, and not the truth itself, that we can rightly orient ourselves to God, and rightly appreciate and glorify God for all that He is.  To the extent that we recognize that we are not the light, but God is, is the extent that we can know and thereby love God all the more truly, purely, and deeply, in the light of honesty, factuality, and truth.  To the extent that we see God as light, and ourselves as, without Him, only darkness, is the extent to which, within our souls, we may, as John the Baptist has said, become less, and God may become greater (John 3:27-30).  For God alone is all in all (cf. 1 Cor 15:28; cf. Eph 4:6, 9-10), and only in the fullness of God (cf. Eph 1:22-23; cf. Col 1:15-20; cf. Col 2:9-10) can humankind be who we are meant to be.  It is in this light of God, that we can truly understand and see.  Amen.    

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 7-8

² May God be gracious to us^[b] and bless us;
    may his face shine upon us.
Selah
³ So shall your way be known upon the earth,
    your victory among all the nations.

⁵ May the nations be glad and rejoice;
    for you judge the peoples with fairness,
    you guide the nations upon the earth.
Selah

⁷ The earth has yielded its harvest;
    God, our God, blesses us.
⁸ May God bless us still;
    that the ends of the earth may revere him.

2. Isaiah 33:14

¹⁴ In Zion sinners are in dread,
    trembling grips the impious:
“Who of us can live with consuming fire?
    who of us can live with everlasting flames?”

3. Isaiah 56:1-3, 6-8

^{1     [b]}Thus says the Lord:
Observe what is right, do what is just,
    for my salvation is about to come,
    my justice, about to be revealed.
² Happy is the one who does this,
    whoever holds fast to it:
Keeping the sabbath without profaning it,
    keeping one’s hand from doing any evil.

^3 [c]The foreigner joined to the Lord should not say,
    “The Lord will surely exclude me from his people”;
Nor should the eunuch say,
    “See, I am a dry tree.”

⁶ And foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
    to minister to him,
To love the name of the Lord,
    to become his servants—
All who keep the sabbath without profaning it
    and hold fast to my covenant,
^7 [e]Them I will bring to my holy mountain
    and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
    will be acceptable on my altar,
For my house shall be called
    a house of prayer for all peoples.
^8 [f]Oracle of the Lord God,
    who gathers the dispersed of Israel—
Others will I gather to them
    besides those already gathered.

4. Matthew 5:13-16

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.^{[l] 14} You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶ Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.

5. Matthew 6:22-23

²² “The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; ²³ but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.

6. Matthew 10:37-39

³⁷ “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸ and whoever does not take up his cross^[o] and follow after me is not worthy of me. ^39 [p]Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

7. Matthew 16:24-28

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,^[t] take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.^{[u] 26} What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? ^27 [v]For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct. ^28 [w]Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

8. Matthew 19:16-17

¹⁶ Now someone approached him and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”^{[l] 17} He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good.^[m] If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

9. John 1:1-9

¹ In the beginning^[b] was the Word,
    and the Word was with God,
    and the Word was God.
² He was in the beginning with God.
^3 [c]All things came to be through him,
    and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be ⁴ through him was life,
    and this life was the light of the human race;
^5 [d]the light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness has not overcome it.

^6 [e]A man named John was sent from God. ⁷ He came for testimony,^[f] to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. ⁸ He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. ⁹ The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

10. John 3:22-30

^22 [j]After this, Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea, where he spent some time with them baptizing. ²³ John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim,^[k] because there was an abundance of water there, and people came to be baptized, ^24 [l]for John had not yet been imprisoned. ²⁵ Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew^[m] about ceremonial washings. ²⁶ So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.” ²⁷ John answered and said, “No one can receive anything except what has been given him from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves can testify that I said [that] I am not the Messiah, but that I was sent before him. ²⁹ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man,^[n] who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. ³⁰ He must increase; I must decrease.”

11. John 5:31-40

³¹ “If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony cannot be verified. ³² But there is another^[l] who testifies on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true. ³³ You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth. ³⁴ I do not accept testimony from a human being, but I say this so that you may be saved. ³⁵ He was a burning and shining lamp,^[m] and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. ³⁶ But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. ³⁷ Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form, ³⁸ and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent. ³⁹ You search^[n] the scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. ⁴⁰ But you do not want to come to me to have life.

12. John 8:12, 31-32

¹² Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

³¹ Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him,^[p] “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

13. John 9:1-7

^1 [a]As he passed by he saw a man blind from birth. ^2 [b]His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³ Jesus answered, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. ⁴ We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. ⁵ While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ⁶ When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, ⁷ and said to him, “Go wash^[c] in the Pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed, and came back able to see.

14. John 14:6-7

⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth^[e] and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you know me, then you will also know my Father.^[f] From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

15. Acts 2:1-4

^1 [a]When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. ² And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind,^[b] and it filled the entire house in which they were. ³ Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,^[c] which parted and came to rest on each one of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues,^[d] as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

16. 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

¹⁸ The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
    and the learning of the learned I will set aside.”

²⁰ Where is the wise one? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made the wisdom of the world foolish? ^21 [i]For since in the wisdom of God the world did not come to know God through wisdom, it was the will of God through the foolishness of the proclamation to save those who have faith. ²² For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³ but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

²⁶ Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, ²⁸ and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, ²⁹ so that no human being might boast^[k] before God. ³⁰ It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, ³¹ so that, as it is written, “Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.”

17. 1 Corinthians 4:6-8

⁶ I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, so that you may learn from us not to go beyond what is written,^[b] so that none of you will be inflated with pride in favor of one person over against another. ⁷ Who confers distinction upon you? What do you possess that you have not received? But if you have received it, why are you boasting as if you did not receive it? ⁸ You are already satisfied; you have already grown rich; you have become kings^[c] without us! Indeed, I wish that you had become kings, so that we also might become kings with you.

18. 1 Corinthians 15:20-28

²⁰ But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits^[h] of those who have fallen asleep. ^21 [i]For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead came also through a human being. ²² For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life, ²³ but each one in proper order: Christ the firstfruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ; ²⁴ then comes the end,^[j] when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father, when he has destroyed every sovereignty and every authority and power. ²⁵ For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ^26 [k]The last enemy to be destroyed is death, ^27 [l]for “he subjected everything under his feet.” But when it says that everything has been subjected, it is clear that it excludes the one who subjected everything to him. ²⁸ When everything is subjected to him, then the Son himself will [also] be subjected to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.

19. Ephesians 1:15-23

¹⁵ Therefore, I, too, hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love^[j] for all the holy ones, ¹⁶ do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. ¹⁸ May the eyes of [your] hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, ¹⁹ and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might, ²⁰ which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens, ²¹ far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come. ²² And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, ²³ which is his body,^[k] the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.

20. Ephesians 4:1-6, 9-10

^1 [a]I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, ³ striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: ^4 [b]one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in al.

⁹ What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended into the lower [regions] of the earth? ¹⁰ The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.

21. Colossians 1:15-20

^15 [f]He is the image^[g] of the invisible God,
    the firstborn of all creation.
¹⁶ For in him^[h] were created all things in heaven and on earth,
    the visible and the invisible,
    whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
    all things were created through him and for him.
¹⁷ He is before all things,
    and in him all things hold together.
¹⁸ He is the head of the body, the church.^[i]
    He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
    that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
¹⁹ For in him all the fullness^[j] was pleased to dwell,
²⁰ and through him to reconcile all things for him,
    making peace by the blood of his cross^[k]
    [through him], whether those on earth or those in heaven.

22. Colossians 2:9-15

⁹ For in him dwells the whole fullness of the deity^[d] bodily, ¹⁰ and you share in this fullness in him, who is the head of every principality and power. ¹¹ In him^[e] you were also circumcised with a circumcision not administered by hand, by stripping off the carnal body, with the circumcision of Christ. ¹² You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. ¹³ And even when you were dead [in] transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he brought you to life along with him, having forgiven us all our transgressions; ^14 [f]obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims, which was opposed to us, he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross; ¹⁵ despoiling the principalities and the powers, he made a public spectacle of them, leading them away in triumph by it.

23. 2 Timothy 1:6-8

⁶ For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God^[e] that you have through the imposition of my hands. ⁷ For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. ⁸ So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,^[f] nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.

24. Hebrews 12:25-29

²⁵ See that you do not reject the one who speaks. For if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much more in our case if we turn away from the one who warns from heaven. ²⁶ His voice shook the earth at that time, but now he has promised, “I will once more shake not only earth but heaven.” ²⁷ That phrase, “once more,” points to [the] removal of shaken, created things, so that what is unshaken may remain. ²⁸ Therefore, we who are receiving the unshakable kingdom should have gratitude, with which we should offer worship pleasing to God in reverence and awe. ²⁹ For our God is a consuming fire.

25. James 1:16-18

^16 [h]Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers: ¹⁷ all good giving and every perfect gift^[i] is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. ¹⁸ He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

26. 1 John 1:5-10

⁵ Now this is the message that we have heard from him and proclaim to you: God is light,^[b] and in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” while we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin. ⁸ If we say, “We are without sin,” we deceive ourselves,^[c] and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing. ¹⁰ If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

27. Revelation 11:1-6

^1 [a]Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff and I was told, “Come and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count those who are worshiping in it. ² But exclude the outer court^[b] of the temple; do not measure it, for it has been handed over to the Gentiles, who will trample the holy city for forty-two months. ³ I will commission my two witnesses^[c] to prophesy for those twelve hundred and sixty days, wearing sackcloth.” ⁴ These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands^[d] that stand before the Lord of the earth. ^5 [e]If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouths and devours their enemies. In this way, anyone wanting to harm them is sure to be slain. ⁶ They have the power to close up the sky so that no rain can fall during the time of their prophesying. They also have power to turn water into blood and to afflict the earth with any plague as often as they wish.

28. Revelation 21:22-27

^22 [q]I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb. ^23 [r]The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb. ²⁴ The nations will walk by its light,^[s] and to it the kings of the earth will bring their treasure. ²⁵ During the day its gates will never be shut, and there will be no night there. ²⁶ The treasure and wealth of the nations will be brought there, ²⁷ but nothing unclean will enter it, nor any[one] who does abominable things or tells lies. Only those will enter whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

29. Revelation 22:1-5

¹ Then the angel showed me the river of life-giving water,^[a] sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² down the middle of its street. On either side of the river grew the tree of life^[b] that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month; the leaves of the trees serve as medicine for the nations. ³ Nothing accursed will be found there anymore. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. ⁴ They will look upon his face,^[c] and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever and ever.

Saturday 12/17/22

Readings: Gn 49:2, 8-10; Ps 72:1-2, 3-4ab, 7-8, 17

Title: “Judah, Like a Lion’s Whelp”

The genealogy of Jesus provides us with a very important history of the Lord, and which further helps us to contextualize the Incarnation within the history of humankind.  We can read Jesus’ genealogy in both Matthew (Matt 1:1-17) and Luke (Luke 3:23-28), and both accounts offer their own twist and contribution to our understanding of the history of Jesus.  To begin with, Matthew’s genealogy starts with Abraham and goes forward through time to arrive at the birth of Jesus.  As we read of Mary in Matthew’s genealogy, “Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ. Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Christ, fourteen generations” (Matt 1:16-17).  And as the Evangelist goes on, we hear him divide up the lineage of Jesus into three sets of fourteen. 

In contrast, when we read of Jesus’ genealogy in Luke’s Gospel, it goes backwards in time, from Jesus back to Adam.  Thus, in Luke, we see emphasized the inclusion of the Gentiles, while in Matthew, we see emphasized the Abrahamic origins of the people of God from a more Hebraic tradition.  And so, there is more than one way to contextualize Jesus’ entry as God into the history of humankind, as we gain a deeper understanding of God in history from different perspectives.    

And we can gain even more understanding of Jesus by looking at His relationship with Joseph.  For it is by Joseph that we can trace the line of Jesus’ ancestry back to Judah.  This is the line of the family of King David, from which we were to expect the Messiah (cf. Rev 22:16), and so this is significant.  The promise first made to Abraham by God is emphasized in Matthew’s Gospel, and not so much in Luke’s, and so we can see how God’s promise to Abraham, and then to David after him, was important to the Evangelist, as perhaps it should be for us, too. 

We can read Israel’s blessings to his sons in Genesis 49, and from this learn of this prophetic and fortuitous blessing given to Judah (Gen 49:8-12).  As we hear in today’s first reading from Genesis 49, “Jacob called his sons and said to them: ‘Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob, listen to Israel, your father. ‘You, Judah, shall your brothers praise–your hand on the neck of your enemies; the sons of your father shall bow down to you. Judah, like a lion’s whelp, you have grown up on prey, my son. He crouches like a lion recumbent, the king of beasts–who would dare rouse him? The scepter shall never depart from Judah, or the mace from between his legs, While tribute is brought to him, and he receives the people’s homage’” (Gen 49:2, 8-10).

And who should this passage be describing but Jesus?  We also hear this lion’s whelp mentioned in Revelation 5, as referring to Jesus: “One of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep. The lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed, enabling him to open the scroll with its seven seals’” (Rev 5:5; cf. Rev 22:16).  And so, reading the Old Testament through the necessary interpretive key of Christ always brings so much more richness, meaning, and depth to the Scriptures than they would have on their own without Christ.    

This fruitfulness tells us that we are reading God’s word according to God’s will, and the importance of knowledge of Christ in understanding the Scriptures has been pointed out by Jesus Himself in the Gospel of Luke: “And he said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures…. Then they said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?’” (Luke 24:25-32).

As we read in this blessing from Israel: “The scepter shall never depart from Judah, or the mace from between his legs, While tribute is brought to him, and he receives the people’s homage’” (Gen 49:10).  This is a description of the everlasting reign of God made possible through the Incarnation of Christ, as we have heard of this also in Daniel 7: “As the visions during the night continued, I saw coming with the clouds of heaven One like a son of man. When he reached the Ancient of Days and was presented before him, He received dominion, splendor, and kingship; all nations, peoples and tongues will serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, his kingship, one that shall not be destroyed” (Dan 7:13-14).

And this tribute and homage (Gen 49:10) brought to him also sounds like this passage about “the treasure and wealth of the nations” (Rev 21:26) from Revelation 21, describing the eternal city of God: “I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb. The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and to it the kings of the earth will bring their treasure. During the day its gates will never be shut, and there will be no night there. The treasure and wealth of the nations will be brought there, but nothing unclean will enter it, nor any[one] who does abominable things or tells lies. Only those will enter whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Rev 21:22-27).

The life of Jesus is intimately tied up in the life of humankind, and so understanding Jesus better—including His genealogy, the significance of His lineage, and His entry into the history of humankind—will also help us to better understand ourselves: where we came from, where we are headed, and how we should understand and relate to God.  Amen.       

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Genesis 49:2, 8-12

² “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob,
    listen to Israel, your father.

⁸ “You, Judah, shall your brothers praise
    —your hand on the neck of your enemies;
    the sons of your father shall bow down to you.
⁹ Judah is a lion’s cub,
    you have grown up on prey, my son.
He crouches, lies down like a lion,
    like a lioness—who would dare rouse him?
¹⁰ The scepter shall never depart from Judah,
    or the mace from between his feet,
Until tribute comes to him,^[d]
    and he receives the people’s obedience.
¹¹ He tethers his donkey to the vine,
    his donkey’s foal to the choicest stem.
In wine he washes his garments,
    his robe in the blood of grapes.^[e]
12 His eyes are darker than wine,
    and his teeth are whiter than milk.

2. Psalm 72:1-4, 7-8, 17

¹ Of Solomon.

² O God, give your judgment to the king;
    your justice to the king’s son;^[b]
That he may govern your people with justice,
    your oppressed with right judgment,
³ That the mountains may yield their bounty for the people,
    and the hills great abundance,
⁴ That he may defend the oppressed among the people,
    save the children of the poor and crush the oppressor.

⁷ That abundance may flourish in his days,
    great bounty, till the moon be no more.

^8 [c]May he rule from sea to sea,
    from the river to the ends of the earth.

¹⁷ May his name be forever;
    as long as the sun, may his name endure.
May the tribes of the earth give blessings with his name;^[g]
    may all the nations regard him as favored.

3. Daniel 7:13-14

¹³ As the visions during the night continued, I saw coming with the clouds of heaven

One like a son of man.^[h]
When he reached the Ancient of Days
    and was presented before him,
¹⁴ He received dominion, splendor, and kingship;
    all nations, peoples and tongues will serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
    that shall not pass away,
    his kingship, one that shall not be destroyed.

4. Matthew 1:1-17

¹ The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

² Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. ³ Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, ⁴ Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, ⁵ Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse, ⁶ Jesse the father of David the king.

David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. ^7 [c]Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asaph. ⁸ Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah. ⁹ Uzziah became the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. ¹⁰ Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos,^[d] Amos the father of Josiah. ¹¹ Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exile.

¹² After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, ¹³ Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, ¹⁴ Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, ¹⁵ Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, ¹⁶ Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Messiah.

¹⁷ Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah, fourteen generations.

5. Luke 3:23-38

²³ When Jesus began his ministry he was about thirty years of age. He was the son, as was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli, ²⁴ the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, ²⁵ the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, ²⁶ the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, ²⁷ the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, ²⁸ the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, ²⁹ the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, ³⁰ the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, ³¹ the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,^{[m] 32} the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, ³³ the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, ³⁴ the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, ³⁵ the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, ³⁶ the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, ³⁷ the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, ³⁸ the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

6. Luke 24:25-35

²⁵ And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! ²⁶ Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer^[h] these things and enter into his glory?” ²⁷ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures. ²⁸ As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. ²⁹ But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. ³⁰ And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. ³¹ With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. ³² Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” ³³ So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them ³⁴ who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵ Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

7. Revelation 5:1-5

¹ I saw a scroll^[b] in the right hand of the one who sat on the throne. It had writing on both sides and was sealed with seven seals. ² Then I saw a mighty angel who proclaimed in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” ³ But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to examine it. ⁴ I shed many tears because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to examine it. ⁵ One of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. The lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David,^[c] has triumphed, enabling him to open the scroll with its seven seals.”

8. Revelation 21:22-27

^22 [q]I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb. ^23 [r]The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb. ²⁴ The nations will walk by its light,^[s] and to it the kings of the earth will bring their treasure. ²⁵ During the day its gates will never be shut, and there will be no night there. ²⁶ The treasure and wealth of the nations will be brought there, ²⁷ but nothing unclean will enter it, nor any[one] who does abominable things or tells lies. Only those will enter whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

9. Revelation 22:16

¹⁶ “I, Jesus, sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the root and offspring of David,^[j] the bright morning star.”

Sunday 12/18/22

Readings: Is 7:10-14; Ps 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6; Rom 1:1-7; Mt 1:18-24

Title: “Emmanuel, Which Means ‘God Is with Us’”

The entry of Jesus Christ into human history is truly the center point of all time, because it marks the entry of God into the life of humankind.  The prophecy of the virgin birth of the Son of God comes in today’s reading from Isaiah (Isa 7:10-14), and is clarified and contextualized in today’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew (Matt 1:18-24).  In Matthew, we read, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us’” (Matt 1:22-23; cf. Isa 7:14).  But the sheer fact of the birth of God as man from the virgin womb has some very important implications which also need to be fleshed out, for our fruitful understanding of this momentous event.  For we can better appreciate God as we better understand exactly what He has done for us (cf. John 13:12-20).  For it is by knowing God better that we can thereby love Him more. 

A very concise summation of the coming of Christ into the history of humankind is laid out in today’s second reading from Romans 1 (Rom 1:1-7).  As we go through this short reading line by line, we hear St. Paul—“Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God,” (Rom 1:1)—give us a brief overview of the coming of God into human history.  As he proceeds, he says, “…the gospel of God, which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,” (Rom 1:1-2).  This coming of Christ as the Son of God was not necessarily expected by those awaiting the Messiah, who more likely only expected a new ruler and human king, and not God in the flesh (John 1:14).  But evidence for the coming of God in the flesh does appear in this passage from Isaiah 7, from today’s first reading: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel” (Isa 7:14; cf. Matt 1:22-23). 

As St. Paul goes on, “…the gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh, but established as Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 1:3-4).  We see the unique hypostatic union of God and man in Christ, who is both fully God and fully man, with two distinct natures in one Person, as the promised Messiah and heir to David’s throne comes not only through David’s line, but by God, as God Himself, the Son of God, “Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 1:3-4). The resurrection of Christ from the dead, and the implications of this crucial truth, are at the very core of our religion as Christians.    

