Ghost Writer, Holy

Monday 5/1/23

Saint Joseph the Worker

Readings: Acts 11:1-18; Ps 42:2-3; 43:3, 4; Jn 10:11-18

Title: “This Is Why the Father Loves Me”

The parable of the good shepherd from John 10 (John 10:1-21) is one of the most well-known and iconic teachings of Jesus. But as we look past the surface of this familiar imagery, we can find much depth in this distinctly Johannine piece. We can begin an examination of this passage from John 10 (John 10:11-18) with the first verse: “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). We find one of the seven “I am” statements from John’s Gospel, indicating that a unique facet of Jesus’ identity will be explored and elucidated here. Jesus describes two main characteristics. One is that He is a shepherd, indicating that He leads, guards, cares for, and protects His sheep, and the other is that He is good, by which Jesus means, as we can see from His explanation, that He will lay down His life for the sheep.

Directly before this pericope, Jesus had also described Himself as the door or the gate (John 10:7, 9), also indicating that He would literally lay down His life for the sheep, forming a door with His body in the opening between the gateposts of the sheep enclosure. And so here, we see a development of that earlier teaching, as Jesus is not only the gate (John 10:7, 9), but He now further describes Himself as the good shepherd Himself. We can perhaps see how Jesus is alluding not only to his role as mediator between God and humankind (See 1 Tim 2:5-6; Heb 9:15-22; See also 2 Cor 5:16-21; Gal 3:20), but also to His role as God (See Ps 23:1; Isa 40:10-11) and part of the Holy Trinity.

For Jesus not only shows that He is the shepherd, but furthermore that He is the good shepherd, and as Jesus has also said in Matthew 19: “He answered him, ‘Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments’” (Matt 19:17). What is interesting is that His explanation of “good” involves self-sacrifice and laying down His life for the sheep. For in all the ways in which good may have been defined, this way is uniquely Christian, in a self-sacrificial expression of God’s paschal, agapē love. As Jesus states in John 15: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).

As this passage continues, “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. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep” (John 10:12-13). Jesus describes how a hired man is not a good shepherd, because he cares not about the sheep, but only works for pay. In some ways, this can show how God’s love, and love among humankind facilitated by grace (See 1 John 4:7-21), is distinguished from ordinary natural love, which comes from human affection alone and not from God.

Jesus next elaborates on His statement that He is the good shepherd: “I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep 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” (John 10:14-16). Jesus relates His knowledge of (See Matt 7:21-23; Matt 10:32-33; 2 Tim 2:11-13) and love for the sheep to the Father’s knowledge of and love for Jesus, and so we can see how Jesus’ care and role of shepherd comes not from His humanity, but from God. He again reiterates how He will “lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:15), which He repeats five times (John 10:11, 15, 17, 18), a number of symbolic significance, indicating both the five books of the Law, and divine completion.

And what is most emphasized here is this last statement: “This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 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. This command I have received from my Father’” (John 10:17-18). We may understand from this not only the emphasis of the connection between love and self-sacrifice, but also the importance of obedience to the Father. For as we also read in John 14: “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” (John 14:31).

The amount of trust required of Jesus, not only to lay down His life on command, but also to take it back up again, is the divine and perfect fullness of total and complete trusting love. What this expresses is not only Jesus’ relation to humankind, but also Jesus’ relation to the Father, and the Father’s relationship to humankind through the Son (See John 17:20-26). Jesus is the good shepherd (John 10:11, 14), and exactly what He means when He says “good,” is so much more than we could ever fathom (See Rom 11:33; cf. 1 Cor 2:6-16; Eph 3:14-21), in His total and divine gift of grace and self from the cross.

As Jesus says, “This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 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. This command I have received from my Father’” (John 10:17-18). And as He receives, so He gives to us (See Matt 10:8; John 3:34-36; Acts 11:17; 1 John 3:16-18). Amen.

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

1. Psalm 23:1-4

¹A psalm of David.

The Lord is my shepherd;^[b]
    there is nothing I lack.
²In green pastures he makes me lie down;
    to still waters he leads me;
³    he restores my soul.
He guides me along right paths^[c]
    for the sake of his name.
⁴Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
    I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff comfort me.

2. Psalm 42:2-3; 43:3-4

²As the deer longs for streams of water,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
³My soul thirsts for God, the living God.
When can I enter and see the face of God?

³Send your light and your fidelity,^[a]
    that they may be my guide;
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
    to the place of your dwelling,
⁴That I may come to the altar of God,
    to God, my joy, my delight.
Then I will praise you with the harp,
    O God, my God.

3. Isaiah 40:9-11

⁹Go 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!
¹⁰Here comes with power
    the Lord God,
    who rules by his strong arm;
Here is his reward with him,
    his recompense before him.
¹¹Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
    in his arms he gathers the lambs,
Carrying them in his bosom,
    leading the ewes with care.

4. 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. ²²Many 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?’ ²³Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you.^[k] Depart from me, you evildoers.’

5. Matthew 10:5-15, 26-33

⁵Jesus sent out these twelve^[d] after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. ⁶Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷As 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. ⁹Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; ¹⁰no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. ¹¹Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. ¹²As you enter a house, wish it peace. ¹³If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you.^[f] ^14 [g]Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words—go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. ¹⁵Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

²⁶“Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.^[m] ²⁷What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. ²⁸And 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. ²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. ³⁰Even all the hairs of your head are counted. ³¹So 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. ³³But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.

6. Matthew 19:16-17

7. John 3:31-36

³¹The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven [is above all]. ³²He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. ³³Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy. ³⁴For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift^[p] of the Spirit. ³⁵The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him. ³⁶Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.

8. John 10:1-21

^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. ²But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³The 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. ⁵But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.” ⁶Although 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. ⁹I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. ¹¹I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹²A 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. ¹³This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. ¹⁴I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, ¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶I 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. ¹⁷This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. ¹⁸No 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.”

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

9. John 14:25-31

²⁵“I have told you this while I am with you. ²⁶The 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. ²⁷Peace^[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. ²⁹And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe. ³⁰I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world^[n] is coming. He has no power over me, ³¹but 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 15:11-17

¹¹“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. ¹²This 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. ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵I 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. ¹⁶It 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. ¹⁷This I command you: love one another.

11. John 17:20-26

²⁰“I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹so 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. ²²And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, ²³I 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. ²⁴Father, 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. ²⁵Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. ²⁶I 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.”

12. Acts 11:1-18

¹Now the apostles and the brothers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles too had accepted the word of God. ²So when Peter went up to Jerusalem the circumcised believers confronted him, ³saying, “You entered^[b] the house of uncircumcised people and ate with them.” ⁴Peter began and explained it to them step by step, saying, ⁵“I was at prayer in the city of Joppa when in a trance I had a vision, something resembling a large sheet coming down, lowered from the sky by its four corners, and it came to me. ⁶Looking intently into it, I observed and saw the four-legged animals of the earth, the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky. ⁷I also heard a voice say to me, ‘Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat.’ ⁸But I said, ‘Certainly not, sir, because nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ ⁹But a second time a voice from heaven answered, ‘What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.’ ¹⁰This happened three times, and then everything was drawn up again into the sky. ¹¹Just then three men appeared at the house where we were, who had been sent to me from Caesarea. ¹²The Spirit told me to accompany them without discriminating. These six brothers^[c] also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. ¹³He related to us how he had seen [the] angel standing in his house, saying, ‘Send someone to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter, ¹⁴who will speak words to you by which you and all your household will be saved.’ ¹⁵As I began to speak, the holy Spirit fell upon them as it had upon us at the beginning, ¹⁶and I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?” ¹⁸When they heard this, they stopped objecting and glorified God, saying, “God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too.”

13. Romans 11:33

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

14. 1 Corinthians 2

¹When I came to you, brothers, proclaiming the mystery of God,^[^a^] I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom. ²For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. ³I came to you in weakness^[^b^] and fear and much trembling, ⁴and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive [words of] wisdom,^[^c^] but with a demonstration of spirit and power, ⁵so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.

⁶Yet we do speak a wisdom to those who are mature, but not a wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away. ⁷Rather, we speak God’s wisdom,^[^e^] mysterious, hidden, which God predetermined before the ages for our glory, ⁸and which none of the rulers of this age^[^f^] knew; for, if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹But as it is written:

“What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard,
and what has not entered the human heart,
what God has prepared for those who love him,”

¹⁰this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.

For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God. ¹¹Among human beings, who knows what pertains to a person except the spirit of the person that is within? Similarly, no one knows what pertains to God except the Spirit of God. ¹²We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given us by God. ¹³And we speak about them not with words taught by human wisdom, but with words taught by the Spirit, describing spiritual realities in spiritual terms.

¹⁴Now the natural person^[^h^] does not accept what pertains to the Spirit of God, for to him it is foolishness, and he cannot understand it, because it is judged spiritually. ¹⁵The spiritual person, however, can judge everything but is not subject to judgment^[i] by anyone.

¹⁶For “who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to counsel him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

15. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

¹⁶Consequently,^[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. ¹⁷So 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, ¹⁹namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰So 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.

16. Galatians 3:19-22

^19 [m]Why, then, the law? It was added for transgressions, until the descendant^[n] came to whom the promise had been made; it was promulgated by angels at the hand of a mediator. ²⁰Now there is no mediator when only one party is involved, and God is one. ²¹Is the law then opposed to the promises [of God]? Of course not! For if a law had been given that could bring life, then righteousness would in reality come from the law. ²²But scripture confined all things under the power of sin, that through faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.

17. Ephesians 3:14-21

¹⁴For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵from whom every family^[h] in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, ¹⁷and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God

²⁰Now to him who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine, by the power at work within us, ²¹to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

18. 1 Timothy 2:5-7

⁵For there is one God.
There is also one mediator between God and the human race,
Christ Jesus, himself human,
⁶who gave himself as ransom for all.

This was the testimony^[b] at the proper time. ⁷For this I was appointed preacher and apostle (I am speaking the truth, I am not lying), teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

19. 2 Timothy 2:8-13

^8 [b]Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David: such is my gospel, ⁹for which I am suffering, even to the point of chains, like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. ¹⁰Therefore, I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, together with eternal glory. ¹¹This saying is trustworthy:

If we have died with him
    we shall also live with him;
¹²if we persevere
    we shall also reign with him.
But if we deny him
    he will deny us.
¹³If we are unfaithful
    he remains faithful,
    for he cannot deny himself.

20. Hebrews 9:15-22

^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. ¹⁷For a will takes effect only at death; it has no force while the testator is alive. ¹⁸Thus 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, ²⁰saying, “This is ‘the blood of the covenant which God has enjoined upon you.’” ²¹In 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.

21. 1 John 3:11-18

^11 [e]For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another, ¹²unlike 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. ¹³Do not be amazed, [then,] brothers, if the world hates you. ¹⁴We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. Whoever does not love remains in death. ¹⁵Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. ¹⁶The 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. ¹⁷If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? ¹⁸Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.

22. 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. ⁸Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹In 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. ¹⁰In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. ¹¹Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. ¹²No 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. ¹⁴Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. ¹⁵Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. ¹⁶We 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. ¹⁷In 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. ¹⁸There 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. ¹⁹We love because he first loved us. ²⁰If 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. ²¹This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Tuesday 5/2/23

Memorial of Saint Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Readings: Acts 11:19-26; Ps 87:1b-3, 4-5, 6-7; Jn 10:22-30

Title: “It Was Winter; The Father and I Are One”

As we read this short passage from John 10 (John 10:22-30), we see how it steadily escalates into this very important message in the last sentence: “The Father and I are one’” (John 10:30). As we take note of the theological heart of its climax, we may also find it helpful to notice what comes before and after it. And so we will now focus on the verses building up to this climax in v. 30, which can be seen as a statement of Jesus’ equality with the Father, and therefore one of the two reasons for Jesus’ execution on the cross (John 5:18; John 19:7).

As this passage begins, we receive some seemingly innocuous contextual details: “The feast of the Dedication was then taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter. And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon” (John 10:22-23). And yet we also know that in John’s Gospel, there are no irrelevant details, but everything said by the Evangelist bears some symbolic and significant meaning. Accordingly, we can see the events of this passage as mirroring the events surrounding the feast of the Dedication, or Hanukkah, and as setting the tone of these proceedings, and we can likewise see a certain abandonment, barrenness, or spiritual winter of sorts implied by this short and ominous sentence: “It was winter” (John 10:22). This can perhaps be seen as analogous to the darkness of night (See Ps 16:7) and all the symbolism and significance implied by John of the Cross as he wrote about the “dark night of the soul.” This is a time for purgation, growth, and learning to trust in God in the stark and painful absence of all consolations. We see that even though it is winter, “Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon” (John 10:23). This is an interesting indication of how God is now present in the temple, not in a dark cloud of deep and electric, lightning-infused mystery (1 Kings 8:12-13; 2 Chron 6:1-2; See Exo 13:21-22; Ps 18:7-14; Ps 97:1-4), but through Jesus.

The next verse indicates that His people perceived this divine presence as something felt and palpable, as we read: “So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly’” (John 10:24). In the next verses we hear from Jesus: “Jesus answered them, ‘I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me. But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:25-27). Here we find reverberations of the parable of the good shepherd that directly precedes this passage, as well as see how Jesus distinguishes between believers and nonbelievers in terms of whether or not they are sheep of His fold. Believing is directly connected to hearing, knowing Jesus, and following Him, and so we can look back to John 8 (John 8:42-47) to see how Jesus also accuses them of not being able to hear Him because they do not stand in the truth, and they do not believe.

And as Jesus also edifies about His works in John 5 and 14: “The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form, and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent. You search the scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. But you do not want to come to me to have life” (John 5:36-40; See John 3:18-21); and, “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. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves” (John 14:10-11).

The question of why some refuse to believe Jesus is a deep and reasonable question, and ultimately, the answer may be seen as unknowable except to God. As we read in Romans 11: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!” (Rom 11:33). But whatever the ultimate cause of their unbelief, this is associated with a hardness of heart, an inability to hear, an inability to follow, and an unwillingness or inability to believe (See Isa 6:9-10).

As Jesus explains further: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one’” (John 10:28-30). Jesus describes His hand (See Isa 53:1), which has connotations of God’s power, and He says He gives His own sheep eternal life. He further elaborates how eternal life comes through Him from the Father, and that the Father “is greater than all” (John 10:29). Jesus’ hand is seen to be an extension of God’s hand—“and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:29)—as Jesus then shockingly declares: “The Father and I are one’” (John 10:30). This is a revelation made most evident in the stark night and barrenness implied by the verse at the beginning of this passage: “It was winter” (John 10:22).

We can see in vv. 29 and 30 statements saying how both the Father is greater than all, and how Jesus and the Father are one. This is in line with trinitarian theology, as we see how Jesus is both equal to the Father, and the Father is also greater than all, especially as Jesus is sent from the Father, in the relational dynamics of the Holy Trinity, as further edified in other parts of Scripture, as well as creedal statements of Church Tradition. We can see how crucially important this statement is based on the people’s reaction to Jesus, as we read in the next verse: “The Jews again picked up rocks to stone him” (John 10:31). Thus, they perceive this as blasphemy on the part of Jesus, because it is a statement of self-confession, as He claims Himself to be God. And whether or not we agree with Jesus’ claim, is directly related to whether or not, in Jesus’ own explanation, we have heard Him, and believe. Amen.

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

1. Exodus 13:21-22

²¹The Lord preceded them, in the daytime by means of a column of cloud to show them the way, and at night by means of a column of fire^[e] to give them light. Thus they could travel both day and night. ²²Neither the column of cloud by day nor the column of fire by night ever left its place in front of the people.

2. 1 Kings 8:9-13

⁹There was nothing in the ark but the two stone tablets which Moses had put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they went forth from the land of Egypt. ¹⁰When the priests left the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the Lord ¹¹so that the priests could no longer minister because of the cloud, since the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord. ^12 [d]Then Solomon said,

“The Lord intends to dwell in the dark cloud;
¹³ I have indeed built you a princely house,
the base for your enthronement forever.”

3. 2 Chronicles 6:1-9

¹Then 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.”

³The king turned and blessed the whole assembly of Israel, while the whole assembly of Israel stood. ⁴He 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: ⁵Since 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; ⁶but now I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name may be there, and I have chosen David^[a] to rule my people Israel. ⁷When David my father wished to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, ⁸the Lord said to him: In wishing to build a house for my name, you did well. ⁹But 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.

4. Psalm 16:7-11

⁷I bless the Lord who counsels me;
    even at night my heart exhorts me.
⁸I keep the Lord always before me;
    with him at my right hand, I shall never be shaken.
⁹Therefore my heart is glad, my soul rejoices;
    my body also dwells secure,
¹⁰For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
    nor let your devout one see the pit.^[e]
¹¹You will show me the path to life,
    abounding joy in your presence,
    the delights at your right hand forever.

5. Psalm 18:7-14

⁷In my distress I called out: Lord!
    I cried out to my God.
From his temple he heard my voice;
    my cry to him reached his ears.
^8 [d]The earth rocked and shook;
    the foundations of the mountains trembled;
    they shook as his wrath flared up.
⁹Smoke rose from his nostrils,
    a devouring fire from his mouth;
    it kindled coals into flame.
¹⁰He parted the heavens and came down,
    a dark cloud under his feet.
¹¹Mounted on a cherub^[e] he flew,
    borne along on the wings of the wind.
¹²He made darkness his cloak around him;
    his canopy, water-darkened stormclouds.
¹³From the gleam before him, his clouds passed,
    hail and coals of fire.
¹⁴The Lord thundered from heaven;
    the Most High made his voice resound.

6. Psalm 87

¹A psalm of the Korahites. A song.

His foundation is on holy mountains,
²The Lord loves the gates^[b] of Zion
more than any dwelling in Jacob.
³Glorious things are said of you,
O city of God!
Selah

⁴Rahab and Babylon I count
    among those who know me.
See, Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia,
    “This one was born there.”
^5 [c]And of Zion it will be said:
    “Each one was born in it.”
The Most High will establish it;
⁶    the Lord notes in the register of the peoples:
    “This one was born there.”
Selah
⁷So singers and dancers:
    “All my springs are in you.”

7. Psalm 97:1-4

¹The Lord is king; let the earth rejoice;
    let the many islands be glad.
²Cloud and darkness surround him;
    justice and right are the foundation of his throne.
³Fire goes before him,
    consuming his foes on every side.
⁴His lightening illumines the world;
    the earth sees and trembles.

8. Isaiah 6:8-10

⁸Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” “Here I am,” I said; “send me!” ^9 [g]And he replied: Go and say to this people:

Listen carefully, but do not understand!
Look intently, but do not perceive!
¹⁰Make the heart of this people sluggish,
    dull their ears and close their eyes;
Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears,
    and their heart understand,
    and they turn and be healed.

9. Isaiah 53:1-3

¹Who would believe what we have heard?^[a]
    To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
²He grew up like a sapling before him,
    like a shoot from the parched earth;
He had no majestic bearing to catch our eye,
    no beauty to draw us to him.
³He was spurned and avoided by men,
    a man of suffering, knowing pain,
Like one from whom you turn your face,
    spurned, and we held him in no esteem.

10. John 3:16-21

¹⁶For 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. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn^[h] the world, but that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸Whoever 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. ²⁰For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. ²¹But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

11. John 5:18, 31-40

¹⁸For this reason the Jews tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.

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

12. 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. ⁴⁰But 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. ⁴¹You are doing the works of your father!” [So] they said to him, “We are not illegitimate. We have one Father, God.” ⁴²Jesus 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. ⁴³Why do you not understand what I am saying? Because you cannot bear to hear my word. ⁴⁴You 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. ⁴⁵But because I speak the truth, you do not believe me. ⁴⁶Can any of you charge me with sin? If I am telling the truth, why do you not believe me? ⁴⁷Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not listen, because you do not belong to God.”

13. John 10:22-39

²²The 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. ²⁴So 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.” ²⁵Jesus answered them, “I told you^[l] and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me. ²⁶But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. ²⁷My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. ²⁹My 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.”

³¹The Jews again picked up rocks to stone him. ³²Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?” ³³The 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”’? ³⁵If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came, and scripture cannot be set aside, ³⁶can 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’? ³⁷If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me; ³⁸but 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.

14. John 14:6-13

⁶Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth^[e] and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷If you know me, then you will also know my Father.^[f] From now on you do know him and have seen him.” ⁸Philip said to him, “Master, show us the Father,^[g] and that will be enough for us.” ⁹Jesus 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’? ¹⁰Do 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. ¹¹Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. ¹²Amen, 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. ¹³And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.

15. John 19:7

^7 [b]The Jews answered, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.”

16. Acts 11:19-26

¹⁹Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that arose because of Stephen went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but Jews. ²⁰There were some Cypriots and Cyrenians among them, however, who came to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the Lord Jesus. ²¹The hand of the Lord was with them and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. ²²The news about them reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas [to go] to Antioch. ²³When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart, ²⁴for he was a good man, filled with the holy Spirit and faith. And a large number of people was added to the Lord. ²⁵Then he went to Tarsus to look for Saul, ²⁶and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a large number of people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.

16. Romans 11:30-35

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

Wednesday 5/3/23

Feast of Saints Philip and James, Apostles

Readings: 1 Cor 15:1-8; Ps 19:2-3, 4-5; Jn 14:6-14

Title: “I Am the Way and the Truth and the Life”

This passage from John 14 (John 14:6-14) contains some very important teachings about Jesus, and so we will proceed with a deep reading of it, going through it line by line. As this passage begins, Jesus says: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). This is an extremely elucidating statement about who Jesus is, what His purpose is in relation to us, and how we may come to know God: only through Jesus. First, we see a three-part description of Jesus, as the way, the truth, and the life. This is a very interesting joining together of three concepts, with many interpretative possibilities. The way is the path and the journey, the truth is the spiritual reality of God, and the life is not bodily life (See Matt 10:28; Matt 16:24-26), but the eternal life of the soul, in and through God. These could be seen as three different ways of explaining the same thing, three different things, or three different facets of the same thing, depending on how you look at it.

What is interesting is how Jesus describes Himself as Truth itself (See John 8:31-32), and how this idea of truth is intrinsically linked with both the way and the life in Jesus’ self-description. The way and the life imply a lifestyle, way of life, and approach to and manner of living, founded upon grace and virtue in the love of the Holy Spirit, and therefore leading to and coinciding with eternal life. The fact that Jesus describes this manner of living both as Truth and as Himself personally, as a Person, may call to mind what we know of heaven: that it is a Person, and heaven is God Himself (See Rev 21:22-22:5).

As Jesus says, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6), this may remind us of what we have also heard in John 6: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day” (John 6:44); and “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father” (John 6:65). Taken all together, these statements may be seen to illustrate the mutual indwelling of the Father and Son (See John 17:20-26), as Christ is in the Father and the Father is in Christ. Likewise, while no one can come to the Father except through Christ, the reverse is also true, that none can come to Jesus unless the Father draw him (See Matt 16:16-17).

As this passage proceeds: “If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him’” (John 14:7). Jesus here relates the idea of knowing with seeing. We can perhaps understand this statement through this verse from Colossians 1: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (Col 1:15). V. 7 also demonstrates Jesus’ consubstantiality with the Father, as they are one (John 10:30). We also hear about seeing God in 1 Corinthians 13, and 1 John 3, as what we see in Jesus now will exist later in purity and perfection in the beatific vision in heaven: “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” (1 Cor 13:12); and, “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 3:2-3).

And as this passage continues: “Philip said to him, ‘Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.’ 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”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” (John 14:8-10). Jesus explains his earlier statement in v. 7—”If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him” (John 14:7)—with this further statement in v. 9: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9), and then He further clarifies by twice repeating, “I am in the Father and the Father is in me” (John 14:10, 11). This affirms the idea of the mutual indwelling, which Jesus further elaborates on in the High Priestly Prayer in John 17 (John 17:20-26). We can also find here a basis for trinitarian theology, as we have a description of the interconnectedness and mutual nesting within each other of the Father and Son.

And as this passage concludes: “The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. 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. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it” (John 14:10-14). Jesus shows how it is God who works from within Him, and not merely a human nature unaided by grace. He emphasizes how He does nothing apart from the Father (John 5:19-30; See John 10:25-30), and implores the disciples to believe because of His works. Jesus furthermore invites His disciples to share in this oneness with God as well as His works, as He reassures them that He will do anything in His name—according to God’s will (See Matt 7:21-27; Rom 8:26-27) and in line with virtue—so that God may be glorified. Thus, we see a connection between oneness with God and the mutual indwelling, using this oneness and grace to do the works of God, and glorifying God in the Son through these works. Amen.

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

1. Psalm 19:2-3, 4-5

²The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the firmament proclaims the works of his hands.
³Day unto day pours forth speech;
    night unto night whispers knowledge.
^4 [b]There is no speech, no words;
    their voice is not heard;
⁵A report goes forth through all the earth,
    their messages, to the ends of the world.
He has pitched in them a tent for the sun;^[c]

2. Matthew 7:21-27

^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. ²⁵The 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. ²⁶And 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. ²⁷The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

3. Matthew 10:26-32

4. Matthew 16:13-20, 24-28

¹³When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi^[i] he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴They replied, “Some say John the Baptist,^[j] others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ^16 [k]Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood^[l] has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. ¹⁸And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,^[m] and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.^[n] Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” ^20 [o]Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah.

²⁴Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,^[t] take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.^[u] ²⁶What 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.”

5. John 5:19-30

^19 [h]Jesus answered and said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, a son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing; for what he does, his son will do also. ²⁰For the Father loves his Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed. ²¹For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life,^[i] so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. ²²Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment^[j] to his Son, ²³so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. ²⁴Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life. ²⁵Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. ²⁶For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to his Son the possession of life in himself. ²⁷And he gave him power to exercise judgment, because he is the Son of Man. ^28 [k]Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice ²⁹and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation.

³⁰“I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.

6. John 6:41-44, 60-65

⁴¹The Jews murmured about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” ⁴²and they said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” ⁴³Jesus answered and said to them, “Stop murmuring^[r] among yourselves. ⁴⁴No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day.

⁶⁰Then many of his disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” ⁶¹Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, “Does this shock you? ⁶²What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?^[u] ⁶³It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh^[v] is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. ⁶⁴But there are some of you who do not believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. ⁶⁵And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.”

7. John 8:31-38

³¹Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him,^[p] “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, ³²and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ³³They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone.^[q] How can you say, ‘You will become free’?” ³⁴Jesus answered them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵A slave does not remain in a household forever, but a son^[r] always remains. ³⁶So if a son frees you, then you will truly be free. ³⁷I know that you are descendants of Abraham. But you are trying to kill me, because my word has no room among you. ^38 [s]I tell you what I have seen in the Father’s presence; then do what you have heard from the Father.”

8. John 10:22-30

9. John 14:6-14

10. John 17:20-26

11. Romans 8:26-27

²⁶In 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. ²⁷And 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.

12. 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. ⁹For we know partially and we prophesy partially, ¹⁰but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. ¹¹When 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. ¹²At 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.

13. 1 Corinthians 15:1-8

14. Colossians 1:15-20

^15 [f]He is the image^[g] of the invisible God,
    the firstborn of all creation.
¹⁶For 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.
¹⁷He is before all things,
    and in him all things hold together.
¹⁸He 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.
¹⁹For in him all the fullness^[j] was pleased to dwell,
²⁰and 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.

15. 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. ²Beloved, 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. ³Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure.

16. 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. ²⁴The nations will walk by its light,^[s] and to it the kings of the earth will bring their treasure. ²⁵During the day its gates will never be shut, and there will be no night there. ²⁶The treasure and wealth of the nations will be brought there, ²⁷but 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.

17. Revelation 22:1-5

¹Then the angel showed me the river of life-giving water,^[a] sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ²down 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. ³Nothing accursed will be found there anymore. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. ⁴They will look upon his face,^[c] and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵Night 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.