As Paul continues, “Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith,” (Rom 1:5).  Christ’s gift of grace and the Holy Spirit was at the heart of His mission on earth, and this grace was given in order to bring about obedience through faith.  This close connection between obedience (cf. Heb 5:7-10) and faith cannot be underscored enough, as it is by obedience to our trust in God that we submit in faith to His revealed truth and divine will, made known through the Scriptures and Christ.

And as Paul continues, “…for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles, among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ;” (Rom 1:5-6).  The salvation given through Christ is not for the Hebrews alone, but for the Gentiles also (Rom 11:11-36), so that, as has been foretold, all nations shall come to know God (cf. Ps 46:11; cf. Ps 72:11; cf. Ezek 36:23; cf. Ezek 38:23).  This salvation means that we belong to Jesus, and not ourselves (1 Cor 3:21-23; 1 Cor 6:19-20), and it entails that we act in faith and obedience according to the will of God, foretold in the Prophets (Ezek 36:25-32), and made possible through grace.

And as Paul finishes in today’s passage from Romans 1, “…to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 1:7).  The call to Christ is the call to holiness, as God wills for us to be holy—that is what it means to “be perfect” (Matt 5:48; cf. Heb 2:10-11)—and He also gives us the means to actually do it.  It is through grace and the power of Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, that we have peace with God in the fullness of the Trinity, and the ability to do God’s will by the Holy Spirit. And it is through Christ and Christ alone that the Scriptures are fulfilled, and we receive salvation, leading to the eternal Kingdom of God in everlasting life.  Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 24:1-6

¹ A psalm of David.

The earth is the Lord’s and all it holds,
    the world and those who dwell in it.
² For he founded it on the seas,
    established it over the rivers.

³ Who may go up the mountain of the Lord?
    Who can stand in his holy place?
^4 [b]“The clean of hand and pure of heart,
    who has not given his soul to useless things,
    what is vain.
⁵ He will receive blessings from the Lord,
    and justice from his saving God.
⁶ Such is the generation that seeks him,
    that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.”
Selah

2. Psalm 46:9-12

⁹ Come and see the works of the Lord,
    who has done fearsome deeds on earth;
¹⁰ Who stops wars to the ends of the earth,
    breaks the bow, splinters the spear,
    and burns the shields with fire;
¹¹ “Be still and know that I am God!
    I am exalted among the nations,
    exalted on the earth.”
¹² The Lord of hosts is with us;
    our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Selah

3. Psalm 72:8-14

^8 [c]May he rule from sea to sea,
    from the river to the ends of the earth.
⁹ May his foes kneel before him,
    his enemies lick the dust.
¹⁰ May the kings of Tarshish and the islands^[d] bring tribute,
    the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
¹¹ May all kings bow before him,
    all nations serve him.
¹² For he rescues the poor when they cry out,
    the oppressed who have no one to help.
¹³ He shows pity to the needy and the poor
    and saves the lives of the poor.
¹⁴ From extortion and violence he redeems them,
    for precious is their blood^[e] in his sight.

4. Isaiah 7:10-14

¹⁰ Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: ¹¹ Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God; let it be deep as Sheol, or high as the sky!^{[g] 12} But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!”^{[h] 13} Then he said: Listen, house of David! Is it not enough that you weary human beings? Must you also weary my God? ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign;^[i] the young woman, pregnant and about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel..

5. Ezekiel 36:23-32

²³ But I will show the holiness of my great name, desecrated among the nations, in whose midst you desecrated it. Then the nations shall know that I am the Lord—oracle of the Lord God—when through you I show my holiness before their very eyes. ²⁴ I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you back to your own soil. ^25 [c]I will sprinkle clean water over you to make you clean; from all your impurities and from all your idols I will cleanse you. ²⁶ I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ I will put my spirit within you so that you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep them. ²⁸ You will live in the land I gave to your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ I will deliver you from all your impurities. I will summon the grain and make it plentiful; I will not send famine against you. ³⁰ I will increase the fruit on your trees and the crops in your fields so that you no longer endure reproach from the nations because of famine. ³¹ Then you will remember your evil behavior and your deeds that were not good; you will loathe yourselves for your sins and your abominations. ³² Not for your sake do I act—oracle of the Lord God. Let this be known to you! Be ashamed and humbled because of your behavior, house of Israel.

6. Ezekiel 38:23

²³ And so I will show my greatness and holiness and make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.

7. Matthew 1:18-24

¹⁸ Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,^[g] but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,^[h] yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. ²⁰ Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord^[i] appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. ²¹ She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,^[j] because he will save his people from their sins.” ²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

^23 [k]“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
    and they shall name him Emmanuel,”

which means “God is with us.” ²⁴ When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. ²⁵ He had no relations with her until she bore a son,^[l] and he named him Jesus.

8. Matthew 5:43-48

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors^[ab] do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same?^{[ac] 48} So be perfect,^[ad] just as your heavenly Father is perfect.

9. John 1:14

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh^[i]
    and made his dwelling among us,
    and we saw his glory,
    the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
    full of grace and truth.

10. John 13:12-20

¹² So when he had washed their feet [and] put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? ¹³ You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. ¹⁴ If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do. ¹⁶ Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger^[g] greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it. ¹⁸ I am not speaking of all of you. I know those whom I have chosen. But so that the scripture might be fulfilled, ‘The one who ate my food has raised his heel against me.’ ¹⁹ From now on I am telling you before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe that I AM. ²⁰ Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”

11. Romans 1:1-7

¹ Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus,^[b] called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God, ² which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy scriptures, ^3 [c]the gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh, ⁴ but established as Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. ^5 [d]Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles, ⁶ among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; ⁷ to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy.^[e] Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

12. Romans 11:11-36

^11 [b]Hence I ask, did they stumble so as to fall? Of course not! But through their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make them jealous. ¹² Now if their transgression is enrichment for the world, and if their diminished number is enrichment for the Gentiles, how much more their full number.

¹³ Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I glory in my ministry ¹⁴ in order to make my race jealous and thus save some of them. ¹⁵ For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? ^16 [c]If the firstfruits are holy, so is the whole batch of dough; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

¹⁷ But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place and have come to share in the rich root of the olive tree, ¹⁸ do not boast against the branches. If you do boast, consider that you do not support the root; the root supports you. ¹⁹ Indeed you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” ²⁰ That is so. They were broken off because of unbelief, but you are there because of faith. So do not become haughty, but stand in awe. ²¹ For if God did not spare the natural branches, [perhaps] he will not spare you either. ²² See, then, the kindness and severity of God: severity toward those who fell, but God’s kindness to you, provided you remain in his kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off. ²³ And they also, if they do not remain in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. ²⁴ For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated one, how much more will they who belong to it by nature be grafted back into their own olive tree.

²⁵ I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not become wise [in] your own estimation: a hardening has come upon Israel in part, until the full number of the Gentiles comes in, ²⁶ and thus all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

“The deliverer will come out of Zion,
    he will turn away godlessness from Jacob;
²⁷ and this is my covenant with them
    when I take away their sins.”

²⁸ In respect to the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but in respect to election, they are beloved because of the patriarchs. ²⁹ For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.

^30 [e]Just as you once disobeyed God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, ³¹ so they have now disobeyed in order that, by virtue of the mercy shown to you, they too may [now] receive mercy. ³² For God delivered all to disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all.

^33 [f]Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!

³⁴ “For who has known the mind of the Lord^[g]
    or who has been his counselor?”
^35 [h]“Or who has given him anything
    that he may be repaid?”

³⁶ For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

13. 1 Corinthians 3:21-23

^21 [j]So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you, ²² Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or the present or the future: all belong to you, ²³ and you to Christ, and Christ to God.

14. 1 Corinthians 6:16-20

¹⁹ Do you not know that your body is a temple^[i] of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? ²⁰ For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.

15. Hebrews 2:10-11

¹⁰ For it was fitting that he, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering. ¹¹ He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin. Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them “brothers,”

16. Hebrews 5:7-10

⁷ In the days when he was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death,^[e] and he was heard because of his reverence. ⁸ Son though he was,^[f] he learned obedience from what he suffered; ⁹ and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, ¹⁰ declared by God high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Monday 12/19/22

Readings: Jgs 13:2-7, 24-25a; Ps 71:3-4a, 5-6ab, 16-17; Lk 1:5-25

Title: “Believe My Words, Which Will Be Fulfilled at Their Proper Time”

“‘I am Gabriel, who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time’” (Luke 1:19-20). 

The role of belief in our relationship with God cannot be underscored enough.  For without belief, there is no trust, and without trust, there is no relationship, because relationships are founded upon trust.  This trust works by love (cf. Gal 5:6), and so both love and trust are the foundation of any relationship, and if belief in what another says is lacking, then this means that loving trust is lacking, too.  If we can see how much honesty, truth, and trust matter in our human relationships, can we see how these foundational factors matter even more so in our relationship with God?  For our relationship with God is our most important one, and it is the one which all of our other relationships are meant to be formed in the image of, just as we ourselves are made in the image of God (Gen 1:26-27). 

And so, the importance of belief for our faith cannot be underscored enough.  In fact, as John’s Gospel nears the end, we hear Jesus say, “‘Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed’” (John 20:29).  Belief corresponds to blessedness, as Jesus tells us, and this rings true also as we read through Christ’s infancy narrative in Luke 1: “Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her” (Luke 1:38); and as Elizabeth remarked to Mary, “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled” (Luke 1:45). 

The reception of the angel’s words by Mary stands in contrast to the reception of the angel Gabriel’s words by Zechariah.  And not only does this demonstrate to us the blessedness of the Holy Mother (cf. Luke 11:27-28), but it also shows us that this blessedness of faithful belief can show up in the most unexpected places.  For Zechariah was a priest, and his wife was from a line of priests (Luke 1:5), and “Both were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly” (Luke 1:6).  And yet, Zechariah did not believe, and accordingly, he was struck mute until the birth of his son.  In contrast, Mary was just a girl of humble origins, and with grace and obedience, she believed.

The relationship between belief and a relationship with God goes hand in hand with the relationship between belief and blessedness, for it is our relation to God—with pure belief, and in perfect, loving trust—that can make any of us blessed.  Being blessed in the eyes of God has to do with far more than just performing righteous deeds; it has further to do with the internal state of the heart, and an individual’s inclination to belief.  For just as we know that, “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26; cf. James 2:14-26), and merely believing that God is one is not enough (James 2:19-20), so too, righteous deeds without belief mean that one has not yet been brought into the perfection of God’s love yet, either.  Ideally, what we should see is congruence inside and out, with our inner belief corresponding to our outer deeds.  To have only one—either one—without the other, means to be seriously lacking in some aspect of faith. 

And so, whatever we are lacking in our spiritual lives, we should pray to God for (cf. James 1:5-8), for if we seek God, He will bring us to Him (Matt 7:7-11; Luke 11:9-13), and if we ask for His Holy Spirit, He will give it to us: “how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him?” (Luke 11:13).  And so, the importance of belief cannot be underscored enough.  For it is meant to be the foundation of our righteous deeds, but more than that, it is the foundation of our relationship with God.  Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Genesis 1:26-27

²⁶ Then God said: Let us make^[e] human beings in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth.

²⁷ God created mankind in his image;
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female^[f] he created them.

2. Judges 13:2-7, 24-25

² There was a certain man from Zorah, of the clan of the Danites,^[a] whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren and had borne no children. ³ An angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her: Though you are barren and have had no children, you will conceive and bear a son. ⁴ Now, then, be careful to drink no wine or beer and to eat nothing unclean, ⁵ for you will conceive and bear a son. No razor shall touch his head, for the boy is to be a nazirite for God^[b] from the womb. It is he who will begin to save Israel from the power of the Philistines.

⁶ The woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me; he had the appearance of an angel of God, fearsome indeed. I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name. ⁷ But he said to me, ‘You will conceive and bear a son. So drink no wine or beer, and eat nothing unclean. For the boy shall be a nazirite for God from the womb, until the day of his death.’”

²⁴ The woman bore a son and named him Samson, and when the boy grew up the Lord blessed him. ²⁵ The spirit of the Lord came upon him for the first time in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

3. Psalm 71:3-6, 16-17

³ Be my rock of refuge,
    my stronghold to give me safety;
    for you are my rock and fortress.
⁴ My God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked,
    from the clutches of the evil and violent.
⁵ You are my hope, Lord;
    my trust, God, from my youth.
⁶ On you I have depended since birth;
    from my mother’s womb you are my strength;
    my hope in you never wavers.

¹⁶ I will speak of the mighty works of the Lord;
    O God, I will tell of your singular justice.

¹⁷ God, you have taught me from my youth;
    to this day I proclaim your wondrous deeds.

4. Matthew 7:7-11

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. ⁹ Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread,^{[e] 10} or a snake when he asks for a fish? ¹¹ If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.

5. Luke 1:5-25, 34-45

⁵ In the days of Herod, King of Judea,^[c] there was a priest named Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah; his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ Both were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. ⁷ But they had no child,^[d] because Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years. ⁸ Once when he was serving as priest in his division’s turn before God, ⁹ according to the practice of the priestly service, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense. ¹⁰ Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense offering, ¹¹ the angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of incense. ¹² Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid,^[e] Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of [the] Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink.^[f] He will be filled with the holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, ¹⁶ and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah^[g] to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.” ¹⁸ Then Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” ¹⁹ And the angel said to him in reply, “I am Gabriel,^[h] who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. ²⁰ But now you will be speechless and unable to talk^[i] until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”

²¹ Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary. ²² But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He was gesturing to them but remained mute. ²³ Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home. ²⁴ After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she went into seclusion for five months, saying, ²⁵ “So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others.”

³⁴ But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”^{[l] 35} And the angel said to her in reply, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived^[m] a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; ³⁷ for nothing will be impossible for God.” ³⁸ Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

³⁹ During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, ⁴⁰ where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, ⁴² cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. ⁴³ And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord^[n] should come to me? ⁴⁴ For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ Blessed are you who believed^[o] that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

6. Luke 11:9-13, 27-28

⁹ “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. ¹¹ What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? ¹² Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? ¹³ If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit^[e] to those who ask him?”

²⁷ While he was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” ²⁸ He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

7. John 20:24-29

²⁴ Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” ²⁶ Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” ^28 [q]Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” ^29 [r]Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

8. Galatians 5:2-6

² It is I, Paul, who am telling you that if you have yourselves circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. ³ Once again I declare to every man who has himself circumcised that he is bound to observe the entire law.^{[c] 4} You are separated from Christ, you who are trying to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. ⁵ For through the Spirit, by faith, we await the hope of righteousness. ⁶ For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

9. James 1:2-8

² Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials,^{[b] 3} for you know that the testing^[c] of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. ⁵ But if any of you lacks wisdom,^[d] he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it. ⁶ But he should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind. ⁷ For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, ⁸ since he is a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways.

10. James 2:14-26

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? ¹⁷ So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

¹⁸ Indeed someone may say, “You have faith and I have works.” Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works. ¹⁹ You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble. ²⁰ Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless? ²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? ²² You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works. ²³ Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called “the friend of God.” ²⁴ See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route? ²⁶ For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

Tuesday 12/20/22

Readings: Is 7:10-14; Ps 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6; Lk 1:26-38

Title: “Found Favor with God”

As we first learn about Mary from the Gospel of Luke, we hear her greeted by the angel Gabriel: “And coming to her, he said, ‘Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you’” (Luke 1:28).  For those of us familiar with the Hail Mary or the prayers of the Rosary, these words may sound so commonplace to us that we have a hard time still letting the depth of their meaning sink in.  Or, conversely, we may be so accustomed to reciting similar words in prayer, that a vast array of other prayerful associations immediately shows up, and we cannot take these words in all their simplicity as they appear in the Gospel of Luke.  And so, for whatever reason, either because of our familiarity or despite it, it may serve us well to linger over these all-too-familiar words in the angel’s greeting to Mary, and ponder what they really mean to us as they appear here, in Luke’s Gospel.

The angel says, “‘Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you’” (Luke 1:28), but just what exactly does this mean, and what are its implications?  We can begin analyzing this passage by first reading down through the rest of it, and seeing how it ends.  For this last line helps to clarify the first few verses.  In the course of this passage, see Mary respond to the angel twice, the second time with these words at the end of the passage: “Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word’” (Luke 1:38).  Mary gives her humble fiat of holy submission to the will of God.  This is what it means to be “full of grace” (Luke 1:28): to be filled with God’s Spirit by conformity to the will of God; by hearing the word of God and doing it (Luke 11:27-28; cf. Matt 7:21-27; cf. Matt 12:48-50; cf. Rom 12:1-2). 

And now, as we look back to the beginning of this passage, we can go through it with a better sense of where it ends.  When the angel first greets Mary, we hear, “But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be” (Luke 1:29).  And the angel then said to Mary, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God” (Luke 1:30).  The angel tells her both not to fear, and that she has found favor with God.  And so, what exactly does it mean to be favored by God?  The angel goes on to describe how she will give birth to a son whom she will name Jesus, and, “He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32-33).

Mary is here told that to be favored by God and full of grace means to carry the Christ Child within her, as her own son and as God, both.  We can understand this grace and favor in light of the teaching on the Immaculate Conception, as Mary was conceived without sin, either original sin or personal sin.  And so, this is a very special sort of favor and grace beyond what we would find in anyone else.  And rightly so, because this is a very special sort of Son whom we would not find in anyone else. However, beyond the fact that none of us are specially favored in the same way that Mary is favored, we can still learn some things about her in her interaction with Gabriel that we can take away from this text, and imitate in our own lives. 

Though the Immaculate Conception is descriptive of Mary alone as far as human beings go, we can still look to the source of what makes her full of grace and favored by God. It is first of all by God’s will (cf. Rom 11:33-36) that Mary is favored, but on Mary’s part, it is this is humble, obedient submission to the will of God (cf. Matt 7:21-27; cf. Matt 12:48-50; cf. Rom 12:1-2), an eagerness or receptivity to the Holy Spirit and carrying Christ within her, and conformity to the Holy Trinity, in hearing the word of God and doing it (cf. Luke 11:27-28).  And so, though we are all too familiar with the words of Gabriel, “‘Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you’” (Luke 1:28), let us respond in our hearts with the fiat of Mary, “‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word’” (Luke 1:38).  Amen. 

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 24:1-6

¹ A psalm of David.

The earth is the Lord’s and all it holds,
    the world and those who dwell in it.
² For he founded it on the seas,
    established it over the rivers.

³ Who may go up the mountain of the Lord?
    Who can stand in his holy place?
^4 [b]“The clean of hand and pure of heart,
    who has not given his soul to useless things,
    what is vain.
⁵ He will receive blessings from the Lord,
    and justice from his saving God.
⁶ Such is the generation that seeks him,
    that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.”
Selah

2. Isaiah 7:10-14

¹⁰ Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: ¹¹ Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God; let it be deep as Sheol, or high as the sky!^{[g] 12} But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!”^{[h] 13} Then he said: Listen, house of David! Is it not enough that you weary human beings? Must you also weary my God? ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign;^[i] the young woman, pregnant and about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel.

3. Matthew 7:21-27

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,^[j] but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ ²³ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you.^[k] Depart from me, you evildoers.’

^24 [l]“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. ²⁵ The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. ²⁶ And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

4. Matthew 12:46-50

⁴⁶ While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. ⁴⁷ [Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.”]^{[ag] 48} But he said in reply to the one who told him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹ And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

5. Luke 1:26-38

²⁶ In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” ²⁹ But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,^[k] and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, ³³ and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” ³⁴ But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”^{[l] 35} And the angel said to her in reply, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived^[m] a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; ³⁷ for nothing will be impossible for God.” ³⁸ Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

6. Luke 11:27-28

²⁷ While he was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” ²⁸ He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

7. Romans 11:33-36

^33 [f]Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!

³⁴ “For who has known the mind of the Lord^[g]
    or who has been his counselor?”
^35 [h]“Or who has given him anything
    that he may be repaid?”

³⁶ For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

8. Romans 12:1-2

^1 [b]I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. ² Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.

Wednesday 12/21/22

Saint Peter Canisius

Readings: Sg 2:8-14 or Zep 3:14-18a; Ps 33:2-3, 11-12, 20-21; Lk 1:39-45

Title: “Filled with the Holy Spirit”

As we read this Bible passage describing the Visitation in Luke’s Gospel (Luke 1:39-45), there are several things that stand out, especially pertaining to the Holy Spirit.  The first is how at Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in Elizabeth’s womb.  In fact, that the infant leaped is repeated, as we hear, “the infant leaped in her womb” (Luke 1:41), and again, “the infant in my womb leaped for joy” (Luke 1:44).  This leaping of the infant John the Baptist is both repeated and elaborated upon, and this statement about John the Baptist leaping for joy at the greeting of Mary, while still in his mother’s womb, may also call to mind this verse from John 3 about rejoicing at the voice of the bridegroom: “John answered and said, ‘No one can receive anything except what has been given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said [that] I am not the Messiah, but that I was sent before him. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease’” (John 3:27-30).  And so, this unique incident of John the Baptist leaping for joy in his mother’s womb takes on even more significance the more we relate it to other Bible passages.