Thursday 5/4/23

Readings: Acts 13:13-25; Ps 89:2-3, 21-22, 25, 27; Jn 13:16-20

Title: “If You Understand This, Blessed Are You if You Do It”

In this passage from John 13 (John 13:16-20), Jesus edifies His washing of the disciples’ feet. What we know of foot washing in Jesus’ time is that it was a truly lowly task. The feet as a body part had lowly and fleshly connotations for the Israelite culture, and walking by foot was the primary means of transportation for most people. The feet of ordinary people, and especially travelers, would be expectedly quite dirty, and so the task of washing feet, for these reasons, would be one of the lowliest tasks a servant or slave would do. And what does Jesus do? He takes on this task, and washes the feet of all His disciples, one by one—as He washes their feet two by two.

And as this passage proceeds: “Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it” (John 13:16-17). Jesus shows His disciples that as their master, He takes the lowest position, and so now neither can they take a position higher than this. We can read similar teachings from Jesus in Luke 14 and Matthew 20: “Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’ Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:10-11); and, “But Jesus summoned them and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many’” (Matt 20:25-28).

But what Jesus is really talking about is not the lowly task of washing another’s feet. Jesus is using this demonstration to prepare His disciples for His coming crucifixion. What Jesus is referring to, when He says, “If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it” (John 13:17), is martyrdom. He is showing to them in a symbolic way what He is doing with His life by putting it on the cross, and showing them how they are by no means above this either, and that furthermore, they are expected so suffer in this way, like Jesus (See 1 Pet 2:21; 1 Pet 3:13-22; 1 Pet 5:10), taking the lowest seat of all among humankind. For then after they have been lowered, the Father will raise them, just as He exalted Jesus because He suffered and gave His life on the cross (See Phil 2:5-11; 1 Pet 5:5-10).

For we know that there were three main forms of execution in Jesus’ day—beheading, fire, and crucifixion, in ascending order of the most dishonorable forms of death. People sentenced to death would sometimes even make an appeal to receive a beheading, so as to receive the least disgraceful form of public execution for a crime. And so, crucifixion was seen as the lowliest of the low, the very worst of punishments, and the most disgraceful form of death, which is the very lowest part of life: its end. And to have life end in the worst form of public humiliation: this is what Jesus means when He shows His disciples how He must wash all of their feet. Indeed, He must even die for unrepentant sinners, who choose not to accept His gift of grace, while also dying for the repentant sinners of humankind, for none of humankind is righteous (See Rom 3:9-26). As we read in Romans 5: “For Christ, while we were still helpless, yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly. Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Rom 5:6-8; See 1 Pet 3:18).

And as Jesus elaborates in John 13: “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.’ From now on I am telling you before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe that I AM. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me” (John 13:18-20). And so, Jesus makes clear to His disciples what is to happen, so that they may know that He is truly God (See John 20:28)—truly “I AM” (John 13:19)—and that through their belief in Christ, they “may have life in his name” (John 20:31; See John 17:3). And as He hands down to them the Tradition of apostolic succession, He gives the gift that keeps on giving, of God (See Luke 11:13; See also Matt 7:7-11): “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me” (John 13:20). Amen.

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

1. Psalm 89:2-3, 21-22, 25, 27

²I 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.
²¹I have chosen David, my servant;
    with my holy oil I have anointed him.
²²My hand will be with him;
    my arm will make him strong.
²⁵My faithfulness and mercy will be with him;
    through my name his horn will be exalted.
²⁷He shall cry to me, ‘You are my father,
    my God, the Rock of my salvation!’

2. 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. ⁸For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. ⁹Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread,^[e] ¹⁰or a snake when he asks for a fish? ¹¹If 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.

3. Matthew 20:20-28

²⁰Then the mother^[i] of the sons of Zebedee approached him with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. ²¹He said to her, “What do you wish?” She answered him, “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.” ²²Jesus said in reply, “You do not know what you are asking.^[j] Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” ²³He replied, “My cup you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left [, this] is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” ²⁴When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers. ²⁵But Jesus summoned them and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. ²⁶But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; ²⁷whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. ²⁸Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom^[k] for many.”

4. 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. ¹⁰For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. ¹¹What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? ¹²Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? ¹³If 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?”

5. Luke 14:7-14

⁷He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table. ⁸“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, ⁹and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place. ¹⁰Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’ Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table. ¹¹For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” ¹²Then he said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. ¹³Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; ¹⁴blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

6. John 13:16-20

¹⁶Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger^[g] greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it. ¹⁸I 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.’ ¹⁹From now on I am telling you before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe that I AM. ²⁰Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”

7. John 17:1-5

¹When Jesus had said this, he raised his eyes to heaven^[b] and said, “Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, ^2 [c]just as you gave him authority over all people, so that he may give eternal life to all you gave him. ^3 [d]Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ. ⁴I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. ⁵Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began.

8. John 20:24-31

²⁴Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵So 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.” ²⁶Now 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.” ²⁷Then 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.”

³⁰Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of [his] disciples that are not written in this book. ³¹But 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.

9. Acts 13:13-25

¹³From Paphos, Paul and his companions set sail and arrived at Perga in Pamphylia. But John left them and returned to Jerusalem. ¹⁴They continued on from Perga and reached Antioch in Pisidia. On the sabbath they entered [into] the synagogue and took their seats. ¹⁵After the reading of the law and the prophets, the synagogue officials sent word to them, “My brothers, if one of you has a word of exhortation for the people, please speak.”

^16 [f]So Paul got up, motioned with his hand, and said, “Fellow Israelites and you others who are God-fearing,^[g] listen. ¹⁷The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and exalted the people during their sojourn in the land of Egypt. With uplifted arm he led them out of it ¹⁸and for about forty years he put up with^[h] them in the desert. ¹⁹When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance ²⁰at the end of about four hundred and fifty years.^[i] After these things he provided judges up to Samuel [the] prophet. ²¹Then they asked for a king. God gave them Saul, son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. ²²Then 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.’ ²³From this man’s descendants God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus. ²⁴John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel; ²⁵and 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.’

10. Romans 3:9-26

⁹Well, then, are we better off? Not entirely, for we have already brought the charge against Jews and Greeks alike that they are all under the domination of sin, ¹⁰as it is written:

“There is no one just, not one,
¹¹    there is no one who understands,
        there is no one who seeks God.
¹²All have gone astray; all alike are worthless;
    there is not one who does good,
        [there is not] even one.
¹³Their throats are open graves;
    they deceive with their tongues;
the venom of asps is on their lips;
¹⁴    their mouths are full of bitter cursing.
¹⁵Their feet are quick to shed blood;
¹⁶    ruin and misery are in their ways,
¹⁷and the way of peace they know not.
¹⁸    There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

¹⁹Now we know that what the law^[d] says is addressed to those under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world stand accountable to God, ²⁰since no human being will be justified in his sight^[e] by observing the law; for through the law comes consciousness of sin.

²¹But now^[g] the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, though testified to by the law and the prophets, ²²the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction; ²³all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God. ²⁴They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus, ²⁵whom God set forth as an expiation,^[h] through faith, by his blood, to prove his righteousness because of the forgiveness of sins previously committed, ²⁶through the forbearance of God—to prove his righteousness in the present time, that he might be righteous and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.

11. Romans 5:1-11

¹Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace^[b] with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have gained access [by faith] to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God. ³Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, ⁴and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, ⁵and 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. ⁶For Christ, while we were still helpless, yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly. ⁷Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die.^[c] ⁸But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. ⁹How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath. ¹⁰Indeed, 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. ¹¹Not only that, but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

12. Philippians 2:5-11

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

⁶Who,^[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]
⁹Because 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.

13. 1 Peter 2:18-25

^18 [i]Slaves, be subject to your masters with all reverence, not only to those who are good and equitable but also to those who are perverse. ¹⁹For whenever anyone bears the pain of unjust suffering because of consciousness of God, that is a grace. ²⁰But what credit is there if you are patient when beaten for doing wrong? But if you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good, this is a grace before God. ²¹For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered^[j] for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps.

²²“He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

²³When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly. ²⁴He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵For you had gone astray like sheep, but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

14. 1 Peter 3:13-22

¹³Now who is going to harm you if you are enthusiastic for what is good? ¹⁴But even if you should suffer because of righteousness, blessed are you. Do not be afraid or terrified with fear of them, ¹⁵but 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, ¹⁶but 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. ¹⁷For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil.

¹⁸For 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. ¹⁹In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison,^[f] ²⁰who 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. ²¹This 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, ²²who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.

15. 1 Peter 5:5-10

⁵Likewise, you younger members,^[e] be subject to the presbyters. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for:

“God opposes the proud
but bestows favor on the humble.”

⁶So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. ⁷Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.

⁸Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for [someone] to devour. ⁹Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings. ¹⁰The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory through Christ [Jesus] will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you after you have suffered a little. ¹¹To him be dominion forever. Amen.

Friday 5/5/23

Readings: Acts 13:26-33; Ps 2:6-7, 8-9, 10-11ab; Jn 14:1-6

Title: “Where I Am You Also May Be”

This passage from the beginning of John 14 (John 14:1-6) contains some of the most clarifying information both about Jesus’ identity, and about heaven. When we look to Scripture for ideas about what heaven is like, this might be one of the first places where people look, and it is no mistake that we might associate the reading of this passage with funeral services, because this is a very comforting description about the afterlife. There are indeed many references to heaven, the resurrection, and the afterlife all throughout Scripture, but because this teaching comes directly from Jesus as recorded in John’s Gospel, that does make it special in a certain way. And what is more, is that this is a remarkably consolatory message coming from Jesus. He did not always speak so gently, and He certainly gave a fair amount of scathing rebukes. And so, when we see words of such comfort and consolation coming from the mouth of the Incarnate God, we may do well to linger over them, take them in, and really absorb them, as a special little prize meant only for our peace of mind (See John 14:27-27; John 16:33) and solace of soul.

As this passage begins, Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me” (John 14:1). His words may sound like a standard token of comfort, but we can also interpret this in the context of a command. It is part of learning self-control (See 2 Tim 1:6-7) to rein in the disturbances of the heart, and calmness or peace often means bringing the body into obedience to the mind with the will, rather than simply being an interior serenity that just comes naturally. Jesus is effectively telling us to control ourselves and not to let ourselves be overtaken by grief or trouble, but to rein the emotions in with self-discipline (See Heb 12:4-13; James 1:26; James 3:1-12), emotional regulation, and self-restraint. And how do we do this? Cooperation with God’s grace through faith in Jesus. We can direct our will to rein our hearts in to Christ’s command through our faith in God and His gift of grace.

And as this passage goes on, Jesus continues, “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? 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” (John 14:2-3). Jesus speaks about heaven as the Father’s house, of which we may see a corporeal shadow in the earthly tabernacle and temple (See Heb 9:23-28). Jesus describes heaven as like a house with many dwelling places, where each of the redeemed will likewise have a place. We can contrast this with what we know of earthly life and habitations, that we have no belongingness or lasting dwelling on this earth. As we read in Matthew 8, Philippians 3, and Hebrews 13: “Jesus answered him, ‘Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head’” (Matt 8:20); and, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil 3:20); and, “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the one that is to come” (Heb 13:14). And the ultimate point of Jesus’ preparation of a place for us is so that He may bring us back to Himself, so that in God, we may all be as one (See John 17:20-26).

As we also read of this eternal dwelling in Revelation 21: “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” (Rev 21:20-26).

And as this passage ends, Jesus says, “Where [I] am going you know the way.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:4-6). Jesus says He is the way itself, just as He is also the truth and the life of the eternal God. To know Jesus as a Person is to know the way to salvation (See John 17:3; John 20:31), and there is no part of heaven that is any greater or more desirable than the Person of our God. To know Jesus is to know the Father (See John 14:7), and to know the trinitarian God is to know eternal life. And as we also hear related in Mark 12 about the way to the heavenly Kingdom: “The scribe said to him, ‘Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, “He is One and there is no other than he.” And “to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself” is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.’ And when Jesus saw that [he] answered with understanding, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And no one dared to ask him any more questions” (Mark 12:32-34). Amen.

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

1. Psalm 2:6-11

⁶“I myself have installed my king
    on Zion, my holy mountain.”
⁷I will proclaim the decree of the Lord,
    he said to me, “You are my son;
    today I have begotten you.
⁸Ask it of me,
    and I will give you the nations as your inheritance,
    and, as your possession, the ends of the earth.
⁹With an iron rod you will shepherd them,
    like a potter’s vessel you will shatter them.”
¹⁰And now, kings, give heed;
    take warning, judges on earth.
¹¹Serve the Lord with fear;
    exult with trembling,
Accept correction
    lest he become angry and you perish along the way
    when his anger suddenly blazes up.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him!

2. Matthew 8:18-22

¹⁸When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side.^[m] ¹⁹A scribe approached and said to him, “Teacher,^[n] I will follow you wherever you go.” ²⁰Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man^[o] has nowhere to rest his head.” ²¹Another 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.”

3. Mark 12:28-34

²⁸One of the scribes, when he came forward and heard them disputing and saw how well he had answered them, asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” ²⁹Jesus replied, “The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! ³⁰You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ ³¹The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ³²The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, ‘He is One and there is no other than he.’ ³³And ‘to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself’ is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴And when Jesus saw that [he] answered with understanding, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

4. John 14:1-14, 25-31

^1 [a]“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith^[b] in God; have faith also in me. ²In 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. ⁴Where [I] am going you know the way.”^[d] ⁵Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” ⁶Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth^[e] and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷If you know me, then you will also know my Father.^[f] From now on you do know him and have seen him.” ⁸Philip said to him, “Master, show us the Father,^[g] and that will be enough for us.” ⁹Jesus 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’? ¹⁰Do 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. ¹¹Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. ¹²Amen, 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. ¹³And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.

5. John 16:33

³³I 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.”

6. John 17:1-5, 20-26

7. John 20:30-31

8. Acts 13:26-33

²⁶“My brothers, children of the family of Abraham, and those others among you who are God-fearing, to us this word of salvation has been sent. ²⁷The inhabitants of Jerusalem and their leaders failed to recognize him, and by condemning him they fulfilled the oracles of the prophets that are read sabbath after sabbath. ²⁸For even though they found no grounds for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him put to death, ²⁹and when they had accomplished all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and placed him in a tomb. ³⁰But God raised him from the dead, ³¹and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. These are [now] his witnesses before the people.^[j] ³²We ourselves are proclaiming this good news to you that what God promised our ancestors ³³he has brought to fulfillment for us, [their] children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second psalm, ‘You are my son; this day I have begotten you.’
9. Philippians 3:17-21

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

10. 2 Timothy 1:6-8

⁶For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God^[e] that you have through the imposition of my hands. ⁷For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. ⁸So 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 9:23-28

^23 [r]Therefore, it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified by these rites, but the heavenly things themselves by better sacrifices than these. ²⁴For Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands, a copy of the true one, but heaven itself, that he might now appear before God on our behalf. ²⁵Not that he might offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters each year into the sanctuary with blood that is not his own; ²⁶if that were so, he would have had to suffer repeatedly from the foundation of the world. But now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages^[s] to take away sin by his sacrifice. ²⁷Just as it is appointed that human beings die once, and after this the judgment, ²⁸so also Christ, offered once to take away the sins of many,^[t] will appear a second time, not to take away sin but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.

12. Hebrews 12:1-13

¹Therefore, 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 ²while 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. ³Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart. ⁴In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood. ⁵You 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;
⁶for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines;
he scourges every son he acknowledges.”

⁷Endure your trials as “discipline”; God treats you as sons. For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸If you are without discipline, in which all have shared, you are not sons but bastards. ⁹Besides 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? ¹⁰They 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. ¹¹At 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.

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

13. Hebrews 13:9-16

⁹Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teaching.^[b] It is good to have our hearts strengthened by grace and not by foods, which do not benefit those who live by them. ¹⁰We have an altar^[c] from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. ¹¹The bodies of the animals whose blood the high priest brings into the sanctuary as a sin offering are burned outside the camp. ¹²Therefore, Jesus also suffered outside the gate, to consecrate the people by his own blood. ¹³Let us then go to him outside the camp, bearing the reproach that he bore. ¹⁴For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the one that is to come. ¹⁵Through him [then] let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. ¹⁶Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have; God is pleased by sacrifices of that kind.

14. James 1:26-27

^26 [m]If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue^[n] but deceives his heart, his religion is vain. ²⁷Religion 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.

15. James 3:1-12

¹Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you realize that we will be judged more strictly, ²for 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. ³If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we also guide their whole bodies. ⁴It 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. ⁵In 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. ⁶The 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. ⁷For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, ⁸but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings who are made in the likeness of God. ¹⁰From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. This need not be so, my brothers. ¹¹Does a spring gush forth from the same opening both pure and brackish water? ¹²Can a fig tree, my brothers, produce olives, or a grapevine figs? Neither can salt water yield fresh.

16. Revelation 21:22-27

Saturday 5/6/23

Readings: Acts 13:44-52; Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4; Jn 14:7-14

Title: “I Will Do It”

In this passage from John 14 (John 14:7-14), we receive some very advanced and elucidating teachings from Jesus. This passage shows up right after v. 6, as Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). And as Jesus continues, we hear, “If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him” (John 14:7). This is a declaration of Jesus’ equality with the Father (See John 5:18), as well as demonstrates how He is the image of the unseen God. For as we read in Colossians 1: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (Col 1:15).

It is clear that Jesus’ disciples have some difficulty comprehending this teaching, based upon what Philip says to Jesus next: “Philip said to him, ‘Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.’ 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” (John 14:8-9). Jesus reiterates that to see Him is to see the Father (John 14:9), and this is a very important and fundamental teaching. For Jesus is preparing His disciples to receive the doctrine of the Incarnation, and to understand His consubstantiality with God. This realization of who Jesus is is very slow to sink in for the disciples, who even after His resurrection are not too quick to catch on. For as we read in John 20, when Jesus appeared to Thomas, Thomas declared Him to be both Lord and God, but only after first doubting Him: “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.’ Thomas answered and said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed’” (John 20:27-29).

And as Jesus further explains in this passage, “How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 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. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves” (John 14:9-11). Jesus explains to Philip how he should know that Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Him, based upon His works, and in line with the theme of Jesus as the Word in John’s Gospel (See John 1:1-5), Jesus further explains, “The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own” (John 14:10). Thus, we are to understand that all of what Jesus says and does is coming from God. In fact, the Father and Son are inseparable. As we read in John 5 and 10: “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Amen, amen, I say to you, a son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing; for what he does, his son will do also” (John 5:19); “I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me” (John 5:30); and “The Father and I are one” (John 10:30). Jesus further appeals to reason to convince Philip, by pointing out that he need only look to the signs Jesus has done to see that He has come from God (See John 3:2).

And as this short passage closes, ^“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. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it” (John 14:12-14). Jesus explains to His disciples how belief corresponds with works, and how through believing in Jesus, we shall produce works similar to His. As we also read about adhering to Jesus through action in 1 John 2: “The way we may be sure that we know him is to keep his commandments. Whoever says, ‘I know him,’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 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: whoever claims to abide in him ought to live [just] as he lived” (1 John 2:3-6; See 1 John 3:4-10).

We can read a similar message relating action with belief in 1 John 5: “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. In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith. Who [indeed] is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:1-5).

We can also see an additional correlation between faith and works highlighted in James 2: “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?….For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead” (James 2:18-26).

Jesus implies that even greater miracles than He has done will be possible once He has ascended to the Father, and He tells us that He will do whatever we ask of Him—in line, of course, with God’s will (See Matt 7:21-23; Rom 8:26-27) and virtue—so that the Father may be glorified in Jesus. Jesus says He will do anything we ask in His name—which means also in obedience to and in accordance with the will of God—and all of this He will do, “so that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13). This tells us of Jesus’ purpose, reason, and motivation for His works, so that we may accept it as our own reason, motive, and purpose, too. Amen.

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

1. Psalm 98:1-4

¹A 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]
²The Lord has made his victory known;
    has revealed his triumph in the sight of the nations,
³He has remembered his mercy and faithfulness
    toward the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
    the victory of our God.

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

2. Matthew 7:21-23

3. John 1:1-5

¹In the beginning^[b] was the Word,
    and the Word was with God,
    and the Word was God.
²He 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 ⁴through 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.

4. John 3:1-2

¹Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.^[b] ²He 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.”

5. John 5:18-30

¹⁸For this reason the Jews tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.

³⁰“I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.

6. John 10:22-30

7. John 14:6-14

8. John 20:24-29

9. Acts 13:44-52

⁴⁴On the following sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. ⁴⁵When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and with violent abuse contradicted what Paul said. ⁴⁶Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first, but since you reject it and condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.^[l] ⁴⁷For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

⁴⁸The Gentiles were delighted when they heard this and glorified the word of the Lord. All who were destined for eternal life came to believe, ⁴⁹and the word of the Lord continued to spread through the whole region. ⁵⁰The Jews, however, incited the women of prominence who were worshipers and the leading men of the city, stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their territory. ⁵¹So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.^[m] ⁵²The disciples were filled with joy and the holy Spirit.

10. Romans 8:26-27

11. Colossians 1:15-20

12. James 2:14-26

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? ¹⁵If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, ¹⁶and 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? ¹⁷So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

¹⁸Indeed 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. ¹⁹You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble. ²⁰Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless? ²¹Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? ²²You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works. ²³Thus 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.” ²⁴See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵And 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? ²⁶For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

13. 1 John 2:1-6

¹My 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. ²He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world. ³The way we may be sure^[b] that we know him is to keep his commandments. ⁴Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵But 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: ⁶whoever claims to abide in him ought to live [just] as he lived.

14. 1 John 3:4-10

⁴Everyone who commits sin commits lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness.^[c] ⁵You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. ⁶No one who remains in him sins; no one who sins has seen him or known him. ⁷Children, let no one deceive you. The person who acts in righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous. ⁸Whoever 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. ⁹No 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] ¹⁰In 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.

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

Sunday 5/7/23

Readings: Acts 6:1-7; Ps 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19; 1 Pt 2:4-9; Jn 14:1-12

Title: “The Way and the Truth and the Life”

In today’s Gospel reading we hear nearly this whole pericope from John 14 (John 14:1-14). There are very many important teachings from Jesus all integrated together in this piece from the Last Supper Discourses, and they all seem to revolve around this central piece of Jesus’ teaching in vv. 6-7, right near the center of this passage. We see one of the seven “I am” statements to appear in John’s Gospel, and then we see Jesus directly relate the disciples’ vision of Him to the vision of the Father. Knowing and seeing are closely related in this piece, as are the themes of the mutual indwelling and works, as we read through the rest of this passage. Jesus tells His disciples both to have faith in Him—just as they have faith in God (v. 1)—and He explains that He says nothing on His own (v. 10; See John 5:19-30; John 10:30; See also John 15:4-5), but that “The Father who dwells in me is doing his works” (v. 10).

All of this information is related to us in the context of this passage’s strong eschatological import, as Jesus says that He is going to prepare a place for His disciples in His Father’s house (v. 2-3). The close connection between believing and seeing is also emphasized, as Jesus places vision of the Father on the same plane as knowledge of the Son and belief in Himself. Jesus tells His disciples that they have seen the Father because they know Jesus (v. 7), but then immediately Philip asks Jesus to show them the Father (v. 8). And so it is clear from this disjunction that they are not both talking about sight in the same way. Jesus equals sight with knowledge, faith, and belief, in which sense they have already “seen” the Father. As we also read in 2 Corinthians 5: “for we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7). Philip, however, is understanding sight in the purely physical sense of the word, which is not the sense that Jesus means. As we read Jesus’ rebuke to Thomas 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). Jesus is effectively leading His disciples toward a loftier knowledge and a more ascended manner of thought, by the way He speaks and the way in which He asks them to rely on their faith for true knowledge and sight, and not just on the physical vision beheld by their eyes.

We can interpret all of this as a wheel around the hub of v. 6, where Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (v. 6). Jesus is the way to God and the way to live a holy life (See Matt 7:13-14), both through His gift of grace and the Holy Spirit, and through His teachings (See Matt 7:24-27). Jesus is the Truth itself, for He is God Incarnate and the very highest spiritual reality in all of existence. And Jesus is the life, because Jesus is eternal life (See John 17:3; John 20:31; Rev 21:22-27), He is God, and He is truth, and as we know and embrace Him, we likewise know and embrace His gift to us of grace, which is God’s own divine and eternal life. Jesus came to us to bring us back to Himself (v. 3), showing us how to live this life as God intended, so that we may then dwell forever with God in heaven, in loving union (See John 17:20-26) in the world to come. Amen.

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

1. Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19

¹Rejoice, you righteous, in the Lord;
    praise from the upright is fitting.
²Give thanks to the Lord on the harp;
    on the ten-stringed lyre offer praise.
⁴For the Lord’s word is upright;
    all his works are trustworthy.
⁵He loves justice and right.
    The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord.

¹⁸Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear him,
upon those who count on his mercy,
¹⁹To deliver their soul from death,
and to keep them alive through famine.

2. Matthew 7:13-14, 24-27

^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. ¹⁴How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.

3. John 5:19-30

³⁰“I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.

4. John 10:22-30

5. John 14:1-14

6. John 15:1-10

^1 [a]“I am the true vine,^[b] and my Father is the vine grower. ²He 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. ³You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. ⁴Remain 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. ⁵I 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. ⁷If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. ⁸By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. ⁹As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. ¹⁰If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.

7. John 17:1-5, 20-26

8. John 20:24-31

9. Acts 6:1-7

^1 [a]At that time, as the number of disciples continued to grow, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. ^2 [b]So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table.^[c] ³Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task, ⁴whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” ⁵The proposal was acceptable to the whole community, so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the holy Spirit, also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch, a convert to Judaism. ⁶They presented these men to the apostles who prayed and laid hands on them.^[d] ⁷The word of God continued to spread, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly; even a large group of priests were becoming obedient to the faith.

10. 2 Corinthians 5:6-10

^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, ⁷for we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸Yet we are courageous, and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord. ⁹Therefore, we aspire to please him, whether we are at home or away. ¹⁰For 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.

11. 1 Peter 2:4-9

⁴Come to him, a living stone,^[c] rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God, ⁵and, 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. ⁶For 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.”

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

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

⁸and

“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.

12. Revelation 21:22-27

Monday 5/8/23

Readings: Acts 14:5-18; Ps 115:1-2, 3-4, 15-16; Jn 14:21-26

Title: “Make Our Dwelling”

This passage from John 14 (John 14:21-26) contains some of the high points of Jesus’ teachings, as well as reaffirms what has come before Him, but in light of the fullness of revelation in Christ. One theme in Johannine literature which is especially highlighted here is the importance of keeping God’s commandments (See John 14:15-24; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 5:1-5), and living out God’s word. For as it is uniquely expressed in John’s Gospel, Jesus is the Word of God (John 1:1-5), or the Logos, and keeping God’s word and commandments is how we express and demonstrate our love of God. What is unique about this particular passage as it relays the importance of keeping God’s commandments is how it states that Jesus and the Father will both come and “make our dwelling with him” (John 14:23) who loves God and keeps His word.

This is a spiritual teaching, in that it pertains to the divine indwelling, made possible through cooperation with Christ’s gift of grace. Jesus is referring to the divine indwelling of the Spirit of God in the soul of humankind, and this is made possible through prayer, deeply attentive focus and contemplation as God’s gift, and divine union with the Lord through conformity to Christ (See Rom 12:1-2; Phil 3:21), as we configure our souls to Christ’s Spirit by actively keeping His word, and obeying God’s commandments. We can read a similar passage in Revelation 3, as the idea of the Lord coming to dwell with the one who loves Jesus and keeps His word is expanded upon. The sacred author writes the words of Jesus directed to the angel of the Church in Laodicea: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me. I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself first won the victory and sit with my Father on his throne” (Rev 3:20-21).

We see in this similar passage a reference to communion, hearing the Lord’s voice and heeding it, and sitting with Jesus and the Father on the throne (See Matt 19:27-30). This throne can be seen to allude to the highest part of the soul in well-ordered living, reigning through exercising mastery over the passions and lower parts of the soul, by bringing the reason and higher parts of the soul into obedience with God’s grace and commands. This can also, of course, be seen to refer to the throne of heaven after the soul’s triumph over death through the blood of the Lamb (See Rev 12:10-12). In the unique combination of realized and future eschatons in Johannine literature, both of these possibilities can exist simultaneously together, as a spiritual understanding does not preclude a literal one.

And as we look back to John 14 where Jesus says that He and the Father will come and make their dwelling with the one who loves Jesus and keeps His word (John 14:23), we find shortly after this a very important verse containing Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit (See John 14:15-17; John 15:26-27; John 16:7-15), and a description of what the Holy Spirit will do. Jesus says, “I have told you this while I am with you. 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” (John 14:25-26).

We see here in this passage the three Persons of the Holy Trinity being mentioned, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and so all three inseparably dwell within the soul of the one who loves God, as three distinct Persons or faces of the one eternal God. The Holy Spirit is our love shared between the Father and Son, and as we know Jesus, we know the Father (John 14:7), and likewise, the Spirit whom He has sent to us, to teach us and lead us to all truth (John 16:13). The Spirit, who is truth (See John 14:17; John 15:26; See also John 14:6) and love and God, is the means by which we are brought into divine union with God—as Jesus states is His prayer for us in the High Priestly Prayer in John 17 (John 17:20-26)—so that we may partake in the divine indwelling, and as Jesus says, so that we “may all be one” (John 17:21). Amen.

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

1. Psalm 115:1-4, 15-16

¹Not to us, Lord, not to us
    but to your name give glory
    because of your mercy and faithfulness.
²Why should the nations say,
    “Where is their God?”^[b]
³Our God is in heaven
    and does whatever he wills.

⁴Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.

¹⁵May you be blessed by the Lord,
maker of heaven and earth.
^16 [d]The heavens belong to the Lord,
but he has given the earth to the children of Adam.

2. Matthew 19:27-30

²⁷Then Peter said to him in reply, “We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?” ^28 [s]Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life. ^30 [t]But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.

3. John 1:1-5

4. John 14:6-7, 15-26

¹⁵“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. ¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate^[h] to be with you always, ¹⁷the 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. ¹⁸I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.^[j] ¹⁹In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. ²⁰On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. ²¹Whoever 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.” ²²Judas, not the Iscariot,^[k] said to him, “Master, [then] what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” ²³Jesus 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. ²⁴Whoever 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. ²⁶The 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.

5. John 15:26-27

²⁶“When the Advocate comes whom I will send^[l] you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. ²⁷And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.

6. John 16:5-15

⁵But now I am going to the one who sent me, and not one of you asks me,^[c] ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts. ⁷But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. ^8 [d]And when he comes he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation: ⁹sin, because they do not believe in me; ¹⁰righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; ¹¹condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.

¹²“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. ¹⁴He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵Everything 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.

7. John 17:20-26

8. Acts 14:5-18

⁵When there was an attempt by both the Gentiles and the Jews, together with their leaders, to attack and stone them, ⁶they realized it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding countryside, ⁷where they continued to proclaim the good news.

^8 [a]At Lystra there was a crippled man, lame from birth, who had never walked. ⁹He listened to Paul speaking, who looked intently at him, saw that he had the faith to be healed, ¹⁰and called out in a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet.” He jumped up and began to walk about. ¹¹When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they cried out in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in human form.” ¹²They called Barnabas “Zeus”^[b] and Paul “Hermes,” because he was the chief speaker. ¹³And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, for he together with the people intended to offer sacrifice.

¹⁴The apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their garments^[c] when they heard this and rushed out into the crowd, shouting, ^15 [d]“Men, why are you doing this? We are of the same nature as you, human beings. We proclaim to you good news that you should turn from these idols to the living God, ‘who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them.’ ¹⁶In past generations he allowed all Gentiles to go their own ways; ¹⁷yet, in bestowing his goodness, he did not leave himself without witness, for he gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, and filled you with nourishment and gladness for your hearts.” ¹⁸Even with these words, they scarcely restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to 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. ²Do 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. Philippians 3:17-21

11. 1 John 2:1-6

12. 1 John 5:1-5

13. Revelation 3:14-22

¹⁴“To the angel of the church in Laodicea,^[j] write this:

“‘The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the source of God’s creation, says this: ¹⁵“I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot.^[k] I wish you were either cold or hot. ^16 [l]So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. ^17 [m]For you say, ‘I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,’ and yet do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. ¹⁸I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire^[n] so that you may be rich, and white garments to put on so that your shameful nakedness may not be exposed, and buy ointment to smear on your eyes so that you may see. ¹⁹Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise. Be earnest, therefore, and repent.

²⁰“‘“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.^[o] ²¹I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself first won the victory and sit with my Father on his throne.

²²“‘“Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’”

14. Revelation 12:10-12

¹⁰Then 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.
¹¹They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb
    and by the word of their testimony;
    love for life did not deter them from death.
¹²Therefore, rejoice, you heavens,
    and you who dwell in them.
But woe to you, earth and sea,
    for the Devil has come down to you in great fury,
    for he knows he has but a short time.”

Tuesday 5/9/23

Readings: Acts 14:19-28; Ps 145:10-11, 12-13ab, 21; Jn 14:27-31a

Title: “Just as the Father Has Commanded”

In this passage from John 14 (John 14:27-31a), we can observe a sort of closure and bookending to the beginning passage of John 14 (John 14:1-14). V. 27 reads: “Peace 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” (John 14:27). And this indeed is a repetition of v. 1: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me” (John 14:1). This repetition clues us in to a certain continuity of what is said between these verses, which are oriented around an understanding of the mutual indwelling of the Father and Son, and Jesus’ promise of the gift of the Spirit and God’s divine indwelling in us. Jesus winds down His teaching in John 14 in this last collection of verses, as He both reassures His disciples, and reaffirms His earlier message (John 14:28-29), that He is going away and will come back (John 14:2-3).

Jesus makes a reference to the power of death and evil under the description of “the ruler of this world” (John 14:30), as He reiterates what He has also said in John 10, that His life is not taken from Him, but He lays it down willingly (John 10:17-18). He further explains in John 10 that because He lays down His life willingly, this is why the Father loves Him (John 10:17), and we can see a similar message here in John 14:30-31. Jesus says that the ruler of this world “has no power over me, 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” (John 14:30-31). Jesus directly connects obedience to love, and further connects laying down His life to that same obedience and love. As we also read in John 15: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:13-14).

And so, the ideas of a willing martyrdom, love for the Father, and obedience unto death are all inextricably interconnected in Jesus’ discourse, and form a very central part of the message in John’s Gospel. In addition, it is not enough for Jesus just to obey the Father and dwell in loving union with Him. But rather, there is a fundamental further part of Jesus’ message as well. As Jesus says, “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” (John 14:31). It is revealing this divine love to the world that Jesus is primarily interested in, in terms of His mission, and His gift of the Spirit is also oriented toward this mission, of glorifying God by revealing Him to the world (See Matt 28:18-20; John 16:13-15).

Preaching Jesus’ sacrifice of love and message of divine hope is what He is setting up His disciples to do, so that the Kingdom may be built up (See Eph 4:11-16) as more are brought to believe and have life in His name (See John 17:3; John 20:31). This form of belief in Jesus over and above the power of death is in and of itself a form of ascent, even before the bodily resurrection, and so these last words from v. 31—“Get up, let us go” (John 14:31)—can also be interpreted spiritually, aside from any literal meaning they may convey. This knowledge that Jesus means to impart to the world is spread by action and preaching, and so it entails not only living in love and divine union with God, but also getting up and going out into the world, to share the good fruits (See Matt 7:15-20; Matt 13:18-23; John 15:1-17) of God sown in contemplation, which are founded upon this love and divine union with God to be shared with the world (See John 3:16; cf. John 17:9-19). Amen.

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

1. Psalm 145:10-13, 21

¹⁰All your works give you thanks, Lord
    and your faithful bless you.
¹¹They speak of the glory of your reign
    and tell of your mighty works,
¹²Making known to the sons of men your mighty acts,
    the majestic glory of your rule.
¹³Your 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.

²¹My mouth will speak the praises of the Lord;
all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

2. Matthew 7:15-20

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

3. Matthew 13:18-23

¹⁸“Hear then the parable of the sower. ¹⁹The 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. ²⁰The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. ²¹But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. ²²The 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. ²³But 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.”

4. Matthew 28:16-20

¹⁶The 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. ¹⁹Go, 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, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.^[m] And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

5. John 3:16-21

6. John 10:7-18

7. John 14

²⁷Peace^[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. ²⁹And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe. ³⁰I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world^[n] is coming. He has no power over me, ³¹but 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.

8. John 15:1-17

9. John 17:1-19

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. ⁷Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, ⁸because 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. ⁹I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, ¹⁰and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them. ¹¹And 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. ¹²When 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. ¹³But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely. ¹⁴I 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. ¹⁶They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. ¹⁷Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. ¹⁸As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. ¹⁹And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.

10. John 20:30-31

11. Acts 14:19-28

¹⁹However, some Jews from Antioch and Iconium arrived and won over the crowds. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. ²⁰But when the disciples gathered around him, he got up and entered the city. On the following day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.

²¹After they had proclaimed the good news to that city and made a considerable number of disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch. ²²They strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying, “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” ²³They appointed presbyters^[e] for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord in whom they had put their faith. ²⁴Then they traveled through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia. ²⁵After proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia. ²⁶From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now accomplished. ²⁷And when they arrived, they called the church together and reported what God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. ²⁸Then they spent no little time with the disciples.

12. Ephesians 4:9-16

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

^11 [d]And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, ¹²to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,^[e] for building up the body of Christ, ¹³until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,^[f] to the extent of the full stature of Christ, ¹⁴so that we may no longer be infants, tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery, from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming. ¹⁵Rather, living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ,^[g] ¹⁶from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, with the proper functioning of each part, brings about the body’s growth and builds itself up in love.

Wednesday 5/10/23

Saint John of Ávila; Saint Damien de Veuster

Readings: Acts 15:1-6; Ps 122:1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5; Jn 15:1-8

Title: “Unless You Remain in Me”

In the parable of the vine and the branches in John 15 (John 15:1-17), we begin with one of the seven “I am” statements in John’s Gospel, and then Jesus goes on to relate this self-identification to both humankind in terms of discipleship, and to the Father. Although this teaching is largely by analogy, it is also one of the clearest and most elucidating teachings we receive from Jesus about the necessity of grace and abiding in Christ. For as Jesus states point blank, “without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). We can see why Jesus calls Himself the true vine as we read this passage in the context of certain Old Testament readings. As we hear in Isaiah 5 (Isa 5:1-7), Israel is meant to be the vine of God, but it produced wild grapes instead. Jesus says He is the true vine, in contrast to other vines that are not the true vine. Thus, Jesus is claiming that He is actually from God, because He brings forth the good fruit that is from God (See John 6:36-40; John 14:10-14).

We also hear a similar teaching from Jesus in Matthew 7: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them” (Matt 7:15-20).

And so now as we look back to this passage about the vine and the branches (John 15:1-8), several main themes stand out. The first is the necessity of remaining or abiding in Christ, which also corresponds to God’s love, and which is done by keeping His commandments (John 15:10). The second main theme has to do with bearing much fruit. Remaining in Christ is intimately associated with bearing fruit, and accordingly, the presence of such fruit is how we know that we remain in Him. Conversely, the absence of any fruit—or works (See James 2:14-26; 1 John 3:16-18)—is evidence that one has not remained in Jesus, because a healthy vine is known as such by its fruit (See Matt 7:16; See also 1 John 2:28-29; 1 John 3:4-18). And the third main theme to emerge from this reading pertains to glorifying the Father. For as we read in v. 8: “By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples” (John 15:8; See John 15:16-17). When we speak of glorifying God, this we do through our works, which we bring forth as good fruit only through abiding in Christ and keeping His commandments.

We may perceive that the sap and lifeblood of this vine, into which we may be grafted (See Rom 11:13-27), is God’s divine life of grace. We must bear our connection to God through grace if we are to bring forth any fruit or do anything worthwhile at all, because God and His grace are the only source of all goodness in this world (See Matt 19:17; John 3:27-30; 1 Cor 3:5-9; 1 Cor 4:7; James 1:17-18). When Jesus says that without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5), He means that what we do will lack God’s divine goodness and love, and will instead be riddled with the thorns and thistle (See Gen 3:17-19) of malice, greed, hatred, envy, strife, and any conceivable sort of sin. To bring forth good fruit, and not just any various and sundry sort of strife-wrought work in its worst sense, we must abide in Christ, so that it may be God working through us (See 1 Cor 3:5-9) as His holy vessels of the Spirit (See 2 Cor 4:7-11; 2 Tim 2:20-26), and not just humankind on its own, producing the works of the flesh and of sin (See Gal 5:16-26). For there is good fruit, and there is bad fruit (See Matt 12:33-37), and only God is good (See Matt 19:17), so the only good fruit must therefore come from God. Christ is the true vine, and the only one from which we may bear much good fruit. Amen.

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

1. Genesis 3:17-19

¹⁷To the man he said: Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, You shall not eat from it.

Cursed is the ground^[g] because of you!
    In toil you shall eat its yield
    all the days of your life.
¹⁸Thorns and thistles it shall bear for you,
    and you shall eat the grass of the field.
¹⁹By the sweat of your brow
    you shall eat bread,
Until you return to the ground,
    from which you were taken;
For you are dust,
    and to dust you shall return.

2. Psalm 122:1-5

¹A song of ascents. Of David.

I rejoiced when they said to me,
    “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
²And now our feet are standing
    within your gates, Jerusalem.
³Jerusalem, built as a city,
    walled round about.^[b]
⁴There the tribes go up,
    the tribes of the Lord,
As it was decreed for Israel,
    to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
⁵There are the thrones of justice,
    the thrones of the house of David.

3. Isaiah 5:1-7

¹Now let me sing of my friend,
    my beloved’s song about his vineyard.
My friend had a vineyard
    on a fertile hillside;
²He spaded it, cleared it of stones,
    and planted the choicest vines;
Within it he built a watchtower,
    and hewed out a wine press.
Then he waited for the crop of grapes,
    but it yielded rotten grapes.
³Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem, people of Judah,
    judge between me and my vineyard:
⁴What more could be done for my vineyard
    that I did not do?
Why, when I waited for the crop of grapes,
    did it yield rotten grapes?
⁵Now, I will let you know
    what I am going to do to my vineyard:
Take away its hedge, give it to grazing,
    break through its wall, let it be trampled!^[b]
⁶Yes, I will make it a ruin:
    it shall not be pruned or hoed,
    but will be overgrown with thorns and briers;
I will command the clouds
    not to rain upon it.
⁷The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel,
    the people of Judah, his cherished plant;
He waited for judgment, but see, bloodshed!
    for justice, but hark, the outcry!

4. Matthew 7:15-20

5. 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. ³⁵A 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. ³⁷By your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

6. Matthew 19:16-19

7. John 3:27-30

²⁷John answered and said, “No one can receive anything except what has been given him from heaven. ²⁸You yourselves can testify that I said [that] I am not the Messiah, but that I was sent before him. ²⁹The 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. ³⁰He must increase; I must decrease.”

8. John 5:31-40

9. John 14:10-14

¹⁰Do 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. ¹¹Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. ¹²Amen, 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. ¹³And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.

10. John 15:1-17

11. Acts 15:1-6

^1 [a]Some who had come down from Judea were instructing the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice, you cannot be saved.”^[b] ²Because there arose no little dissension and debate by Paul and Barnabas with them, it was decided that Paul, Barnabas, and some of the others should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and presbyters about this question. ³They were sent on their journey by the church, and passed through Phoenicia and Samaria telling of the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers. ⁴When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, as well as by the apostles and the presbyters, and they reported what God had done with them. ⁵But some from the party of the Pharisees who had become believers stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and direct them to observe the Mosaic law.”

^6 [c]The apostles and the presbyters met together to see about this matter.

12. Romans 11:13-27

¹³Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I glory in my ministry ¹⁴in order to make my race jealous and thus save some of them. ¹⁵For 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.

¹⁷But 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, ¹⁸do not boast against the branches. If you do boast, consider that you do not support the root; the root supports you. ¹⁹Indeed you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” ²⁰That 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. ²¹For if God did not spare the natural branches, [perhaps] he will not spare you either. ²²See, 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. ²³And they also, if they do not remain in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. ²⁴For 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.

²⁵I 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, ²⁶and thus all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

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

13. 1 Corinthians 3:5-9

⁵What is Apollos, after all, and what is Paul? Ministers^[e] through whom you became believers, just as the Lord assigned each one. ⁶I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth. ⁷Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth. ⁸The one who plants and the one who waters are equal, and each will receive wages in proportion to his labor. ⁹For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

14. 1 Corinthians 4:6-8

⁶I 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. ⁷Who 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? ⁸You 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.

15. 2 Corinthians 4:7-11

^7 [e]But we hold this treasure^[f] in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us. ^8 [g]We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; ⁹persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; ^10 [h]always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body. ¹¹For we who live are constantly being given up to death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

16. Galatians 5:13-26

¹³For you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve^[k] one another through love. ¹⁴For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”^[l] ¹⁵But if you go on biting and devouring one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another.

¹⁶I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.^[m] ¹⁷For 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. ¹⁸But 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, ²⁰idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, ²¹occasions 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. ²²In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. ²⁴Now those who belong to Christ [Jesus] have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not be conceited, provoking one another, envious of one another.

17. 2 Timothy 2:20-26

²⁰In a large household there are vessels not only of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for lofty and others for humble use. ²¹If anyone cleanses himself of these things, he will be a vessel for lofty use, dedicated, beneficial to the master of the house, ready for every good work. ²²So turn from youthful desires and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord^[e] with purity of heart. ²³Avoid foolish and ignorant debates, for you know that they breed quarrels. ²⁴A slave of the Lord should not quarrel, but should be gentle with everyone, able to teach, tolerant, ²⁵correcting opponents with kindness. It may be that God will grant them repentance that leads to knowledge of the truth, ^26 [f]and that they may return to their senses out of the devil’s snare, where they are entrapped by him, for his will.

18. James 1:16-18

^16 [h]Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers: ¹⁷all 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. ¹⁸He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures..

19. James 2:14-26

20. 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. ²⁹If you consider that he is righteous, you also know that everyone who acts in righteousness is begotten by him.

21. 1 John 3:4-18

Thursday 5/11/23

Readings: Acts 15:7-21; Ps 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 10; Jn 15:9-11

Title: “Remain in My Love”

The parable of the vine and branches from John 15 (John 15:1-17) contains many different and important elements. As we look toward the central verses of this passage (John 15:9-11), we can find the key element that ties all of this teaching together. The word “love” is mentioned for the first time in this passage right near the center, as in v. 9, we read: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love” (John 15:9). This verse about love is flanked by a description of glorifying the Father by bearing fruit in v. 8, and a connection drawn between keeping God’s commandments and remaining in His love in v. 10. Thus, we can find in this passage the primary theme of remaining in God’s love, which is tied in with the entailed components of this teaching in terms of cause and effect. Remaining in God’s love is what we are urged to do. This is done by keeping God’s commandments, and the end result is bearing much fruit that glorifies the Father.

Thus, there are some very active dynamics at play in this teaching. Even though this passage describes remaining in God’s love, this does not necessarily imply physical stillness, but rather, action, in terms of working with God’s grace to bring forth good fruit. Indeed, as Jesus describes in John 4: “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:34). The concept of “remaining” in this passage actually entails much work and activity, in terms of doing the works (See James 2:14-26; 1 John 3:16-18) that constitute God’s will and keeping His commandments. The interior stillness that we may associate with the term “remain” or “abide” is best achieved through regular engagement in exterior activity, as it is this process of work, action, and labor, according to God’s will, that produces this interior peace and stillness by which we may know that we abide in God (See 1 John 3:24; 1 John 4:12-13). Thus, interior stillness and remaining in God is generally associated with outward activity, labor, and works. For, in general, humankind was created for work (See Gen 2:15), and periods of rest only enable better work to glorify God and bring forth good fruit and joy.

And what is more, is that these complementary features of stillness and work are furthermore associated with joy. For it is these works that produce good fruit, and the bringing forth of good fruit also produces joy. We also know of joy as one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit from Galatians 5: “In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22-23). To remain in Christ means to work hard with grace through faith, to bring forth fruit, and to labor to remain in God’s will, be it through activity or restfulness. It is not the labor or rest in and of itself that produces joy, but it is remaining in God’s will that produces joy, and following its dictates wherever it may lead.

It is in doing God’s will that one finds true joy, for only God Himself is the source of true joy, and we may be drawn into union with Him only by doing His will. In this way, even if God’s will for us involves extremely tedious, unpleasurable, unpleasant, exhausting, and laborious work, we still derive great peace and joy from this hardship, because it is not the work—in and of itself—that produces joy, but rather, it is doing God’s will that produces joy (See Matt 11:28-30). And so, it is God’s will that is joyful for us in and of itself, no matter what specific form—pleasant or unpleasant—it may take. The joy of Christ remains in us as we remain in Christ, and this is the lesson at the heart of all happiness, beatitude, and good living: learning to do God’s will as our true goal in life, and growing in virtue, trust, love, and divine union with God, as we remain in Him. Amen.

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

1. Genesis 2:15-17

¹⁵The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it. ¹⁶The Lord God gave the man this order: You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden ¹⁷except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat; when you eat from it you shall die.

2. Psalm 96:1-3, 10

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

3. 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. ³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

4. John 14:27-38

²⁷At 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?” ²⁸The 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?” ³⁰They went out of the town and came to him. ³¹Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat.” ³²But he said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” ³³So the disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought him something to eat?” ³⁴Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work. ³⁵Do 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. ³⁶The reaper is already^[n] receiving his payment and gathering crops for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. ³⁷For here the saying is verified that ‘One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the work, and you are sharing the fruits of their work.”

5. John 15:1-17

6. Acts 15:7-21

^7 [d]After much debate had taken place, Peter got up and said to them, “My brothers, you are well aware that from early days God made his choice among you that through my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe. ⁸And God, who knows the heart, bore witness by granting them the holy Spirit just as he did us. ⁹He made no distinction between us and them, for by faith he purified their hearts. ¹⁰Why, then, are you now putting God to the test by placing on the shoulders of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they.”^[e] ¹²The whole assembly fell silent, and they listened while Paul and Barnabas described the signs and wonders God had worked among the Gentiles through them.

^13 [f]After they had fallen silent, James responded, “My brothers, listen to me. ¹⁴Symeon^[g] has described how God first concerned himself with acquiring from among the Gentiles a people for his name. ¹⁵The words of the prophets agree with this, as is written:

‘After this I shall return
    and rebuild the fallen hut of David;
from its ruins I shall rebuild it
    and raise it up again,
¹⁷so that the rest of humanity may seek out the Lord,
    even all the Gentiles on whom my name is invoked.
Thus says the Lord who accomplishes these things,
¹⁸    known from of old.’

¹⁹It is my judgment, therefore, that we ought to stop troubling the Gentiles who turn to God, ²⁰but tell them by letter to avoid pollution from idols, unlawful marriage, the meat of strangled animals, and blood. ²¹For Moses, for generations now, has had those who proclaim him in every town, as he has been read in the synagogues every sabbath.”

7. Galatians 5:16-26

8. James 2:14-26

9. 1 John 3:11-24

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

10. 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. ⁸Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹In 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. ¹⁰In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. ¹¹Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. ¹²No 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. ¹⁴Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. ¹⁵Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. ¹⁶We 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. ¹⁷In 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. ¹⁸There 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. ¹⁹We love because he first loved us. ²⁰If 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. ²¹This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Friday 5/12/23

Saints Nereus and Achilleus; Saint Pancras

Readings: Acts 15:22-31; Ps 57:8-9, 10, 12; Jn 15:12-17

Title: “No One Has Greater Love than This”

This passage from the parable of the vine and branches in John 15 (John 15:1-17) contains one of the most powerful statements said by Jesus. To be sure, Jesus said many powerful and important things in the Gospels, but this one verse from John 15 about paschal, sacrificial, Christian, agapē love is at the very heart of the gospel message. We will focus on v. 13—“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13)—as the interpretive key for the rest of this reading. As today’s reading begins, we hear: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you” (John 15:12). This hearkens back to John 13 and 1 John 2, where we read: “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); and, “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. And yet I do write a new commandment to you, which holds true in him and among you, for the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining” (1 John 2:7-8).

All of this further relates back to what Jesus describes as the first and second commandments in Matthew 22, which we originally hear in Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19: “‘You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments’” (Matt 22:37-40; See Lev 19:18; Deut 6:5).

Now in John 15, however, Jesus adds a qualifier to this statement. He does not merely tell us to love one another, but He tells us to love as He loves (John 15:12). This is an important distinction, because this is the qualification Jesus uses to determine what is love from what is not love; or, more specifically, this is how Jesus defines agapē love, as distinct from other types of love. For there are brotherly love, sexual love, and other types of love, but agapē love is the love between God and humankind, a divinely originating love, and the sacrificial love of Christ on the cross. As we know from John 13, it is this specifically agapē form of love that distinguishes us as Jesus’ disciples (John 13:35), and it is this sacrificial definition of love that Jesus uses to explain His commandment to love one another. In this way, as we know from 1 John 2, it is both an old and a new commandment (1 John 2:7-8), because it is the same thing we have been told from the beginning, and yet the way this love is defined here is now much more specific, which in some ways does turn it into an entirely new commandment, because it eliminates other lesser types of love or affection from what God means. In this way, when Jesus says, “as I love you” (John 15:12), this one little qualifier can potentially completely change the meaning of “love one another” (John 15:12).

And so, as we look back to this passage from John 15, we can find an elaboration of what Jesus means by this love, as Jesus states: “You are my friends if you do what I command you (John 15:14). Jesus distinguishes what makes one His friend, and it is both action and obedience. He commands obedience to the action of what is essentially martyrdom, or self-sacrificial love. While death itself is not necessarily entailed—for we know that John the Evangelist did not likely suffer martyrdom—the willingness itself to lay down one’s life in an act of love is non-negotiable, but is a requirement as part of what it means to be a Christian, as one of Christ’s disciples. In fact, this is probably the single most defining feature of the Christian—the willingness to lay down one’s life out of love in the name of Christ. Furthermore, this type of self-sacrificial love and martyrdom is what most contributed to the early growth and blossoming of the Church. As we know from Tertullian: “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”

Jesus brings His disciples from the level of slaves to friends with His clarification of the love command (John 15:14-15), and He refers to the “fruit that will remain” (John 15:16), meaning, as souls not in earthly bodies, but in the eternal Kingdom of heaven. Jesus acknowledges that He chose them, and not the other way around (John 15:16), thus reaffirming the primacy of God’s will in all ways, and He closes with a repetition of the love commandment. But this time, with His explanation of what this commandment means preceding it, it sinks in quite differently, and bears all the gravity that God had originally intended: “This I command you: love one another” (John 15:17). Amen.

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

1. Leviticus 19:17-18

^17 [f]You shall not hate any of your kindred in your heart. Reprove your neighbor openly so that you do not incur sin because of that person. ¹⁸Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your own people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

2. Deuteronomy 6:4-9

⁴Hear, O Israel!^[b] The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! ⁵Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength. ⁶Take to heart these words which I command you today. ⁷Keep repeating them to your children. Recite them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸Bind them on your arm as a sign^[c] and let them be as a pendant on your forehead. ⁹Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

3. Psalm 57:8-10, 12

⁸My heart is steadfast, God,
    my heart is steadfast.
    I will sing and chant praise.
⁹Awake, my soul;
    awake, lyre and harp!
    I will wake the dawn.^[d]
¹⁰I will praise you among the peoples, Lord;
    I will chant your praise among the nations.
¹²Exalt yourself over the heavens, God;
    may your glory appear above all the earth.