And as we read on, it says, “and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice…” (Luke 1:41-42).  There are unique implications of being filled with the Holy Spirit.  For it is never just for nothing that one is filled with the Holy Spirit, but only to fulfil specific purposes of God.  We can gain additional insight into this phenomenon from Acts 2 and 19: “And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim” (Acts 2:4); “we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God” (Acts 2:11); and, “And when Paul laid [his] hands on them, the holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied” (Acts 19:6). 

We also hear St. Peter quote the prophecy of Joel in Acts 2 (Acts 2:16-21), which further describes the relationship between the spirit and prophecy: “this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: ‘It will come to pass in the last days,’ God says, ‘that I will pour out a portion of my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. Indeed, upon my servants and my handmaids I will pour out a portion of my spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy” (Acts 2:17-18).  In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit was given to them to proclaim the mighty acts of God, and in Acts 19, as they received the Holy Spirit, they spoke out and prophesied. 

Indeed, the act of speech, in proclaiming the works of God, and prophecy, are of special importance, as we know from St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 14 (1 Cor 14:1-40).  Even the way Elizabeth “cried out in a loud voice” calls to mind prophecy, as the prophets, and John the Baptist specifically (John 1:23), are also described as “crying out” in this way (Isa 40:3-9).  And so, when Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit, it is so that she may proclaim the following words to Mary: “‘Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled’” (Luke 1:42-45). 

We can break down this proclamation line by line to examine it in more detail.  As this statement by Elizabeth begins, we hear this familiar line from the Hail Mary: “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Luke 1:42).  As it appears in Luke, this line not only describes Mary as blessed, but as “most blessed” (Luke 1:42, emphasis added).  Mary is called the Blessed Mother because she is uniquely blessed, and most blessed among women.  And just as the Holy Spirit is not given for nothing, but so that we might proclaim the works and words of God, neither is this blessedness of the Blessed Mother given for nothing, but so that she may bring forth the blessed fruit of her womb, Jesus. 

And as Elizabeth continues, “And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:43).  We further know of proclamations from 1 Corinthians 12, that, “no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the holy Spirit” (1 Cor 12:3).  And so, we have here certain quintessential elements of a proclamation by the Holy Spirit: Elizabeth declares Jesus is Lord, and she proclaims the mighty deeds of God in showing this favor upon Mary.  For as Mary, likewise inspired by the Holy Spirit, goes on to say, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name” (Luke 1:46-49). 

And the fruit of this proclamation by the Holy Spirit?  As Elizabeth continues, “For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy” (Luke 1:44).  We hear of the joy of John the Baptist, as all true rejoicing can only be done in God.  Joy is the natural outpouring of inspiration by the Holy Spirit, as a fruit and effect of the word of God (cf. Isa 55:10-11).  And as Elizabeth concludes: “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled” (Luke 1:45).  It is not enough to merely speak of the deeds and goodness of God, but furthermore, the heart must inwardly believe (cf. Rom 10:6-18).  It is not only the doing of the word of God which makes one blessed (cf. Luke 11:27-28), but along with that, it is believing (cf. John 20:29) that “what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled” (Luke 1:45).  Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 33:2-3, 11-12, 20-21

¹ Rejoice, you righteous, in the Lord;
    praise from the upright is fitting.
² Give thanks to the Lord on the harp;
    on the ten-stringed lyre offer praise.

¹¹ But the plan of the Lord stands forever,
    the designs of his heart through all generations.
¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
    the people chosen as his inheritance.

²⁰ Our soul waits for the Lord,
    he is our help and shield.
²¹ For in him our hearts rejoice;
    in his holy name we trust.

2. Song of Songs 2:8-14

⁸ W The sound of my lover! here he comes^[f]
    springing across the mountains,
    leaping across the hills.
⁹ My lover is like a gazelle^[g]
    or a young stag.
See! He is standing behind our wall,
    gazing through the windows,
    peering through the lattices.
¹⁰ My lover speaks and says to me,
    M “Arise, my friend, my beautiful one,
    and come!
¹¹ For see, the winter is past,
    the rains are over and gone.
¹² The flowers appear on the earth,
    the time of pruning the vines has come,
    and the song of the turtledove is heard in our land.
¹³ The fig tree puts forth its figs,
    and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance.
Arise, my friend, my beautiful one,
    and come!
¹⁴ My dove in the clefts of the rock,^[h]
    in the secret recesses of the cliff,
Let me see your face,
    let me hear your voice,
For your voice is sweet,
    and your face is lovely.”

3. Isaiah 40:3-9

³     A voice proclaims:^[d]
In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord!
    Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
⁴ Every valley shall be lifted up,
    every mountain and hill made low;
The rugged land shall be a plain,
    the rough country, a broad valley.
⁵ Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
    and all flesh shall see it together;
    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

⁶ A voice says, “Proclaim!”
    I answer, “What shall I proclaim?”
“All flesh is grass,
    and all their loyalty like the flower of the field.
⁷ The grass withers, the flower wilts,
    when the breath of the Lord blows upon it.”
“Yes, the people is grass!
⁸     The grass withers, the flower wilts,
    but the word of our God stands forever.”

⁹ Go up onto a high mountain,
    Zion, herald of good news!^[e]
Cry out at the top of your voice,
    Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Cry out, do not fear!
    Say to the cities of Judah:
    Here is your God!

4. Isaiah 55:10-11

^10 [d]Yet just as from the heavens
    the rain and snow come down
And do not return there
    till they have watered the earth,
    making it fertile and fruitful,
Giving seed to the one who sows
    and bread to the one who eats,
¹¹ So shall my word be
    that goes forth from my mouth;
It shall not return to me empty,
    but shall do what pleases me,
    achieving the end for which I sent it.

5. Zephaniah 3:14-18

¹⁴ Shout for joy, daughter Zion!
    sing joyfully, Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
    daughter Jerusalem!
¹⁵ The Lord has removed the judgment against you,
    he has turned away your enemies;
The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst,
    you have no further misfortune to fear.
¹⁶     On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Do not fear, Zion,
    do not be discouraged!
¹⁷ The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
    a mighty savior,
Who will rejoice over you with gladness,
    and renew you in his love,
Who will sing joyfully because of you,
¹⁸     as on festival days.

I will remove disaster from among you,
    so that no one may recount your disgrace.

6. Luke 1:39-55

³⁹ During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, ⁴⁰ where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, ⁴² cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. ⁴³ And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord^[n] should come to me? ⁴⁴ For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ Blessed are you who believed^[o] that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

⁴⁶ And Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
⁴⁷     my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
⁴⁸ For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness;
    behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.
⁴⁹ The Mighty One has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name.
⁵⁰ His mercy is from age to age
    to those who fear him.
⁵¹ He has shown might with his arm,
    dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.
⁵² He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones
    but lifted up the lowly.
⁵³ The hungry he has filled with good things;
    the rich he has sent away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped Israel his servant,
    remembering his mercy,
⁵⁵ according to his promise to our fathers,
    to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

7. Luke 11:27-28

²⁷ While he was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” ²⁸ He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

8. John 1:19-28

^19 [m]And this is the testimony of John. When the Jews^[n] from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites [to him] to ask him, “Who are you?” ^20 [o]he admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, “I am not the Messiah.” ²¹ So they asked him, “What are you then? Are you Elijah?”^[p] And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” ²² So they said to him, “Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?” ²³ He said:

“I am ‘the voice of one crying out in the desert,
“Make straight the way of the Lord,”’

as Isaiah the prophet said.” ²⁴ Some Pharisees^[r] were also sent. ²⁵ They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet?” ²⁶ John answered them, “I baptize with water;^[s] but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, ²⁷ the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.” ²⁸ This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,^[t] where John was baptizing.

9. John 3:22-30

^22 [j]After this, Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea, where he spent some time with them baptizing. ²³ John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim,^[k] because there was an abundance of water there, and people came to be baptized, ^24 [l]for John had not yet been imprisoned. ²⁵ Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew^[m] about ceremonial washings. ²⁶ So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.” ²⁷ John answered and said, “No one can receive anything except what has been given him from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves can testify that I said [that] I am not the Messiah, but that I was sent before him. ²⁹ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man,^[n] who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. ³⁰ He must increase; I must decrease.”

10. John 20:24-29

²⁴ Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” ²⁶ Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” ^28 [q]Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” ^29 [r]Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

11. Acts 2:1-21

^1 [a]When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. ² And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind,^[b] and it filled the entire house in which they were. ³ Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,^[c] which parted and came to rest on each one of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues,^[d] as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

^14 [e]Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem. Let this be known to you, and listen to my words. ¹⁵ These people are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. ¹⁶ No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷ ‘It will come to pass in the last days,’ God says,
    ‘that I will pour out a portion of my spirit
    upon all flesh.
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
    your young men shall see visions,
    your old men shall dream dreams.
¹⁸ Indeed, upon my servants and my handmaids
    I will pour out a portion of my spirit in those days,
        and they shall prophesy.
¹⁹ And I will work wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below:
        blood, fire, and a cloud of smoke.
²⁰ The sun shall be turned to darkness,
    and the moon to blood,
        before the coming of the great and splendid day of the Lord,
²¹ and it shall be that everyone shall be saved who calls on the name of the Lord.’

12. Acts 19:1-7

^1 [a]While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the country and came [down] to Ephesus where he found some disciples. ² He said to them, “Did you receive the holy Spirit when you became believers?” They answered him, “We have never even heard that there is a holy Spirit.” ³ He said, “How were you baptized?” They replied, “With the baptism of John.” ⁴ Paul then said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” ⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And when Paul laid [his] hands on them, the holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. ⁷ Altogether there were about twelve men.

13. Romans 10:5-18

^5 [c]Moses writes about the righteousness that comes from [the] law, “The one who does these things will live by them.” ⁶ But the righteousness that comes from faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will go up into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down) ^7 [d]or ‘Who will go down into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).” ⁸ But what does it say?

“The word is near you,
    in your mouth and in your heart”

(that is, the word of faith that we preach), ⁹ for, if you confess^[e] with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. ¹¹ For the scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” ¹² For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, enriching all who call upon him. ¹³ For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved..”

^14 [f]But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? ¹⁵ And how can people preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring [the] good news!”^{[g] 16} But not everyone has heeded the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what was heard from us?” ¹⁷ Thus faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. ¹⁸ But I ask, did they not hear? Certainly they did; for

“Their voice has gone forth to all the earth,
    and their words to the ends of the world.”

14. 1 Corinthians 12:1-3

¹ Now in regard to spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be unaware. ^2 [b]You know how, when you were pagans, you were constantly attracted and led away to mute idols. ³ Therefore, I tell you that nobody speaking by the spirit of God says, “Jesus be accursed.” And no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the holy Spirit.

15. 1 Corinthians 14

^1 [a]Pursue love, but strive eagerly for the spiritual gifts, above all that you may prophesy. ^2 [b]For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to human beings but to God, for no one listens; he utters mysteries in spirit. ³ On the other hand, one who prophesies does speak to human beings, for their building up,^[c] encouragement, and solace. ⁴ Whoever speaks in a tongue builds himself up, but whoever prophesies builds up the church. ⁵ Now I should like all of you to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. One who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be built up.

^6 [d]Now, brothers, if I should come to you speaking in tongues, what good will I do you if I do not speak to you by way of revelation, or knowledge, or prophecy, or instruction? ⁷ Likewise, if inanimate things that produce sound, such as flute or harp, do not give out the tones distinctly, how will what is being played on flute or harp be recognized? ⁸ And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? ⁹ Similarly, if you, because of speaking in tongues, do not utter intelligible speech, how will anyone know what is being said? For you will be talking to the air. ¹⁰ It happens that there are many different languages in the world, and none is meaningless; ¹¹ but if I do not know the meaning of a language, I shall be a foreigner to one who speaks it, and one who speaks it a foreigner to me. ¹² So with yourselves: since you strive eagerly for spirits, seek to have an abundance of them for building up the church.

¹³ Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray to be able to interpret. ¹⁴ [For] if I pray in a tongue, my spirit^[f] is at prayer but my mind is unproductive. ¹⁵ So what is to be done? I will pray with the spirit, but I will also pray with the mind. I will sing praise with the spirit, but I will also sing praise with the mind. ¹⁶ Otherwise, if you pronounce a blessing [with] the spirit, how shall one who holds the place of the uninstructed say the “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? ¹⁷ For you may be giving thanks very well, but the other is not built up. ¹⁸ I give thanks to God that I speak in tongues more than any of you, ¹⁹ but in the church I would rather speak five words with my mind, so as to instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

^20 [g]Brothers, stop being childish in your thinking. In respect to evil be like infants, but in your thinking be mature. ²¹ It is written in the law:

“By people speaking strange tongues
    and by the lips of foreigners
I will speak to this people,
    and even so they will not listen to me,

says the Lord.” ²² Thus, tongues are a sign not for those who believe but for unbelievers, whereas prophecy is not for unbelievers but for those who believe.

^23 [h]So if the whole church meets in one place and everyone speaks in tongues, and then uninstructed people or unbelievers should come in, will they not say that you are out of your minds? ²⁴ But if everyone is prophesying, and an unbeliever or uninstructed person should come in, he will be convinced by everyone and judged by everyone, ²⁵ and the secrets of his heart will be disclosed, and so he will fall down and worship God, declaring, “God is really in your midst.”

^26 [i]So what is to be done, brothers? When you assemble, one has a psalm, another an instruction, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Everything should be done for building up. ²⁷ If anyone speaks in a tongue, let it be two or at most three, and each in turn, and one should interpret. ²⁸ But if there is no interpreter, the person should keep silent in the church and speak to himself and to God.

²⁹ Two or three prophets should speak, and the others discern. ³⁰ But if a revelation is given to another person sitting there, the first one should be silent. ³¹ For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged. ³² Indeed, the spirits of prophets are under the prophets’ control, ³³ since he is not the God of disorder but of peace.

As in all the churches of the holy ones,^{[j] 34} women should keep silent in the churches, for they are not allowed to speak, but should be subordinate, as even the law says. ³⁵ But if they want to learn anything, they should ask their husbands at home. For it is improper for a woman to speak in the church. ³⁶ Did the word of God go forth from you? Or has it come to you alone?

³⁷ If anyone thinks that he is a prophet or a spiritual person, he should recognize that what I am writing to you is a commandment of the Lord. ³⁸ If anyone does not acknowledge this, he is not acknowledged. ³⁹ So, [my] brothers, strive eagerly to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues, ⁴⁰ but everything must be done properly and in order.

Thursday 12/22/22

Readings: 1 Sm 1:24-28; 1 Samuel 2:1, 4-5, 6-7, 8abcd; Lk 1:46-56

Title: “My Soul Proclaims the Greatness of the Lord”

This beautiful canticle of Mary, the Magnificat, appearing in Luke 1 (Luke 1:46-55), is an eloquent and elegant expression of a humble, docile soul’s experience of the supreme goodness of God.  This lovely song may call to mind the Canticle of Hannah from 1 Samuel 2 (1 Sam 2:1-10), and it also bears a few similarities to the song of Miriam from Exodus 15 (Exo 15:20-21).  Indeed, a soul breaking out into verbal praise of God for a miracle or grace of God’s intercession is part of what it means to follow the instigation of the Holy Spirit, for the Holy Spirit is given to us precisely to inspire such prayers (Rom 8:26-27) and praise. 

Many of us may find that we become suddenly shy or tongue-tied when required to pray on the spot, and this is normal, because it should not be us praying, but the Holy Spirit of God, while we merely let go and become receptive to the lead of the Spirit.  But there are some basic formulas we can use to help keep us on track during prayer, as including prayers of thanksgiving, intercession, petition or supplication, confession, blessing or adoration, and praise are all important elements of a well-rounded prayer. 

We can also look to Scripture for examples of inspirational prayers to follow, and the first chapter of Luke is an excellent place to look, containing both the Canticle of Mary (Luke 1:46-55) and the Canticle of Zechariah (Luke 1:67-79), both of which are used in standard Christian prayers, including the Liturgy of the Hours.  The Psalms, too, provide us with an excellent place to start our prayers, and I dare say that the extent to which we can conform our hearts to the psalmist is the extent to which we may pray after the fashion of the Spirit of God.

If we read the Psalms and other Bible songs enough, eventually this practice will form the shape of our thoughts, the expressions of our heart (cf. Ps 19:15), and our modes of thinking in general, such that we can become naturally prayerful simply by reading prayers habitually and naturally.  Anything can turn into a habit if we do it enough, and though much has been said about eliminating bad habits, perhaps not as much focus has been given to establishing good habits.  A person’s prayer life is a habit, a default or automatic mode of thinking or behavior, and so we can always work to shape it, change it, establish it better, or improve it, by both grace and the Holy Spirit, and the sheer force of habit. 

And so, as we look at this beautiful Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55), a gold standard in prayers to God, can we see how even this was modeled to some extent after Hannah’s Canticle from 1 Samuel 2 (1 Sam 2:1-10)?  In seeing the evolution of prayer from the Old Testament to the New Testament, perhaps this may give us new hope, and breathe new life into the evolution of our own prayer lives from the influence of Sacred Scripture.  Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Exodus 15:1-21

¹ Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

I will sing to the Lord, for he is gloriously triumphant;
    horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.
² My strength and my refuge is the Lord,
    and he has become my savior.
This is my God, I praise him;
    the God of my father, I extol him.
³ The Lord is a warrior,
    Lord is his name!
⁴ Pharaoh’s chariots and army he hurled into the sea;
    the elite of his officers were drowned in the Red Sea.^[b]
5 The flood waters covered them,
    they sank into the depths like a stone.
⁶ Your right hand, O Lord, magnificent in power,
    your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy.
⁷ In your great majesty you overthrew your adversaries;
    you loosed your wrath to consume them like stubble.
⁸ At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up,
    the flowing waters stood like a mound,
    the flood waters foamed in the midst of the sea.
⁹ The enemy boasted, “I will pursue and overtake them;
    I will divide the spoils and have my fill of them;
    I will draw my sword; my hand will despoil them!”
¹⁰ When you blew with your breath, the sea covered them;
    like lead they sank in the mighty waters.
¹¹ Who is like you among the gods, O Lord?
    Who is like you, magnificent among the holy ones?
Awe-inspiring in deeds of renown, worker of wonders,
¹²     when you stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them!
¹³ In your love^[c] you led the people you redeemed;
    in your strength you guided them to your holy dwelling.
¹⁴ The peoples heard and quaked;
    anguish gripped the dwellers in Philistia.
¹⁵ Then were the chieftains of Edom dismayed,
    the nobles of Moab seized by trembling;
All the inhabitants of Canaan melted away;
¹⁶     terror and dread fell upon them.
By the might of your arm they became silent like stone,
    while your people, Lord, passed over,
    while the people whom you created passed over.^[d]
17 You brought them in, you planted them
    on the mountain that is your own—
The place you made the base of your throne, Lord,
    the sanctuary, Lord, your hands established.
¹⁸ May the Lord reign forever and ever!

¹⁹ When Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen entered the sea, the Lord made the waters of the sea flow back upon them, though the Israelites walked on dry land through the midst of the sea. ²⁰ Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, while all the women went out after her with tambourines, dancing; ²¹ and she responded^[e] to them:

Sing to the Lord, for he is gloriously triumphant;
    horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.

2. 1 Samuel 1:24-28

²⁴ Once he was weaned, she brought him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah^[f] of flour, and a skin of wine, and presented him at the house of the Lord in Shiloh. ²⁵ After they had slaughtered the bull, they brought the child to Eli. ²⁶ Then Hannah spoke up: “Excuse me, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here near you, praying to the Lord. ²⁷ I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted my request. ²⁸ Now I, in turn, give him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the Lord.” Then they worshiped there before the Lord.

3. 1 Samuel 2:1-10

¹ And Hannah prayed:

“My heart exults in the Lord,
    my horn is exalted by my God.
I have swallowed up my enemies;
    I rejoice in your victory.

² There is no Holy One like the Lord;
    there is no Rock like our God.
³ Speak boastfully no longer,
    Do not let arrogance issue from your mouths.^[b]
For an all-knowing God is the Lord,
    a God who weighs actions.

⁴ “The bows of the mighty are broken,
    while the tottering gird on strength.
⁵ The well-fed hire themselves out for bread,
    while the hungry no longer have to toil.
The barren wife bears seven sons,
    while the mother of many languishes.

⁶ “The Lord puts to death and gives life,
    casts down to Sheol and brings up again.
⁷ The Lord makes poor and makes rich,
    humbles, and also exalts.
⁸ He raises the needy from the dust;
    from the ash heap lifts up the poor,
To seat them with nobles
    and make a glorious throne their heritage.

“For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
    and he has set the world upon them.

⁹ He guards the footsteps of his faithful ones,
    but the wicked shall perish in the darkness;
    for not by strength does one prevail.
¹⁰ The Lord’s foes shall be shattered;
    the Most High in heaven thunders;
    the Lord judges the ends of the earth.
May he give strength to his king,
    and exalt the horn of his anointed!”

4. Psalm 19:13-15

¹³ Who can detect trespasses?
    Cleanse me from my inadvertent sins.
¹⁴ Also from arrogant ones restrain your servant;
    let them never control me.
Then shall I be blameless,
    innocent of grave sin.
¹⁵ Let the words of my mouth be acceptable,
    the thoughts of my heart before you,
    Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

5. Luke 1:46-56, 67-79

⁴⁶ And Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
⁴⁷     my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
⁴⁸ For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness;
    behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.
⁴⁹ The Mighty One has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name.
⁵⁰ His mercy is from age to age
    to those who fear him.
⁵¹ He has shown might with his arm,
    dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.
⁵² He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones
    but lifted up the lowly.
⁵³ The hungry he has filled with good things;
    the rich he has sent away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped Israel his servant,
    remembering his mercy,
⁵⁵ according to his promise to our fathers,
    to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

⁵⁶ Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

⁶⁷ Then Zechariah his father, filled with the holy Spirit, prophesied, saying:

^68 [s]“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    for he has visited and brought redemption to his people.
^69 [t]He has raised up a horn for our salvation
    within the house of David his servant,
⁷⁰ even as he promised through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old:
⁷¹     salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,
⁷² to show mercy to our fathers
    and to be mindful of his holy covenant
⁷³ and of the oath he swore to Abraham our father,
    and to grant us that, ⁷⁴ rescued from the hand of enemies,
without fear we might worship him ⁷⁵ in holiness and righteousness
    before him all our days.
⁷⁶ And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High,
    for you will go before the Lord^[u] to prepare his ways,
⁷⁷ to give his people knowledge of salvation
    through the forgiveness of their sins,
⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God
    by which the daybreak from on high^[v] will visit us
⁷⁹ to shine on those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow,
    to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

6. Romans 8:26-27

²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. ²⁷ And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will.

Friday 12/23/22

Saint John of Kanty

Readings: Mal 3:1-4, 23-24; Ps 25:4-5ab, 8-9, 10, 14; Lk 1:57-66

Title: “The Refiner’s Fire”

Today’s two readings from Malachi 3 (Mal 3:1-4, 23-24; cf. Sir 48:10) and Luke 1 (Luke 1:57-66) both describe John the Baptist and his role as prophet of the Most High in unusual ways.  This passage from Malachi is prophecy, and so it is veiled and imperfectly understood (cf. 1 Cor 13:8-13) until the time when its words are fulfilled.  Thus, it is only after the fact and with the help and clarification of Jesus that we can understand this properly, as describing John the Baptist.  For as Jesus says in Matthew 11 and 17: “All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is to come. Whoever has ears ought to hear” (Matt 11:13-14); and, “Then the disciples asked him, ‘Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?’ He said in reply, ‘Elijah will indeed come and restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.’ Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist” (Matt 17:10-13).  

The parallel between this passage from Malachi and John the Baptist is made most explicit here in Luke 1: “Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of [the] Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord” (Luke 1:13-17; cf. Sir 48:1-11; cf. Mal 3:1-5, 23-24).

And we now know of John the Baptist primarily as a trailblazer and forerunner for Jesus, a prophet sent before Him to clear the way.  And of this purification of the refiner’s fire and fuller’s lye (Mal 3:2-3), we hear something similar by John with his catalyzing warnings: “When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.” For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire’” (Matt 3:7-12).

Here, John redirects their hearts to the coming baptism by Jesus, with the Holy Spirit and fire.  And it is their repentance in preparation for the coming Lord—“For our God is a consuming fire” (Heb 12:29; cf. Isa 33:14)—that is this refiner’s fire and fuller’s lye (Mal 3:2-3).  A spiritual purgation of the heart by penance and repentance, both inward and outward, is how these sons of Levi and children of God are purified to once again offer due sacrifice acceptable to the LORD (Mal 3:2-5).  To be purified with fire will conform us to fire, specifically to the spiritual fire who is God, aflame with holiness and divine love. 

And as we look to today’s reading from Luke (Luke 1:57-66), we also get a unique perspective of John the Baptist, as we hear about the unusual circumstances of his parents, and hear about him even before his birth.  Before John even came into the world, the stage was set to usher in something different, something new (cf. Isa 43:19; cf. Rev 21:5-6), something that had not happened yet before, but was the culmination of all that had happened already, and would be the fulfillment of all Scripture in the fullness of God’s plan.  As Zechariah’s tongue was freed, “and he spoke blessing God” (Luke 1:64), we hear how these things were received by the Judaeans: “Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, ‘What, then, will this child be? For surely the hand of the Lord was with him’” (Luke 1:65-66). 

Their neighbors knew what they were dealing with, for the impression was that, “For surely the hand of the Lord was with him” (Luke 1:66), and yet fear come upon them, and perhaps rightly so, because this special infant John was to usher in the Lord Himself, the Son of God, Jesus.  To take all these things “to heart” (Luke 1:66), as Zachariah’s neighbors did, does mean to dwell suspended in a sense of wonder: “What, then, will this child be?” (Luke 1:66).  For though it was clear that God was coming in a unique and unprecedented way, it was not clear just what that manifestation would look like, which could cause fear for some people. 

It could cause fear; or, conversely, it could cause us to dwell in faith.  For, “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11:1; cf. Rom 8:24-25), and it is the resting of the heart in the divine unknown.  So let us meet the unknown not with fear, but with faith, and the clearness of the conscience (cf. Heb 9:14; cf. 1 Pet 3:21) caused by the purifying fire brought by John the Baptist (cf. Mal 3:1-5), bearing good fruit of repentance (Matt 3:8), and culminating in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and grace, which is the bright and burning fire of God (Isa 33:10-24; Heb 12:29), the very life and love of our immortal souls.  Amen. 

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 25:4-5, 8-10, 14

⁴ Make known to me your ways, Lord;
    teach me your paths.
⁵ Guide me by your fidelity and teach me,
    for you are God my savior,
    for you I wait all the day long.

⁸ Good and upright is the Lord,
    therefore he shows sinners the way,
⁹ He guides the humble in righteousness,
    and teaches the humble his way.
¹⁰ All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth
    toward those who honor his covenant and decrees.
¹⁴ The counsel of the Lord belongs to those who fear him;
    and his covenant instructs them.

2. Sirach 48:1-11

¹ Until like fire a prophet appeared,
    his words a flaming furnace.
² The staff of life, their bread, he shattered,
    and in his zeal he made them few in number.
³ By God’s word he shut up the heavens
    and three times brought down fire.
⁴ How awesome are you, Elijah!
    Whose glory is equal to yours?
⁵ You brought a dead body back to life
    from Sheol, by the will of the Lord.
⁶ You sent kings down to destruction,
    and nobles, from their beds of sickness.
⁷ You heard threats at Sinai,
    at Horeb avenging judgments.
⁸ You anointed the agent of these punishments,
    the prophet to succeed in your place.
⁹ You were taken aloft in a whirlwind,
    in a chariot with fiery horses.
¹⁰ You are destined, it is written, in time to come
    to put an end to wrath before the day of the Lord,
To turn back the hearts of parents toward their children,
    and to re-establish the tribes of Israel.
¹¹ Blessed is the one who shall have seen you before he dies!

3. Isaiah 33:10-24

¹⁰ Now I will rise up, says the Lord,
    now exalt myself,
    now lift myself up.
¹¹ You conceive dry grass, bring forth stubble;
    my spirit shall consume you like fire.
¹² The peoples shall be burned to lime,
    thorns cut down to burn in fire.
¹³ Hear, you who are far off, what I have done;
    you who are near, acknowledge my might.
¹⁴ In Zion sinners are in dread,
    trembling grips the impious:
“Who of us can live with consuming fire?
    who of us can live with everlasting flames?”
¹⁵ Whoever walks righteously and speaks honestly,
    who spurns what is gained by oppression,
Who waves off contact with a bribe,
    who stops his ears so as not to hear of bloodshed,
    who closes his eyes so as not to look on evil—
¹⁶ That one shall dwell on the heights,
    with fortresses of rock for stronghold,
    food and drink in steady supply.

¹⁷ Your eyes will see a king^[d] in his splendor,
    they will look upon a vast land.
¹⁸ Your mind will dwell on the terror:
    “Where is the one who counted, where the one who weighed?
    Where the one who counted the towers?”
¹⁹ You shall no longer see a defiant people,
    a people of speech too obscure to comprehend,
    stammering in a tongue not understood.
²⁰ Look to Zion, the city of our festivals;
    your eyes shall see Jerusalem
    as a quiet abode, a tent not to be struck,
Whose pegs will never be pulled up,
    nor any of its ropes severed.
²¹ Indeed the Lord in majesty will be there for us
    a place of rivers and wide streams
    on which no galley may go,
    where no majestic ship^[e] may pass.
²² For the Lord is our judge,
    the Lord is our lawgiver,
    the Lord is our king;
    he it is who will save us.

²³ The rigging hangs slack;
    it cannot hold the mast in place,
    nor keep the sail spread out.
Then the blind will divide great spoils
    and the lame will carry off the loot.
²⁴ No one who dwells there will say, “I am sick”;
    the people who live there will be forgiven their guilt.

4. Isaiah 43:14-21

¹⁴ Thus says the Lord, your redeemer,^[d]
    the Holy One of Israel:
For your sake I send to Babylon;
    I will bring down all her defenses,
    and the Chaldeans shall cry out in lamentation.
¹⁵ I am the Lord, your Holy One,
    the creator of Israel, your King.
¹⁶ Thus says the Lord,
    who opens a way in the sea,
    a path in the mighty waters,
¹⁷ Who leads out chariots and horsemen,
    a powerful army,
Till they lie prostrate together, never to rise,
    snuffed out, quenched like a wick.
¹⁸ Remember not^[e] the events of the past,
    the things of long ago consider not;
¹⁹ See, I am doing something new!
    Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
In the wilderness I make a way,
    in the wasteland, rivers.
²⁰ Wild beasts honor me,
    jackals and ostriches,
For I put water in the wilderness
    and rivers in the wasteland
    for my chosen people to drink,
²¹ The people whom I formed for myself,
    that they might recount my praise.

5. Malachi 3:1-5, 22-24

¹ Now I am sending my messenger—
    he will prepare the way before me;^[a]
And the lord whom you seek will come suddenly to his temple;
The messenger of the covenant whom you desire—
    see, he is coming! says the Lord of hosts.
² But who can endure the day of his coming?
    Who can stand firm when he appears?
For he will be like a refiner’s fire,
    like fullers’ lye.
³ He will sit refining and purifying silver,
    and he will purify the Levites,
Refining them like gold or silver,
    that they may bring offerings to the Lord in righteousness.
⁴ Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem
    will please the Lord,
    as in ancient days, as in years gone by.
⁵ I will draw near to you for judgment,
    and I will be swift to bear witness
Against sorcerers, adulterers, and perjurers,
    those who deprive a laborer of wages,
Oppress a widow or an orphan,
    or turn aside a resident alien,
    without fearing me, says the Lord of hosts.

²² Remember the law of Moses my servant,
    whom I charged at Horeb
With statutes and ordinances
    for all Israel.
²³ Now I am sending to you
    Elijah^[g] the prophet,
Before the day of the Lord comes,
    the great and terrible day;
²⁴ He will turn the heart of fathers to their sons,
    and the heart of sons to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike
    the land with utter destruction.

6. Matthew 3:1-12

¹ In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea^{[b] 2} [and] saying, “Repent,^[c] for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” ^3 [d]It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:

“A voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
    make straight his paths.’”

^4 [e]John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him ⁶ and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.

⁷ When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees^[g] coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. ⁹ And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. ¹⁰ Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹ I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire.^{[h] 12 [i]}His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

7. Matthew 11:3-15

 ^[b]When John heard in prison^[c] of the works of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to him ^3 [d]with this question, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” ⁴ Jesus said to them in reply, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: ^5 [e]the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. ⁶ And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”

⁷ As they were going off, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? ⁸ Then what did you go out to see? Someone dressed in fine clothing? Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces. ⁹ Then why did you go out? To see a prophet?^[g] Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is the one about whom it is written:

‘Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
    he will prepare your way before you.’

¹¹ Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.^{[h] 12} From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence,^[i] and the violent are taking it by force. ¹³ All the prophets and the law^[j] prophesied up to the time of John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is to come. ¹⁵ Whoever has ears ought to hear.

8. Matthew 17:9-13

⁹ As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, “Do not tell the vision^[i] to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” ^10 [j]Then the disciples asked him, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” ¹¹ He said in reply,^[k] “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things; ¹² but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.” ^13 [l]Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

9. Luke 1:5-20, 57-66

⁵ In the days of Herod, King of Judea,^[c] there was a priest named Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah; his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ Both were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. ⁷ But they had no child,^[d] because Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years. ⁸ Once when he was serving as priest in his division’s turn before God, ⁹ according to the practice of the priestly service, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense. ¹⁰ Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense offering, ¹¹ the angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of incense. ¹² Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid,^[e] Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of [the] Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink.^[f] He will be filled with the holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, ¹⁶ and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah^[g] to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.” ¹⁸ Then Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” ¹⁹ And the angel said to him in reply, “I am Gabriel,^[h] who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. ²⁰ But now you will be speechless and unable to talk^[i] until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”

⁵⁷ When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. ^59 [r]When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, ⁶⁰ but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.” ⁶¹ But they answered her, “There is no one among your relatives who has this name.” ⁶² So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. ⁶³ He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. ⁶⁴ Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. ⁶⁵ Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶ All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.

10. Romans 8:24-25

²⁴ For in hope we were saved. Now hope that sees for itself is not hope. For who hopes for what one sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance.

11. 1 Corinthians 13:8-13

^8 [d]Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing. ⁹ For we know partially and we prophesy partially, ¹⁰ but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. ¹¹ When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things. ¹² At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known. ^13 [e]So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

12. Hebrews 9:11-14

^11 [i]But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be,^[j] passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation, ¹² he entered once for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. ¹³ For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes^[k] can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed, ¹⁴ how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit^[l] offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

13. Hebrews 11:1-3

¹ Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence^[b] of things not seen. ² Because of it the ancients were well attested. ³ By faith we understand that the universe was ordered by the word of God,^[c] so that what is visible came into being through the invisible.

14. Hebrews 12:25-29

²⁵ See that you do not reject the one who speaks. For if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much more in our case if we turn away from the one who warns from heaven. ²⁶ His voice shook the earth at that time, but now he has promised, “I will once more shake not only earth but heaven.” ²⁷ That phrase, “once more,” points to [the] removal of shaken, created things, so that what is unshaken may remain. ²⁸ Therefore, we who are receiving the unshakable kingdom should have gratitude, with which we should offer worship pleasing to God in reverence and awe. ²⁹ For our God is a consuming fire.

15. 1 Peter 3:18-22

¹⁸ For Christ also suffered^[e] for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the spirit. ¹⁹ In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison,^{[f] 20} who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water. ²¹ This prefigured baptism, which saves you now. It is not a removal of dirt from the body but an appeal to God^[g] for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²² who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.

16. Revelation 21:5-8

⁵ The one who sat on the throne^[f] said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then he said, “Write these words down, for they are trustworthy and true.” ⁶ He said to me, “They are accomplished.^[g] I [am] the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give a gift from the spring of life-giving water. ⁷ The victor^[h] will inherit these gifts, and I shall be his God, and he will be my son. ⁸ But as for cowards,^[i] the unfaithful, the depraved, murderers, the unchaste, sorcerers, idol-worshipers, and deceivers of every sort, their lot is in the burning pool of fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Saturday 12/24/22

Readings: 2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16; Ps 89:2-3, 4-5, 27, 29; Lk 1:67-79

Title: “Build Me a House”

As we look at today’s reading from 2 Samuel 7 (2 Sam 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16), we hear King David express his desire to build a house for the LORD.  We read, “When King David was settled in his palace, and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side, he said to Nathan the prophet, ‘Here I am living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God dwells in a tent!’” (2 Sam 7:1-2).  This desire of King David was special insofar as that it was not a house for himself that David desired, but a house for God.  This shows his concern for God as for an intimate friend (cf. Exo 33:11-23; cf. James 2:23), and how David was a man after the heart of God: God “raised up David as their king; of him he testified, ‘I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will carry out my every wish’” (Acts 13:22; cf. 1 Sam 13:13-14). 

This desire of David’s shows where his heart really is—with God—and evidences his fundamental inclination to serve the LORD.  This desire of David’s reveals the inner workings of his heart (cf. 1 Chron 28:9-10), such that his childlike innocence or naïveté, and his righteousness, are made known.  And when David’s desire is made known, the LORD responds with an appropriate justice.  Because it is in David’s heart to build a house for God, it is God’s response to build such a house for David.  As the LORD tells David, “Your house and your Kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever” (2 Sam 7:16). 

It is not only a house of a physical structure that David receives from God, but a true and eternal house, as a line of kings after him and a Kingdom forever in heaven.  It is not David, but David’s son Solomon, who builds God the house that David desired for Him (2 Sam 7:12-13; 1 Chron 22:6-10; 1 Chron 28:3-7; 2 Chron 7:7-9), and it is not David, but an heir sprung from David’s line, Jesus, who establishes David’s Kingdom forever.  The desires of King David are granted, and brought to fruition in beautiful ways, but it is not through David that these things are done, but through the line of his progeny after him. 

This may help us to keep our eye on the prize as the Kingdom of heaven (cf. Phil 3:13-14; cf. Heb 12:1-4), and help us to keep in mind a long-term trajectory and big-picture view when we think about our desires.  For if our desires are good and serve the LORD, then they may be according to God’s will.  And God may indeed bless these desires to see them through (cf. 2 Chron 7:10-11), but it may not be according to a timeline we imagine, or done as quickly as we may like.  In order for David’s righteous desires to be fulfilled according to God’s plan, they could not be brought about by David himself, but only by his heir after him (2 Sam 7:12-13; 1 Chron 22:6-10; 1 Chron 28:3-7; 2 Chron 7:7-9). 

And so, when we look to our goals and desires, let us not put a mortal timeframe on the immortal plan of God, and think them undoable just because we do not see how they shall be done.  For God is not constrained by human limitations (Gen 18:14; Matt 19:26; Luke 1:37), and He can see ways and possibilities that we cannot.  And so, let us give our desires to God, and place our hope in Jesus, through whom all salvation comes, and just know that God works in mysterious ways, and that in a way that is beyond our comprehension, His will is always done.    

For as we read in Scripture: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor?’ ‘Or who has given him anything that he may be repaid?’ For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (Rom 11:33-36); and, 2:13); and, “For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work” (Phil 2:13); and, “Now to him who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine, by the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Eph 3:20-21).  Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Genesis 18:9-15

⁹ “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him. “There in the tent,” he replied. ¹⁰ One of them^[e] said, “I will return to you about this time next year, and Sarah will then have a son.” Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, just behind him. ¹¹ Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years, and Sarah had stopped having her menstrual periods. ¹² So Sarah laughed^[f] to herself and said, “Now that I am worn out and my husband is old, am I still to have sexual pleasure?” ¹³ But the Lord said to Abraham: “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really bear a child, old as I am?’ ¹⁴ Is anything too marvelous for the Lord to do? At the appointed time, about this time next year, I will return to you, and Sarah will have a son.” ¹⁵ Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But he said, “Yes, you did.”