4. Matthew 22:34-40

³⁴When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, ³⁵and one of them [a scholar of the law]^[t] tested him by asking, ³⁶“Teacher,^[u] which commandment in the law is the greatest?” ³⁷He said to him,^[v] “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. ³⁸This is the greatest and the first commandment. ³⁹The 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.”

5. 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. ³³My 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. ³⁴I give you a new commandment:^[l] love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. ³⁵This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

6. John 15:1-17

7. Acts 15:22-31

²²Then the apostles and presbyters, in agreement with the whole church, decided to choose representatives and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, leaders among the brothers. ²³This is the letter delivered by them: “The apostles and the presbyters, your brothers, to the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia of Gentile origin: greetings. ²⁴Since we have heard that some of our number [who went out] without any mandate from us have upset you with their teachings and disturbed your peace of mind, ²⁵we have with one accord decided to choose representatives and to send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, ²⁶who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁷So we are sending Judas and Silas who will also convey this same message by word of mouth: ²⁸‘It is the decision of the holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities, ²⁹namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage. If you keep free of these, you will be doing what is right. Farewell.’”

³⁰And so they were sent on their journey. Upon their arrival in Antioch they called the assembly together and delivered the letter. ³¹When the people read it, they were delighted with the exhortation.

8. 1 John 2:7-11

⁷Beloved, 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. ⁸And 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. ⁹Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness. ¹⁰Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is nothing in him to cause a fall. ¹¹Whoever 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.

Saturday 5/13/23

Our Lady of Fatima

Readings: Acts 16:1-10; Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 5; Jn 15:18-21

Title: “I Have Chosen You Out of the World”

As we read this passage from John 15 (John 15:18-21), we hear a teaching from Jesus about the world’s hatred. This teaching comes right after the parable of the vine and the branches (John 15:1-17), and right before a reference to the coming of the Holy Spirit (John 15:26-27). We can also find another elaboration on this topic in John 17 (John 17:6-19), in Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. Jesus sharply distinguishes between the world, and those He has chosen out of the world, and He even says in John 17: “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them” (John 17:9-10). This may seem at odds with the well-known passage, , John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” (John 3:16). However, in John 3:16, the world means humankind and all of creation at large, while in these more nuanced passages in John 15 and 17, the world means the aspect of creation that has not been brought in line with God’s will, and which may be actively antagonistic in acting against God.

We can read two further admonitions about this sense of the “world” in 1 John 2 and James 4: “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, “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 may know of the evangelical counsels, or religious vows of chastity, obedience and poverty, we can find a basis of these in this passage from 1 John 2 (1 John 2:15-17).

We can see how, in this way, worldly desires work in contrast with, and generally speaking, against, religious desires or goals. To find an example of what Jesus might have said about this, we can read this passage from Luke 16: “The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and sneered at him. And he said to them, ‘You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:14-15). The values of God are spiritual, eternal, and non-corporeal. Wisdom, virtue, love, and good works wrought through faith are the values prized by those who love God, simply because these are the things that God Himself loves, and these things help to bring us closer to God (See Ps 19:8-15; Prov 8; Wis 8:17-9:6; Sir 1:11-30; Isa 11:1-5; Gal 5:16-26). In contrast, earthly esteem, reputation, prestige, the opinions of others, money, power, and material or corporeal goods, all have little to no spiritual value, beyond the basic necessities, and these things can actually act as hindrances in the spiritual life, rather than any sort of helps or aids.

As Jesus says in Matthew 19: “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 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.’ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, ‘Who then can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible’” (Matt 19:23-26).

And as we also read in 1 Timothy 6: “Indeed, religion with contentment is a great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it. If we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that. Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains” (1 Tim 6:6-10). While money or material things are not evil in and of themselves, the desire for them can become sin, born of greed, hatred, envy, and the like, and when the desire becomes inordinate or excessive, or comes before the desire for God (See Matt 6:33) and spiritual things, then this can cause spiritual harm, and is sin.

Jesus gives further insight on this topic in Matthew 6: “No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ….If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil” (Matt 6:24-34).

The relationship between the spiritual life and living in the world is a tricky one to navigate, but it can be done if God is always placed first, and one learns to be “in the world, but not of the world,” according to this saying based on John’s Gospel (John 17:14-16). And so, as we look back to this passage from John 15 (John 15:18-21), we see Jesus reassure us that He does not belong to the world, and therefore, neither do we. This helps us to find consolation in Him as we notice evils in the world around us (See John 14:27; John 16:33), and we may be reminded that we do not belong to the world, because we instead belong to the Kingdom of God.

As we read in Ephesians 2, Philippians 3, and Hebrews 13: “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, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Eph 2:19-22); “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” (Phil 3:19-20); and, “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the one that is to come” (Heb 13:14). And so as Jesus says in John 16: “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” (John 16:33). Amen.

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

1. Psalm 19:8-15

⁸The law of the Lord is perfect,
    refreshing the soul.
The decree of the Lord is trustworthy,
    giving wisdom to the simple.
⁹The precepts of the Lord are right,
    rejoicing the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear,
    enlightening the eye.
¹⁰The fear of the Lord is pure,
    enduring forever.
The statutes of the Lord are true,
    all of them just;
¹¹More desirable than gold,
    than a hoard of purest gold,
Sweeter also than honey
    or drippings from the comb.
¹²By them your servant is warned;^[d]
    obeying them brings much reward.

¹³Who can detect trespasses?
    Cleanse me from my inadvertent sins.
¹⁴Also from arrogant ones restrain your servant;
    let them never control me.
Then shall I be blameless,
    innocent of grave sin.
¹⁵Let the words of my mouth be acceptable,
    the thoughts of my heart before you,
    Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

2. Psalm 100:1-3, 5

¹A psalm of thanksgiving.

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all you lands;
²    serve the Lord with gladness;
    come before him with joyful song.
^3 [b]Know that the Lord is God,
    he made us, we belong to him,
    we are his people, the flock he shepherds.
⁵    good indeed is the Lord,
His mercy endures forever,
    his faithfulness lasts through every generation.

3. Proverbs 8

¹Does not Wisdom call,
    and Understanding raise her voice?
²On the top of the heights along the road,
    at the crossroads she takes her stand;
³By the gates at the approaches of the city,
    in the entryways she cries aloud:
⁴“To you, O people, I call;
    my appeal is to you mortals.
⁵You naive ones, gain prudence,
    you fools,^[b] gain sense.
⁶Listen! for noble things I speak;
    my lips proclaim honest words.
^7 [c]Indeed, my mouth utters truth,
    and my lips abhor wickedness.
⁸All the words of my mouth are sincere,
    none of them wily or crooked;
⁹All of them are straightforward to the intelligent,
    and right to those who attain knowledge.
¹⁰Take my instruction instead of silver,
    and knowledge rather than choice gold.
¹¹[For Wisdom is better than corals,
    and no treasures can compare with her.]
¹²I, Wisdom, dwell with prudence,
    and useful knowledge I have.
¹³[The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil;]
Pride, arrogance, the evil way,
    and the perverse mouth I hate.
¹⁴Mine are counsel and advice;
    Mine is strength; I am understanding.^[d]
¹⁵By me kings reign,
    and rulers enact justice;
¹⁶By me princes govern,
    and nobles, all the judges of the earth.
¹⁷Those who love me I also love,
    and those who seek me find me.
¹⁸With me are riches and honor,
    wealth that endures, and righteousness.
¹⁹My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold,
    and my yield than choice silver.
²⁰On the way of righteousness I walk,
    along the paths of justice,
²¹Granting wealth to those who love me,
    and filling their treasuries.

^22 [e]“The Lord begot me, the beginning of his works,
    the forerunner of his deeds of long ago;
²³From 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;
²⁵Before the mountains were settled into place,
    before the hills, I was brought forth;
²⁶When the earth and the fields were not yet made,
    nor the first clods of the world.
²⁷When he established the heavens, there was I,
    when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep;
²⁸When he made firm the skies above,
    when he fixed fast the springs of the deep;
²⁹When 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,
³¹Playing 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.
³³Listen to instruction and grow wise,
    do not reject it!
³⁴Happy the one who listens to me,
    attending daily at my gates,
    keeping watch at my doorposts;
³⁵For whoever finds me finds life,
    and wins favor from the Lord;
³⁶But those who pass me by do violence to themselves;
    all who hate me love death.”

4. Wisdom 8:17-21

¹⁷Reflecting 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.
²¹And 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:

5. Wisdom 9:1-6

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

6. Sirach 1:11-30

¹¹The fear of the Lord^[h] is glory and exultation,
    gladness and a festive crown.
¹²The fear of the Lord rejoices the heart,
    giving gladness, joy, and long life.^[i]
¹³Those who fear the Lord will be happy at the end,
    even on the day of death they will be blessed

¹⁴The beginning of wisdom is to fear the Lord;
she is created with the faithful in the womb.
¹⁵With the godly she was created from of old,
and with their descendants she will keep faith.

¹⁶The fullness of wisdom is to fear the Lord;
she inebriates them with her fruits.
¹⁷Their entire house she fills with choice foods,
their granaries with her produce.

¹⁸The crown of wisdom is the fear of the Lord,
flowering with peace and perfect health.^[j]
¹⁹Knowledge and full understanding she rains down;
she heightens the glory of those who possess her.

²⁰The root of wisdom is to fear the Lord;
her branches are long life.
²¹The fear of the Lord drives away sins;
where it abides it turns back all anger.

²²Unjust anger can never be justified;
    anger pulls a person to utter ruin.
^23 [k]Until the right time, the patient remain calm,
    then cheerfulness comes back to them.
²⁴Until the right time they hold back their words;
    then the lips of many will tell of their good sense.

²⁵Among wisdom’s treasures is the model for knowledge;
    but godliness is an abomination to the sinner.
²⁶If you desire wisdom, keep the commandments,
    and the Lord will bestow her upon you;
²⁷For the fear of the Lord is wisdom and discipline;
    faithfulness and humility are his delight.

²⁸Do not disobey the fear of the Lord,^[l]
    do not approach it with duplicity of heart.
²⁹Do not be a hypocrite before others;
    over your lips keep watch.
³⁰Do not exalt yourself lest you fall
    and bring dishonor upon yourself;

For then the Lord will reveal your secrets
and cast you down in the midst of the assembly.
Because you did not approach the fear of the Lord,
and your heart was full of deceit.

7. Isaiah 11:1-5

¹But 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,
⁴But 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.
⁵Justice shall be the band around his waist,
    and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.

8. Matthew 6:24-34

^24 [o]“No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

²⁵“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ²⁶Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? ²⁷Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?^[q] ²⁸Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. ²⁹But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. ^30 [r]If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? ³¹So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ ³²All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness,^[s] and all these things will be given you besides. ³⁴Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.

9. Matthew 19:16-30

¹⁶Now someone approached him and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”^[l] ¹⁷He 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.” ^18 [n]He asked him, “Which ones?” And Jesus replied, “ ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; ¹⁹honor your father and your mother’; and ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” ^20 [o]The young man said to him, “All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?” ²¹Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect,^[p] go, sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” ²²When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. ^23 [q]Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴Again 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?” ²⁶Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” ²⁷Then Peter said to him in reply, “We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?” ^28 [s]Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life. ^30 [t]But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first..

10. Luke 16:14-15

^14 [i]The Pharisees, who loved money,^[j] heard all these things and sneered at him. ¹⁵And he said to them, “You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.

11. John 3:16-21

12. John 14:25-31

13. John 15

¹⁸“If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. ¹⁹If 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. ²⁰Remember 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. ²¹And they will do all these things to you on account of my name,^[i] because they do not know the one who sent me. ²²If 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. ²³Whoever hates me also hates my Father. ²⁴If 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. ²⁵But in order that the word written in their law^[k] might be fulfilled, ‘They hated me without cause.’

14. 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. ²⁶On that day you will ask in my name, and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you. ²⁷For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God. ²⁸I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” ²⁹His disciples said, “Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech. ³⁰Now 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] ³¹Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now? ³²Behold, 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. ³³I 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.”

15. John 17:6-19

16. Acts 16:1-10

¹He reached [also] Derbe and Lystra where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. ²The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him, ³and Paul wanted him to come along with him. On account of the Jews of that region, Paul had him circumcised,^[a] for they all knew that his father was a Greek. ⁴As they traveled from city to city, they handed on to the people for observance the decisions reached by the apostles and presbyters in Jerusalem. ⁵Day after day the churches grew stronger in faith and increased in number.

⁶They traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian territory because they had been prevented by the holy Spirit from preaching the message in the province of Asia. ⁷When they came to Mysia, they tried to go on into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus^[b] did not allow them, ⁸so they crossed through Mysia and came down to Troas. ⁹During [the] night Paul had a vision. A Macedonian stood before him and implored him with these words, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰When he had seen the vision, we^[c] sought passage to Macedonia at once, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.

17. Galatians 5:16-26

18. Ephesians 2:19-22

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

19. Philippians 3:17-21

20. 1 Timothy 6:3-10

³Whoever teaches something different and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the religious teaching ⁴is conceited, understanding nothing, and has a morbid disposition for arguments and verbal disputes. From these come envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions, ⁵and mutual friction among people with corrupted minds, who are deprived of the truth, supposing religion to be a means of gain. ^6 [d]Indeed, religion with contentment is a great gain. ⁷For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it. ⁸If we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that. ⁹Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains.

21. Hebrews 13:9-16

22. James 4:1-4

¹Where 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? ²You 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. ³You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. ⁴Adulterers!^[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.

23. 1 John 2:15-17

¹⁵Do 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. ¹⁶For 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. ¹⁷Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever.

Sunday 5/14/23

Readings: Acts 8:5-8, 14-17; Ps 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20; 1 Pt 3:15-18; Jn 14:15-21

Title: “I in You”

This short passage from John 14 (John 14:15-21) is very dense and full of important religious truths. As we begin examining this passage, we see Jesus say, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). This form of love—agapē—is very specifically an action. As we may recall from St. Aquinas, love is defined as “the choice to will the good of the other.” Love is not here seen as a feeling of affection, or a personal preference for one person over another, or a sense of attraction to another person. Here, love is seen as both a choice and an action, involving a movement of the will towards the good. It is by keeping the commandments, which, as we know from Romans 13, “are summed up in this saying, [namely] ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Rom 13:9), that we demonstrate this unique type of love. This is not soft, sappy sentimentality. This is the courageous love of action, that would even be willing to die for God and the good of another (See John 10:14-18; John 15:13). This is the dynamic type of love that changes lives, because it is so thoroughly action-oriented. This type of love does not exist in spite of a failure to act on it, as certain loving feelings might. This love, instead, exists to the extent that it is acted upon, and brought into reality as truth. This type of love is in some ways immune to hypocrisy, because it is proven, and shown, and demonstrated by action (See 1 John 3:16-18). Without the action and the movement of the will, this love would not be there. For this reason, this is a very powerful, dynamic, and transformative type of love—because it exists through action.

As Jesus goes on, He says, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, 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” (John 15:16-17). This is said as if by stipulation, meaning that if one loves Jesus and keeps the commandments (John 14:15), then we will be given the Spirit of truth (John 14:16-17), which we receive through the grace of God in baptism. For if one does not choose to love Jesus or will to keep the commandments, which one can actually do effectively only after this gift of grace, then one can reject the gift of God’s Spirit. This is similar to what we read of the Spirit in Wisdom 1:5: “For the holy spirit of discipline flees deceit and withdraws from senseless counsels and is rebuked when unrighteousness occurs” (Wis 1:5). If we abide by God, through the gift of His grace, then we remain at one with His Spirit. If we willingly decide to sin after receiving grace (See Heb 10:26-39), however, that can damage or kill the life of grace within us. God does not sin, and so if we choose to deviate from what is good, God will not join us in so doing just because we have been given the Holy Spirit in baptism.

We can choose to remain in the Spirit of truth, or we can deviate from truth, in which case, we will no longer abide in the presence of God’s Spirit. It is not that God is not present to us, but it is that when we choose not to keep the commandments, or to sin, we are not present to God. The Spirit of truth “flees deceit” (Wis 1:5). Therefore, we must likewise adhere to truth if we wish to avail ourselves of this Advocate and God’s grace. For the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth (John 14:17, John 15:26; John 16:13), because God is truth (John 14:6-7; See John 8:31-32), and without Him, we can do nothing (John 15:4-5). In this way, adherence to truth is more important for our spiritual health than many people may realize. Jesus further contrasts the Spirit of truth with the world (John 15:17). We can read further about the contrast of worldly knowledge with spiritual knowledge in 1 Corinthians 2: “We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given us by God” (1 Cor 2:12).

And as Jesus concludes this brief passage: “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. 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” (John 14:18-21). Jesus brings His disciples into the mutual indwelling (See John 17:20-26), as He says He will not leave us orphans, but will bring us into His relationship with the Father. As we read in Romans 8: “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, ‘Abba, Father!’ The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him (Rom 8:14-17; See Gal 4:1-7).

Jesus dwells with us now through grace and the gift of the Spirit, so that, as He says, wherever He is, we may be also (John 14:3). It is this spiritual knowledge of God’s presence with us through the indwelling of grace that gives us both courage and consolation, “as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen” (2 Cor 4:18; See 2 Cor 5:6-10), and not to the spirit of humankind, but the Spirit of God (See 1 Cor 2:10-16). God has given us His Spirit so that we may know Him, and using His gift in this way is exactly what He wills for us to do. In this way, we are God’s children, God knows us (See Matt 7:21-23), and we know God (See John 14:6-7; 1 John 2:1-6). Amen.

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

1. Psalm 66:1-7, 15, 20

¹For the leader. A song; a psalm.

²Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
    sing of his glorious name;
    give him glorious praise.
³Say to God: “How awesome your deeds!
    Before your great strength your enemies cringe.
⁴All the earth falls in worship before you;
    they sing of you, sing of your name!”
Selah

^5 [b]Come and see the works of God,
    awesome in deeds before the children of Adam.
⁶He changed the sea to dry land;
    through the river they passed on foot.
There we rejoiced in him,
⁷    who rules by his might forever,
His eyes are fixed upon the nations.
    Let no rebel rise to challenge!
Selah

¹⁵Burnt offerings of fatlings I will offer you
    and sacrificial smoke of rams;
    I will sacrifice oxen and goats.
Selah
²⁰Blessed be God, who did not reject my prayer
    and refuse his mercy.

2. Wisdom 1:1-11

¹Love righteousness,^[b] you who judge the earth;
    think of the Lord in goodness,
    and seek him in integrity of heart;
²Because he is found by those who do not test him,
    and manifests himself to those who do not disbelieve him.
³For perverse counsels separate people from God,
    and his power, put to the proof, rebukes the foolhardy;
^4 [c]Because into a soul that plots evil wisdom does not enter,
    nor does she dwell in a body under debt of sin.
⁵For the holy spirit of discipline^[d] flees deceit
    and withdraws from senseless counsels
    and is rebuked when unrighteousness occurs.

⁶For wisdom is a kindly spirit,
    yet she does not acquit blasphemous lips;
Because God is the witness of the inmost self
    and the sure observer of the heart
    and the listener to the tongue.
⁷For the spirit of the Lord fills the world,
    is all-embracing, and knows whatever is said.
⁸Therefore those who utter wicked things will not go unnoticed,
    nor will chastising condemnation pass them by.
⁹For the devices of the wicked shall be scrutinized,
    and the sound of their words shall reach the Lord,
    for the chastisement of their transgressions;
¹⁰Because a jealous ear hearkens to everything,
    and discordant grumblings are not secret.
¹¹Therefore guard against profitless grumbling,
    and from calumny^[e] withhold your tongues;
For a stealthy utterance will not go unpunished,
    and a lying mouth destroys the soul.

3. Matthew 7:21-23

4. John 8:31-32

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

5. John 10:14-18

¹⁴I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, ¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶I 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. ¹⁷This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. ¹⁸No 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.”

6. John 14:1-7, 15-21

7. John 15:1-17, 26-27

8. John 16:12-15

9. John 17:20-26

10. Acts 8:5-8, 14-17

⁵Thus Philip went down to [the] city of Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them. ⁶With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing. ⁷For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice, came out of many possessed people, and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured. ⁸There was great joy in that city.

¹⁴Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, ¹⁵who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the holy Spirit, ¹⁶for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.^[e] ¹⁷Then they laid hands on them and they received the holy Spirit.

11. Romans 8:14-17

¹⁴For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, “Abba,^[c] Father!” ¹⁶The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

12. Romans 13:8-10

⁸Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹The 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.” ¹⁰Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.

13. 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. ¹⁷For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal.

14. 2 Corinthians 5:6-10

15. Galatians 4:1-7

¹I mean that as long as the heir is not of age,^[b] he is no different from a slave, although he is the owner of everything, ²but he is under the supervision of guardians and administrators until the date set by his father. ³In the same way we also, when we were not of age, were enslaved to the elemental powers of the world.^[c] ⁴But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption. ⁶As proof that you are children,^[d] God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” ⁷So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

16. Hebrews 10:26-39

^26 [n]If we sin deliberately after receiving knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains sacrifice for sins ²⁷but a fearful prospect of judgment and a flaming fire that is going to consume the adversaries. ²⁸Anyone who rejects the law of Moses^[o] is put to death without pity on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹Do 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? ³⁰We know the one who said:

“Vengeance is mine; I will repay,”

and again:

“The Lord will judge his people.”

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

³²Remember the days past when, after you had been enlightened,^[p] you endured a great contest of suffering. ³³At times you were publicly exposed to abuse and affliction; at other times you associated yourselves with those so treated. ³⁴You 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. ³⁵Therefore, do not throw away your confidence; it will have great recompense. ³⁶You 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.
³⁸But my just one shall live by faith,
    and if he draws back I take no pleasure in him.”

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

17. 1 Corinthians 2:10-16

¹⁰this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.

¹⁴Now the natural person^[h] does not accept what pertains to the Spirit of God, for to him it is foolishness, and he cannot understand it, because it is judged spiritually. ¹⁵The spiritual person, however, can judge everything but is not subject to judgment^[i] by anyone.

¹⁶For “who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to counsel him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

18. 1 Peter 3:15-18

¹⁵but 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, ¹⁶but 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. ¹⁷For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil.

¹⁸For 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. 1 John 2:1-6

20. 1 John 3:11-18

Monday 5/15/23

Saint Isidore

Readings: Acts 16:11-15; Ps 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a, 9b; Jn 15:26-16:4a

Title: “So That You May Not Fall Away”

In today’s Gospel reading from John 15-16 (John 15:26-16:4), Jesus tells us several important things. As He begins, He says, “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning” (John 15:26-27). We also hear similar statements in John 14: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it” (John 14:16-17); and, “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” (John 14:26). In taking all these verses together, we find an understanding that the Spirit comes from both Jesus and the Father, in that Jesus asks the Father to send the Spirit, and in our sense of Jesus’ mission.

The gift of the Spirit from Christ on the cross, and the procession of the Spirit from the Son and the Father, is in many ways how humankind is brought into communion with God. This gift of the Spirit by which we may be drawn into union with God can be better understood through taking into consideration Jesus’ explanation of how humankind comes to the Father. For we read in John 6: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day” (John 6:44); and, “And he said, ‘For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father’” (John 6:65). But we also read 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” (John 14:6). We come to the Father through Jesus (John 14:6), and we are drawn to Jesus by the Father (John 6:44, 65; See Matt 16:16-17). This is not contradictory, but is illustrative of the mutual indwelling (See John 14:10-11; John 17:20-26), by which we understand that both Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Jesus.

Another related concept that helps us to understand the gift of the Spirit and the Spirit’s procession from both Jesus and the Father is the consubstantiality of the Father and Son. For as we know from John 10:30, the Father and the Son “are one” (John 10:30; See John 5:19-30). This can bring us full circle to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, by which we understand there to be one God in three Persons, or, God is one essence in three Persons. And so, in a similar manner as we come to the Father through Jesus (John 14:6) and we come to Jesus because the Father draws us (John 6:44, 65), the Holy Spirit is sent to us through both Jesus and the Father, and the Spirit likewise processes from both the Father and the Son. We acknowledge the Father to be both greater than the Son (John 14:28), and equal to the Son (John 5:18), as a result of their relationship and consubstantiality, respectively.

As this passage continues in John 16, we see that directly after this promise of the Spirit comes an ominous warning: “I have told you this so that you may not fall away. They will expel you from the synagogues; in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God. They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me. I have told you this so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you. I did not tell you this from the beginning, because I was with you” (John 16:1-4). We must keep in mind what Jesus says is the purpose of this warning: “I have told you this so that you may not fall away” (John 16:1).

We can understand this idea of “falling away” in the context of several other verses from Hebrews 10, 2 Timothy 2, and Matthew 10: “If we sin deliberately after receiving knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains sacrifice for sins. but a fearful prospect of judgment and a flaming fire that is going to consume the adversaries….But my just one shall live by faith, and if he draws back I take no pleasure in him.’ We are not among those who draw back and perish, but among those who have faith and will possess life” (Heb 10:26-39); “If we have died with him we shall also live with him; if we persevere we shall also reign with him. But if we deny him he will deny us. If we are unfaithful he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself” (2 Tim 2:11-13); and, “Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father” (Matt 10:32-33).

Warnings about coming persecutions occur throughout the Gospels (See Matt 10:16-33), and were born out in the history of the Church. But holding fast to one’s confession, even unto death, is not only the ultimate sacrifice, but it is also the ultimate honor, and the esteem we can feel for the martyrs is held is contrast with the compassion we feel for those who have fallen away. As we read similar sentiments expressed in 2 Timothy 2, it would best if those who have fallen away would come back to the Church: “A slave of the Lord should not quarrel, but should be gentle with everyone, able to teach, tolerant, correcting opponents with kindness. It may be that God will grant them repentance that leads to knowledge of the truth, and that they may return to their senses out of the devil’s snare, where they are entrapped by him, for his will” (2 Tim 2:24-26).

Jesus tells us these things now, so that we may remember when the hour comes (John 16:4). And as we also know of that hour and how the Spirit comes to our aid from Matthew 10: “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. Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.” (Matt 10:19-22). And similarly in Romans 8, we read of the Spirit’s intercession: “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. 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” (Rom 8:26-27). The gift of the Spirit will help us to adhere to God through Jesus, and as we follow the Spirit’s lead (See Rom 8:14-17), we will be led “to all truth” (John 16:12). Amen.

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

1. Psalm 149:1-6, 9

¹Hallelujah!

Sing to the Lord a new song,
    his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
²Let Israel be glad in its maker,
    the people of Zion rejoice in their king.
³Let them praise his name in dance,
    make music with tambourine and lyre.^[b]
⁴For the Lord takes delight in his people,
    honors the poor with victory.
⁵Let the faithful rejoice in their glory,
    cry out for joy on their couches,^[c]
⁶With the praise of God in their mouths,
    and a two-edged sword in their hands,
⁹To execute the judgments decreed for them—
    such is the glory^[d] of all God’s faithful.
Hallelujah!

2. Matthew 10:16-33

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, ¹⁸and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. ¹⁹When 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. ²⁰For 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. ²²You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end^[j] will be saved. ²³When 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] ²⁴No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. ²⁵It 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!

3. Matthew 16:13-20

4. John 5:18-30

¹⁸For this reason the Jews tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.

³⁰“I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.

5. John 6:41-44, 60-65

6. John 10:22-30

7. John 14:6–31

8. John 15:26-27

9. John 16:1-4, 12-15

¹“I have told you this so that you may not fall away. ²They will expel you from the synagogues; in fact, the hour^[a] is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God. ³They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me. ⁴I have told you this so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you.

“I did not tell you this from the beginning, because I was with you.

10. John 17:20-26

11. Acts 16:11-15

^11 [d]We set sail from Troas, making a straight run for Samothrace, and on the next day to Neapolis, ¹²and from there to Philippi, a leading city in that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We spent some time in that city. ¹³On the sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river where we thought there would be a place of prayer. We sat and spoke with the women who had gathered there. ¹⁴One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God,^[e] listened, and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying. ¹⁵After she and her household had been baptized, she offered us an invitation, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my home,” and she prevailed on us.