2. Exodus 33:7-23

⁷ Moses used to pitch a tent outside the camp at some distance. It was called the tent of meeting. Anyone who wished to consult the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. ⁸ Whenever Moses went out to the tent, the people would all rise and stand at the entrance of their own tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. ⁹ As Moses entered the tent, the column of cloud would come down and stand at its entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses. ¹⁰ On seeing the column of cloud stand at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise and bow down at the entrance of their own tents. ¹¹ The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a person speaks to a friend. Moses would then return to the camp, but his young assistant, Joshua, son of Nun, never left the tent. ¹² Moses said to the Lord, “See, you are telling me: Lead this people. But you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said: You are my intimate friend;^[a] You have found favor with me. ¹³ Now, if I have found favor with you, please let me know your ways so that, in knowing you, I may continue to find favor with you. See, this nation is indeed your own people. ¹⁴ The Lord answered: I myself^[b] will go along, to give you rest. ¹⁵ Moses replied, “If you are not going yourself, do not make us go up from here. ¹⁶ For how can it be known that I and your people have found favor with you, except by your going with us? Then we, your people and I, will be singled out from every other people on the surface of the earth.” ¹⁷ The Lord said to Moses: This request, too, which you have made, I will carry out, because you have found favor with me and you are my intimate friend.

¹⁸ Then Moses said, “Please let me see your glory!” ¹⁹ The Lord answered: I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim my name, “Lord,” before you; I who show favor to whom I will, I who grant mercy to whom I will. ²⁰ But you cannot see my face, for no one can see me and live.^{[c] 21} Here, continued the Lord, is a place near me where you shall station yourself on the rock. ²² When my glory passes I will set you in the cleft of the rock and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. ²³ Then I will remove my hand, so that you may see my back; but my face may not be seen.

3. 1 Samuel 13:10-14

¹⁰ As he finished sacrificing the burnt offering, there came Samuel! So Saul went out toward him in order to greet him. ¹¹ Samuel asked him, “What have you done?” Saul explained: “When I saw that the army was deserting me and you did not come on the appointed day, and that the Philistines were assembling at Michmash, ¹² I said to myself, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not yet sought the Lord’s blessing.’ So I thought I should sacrifice the burnt offering.” ¹³ Samuel replied to Saul: “You have acted foolishly! Had you kept the command the Lord your God gave you, the Lord would now establish your kingship in Israel forever; ¹⁴ but now your kingship shall not endure. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart^[e] to appoint as ruler over his people because you did not observe what the Lord commanded you.”

4. 2 Samuel 7:1-17

¹ After the king had taken up residence in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from his enemies on every side, ² the king said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent!” ³ Nathan answered the king, “Whatever is in your heart, go and do, for the Lord is with you.” ⁴ But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: ⁵ Go and tell David my servant, Thus says the Lord: Is it you who would build me a house to dwell in? ⁶ I have never dwelt in a house from the day I brought Israel up from Egypt to this day, but I have been going about in a tent or a tabernacle. ⁷ As long as I have wandered about among the Israelites, did I ever say a word to any of the judges whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel: Why have you not built me a house of cedar?

⁸ Now then, speak thus to my servant David, Thus says the Lord of hosts:^[a] I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to become ruler over my people Israel. ⁹ I was with you wherever you went, and I cut down all your enemies before you. And I will make your name like that of the greatest on earth. ¹⁰ I will assign a place for my people Israel and I will plant them in it to dwell there; they will never again be disturbed, nor shall the wicked ever again oppress them, as they did at the beginning, ¹¹ and from the day when I appointed judges over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord also declares to you that the Lord will make a house for you: ¹² when your days have been completed and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, sprung from your loins, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He it is^[b] who shall build a house for my name, and I will establish his royal throne forever. ¹⁴ I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. If he does wrong, I will reprove him with a human rod and with human punishments; ¹⁵ but I will not withdraw my favor from him as I withdrew it from Saul who was before you. ¹⁶ Your house and your kingdom are firm forever before me; your throne shall be firmly established forever.^{[c] 17} In accordance with all these words and this whole vision Nathan spoke to David.

5. 1 Chronicles 22

¹ Thus David said, “This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar for burnt offerings for Israel.” ^2 [a]David then ordered that the resident aliens in the land of Israel should be brought together, and he appointed them stonecutters to hew out stone blocks for building the house of God. ³ David also laid up large stores of iron to make nails for the doors of the gates, and clamps, together with so much bronze that it could not be weighed, ⁴ and cedar trees without number. The Sidonians and Tyrians brought great stores of cedar logs to David. ⁵ David said: “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced; but the house that is to be built for the Lord must be made so magnificent that it will be renowned and glorious in all lands. Therefore I will make preparations for it.” Thus before his death David laid up materials in abundance.

⁶ Then he summoned his son Solomon and commanded him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. ⁷ David said to Solomon: “My son, it was my purpose to build a house myself for the name of the Lord, my God. ⁸ But this word of the Lord came to me: You have shed much blood, and you have waged great wars. You may not build a house for my name, because you have shed too much blood upon the earth in my sight. ⁹ However, a son will be born to you. He will be a peaceful man, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. For Solomon shall be his name, and in his time I will bestow peace^[b] and tranquility on Israel. ¹⁰ It is he who shall build a house for my name; he shall be a son to me, and I will be a father to him, and I will establish the throne of his kingship over Israel forever.

¹¹ “Now, my son, the Lord be with you, and may you succeed in building the house of the Lord your God, as he has said you shall. ¹² But may the Lord give you prudence and discernment when he gives you command over Israel, so that you keep the law of the Lord, your God. ¹³ Only then shall you succeed, if you are careful to observe the statutes and ordinances which the Lord commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and steadfast; do not fear or be dismayed. ¹⁴ See, with great effort I have laid up for the house of the Lord a hundred thousand talents of gold,^[c] a million talents of silver, and bronze and iron in such great quantities that they cannot be weighed. I have also laid up wood and stones, to which you must add. ¹⁵ Moreover, you have available workers, stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and experts in every craft, ¹⁶ without number, skilled with gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Set to work, therefore, and the Lord be with you!”

¹⁷ David also commanded all of the officials of Israel to help his son Solomon: ¹⁸ “Is not the Lord your God with you? Has he not given you rest on every side? Indeed, he has delivered the inhabitants of the land into my power, and the land is subdued before the Lord and his people. ¹⁹ Therefore, devote your hearts and souls to seeking the Lord your God. Proceed to build the sanctuary of the Lord God, that the ark of the covenant of the Lord and God’s sacred vessels may be brought into the house built for the name of the Lord.”

6. 1 Chronicles 28

¹ David assembled at Jerusalem all the commanders of Israel, the tribal commanders, the commanders of the divisions who were in the service of the king, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, those in command of all the king’s estates and possessions, and his sons, together with the courtiers, the warriors, and every person of substance. ² King David rose to his feet and said: “Hear me, my kinsmen and my people. It was my purpose to build a house of repose myself for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, the footstool for the feet of our God;^[a] and I was preparing to build it. ³ But God said to me, You may not build a house for my name, for you are a man who waged wars and shed blood. ⁴ However, the Lord, the God of Israel, chose me from all my father’s family to be king over Israel forever. For he chose Judah as leader, then one family of Judah, that of my father; and finally, among all the sons of my father, it pleased him to make me king over all Israel. ⁵ And of all my sons—for the Lord has given me many sons—he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the Lord’s kingship over Israel. ⁶ For he said to me: It is your son Solomon who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him for my son, and I will be a father to him. ⁷ I will establish his kingdom forever, if he perseveres in carrying out my commandments and ordinances as he does now. ⁸ Therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God: keep and carry out all the commandments of the Lord, your God, that you may continue to possess this good land and afterward leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.

⁹ “As for you, Solomon, my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and a willing soul, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the mind’s thoughts. If you search for him, he will be found; but if you abandon him, he will cast you off forever. ¹⁰ See, then! The Lord has chosen you to build a house as his sanctuary. Be strong and set to work.”

¹¹ Then David gave to his son Solomon the design of the portico and of the house itself, with its storerooms, its upper rooms and inner chambers, and the shrine containing the cover of the ark. ¹² He provided also the design for all else that he had in mind by way of courts for the house of the Lord, with the surrounding compartments for the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries for the votive offerings, ¹³ as well as for the divisions of the priests and Levites, for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and for all the liturgical vessels of the house of the Lord. ¹⁴ He specified the weight of gold to be used in the golden vessels for the various services and the weight of silver to be used in the silver vessels for the various services; ¹⁵ likewise for the golden menorahs and their lamps he specified the weight of gold for each menorah and its lamps, and for the silver menorahs he specified the weight of silver for each menorah and its lamps, depending on the use to which each menorah was to be put. ¹⁶ He specified the weight of gold for each table that was to hold the showbread, and the silver for the silver tables; ¹⁷ the pure gold for the forks, basins, and pitchers; the weight of gold for each golden bowl and the weight of silver for each silver bowl; ¹⁸ the refined gold, and its weight, to be used for the altar of incense; and, finally, gold to fashion the chariot:^[b] the cherubim spreading their wings and covering the ark of the covenant of the Lord. ¹⁹ All this he wrote down, by the hand of the Lord, to make him understand it—the working out of the whole design.

²⁰ Then David said to his son Solomon: “Be strong and steadfast, and go to work; do not fear or be dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or abandon you before you have completed all the work for the service of the house of the Lord. ²¹ The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the service of the house of God; they will be with you in all the work with all those who are eager to show their skill in every kind of craftsmanship. Also the commanders and all the people will do everything that you command.”

7. 2 Chronicles 6:1-11

¹ Then Solomon said:

“The Lord intends to dwell in the dark cloud;
²     I have built you a princely house,
    the base for your enthronement forever.”

³ The king turned and blessed the whole assembly of Israel, while the whole assembly of Israel stood. ⁴ He said: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his own mouth spoke a promise to David my father and by his hand fulfilled it, saying: ⁵ Since the day I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I have not chosen a city out of any tribe of Israel for the building of a house, that my name might be there; nor have I chosen any man to be ruler of my people Israel; ⁶ but now I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name may be there, and I have chosen David^[a] to rule my people Israel. ⁷ When David my father wished to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, ⁸ the Lord said to him: In wishing to build a house for my name, you did well. ⁹ But it is not you who will build the house, but your son, who comes from your loins: he shall build the house for my name.

¹⁰ “Now the Lord has fulfilled the word he spoke. I have succeeded David my father, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord has said, and I have built this house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹¹ I have placed there the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with the Israelites.”

8. Psalm 89:2-5, 27, 29

² I will sing of your mercy forever, Lord
    proclaim your faithfulness through all ages.
^3 [b]For I said, “My mercy is established forever;
    my faithfulness will stand as long as the heavens.
⁴ I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
    I have sworn to David my servant:
⁵ I will make your dynasty stand forever
    and establish your throne through all ages.”
Selah

²⁷ He shall cry to me, ‘You are my father,
    my God, the Rock of my salvation!’
²⁹ Forever I will maintain my mercy for him;
    my covenant with him stands firm.

9. Matthew 19:24-26

²⁴ Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” ^25 [r]When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, “Who then can be saved?” ²⁶ Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”

10. Luke 1:36-38, 67-79

³⁶ And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived^[m] a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; ³⁷ for nothing will be impossible for God.” ³⁸ Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

⁶⁷ Then Zechariah his father, filled with the holy Spirit, prophesied, saying:

^68 [s]“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    for he has visited and brought redemption to his people.
^69 [t]He has raised up a horn for our salvation
    within the house of David his servant,
⁷⁰ even as he promised through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old:
⁷¹     salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,
⁷² to show mercy to our fathers
    and to be mindful of his holy covenant
⁷³ and of the oath he swore to Abraham our father,
    and to grant us that, ⁷⁴ rescued from the hand of enemies,
without fear we might worship him ⁷⁵ in holiness and righteousness
    before him all our days.
⁷⁶ And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High,
    for you will go before the Lord^[u] to prepare his ways,
⁷⁷ to give his people knowledge of salvation
    through the forgiveness of their sins,
⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God
    by which the daybreak from on high^[v] will visit us
⁷⁹ to shine on those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow,
    to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

11. Acts 13:22-25

²² Then he removed him and raised up David as their king; of him he testified, ‘I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will carry out my every wish.’ ²³ From this man’s descendants God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus. ²⁴ John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel; ²⁵ and as John was completing his course, he would say, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. Behold, one is coming after me; I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.’

12. Romans 11:33-36

^33 [f]Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!

³⁴ “For who has known the mind of the Lord^[g]
    or who has been his counselor?”
^35 [h]“Or who has given him anything
    that he may be repaid?”

³⁶ For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

13. Ephesians 3:20-21

²⁰ Now to him who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine, by the power at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

14. Philippians 2:12-18

¹² So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.^{[k] 13} For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work. ¹⁴ Do everything without grumbling or questioning, ¹⁵ that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,^[l] among whom you shine like lights in the world, ¹⁶ as you hold on to the word of life, so that my boast for the day of Christ may be that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. ¹⁷ But, even if I am poured out as a libation^[m] upon the sacrificial service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with all of you. ¹⁸ In the same way you also should rejoice and share your joy with me.

15. Philippians 3:12-16

¹² It is not that I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity,^[i] but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ [Jesus]. ¹³ Brothers, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession. Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ Let us, then, who are “perfectly mature” adopt this attitude. And if you have a different attitude, this too God will reveal to you. ¹⁶ Only, with regard to what we have attained, continue on the same course.

16. Hebrews 12:1-4

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us^[b] and persevere in running the race that lies before us ² while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God. ³ Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart. ⁴ In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.

17. James 2:18-26

¹⁸ Indeed someone may say, “You have faith and I have works.” Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works. ¹⁹ You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble. ²⁰ Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless? ²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? ²² You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works. ²³ Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called “the friend of God.” ²⁴ See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route? ²⁶ For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

Sunday 12/25/22

Readings: Is 9:1-6; Ps 96:1-2, 2-3, 11-12, 13; Ti 2:11-14; Lk 2:1-14

Title: “A Sign for You…”

“Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. The angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests’” (Luke 2:8-14).

The appearance of the angel to the shepherds in Luke 2 is of special significance.  Not only does the angel Gabriel disclose the coming events to Zechariah, and to Mary, but the angel of the Lord furthermore reveals the birth of the Lord and Savior to a group of shepherds keeping the night watch.  There are several important details about the angel’s visit to the shepherds which we would do well to examine more closely.  To begin with, the angel rather pointedly tells them that the angel is giving them a sign.  This may call to mind this passage from Isaiah 7: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign; the young woman, pregnant and about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel” (Isa 7:14). 

As we know from Jesus in the Gospels, “An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah” (Matt 16:4).  And so, this sign must serve a specific purpose of God, or be extended to the shepherds as a special grace or favor.  No explanation is given as to why these local shepherds are given such a great sign and gift, but it bears some semblance too the gift given to Simeon and Anna, as once Simeon sees the infant Lord, he is so overjoyed, he feels as though he could now die a happy man, as he remarks, “‘Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word,for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel’” (Luke 2:29-32). 

And indeed, the angel does say, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10).  And this line perhaps gives us a clue as to why this message is given to the shepherds.  A shepherd’s life was not an easy life, and they could represent the honest worker and “common man” of the average person, while still calling to mind the pastoral significance of Jesus as the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-18), the Shepherd of all shepherds.  The symbolism of a shepherd here may show that the leaders of all nations of people will find a great light and a great joy in the true Shepherd of their hearts, this infant Christ Child, swaddled in a manger. 

And we hear twice in this passage that the child will be placed in a manger (Luke 2:7, 12).  This, too, is a sign, in the context of the Eucharist, and Christ’s Bread of Life Discourse in John 6.  For as Jesus says, “‘Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever’” (John 6:53-58).

It does not mean nothing that Christ was laid in a manger, but this is a Bible detail that bears great meaning the more we contemplate this fact.  The significance of the angels’ message is further highlighted as extremely important by the sudden appearance of “a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests’” (Luke 2:13-14).  And these shepherds also bear some semblance of disciples, as not only do they leave in haste to see what God makes known to them, but they also spread the message about the child across the countryside.  We know of the call of the first disciples, that they “immediately” (Matt 4:22) dropped what they were doing to follow Jesus to join Him in His ministry (Matt 4:18-22), and the shepherds receive and spread the good news in a similar way, as well. 

And all of this takes place while Christ is yet just an infant lying in a manger.  While all the world circles round Him like His swaddling clothes, Christ is laid in a manger while a multitude of the heavenly host comes down from heaven, to announce the good news which will nourish us, feed us, save us, sustain us, and give life to us, and not in our body only, but most importantly, in our souls.  The heavenly host sings, “‘Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests’” (Luke 2:14; cf. Rev 4:8-11), and as we receive Holy Communion, may we find favor with God, and think of this.  Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 96:1-3, 11-13

¹ Sing to the Lord a new song;
    sing to the Lord, all the earth.
² Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
    proclaim his salvation day after day.
³ Tell his glory among the nations;
    among all peoples, his marvelous deeds.

¹¹ Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
    let the sea and what fills it resound;
¹²     let the plains be joyful and all that is in them.
Then let all the trees of the forest rejoice
¹³     before the Lord who comes,
    who comes to govern the earth,
To govern the world with justice
    and the peoples with faithfulness.

2. Isaiah 7:10-16

¹⁰ Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: ¹¹ Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God; let it be deep as Sheol, or high as the sky!^{[g] 12} But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!”^{[h] 13} Then he said: Listen, house of David! Is it not enough that you weary human beings? Must you also weary my God? ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign;^[i] the young woman, pregnant and about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel. ¹⁵ Curds and honey^[j] he will eat so that he may learn to reject evil and choose good; ¹⁶ for before the child learns to reject evil and choose good, the land of those two kings whom you dread shall be deserted.

3. Isaiah 9:1-6

¹ The people who walked in darkness
    have seen a great light;
Upon those who lived in a land of gloom
    a light has shone.
² You have brought them abundant joy
    and great rejoicing;
They rejoice before you as people rejoice at harvest,
    as they exult when dividing the spoils.
³ For the yoke that burdened them,
    the pole on their shoulder,
The rod of their taskmaster,
    you have smashed, as on the day of Midian.^[a]
4 For every boot that tramped in battle,
    every cloak rolled in blood,
    will be burned as fuel for fire.
⁵ For a child^[b] is born to us, a son is given to us;
    upon his shoulder dominion rests.
They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero,
    Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.
⁶ His dominion is vast
    and forever peaceful,
Upon David’s throne, and over his kingdom,
    which he confirms and sustains
By judgment and justice,
    both now and forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this!

4. Matthew 4:18-22

¹⁸ As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. ¹⁹ He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ^20 [i]At once they left their nets and followed him. ²¹ He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, ²² and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.

5. Matthew 16:1-4

^1 [a]The Pharisees and Sadducees came and, to test him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven. ^2 [b]He said to them in reply, “[In the evening you say, ‘Tomorrow will be fair, for the sky is red’; ³ and, in the morning, ‘Today will be stormy, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to judge the appearance of the sky, but you cannot judge the signs of the times.] ⁴ An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah.”^[c] Then he left them and went away.

6. Luke 2:1-14, 25-38

^1 [a]In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus^[b] that the whole world should be enrolled. ² This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³ So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. ⁴ And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, ⁵ to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn son.^[c] She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

^8 [d]Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. ⁹ The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. ¹⁰ The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ^11 [e]For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. ¹² And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:

^14 [f]“Glory to God in the highest
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel,^[j] and the holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord. ²⁷ He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, ²⁸ he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:

²⁹ “Now, Master, you may let your servant go
    in peace, according to your word,
³⁰ for my eyes have seen your salvation,
³¹     which you prepared in sight of all the peoples,
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and glory for your people Israel.”

³³ The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; ³⁴ and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted ³⁵ (and you yourself a sword will pierce)^[k] so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” ³⁶ There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, ³⁷ and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. ³⁸ And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

7. John 6:52-59

⁵² The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?” ⁵³ Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats^[s] my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. ⁵⁵ For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. ⁵⁷ Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” ⁵⁹ These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

8. John 10:1-18

^1 [a]“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold^[b] through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. ² But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ^4 [c]When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. ⁵ But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.” ⁶ Although Jesus used this figure of speech,^[d] they did not realize what he was trying to tell them.

^7 [e]So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. ^8 [f]All who came [before me] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹ I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰ A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. ¹¹ I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. ¹³ This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep^[g] that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. ¹⁷ This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.^[h] This command I have received from my Father.”

9. Revelation 4:8-11

⁸ The four living creatures, each of them with six wings,^[h] were covered with eyes inside and out. Day and night they do not stop exclaiming:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty,
    who was, and who is, and who is to come.”

⁹ Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall down before the one who sits on the throne and worship him, who lives forever and ever. They throw down their crowns before the throne, exclaiming:

¹¹ “Worthy are you, Lord our God,
    to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things;
    because of your will they came to be and were created.”

Monday 12/26/22

Feast of Saint Stephen, First Martyr

Readings: Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59; Ps 31:3bd-4, 6, 8ab, 16bc, 17; Mt 10:17-22

Title: “Endures to the End”

This passage from Matthew 10 (Matt 10:17-22) describes perseverance under trial, and martyrdom in the face of persecution.  Jesus describes the worldly situation in which His disciples will find themselves, where family members turn against each other, and the only way to persevere is to cling to Jesus (cf. Matt 10:34-39), for many will fall away.  This is the context where the prophecy of Malachi 3 (Mal 3:23-24; cf. Sir 48:10; cf. Luke 1:15-17) is most pertinent, for, as Jesus states, “Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death” (Matt 10:21). 

And so, the hearts of all do need to be turned back to God, so that from there they can be redirected back to one’s neighbor is a rightly-ordered and truly loving way.  For true love means loving God above all things for His own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God (cf. Matt 22:26-40).  Thus, when one’s neighbor is not loved rightly, this is because the love of God is missing from one’s heart.  When the hearts of children are turned to their parents (cf. Mal 3:23-24; cf. Sir 48:10; cf. Matt 10:21; cf. Luke 1:15-17), this is done by redirecting them back to God, by whom alone any of us can love each other properly, for all love is from God, and not from ourselves (1 John 4:10, 19).

And even though this situation described by Jesus (Matt 10:17-22; cf. Matt 24:3-13) shows us how love shall grow cold (Matt 24:12) and persecution abound, He also describes to us what we should do under these circumstances, and how we shall be saved.  There are two main aspects to how this proceeds.  One is that “the Spirit of your Father” (Matt 10:20) shall speak for us, and the other is that “whoever endures to the end will be saved” (Matt 10:22).  This speaks to the purity of our hearts on two accounts.  One is by what we say, and the other is by what we do (cf. Matt 12:36-37; cf. 1 John 3:18).  These are the two main aspects of what leads to martyrdom.  One must confess Jesus (cf. Matt 10:32-33) without compromise and without deceit, and one must live according to Him till the very end, which is faithful endurance (cf. Matt 24:13; cf. Rom 5:1-11; cf. Heb 12:1-13; cf. James 1:2-8, 12-15; cf. James 5:7-11; cf. Rev 14:12-13)—the thing that separates the men from the boys, and the faithful from the unfaithful.

For anyone can endure for a little while, but it is only those who endure till the end who show real endurance, and who therefore shall be saved.  There are few things more important than this sort of endurance, and one of the ways this endurance is shown is by what we say.  For to speak outside the inspiration of the Spirit could amount to a denial of Christ, while, as we know from 1 Corinthians, “I tell you that nobody speaking by the spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be accursed.’ And no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the holy Spirit” (1 Cor 12:3). 

To maintain purity upon our lips (cf. Isa 53:9; cf. Mal 2:6-7) is how the confessors confess Christ—at their own peril—and how the martyrs witness to Christ—at the cost of their own lives.  So, the value of what we say cannot be emphasized enough.  It is not by deed only that we persevere, but what we do or do not say—that is, whether we deny or confess Christ—is further evidence of whether we have shown this faithful endurance or not.  For if we live but deny Christ, then we have not endured at all, but sacrificed our soul in exchange for our worldly life (cf. Matt 10:37-39; cf. Matt 16:24-28).  And so, we must be ready to give all and make no compromises in either word or deed, so that we shall endure to the end and be saved (Matt 10:22; Matt 24:13).  Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 31:3-4, 6, 8, 16-17

³     incline your ear to me;
    make haste to rescue me!
Be my rock of refuge,
    a stronghold to save me.
⁴ For you are my rock and my fortress;
    for your name’s sake lead me and guide me.
^6 [b]Into your hands I commend my spirit;
    you will redeem me, Lord, God of truth.
⁸ I will rejoice and be glad in your mercy,
    once you have seen my misery,
    [and] gotten to know the distress of my soul.

¹⁶ My destiny is in your hands;
    rescue me from my enemies,
    from the hands of my pursuers.
¹⁷ Let your face shine on your servant;
    save me in your mercy.

2. Sirach 48:1-11

¹ Until like fire a prophet appeared,
    his words a flaming furnace.
² The staff of life, their bread, he shattered,
    and in his zeal he made them few in number.
³ By God’s word he shut up the heavens
    and three times brought down fire.
⁴ How awesome are you, Elijah!
    Whose glory is equal to yours?
⁵ You brought a dead body back to life
    from Sheol, by the will of the Lord.
⁶ You sent kings down to destruction,
    and nobles, from their beds of sickness.
⁷ You heard threats at Sinai,
    at Horeb avenging judgments.
⁸ You anointed the agent of these punishments,
    the prophet to succeed in your place.
⁹ You were taken aloft in a whirlwind,
    in a chariot with fiery horses.
¹⁰ You are destined, it is written, in time to come
    to put an end to wrath before the day of the Lord,
To turn back the hearts of parents toward their children,
    and to re-establish the tribes of Israel.
¹¹ Blessed is the one who shall have seen you before he dies!^[

3. Isaiah 53:7-12

⁷ Though harshly treated, he submitted
    and did not open his mouth;
Like a lamb led to slaughter
    or a sheep silent before shearers,
    he did not open his mouth.
⁸ Seized and condemned, he was taken away.
    Who would have thought any more of his destiny?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
    struck for the sins of his people.
⁹ He was given a grave among the wicked,
    a burial place with evildoers,
Though he had done no wrong,
    nor was deceit found in his mouth.
¹⁰ But it was the Lord’s will to crush him with pain.
By making his life as a reparation offering,^[d]
    he shall see his offspring, shall lengthen his days,
    and the Lord’s will shall be accomplished through him.
¹¹ Because of his anguish he shall see the light;
    because of his knowledge he shall be content;
My servant, the just one, shall justify the many,
    their iniquity he shall bear.
¹² Therefore I will give him his portion among the many,
    and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty,
Because he surrendered himself to death,
    was counted among the transgressors,
Bore the sins of many,
    and interceded for the transgressors.

4. Malachi 2:6-7

⁶ Reliable instruction was in his mouth,
    no perversity was found upon his lips;
He walked with me in integrity and uprightness,
    and turned many away from evil.
⁷ For a priest’s lips preserve knowledge,
    and instruction is to be sought from his mouth,
    because he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.

5. Malachi 3:22-24

 ²² Remember the law of Moses my servant,
    whom I charged at Horeb
With statutes and ordinances
    for all Israel.
²³ Now I am sending to you
    Elijah^[g] the prophet,
Before the day of the Lord comes,
    the great and terrible day;
²⁴ He will turn the heart of fathers to their sons,
    and the heart of sons to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike
    the land with utter destruction.

6. Matthew 10:17-22, 26-39

^17 [h]But beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, ¹⁸ and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. ¹⁹ When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. ²⁰ For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. ^21 [i]Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. ²² You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end^[j] will be saved.

²⁶ “Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.^{[m] 27} What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. ²⁸ And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. ²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. ³⁰ Even all the hairs of your head are counted. ³¹ So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. ^32 [n]Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. ³³ But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.

³⁴ “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. ³⁵ For I have come to set

a man ‘against his father,
    a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
³⁶     and one’s enemies will be those of his household.’

³⁷ “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸ and whoever does not take up his cross^[o] and follow after me is not worthy of me. ^39 [p]Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

7. Matthew 12:33-37

³³ “Either declare^[w] the tree good and its fruit is good, or declare the tree rotten and its fruit is rotten, for a tree is known by its fruit. ^34 [x]You brood of vipers, how can you say good things when you are evil? For from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks. ³⁵ A good person brings forth good out of a store of goodness, but an evil person brings forth evil out of a store of evil. ^36 [y]I tell you, on the day of judgment people will render an account for every careless word they speak. ³⁷ By your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

8. Matthew 16:24-28

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,^[t] take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.^{[u] 26} What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? ^27 [v]For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct. ^28 [w]Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

9. Matthew 22:34-40

³⁴ When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, ³⁵ and one of them [a scholar of the law]^[t] tested him by asking, ³⁶ “Teacher,^[u] which commandment in the law is the greatest?” ³⁷ He said to him,^[v] “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the greatest and the first commandment. ³⁹ The second is like it:^[w] You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ^40 [x]The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

10. Matthew 24:3-13

³ As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives,^[c] the disciples approached him privately and said, “Tell us, when will this happen, and what sign will there be of your coming, and of the end of the age?” ^4 [d]Jesus said to them in reply, “See that no one deceives you. ⁵ For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many. ⁶ You will hear of wars^[e] and reports of wars; see that you are not alarmed, for these things must happen, but it will not yet be the end. ⁷ Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be famines and earthquakes from place to place. ^8 [f]All these are the beginning of the labor pains. ^9 [g]Then they will hand you over to persecution, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name. ¹⁰ And then many will be led into sin; they will betray and hate one another. ¹¹ Many false prophets will arise and deceive many; ¹² and because of the increase of evildoing, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world as a witness to all nations,^[h] and then the end will come.

11. Luke 1:13-20

¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid,^[e] Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of [the] Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink.^[f] He will be filled with the holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, ¹⁶ and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah^[g] to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.” ¹⁸ Then Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” ¹⁹ And the angel said to him in reply, “I am Gabriel,^[h] who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. ²⁰ But now you will be speechless and unable to talk^[i] until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”

12. Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59

^8 [e]Now Stephen, filled with grace and power, was working great wonders and signs among the people. ⁹ Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen, Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and people from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and debated with Stephen, ¹⁰ but they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke.

⁵⁴ When they heard this, they were infuriated, and they ground their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ But he, filled with the holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,^{[c] 56} and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” ⁵⁷ But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears,^[d] and rushed upon him together. ⁵⁸ They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹ As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”^[e]

13. Romans 5:1-11

¹ Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace^[b] with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access [by faith] to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, ⁵ and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us. ⁶ For Christ, while we were still helpless, yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly. ⁷ Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die.^{[c] 8} But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. ⁹ How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath. ¹⁰ Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life. ¹¹ Not only that, but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

14. 1 Corinthians 12:1-3

¹ Now in regard to spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be unaware. ^2 [b]You know how, when you were pagans, you were constantly attracted and led away to mute idols. ³ Therefore, I tell you that nobody speaking by the spirit of God says, “Jesus be accursed.” And no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the holy Spirit.

15. Hebrews 12:1-13

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us^[b] and persevere in running the race that lies before us ² while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God. ³ Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart. ⁴ In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood. ⁵ You have also forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons:

“My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord
    or lose heart when reproved by him;
⁶ for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines;
    he scourges every son he acknowledges.”

⁷ Endure your trials as “discipline”; God treats you as sons. For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸ If you are without discipline, in which all have shared, you are not sons but bastards. ⁹ Besides this, we have had our earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not [then] submit all the more to the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰ They disciplined us for a short time as seemed right to them, but he does so for our benefit, in order that we may share his holiness. ¹¹ At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it.

¹² So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees. ¹³ Make straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed.

16. James 1:2-8, 12-15

² Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials,^{[b] 3} for you know that the testing^[c] of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. ⁵ But if any of you lacks wisdom,^[d] he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it. ⁶ But he should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind. ⁷ For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, ⁸ since he is a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways.

¹² Blessed is the man who perseveres in temptation,^[f] for when he has been proved he will receive the crown of life that he promised to those who love him. ^13 [g]No one experiencing temptation should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God is not subject to temptation to evil, and he himself tempts no one. ¹⁴ Rather, each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. ¹⁵ Then desire conceives and brings forth sin, and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death.

17. James 5:7-11

^7 [c]Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.^{[d] 8} You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand. ⁹ Do not complain, brothers, about one another, that you may not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates. ¹⁰ Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ Indeed we call blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of the perseverance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, because “the Lord is compassionate and merciful.”

18. 1 John 3:11-18

^11 [e]For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another, ¹² unlike Cain who belonged to the evil one and slaughtered his brother. Why did he slaughter him? Because his own works were evil, and those of his brother righteous. ¹³ Do not be amazed, [then,] brothers, if the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. Whoever does not love remains in death. ¹⁵ Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. ¹⁶ The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. ¹⁷ If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? ¹⁸ Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.

19. 1 John 4:7-21

^7 [c]Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹ In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. ¹⁰ In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.

^13 [d]This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. ¹⁵ Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. ¹⁶ We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.

God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. ¹⁷ In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. ¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God^[e] whom he has not seen. ²¹ This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

20. Revelation 14:12-13

¹² Here is what sustains the holy ones who keep God’s commandments and their faith in Jesus.

¹³ I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” said the Spirit, “let them find rest from their labors, for their works accompany them.”

Tuesday 12/27/22

Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist

Readings: 1 Jn 1:1-4; Ps 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12; Jn 20:1a, 2-8

Title: “So That Our Joy May Be Complete”

As we read this introduction from the First Epistle of John (1 John 1:1-4), several important facts are made known to us.  The author emphasizes what is seen and how the Word of life is made visible.  We hear what is perhaps an allusion to the end of John’s Gospel, where St. Thomas sees the risen Christ and even touches His wounds with his hands: “Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe’” (John 20:27).  The transition of the unseen God (cf. John 1:18; cf. 2 Cor 4:18; cf. Heb 11:1-3; cf. 1 John 4:12) to the seen and heard and touched and risen Christ, God in the flesh (John 1:14), is most emphasized, as God is both imminent and transcendent in the unity of the Godhead, the Holy Trinity.  What was once only pondered or contemplated, or seen by Moses in a veiled and partial way (cf. 2 Cor 3:12-18), has been made visible and fully known in Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Cor 13:8-13), the Son of God. 

The emphasis on this new visibility of God in Jesus Christ does not stop there, however.  This emphasis placed on the visibility of God then carries over to the specific mission of the early Christian community of the author.  As the author states, “for the life was made visible; we have seen it and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was made visible to us—what we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us;” (1 John 1:2-3).  What was made visible must further be proclaimed, so that what has been made known through the visibility of God may be further spread and made known to all (cf. Matt 28:18-20). 

The author then states two reasons for this proclamation.  The first is so that they may have fellowship with the author and his community, and the second is so that “our joy may be complete” (1 John 1:4).  The only true fellowship there is, is the fellowship based in God, and wrought in the unity of God’s Spirit.  Any other fellowship exists outside the bond of charity and the unity of the Holy Spirit (cf. Eph 4:1-4; cf. Col 3:13), and so it will be inherently flawed, impermanent, and bound to fall apart.  True unity and fellowship is between humankind and God, and between community members by virtue of their unity and fellowship with God.  In this way, love, unity, and community fellowship are all based upon God’s divine love or charity, and so this fellowship can be perfect—insofar as it is of God’s Spirit—and last into eternity. 

The author claims that his community’s fellowship is “with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3), and so it is this perfect fellowship of God that he is promising to those who hear his message, as he spreads the word of God, “the Word of life” (1 John 1:1).  And as he speaks of how “our joy may be complete” (1 John 1:4), this may also allude to John’s Gospel, as in John 15 we hear Jesus say, “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:10-13). 

This joy made complete (John 15:11; cf. 1 John 1:4) is in reference to the perfect, divine, self-sacrificial love of Christ, by which He laid down His life for His friends (John 15:12-13).  He asks us to bear good fruit (John 15:8, 16-17) by remaining in Him, so that “my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete” (John 15:11; cf. 1 John 1:4).  And as the author of 1 John extends this message, he invites us all to abide in the true vine of Christ (John 15:1-17), so that in the unity of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we may all be as one (cf. John 17:20-26), and “our joy may be complete” (1 John 1:4; cf. John 15:11).  Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12

¹ The Lord is king; let the earth rejoice;
    let the many islands be glad.
² Cloud and darkness surround him;
    justice and right are the foundation of his throne.
⁵ The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
    before the Lord of all the earth.
⁶ The heavens proclaim his justice;
    all peoples see his glory.

¹¹ Light dawns for the just,
    and gladness for the honest of heart.
¹² Rejoice in the Lord, you just,
    and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

2. Matthew 28:16-20

¹⁶ The eleven^[i] disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. ^17 [j]When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. ^18 [k]Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go, therefore,^[l] and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.^[m] And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

3. John 1:14-18

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh^[i]
    and made his dwelling among us,
    and we saw his glory,
    the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
    full of grace and truth.

^15 [j]John testified to him and cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’” ¹⁶ From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace,^{[k] 17} because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God,^[l] who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.

4. John 15:1-17

^1 [a]“I am the true vine,^[b] and my Father is the vine grower. ² He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes^[c] so that it bears more fruit. ³ You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. ⁴ Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. ^6 [d]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. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. ⁸ By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. ⁹ As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.

¹¹ “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. ¹² This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. ^13 [e]No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵ I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends,^[f] because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. ¹⁶ It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. ¹⁷ This I command you: love one another.

5. John 17:20-26

²⁰ “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹ so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. ²² And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, ²³ I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. ²⁴ Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am^[g] they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵ Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. ²⁶ I made known to them your name and I will make it known,^[h] that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.”

6. John 20:1-8, 24-29

¹ On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark,^[c] and saw the stone removed from the tomb. ² So she ran^[d] and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” ^3 [e]So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. ⁴ They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; ⁵ he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. ⁶ When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths^[f] there, ⁷ and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. ⁸ Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.

²⁴ Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” ²⁶ Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” ^28 [q]Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” ^29 [r]Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

7. 1 Corinthians 13:8-13

^8 [d]Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing. ⁹ For we know partially and we prophesy partially, ¹⁰ but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. ¹¹ When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things. ¹² At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known. ^13 [e]So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

8. 2 Corinthians 3:12-18

¹² Therefore, since we have such hope,^[i] we act very boldly ¹³ and not like Moses,^[j] who put a veil over his face so that the Israelites could not look intently at the cessation of what was fading. ¹⁴ Rather, their thoughts were rendered dull, for to this present day^[k] the same veil remains unlifted when they read the old covenant, because through Christ it is taken away. ¹⁵ To this day, in fact, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts, ¹⁶ but whenever a person turns to the Lord the veil is removed. ¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit,^[l] and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ^18 [m]All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit.

9. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

^16 [k]Therefore, we are not discouraged;^[l] rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸ as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal.

10. Ephesians 4:1-6

^1 [a]I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, ³ striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: ^4 [b]one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

11. Colossians 3:12-17

¹² Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, ¹³ bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. ¹⁴ And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. ¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

12. Hebrews 11:1-3

¹ Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence^[b] of things not seen. ² Because of it the ancients were well attested. ³ By faith we understand that the universe was ordered by the word of God,^[c] so that what is visible came into being through the invisible.

13. 1 John 1:1-4

¹ What was from the beginning,
    what we have heard,
    what we have seen with our eyes,
    what we looked upon
    and touched with our hands
    concerns the Word of life—
² for the life was made visible;
    we have seen it and testify to it
    and proclaim to you the eternal life
    that was with the Father and was made visible to us—
³ what we have seen and heard
    we proclaim now to you,
    so that you too may have fellowship with us;
    for our fellowship is with the Father
    and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
⁴ We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.

14. 1 John 4:7-12

^7 [c]Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹ In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. ¹⁰ In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.

Wednesday 12/28/22

Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs

Readings: 1 Jn 1:5-2:2; Ps 124:2-3, 4-5, 7cd-8; Mt 2:13-18

Title: “God Is Light”

The First Epistle of John goes straight for the heart as it begins its edifying message.  We can go through this passage from First John (1 John 1:5-2:2) line by line.  As it begins, “Beloved: This is the message that we have heard from Jesus Christ and proclaim to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).  The author clarifies that the message he passes on is from Jesus Christ, and declares that God is light (cf. John 1:4-9; cf. John 8:12; cf. John 9:5; cf. John 12:35-36; cf. James 1:16-17), and light alone.  This light is spiritual light, which also stands for truth (cf. John 8:31-32; cf. John 14:6-7), goodness, and love, and it is undiluted and untainted with any darkness, as God contains no evil or deceit or ever utters any falsehood (Num 23:19; Isa 53:9).  This goodness of God as light is absolutely pure (cf. Matt 6:22-23), with no exceptions; for He is God. 

As the author continues, “If we say, ‘We have fellowship with him,’ while we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth” (1 John 1:6).  Here, the author makes the analogy between light and truth (cf. John 8:31-32; cf. John 14:6-7) more explicit, as he emphasizes walking in the truth, without hypocrisy or deceit.  This picks up two common themes in Johannine literature: abiding in God by following the commandments (1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 5:2-4), and thereby walking in truth, and lying and deceit specifically (John 8:44-47; 1 John 2:4; Rev 21:27; Rev 22:14-15) as placing one outside the bounds of God’s Spirit and goodness. 

As the author goes on, “But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the Blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).  We are here urged to walk in the light and live in the truth of God, and the importance of Christ’s Blood (John 19:34; Heb 9:11-22; 1 John 5:6-9; Rev 1:5-6) in cleansing us from all sin is a further theme brought in, to contextualize the fact of sin in the higher reality of God and redemption through the sacrifice of Christ. 