12. Romans 8:14-17, 26-27

13. 2 Timothy 2:8-26

^14 [c]Remind people of these things and charge them before God^[d] to stop disputing about words. This serves no useful purpose since it harms those who listen. ¹⁵Be eager to present yourself as acceptable to God, a workman who causes no disgrace, imparting the word of truth without deviation. ¹⁶Avoid profane, idle talk, for such people will become more and more godless, ¹⁷and their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, ¹⁸who have deviated from the truth by saying that [the] resurrection has already taken place and are upsetting the faith of some. ¹⁹Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands, bearing this inscription, “The Lord knows those who are his”; and, “Let everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord avoid evil.”

14. Hebrews 10:26-39

“Vengeance is mine; I will repay,”

and again:

“The Lord will judge his people.”

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

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

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

Tuesday 5/16/23

Readings: Acts 16:22-34; Ps 138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 7c-8; Jn 16:5-11

Title: “The Advocate”

As we read this passage from John 16 (John 16:5-11), we are given some unique information about the Holy Spirit. As this passage begins, Jesus places the coming of the Holy Spirit in the context of His departure: “But now I am going to the one who sent me, and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts” (John 16:5-6). In fact, it sounds as though Jesus is deliberately explaining the coming of the Holy Spirit in terms of His leaving in order to offer consolation to His disciples, as Jesus’ words seem to indicate a common level of understanding at this point about where Jesus is going, and that He is going to His death. This stands in contrast with many other Bible passages where the disciples seem not to understand or accept His coming persecution and death (See Matt 16:21-23; Mark 9:30-32; Luke 9:44-45; Luke 18:31-34; See also Matt 16:5-12). But as Jesus describes the situation of His return to the Father in this passage (John 16:5-11), it appears as though the disciples both know where Jesus is going, and are filled with grief.

And with this common understanding established, Jesus then goes on to impart to them more sophisticated truths pertaining to the coming of the Spirit. In fact, some of the more theologically detailed and obscure teachings about the Spirit come from this passage. As it goes on, we hear: “But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). This makes it clear that the Advocate comes because Jesus goes, which is in line with other teachings about living by faith not by sight (2 Cor 5:6-7), clinging to the Spirit and not to the flesh (John 20:16-17; Rom 8:1-17; Gal 5:16-26), and looking not to the seen, but to the unseen (2 Cor 4:16-18; See Col 3:1-4). The heightened focus on the spiritual reality of God through a lessened focus on the physical world is a theme associated with this tradeoff, that unless Jesus departs, He will not send the Spirit, and so therefore it is better that He should go. For as we know from several different passages, “The one who is righteous by faith will live” (Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; See Heb 10:38).

As this passage proceeds, Jesus says: “And when he comes he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation: sin, because they do not believe in me; righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned” (John 16:8-11). We hear that the Spirit will convict the world, thus demonstrating the sovereignty of the spiritual over the physical, or the Spirit over the world. We hear that the Advocate will convict the world in regard to three things, including: “sin and righteousness and condemnation” (John 16:8). Sin is healed and absolved through God’s grace given through faith (See Rom 5:2; Eph 2:8) and Jesus’ absolution, and so without belief, we would die in sin (See John 8:21-24). Righteousness is intimately linked with faith, for as we know, “The one who is righteous by faith will live” (Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; See Heb 10:38). Jesus is going to the Father because He is the only one who is righteous (See Rom 3:9-26; Heb 4:15-16), and we can share in His righteousness only through faith.

As we know of faith from Hebrews 11: “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested. By faith we understand that the universe was ordered by the word of God, so that what is visible came into being through the invisible” (Heb 11:1-3; See Rom 8:24-25; 2 Cor 4:16-18; 2 Cor 5:6-10; Col 3:1-4). And as Jesus says in John 20: “Jesus said to him, ‘Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed’” (John 20:29). We have faith not in what is seen, but in what is unseen (See 2 Cor 4:18), and so we can develop our faith only when Jesus is no longer seen. The condemnation of the world is in its own false condemnation of Jesus, as through condemning the only righteous one, it effectively pronounced that same sentence on itself. And yet, with Jesus’ death, He conquered death (See 1 Cor 15:50-58; Col 2:9-15), rising again from the tomb to ascend to the Father.

And so, we see that there will be a condemnation (See John 5:24-29), but Jesus shows us once and for all (See Heb 9:26-28; Heb 10:11-14) that it is only in opposing God that condemnation occurs. For, as we know from John 3, Jesus comes not to condemn, but to save (John 3:17). The ruler of the world condemned itself in its rejection of Jesus (See John 1:10-13; John 3:17-18; John 5:45-47). And so, as we know of the verdict (John 3:19-21), it is only in God’s light that we see light (Ps 36:10; See Matt 5:14-16; John 1:1-9; John 8:12; John 9:5; 1 John 1:5-10), and it is only in the darkness of faith that this true light of the unseen God can shine in our hearts at all. Amen.

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

1. Psalm 36:10-13

¹⁰For with you is the fountain of life,
    and in your light we see light.
¹¹Show mercy on those who know you,
    your just defense to the upright of heart.
¹²Do not let the foot of the proud overtake me,
    nor the hand of the wicked disturb me.
¹³There make the evildoers fall;
    thrust them down, unable to rise.

2. Psalm 138:1-3, 7-8

¹Of David.

I thank you, Lord, with all my heart;
    in the presence of the angels^[b] to you I sing.
²I bow low toward your holy temple;
    I praise your name for your mercy and faithfulness.
For you have exalted over all
    your name and your promise.
³On the day I cried out, you answered;
    you strengthened my spirit.

⁷Though I walk in the midst of dangers,
    you guard my life when my enemies rage.
You stretch out your hand;
    your right hand saves me.
⁸The Lord is with me to the end.
    Lord, your mercy endures forever.
    Never forsake the work of your hands!

3. 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] ¹⁴You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Nor 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. ¹⁶Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.

4. Matthew 16:5-12, 21-23

⁵In coming to the other side of the sea,^[d] the disciples had forgotten to bring bread. ⁶Jesus said to them, “Look out, and beware of the leaven^[e] of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ^7 [f]They concluded among themselves, saying, “It is because we have brought no bread.” ⁸When Jesus became aware of this he said, “You of little faith, why do you conclude among yourselves that it is because you have no bread? ⁹Do you not yet understand, and do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many wicker baskets you took up? ¹⁰Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you took up? ¹¹How do you not comprehend that I was not speaking to you about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ¹²Then they understood^[g] that he was not telling them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

²¹From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he^[q] must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. ^22 [r]Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” ²³He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

5. Mark 9:30-32

³⁰They left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it. ³¹He was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death he will rise.” ³²But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him.

6. Luke 9:44-45

⁴⁴“Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” ⁴⁵But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

7. John 1:1-13

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

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

¹²But 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 3:16-21

9. John 5:24-29, 39-47

²⁴Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life. ²⁵Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. ²⁶For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to his Son the possession of life in himself. ²⁷And he gave him power to exercise judgment, because he is the Son of Man. ^28 [k]Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice ²⁹and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation.

10. John 8:12, 21-30

¹²Jesus 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.”

²¹He said to them again, “I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin.^[k] Where I am going you cannot come.” ^22 [l]So the Jews said, “He is not going to kill himself, is he, because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?” ²³He said to them, “You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. ²⁴That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM,^[m] you will die in your sins.” ^25 [n]So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning. ²⁶I have much to say about you in condemnation. But the one who sent me is true, and what I heard from him I tell the world.” ²⁷They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father. ²⁸So Jesus said [to them], “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me. ²⁹The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.” ³⁰Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.

³⁹You search^[n] the scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. ⁴⁰But you do not want to come to me to have life.

⁴¹“I do not accept human praise;^[o] ⁴²moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you. ⁴³I came in the name of my Father, but you do not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. ⁴⁴How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God? ⁴⁵Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father: the one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. ⁴⁶For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me. ⁴⁷But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

11. John 9:4-5

⁴We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. ⁵While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

12. Luke 18:31-34

^31 [f]Then he took the Twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and everything written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.^[g] ³²He will be handed over to the Gentiles and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon; ³³and after they have scourged him they will kill him, but on the third day he will rise.” ³⁴But they understood nothing of this; the word remained hidden from them and they failed to comprehend what he said.

13. John 16:5-11

14. John 20:11-18, 24-29

¹¹But Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb ¹²and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had been. ¹³And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid him.” ¹⁴When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus. ¹⁵Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.” ¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,”^[i] which means Teacher. ¹⁷Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me,^[j] for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” ¹⁸Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and what he told her.

15. Acts 16:22-34

²²The crowd joined in the attack on them, and the magistrates had them stripped and ordered them to be beaten with rods. ²³After inflicting many blows on them, they threw them into prison and instructed the jailer to guard them securely. ²⁴When he received these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and secured their feet to a stake.

²⁵About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God as the prisoners listened, ²⁶there was suddenly such a severe earthquake that the foundations of the jail shook; all the doors flew open, and the chains of all were pulled loose. ²⁷When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew [his] sword and was about to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸But Paul shouted out in a loud voice, “Do no harm to yourself; we are all here.” ²⁹He asked for a light and rushed in and, trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas. ³⁰Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ³¹And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you and your household will be saved.” ³²So they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house. ³³He took them in at that hour of the night and bathed their wounds; then he and all his family were baptized at once. ³⁴He brought them up into his house and provided a meal and with his household rejoiced at having come to faith in God.

16. Romans 1:16-17

¹⁶For I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: for Jew first, and then Greek. ¹⁷For in it is revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith;^[k] as it is written, “The one who is righteous by faith will live.”

17. Romans 3:9-26

⁹Well, then, are we better off? Not entirely, for we have already brought the charge against Jews and Greeks alike that they are all under the domination of sin, ¹⁰as it is written:

18. Romans 5:1-5

19. Romans 8:1-17, 24-25

¹Hence, now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ²For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed you from the law of sin and death. ³For what the law, weakened by the flesh, was powerless to do, this God has done: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for the sake of sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴so that the righteous decree of the law might be fulfilled in us, who live not according to the flesh but according to the spirit. ⁵For those who live according to the flesh are concerned with the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit with the things of the spirit. ⁶The concern of the flesh is death, but the concern of the spirit is life and peace. ⁷For the concern of the flesh is hostility toward God; it does not submit to the law of God, nor can it; ⁸and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. ⁹But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness. ¹¹If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you. ¹²Consequently, brothers, we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. ¹³For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

²⁴For in hope we were saved. Now hope that sees for itself is not hope. For who hopes for what one sees? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance.

20. 1 Corinthians 15:50-58

^50 [w]This I declare, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption^[x] inherit incorruption. ^51 [y]Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, ⁵²in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ⁵³For that which is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility, and that which is mortal must clothe itself with immortality. ^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.
⁵⁵Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”

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

⁵⁸Therefore, 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.

21. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

22. 2 Corinthians 5:6-10

23. Galatians 3:7-14

^7 [g]Realize then that it is those who have faith who are children of Abraham. ⁸Scripture, which saw in advance that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, foretold the good news to Abraham, saying, “Through you shall all the nations be blessed.” ⁹Consequently, those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham who had faith. ^10 [h]For all who depend on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not persevere in doing all the things written in the book of the law.” ¹¹And that no one is justified before God by the law is clear, for “the one who is righteous by faith will live.” ¹²But the law does not depend on faith; rather, “the one who does these things will live by them.” ¹³Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree,” ¹⁴that the blessing of Abraham might be extended to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

24. Galatians 5:16-26

25. Ephesians 2:1-10

¹You were dead in your transgressions and sins^[c] ²in which you once lived following the age of this world,^[d] following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient. ³All of us once lived among them in the desires of our flesh, following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest. ⁴But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, ⁵even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ^[e] (by grace you have been saved), ⁶raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, ⁷that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; ⁹it is not from works, so no one may boast. ¹⁰For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.

26. Colossians 2:9-15

⁹For in him dwells the whole fullness of the deity^[d] bodily, ¹⁰and you share in this fullness in him, who is the head of every principality and power. ¹¹In him^[e] you were also circumcised with a circumcision not administered by hand, by stripping off the carnal body, with the circumcision of Christ. ¹²You 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. ¹³And 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; ¹⁵despoiling the principalities and the powers, he made a public spectacle of them, leading them away in triumph by it.

27. Colossians 3:1-4

¹If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. ²Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. ³For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.

28. Hebrews 4:14-16

^14 [a]Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. ¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin. ¹⁶So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

29. Hebrews 9:23-28

30. Hebrews 10:11-14, 32-39

^11 [e]Every priest stands daily at his ministry, offering frequently those same sacrifices that can never take away sins. ¹²But this one offered one sacrifice for sins, and took his seat forever at the right hand of God; ^13 [f]now he waits until his enemies are made his footstool. ¹⁴For by one offering he has made perfect forever those who are being consecrated.

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

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

31. Hebrews 11:1-3

¹Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence^[b] of things not seen. ²Because of it the ancients were well attested. ³By 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.

32. 1 John 1:5-10

⁵Now 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. ⁶If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” while we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth. ⁷But 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. ⁸If we say, “We are without sin,” we deceive ourselves,^[c] and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing. ¹⁰If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Wednesday 5/17/23

Readings: Acts 17:15, 22-18:1; Ps 148:1-2, 11-12, 13, 14; Jn 16:12-15

Title: “Guide You to All Truth”

This passage from John 16 (John 16:12-15) describes some very important aspects of the coming of the Holy Spirit. As Jesus begins, He says, “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now” (John 16:12). This clues us in to the idea of the development of revelation, as the basic message of Jesus’ mission does not change—there is no further revelation beyond Christ—but our understanding of it grows and develops over time. There is much more we could know of Jesus’ mission and God’s plan for us, but our comprehension of God’s will (See Eph 3:14-21) and the fullness of revelation in Jesus slowly unfolds over time, rather than bursts upon us all at once. As we mature, our understanding of Jesus matures likewise, and in this way, though we may not be ready to bear all of truth now, we will be able to as we grow in grace, truth, and knowledge (See also 1 Cor 3:1-4; Heb 4:11-14), and God’s Spirit is given to us to guide us to all truth accordingly (John 16:13; See 1 Cor 2).

As Jesus goes on, He says, “But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth” (John 16:13). God’s Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth (John 14:16-17; John 15:26; John 16:13; 1 John 4:6; See John 8:31-32; John 14:6-7; 1 John 5:6), and the Holy Spirit flees deceit (Wis 1:5), but reveals to us the things of God (See 1 Cor 2:10-16) as we avail ourselves of God’s wisdom and grace. God is truth (John 14:6; See John 8:31-32), and other spiritual truths help lead us to a greater understanding of God. All truth acts in accordance with God’s truth, and always works in conjunction with the truth of God rather than acts against it. The truth can and will set us free (John 8:31-32), especially as all truths are organized under the spiritual hierarchy where God Himself is the highest Truth (John 14:6-7; See John 8:31-32).

As this passage goes on, Jesus says, “He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming” (John 16:13). The Spirit of truth and holiness is God and is of God, and just like Jesus, the Holy Spirit will not do or say anything apart from the Father (See John 5:18-30; John 14:7-11). This is also the Spirit of prophecy, and so He will declare to us the things that are coming. Jesus continues, “He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. 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” (John 16:14-15).

The Spirit helps us to understand Jesus, as He imparts to us what is of Christ, and this glorifies God. The revelation of God is also the glorification of God, as this works towards the praise and blessing of the Lord, and imparts knowledge to bring more souls into God’s salvation, which also serves to glorify God (See Luke 15:1-10). Jesus is the Son of the Father, and so even though the Father is greater than all (John 10:29; John 15:28), the Father, Son, and Spirit are also equal in essence (See John 5:18-30; John 10:30), in the doctrine of the Trinity.

The three Persons of the Holy Trinity are inseparable and are one God, and the things the Spirit declares to us help us to grow spiritually, in grace, wisdom, charity, and understanding, so that we may grow more closely united to God (See John 17:20-26). To grow in virtue and wisdom helps us to be pure (See 1 John 3:1-3), enabling us to grow in union with God will less hindrances. And so, what the Spirit declares to us is typically done for this reason: to glorify God by revealing to us God’s truth and good will, and to help us to grow in union with God through purification and growth in grace and virtue. So, just as the Spirit will lead us to all truth (John 16:13), let us be sure to follow Him (See Rom 8:14-17), to all truth. Amen.

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

1. Psalm 148:1-2, 11-14

¹Hallelujah!

Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights.
²Praise him, all you his angels;
give praise, all you his hosts.

¹¹Kings of the earth and all peoples,
    princes and all who govern on earth;
¹²Young men and women too,
    old and young alike.
¹³Let them all praise the Lord’s name,
    for his name alone is exalted,
    His majesty above earth and heaven.
^14 [c]He has lifted high the horn of his people;
    to the praise of all his faithful,
    the Israelites, the people near to him.
Hallelujah!

2. Wisdom 1:1-5

3. Luke 15:1-10

^1 [a]The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to him, ²but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” ³So 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? ⁵And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy ⁶and, 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.’ ⁷I 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.

⁸“Or what woman having ten coins^[b] and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it? ⁹And when she does find it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’ ¹⁰In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

4. John 5:18-30

¹⁸For this reason the Jews tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.

³⁰“I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.

5. John 8:31-38

6. John 10:22-30

7. John 14

8. John 15:26-27

9. John 16:12-15

10. John 17:20-26

11. Acts 17:15, 22-18:1

¹⁵After Paul’s escorts had taken him to Athens, they came away with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

²²Then Paul stood up at the Areopagus and said:

“You Athenians, I see that in every respect you are very religious. ²³For as I walked around looking carefully at your shrines, I even discovered an altar inscribed, ‘To an Unknown God.’^[g] What therefore you unknowingly worship, I proclaim to you. ²⁴The God who made the world and all that is in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands, ²⁵nor is he served by human hands because he needs anything. Rather it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and everything. ²⁶He made from one^[h] the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions, ²⁷so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us. ²⁸For ‘In him we live and move and have our being,’^[i] as even some of your poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’ ²⁹Since therefore we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the divinity is like an image fashioned from gold, silver, or stone by human art and imagination. ³⁰God has overlooked the times of ignorance, but now he demands that all people everywhere repent ³¹because he has established a day on which he will ‘judge the world with justice’ through a man he has appointed, and he has provided confirmation for all by raising him from the dead.”

³²When they heard about resurrection of the dead, some began to scoff, but others said, “We should like to hear you on this some other time.” ³³And so Paul left them. ³⁴But some did join him, and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the Court of the Areopagus, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

¹After this he left Athens and went to Corinth.

12. Romans 8:14-17

13. 1 Corinthians 2

“What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard,
and what has not entered the human heart,
what God has prepared for those who love him,”

¹⁰this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.

¹⁶For “who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to counsel him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

14. 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

^1 [a]Brothers, I could not talk to you as spiritual people, but as fleshly people,^[b] as infants in Christ. ²I fed you milk, not solid food, because you were unable to take it. Indeed, you are still not able, even now, ³for you are still of the flesh. While there is jealousy and rivalry among you,^[c] are you not of the flesh and behaving in an ordinary human way? ⁴Whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human?

15. Ephesians 3:14-21

16. Hebrews 4:11-14

^11 [g]About this we have much to say, and it is difficult to explain, for you have become sluggish in hearing. ¹²Although 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. ¹³Everyone who lives on milk lacks experience of the word of righteousness, for he is a child. ¹⁴But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties are trained by practice to discern good and evil.

17. 1 John 3:1-3

18. 1 John 4:1-6

¹Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God, ³and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus^[b] does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that, as you heard, is to come, but in fact is already in the world. ⁴You belong to God, children, and you have conquered them, for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. ⁵They belong to the world; accordingly, their teaching belongs to the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶We belong to God, and anyone who knows God listens to us, while anyone who does not belong to God refuses to hear us. This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.

19. 1 John 5:6-12

⁶This 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. ⁷So there are three that testify, ⁸the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and the three are of one accord. ⁹If 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. ¹⁰Whoever 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. ¹¹And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹²Whoever possesses the Son has life; whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.

Thursday 5/18/23

Solemnity of the Ascension

Readings: Acts 1:1-11; Ps 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9; Eph 1:17-23; Mt 28:16-20

Title: “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”

The Ascension of the Lord into heaven is in many ways the beginning of our life on earth, for as spiritual beings, “we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7). We live in God’s charity through the gift of the Holy Spirit poured out into our hearts through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. We nurture our lives of faith, adhering to the gift of God’s love and divine grace poured out into our souls (See Rom 5:5), and as spiritual beings, “we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen” (2 Cor 4:18; See John 20:29). It is through our baptism into Christ’s Body, with Christ as our Head (See 1 Cor 12:12-31; Eph 1:22-23; Eph 5:21-33; Col 1:18), that we are able to share in God’s divine life of grace, and in this way, we do not live of our own power, but only through the grace of God. For as Jesus says in John 15: “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. 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” (John 15:4-5).

And so, because we derive our lives so fully from Christ and His gift of grace, Christ’s Ascension into heaven is our ascension, too. For Christ came for us, so that where He is, we shall be too (John 14:3). We know that our lives are hidden in Christ, as we read in Colossians 3: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory” (Col 3:1-4). The idea of viewing our souls as but branches of the true vine who is Christ, and of viewing ourselves as truly and utterly dependent upon Christ, who is our Head, is part of what it means to be truly humble with knowledge of self, to be part of Christ’s Body, the Church, and to live the spiritual life in goodness, truth, and virtue, following not after our mortal heads, but after the immortal Head, who is Christ. For we are children of God if we follow after the Spirit (Rom 8:14-17), in conformity to the true Son of God, through whom alone we may be co-heirs and adoptive children of God (See Rom 8:14-17; Gal 4:1-7; Eph 1:3-14).

To view this Body of Christ with the eyes of faith (See Acts 1:10-11; Eph 1:18), is to live the life given to us in Christ’s Ascension into heaven, for where our true Head is spiritually, there we are as well (See Matt 28:19-20). Christ’s Ascension is our ascension, just as Christ’s life is our life (See Gal 2:19-21; Phil 1:21; Col 3:4), which has been hidden in God (Col 3:3). Though we cannot see it now, we can still experience it now in a spiritual way through faith (See 2 Cor 4:16-18; 2 Cor 5:6-10), and we can still taste it within our souls as if with heightened spiritual senses, because mortal eyes cannot see the unseen God. We can taste, touch, and experience our union with God in the soul, to the extent that we desire this and are receptive to God’s gift of spiritual union and grace, and so we must recognize that Christ’s Ascension is our ascension, not only in the resurrection of the body in the world to come, but in our spiritual lives of faith even now, as we are united to God and Christ in heaven (See John 17:20-26) with the gift of the Holy Spirit through baptism, and God’s divine life of grace. Amen.

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

1. Psalm 47:2-3, 6-9

²All you peoples, clap your hands;
shout to God with joyful cries.
³For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,
the great king over all the earth,

^6 [c]God has gone up with a shout;
the Lord, amid trumpet blasts.
⁷Sing praise to God, sing praise;
sing praise to our king, sing praise.

⁸For God is king over all the earth;
sing hymns of praise.
⁹God rules over the nations;
God sits upon his holy throne.

2. Matthew 28:16-20

3. John 14:1-7

4. John 15:1-10

5. John 17:20-26

6. John 20:24-29

7. Acts 1:1-11

¹In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught ²until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. ³He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days^[b] and speaking about the kingdom of God. ⁴While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for “the promise of the Father^[c] about which you have heard me speak; ⁵for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the holy Spirit.”

⁶When they had gathered together they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going^[d] to restore the kingdom to Israel?” ^7 [e]He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. ^8 [f]But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” ⁹When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. ¹⁰While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. ¹¹They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”

8. Romans 5:1-11

9. Romans 8:14-17

⁴For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, “Abba,^[c] Father!” ¹⁶The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

10. 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

¹²As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. ¹³For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

¹⁴Now the body is not a single part, but many. ¹⁵If a foot should say, “Because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body,” it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. ¹⁶Or if an ear should say, “Because I am not an eye I do not belong to the body,” it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. ¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸But as it is, God placed the parts, each one of them, in the body as he intended. ¹⁹If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰But as it is, there are many parts, yet one body. ²¹The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I do not need you.” ²²Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are all the more necessary, ²³and those parts of the body that we consider less honorable we surround with greater honor, and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety, ²⁴whereas our more presentable parts do not need this. But God has so constructed the body as to give greater honor to a part that is without it, ²⁵so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another. ²⁶If [one] part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.

²⁷Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it. ²⁸Some people God has designated in the church to be, first, apostles;^[f] second, prophets; third, teachers; then, mighty deeds; then, gifts of healing, assistance, administration, and varieties of tongues. ²⁹Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work mighty deeds? ³⁰Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.

But I shall show you a still more excellent way.

11. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

12. 2 Corinthians 5:6-10

13. Galatians 2:19-21

¹⁹For through the law I died to the law,^[s] that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ; ²⁰yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me. ²¹I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

14. Galatians 4:1-7

15. Ephesians 1:3-14, 17-23

^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] ⁴as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love ⁵he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, ⁶for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.

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

¹¹In 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, ¹²so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped^[f] in Christ. ¹³In 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, ¹⁴which is the first installment^[h] of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.

¹⁷that 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. ¹⁸May 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, ¹⁹and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might, ²⁰which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens, ²¹far 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. ²²And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, ²³which is his body,^[k] the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.

16. Ephesians 5:21-33

^21 [e]Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.^[f] ²²Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord. ²³For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the church, he himself the savior of the body. ²⁴As the church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything. ²⁵Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her ²⁶to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, ²⁷that 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. ²⁸So [also] husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church, ³⁰because we are members of his body.

³¹“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.”

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

17. 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. ²⁰My 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. ²¹For to me life is Christ, and death is gain. ²²If I go on living in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. And I do not know which I shall choose. ²³I am caught between the two. I long to depart this life and be with Christ, [for] that is far better. ²⁴Yet that I remain [in] the flesh is more necessary for your benefit. ²⁵And 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, ²⁶so that your boasting in Christ Jesus may abound on account of me when I come to you again.

18. Colossians 1:15-20

19. Colossians 3:1-4

Friday 5/19/23

Readings: Acts 18:9-18; Ps 47:2-3, 4-5, 6-7; Jn 16:20-23

Title: “But Your Grief Will Become Joy”

This passage from John 16 (John 16:20-23) describes Jesus’ death and resurrection, and its spiritual import in analogical terms. It reads: “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. On that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you” (John 16:20-23).

Jesus describes the coming events within the dimensions of grief and joy. He explains that His disciples will grieve as the world rejoices. Indeed, as He also explains in the beginning of John 16: “I have told you this so that you may not fall away. They will expel you from the synagogues; in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God. They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me” (John 16:1-3). But Jesus further clarifies that the grief of the disciples will become joy, and this is not just any fleeting and temporal joy, but it is the lasting spiritual joy that comes from God. This grief, however, is a part of this natural process, of faith, growth, and rebirth.

For as St. Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 15: “What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies” (1 Cor 15:36). We cannot properly rejoice unless we first properly mourn, we cannot properly live sunless we first know of death, we cannot truly appreciate God in gratitude unless we first acknowledge our nothingness and true need (See Luke 7:47; Luke 15:7, 10; Luke 18:9-14; John 15:4-5), and we cannot appreciate the gift of God’s presence unless we acknowledge what it feels like to experience His absence and loss. There is a complementary nature to grief and rejoicing that is intimately associated with Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, and unless we come to know true grief; we cannot otherwise know the true joy of God. For all things have their wholeness of perspective only in the context of the fullness of both God’s creation, encompassing both the good and the bad, and the rain and the shine (See Job 2:10; Matt 5:44-45), and God’s will and human actions done outside of God’s will, resulting in the experience of evil in this life.

Jesus gives us a helpful analogy by which to better understand the joy that He means for us to know, as He likens the grief the disciples will go through to the process of a woman giving birth. This is an apt analogy, as Jesus is the Son of God born to Mary, who also represents the motherhood of the Church (See Rev 12:1-6). The Son born of a Virgin (See Isa 7:14; Isa 9:5-6) is the true child of God (John 1:14), and is the true self (See Matt 10:39; Matt 16:25) hidden deep within each of us (See Col 3:1-4). We are all children of God because we bear the imago Dei (Gen 1:26-27) within us, who is Christ (See John 1:1-5), to whom we conform our souls (See Rom 12:1-2; Phil 3:17-21) in prayerful obedience to God through grace.

In our rebirth of the Spirit through baptism (See John 3:3-8), we can live out the fullness of this calling to be children of God (See John 1:12-13; Rom 8:14-17), but the process of this life is a continual labor, until the fullness of rebirth occurs in the resurrection to come. However, the joy of God (See John 15:11; John 16:20-24, 33) is something we can partake in even now in a certain limited way, until it is experienced in its fullness in heaven. And so, this life carries with it the anguish and grief of labor and burdens (See Matt 11:28-30), but we live in the hope of the life to come (See Rom 8:18-25), in the Spirit of the child to be born to us (See Isa 9:5-6), who is both our own soul, and the Christ child, in whom our lives are hidden in God (See John 17:20-26; Col 3:3-4). And so, we live in hope (See Rom 8:24-25), for our future lives to be revealed in the fullness of time, and yet this joy of God—that no one can take away from us (John 16:22)—yet remains with us, through the gift of the Spirit who brings a ray of light to the darkness of these days (See John 1:1-9). Amen.

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

1. Genesis 1:26-27

²⁶Then 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.

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

2. Job 2:8-10

⁸He took a potsherd to scrape himself, as he sat among the ashes. ⁹Then his wife said to him, “Are you still holding to your innocence? Curse God and die!”^[b] ¹⁰But he said to her, “You speak as foolish women do. We accept good things from God; should we not accept evil?” Through all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

3. Psalm 47:2-7

²All you peoples, clap your hands;
    shout to God with joyful cries.
³For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,
    the great king over all the earth,
⁴Who made people subject to us,
    nations under our feet,
^5 [b]Who chose our heritage for us,
    the glory of Jacob, whom he loves.
Selah

^6 [c]God has gone up with a shout;
the Lord, amid trumpet blasts.
⁷Sing praise to God, sing praise;
sing praise to our king, sing praise.

4. Isaiah 7:10-16

¹⁰Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: ¹¹Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God; let it be deep as Sheol, or high as the sky!^[g] ¹²But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!”^[h] ¹³Then he said: Listen, house of David! Is it not enough that you weary human beings? Must you also weary my God? ¹⁴Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign;^[i] the young woman, pregnant and about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel. ¹⁵Curds and honey^[j] he will eat so that he may learn to reject evil and choose good; ¹⁶for before the child learns to reject evil and choose good, the land of those two kings whom you dread shall be deserted.

5. Isaiah 9:5-6

⁵For 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.
⁶His 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!

6. Matthew 5:43-48

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

7. 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; ³⁸and 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.

8. Matthew 11:28-30

9. Matthew 16:24-28

10. Luke 7:36-50

³⁶A Pharisee invited him to dine with him, and he entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table.^[k] ³⁷Now there was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee. Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment, ³⁸she stood behind him at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment. ³⁹When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” ⁴⁰Jesus said to him in reply, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. ⁴¹“Two people were in debt to a certain creditor; one owed five hundred days’ wages^[l] and the other owed fifty. ⁴²Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both. Which of them will love him more?” ⁴³Simon said in reply, “The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven.” He said to him, “You have judged rightly.” ⁴⁴Then 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. ⁴⁵You did not give me a kiss, but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered. ⁴⁶You did not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with ointment. ⁴⁷So 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.” ⁴⁸He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” ⁴⁹The others at table said to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” ⁵⁰But he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

11. Luke 15:1-10

12. Luke 18:9-14

⁹He then addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. ¹⁰“Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ ¹³But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ ¹⁴I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

13. John 1:1-14

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

¹⁴And 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.

14. John 3:3-8

³Jesus 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.” ⁴Nicodemus 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?” ⁵Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. ⁶What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. ⁷Do not be amazed that I told you, ‘You must be born from above.’ ⁸The 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.”

15. John 15:4-5, 11-17

⁴Remain 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. ⁵I 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.

16. John 16:1-4, 20-24, 33

²⁰Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. ²¹When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. ²²So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. ²³On that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. ²⁴Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

³³I 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.”

17. John 17:20-26

18. Acts 18:9-18

⁹One night in a vision the Lord said to Paul, “Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent, ¹⁰for I am with you. No one will attack and harm you, for I have many people in this city.” ¹¹He settled there for a year and a half and taught the word of God among them.

¹²But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia,^[e] the Jews rose up together against Paul and brought him to the tribunal, ¹³saying, “This man is inducing people to worship God contrary to the law.”^[f] ¹⁴When Paul was about to reply, Gallio spoke to the Jews, “If it were a matter of some crime or malicious fraud, I should with reason hear the complaint of you Jews; ¹⁵but since it is a question of arguments over doctrine and titles and your own law, see to it yourselves. I do not wish to be a judge of such matters.” ¹⁶And he drove them away from the tribunal. ¹⁷They all seized Sosthenes, the synagogue official, and beat him in full view of the tribunal. But none of this was of concern to Gallio.

¹⁸Paul remained for quite some time, and after saying farewell to the brothers he sailed for Syria, together with Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut because he had taken a vow.^[g]

19. Romans 8:14-25

¹⁸I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us. ¹⁹For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God; ²⁰for creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God. ²²We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now; ²³and not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴For in hope we were saved. Now hope that sees for itself is not hope. For who hopes for what one sees? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance.

20. Romans 12:1-2

21. 1 Corinthians 15:35-41

^35 [q]But someone may say, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come back?”

^36 [r]You fool! What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies. ³⁷And what you sow is not the body that is to be but a bare kernel of wheat, perhaps, or of some other kind; ³⁸but God gives it a body as he chooses, and to each of the seeds its own body. ^39 [s]Not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for human beings, another kind of flesh for animals, another kind of flesh for birds, and another for fish. ⁴⁰There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the brightness of the heavenly is one kind and that of the earthly another. ⁴¹The brightness of the sun is one kind, the brightness of the moon another, and the brightness of the stars another. For star differs from star in brightness.

22. Philippians 3:17-21

23. Colossians 3:1-4

24. Revelation 12:1-6

^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. ²She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.^[c] ³Then 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. ⁴Its 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. ⁵She 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. ⁶The 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.

Saturday 5/20/23

Saint Bernardine of Siena

Readings: Acts 18:23-28; Ps 47:2-3, 8-9, 10; Jn 16:23b-28

Title: “Come to Believe”

This passage from John 16 (John 16:23b-28) serves to clarify and tie together several main themes from this discourse. As it begins, Jesus says, “Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete” (John 16:23-24; See John 15:11). In order to ask in Jesus’ name, we must understand who Jesus is. Without knowledge of Jesus’ true identity (See John 20:28), we cannot accordingly ask anything in His name. For especially in a Judaic context, one’s name is synonymous with one’s person and identity. Until the disciples understood that Jesus truly came from God, they could not ask anything “in His name,” because they did not know who He was.

Jesus came to do the will of God (See John 14:31; Heb 10:5-10; See Also Ps 40:7-9), and so what we ask in His name must be asked according to the will of God—otherwise it is not truly in His name. We can hear some insight about this from Jesus in Matthew 7: “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 so, we are encouraged to ask, but also to ask in Jesus’ name and according to God’s will, so that we can receive, and our joy may be complete. We can gain further insight into this dynamic of asking, receiving, and joy from 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; See Matt 7:7-11). When we ask of God, what we receive specifically is His Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13), and so it is the gift of God to within our souls that brings us this joy. This joy is made complete by God’s self-gift, because it is none other than God Himself that we need to be made complete as human beings. It is the soul’s completion in God that brings the completeness or perfection of joy, and so this joy that is made complete is our joy in God.

As this passage goes on, it says, “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. On that day you will ask in my name, and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you” (John 16:25-26). Jesus prepares the disciples to receive direct knowledge of God, and not by way of analogy or figures of speech. He means to prepare them for the gift of the Spirit that should come (See John 7:37-39), who will make known to them all things of God (See John 16:12-15; 1 Cor 2:10-16). For though Jesus acts as their Advocate now, the Paraclete or Holy Spirit who is to come will be another Advocate (John 14:16-17; John 15:26; John 16:7), who will help us after Jesus departs. It is God’s Spirit who makes intercession for us, as we read in Romans 8: “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. 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” (Rom 8:26-27). And this gift of God’s Spirit is made possible only through the mediation (See 1 Tim 2:5-6) and reconciliation (See 2 Cor 5:16-21) of Jesus.

And as this passage closes, it says, “For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father” (John 16:27-28). These statements are directly related to trinitarian theology, by which we see the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as inseparable as one God. Jesus came into the world to reveal to us the Father (See John 1:18), in the best way that we as humans could understand it, through His Incarnation (See John 1:14). Jesus departed again but left us with His Spirit, so that we should not be orphans (John 14:18), but can follow along spiritually (See Rom 8:14-17) to the place He has prepared for us (See Rom 8:14-17). And all this is done not in the flesh, but spiritually, by faith, as a result of God’s gift, by which we both love and believe in Jesus (See John 16:27). Amen.

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

1. Psalm 40:7-9

^7 [c]Sacrifice and offering you do not want;
    you opened my ears.
Holocaust and sin-offering you do not request;
⁸    so I said, “See; I come
    with an inscribed scroll written upon me.
⁹I delight to do your will, my God;
    your law is in my inner being!”

2. Psalm 47:2-3, 8-10

²All you peoples, clap your hands;
shout to God with joyful cries.
³For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,
the great king over all the earth,

⁸For God is king over all the earth;
    sing hymns of praise.
⁹God rules over the nations;
    God sits upon his holy throne.
¹⁰The princes of the peoples assemble
    with the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God,
    highly exalted.

3. Matthew 7:7-11, 21-23

4. Luke 11:9-13

5. John 1:14-18

¹⁴And 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.’” ¹⁶From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace,^[k] ¹⁷because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God,^[l] who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.

6. John 7:37-39

³⁷On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and exclaimed, “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in me, as scripture says:

‘Rivers of living water^[n] will flow from within him.’”

³⁹He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive. There was, of course, no Spirit yet,^[o] because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

7. John 14:1-31

8. John 15:11-17, 26-27

9. John 16:5-15, 23-28

²³On that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. ²⁴Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

10. John 20:24-29

11. Acts 18:23-28

^23 [i]After staying there some time, he left and traveled in orderly sequence through the Galatian country and Phrygia, bringing strength to all the disciples.

²⁴A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, an eloquent speaker, arrived in Ephesus. He was an authority on the scriptures.^[j] ²⁵He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord and, with ardent spirit, spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John. ²⁶He began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the Way [of God]^[k] more accurately. ²⁷And when he wanted to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. After his arrival he gave great assistance to those who had come to believe through grace. ²⁸He vigorously refuted the Jews in public, establishing from the scriptures that the Messiah is Jesus.

12. Romans 8:14-17, 26-27

13. 1 Corinthians 2

“What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard,
and what has not entered the human heart,
what God has prepared for those who love him,”

¹⁰this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.

¹⁶For “who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to counsel him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

14. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

15. 1 Timothy 2:5-7

⁵For there is one God.
There is also one mediator between God and the human race,
Christ Jesus, himself human,
⁶who gave himself as ransom for all.

This was the testimony^[b] at the proper time. ⁷For this I was appointed preacher and apostle (I am speaking the truth, I am not lying), teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

16. Hebrews 10:1-10

^1 [a]Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come,^[b] and not the very image of them, it can never make perfect those who come to worship by the same sacrifices that they offer continually each year. ²Otherwise, would not the sacrifices have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, once cleansed, would no longer have had any consciousness of sins? ³But in those sacrifices there is only a yearly remembrance of sins, ⁴for it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats take away sins. ⁵For this reason, when he came into the world, he said:

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
⁶holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight in.
⁷Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll,
Behold, I come to do your will, O God.’”

⁸First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts and sin offerings,^[d] you neither desired nor delighted in.” These are offered according to the law. ⁹Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.” He takes away the first to establish the second. ¹⁰By this “will,” we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Sunday 5/21/23

Readings: Acts 1:12-14; Ps 27:1, 4, 7-8; 1 Pt 4:13-16; Jn 17:1-11a

Title: “Glorified”

This passage from John 17 (John 17:1-11a) includes the beginning of Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, and some major themes in this passage include Jesus’s hour, God’s glorification, and the relationship between the disciples and the world. As this passage begins, it says, “When Jesus had said this, he raised his eyes to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, just as you gave him authority over all people, so that he may give eternal life to all you gave him. Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ. I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began” (John 14:1-5).

Jesus describes the hour of His crucifixion, which in John’s Gospel is also the hour of His glorification (See John 13:31-35). In other parts of Scripture, Jesus’ glorification may seem to occur at His resurrection or ascension, but in John’s Gospel, Jesus’ glorification occurs in the hour of His crucifixion, as His resurrection and ascension are implied by His death, and in a way, all these events are collapsed into one in His death on the cross. Jesus explains that His glory is the Father’s glory, and His mission is to give eternal life to all those who belong to God (See John 8:39-47; John 10:16-18, 25-30). Jesus further specifies that “Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ” (John 17:3; See John 20:31). In this way, the eternal life of heaven is a Person, and our knowledge of God is eternal life. To know God is eternal life, and Jesus is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Jesus is the door and the gate (John 10:7, 9; See Matt 7:13-14), as well, and the Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14), who is God and who leads us to God. Jesus’ entire mission is to reveal to us the Father (See John 1:18), so that we may share in Jesus’ sonship as adoptive children of God (See John 1:12-14).

Jesus further elaborates that He glorifies God “by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do” (John 17:4). This is similar to what Jesus says in John 4: “Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:34). Furthermore, this is exactly in line with the concept of love, especially as outlined in Johannine literature, for we know here that love is an action (See 1 John 3:11-18), in a will to do that which is good. As Jesus describes it in John 15: “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. You are my friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:12-14). Obedience to carry the will’s intention into action and works (See James 2:14-26) are crucial to the love of God, which is shown by following the commandments (See John 15:10; 1 John 5:2-5). Jesus’ consubstantiality with the Father is also emphasized here, as Jesus speaks of the glory He had with the Father “before the world began” (John 17:5; See John 1:1-5).

As Jesus continues in this passage, the theme slightly switches to Jesus’ prayer for the disciples: “I revealed your name 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. Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, 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. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them. 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” (John 14:6-11).

Jesus speaks of how He will no longer be in the world, but the disciples will be in the world (John 17:11), and He is glorified in them (John 17:10). We know of the world in this context as the earthly crucible wherein we will find trouble (See John 16:33), because it contains forces working in opposition to the will of God. Jesus does not pray for the world, but for the disciples (John 17:9). This contrast between the world and Jesus’ disciples can help us to understand and contextualize our experience of hardship, suffering, troubles, and trials, as we can see how all of this fits into Jesus’ prayer for us, and His understanding that we should be in the world and yet refrain from evil (See John 17:15). Furthermore, we can gain understanding of the experience of suffering in the world as we see how all of this is encompassed within the larger conceptual framework of Jesus’ own life, death, and resurrection, especially as understood holistically in the hour of His crucifixion, also encompassing His glory.

For as we read in 1 Peter 4 and Romans 8: “But rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice exultantly. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let no one among you be made to suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as an intriguer. But whoever is made to suffer as a Christian should not be ashamed but glorify God because of the name” (1 Pet 4:13-16; See 1 Pet 2:18-25; 1 Pet 3:13-22); and, “The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him” (Rom 8:16-17).

We shall share in Jesus’ glory to the extent that we share in His suffering (See 1 Pet 4:13), and so being in the world but not of the world is how we, too, can share every day in the crucifixion and glorification of Christ. For, to know Christ and God is eternal life (John 17:3; See John 10:31), and we know God experientially, by seeking His will, finding His love, and living His own divine life of grace, in all things and in all ways, through “the Spirit that he gave us” (1 John 3:24; See Rom 5:5; 1 John 4:13). Amen.

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

1. Psalm 27:1, 4, 7-8

¹Of 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?

⁴One 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.

⁷Hear my voice, Lord, when I call;
have mercy on me and answer me.
⁸“Come,” says my heart, “seek his face”;^[c]
your face, Lord, do I seek!

2. Matthew 7:13-14

3. John 1:1-5, 12-18

¹⁴And 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.

4. John 4:27-38

5. John 8:38-47

6. John 10:7-18, 22-30

7. John 13:31-35

8. John 14:6-7

9. John 15:1-17

10. John 16:33

³³I 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 17:1-19

12. John 20:30-31

13. Acts 1:12-14

¹²Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away.

¹³When they entered the city they went to the upper room where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. ¹⁴All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

14. Romans 5:1-5

15. Romans 8:14-17

16. James 2:14-26

17. 1 Peter 2:18-25

²²“He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

18. 1 Peter 3:13-22

19. 1 Peter 4:13-16

¹³But rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice exultantly. ¹⁴If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. ¹⁵But let no one among you be made to suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as an intriguer. ¹⁶But whoever is made to suffer as a Christian should not be ashamed but glorify God because of the name.

20. 1 John 3:11-24

21. 1 John 4:13-21

God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. ¹⁷In 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. ¹⁸There 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. ¹⁹We love because he first loved us. ²⁰If 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. ²¹This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

22. 1 John 5:1-5

Monday 5/22/23

Saint Rita of Cascia

Readings: Acts 19:1-8; Ps 68:2-3ab, 4-5acd, 6-7ab; Jn 16:29-33

Title: “But Take Courage”

This passage from John 16 (John 16:29-33) directly precedes Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer in John 17, and it contains elucidating and encouraging information to help the disciples through the coming change. As this passage begins, it says, “His disciples said, ‘Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech. 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’” (John1 6:29-30). Jesus’ disciples profess to understand all that He is saying to them after the preceding chapters wherein Jesus discusses His hour. They claim that Jesus knows everything and does not need to be questioned, and this, they say, is why they believe He came from God. This is in line with a consistent theme in the Gospels of those around Jesus possessing incomplete understanding, and yet believing that they understand fully. For even though the disciples say they believe Jesus, we can see their lingering doubt and lack of full understanding persist all the way to the end of John’s Gospel, especially as illustrated by the Apostle Thomas’s confession of disbelief and doubt (John 20:24-29; See Luke 24:25-35).

This tendency that was so alive in all of the disciples, especially before the culmination of Jesus’ resurrection, is just as alive in us today, as we are imperfect human beings. To think we understand fully when we do not is a tendency very many of us have, for most of the time, we don’t know what we don’t know. Natural human error is virtually inevitable (See Ps 19:13-15), but there are other things we can do to minimize this tendency, as well. Having a basic attitude of humility and openness (See Phil 2:1-5), rather than arrogance or presumption—as if we already know it all—is a very easy way to tune in our minds and hearts to be receptive to new information, and this attitude also helps us to be mindful of our own limitations and have a general awareness that there is always much more to know. Approaching a situation with a readiness to learn rather than to prove oneself in some way can often make the difference between humility and arrogance, and we could all use reminders to acknowledge our shortcomings, limitations, room for improvement, and areas where we could be learning something new.

As we read in an admonition from St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 8 pertaining to this issue: “…we realize that ‘all of us have knowledge’; knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up. If anyone supposes he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if one loves God, one is known by him” (1 Cor 8:1-3). To think we understand something when we really don’t is natural, but we can still refine our souls with an attitude of openness to learning and humility in order not to be led too far into error as a result of the limits of our understanding.

As this passage goes on, it says, “Jesus answered them, ‘Do you believe now? Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me. 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’” (John 16:31-33). Jesus explains how His hour affects all of them, but that even though the disciples will leave Him, He will not be alone, because the Father is with Him. We can take courage from this statement along with the one to follow, because we are to follow in Jesus’ footsteps (See John 13:15-17; 1 Pet 2:21-25) in His handling of that difficult hour. The Father is with Jesus, and the Father is with us, too, and Jesus came specifically to share God’s deeply felt presence with us, and bring us to His salvation. And as this passage ends, Jesus says directly, “take courage” (John 16:33), for we can conquer all the world’s troubles thorough Him, as we share in His sufferings, and share in His victory (See Rom 8:14-17; 1 Pet 4:13-16; 1 John 5:5). The world’s troubles will always be here in this earthly life, but God’s presence goes even deeper (See Song 8:6-7), and it conquers all of them. Amen.

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

1. Psalm 19:13-15

2. Psalm 68:2-7

^2 [b]May God arise;
    may his enemies be scattered;
    may those who hate him flee before him.
³As the smoke is dispersed, disperse them;
    as wax is melted by fire,
    so may the wicked perish before God.
⁴Then the just will be glad;
    they will rejoice before God;
    they will celebrate with great joy.

⁵Sing to God, praise his name;
    exalt the rider of the clouds.^[c]
Rejoice before him
    whose name is the Lord.
⁶Father of the fatherless, defender of widows—
    God in his holy abode,
⁷God gives a home to the forsaken,
    who leads prisoners out to prosperity,
    while rebels live in the desert.

3. Song of Songs 8:6-7

⁶Set 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.
⁷Deep 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. Luke 24:25-35

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

5. John 13:12-20

¹²So 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? ¹³You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. ¹⁴If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do. ¹⁶Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger^[g] greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it. ¹⁸I 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.’ ¹⁹From now on I am telling you before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe that I AM. ²⁰Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”

6. John 16:29-33

²⁹His disciples said, “Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech. ³⁰Now 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] ³¹Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now? ³²Behold, 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. ³³I 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.”

7. John 20:24-29

8. Acts 19:1-8

^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. ²He 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.” ³He said, “How were you baptized?” They replied, “With the baptism of John.” ⁴Paul 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.” ⁵When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶And when Paul laid [his] hands on them, the holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. ⁷Altogether there were about twelve men.

⁸He entered the synagogue, and for three months debated boldly with persuasive arguments about the kingdom of God.

9. Romans 8:14-17

10. 1 Corinthians 8:1-3

¹Now in regard to meat sacrificed to idols:^[b] we realize that “all of us have knowledge”; knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up. ²If anyone supposes he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. ³But if one loves God, one is known by him.

11. Philippians 2:1-11

¹If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, ²complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. ³Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, ⁴each looking out not for his own interests, but [also] everyone for those of others.

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

12. 1 Peter 2:18-25

²²“He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

13. 1 Peter 4:13-16

14. 1 John 5:1-5

Tuesday 5/23/23

Readings: Acts 20:17-27; Ps 68:10-11, 20-21; Jn 17:1-11a

Title: “This Is Eternal Life”

This passage from John 17 (John 17:1-11a) is the beginning of Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, and so it gives us insight into the great depths and heights of Jesus’ thoughts and motivations. As this passage begins, we see a strong focus on the concept of glory and how this is manifested at Jesus’ hour. We can see how the glorification of God is related to the mutual indwelling (See John 14:6-11; John 17:20-26), for just as Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Jesus, so too, the Father glorifies the Son so that the Son may glorify the Father (John 17:1-5). There is a deep interconnectedness, innate relationality, and natural sharing and exchange of love between the Father and the Son, as shown by their self-gift to each other, their mutual indwelling, and their mutual glorification of one another. God cannot but be glorified as God, and so inherent in their mutual love and self-giving is also their mutual glorification.

Jesus then makes clear that He means to transmit eternal life to all those that the Father gave Him (John 17:2), thus showing that Jesus’ role as the “one mediator” (1 Tim 2:5-6; See 2 Cor 5:16-21) is primarily to do this: mediate and bestow to us eternal life. Jesus goes on to explain more about eternal life, as He says, “Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ” (John 17:3). Heaven is a Person, who is God (See Rev 21:22-27), and to know God is to love God. To know and love God comes from being known and loved by God, as we love Him with the gift of divine love with which He first loved us (See 1 John 4:10, 19). We can read more about this knowledge of God relating to eternal life in 1 John 3: “We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. Whoever does not love remains in death” (1 John 3:14).

When we love with the love that came from God, this shows that we have received God’s love and remain in union with Him (See 1 John 2:1-6). For the only way we can love effectively is by receiving God’s love, and acting as instruments of His Holy Spirit (See 2 Cor 4:7-11; 2 Tim 2:20-26), rather than closing ourselves off to the action of divine grace and refusing or hindering God’s movement within us. To know God is to love God (See 1 Cor 8:1-3), and to love God is also to love our fellow humankind (See 1 John 3:11-24; 1 John 4:7-21). And this is how we know that we remain in God’s Spirit, when we keep the commandments (See 1 John 3:24; 1 John 4:12-13; 1 John 5:2-3) and act in accordance with God’s will, to the best of our knowledge and by our intentions, and work in harmony with God’s truth (See John 8:31-32; John 14:6-7, 15-17; John 15:26; John 16:12-15; 1 John 4:6) within us.

This Spirit is like an eternal fountain or river (See John 3:5-8; John 4:10-15; John 7:37-39; Rev 22:17), or “a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14), and we receive a foretaste of this divine life of God in this life before we possess it in fullness in the next. God is glorified by our works and actions of love (See James 2:14-26; 1 John 3:16-18), and so just as Jesus glorified the Father by accomplishing the work that He gave Jesus to do (John 17:4), so too do we glorify God in imitation of Jesus, by accomplishing good works as outward displays of love. What is alive within is in line with our actions and behavior, so that there is no disparity between our will to love and carrying it out, for God will always work with us to help us to accomplish His holy will (See Matt 6:10; Rom 8:26-28). It is in doing God’s will that Jesus is glorified in us (See John 17:10), and though He is no longer in the world (See John 17:11) in the flesh (See 2 Cor 5:16-21), He is in the world in Spirit, because we are in the world, and He is alive in us. Amen.

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

1. Psalm 68:10-11, 20-21

¹⁰You poured abundant rains, God,
your inheritance was weak and you repaired it.
¹¹Your creatures dwelt in it;
you will establish it in your goodness for the poor, O God.

²⁰Blessed be the Lord day by day,
God, our salvation, who carries us.
Selah
²¹Our God is a God who saves;
escape from death is the Lord God’s.

2. 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. ¹⁵But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.

3. John 3:3-8

4. John 4:7-15

⁷A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” ⁸His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. ^9 [e]The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.) ^10 [f]Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” ¹¹[The woman] said to him, “Sir,^[g] you do not even have a bucket and the well is deep; where then can you get this living water? ¹²Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?” ¹³Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; ¹⁴but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” ¹⁵The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

5. John 7:37-39

³⁷On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and exclaimed, “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in me, as scripture says:

‘Rivers of living water^[n] will flow from within him.’”

³⁹He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive. There was, of course, no Spirit yet,^[o] because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

6. John 8:31-32

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

7. John 14:6-13, 15-17

8. John 15:26-27

9. John 16:12-15

10. John 17:1-11, 20-26

11. Acts 20:17-27

¹⁷From Miletus he had the presbyters of the church at Ephesus summoned. ¹⁸When they came to him, he addressed them, “You know how I lived among you the whole time from the day I first came to the province of Asia. ¹⁹I served the Lord with all humility and with the tears and trials that came to me because of the plots of the Jews, ²⁰and I did not at all shrink from telling you what was for your benefit, or from teaching you in public or in your homes. ²¹I earnestly bore witness for both Jews and Greeks to repentance before God and to faith in our Lord Jesus. ²²But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem. What will happen to me there I do not know, ²³except that in one city after another the holy Spirit has been warning me that imprisonment and hardships await me. ²⁴Yet I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the gospel of God’s grace.

²⁵“But now I know that none of you to whom I preached the kingdom during my travels will ever see my face again. ²⁶And so I solemnly declare to you this day that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you, ²⁷for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God.

12. Romans 8:26-30

^28 [e]We know that all things work for good for those who love God,^[f] who are called according to his purpose. ^29 [g]For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰And those he predestined he also called; and those he called he also justified; and those he justified he also glorified.

10. 1 Corinthians 8:1-3

13. 2 Corinthians 4:7-11

14. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

15. 1 Timothy 2:5-7

⁵For there is one God.
There is also one mediator between God and the human race,
Christ Jesus, himself human,
⁶who gave himself as ransom for all.

This was the testimony^[b] at the proper time. ⁷For this I was appointed preacher and apostle (I am speaking the truth, I am not lying), teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

16. 2 Timothy 2:20-26

17. James 2:14-26

18. 1 John 2:1-6

19. 1 John 3:11-24

20. 1 John 4:6-21

⁶We belong to God, and anyone who knows God listens to us, while anyone who does not belong to God refuses to hear us. This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.

God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. ¹⁷In 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. ¹⁸There 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. ¹⁹We love because he first loved us. ²⁰If 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. ²¹This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

21. 1 John 5:1-5

22. Revelation 21:22-27

23. Revelation 22:17

¹⁷The Spirit and the bride^[k] say, “Come.” Let the hearer say, “Come.” Let the one who thirsts come forward, and the one who wants it receive the gift of life-giving water.

Wednesday 5/24/23

Readings: Acts 20:28-38; Ps 68:29-30, 33-35a, 35b-36ab; Jn 17:11b-19

Title: “Consecrated in Truth”

This passage from John 17 (John 17:11b-19) contains the heart of Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. This middle section of Jesus’ prayer displays a strong focus on Jesus’ oneness with the Father, the relationship between the disciples and the world, and their consecration in truth. As this passage begins, Jesus says, “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are. 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” (John 17:11-12).

Jesus makes clear His intent that God’s people should all be one (John 17:11; See John 10:30; John 17:20-26) with Jesus and the Father. He speaks of the name that the Father gave Jesus, clarifying several instances of Jesus’ use of the LORD’s name (John 8:58; John 18:6-8), as revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:14, “I AM” (Exo 3:14-15). Jesus states that He protected all those whom God gave Him, “except the son of destruction, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled” (John 17:12). Why this one is lost is a mystery to us, but we know that all things ultimately serve to glorify God, whether how this shall be is known to us or not (See Rom 9:11-24; Rom 11:33). Jesus states that He guarded those whom the Father gave Him, and we can see how Jesus acted as the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-18), and will continue to do so for us. The bringing of God’s children into oneness with the triune God is the essence of Jesus’ mission, and to be receptive to being brought into this oneness and union is God’s will for us.

We can read how this is God’s plan for salvation in Ephesians 1: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. 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 have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us the mystery of his will in accord with his favor that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth. 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. In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory” (Eph 1:3-14).

As this passage from John 17 proceeds, it says, “But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely. 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. I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world” (John 17:13-16). Jesus wills for the disciples to share His joy completely (John 17:13; See John 15:11: John 16:22, 24), and so He makes known in the world all the private, secret intentions of His heart, so that they may be fully known to the disciples, and they may therefore share Jesus’ joy fully. Jesus explains how neither He nor His disciples belong to the world (John 17:14-16; See John 15:18-25; John 17:9), and therefore the world hates them.

The world in this sense (John 17:14-16; cf. John 3:16) is that which works contrary to the will of God, as we read in 1 John 3 and James 4: “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, “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). But knowledge of God is gained more fully in the midst of worldly troubles (See John 16:33), alongside what is not of God, and so this earthly crucible of the world both purifies us (See 1 John 3:1-3), and brings us closer to God.

And as Jesus concludes in this passage, “Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth” (John 17:17-19). The truth is God’s ultimate purity and essence of divine love and mercy. The truth sanctifies or consecrates us, as it purifies us from all that is not pure and of God. God’s word is purest truth, and will always help to lead us deeper into God’s heart (See John 8:31-32; John 14:6-7; John 16:13-15). Jesus sends us just as the Father sent Him, and so we can carry on Jesus’ mission in imitation of Him. Jesus consecrates Himself, so that as He shares Himself with us, we may share in His consecration, and all of this is done through the self-emptying act of love and sacrifice on the cross (See Phil 2:7-8). Amen.

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

1. Exodus 3:14-15

¹⁴God replied to Moses: I am who I am.^[h] Then he added: This is what you will tell the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.

¹⁵God spoke further to Moses: This is what you will say to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.

This is my name forever;
this is my title for all generations.

2. Psalm 68:29-30, 33-36

²⁹Summon again, O God, your power,
the divine power you once showed for us,
³⁰From your temple on behalf of Jerusalem,
that kings may bring you tribute.

³³You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
    chant the praises of the Lord,
Selah
³⁴Who rides the heights of the ancient heavens,
    Who sends forth his voice as a mighty voice?
³⁵Confess the power of God,
    whose majesty protects Israel,
    whose power is in the sky.
³⁶Awesome is God in his holy place,
    the God of Israel,
    who gives power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!

3. John 3:16-21

4. John 8:31-32, 56-59

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

⁵⁶Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it^[w] and was glad. ⁵⁷So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?”^[x] ^58 [y]Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.” ⁵⁹So they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.

5. John 10:1-18, 22-30

6. John 14:6-7

7. John 15:11-25

8. John 16:12-24, 33

¹⁶“A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me.” ¹⁷So some of his disciples said to one another, “What does this mean that he is saying to us, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸So they said, “What is this ‘little while’ [of which he speaks]? We do not know what he means.” ¹⁹Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing with one another what I said, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? ²⁰Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. ²¹When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. ²²So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. ²³On that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. ²⁴Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.”

³³I 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.”

9. John 17:6-26

10. John 18:1-11

¹When he had said this, Jesus went out^[b] with his disciples across the Kidron valley to where there was a garden, into which he and his disciples entered. ²Judas his betrayer also knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. ³So Judas got a band of soldiers^[c] and guards from the chief priests and the Pharisees and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. ⁴Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him, went out and said to them, “Whom are you looking for?” ⁵They answered him, “Jesus the Nazorean.”^[d] He said to them, “I AM.” Judas his betrayer was also with them. ⁶When he said to them, “I AM,” they turned away and fell to the ground. ⁷So he again asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” They said, “Jesus the Nazorean.” ⁸Jesus answered, “I told you that I AM. So if you are looking for me, let these men go.” ^9 [e]This was to fulfill what he had said, “I have not lost any of those you gave me.” ¹⁰Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus.^[f] ¹¹Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its scabbard. Shall I not drink the cup^[g] that the Father gave me?”

11. Acts 20:28-38

²⁸Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock of which the holy Spirit has appointed you overseers,^[f] in which you tend the church of God that he acquired with his own blood. ²⁹I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock. ³⁰And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth to draw the disciples away after them. ³¹So be vigilant and remember that for three years, night and day, I unceasingly admonished each of you with tears. ³²And now I commend you to God and to that gracious word of his that can build you up and give you the inheritance among all who are consecrated. ³³I have never wanted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. ³⁴You know well that these very hands have served my needs and my companions. ³⁵In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort we must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

³⁶When he had finished speaking he knelt down and prayed with them all. ³⁷They were all weeping loudly as they threw their arms around Paul and kissed him, ³⁸for they were deeply distressed that he had said that they would never see his face again. Then they escorted him to the ship.

12. Romans 9:11-24

¹¹before they had yet been born or had done anything, good or bad, in order that God’s elective plan might continue, ¹²not by works but by his call—she was told, “The older shall serve the younger.” ¹³As it is written:

“I loved Jacob
but hated Esau.”

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

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

¹⁶So it depends not upon a person’s will or exertion, but upon God, who shows mercy. ¹⁷For 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.” ¹⁸Consequently, 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?” ²⁰But 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?” ²¹Or 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? ²²What if God, wishing to show his wrath and make known his power, has endured with much patience the vessels of wrath made for destruction? ²³This was to make known the riches of his glory to the vessels of mercy, which he has prepared previously for glory, ²⁴namely, us whom he has called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles.

13. Romans 11:30-36

^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?”

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

14. Ephesians 1:3-14

15. Philippians 2:6-11

16. James 4:1-4

17. 1 John 2:15-17

18. 1 John 3:1-3

Thursday 5/25/23

Saint Bede the Venerable; Saint Gregory VII

Readings: Acts 22:30; 23:6-11; Ps 16:1-2a, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11; Jn 17:20-26

Title: “We Are One”

In this passage from John 17 (John 17:20-26), we hear the culmination and end of Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. As it begins, Jesus says, “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 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” (John 17:20-21). This contains one of the clearest expressions of the mutual indwelling (See John 14:6-11), as Jesus explains His oneness with the Father (See John 10:30), as well as displays His intention that we be brought into that oneness also. Jesus not only wants to share His triune oneness with believers, but He furthermore prays that even more will come to believe, and will also be brought into this union. Jesus prays both that they will all be one, and that they will believe that the Father sent Him, because these are both aspects inherent in eternal life. As we read in the beginning of John 17, and John 20: “Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ” (John 17:3); and, “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; See 1 John 1:1-5).

As this passage proceeds, Jesus says, “And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, 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” (John 17:22-23). This is much a reiteration and expansion upon what came before it, as Jesus now relates the ideas of the mutual indwelling and belief to the further related themes of glory, perfection, and love. Jesus says that He has given them the glory the Father gave Him, so that they may be one. God’s presence is likened to His glory, and now the mutual indwelling is not only described as the Father in Jesus and Jesus in the Father, with the disciples in them, but now a nested indwelling is described, with the Father in Jesus and Jesus in the disciples. This oneness of mutual indwelling and the inter-nested presence of God is described in terms of “perfection as one” (John 17:23), thus indicating a certain completion resulting from the gift of God’s glory and presence. This presence of God is described as given by Jesus who is sent, and so it must be understood in terms of a free and unmerited gift, corresponding to God’s grace. Because this presence is related to God’s glory (See Rom 8:28-30), it is indicative of salvation, but the role of belief among the disciples is also a crucial component of this gift, which is necessary for salvation. Jesus speaks of revealing the love of God for both the disciples and Himself, and this is the ultimate revelation of God: His love for the world (See John 3:16) and gift of salvation to us, as we are brought into divine and glorious union with Him.

And as Jesus concludes this prayer, He says, “Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am 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. Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them” (John 17:24-26). Not only is God’s presence a gift to us, but we are the Father’s gift to Jesus, in this mutual self-giving all taking place through God’s grace. Jesus prays for us to see His glory, indicating the beatific vision in heaven. The phrase “I wish that where I am they also may be with me” (John 17:24) is redolent of the phrasing in John 14:3: “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” (John 14:3). Thus, we may perceive how the beginning of John 14 forms a bookending with the end of John 17, indicating a cohesive discourse in between. Jesus describes His preexistence of the foundation of the world (See John 1:1-5) and His role of revealing the Father to the world (See John 1:18), so that through His presence and self-gift, He may be in us, and the love of God in Him may therefore be in us as well. In this way the name, or nature and being, of the Father, is revealed through Christ, as the love through which we exist in eternal life in God. Amen.

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

1. Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-11

¹A miktam^[b] of David.

Keep me safe, O God;
    in you I take refuge.
²I say to the Lord,
    you are my Lord,
    you are my only good.

⁵Lord, my allotted portion and my cup,
you have made my destiny secure.

John 1:1-5,15-18

2. John 3:16-21

3. John 10:22-30

4. John 14:1-14

5. John 17:1-5, 20-26

6. John 20:30-31

7. Acts 22:30; 23:6-11

³⁰The next day, wishing to determine the truth about why he was being accused by the Jews, he freed him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to convene. Then he brought Paul down and made him stand before them.

⁶Paul was aware that some were Sadducees and some Pharisees, so he called out before the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees; [I] am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead.” ⁷When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the group became divided. ⁸For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection or angels or spirits, while the Pharisees acknowledge all three. ⁹A great uproar occurred, and some scribes belonging to the Pharisee party stood up and sharply argued, “We find nothing wrong with this man. Suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” ¹⁰The dispute was so serious that the commander, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, ordered his troops to go down and rescue him from their midst and take him into the compound. ^11 [d]The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage. For just as you have borne witness to my cause in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness in Rome.”

8. Romans 8:28-30

9. 1 John 1:1-5

Friday 5/26/23

Memorial of Saint Philip Neri, Priest

Readings: Acts 25:13b-21; Ps 103:1-2, 11-12, 19-20ab; Jn 21:15-19

Title: “Feed My Sheep”

In this passage from John 21 (John 21:15-19), we see Peter’s threefold confession or admission of love, which contrasts with his threefold denial (Matt 26:69-75; John 13:36-38). As this passage reads in Greek, we know that Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him, using the word agapē the first two times, and phileo the last time. Peter, however, answers all three times with phileo, saying yes, he loves Him. There are several different ways to interpret this. One way is not to recognize a distinction between the two types of love, and to view them as merely synonymous. A second way is to view agapē as divine, as out of reach of Peter’s natural capacity, and so perhaps Peter is grieved (John 21:17) that he is only able to love Jesus with phileo, and not agapē. Another possibility is an exaltation of phileo, as God and humankind are now bonded with the love of brothers, through the Incarnation of Jesus.

Whichever possibility it is, it remains clear that the threefold confession by Peter is offered by Jesus to rectify Peter’s threefold denial, and we can see that perhaps Peter was grieved (John 21:17) that Jesus asked Him a third time, not because of the different word used, but simply because it called to mind his bitter tears (Matt 26:75) over the threefold denial. Either way, the fact remains that Peter does love Jesus, and that Jesus forgives Peter, and asks that he not only “Feed my lambs” (John 21:15), “Tend my sheep” (John 21:16), and “Feed my sheep” (John 21:17)—thus caring for the flock of the Church (See Matt 16:16-20)—but further than that, He says, “Follow me” (John 21:19), thus exalting Peter to the highest state of martyrdom—just like Jesus, just like God.

We can further see an ambiguity in this question by Jesus, “‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’” (John 21:15). It is unclear as to whether Jesus is asking if Peter loves Jesus more than the other disciples love Jesus, or if He is asking if Peter loves Jesus more than he loves the other disciples. Given that Jesus distinguishes between the first and second commandments (Matt 22:36-40), it is expected that Peter would know this too, and so, of course he would follow this order and love Jesus more than his fellow humankind. Thus, Jesus would not need to ask him this. However, in light of Peter’s threefold denial, maybe Jesus needed to drive the point home, and be sure that Peter understood the difference, and so this is what Jesus is asking: does Peter love Jesus more than he loves anyone else?

On the other hand, if Jesus is asking if Peter loves Him more than the other disciples do, this is in line with Peter’s shepherdship over the flock (See Matt 16:18-19; John 21:15-19), as Jesus entrusts the Church to Peter. But on the other hand, it also seems to encourage a certain sort of competition and favoritism, which we know Jesus would rather have discouraged. For He reproached the Zebedee brothers for wanting an exalted position of favor (Matt 20:20-28; See Luke 14:7-14), and in the following verses in John 21 (John 21:20-23), Jesus tells Peter not to worry about what the other disciples are doing, but instead to focus on what he himself ought to do. Either way, however, the point is that Jesus is loved most, and Peter is entrusted with guarding and caring for Jesus’ Church. And we can further see the culmination of this love for God and neighbor in its greatest pinnacle, of the sacrifice of one’s life (John 21:18-19; See John 15:12-14) in the name of God. Amen.

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

1. Psalm 103:1-2, 11-12, 19-20

¹Of David.

Bless the Lord, my soul;
all my being, bless his holy name!
²Bless the Lord, my soul;
and do not forget all his gifts,

¹¹For as the heavens tower over the earth,
so his mercy towers over those who fear him.
¹²As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our sins from us.

¹⁹The Lord has set his throne in heaven;
    his dominion extends over all.
²⁰Bless the Lord, all you his angels,
    mighty in strength, acting at his behest,
    obedient to his command.

2. Matthew 16:13-20

3. Matthew 20:20-28

4. Matthew 22:34-40

5. Matthew 26:69-75

⁶⁹Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. One of the maids came over to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.” ^70 [al]But he denied it in front of everyone, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about!” ⁷¹As he went out to the gate, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazorean.” ⁷²Again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man!” ^73 [am]A little later the bystanders came over and said to Peter, “Surely you too are one of them; even your speech gives you away.” ⁷⁴At that he began to curse and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately a cock crowed. ⁷⁵Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: “Before the cock crows you will deny me three times.” He went out and began to weep bitterly.

6. Luke 14:7-14

7. John 13:36-38

³⁶Simon Peter said to him, “Master, where are you going?” Jesus answered [him], “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, though you will follow later.” ³⁷Peter said to him, “Master, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” ³⁸Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times.”

8. John 15:11-17

9. John 21:15-23

¹⁵When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,^[i] “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”^[j] He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” ¹⁶He then said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” ¹⁷He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” [Jesus] said to him, “Feed my sheep. ^18 [k]Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” ¹⁹He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”

²⁰Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved, the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper and had said, “Master, who is the one who will betray you?” ²¹When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” ²²Jesus said to him, “What if I want him to remain until I come?^[l] What concern is it of yours? You follow me.” ^23 [m]So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die. But Jesus had not told him that he would not die, just “What if I want him to remain until I come? [What concern is it of yours?]”

10. Acts 25:13-21

¹³When a few days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice^[c] arrived in Caesarea on a visit to Festus. ¹⁴Since they spent several days there, Festus referred Paul’s case to the king, saying, “There is a man here left in custody by Felix. ¹⁵When I was in Jerusalem the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him and demanded his condemnation. ¹⁶I answered them that it was not Roman practice to hand over an accused person before he has faced his accusers and had the opportunity to defend himself against their charge. ¹⁷So when [they] came together here, I made no delay; the next day I took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought in. ¹⁸His accusers stood around him, but did not charge him with any of the crimes I suspected. ¹⁹Instead they had some issues with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus who had died but who Paul claimed was alive. ²⁰Since I was at a loss how to investigate this controversy, I asked if he were willing to go to Jerusalem and there stand trial on these charges. ²¹And when Paul appealed that he be held in custody for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.”

Saturday 5/27/23

Saint Augustine of Canterbury

Readings: Acts 28:16-20, 30-31; Ps 11:4, 5, 7; Jn 21:20-25

Title: “What If”

In this passage from John 21 (John 21:20-25), we hear the very end of John’s Gospel, and there are several important details contained within this passage. Directly preceding this passage, we find Peter’s threefold confession of love (John 21:15-19), ending with Jesus’ command to him of “‘Follow me’” (John 21:19). We can see that as Jesus entrusts Peter with leadership over the Church, as shepherd of God’s flock, Jesus also expects Peter to follow Him in the fullness of imitation, unto martyrdom and death. And so, faced with much love and responsibility—combined perhaps with mortal fear—Peter entertains honestly his curiosity about this direction.

Peter sees John, both the author of this Gospel (John 21:30) and “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (See John 21:20), and Peter asks, “‘Lord, what about him?’” (John 21:21). Now, this is a loaded question. This is a very honest inquiry, and it might perhaps be a natural thing to wonder. However, it also evidences some reluctance and hesitation on Peter’s part, perhaps a seeking for an excuse as to why it is not fair that he should have to do this, or conversely, maybe even some sort of reassurance if this is to be John’s fate as well.

Whatever the motivation for this question, be it excuse-seeking, genuine concern for John, or sheer curiosity, it is not the absolute most mature (See Heb 5:11-14) response Peter could have made. For what we would like to see when given a divine command from God is a resolute “yes,” with no further discussion necessary, and with unquestioning obedience founded on unshakable faith. This is what we would want to see from a good soldier, student, child, or person in one’s charge, most notably, ourselves. For where God is the authority, the unquestioning aspect of obedience (See Heb 5:8-9) is our demonstration of trust and pure faith, which is the justice due to God by virtue of His being God. This is uniquely due to God in a way surpassing all other human relationships.

What we see from Peter, however, may look like he is trying to weasel out of this command, or evade its consequences, in a fear of death that is also understandable enough. But we can look to Jesus’ response to Peter’s natural fear to see how He might like us to proceed as disciples set upon following Him. Jesus says, “‘What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours? You follow me’” (John 21:22). Jesus’ path for someone else might be the exact opposite of His path for us, and have literally nothing to do with God’s plan and expectations for us in His will and path for our salvation. Even though we may both be headed to the Kingdom of heaven, the way in which we get there may be so markedly different, that trying to investigate this would leave us with more questions than answers.

And we do know that according to Jesus, there are some things that are not even meant for us to know (See Matt 24:36; See also James 4:13-15). We also know that the depths of another’s heart are also knowable only to God (See 1 Sam 16:7; Jer 17:9-10; Heb 4:12-13), and that God’s ways themselves are inscrutable to us (Rom 11:33-35). If we look to another to follow, instead of to Christ, we may actually be led away from Christ in disobedience to God’s will, even if that other person is actually following God’s will, which is unique for that person. And so, we must listen to Jesus and not to our fellow humankind (See Acts 4:19; Acts 5:29; cf. Eph 5:21), in determining how to proceed in following God, as according to His will (See Matt 7:21-23) and not our own or someone else’s. The difficult path is typically the safest bet (See Matt 7:13-14), and so if we can make ourselves ready for death and martyrdom (See Matt 10:37-39; Matt 16:24-28) for the highest glory of God (See John 21:18-22), then there is nothing that shall remain to deter us or scare us away from being fully receptive to doing God’s will, whatever it may be. Amen.

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

1. 1 Samuel 16:4-7

⁴Samuel did as the Lord had commanded him. When he entered Bethlehem, the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and asked, “Is your visit peaceful, O seer?” ⁵He replied: “Yes! I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. So purify yourselves and celebrate with me today.” He also had Jesse and his sons purify themselves and invited them to the sacrifice. ⁶As they came, he looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the anointed is here before the Lord.” ⁷But the Lord said to Samuel: Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. God does not see as a mortal, who sees the appearance. The Lord looks into the heart.

2. Psalm 11:4-5, 7

⁴The Lord is in his holy temple;
    the Lord’s throne is in heaven.
God’s eyes keep careful watch;
    they test the children of Adam.
⁵The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked,
    hates those who love violence,
⁷The Lord is just and loves just deeds;
    the upright will see his face.

3. Jeremiah 17:5-11

⁵    Thus says the Lord:
Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings,
    who makes flesh his strength,
    whose heart turns away from the Lord.
⁶He is like a barren bush in the wasteland
    that enjoys no change of season,
But stands in lava beds in the wilderness,
    a land, salty and uninhabited.
⁷Blessed are those who trust in the Lord;
    the Lord will be their trust.
⁸They are like a tree planted beside the waters
    that stretches out its roots to the stream:
It does not fear heat when it comes,
    its leaves stay green;
In the year of drought it shows no distress,
    but still produces fruit.
⁹More tortuous than anything is the human heart,
    beyond remedy; who can understand it?
¹⁰I, the Lord, explore the mind
    and test the heart,
Giving to all according to their ways,
    according to the fruit of their deeds.
¹¹A partridge that broods but does not hatch
    are those who acquire wealth unjustly:
In midlife it will desert them;
    in the end they are only fools.

4. Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23

5. Matthew 10:37-39

6. Matthew 16:24-28

7. 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. ³⁸In [those] days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. ³⁹They 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. ⁴¹Two 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. ⁴³Be 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. ⁴⁴So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.

8. John 21:15-25

²⁴It is this disciple who testifies to these things and has written them,^[n] and we know that his testimony is true. ²⁵There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.

9. Acts 4:18-22

¹⁸So they called them back and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹Peter and John, however, said to them in reply, “Whether it is right in the sight of God for us to obey you rather than God, you be the judges. ²⁰It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.” ²¹After threatening them further, they released them, finding no way to punish them, on account of the people who were all praising God for what had happened. ²²For the man on whom this sign of healing had been done was over forty years old.

10. Acts 5:27-32

²⁷When they had brought them in and made them stand before the Sanhedrin, the high priest questioned them, ²⁸“We gave you strict orders [did we not?] to stop teaching in that name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and want to bring this man’s blood upon us.” ²⁹But Peter and the apostles said in reply, “We must obey God rather than men. ^30 [d]The God of our ancestors raised Jesus, though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree. ³¹God exalted him at his right hand^[e] as leader and savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins. ³²We are witnesses of these things, as is the holy Spirit that God has given to those who obey him.”

11. Acts 28:16-20, 30-31

¹⁶When he entered Rome,^[c] Paul was allowed to live by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.

^17 [d]Three days later he called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had gathered he said to them, “My brothers, although I had done nothing against our people or our ancestral customs, I was handed over to the Romans as a prisoner from Jerusalem. ¹⁸After trying my case the Romans wanted to release me, because they found nothing against me deserving the death penalty. ¹⁹But when the Jews objected, I was obliged to appeal to Caesar, even though I had no accusation to make against my own nation. ²⁰This is the reason, then, I have requested to see you and to speak with you, for it is on account of the hope of Israel^[e] that I wear these chains.”

^30 [h]He remained for two full years in his lodgings. He received all who came to him, ³¹and with complete assurance and without hindrance he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.

12. Romans 11:33-35

^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?”

13. Ephesians 5:21-33

³¹“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.”

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

14. Hebrews 4:12-13

¹²Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. ¹³No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

15. Hebrews 5:7-14

⁷In 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. ⁸Son though he was,^[f] he learned obedience from what he suffered; ⁹and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, ¹⁰declared by God high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

16. James 4:13-17

¹³Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town, spend a year there doing business, and make a profit”— ¹⁴you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow.^[h] You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears. ¹⁵Instead you should say, “If the Lord wills it,^[i] we shall live to do this or that.” ¹⁶But now you are boasting in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. ¹⁷So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin.

Sunday 5/28/23

Pentecost Sunday

Readings: Acts 2:1-11; Ps 104:24, 29-30, 31, 34; 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13; Jn 20:19-23

Title: “Receive the Holy Spirit”

As we celebrate Pentecost, we look to the gift of the Holy Spirit, especially as recorded as the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in Acts 2 (Acts 2:1-11). As we take in today’s three readings (Acts 2:1-11; 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23), we can gather several different aspects of this one unifying theme of Pentecost, and the gift of God’s Spirit. In today’s first reading from Acts 2 (Acts 2:1-11), we see a unique ability, as “Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim” (Acts 2:3-4). But we also hear that this ability to proclaim is bestowed for a specific purpose: “yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God” (Acts 2:11). The Apostles do not proclaim just anything with this gift, but they proclaim specifically of the mighty acts of God, to build up the Church and bring in more believers in the act of glorifying God.

This aspect of God’s gift is further reaffirmed in today’s second reading from 1 Corinthians 12 (1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13), and in Ephesians 4: “To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit” (1 Cor 12:7); and, “And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ…. Rather, living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, with the proper functioning of each part, brings about the body’s growth and builds itself up in love” (Eph 4:11-16). There is always a purpose to God’s gifts, and they are all oriented towards strengthening the body of believers, and building up the Church.

A second theme we can gather from today’s second reading from 1 Corinthians 12 (1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13) is the unity entailed by the gift of the Spirit, and the fact of the Spirit’s oneness. There are many spirits, but there is only one Holy Spirit, and all who receive this Spirit are brought into oneness, unity, and harmony with God (See John 17:20-26). This bond of the Spirit (See Eph 4:1-6; Col 3:12-17) establishes us as one body, with Christ as our Head (Eph 4:23; Col 1:18), and so the many of us who all receive this gift of the Spirit do not remain separate, but are necessarily joined as one. When we are brought into divine union with God through the gift of His Spirit, we are necessarily also brought into union with the entire Church, the body of believers and bride of Christ (See Eph 5:21-33). And so, as personal and individual as our faith may be, it is necessarily always expansive and communal as well, because by virtue of our bond of charity (See Col 3:14; See also Eph 4:3) with God through His Spirit, we are also brought into unity with each other, and all who live in union with Christ and God.

And as we read today’s third reading from John 20 (John 20:19-23), we can find one final aspect of the gift of God’s Spirit worth meditating over. We see Jesus say to the disciples, “‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained’” (John 20:21-23). We see here the very important aspect of forgiveness (See Matt 6:14-15; Matt 18:21-35) being associated with the gift of the Spirit, as Jesus hands on the ability to forgive sins with the gift of the Holy Spirit. We can see in this passage (John 20:19-23) how Jesus’ ministry is continued in the mission of the Church (See Matt 28:16-20), specifically through the gift of the Holy Spirit, who leads the Church to all truth (John 16:13-15), and through whom we may be granted forgiveness, as this purpose is also entrusted to the Apostles and the Church.

This forgiveness is truly necessary, not only for eternal salvation, but also to keep and maintain and restore the bonds of charity between the members of the body of believers here on earth. This gift of issuing forgiveness allows God’s mercy to work through the body of believers, to heal breaches, fix cracks, restore us from brokenness, and cleanse sins and wounds, for God does not expect perfection from us (See 1 John 1:5-2:6), but works with us in our humanness to bring us into His own divine completeness, holiness, or perfection (See Matt 5:48; See also Lev 19:2; 1 Pet 1:15-16). We work to establish a lifestyle and community committed to God’s gift of grace and salvation through His Holy Spirit, and through this gift, we endeavor to establish unity and build up God’s holy Church, and never alienate or exclude one another, or break it down (See 2 Cor 13:8-11; See also Matt 18:15-20; 2 Tim 2:23-26; Heb 12:13). Amen.

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

1. Leviticus 19:1-3

¹The Lord said to Moses: ²Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.^[a] ^3 [b]Each of you revere your mother and father, and keep my sabbaths. I, the Lord, am your God.

2. Psalm 104:24, 29-31, 34

²⁴How varied are your works, Lord!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.

^29 [f]When you hide your face, they panic.
    Take away their breath, they perish
    and return to the dust.
³⁰Send forth your spirit, they are created
    and you renew the face of the earth.

³¹May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord be glad in his works!
³⁴May my meditation be pleasing to him;
I will rejoice in the Lord.

3. Matthew 5:43-48

4. Matthew 6:14-15

^14 [k]If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. ¹⁵But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.

5. Matthew 18:15-35

¹⁵“If your brother^[l] sins [against you], go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. ^16 [m]If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ ¹⁷If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church.^[n] If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. ^18 [o]Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. ^19 [p]Again, [amen,] I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. ^20 [q]For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

²¹Then 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. ²³That 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. ²⁵Since 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.’ ²⁷Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. ²⁸When 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.’ ²⁹Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ ³⁰But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt. ³¹Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. ³²His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. ³³Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ ³⁴Then 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.”

6. Matthew 28:16-20

7. John 16:12-15

8. John 17:20-26

9. John 20:19-23

¹⁹On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples^[l] were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.^[m] The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ^21 [n][Jesus] said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” ^22 [o]And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit. ^23 [p]Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

10. Acts 2:1-11

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

⁵Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. ⁶At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? ⁸Then how does each of us hear them in his own native language? ⁹We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, ¹¹both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.” ¹²They were all astounded and bewildered, and said to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³But others said, scoffing, “They have had too much new wine.”

11. 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13

³Therefore, 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.

^4 [c]There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; ⁵there are different forms of service but the same Lord; ⁶there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. ⁷To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.

12. 2 Corinthians 13:5-13

^5 [d]Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless, of course, you fail the test. ⁶I hope you will discover that we have not failed. ⁷But we pray to God that you may not do evil, not that we may appear to have passed the test but that you may do what is right, even though we may seem to have failed. ⁸For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. ⁹For we rejoice when we are weak but you are strong. What we pray for is your improvement.

^10 [e]I am writing this while I am away, so that when I come I may not have to be severe in virtue of the authority that the Lord has given me to build up and not to tear down.

¹¹Finally, brothers, rejoice. Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. ¹²Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the holy ones greet you.

¹³The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the holy Spirit be with all of you.

13. Ephesians 4:1-16

^1 [a]I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, ²with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, ³striving 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; ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

⁷But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸Therefore, it says:

“He ascended^[c] on high and took prisoners captive;
he gave gifts to men.”

14. Ephesians 5:21-33

³¹“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.”

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

15. Colossians 1:15-20

16. Colossians 3:12-17

¹²Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, ¹³bearing 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. ¹⁴And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. ¹⁵And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let 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. ¹⁷And 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.

17. 2 Timothy 2:20-26

18. Hebrews 12:7-13

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

19. 1 Peter 1:13-16

^13 [f]Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind,^[g] live soberly, and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance^[h] ¹⁵but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, ¹⁶for it is written, “Be holy because I [am] holy.”

20. 1 John 1:5-10

21. 1 John 2:1-6

Monday 5/29/23

Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

Readings: Gn 3:9-15, 20 or Acts 1:12-14; Ps 87:1-2, 3, 5, 6-7; Jn 19:25-34

Title: “Standing by the Cross of Jesus”

Mary is our Mother. Mary is the true Mother of us all, just as Jesus is our truest self (See Matt 10:39; Matt 16:24-26; See also Gal 2:19-21; Phil 1:21; Col 3:1-4), and Mary is the Mother of Jesus. And just as we are all brought into communion with the Father by Jesus through the gift of the Holy Spirit in our souls, as we unite our lives to Christ’s sacrifice (See Rom 12:1-2) by grace and in imitation of Him—we are all likewise brought under the Motherhood of Mary as we are brought through Christ in the Holy Spirit into God’s Church. This dynamic of spiritual adoption into God’s family (Rom 8:14-17; Gal 4:1-7; Eph 1:3-14), as we are made co-heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17), is not only a grace-filled mystery, but it is also very logical and reasonable as well. For we are meant to conform our lives with Christ (See Rom 12:1-2; 1 John 2:1-6), to be brought through Him into full communion with God, and Christ is meant to be the firstfruits (1 Cor 15:20-28) among many brethren (Rom 8:29) in the community of brothers and sisters, the body of Christ, the Church.

And just as we are conformed to Christ so that He may be “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6), bringing us to God as adoptive children, so that we may call God, “Abba,” (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6), our Father, so too does Christ invite us into a loving relationship with His Mother, as well. For as we are one with Christ, His Father is our Father—as Christ tells Mary Magdalene, “But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God’” (John 20:17)—and so His Mother shall be our Mother as well. But in case we should need to rely on more than logic or reason to infer this, we can also read in Sacred Scripture how Christ entrusted the beloved disciple to Mary, so that she should be his Mother, and he should be her son. As we read in today’s Gospel reading from John 19 (John 19:25-34), “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home” (John 19:26-27).

One fruitful way to interpret John’s Gospel is by seeing the beloved disciple as representative of Christ’s disciples in general. And so, when we see Jesus’ command to John, “‘Behold, your mother’” (John 19:27), we can see this as Jesus’ instructions more broadly, as applying to all of us, as well. This is a very important relationship, because not only does the disciple act immediately—“And from that hour the disciple took her into his home” (John 17:27)—but this all marks the completion of Jesus’ time on earth, as from His own perspective. For as we read next, it says, “After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I thirst’” (John 19:28). It is His handing over of the beloved disciple to His Mother and His Mother to the beloved disciple that Jesus sees as the culmination of His work during life, as only after this do we read of His handing over the Spirit through death: “When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, ‘It is finished.’ And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit” (John 19:30).

The gift of the Holy Spirit was the high point of Jesus’ self-gift and the sacrifice of His life on the cross. But also preceding this gift and intimately associated with it is His gift of the Church to His Mother, and His Mother to the Church. The Blessed Virgin Mary cannot but be our Mother, for she is the Mother of Christ and we are brothers and sisters of Jesus (See Matt 12:48-50; See also Rom 8:14-17, 29; 1 Cor 15:29-23; Gal 4:1-7; Eph 1:3-14). But that Jesus made sure that He saw this adoption take place through the beloved disciple before He handed over His Spirit and life is also significant. And so, when we think of how important Mary’s Motherhood of the Church is to us, let us first consider how important it was to Christ, and how the response of the beloved disciple transpired: “And from that hour the disciple took her into his home” (John 19:27). Amen.

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

1. Genesis 3:9-15, 20

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

¹⁴Then 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]
¹⁵I 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.

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

2. Psalm 87:1-3, 5-7

¹A psalm of the Korahites. A song.

    His foundation is on holy mountains,
²The Lord loves the gates^[b] of Zion
    more than any dwelling in Jacob.
³Glorious things are said of you,
    O city of God!
Selah

^5 [c]And of Zion it will be said:
    “Each one was born in it.”
The Most High will establish it;
⁶    the Lord notes in the register of the peoples:
    “This one was born there.”
Selah
⁷So singers and dancers:
    “All my springs are in you.”

3. Matthew 10:37-39

4. Matthew 12:46-50

⁴⁶While 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] ⁴⁸But he said in reply to the one who told him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. ⁵⁰For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

5. Matthew 16:24-28

6. John 14:6-7

7. John 19:25-34

^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. ²⁶When Jesus saw his mother^[k] and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” ²⁷Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

²⁸After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled,^[l] Jesus said, “I thirst.” ²⁹There was a vessel filled with common wine.^[m] So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. ^30 [n]When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

³¹Now 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. ³²So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. ³³But 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.

8. John 20:16-18

¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,”^[i] which means Teacher. ¹⁷Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me,^[j] for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” ¹⁸Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and what he told her.

9. Acts 1:12-14

¹²Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away.

10. Romans 8:14-17, 28-30

11. Romans 12:1-2

12. 1 Corinthians 15:20-28

²⁰But 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. ²²For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life, ²³but each one in proper order: Christ the firstfruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ; ²⁴then 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. ²⁵For 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. ²⁸When 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.

13. Galatians 2:19-21

14. Galatians 4:1-7

15. Ephesians 1:3-14

16. Philippians 1:19-26

17. Colossians 3:1-4

18. 1 John 2:1-6

Tuesday 5/30/23

Readings: Sir 35:1-12; Ps 50:5-6, 7-8, 14, 23; Mk 10:28-31

Title: “Last Will Be First”

This passage from Mark’s Gospel (Mark 10:28-31) is very enlightening in what it teaches us, both in terms of how we can place our hope in eternal life realistically, as it entails both rewards a hundredfold (See Matt 13:23) and persecutions in this life (Mark 10:30), and how we can remain humble in the midst of any sort of renunciation for the sake of Jesus and the Kingdom. For as Jesus rather ominously warns, “But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first” (Mark 10:31). For there are always dangers in the spiritual life, no matter how far one advances, and while in the beginning the challenge may be in giving up certain things, or privileges, or vices, as we see in the story of the rich man (Mark 10:17-22) directly preceding this passage from Mark (Mark 10:28-31), even if one does—by God’s help—renounce such things (Mark 10:23-31; See Matt 19:10-12) successfully, this does not by any means imply that one is therefore in the clear.

Rather, the more insidious and deadly danger that is then in store for such a follower of Jesus is that treacherous sin of pride, the very worst sin of all (See Prov 16:18-19; Sir 10:12-18; See also Gen 3:11-13). For this poisonous pride eats away at one’s humility of heart (See Prov 3:34-35; Matt 5:3-12; Matt 18:1-5; Matt 23:1-12; James 4:6-10; 1 Pet 5:5-7), dependance upon God (See John 15:4-6; 1 Cor 3:5-9; 1 Cor 4:7), and unity and equality with humankind, and fools one into thinking that one is better off than one actually is. This sin becomes more tempting at more advanced stages of the spiritual life, because one with very obvious struggles is less likely to be tempted by such pride—it would defy what they can very well see and know to be true of themselves (See John 9:39-41).

We can see this demonstrated in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14). The tax collector knows he is a sinner, and cannot even raise his eyes to God, but only humbly implores His mercy. The self-righteous Pharisee, on the other hand, is blinded by his own lack of vices and abundant good works, and arrogantly falls into the sin of pride. In just the same way, one who lives a very virtuous, holy, virtually sinless, frugal, and virginal life, will have all the more reason and temptation to be fooled into thinking that they are righteous when they are not—for only God is righteous (See Matt 19:17)—or that they are better than their neighbor, or less in need of God’s grace and gift of salvation. This is not a reason to look down on spiritual advancement—as some in foolish and sinful ignorance may do—but rather, it is a reason to advance with caution, and be ever mindful to stay close to the humble roots (See 1 Cor 3:11; Rev 22:16) of knowledge of self—meaning, knowing just how sinful, helpless, and unrighteous we as humankind on its own, without God’s aid, actually are (See John 15:4-6; 1 Cor 3:5-9; 1 Cor 4:7).

Advancing in spiritual life coincides with lowering oneself in spiritual life (See Prov 3:34; Matt 23:12; Luke 18:14; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5-6), and virtue without humility is really only a vulgar exercise of pride and unabashed sin in disguise. The holiest virtue is the best disguise for the worst sin, and the devil knows this just as well as humankind’s own subconscious (See 2 Cor 11:14-15), and so we must be on our guard to protect our souls from every angle, as this sin of pride will never cease its subversive attack. We must be last in our own hearts (See Mark 10:31; See also Matt 20:26-28; Phil 2:1-11) in order to advance in true virtue, because true spiritual development coincides with humility, and we are only ever as mature and virtuous as we are truly lowly, grounded (See 1 Cor 3:11), reliant upon God, at one with our fellows, and humble of heart.

This humility is everything in the spiritual life, and along with discernment, it has been known to be the mother of all virtues; for, without this, no virtue is honest in God’s truth, for we are all but darkness in God’s light (See Ps 36:10). It is God’s gift that we come to the light (See John 3:19-21), and we can find resonance in the words of St. Paul, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective” (1 Cor 15:10). We can follow Christ as disciples on the path of virtue, but the path (See Matt 7:13-14; John 10:7-11; John 14:6-7) and the progress and the Person we receive as our reward (See Isa 40:10; Mal 3:1; Rev 21:22-27; Rev 22:12-13), are all gifts of God. Amen.

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

1. Genesis 3:11-13

¹¹Then God asked: Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat? ¹²The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it.” ¹³The Lord God then asked the woman: What is this you have done? The woman answered, “The snake tricked me, so I ate it.”

2. Psalm 36:10-13

3. Psalm 50:5-8, 14, 23

⁵“Gather my loyal ones to me,
those who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
⁶The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
for God himself is the judge.
Selah

⁷“Listen, my people, I will speak;
    Israel, I will testify against you;
    God, your God, am I.
⁸Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
    your burnt offerings are always before me.
¹⁴Offer praise as your sacrifice to God;
    fulfill your vows to the Most High.

²³Those who offer praise as a sacrifice honor me;
I will let him whose way is steadfast
look upon the salvation of God.”

4. Proverbs 3:34-35

³⁴Those who scoff, he scoffs at,
but the lowly he favors.
³⁵The wise will possess glory,
but fools will bear shame.

5. Proverbs 16:18-19

¹⁸Pride goes before disaster,
and a haughty spirit before a fall.
¹⁹It is better to be humble with the poor
than to share plunder with the proud.

6. Sirach 10:12-18

¹²The beginning of pride is stubbornness
    in withdrawing the heart from one’s Maker.
¹³For sin is a reservoir of insolence,
    a source which runs over with vice;
Because of it God sends unheard-of afflictions
    and strikes people with utter ruin.
¹⁴God overturns the thrones of the proud
    and enthrones the lowly in their place.
¹⁵God plucks up the roots of the proud,
    and plants the lowly in their place.
¹⁶The Lord lays waste the lands of the nations,
    and destroys them to the very foundations of the earth.
¹⁷He removes them from the earth, destroying them,
    erasing their memory from the world.
¹⁸Insolence does not befit mortals,
    nor impudent anger those born of women.

7. Sirach 35:1-12

¹To keep the law is to make many offerings;
²    whoever observes the commandments sacrifices a peace offering.
³By works of charity one offers fine flour,^[b]
⁴    and one who gives alms presents a sacrifice of praise.
⁵To refrain from evil pleases the Lord,
    and to avoid injustice is atonement.

⁶Do not appear before the Lord empty-handed,
⁷    for all that you offer is in fulfillment of the precepts.
⁸The offering of the just enriches the altar:
    a sweet odor before the Most High.
⁹The sacrifice of the just is accepted,
    never to be forgotten.
¹⁰With a generous spirit pay homage to the Lord,
    and do not spare your freewill gifts.
¹¹With each contribution show a cheerful countenance,
    and pay your tithes in a spirit of joy.
¹²Give to the Most High as he has given to you,
    generously, according to your means.

8. Isaiah 40:10-11

¹⁰Here comes with power
    the Lord God,
    who rules by his strong arm;
Here is his reward with him,
    his recompense before him.
¹¹Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
    in his arms he gathers the lambs,
Carrying them in his bosom,
    leading the ewes with care.

9. Malachi 3:1-5

¹Now 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.
²But 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.
³He 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.
⁴Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem
    will please the Lord,
    as in ancient days, as in years gone by.
⁵I 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.

10. Matthew 5:3-12

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.
⁶Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,^[g]
    for they will be satisfied.
⁷Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
^8 [h]Blessed are the clean of heart,
    for they will see God.
⁹Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,^[i]
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. ^12 [j]Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

11. Matthew 7:13-14

12. Matthew 13:18-23

13. Matthew 18:1-5

¹At that time the disciples^[b] approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ²He called a child over, placed it in their midst, ³and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,^[c] you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ^5 [d]And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

14. Matthew 19:9-12, 16-17

⁹I say to you,^[g] whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery.” ¹⁰[His] disciples said to him, “If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” ¹¹He answered, “Not all can accept [this] word,^[h] but only those to whom that is granted. ¹²Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage^[i] for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it.”

15. Matthew 20:20-28

16. Matthew 23:1-12

¹Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, ^2 [b]saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. ³Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. ⁴They tie up heavy burdens^[c] [hard to carry] and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. ^5 [d]All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. ^6 [e]They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, ⁷greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’ ^8 [f]As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. ¹⁰Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Messiah. ¹¹The greatest among you must be your servant. ¹²Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

17. Luke 18:9-14

18. Mark 10:17-31

¹⁷As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good?^[c] No one is good but God alone. ¹⁹You know the commandments: ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.’” ²⁰He replied and said to him, “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.” ²¹Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” ²²At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

^23 [d]Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴The disciples were amazed at his words. So Jesus again said to them in reply, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵It 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.” ²⁶They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.” ²⁸Peter began to say to him, “We have given up everything and followed you.” ²⁹Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel ³⁰who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come. ³¹But many that are first will be last, and [the] last will be first.”

19. John 3:16-21

20. John 9:35-41

³⁵When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” ³⁶He answered and said, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” ³⁷Jesus said to him, “You have seen him and the one speaking with you is he.” ³⁸He said, “I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him. ^39 [h]Then Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.”

⁴⁰Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?” ⁴¹Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.

21. John 10:7-11

22. John 14:6-7

23. John 15:1-10

24. 1 Corinthians 3:5-17

^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, ¹¹for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ. ¹²If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, ¹³the 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. ¹⁴If the work stands that someone built upon the foundation, that person will receive a wage. ¹⁵But if someone’s work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved,^[h] but only as through fire. ¹⁶Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? ¹⁷If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.

25. 1 Corinthians 4:5-8

26. 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

¹Now I am reminding you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. ²Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. ^3 [c]For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures; ⁴that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures; ⁵that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. ⁶After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷After that he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. ⁸Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me. ⁹For I am the least^[d] of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God [that is] with me. ¹¹Therefore, whether it be I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

27. 2 Corinthians 11:12-15

¹²And what I do I will continue to do, in order to end this pretext of those who seek a pretext for being regarded as we are in the mission of which they boast. ^13 [j]For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, who masquerade as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light. ¹⁵So it is not strange that his ministers also masquerade as ministers of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

28. Philippians 2:1-11

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

29. James 4:6-10

⁶But he bestows a greater grace; therefore, it says:

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

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

30. 1 Peter 5:5-7

⁵Likewise, you younger members,^[e] be subject to the presbyters. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for:

“God opposes the proud
but bestows favor on the humble.”

⁶So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. ⁷Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.

31. Revelation 21:22-27

32. Revelation 22:12-13, 16

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

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.”

Wednesday 5/31/23

Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Readings: Zep 3:14-18a or Rom 12:9-16; Isaiah 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6; Lk 1:39-56

Title: “My Soul Proclaims”

As we celebrate today the Visitation of Mary, we can read several important things in today’s Gospel reading from Luke (Luke 1:39-56). The first has to do with the mission of the Christian upon receiving the word of God. For what we observe in Mary can be seen as symbolic of the universal Church, and so all of the actions of the faithful are, in a way, patterned upon Mary. We read that Mary set out and travelled “in haste” (Luke 1:39), which lets us know that she perceives the importance of the angel Gabriel’s news to her, and she wishes to share this immediately in her earnestness and excitement. We can see also how this haste is both evocative of the words of the bride in the Song of Songs (Song 8:14; See also Ps 70:1), and additionally, how it is reflected in the response to the call of the first disciples (Matt 4:18-22), as they all “at once” (Matt 4:20), and “immediately” (Matt 4:22), follow Jesus.

We can further see the Church’s mission as a whole symbolized by Mary’s actions here, for as Elizabeth hears her greeting, “the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice…” (Luke 1:41-42). Mary carries with her the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit fills those she encounters in order to be able to prophetically proclaim (See Luke 1:46). The Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary (Luke 1:35) so that she should conceive God’s Word as flesh, and the Holy Spirit likewise filled those whom Mary greeted, so that they could bear that seed of God’s word inside them as well (See Rom 10:14-17).

For as we hear from Jesus in Matthew 13: “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” (Matt 13:23). And as we also know of the fruitfulness of God’s word from Isaiah 55: “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, 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” (Isa 55:10-11).

Mary received the good Word and immediately set out to spread the good news of the gospel, and we see in her encounter with Elizabeth an example of the fruitfulness that ensues upon hearing God’s truth. For we also read in Isaiah 52: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the one bringing good news, Announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation, saying to Zion, ‘Your God is King!’” (Isa 52:7; See Rom 10:14-17). Mary is our daughter Zion (Isa 52:2), who receives the Annunciation from the angel Gabriel, and who then cries out God’s word not only prophetically, but in the flesh. And as Elizabeth hears, her response calls to mind the activity of the prophets, as she “cried out in a loud voice” (Luke 1:42), which evokes the language used in describing the prophets, as they, too, cried out (See Isa 40:3-8; John 1:19-23).

And as we look at the specific details of what Elizabeth then said, we can see themes of fruitfulness, the joyful effect of hearing God’s word, blessedness, and belief. Elizabeth praises Mary for believing “that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled” (Luke 1:45), and we can see all that Elizabeth says about Mary take place in a mysterious, reflective way for Elizabeth as well. And once again we see the immediacy of God’s good news highlighted, as Elizabeth says, “For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy” (Luke 1:44). This lets us know that God’s action of grace has very real and imminent effects upon the hearts and lives of believers, and this blessedness and joy are the result of not only hearing the Lord, but believing as well.

We can see in the recounting of Mary’s Visitation how when the Spirit is poured out upon us (See Joel 3; Acts 2:16-21; Rom 5:5), sometimes when it rains, it pours, and in an overflowing cascade of divine grace like a waterfall, all things just line up in perfect harmony, in melodious synchrony with the divine will of the Lord. And just as Mary spoke and said, “‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word’” (Luke 1:38), this response of faith and holy fiat is how we, too, can invite the action and harmony of God’s divine grace into our lives as well. Amen.

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

1. Psalm 70

¹For the leader; of David. For remembrance.

²Graciously rescue me, God!
    Come quickly to help me, Lord!
³Let those who seek my life
    be confused and put to shame.
Let those who desire my ruin
    turn back in disgrace.
⁴Let those who say “Aha!”
    turn back in their shame.
⁵But may all who seek you
    rejoice and be glad in you,
Those who long for your help
    always say, “God be glorified!”
⁶I am miserable and poor.
    God, come to me quickly!
You are my help and deliverer.
    Lord, do not delay!

2. Song of Songs 8:13-14

¹³M You who dwell in the gardens,^[h]
    my companions are listening for your voice—
    let me hear it!
¹⁴W Swiftly, my lover,
    be like a gazelle or a young stag
    upon the mountains of spices.

3. Isaiah 12:2-6

²God indeed is my salvation;
    I am confident and unafraid.
For the Lord is my strength and my might,
    and he has been my salvation.
³With joy you will draw water
    from the fountains of salvation,
⁴And you will say on that day:
    give thanks to the Lord, acclaim his name;
Among the nations make known his deeds,
    proclaim how exalted is his name.
⁵Sing praise to the Lord for he has done glorious things;
    let this be known throughout all the earth.
⁶Shout with exultation, City of Zion,
    for great in your midst
    is the Holy One of Israel!

4. Isaiah 40:3-8

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

A voice says, “Proclaim!”
    I answer, “What shall I proclaim?”
“All flesh is grass,
    and all their loyalty like the flower of the field.
⁷The 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.”

5. Isaiah 52:1-7

¹Awake, awake!
    Put on your strength, Zion;
Put on your glorious garments,
    Jerusalem, holy city.
Never again shall the uncircumcised
    or the unclean enter you.
²Arise, shake off the dust,
    sit enthroned, Jerusalem;
Loose the bonds from your neck,
    captive daughter Zion!
³    For thus says the Lord:
For nothing you were sold,
    without money you shall be redeemed.

⁴    For thus says the Lord God:
To Egypt long ago my people went down,
    to sojourn there;
    Assyria, too, oppressed them for nought.
⁵But now, what am I to do here?
    —oracle of the Lord.
My people have been taken away for nothing;
    their rulers mock, oracle of the Lord;
    constantly, every day, my name is reviled.
⁶Therefore my people shall know my name
    on that day, that it is I who speaks: Here I am!

⁷How beautiful upon the mountains^[a]
    are the feet of the one bringing good news,
Announcing peace, bearing good news,
    announcing salvation, saying to Zion,
    “Your God is King!”

6. 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,
¹¹So 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.

7. Joel 3

^1 [a]It shall come to pass
    I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your old men will dream dreams,
    your young men will see visions.
²Even upon your male and female servants,
    in those days, I will pour out my spirit.
³I will set signs in the heavens and on the earth,
    blood, fire, and columns of smoke;
⁴The sun will darken,
    the moon turn blood-red,
Before the day of the Lord arrives,
    that great and terrible day.
⁵Then everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord
    will escape harm.
For on Mount Zion there will be a remnant,
    as the Lord has said,
And in Jerusalem survivors
    whom the Lord will summon.

8. Zephaniah 3:14-18

¹⁴Shout for joy, daughter Zion!
    sing joyfully, Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
    daughter Jerusalem!
¹⁵The 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!
¹⁷The 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.

9. Matthew 4:18-22

¹⁸As 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. ¹⁹He 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. ²¹He 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, ²²and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.

10. Matthew 13:8-23

11. Luke 1:26-56

²⁶In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, ²⁷to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” ²⁹But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. ³²He 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, ³³and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” ³⁴But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”^[l] ³⁵And 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. ³⁶And 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; ³⁷for nothing will be impossible for God.” ³⁸Mary 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.

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

⁴⁶And Mary said:

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

⁵⁶Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

12. John 1:19-23

^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.” ²¹So they asked him, “What are you then? Are you Elijah?”^[p] And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” ²²So 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?” ²³He said:

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

as Isaiah the prophet said.”

13. Acts 2:14-21

^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. ¹⁵These people are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. ¹⁶No, 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.
¹⁸Indeed, upon my servants and my handmaids
    I will pour out a portion of my spirit in those days,
        and they shall prophesy.
¹⁹And I will work wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below:
        blood, fire, and a cloud of smoke.
²⁰The sun shall be turned to darkness,
    and the moon to blood,
        before the coming of the great and splendid day of the Lord,
²¹and it shall be that everyone shall be saved who calls on the name of the Lord.’

14. Romans 5:1-5

15. Romans 10:14-17

^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? ¹⁵And 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] ¹⁶But not everyone has heeded the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what was heard from us?” ¹⁷Thus faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.

16. Romans 12:9-16

⁹Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; ¹⁰love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. ¹¹Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. ¹²Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. ¹³Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality. ^14 [f]Bless those who persecute [you], bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶Have the same regard for one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly; do not be wise in your own estimation.