As the author continues, “If we say, ‘We are without sin,’ we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing” (1 John 1:8-9).  The author introduces two complementary concepts which we must hold in tension: the one being our sinful human nature, and the other being the forgiveness of all sins through Christ.  We must simultaneously acknowledge our sins and seek forgiveness, and this gives us grace and hope on our path to spiritual improvement and perfection. 

As the author goes on, “If we say, ‘We have not sinned,’ we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:10).  No person is free from the lingering stain of original sin and concupiscence, and none of us—save for Mary and Jesus—are free from unintentional venial sins, as well.  But while striving to be free from sins, we must not deceive ourselves, and we must aim to get closer to God’s perfection of holiness (cf. Matt 5:48), rather than actually attain it perfectly in this life.  This understanding of sinlessness is what we work towards, as a goal or measuring stick by which to orient our progress, while our actual achievements along these lines remain more grounded,humble, and realistic. 

But as the author states, “My children, I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin” (1 John 2:1).  We are to strive to live our lives as sinlessly as possible, and with the help of God’s grace, the sacrament of reconciliation, and Christ’s forgiveness, we should see considerable progress in our own lives, even while mistakes may still happen.  And as the author explains, “But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2; cf. John 3:16-21).  The author asks us to keep this tension of virtue within us, as a balance between extremes, as we strive not to sin while receiving forgiveness for sins both, as this middle path of virtue and goodness that is the path laid out for us by Christ (cf. Matt 7:13-14).  Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Numbers 23:19-20

¹⁹ God is not a human being who speaks falsely,
    nor a mortal, who feels regret.
Is God one to speak and not act,
    to decree and not bring it to pass?
²⁰ I was summoned to bless;
    I will bless; I cannot revoke it!

2. Psalm 124:2-5, 7-8

² Had not the Lord been with us,
    when people rose against us,
³ Then they would have swallowed us alive,
    for their fury blazed against us.
⁴ Then the waters would have engulfed us,
    the torrent overwhelmed us;
⁵     then seething water would have drowned us.
⁷ We escaped with our lives like a bird
    from the fowler’s snare;
    the snare was broken,
    and we escaped.
^8 [b]Our help is in the name of the Lord,
    the maker of heaven and earth.

3. Isaiah 53:7-12

⁷ Though harshly treated, he submitted
    and did not open his mouth;
Like a lamb led to slaughter
    or a sheep silent before shearers,
    he did not open his mouth.
⁸ Seized and condemned, he was taken away.
    Who would have thought any more of his destiny?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
    struck for the sins of his people.
⁹ He was given a grave among the wicked,
    a burial place with evildoers,
Though he had done no wrong,
    nor was deceit found in his mouth.
¹⁰ But it was the Lord’s will to crush him with pain.
By making his life as a reparation offering,^[d]
    he shall see his offspring, shall lengthen his days,
    and the Lord’s will shall be accomplished through him.
¹¹ Because of his anguish he shall see the light;
    because of his knowledge he shall be content;
My servant, the just one, shall justify the many,
    their iniquity he shall bear.
¹² Therefore I will give him his portion among the many,
    and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty,
Because he surrendered himself to death,
    was counted among the transgressors,
Bore the sins of many,
    and interceded for the transgressors.

4. Matthew 2:13-18

^13 [f]When they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,^[g] and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.” ¹⁴ Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. ^15 [h]He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

¹⁶ When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi. ¹⁷ Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:

^18 [i]“A voice was heard in Ramah,
    sobbing and loud lamentation;
Rachel weeping for her children,
    and she would not be consoled,
    since they were no more.”

5. Matthew 5:43-48

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors^[ab] do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same?^{[ac] 48} So be perfect,^[ad] just as your heavenly Father is perfect.

6. Matthew 6:22-23

²² “The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; ²³ but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.

7. Matthew 7:13-14

^13 [g]“Enter through the narrow gate;^[h] for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. ¹⁴ How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.

8. John 1:1-9

¹ In the beginning^[b] was the Word,
    and the Word was with God,
    and the Word was God.
² He was in the beginning with God.
^3 [c]All things came to be through him,
    and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be ⁴ through him was life,
    and this life was the light of the human race;
^5 [d]the light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness has not overcome it.

^6 [e]A man named John was sent from God. ⁷ He came for testimony,^[f] to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. ⁸ He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. ⁹ The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

9. John 3:16-21

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave^[g] his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn^[h] the world, but that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. ^19 [i]And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. ²⁰ For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

10. John 8:12, 31-32, 39-47

¹² Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

³¹ Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him,^[p] “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

^39 [t]They answered and said to him, “Our father is Abraham.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works of Abraham. ⁴⁰ But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God; Abraham did not do this. ⁴¹ You are doing the works of your father!” [So] they said to him, “We are not illegitimate. We have one Father, God.” ⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I did not come on my own, but he sent me. ⁴³ Why do you not understand what I am saying? Because you cannot bear to hear my word. ⁴⁴ You belong to your father the devil and you willingly carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ But because I speak the truth, you do not believe me. ⁴⁶ Can any of you charge me with sin? If I am telling the truth, why do you not believe me? ⁴⁷ Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not listen, because you do not belong to God.”

11. John 9:1-5

^1 [a]As he passed by he saw a man blind from birth. ^2 [b]His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³ Jesus answered, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. ⁴ We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. ⁵ While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

12. John 12:35-36

³⁵ Jesus said to them, “The light will be among you only a little while. Walk while you have the light, so that darkness may not overcome you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where he is going. ³⁶ While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of the light.”

13. John 14:6-7

⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth^[e] and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you know me, then you will also know my Father.^[f] From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

14. John 19:31-35

³¹ Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and they be taken down. ³² So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, ^34 [o]but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. ³⁵ An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows^[p] that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may [come to] believe.

15. Hebrews 9:11-22

^11 [i]But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be,^[j] passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation, ¹² he entered once for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. ¹³ For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes^[k] can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed, ¹⁴ how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit^[l] offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

^15 [m]For this reason he is mediator of a new covenant: since a death has taken place for deliverance from transgressions under the first covenant, those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance. ^16 [n]Now where there is a will, the death of the testator must be established. ¹⁷ For a will takes effect only at death; it has no force while the testator is alive. ¹⁸ Thus not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. ^19 [o]When every commandment had been proclaimed by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves [and goats], together with water and crimson wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, ²⁰ saying, “This is ‘the blood of the covenant which God has enjoined upon you.’” ²¹ In the same way, he sprinkled also the tabernacle^[p] and all the vessels of worship with blood. ^22 [q]According to the law almost everything is purified by blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

16. James 1:16-18

^16 [h]Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers: ¹⁷ all good giving and every perfect gift^[i] is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. ¹⁸ He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

17. 1 John 1:5-2:6

⁵ Now this is the message that we have heard from him and proclaim to you: God is light,^[b] and in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” while we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin. ⁸ If we say, “We are without sin,” we deceive ourselves,^[c] and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing. ¹⁰ If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

¹ My children,^[a] I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. ² He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world. ³ The way we may be sure^[b] that we know him is to keep his commandments. ⁴ Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵ But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: ⁶ whoever claims to abide in him ought to live [just] as he lived.

18. 1 John 5:1-11

^1 [a]Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God, and everyone who loves the father loves [also] the one begotten by him. ² In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. ³ For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, ⁴ for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith. ⁵ Who [indeed] is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

⁶ This is the one who came through water and blood,^[b] Jesus Christ, not by water alone, but by water and blood. The Spirit is the one that testifies, and the Spirit is truth. ⁷ So there are three that testify, ⁸ the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and the three are of one accord. ⁹ If we accept human testimony, the testimony of God is surely greater. Now the testimony of God is this, that he has testified on behalf of his Son. ¹⁰ Whoever believes in the Son of God has this testimony within himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar by not believing the testimony God has given about his Son. ¹¹ And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹² Whoever possesses the Son has life; whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.

19. Revelation 1:4-6

⁴ John, to the seven churches in Asia:^[d] grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us^[e] from our sins by his blood, ⁶ who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever [and ever]. Amen.

20. Revelation 21:22-27

^22 [q]I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb. ^23 [r]The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb. ²⁴ The nations will walk by its light,^[s] and to it the kings of the earth will bring their treasure. ²⁵ During the day its gates will never be shut, and there will be no night there. ²⁶ The treasure and wealth of the nations will be brought there, ²⁷ but nothing unclean will enter it, nor any[one] who does abominable things or tells lies. Only those will enter whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

21. Revelation 22:14-15

¹⁴ Blessed are they who wash their robes so as to have the right to the tree of life and enter the city^[i] through its gates. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the unchaste, the murderers, the idol-worshipers, and all who love and practice deceit.

Thursday 12/29/22

Saint Thomas Becket

Readings: 1 Jn 2:3-11; Ps 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 5b-6; Lk 2:22-35

Title: “Know Jesus”

There is a strong emphasis on action in the First Epistle of John, and in this passage from 1 John 2 (1 John 2:3-11), we receive some edification on the importance of keeping the commandments (cf. 1 John 5:2-4).  As the author first clarifies that no one is without sin in 1 John 1 (1 John 1:5-10), he then goes into detail about what is expected from a follower of Christ.  None of us can say that we are without sin, but at the same time, we are expected not to sin (11 John 2:1-2).  This is the middle path of humility and virtue, which requires care, prudence, and discernment to navigate properly.

As the author proceeds on from this preliminary clarification, he stresses the importance of keeping the commandments, and states that “The way we may be sure that we know Jesus is to keep his commandments” (1 John 2:3).  He furthermore emphasizes the importance of the commandments, as he says, “Whoever says, ‘I know him,’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4).  The position of the author against hypocrisy is made very clear, as he calls such a person “a liar” (1 John 2:4), and states that “the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4).  This calls to mind this passage from John 8: “You belong to your father the devil and you willingly carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).  And so, the stance taken against one who says one thing but does another is very severe. 

But as the author goes on about one who keeps the commandments, “But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him” (1 John 2:5).  In the First Epistle of John, love is seen as an action, and so without this active behavior of keeping God’s commandments, that “love” is only empty, false, and insincere.  The love of God can also be perfected, however, by diligence, practice, and action, as we can become more and more closely conformed to Christ (cf. Rom 12:1-2; cf. Phil 3:17-21) through grace and imitation of Him (cf. 1 Cor 4:16; cf. 1 Cor 11:1; cf. Eph 5:1; cf. Phil 3:17). 

As the author goes on, “This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: whoever claims to abide in him ought to walk just as he walked” (1 John 2:5-6).  This is an excellent description of how we are to abide in Christ through our own positive action and proactive behavior, aided, of course, by grace and the Holy Spirit.  It is not enough to simply hear Christ’s teachings and then not follow them, for this is like Jesus’ analogy in Matthew 7: “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined” (Matt 7:24-27).

And this entails doing God’s will, and not merely clinging to the idea of Jesus as Lord (cf. Matt 7:21-23).  Because when one sincerely believes in Jesus and loves God, then one will naturally wish to adhere to God’s will as evidence of this love, and follow Jesus’ teachings to prove one’s own heart.  For as the author of First John makes clear, this knowledge of Jesus and love of God is an action, and cannot be true in word only.  As the author states: “Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth” (1 John 3:18). 

And as the author goes on, he describes the old and new commandment (1 John 2:7-8).  This may call to mind Jesus’ words in John 13: “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35; cf. Matt 22:36-40).  The author then equates the true light of God and Christ with love (1 John 2:8-9), and goes on to say, “Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is nothing in him to cause a fall. Whoever hates his brother is in darkness; he walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:10-11).  This idea of vision and light as being equated with love goes back to the nature of God.  For as the author also declares, “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16).  And so, all things proceed from this truth of God, who is truth, light, and love, and all things are made known to us as we abide in God (cf. John 15:1-17; cf. John 17:20-26), follow His commandments, and adhere to His ways.  Amen. 

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 96:1-3, 5-6

¹ Sing to the Lord a new song;
    sing to the Lord, all the earth.
² Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
    proclaim his salvation day after day.
³ Tell his glory among the nations;
    among all peoples, his marvelous deeds.

⁵ For the gods of the nations are idols,
    but the Lord made the heavens.
⁶ Splendor and power go before him;
    power and grandeur are in his holy place.

2. Matthew 7:21-27

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,^[j] but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ ²³ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you.^[k] Depart from me, you evildoers.’

^24 [l]“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. ²⁵ The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. ²⁶ And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

3. Matthew 22:34-40

³⁴ When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, ³⁵ and one of them [a scholar of the law]^[t] tested him by asking, ³⁶ “Teacher,^[u] which commandment in the law is the greatest?” ³⁷ He said to him,^[v] “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the greatest and the first commandment. ³⁹ The second is like it:^[w] You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ^40 [x]The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

4. Luke 2:22-35

^22 [h]When the days were completed for their purification^[i] according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, ²³ just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,” ²⁴ and to offer the sacrifice of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,” in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.

²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel,^[j] and the holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord. ²⁷ He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, ²⁸ he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:

²⁹ “Now, Master, you may let your servant go
    in peace, according to your word,
³⁰ for my eyes have seen your salvation,
³¹     which you prepared in sight of all the peoples,
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and glory for your people Israel.”

³³ The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; ³⁴ and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted ³⁵ (and you yourself a sword will pierce)^[k] so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

5. John 8:39-47

^39 [t]They answered and said to him, “Our father is Abraham.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works of Abraham. ⁴⁰ But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God; Abraham did not do this. ⁴¹ You are doing the works of your father!” [So] they said to him, “We are not illegitimate. We have one Father, God.” ⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I did not come on my own, but he sent me. ⁴³ Why do you not understand what I am saying? Because you cannot bear to hear my word. ⁴⁴ You belong to your father the devil and you willingly carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ But because I speak the truth, you do not believe me. ⁴⁶ Can any of you charge me with sin? If I am telling the truth, why do you not believe me? ⁴⁷ Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not listen, because you do not belong to God.”

6. John 13:31-35

^31 [j]When he had left, Jesus said,^[k] “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. ³² [If God is glorified in him,] God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once. ³³ My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, ‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you. ³⁴ I give you a new commandment:^[l] love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. ³⁵ This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

7. John 15:1-17

^1 [a]“I am the true vine,^[b] and my Father is the vine grower. ² He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes^[c] so that it bears more fruit. ³ You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. ⁴ Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. ^6 [d]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. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. ⁸ By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. ⁹ As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.

¹¹ “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. ¹² This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. ^13 [e]No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵ I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends,^[f] because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. ¹⁶ It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. ¹⁷ This I command you: love one another.

8. John 17:20-26

²⁰ “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹ so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. ²² And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, ²³ I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. ²⁴ Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am^[g] they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵ Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. ²⁶ I made known to them your name and I will make it known,^[h] that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.”

9. Romans 12:1-2

^1 [b]I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. ² Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.

10. 1 Corinthians 4:14-17

¹⁴ I am writing you this not to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children.^{[e] 15} Even if you should have countless guides to Christ, yet you do not have many fathers, for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. ¹⁶ Therefore, I urge you, be imitators of me. ¹⁷ For this reason I am sending you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord; he will remind you of my ways in Christ [Jesus], just as I teach them everywhere in every church.

11. 1 Corinthians 11:1

¹ Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

12. Ephesians 5:1-5

¹ So be imitators of God,^[a] as beloved children, ² and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma. ³ Immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is fitting among holy ones, ⁴ no obscenity or silly or suggestive talk, which is out of place, but instead, thanksgiving. ⁵ Be sure of this, that no immoral or impure or greedy person, that is, an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

13. Philippians 3:17-21

¹⁷ Join with others in being imitators of me,^[l] brothers, and observe those who thus conduct themselves according to the model you have in us. ¹⁸ For many, as I have often told you and now tell you even in tears, conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ Their end is destruction. Their God is their stomach; their glory is in their “shame.” Their minds are occupied with earthly things. ²⁰ But our citizenship^[m] is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. ²¹ He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself.

14. 1 John 1:5-10

⁵ Now this is the message that we have heard from him and proclaim to you: God is light,^[b] and in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” while we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin. ⁸ If we say, “We are without sin,” we deceive ourselves,^[c] and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing. ¹⁰ If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

15. 1 John 2:1-11

¹ My children,^[a] I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. ² He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world. ³ The way we may be sure^[b] that we know him is to keep his commandments. ⁴ Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵ But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: ⁶ whoever claims to abide in him ought to live [just] as he lived.

⁷ Beloved, I am writing no new commandment to you but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. ⁸ And yet I do write a new commandment to you, which holds true in him and among you,^[d] for the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. ⁹ Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness. ¹⁰ Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is nothing in him to cause a fall. ¹¹ Whoever hates his brother is in darkness; he walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

16. 1 John 3:11-18

^11 [e]For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another, ¹² unlike Cain who belonged to the evil one and slaughtered his brother. Why did he slaughter him? Because his own works were evil, and those of his brother righteous. ¹³ Do not be amazed, [then,] brothers, if the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. Whoever does not love remains in death. ¹⁵ Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. ¹⁶ The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. ¹⁷ If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? ¹⁸ Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.

17. 1 John 4:7-21

^7 [c]Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹ In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. ¹⁰ In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.

^13 [d]This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. ¹⁵ Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. ¹⁶ We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.

God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. ¹⁷ In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. ¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God^[e] whom he has not seen. ²¹ This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

18. 1 John 5:1-5

^1 [a]Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God, and everyone who loves the father loves [also] the one begotten by him. ² In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. ³ For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, ⁴ for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith. ⁵ Who [indeed] is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Friday 12/30/22

Feast of The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Readings: Sir 3:2-6, 12-14 or Col 3:12-21; Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5; Mt 2:13-15, 19-23

Title: “The Bond of Perfection”

This passage from Colossians 3 (Col 3:12-21) contains several important lessons about the spiritual life in Christ.  We can go through this passage line by line.  As it begins, “Brothers and sisters: Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do” (Col 3:12-13).  This is a message addressed to the community at large, with instructions oriented towards living peacefully with one another.  The special virtues mentioned include, “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience” (Col 3:12), and all of these are necessary for maintaining harmonious interpersonal relationships.  There are two other main premises that the author, St. Paul, assumes.  One is that grievances will arise, and the other is that Christ has forgiven us.  Therefore, it is expected that we must forgive one another, and St. Paul states this explicitly (cf. Matt 6:12-15; cf. Matt 18:21-35). 

The major constitutive elements contributing to Christian brotherhood and peace are most emphasized in this passage, and so we can see how these all come together to help illustrate a picture of the Christian community.  This is where we hear that we must bear with one another, over and above any more extraordinary endurance required for martyrdom or withstanding persecution (cf. Matt 24:9-14; cf. Rom 5:1-11; cf. Heb 12:1-13).  And this forbearance is one way in which we can be faithful in the small things to be prepared to show faithfulness in the great things (Luke 16:10), for how can we endure the great struggles without also being able to bear with one another?  Furthermore, we know from 1 Corinthians 13, that love “bears all things” (1 Cor 13:7).  And as we read on, “And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection” (Col 3:14).  This love of God always tends towards unity, while the hatefulness of the devil divides and scatters.  Love is “the bond of perfection” (Col 3:14; cf. Eph 4:3), because it is only in God’s Spirit that this perfection of unity in the Christian community (cf. Eph 4:1-6) can exist at all. 

As St. Paul continues, “And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body” (Col 3:15).  For as we know from 2 Timothy 1, “For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control” (2 Tim 1:7).  It is by Christ that we have the virtue and self-restraint (cf. Gal 5:22-23) by which to bear with one another, control our own hearts, and maintain the unshakable unity that is founded in God.  We can dwell in unity as one by virtue of each abiding ourselves in Christ and God.  And as St. Paul goes on, “And be thankful” (Col 3:15).  We know the Greek root word for Eucharist means “thanksgiving,” and so it is of Christ and God to be thankful, and this sense of thankfulness and gratitude will keep our hearts full always, no matter what other sorts of loss or emptiness other parts of life might bring.

And as St. Paul further explains, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God” (Col 3:16).  This is a beautiful description of the spirituality and holiness of the Christian life oriented in piety to God, as our whole manner of living can become one extended prayer through our thoughts, deeds, and the intentions of our hearts.  And as St. Paul goes on, “And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col 3:17).  This is how we can live in the sight of God and not in the eyes of humankind (cf. Eph 6:5-9; cf. Phil 2:12-18; cf. Col 3:22-25), thirsting after God’s own heart and not for created things.  All we do, we do for God and with God in mind, and in this way, we live in the heart of God and the eternal Kingdom, even while still in this life and this world (cf. John 16:33; cf. John 17:9-19).

As St. Paul continues, “Wives, be subordinate to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and avoid any bitterness toward them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they may not become discouraged” (Col 3:18-21).  We all practice subordination to each other, as with submissiveness, gentleness, obedience, and humility, we can find God in the lowliness of our own humble hearts.  We lose our own lives to find the life of God within us (cf. Matt 10:37-39; cf. Matt 16:24-28), through the Holy Spirit and Christ’s gift from the cross, and in the unity of God we can build up the eternal Kingdom in our souls, as the Christian way of life, in God.  Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Psalm 128:1-5

¹ A song of ascents.

Blessed are all who fear the Lord,
    and who walk in his ways.
² What your hands provide you will enjoy;
    you will be blessed and prosper:
³ Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
    within your home,
Your children like young olive plants
    around your table.
⁴ Just so will the man be blessed
    who fears the Lord.

May the Lord bless you from Zion;
    may you see Jerusalem’s prosperity
    all the days of your life,

2. Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14

² For the Lord sets a father in honor over his children
    and confirms a mother’s authority over her sons.
³ Those who honor their father atone for sins;
⁴     they store up riches who respect their mother.
⁵ Those who honor their father will have joy in their own children,
    and when they pray they are heard.
⁶ Those who respect their father will live a long life;
    those who obey the Lord honor their mother.

¹² My son, be steadfast in honoring your father;
    do not grieve him as long as he lives.
¹³ Even if his mind fails, be considerate of him;
    do not revile him because you are in your prime.
¹⁴ Kindness to a father will not be forgotten;
    it will serve as a sin offering—it will take lasting root.

3. Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23

^13 [f]When they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,^[g] and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.” ¹⁴ Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. ^15 [h]He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

¹⁹ When Herod had died, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt ²⁰ and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.”^{[j] 21} He rose, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. ²² But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod,^[k] he was afraid to go back there. And because he had been warned in a dream, he departed for the region of Galilee. ^23 [l]He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be called a Nazorean.”

4. Matthew 6:9-15

^9 [e]“This is how you are to pray:

Our Father in heaven,^[f]
    hallowed be your name,
¹⁰     your kingdom come,^[g]
    your will be done,
        on earth as in heaven.
^{11     [h]}Give us today our daily bread;
¹²     and forgive us our debts,^[i]
        as we forgive our debtors;
¹³     and do not subject us to the final test,^[j]
        but deliver us from the evil one.

^14 [k]If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.

5. Matthew 10:37-39

³⁷ “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸ and whoever does not take up his cross^[o] and follow after me is not worthy of me. ^39 [p]Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

6. Matthew 16:24-28

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,^[t] take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.^{[u] 26} What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? ^27 [v]For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct. ^28 [w]Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

7. Matthew 18:21-35

²¹ Then Peter approaching asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” ^22 [s]Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. ²³ That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. ^24 [t]When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. ²⁵ Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. ^26 [u]At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’ ²⁷ Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. ²⁸ When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount.^[v] He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ ²⁹ Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ ³⁰ But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt. ³¹ Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. ³² His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. ³³ Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ ³⁴ Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt.^{[w] 35 [x]}So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”

8. Matthew 24:9-14

^9 [g]Then they will hand you over to persecution, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name. ¹⁰ And then many will be led into sin; they will betray and hate one another. ¹¹ Many false prophets will arise and deceive many; ¹² and because of the increase of evildoing, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world as a witness to all nations,^[h] and then the end will come.

9. Luke 16:9-13

⁹ I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth,^[f] so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. ^10 [g]The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. ¹¹ If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? ¹² If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? ¹³ No servant can serve two masters.^[h] He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

^4 [c]Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, ⁵ it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, ⁶ it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

10. John 16:25-33

^25 [f]“I have told you this in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures but I will tell you clearly about the Father. ²⁶ On that day you will ask in my name, and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you. ²⁷ For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God. ²⁸ I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” ²⁹ His disciples said, “Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech. ³⁰ Now we realize that you know everything and that you do not need to have anyone question you. Because of this we believe that you came from God.”^{[g] 31} Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now? ³² Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered^[h] to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me. ³³ I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”

11. John 17:6-19

⁶ “I revealed your name^[e] to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, ⁸ because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. ⁹ I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, ¹⁰ and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them. ¹¹ And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are. ¹² When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³ But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely. ¹⁴ I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. ^15 [f]I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. ¹⁷ Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.

12. Romans 5:1-11

¹ Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace^[b] with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access [by faith] to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, ⁵ and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us. ⁶ For Christ, while we were still helpless, yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly. ⁷ Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die.^{[c] 8} But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. ⁹ How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath. ¹⁰ Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life. ¹¹ Not only that, but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

13. Galatians 5:16-26

¹⁶ I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.^{[m] 17} For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want. ¹⁸ But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ^19 [n]Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, ²¹ occasions of envy,^[o] drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. ²⁴ Now those who belong to Christ [Jesus] have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not be conceited, provoking one another, envious of one another.

14. Ephesians 4:1-6

^1 [a]I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, ³ striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: ^4 [b]one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

15. Ephesians 6:5-9

⁵ Slaves, be obedient to your human masters with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ, ⁶ not only when being watched, as currying favor, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, ⁷ willingly serving the Lord and not human beings, ⁸ knowing that each will be requited from the Lord for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. ⁹ Masters, act in the same way toward them, and stop bullying, knowing that both they and you have a Master in heaven and that with him there is no partiality.

16. Philippians 2:12-18

¹² So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.^{[k] 13} For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work. ¹⁴ Do everything without grumbling or questioning, ¹⁵ that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,^[l] among whom you shine like lights in the world, ¹⁶ as you hold on to the word of life, so that my boast for the day of Christ may be that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. ¹⁷ But, even if I am poured out as a libation^[m] upon the sacrificial service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with all of you. ¹⁸ In the same way you also should rejoice and share your joy with me.

17. Colossians 3:12-25

¹² Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, ¹³ bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. ¹⁴ And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. ¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

²² Slaves,^[i] obey your human masters in everything, not only when being watched, as currying favor, but in simplicity of heart, fearing the Lord. ²³ Whatever you do, do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others, ²⁴ knowing that you will receive from the Lord the due payment of the inheritance; be slaves of the Lord Christ. ²⁵ For the wrongdoer will receive recompense for the wrong he committed, and there is no partiality.

^18 [h]Wives, be subordinate to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord. ¹⁹ Husbands, love your wives, and avoid any bitterness toward them. ²⁰ Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord. ²¹ Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they may not become discouraged.

18. Hebrews 12:1-13

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us^[b] and persevere in running the race that lies before us ² while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God. ³ Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart. ⁴ In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood. ⁵ You have also forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons:

“My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord
    or lose heart when reproved by him;
⁶ for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines;
    he scourges every son he acknowledges.”

⁷ Endure your trials as “discipline”; God treats you as sons. For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸ If you are without discipline, in which all have shared, you are not sons but bastards. ⁹ Besides this, we have had our earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not [then] submit all the more to the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰ They disciplined us for a short time as seemed right to them, but he does so for our benefit, in order that we may share his holiness. ¹¹ At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it.

¹² So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees. ¹³ Make straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed.

19. 2 Timothy 1:6-8

⁶ For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God^[e] that you have through the imposition of my hands. ⁷ For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. ⁸ So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,^[f] nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.

Saturday 12/31/22

Saint Sylvester I

Readings: 1 Jn 2:18-21; Ps 96:1-2, 11-12, 13; Jn 1:1-18

Title: “The Light Shines in the Darkness”

The prologue of John’s Gospel contains some of the most beautiful and poetic prose in the New Testament.  It is often suggested that the prologue of John’s Gospel is a hymn, either composed by the Evangelist or borrowed from other sources and included in the Gospel (cf. Phil 2:6-11; cf. Col 1:15-20).  We can go through this prologue verse by verse to look more deeply into the beauty of this passage.  As it begins, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:1-5).

This passage alludes to the Wisdom figure in the Wisdom literature of the Old Testament (cf. Prov 8:22-36), and the reference to the Word or Logos also evokes aspects of Greek philosophy.  What is emphasized here is that the Word was both God and with God (John 1:1), and so here we can find some strong elements of trinitarian theology, describing one God in three Persons.  This creative role of God described in John’s prologue is also strongly evocative of the creation account in Genesis 1-2 (cf. Gen 1:3-5), and so perhaps we may find some benefit in reading these two Bible passages in conjunction with each other. 

As we read on, “A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:6-9).  The Evangelist, John, describes another John, John the Baptist, as one testifying to the light.  The reason for this testimony is given here right from the beginning, as being, “so that all might believe through him” (John 1:7).  This is a very important point, and this rationale in writing the Gospel is also given at the end of chapter 20, forming a nice inclusio, or bookending: “But these are written that you may [come to] believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name” (John 20:31; cf. John 20:28). 

What is further emphasized is that John was not the light, but came to testify to the light.  This is actually an important distinction to keep in mind for any of us travelling the spiritual path of Christ, because recognizing the difference between God and ourselves as that light and glory of our souls is a crucial and necessary preliminary step for true worship and appreciation of God, as well as contemplation.  The main thing that works to thwart the love of God in our hearts is not hatred, but self-love, as the desire is directed towards the self rather than towards God.  We can further read about how John the Baptist understood well this difference in John 3, as he says, “John answered and said, ‘No one can receive anything except what has been given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said [that] I am not the Messiah, but that I was sent before him. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease’” (John 3:27-30).

As John’s prologue proceeds, we read, “He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him. But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God” (John 1:10-13).  Here the Evangelist draws the distinction between the children of God and those of the world, and the groundwork is laid for further teachings on baptism, which can also be found in John 3: “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?’ Jesus answered, ‘Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you, “You must be born from above.” The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit’” (John 3:3-8).

As the Evangelist goes on, “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only-begotten Son, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).  This is an immensely important verse, which clarifies the taking on of human flesh and human nature by the supernatural God.  The unseen God is made visible in the human Incarnation of Christ, “the Father’s only-begotten Son, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). 

And as John’s prologue draws to a close, “John testified to him and cried out, saying, ‘This was he of whom I said, “The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.”’ From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace, because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The only-begotten Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him” (John 1:15-18). 

Several main points are made here.  The first is the preexistence of Christ, as God.  The second is that from Him we have all received grace, “grace in place of grace” (John 1:16), as this gift of Jesus is compared to the law given by Moses (John 1:17).  This may also call to mind this passage from 2 Corinthians 3, where we read from St. Paul, “Therefore, since we have such hope, we act very boldly and not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the Israelites could not look intently at the cessation of what was fading. Rather, their thoughts were rendered dull, for to this present day the same veil remains unlifted when they read the old covenant, because through Christ it is taken away. To this day, in fact, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts, but whenever a person turns to the Lord the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:12-18; cf. John 4:24; cf. 2 Cor 3:7-11).

And the third point is that on our own we do not see God, but Jesus Christ “has revealed him” (John 1:18).  This highlights this unique and incomparable role of Jesus as Son, and as the one in whom God is visible.  For as we read in Matthew 5:8: “Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God” (Matt 5:8); and in 1 John 3: “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure” (1 John 3:1-3); and in John 14: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him” (John 14:6-8).

It is only in Christ that God may be seen, and there is no other way to the Father than through the Son.  And what is more, is that Christ will turn away none who seek Him.  As Christ tells us in John 6: “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it [on] the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him [on] the last day” (John 6:37-40).  Jesus will turn away none who seek Him, but wills to obey the Father and reveal God to all who desire Him and seek Him (cf. Matt 7:7-11; cf. Luke 11:9-13), who come to Him in purity and truth (cf. Ps 145:18-19).    Amen.

List of Bible Passages Cited, Compiled for Referencing Convenience (New American Bible Revised Edition, Unless Otherwise Noted):

1. Genesis 1:3-5

¹ In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth— ^2 [b]and the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters—

³ Then God said: Let there be light, and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good. God then separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” Evening came, and morning followed—the first day.

2. Psalm 96:1-2, 11-13

¹ Sing to the Lord a new song;
    sing to the Lord, all the earth.
² Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
    proclaim his salvation day after day.

¹¹ Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
    let the sea and what fills it resound;
¹²     let the plains be joyful and all that is in them.
Then let all the trees of the forest rejoice
¹³     before the Lord who comes,
    who comes to govern the earth,
To govern the world with justice
    and the peoples with faithfulness.

3. Psalm 145:13-21

¹³ Your reign is a reign for all ages,
    your dominion for all generations.
The Lord is trustworthy in all his words,
    and loving in all his works.
¹⁴ The Lord supports all who are falling
    and raises up all who are bowed down.
¹⁵ The eyes of all look hopefully to you;
    you give them their food in due season.
¹⁶ You open wide your hand
    and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
¹⁷ The Lord is just in all his ways,
    merciful in all his works.
¹⁸ The Lord is near to all who call upon him,
    to all who call upon him in truth.
¹⁹ He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
    he hears their cry and saves them.
²⁰ The Lord watches over all who love him,
    but all the wicked he destroys.
²¹ My mouth will speak the praises of the Lord;
    all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

4. Proverbs 8:22-36

^22 [e]“The Lord begot me, the beginning of his works,
    the forerunner of his deeds of long ago;
²³ From of old I was formed,^[f]
    at the first, before the earth.
^24 [g]When there were no deeps I was brought forth,
    when there were no fountains or springs of water;
²⁵ Before the mountains were settled into place,
    before the hills, I was brought forth;
²⁶ When the earth and the fields were not yet made,
    nor the first clods of the world.
²⁷ When he established the heavens, there was I,
    when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep;
²⁸ When he made firm the skies above,
    when he fixed fast the springs of the deep;
²⁹ When he set for the sea its limit,
    so that the waters should not transgress his command;
When he fixed the foundations of earth,
³⁰     then was I beside him as artisan;^[h]
I was his delight day by day,
    playing before him all the while,
³¹ Playing over the whole of his earth,
    having my delight with human beings.
^32 [i]Now, children, listen to me;
    happy are they who keep my ways.
³³ Listen to instruction and grow wise,
    do not reject it!
³⁴ Happy the one who listens to me,
    attending daily at my gates,
    keeping watch at my doorposts;
³⁵ For whoever finds me finds life,
    and wins favor from the Lord;
³⁶ But those who pass me by do violence to themselves;
    all who hate me love death.”

5. Matthew 5:3-10

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,^[d]
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
^4 [e]Blessed are they who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
^5 [f]Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the land.
⁶ Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,^[g]
    for they will be satisfied.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
^8 [h]Blessed are the clean of heart,
    for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,^[i]
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

6. Matthew 7:7-11

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. ⁹ Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread,^{[e] 10} or a snake when he asks for a fish? ¹¹ If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.

7. Luke 11:9-13

⁹ “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. ¹¹ What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? ¹² Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? ¹³ If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit^[e] to those who ask him?”

8. John 1:1-18

¹ In the beginning^[b] was the Word,
    and the Word was with God,
    and the Word was God.
² He was in the beginning with God.
^3 [c]All things came to be through him,
    and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be ⁴ through him was life,
    and this life was the light of the human race;
^5 [d]the light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness has not overcome it.

^6 [e]A man named John was sent from God. ⁷ He came for testimony,^[f] to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. ⁸ He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. ⁹ The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

¹⁰ He was in the world,
    and the world came to be through him,
    but the world did not know him.
¹¹ He came to what was his own,
    but his own people^[g] did not accept him.

¹² But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, ^13 [h]who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God.

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh^[i]
    and made his dwelling among us,
    and we saw his glory,
    the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
    full of grace and truth.

^15 [j]John testified to him and cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’” ¹⁶ From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace,^{[k] 17} because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God,^[l] who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.

9. John 3:1-15, 22-30

¹ Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.^{[b] 2} He came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him.” ³ Jesus answered and said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born^[c] from above.” ⁴ Nicodemus said to him, “How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?” ⁵ Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. ⁶ What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not be amazed that I told you, ‘You must be born from above.’ ⁸ The wind^[d] blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” ⁹ Nicodemus answered and said to him, “How can this happen?” ¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this? ¹¹ Amen, amen, I say to you, we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony. ¹² If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³ No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. ¹⁴ And just as Moses lifted up^[e] the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ^15 [f]so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

^22 [j]After this, Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea, where he spent some time with them baptizing. ²³ John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim,^[k] because there was an abundance of water there, and people came to be baptized, ^24 [l]for John had not yet been imprisoned. ²⁵ Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew^[m] about ceremonial washings. ²⁶ So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.” ²⁷ John answered and said, “No one can receive anything except what has been given him from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves can testify that I said [that] I am not the Messiah, but that I was sent before him. ²⁹ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man,^[n] who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. ³⁰ He must increase; I must decrease.”

10. John 4:16-26

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Go call your husband and come back.” ¹⁷ The woman answered and said to him, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus answered her, “You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’ ¹⁸ For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true.” ¹⁹ The woman said to him, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. ²⁰ Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain;^[h] but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” ²¹ Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²² You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. ²³ But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth;^[i] and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. ²⁴ God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.” ^25 [j]The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Anointed; when he comes, he will tell us everything.” ²⁶ Jesus said to her, “I am he,^[k] the one who is speaking with you.”

11. John 6:34-40

³⁴ So they said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” ^35 [q]Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. ³⁶ But I told you that although you have seen [me], you do not believe. ³⁷ Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, ³⁸ because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. ³⁹ And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it [on] the last day. ⁴⁰ For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him [on] the last day.”

12. John 14:1-14

^1 [a]“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith^[b] in God; have faith also in me. ² In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? ^3 [c]And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. ⁴ Where [I] am going you know the way.”^{[d] 5} Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” ⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth^[e] and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you know me, then you will also know my Father.^[f] From now on you do know him and have seen him.” ⁸ Philip said to him, “Master, show us the Father,^[g] and that will be enough for us.” ⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. ¹¹ Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. ¹² Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.

13. John 20:24-31

²⁴ Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” ²⁶ Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” ^28 [q]Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” ^29 [r]Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

³⁰ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of [his] disciples that are not written in this book. ³¹ But these are written that you may [come to] believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

14. 2 Corinthians 3:7-18

^7 [f]Now if the ministry of death,^[g] carved in letters on stone, was so glorious that the Israelites could not look intently at the face of Moses because of its glory that was going to fade, ⁸ how much more^[h] will the ministry of the Spirit be glorious? ⁹ For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious, the ministry of righteousness will abound much more in glory. ¹⁰ Indeed, what was endowed with glory has come to have no glory in this respect because of the glory that surpasses it. ¹¹ For if what was going to fade was glorious, how much more will what endures be glorious.

¹² Therefore, since we have such hope,^[i] we act very boldly ¹³ and not like Moses,^[j] who put a veil over his face so that the Israelites could not look intently at the cessation of what was fading. ¹⁴ Rather, their thoughts were rendered dull, for to this present day^[k] the same veil remains unlifted when they read the old covenant, because through Christ it is taken away. ¹⁵ To this day, in fact, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts, ¹⁶ but whenever a person turns to the Lord the veil is removed. ¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit,^[l] and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ^18 [m]All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit.

15. Philippians 2:6-11

⁶ Who,^[c] though he was in the form of God,
    did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.^[d]
7     Rather, he emptied himself,
    taking the form of a slave,
    coming in human likeness;^[e]
    and found human in appearance,
⁸     he humbled himself,
        becoming obedient to death,
        even death on a cross.^[f]
9 Because of this, God greatly exalted him
    and bestowed on him the name^[g]
    that is above every name,
¹⁰     that at the name of Jesus
    every knee should bend,^[h]
    of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹     and every tongue confess that
    Jesus Christ is Lord,^[i]
    to the glory of God the Father.

16. Colossians 1:15-20

^15 [f]He is the image^[g] of the invisible God,
    the firstborn of all creation.
¹⁶ For in him^[h] were created all things in heaven and on earth,
    the visible and the invisible,
    whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
    all things were created through him and for him.
¹⁷ He is before all things,
    and in him all things hold together.
¹⁸ He is the head of the body, the church.^[i]
    He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
    that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
¹⁹ For in him all the fullness^[j] was pleased to dwell,
²⁰ and through him to reconcile all things for him,
    making peace by the blood of his cross^[k]
    [through him], whether those on earth or those in heaven.

17. 1 John 2:18-21

¹⁸ Children, it is the last hour;^[i] and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. Thus we know this is the last hour. ¹⁹ They went out from us, but they were not really of our number;^[j] if they had been, they would have remained with us. Their desertion shows that none of them was of our number. ²⁰ But you have the anointing that comes from the holy one,^[k] and you all have knowledge. ²¹ I write to you not because you do not know the truth but because you do, and because every lie is alien to the truth.

18. 1 John 3:1-3

^1 [a]See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed^[b] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³ Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure.