All

The podcast can be found here.

A sports article that came out yesterday began, “First things first, you should try to sack Tom Brady if you can. Brady is very good at throwing the ball — perhaps the best ever — when he’s standing up. But curiously, he’s less good when he’s prostrate on the ground.” I never have been a big sports fan, that’s why you don’t hear too many sports analogies during the sermon—I wouldn’t really know what I was talking about. In addition, I haven’t seen a football game in at least four years if not more, but when I read the opening paragraph of that article, even I knew the proper response, “Well, duh!”

Let’s compare two different individuals. The first is Tom Brady (for those like me, he’ll be playing in the Super Bowl later today). This, however, will not be Tom’s first Super Bowl, it will be his eighth and he’s already the proud owner of five Super Bowl rings. The big question: will he lead the Dallas Cowboys to another… I know he doesn’t play for the Cowboys, just seeing if you’re paying attention—It’s the Steelers. Right? The big question: will he get that sixth Super Bowl ring today? Whether you like him or not, his accomplishments are impressive, but what does he think about them?

Go back in his career to February 2005. He had just won his third Super Bowl ring playing against the Seattle Seahawks. All the hoopla was still going on around him and the win, when Brady sat down for an interview. Here is a portion of that interview:

INTERVIEWER: This whole experience – this whole upward trajectory – what have you learned about yourself? What kind of an effect does it have on you?
TOM BRADY: I mean, there’s a lot of pressure. A lot of times I think I get very frustrated and introverted, and there’s times where I’m not the person that I want to be. Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there’s something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, “Hey man, this is what it is. I’ve reached my goal, my dream, my life.” Me? I think, “God, it’s gotta be more than this.”
INTERVIEWER: What’s the answer?
TOM BRADY: I wish I knew. I wish I knew.

I know nothing about Tom Brady and perhaps his views have changed, so I’m not going to judge him based on those comments, but the comments alone are truly sad. For someone to have accomplished so much, yet not think it is enough. Again, I don’t know about Tom Brady, but I know myself. I’ve shared parts of this before, but I remember sitting in my office in Dallas before I moved to Montana and thinking something close to the same thing. I was young, I had a good job with growth potential, the money wasn’t bad, but… “God, it’s gotta be more than this.” It wasn’t about the lack of success, it was about the lack of purpose. It was a nagging question about what kind of a difference I was making in the world. The answer for me was: not much. As an aside, it is a question that churches should ask themselves on a regular basis: if St. Matthew’s was to suddenly disappear over night, would the community miss us? Would they even notice? I believe the answer is a resounding, “Yes!,” but we have to keep asking, just in case we become complacent or lose our way. Bottom line: no matter the perceived success of the endeavor, unless it serves a purpose, if nothing else, it is not fulfilling.

Now, let’s consider our second individual. Many know the story of Corrie ten Boom. During World War II, she was arrested and placed in a concentration camp for harboring Jews. She survived those days, but that was not the end of her work. Following the war, she travelled the world telling her story and sharing her faith.

On one trip, she was smuggled into Lithuania when it was still a part of the former USSR. She was then taken to a small apartment where she was introduced to an elderly couple. The husband was the only caregiver for his wife who had advanced multiple sclerosis. The disease had progressed so far, that the woman was only able to move her eyes and her right hand. Upon meeting her, Corrie went over and kissed the index finger of the woman’s right hand. Why?

Every day, the husband would help his wife get up and get dressed and then fix them a small breakfast. He would then take her to a couch, prop her up, and roll an old manual type writer within reach of that one good hand. Hidden in a cupboard was the yellow paper and after feeding it into the typewriter for his wife, she would begin – with the index finger on her right hand – to type, one letter at a time. All day, she would pray and she would type. What was so important? During this time in Lithuania, the distribution of Bibles was illegal and there were no copies available in Russian or the Lithuanian language. The woman, one letter at a time, was translating a version the Bible for her people in their own language.

Corrie understood the tremendous contribution that the woman was making, but she was still drawn to tears by the suffering the woman endured. The husband sensing this, said to Corrie, “God has a purpose in her sickness. Every other Christian in the city is watched by the secret police. But because she has been sick so long, no one ever looks in on her. They leave us alone, and she is the only person in all the city who can type quietly, undetected by the police.”

Some under the same conditions might—and I couldn’t blame them!—say, “God, it’s gotta be more than this,” but this woman saw through her circumstances and her condition and found true purpose, and she fulfilled that purpose one letter stroke at a time.

“After Jesus and his disciples left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.” I suppose you could read that and say that this only proves that Jesus and the disciples were a bunch of lazy misogynist. We could look at her as Corrie ten Boom looked at the woman with multiple sclerosis with despair. We could put words in the mother-in-laws mouth, “God, it’s gotta be more than this,” but I do not believe her actions would have been preserved in Holy Scripture if that is what it was all about. Instead, I think she began to serve them in thanksgiving for what God had done for her by restoring her to health. She did not base the fulfillment of her life on her accomplishments or status, she base it on a purpose that found its completion in God.

Jesus too had purpose. He healed the sick and cast out the demons. That night, the entire city was gathered outside the doors of the house; however, very early in the morning, before anyone woke up, he slipped off to a quiet place. When everyone began moving about, they started looking for him. They wanted more miracles, more healings, more exorcisms. When the disciples found him they said, “Everyone is looking for you, so that you can get back to the healings, miracles, and exorcisms,” but Jesus answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.”

His fame was beginning to spread far and wide. He could have set up shop right there and they would have come from… all over the world! to have him perform his miracles, healings, and exorcisms. I would wager that if he had, the devil would have left him alone and he would have lived a very long life, but… that was not his purpose. “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what my purpose is.” It is not about the Super Bowl, the fame, the whatever, it is about the purpose that finds its completion in God alone.

My friend St. Josemaría Escrivá writes, “Faced by all those men without faith, without hope; by minds desperately near the borders of anguish, seeking for a meaning in their life, you found your purpose: Him! This discovery will permanently inject a new happiness into your existence, it will transform you, and present you with an immense daily hoard of beautiful things of which you were unaware, and which show you the joyful expanse of that broad path that leads you to God.”

Each of us has a purpose in God. Sometimes that purpose is to preach the Gospel and sometimes it is to translate it one letter at a time. But for others, that purpose in God is to teach school, raise children, be a good father; and still for others it is to smile at a stranger, touch the untouchable, be present to the lonely. Seek that purpose God has for your life, and when you have found it, serve Him with a holy joy, knowing that it is for this that you were created.

Let us pray: O Christ Jesus, when all is darkness and we feel our weakness and helplessness, give us the sense of Your presence, Your love, and Your strength. Help us to have perfect trust in Your protecting love and strengthening power, so that nothing may frighten or worry us, for in living close to You, we shall see Your hand, Your purpose, and Your will through all things. Amen.

The podcast can be found here.

St. Bride/Brigid by John Duncan (1913)

If your dad owns a jewel encrusted sword worth a great deal of money, what would you do with it if you could lay your hands on it? Lock it up in a vault? Donate it to a museum? Insure if for everything its worth and hang it over the fireplace, secretly hoping someone steals the gaudy thing so you can get the cash? All sorts of options, but if you’re saint, you give it to a beggar so that he can trade it for food for his family.

Brigid had been living with her mother who was a slave in Ireland, but at the age of ten, she was sent away to live with her father. Once there, she started giving away all his possessions to the poor. He became so tired of the practice that he took her to the king to be sold and it was while there that she came across his jewel encrusted sword and gave it away. Dad turned to the king and basically said, “See! This is exactly what I was talking about!” But the king, also a Christian, said to Brigid’s father, “Her merit before God is greater than ours,” and convinced the father to allow Brigid to return to her mother.

Later her mother would be freed and then pledged Brigid to be married, but Brigid desired to remain chaste and serve the Lord, so she prayed that her beauty would be taken from her to make her less desirable. Her prayer was answered, but her beauty was restored once she made her final vows as religious. Who was it that heard her final vows? None other than St. Patrick; however, something curious occurred during the ceremony that was pointed out to Patrick following the service. An attendant informed Patrick that he had used the prayers for making a priest and not a religious, to which Patrick is reported to have responded, “So be it, my son, she is destined for great things.” Brigid and Patrick would go on to become the greatest of friends. Of this friendship, one early biographer wrote, “Between St. Patrick and Brigid, the pillars of the Irish people, there was so great a friendship of charity that they had but one heart and one mind. Through him and through her Christ performed many great works.”

She died of natural causes on February 1st in 525 a.d. and was buried at Kildare Cathedral, likely horrified that her tomb was “adorned with gems and precious stones and crowns of gold and silver.”

St. Brigid is one who did not worry about the things of this world, in fact she gave them all away. Perhaps God does not call us all to give away every possession, but he does call us each to care for the widows and orphans and the poor in our midst. To learn what this means and how to accomplish it, we need only look to St. Brigid as a teacher.

The Saint Brigid Hearth Keeper prayer is written to her. I close with it.

Let us pray:
Brigid of the Mantle, encompass us,
Lady of the Lambs, protect us,
Keeper of the Hearth, kindle us.
Beneath your mantle, gather us,
And restore us to memory.
Mothers of our mother, Foremothers strong.
Guide our hands in yours,
Remind us how to kindle the hearth.
To keep it bright, to preserve the flame.
Your hands upon ours, Our hands within yours,
To kindle the light, Both day and night.
The Mantle of Brigid about us,
The Memory of Brigid within us,
The Protection of Brigid keeping us
From harm, from ignorance, from heartlessness.
This day and night,
From dawn till dark, From dark till dawn.
Amen.

The podcast can be found here.

Singing hymns with Rev. Garland Ray Hall of St. Stephen’s AME Church.  The sermon is a bit short, as there were seven preachers that night.

On December 5, 1955 at the Holt Street Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama a gathering of the Montgomery Improvement Association was held. There were so many folks in attendance that the church would not hold them all and several hundred were out on the lawn. They brought in speakers and wired them up so that all in attendance could hear. One who was in attendance was Mrs. Rosa Louise Parks, who had been arrested just four days prior for having the audacity to sit in the wrong seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus.

At the meeting, Dr. King was the keynote speaker. He began: “My friends, we are certainly very happy to see each of you out this evening. We are here this evening for serious business. We are here in a general sense because first and foremost we are American citizens, and we are determined to apply our citizenship to the fullness of its meaning.”

Dr. King later confessed that he normally spent about fifteen hours writing his sermons, but with all the events surrounding those days he only had 20 minutes to prepare what he classified as “the most decisive speech of my life.” He spent the first five minutes worrying and then wisely turned to prayer for guidance. According to Mrs. Parks, Dr. King’s prayer was answered.

Mrs. Parks writes, “As he concluded [that sermon], he said the words that I will never forget, the prophetic words that, for me, still define the character of our nonviolent freedom movement: ‘When the history books are written in the future, somebody will have to say, ‘There lived a race of people, a black people, fleecy locks and black complexion, a people who had the moral courage to stand up for their rights. And thereby they injected a new meaning into the veins of history and of civilization.’’”

Following that day Mrs. Parks said, “As the weeks and months wore on, it became clear to me that we had found our Moses, and he would surely lead us to the promised land of liberty and justice for all.”

Fifty years ago this the year, Dr. King was assassinated, but he is still leading this great movement. My prayer is that we will soon reach that promised land of liberty and justice for all so that Dr. King and all the others will be able to rest their weary legs from such a long and arduous march. A march that has taken far too long, but one, through our gathering tonight, has drawn one more step closer to it’s glorious conclusion.

Let us pray: Almighty God, by the hand of Moses your servant you led your people out of slavery, and made them free at last: Grant that your Church, following the example of your prophet Martin Luther King, may resist oppression in the name of your love, and may secure for all your children the blessed liberty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The podcast can be found here.

A writer tells of watching a wildcat in a zoo. The cat, he says, weighed several hundred pounds. He writes, “As I stood there an attendant entered the cage through a door on the opposite side. He had nothing in his hands but a broom. Carefully closing the door, he proceeded to sweep the floor of the cage.” The writer observed that the worker had no weapon to ward off an attack by the beast. In fact, when he got to the corner of the cage where the wildcat was lying, he poked the animal with the broom. The wildcat hissed at him and then lay down in another corner of the enclosure. Curious the writer remarked to the attendant, “You certainly are a brave man.” “No, I ain’t brave,” he replied as he continued to sweep. “Well, then that cat must be tame.” “No,” came the reply, “he ain’t tame.” “If you aren’t brave and the wildcat isn’t tame, then I can’t understand why he doesn’t attack you.” The attendant then replied with an air of confidence, “Mister, he’s old–and he ain’t got no teeth.”

Jesus taught with authority and when the demon possessed man came into his presence, the demon within him cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” The people were amazed and said, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”

To speak with authority: we hear this and can take it to mean several different things. A parent is one who speaks with authority to a child, as is a police officer speaking in the line of duty. Based on the position they hold, they have authority. In addition, an expert in a particular field is one who has authority in that field. Yet, in the time of Jesus, when the religious leaders would speak, they would not claim the authority to speak in their own words, instead they would preface their comments with something along the lines of, “Moses said…” or perhaps a respected leader, “Rabbi So and So said…” I do this a lot when I preach, “St. Paul said…,” “St. Josemaría Escrivá said…,” “The Bishop said…!” When I preach, I try to faithfully convey and interpret the words of Holy Scripture and the Church, but I certainly don’t make it up as I go. Therefore, to speak with “authority” is to not preface your words, but to speak on your own authority. However, even though the people claimed that Jesus was speaking on his own authority, we know that even he did not presume to do this.

From our reading in Deuteronomy: “Moses said: The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet.” Of that prophet, the Lord said, “I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command.” We know that God raised up many prophets along the way, but he finally raised up his one and only Son who fulfilled this prophecy of Moses. In Jesus, we have the one who spoke everything that the Father commanded. As Jesus says in John’s Gospel, “I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak.” Yet, his words did not come without proof as to his authority. Remember the man that was born blind: the religions leaders called him and questioned him, but did not believe his answers. The man said to them, “We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind.  If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” If Jesus could “do nothing,” then it stands to reason that he had no authority, but he performed many miracles and we know that not even death could hold him.

Back to Gospel reading for today: it began, “Jesus and his disciples went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” He didn’t teach them by saying, “Moses said,” instead he taught them with the authority of the Father. And so what was this message that Jesus taught with authority? We heard it last week: “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’”

Repent. Turn from evil and turn to God, and if necessary, rinse and repeat. Right? And then, “believe in the good news.” And what is this Good News?

D.L. Moody is one of the great preachers of the 19th century. He had a way of turning hearts to God and in one sermon he imagined a conversation Jesus had with his disciples following the Resurrection:

“I can imagine that when Christ said to the little band around Him, ‘Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel,’” Peter said, “‘Lord, do You really mean that we are to go back to Jerusalem and preach the Gospel to those men that murdered You?’”

“Yes,” said Christ, “go and hunt up that man that spat in My face; tell him that he may have a seat in My Kingdom yet. Yes, Peter, go find that man that made that cruel crown of thorns and placed it on My brow, and tell him I will have a crown ready for him when he comes into My Kingdom, and there will be no thorns in it. Hunt up that man that took a reed and brought it down over the cruel thorns, driving them into My brow. And tell him I will put a scepter in his hand, and he shall rule over the nations of the earth, if he will accept salvation. Search for the man that drove the spear into My side, and tell him there is a nearer way to My heart than that. Tell him I forgive him freely, and that he can be saved if he will accept salvation as a gift.”

What is the Good News? God the Father said to Jesus, “Go. Tell them that I forgive them freely and that they can be saved if they will accept the gift of salvation. Go. Tell them that there is no need to fear the devil or his antics. Why? Because he ain’t got no teeth. You have conquered him once and for all.”

Just as the act of repentance – turning from evil and turning to God – is something that must be repeated; we also need to often be reminded of this message of Good News. We can become lost, not in sin, but in life. We can become caught up in the chaos around us and end up feeling empty inside. We can work so hard simply to survive, that we lose sight of who He is and in the process we forget this message of Good News. A message that should permeate every aspect of our lives with a holy joy. Joy incarnate that cannot be taken from us, for as the Apostle Paul wrote in his epistle to the Romans, “I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The one who has authority over death and life has established—in his blood—a covenant with you. This covenant is the Good News and this covenant declares your freedom. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” “Great are the deeds of the Lord!”

Let us pray: Loving Father, faith in Your Word is the way to wisdom. Help us to think about Your Divine Plan that we may grow in the truth. Open our eyes to Your deeds, our ears to the sound of Your call, so that our every act may help us share in the life of Jesus. Give us the grace to live the example of the love of Jesus, which we celebrate in the Eucharist and see in the Gospel. Form in us the likeness of Your Son and deepen His Life within us. Amen.

The podcast can be found here.

A young man named John received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the bird’s mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity.

John tried and tried to change the bird’s attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could think of to “clean up” the bird’s vocabulary.

Finally, John was fed up and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. John shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even ruder.
John, in desperation, threw up his hands, grabbed the bird and put him in the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed. Then suddenly there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard for over a minute. Fearing that he’d hurt the parrot, John quickly opened the door to the freezer.

The parrot calmly stepped out onto John’s outstretched arms and said “I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I’m sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior.”

John was stunned at the change in the bird’s attitude. As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird continued, “May I ask what the turkey did?”

There are many things that cause us to change our behavior. I specifically recall the phrase, “Do I need to get the belt,” being a real motivator for me. The term for a change of behavior that Jesus, John the Baptist, and all those before them used was “repent.” I would wager that repentance falls in the top five topics of all preaching. Why? Well, for starters, it’s kind of fun! “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?  Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” All ya’ll goin’t hell! That’s good stuff right there.

It is this call of repentance with angry fiery rhetoric and with cajoling and tears that has been preached from a thousand pulpits, but this understanding of repentance – turning from evil – is only half of the act of repentance.

The Spanish Philosopher, Unamuno, in the year 109 a.d. tells of the great Roman aqueduct in Segovia. It carried water from the mountains into the city and did so for over 1,800 years. However, after sixty generations, it was decided that the best means to preserve the ancient structure was to stop using it. The government – and that should give you a good clue that this story isn’t going to work out well – the government decided, “This aqueduct is so great a marvel that it ought to be preserved for our children, as a museum piece. We shall relieve it of its centuries-long labor.” So they laid modern pipe and rerouted the water away from the structure. It was then, after 1,800 years of use, that the aqueduct began to deteriorate. The sun beating on the dry mortar caused it to crumble. The bricks and stone sagged and threatened to fall. What ages of service could not destroy idleness disintegrated.

Jesus said, “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’  When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order.  Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”

Turning from evil is only half the act of repentance, for in turning from the evil, we must turn to something else, otherwise through idleness, the evil practices will return and the decay will begin again. Therefore, the second half of repentance, after turning from evil, is turning to God and that which was empty is filled with the presence of God, and the final condition of that person is not worse, but is instead made holy in the eyes of God—and that is the Good News. From our Gospel today: After John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” In the person of Jesus, God has drawn near to us. The waiting is over; therefore, turn from evil, turn to God, and follow him, believing firmly the words of God, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” And it sure would be nice if it ended there…

Do you remember Joshua’s big speech to the Israelites after they had crossed the Jordan? The part where he says to them “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.” And the Israelites say to him, we choose the one true God. They said, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.” How did that work out? Yeah. Not so good. The same is true for us. We repent. We turn to God. We will serve and obey him always. And how did that work out for you? Yeah. Not so good. That old hymn speaks truth:

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it—
Prone to leave the God I love

It was a bright Sunday morning in 18th century London, but a particular young fella’s mood was anything but sunny. All along the street there were people hurrying to church, but in the midst of the crowd the man was desperately lonely. The sound of church bells reminded him of years past when his faith in God was strong and the church was an integral part of his life. It had been years since he set foot in a church—years of wandering, disillusionment, and gradual defection from the God he once loved. That love for God—once fiery and passionate—had slowly burned out within him, leaving him dark and cold inside.

As he walked, he heard the clip-clop, clip-clop of a horse-drawn cab approaching behind him. Turning, he lifted his hand to hail the driver. But then he saw that the cab was occupied by a young woman dressed in finery for the Lord’s Day. He waved the driver on, but the woman in the carriage ordered the carriage to be stopped.

“Sir, I’d be happy to share this carriage with you,” she said to him. “Are you going to church?” The man was about to decline, then he paused. “Yes,” he said at last. “I am going to church.” He stepped into the carriage and sat down beside the young woman.

They exchanged a few pleasantries, then the lady went back to her book of devotions. After a short while she looked up, excited about a bit of poetry she had just read and wanted to know what he thought. He consented to listen and she read him:

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace’
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.

When she looked up, she saw that the man was crying.

“What do I think of the poetry?” he asked. “I’m Robert Robinson. I wrote it. But now I’ve drifted away from him and can’t find my way back.

“But don’t you see” the woman said gently, “The way back is written right here in the third line of your poem: “Streams of mercy, never ceasing,” she said, “and those streams are flowing even this morning.”

That day Robinson renewed his relationship with Christ.

Repent: turn from evil and turn to God. It is not always a once and done. In many cases, it is a rinse and repeat. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated.  Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’” Does that mean we give up? Absolutely not. If anything, it should point us to a renewed determination and to a deeper understanding of our need for a Savior and a greater love for Him.

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” If you should fall, then consider the words of St. Josemaría Escrivá: “How low you have fallen this time! Begin the foundations from down there. Be humble… God will not despise a contrite and humble heart” And again he writes: “Don’t forget that the saint is not the person who never falls, but rather the one who never fails to get up again, humbly and with a holy stubbornness.” You have fallen. Humbly repent and with a holy stubbornness… rinse and repeat.

Let us pray:
Father in Heaven,
ever-living source of all that is good,
keep us faithful in serving You.
Help us to drink of Christ’s Truth,
and fill our hearts with His Love
so that we may serve You in faith
and love and reach eternal life.
In the Sacrament of the Eucharist
You give us the joy of sharing Your Life.
Keep us in Your presence.
Let us never be separated from You
and help us to do Your will. Amen.

The podcast can be found here.

Raymond’s patience for crossing New York City on foot finally ran out so he flagged down a cab and crawled in. Once they got underway, Raymond tapped the driver on the shoulder to give him the address. The driver screamed, snatched the wheel, sideswiped a bus, went up on the sidewalk, and stopped inches from a store window.

Both men sat in the quiet taxi cab for a few seconds catching their breath. The driver finally broke the silence by shouting, “Look mister, don’t ever do that again! You scared me half to death!”

Raymond apologized to the driver and said he didn’t realize that a little tap could scare someone so much.

The driver calmed in an instant and sheepishly replied, “You’re right. I’m sorry, sir. Actually, it’s not your fault. Today is my first day as a cab driver. I’ve been driving a hearse for the last 25 years.”

The Israelites went to wandering in the desert and eventually came to Mount Horeb. God told Moses to come up the mountain where they would meet and the people were to remain below. However, scripture tells us that Moses delayed in returning and the people began to think that perhaps he was dead, so they said to Aaron (number two in charge), “Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” From this request, Aaron makes for them the golden calf. Jewish scholars do not believe that it was Aaron’s intent that the Israelites worship the golden calf, for after it was made, he said to the people, “Tomorrow shall be a festival to the Lord.” In other words, here is a golden calf, but tomorrow we will worship the one true God. So if worshiping the calf is not what he intended, then what was going on?

You’ll recall from a few weeks ago we talked about the Ark of the Covenant (think Indiana Jones) with the two cherubim on the lid, their wings outstretched and touching one another’s. The space between and above the cherubim’s wings was called the Mercy Seat and it was the place where the presence of God resided. In a similar manner, Jewish scholars believe that Aaron created the golden calf to represent and replace Moses, not God. And when Aaron declared to the people, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”, he was not referring to the calf as their god, but – like the mercy seat – he was referring to the space above the golden calf as the dwelling place or the presence of the One True God. In creating the golden calf, the scholars believe that Aaron was simply creating a ‘visible’ seat or chair for the Living God. However, the people did not understand and, in violation of God’s Commandment, they made an idol out of the calf and worshiped it instead of God.

As the Psalmist declared, “They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass.”

They would make a similar mistake later on. This time, they were being troubled by serpents that would bite and kill them, so the Lord said to Moses, “‘Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.’  So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.” It worked, but years later, when Hezekiah was King over Israel, we are told, “He broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it; it was called Nehushtan.” They had taken the bronze snake and made a god out of it and worshiped it.

This practice of worshiping false gods continues through Israel’s history and was one of the reasons for the exile that was to come. In condemning the practice, God spoke through the Prophet Jeremiah and stated:

Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,
and they cannot speak;
they have to be carried,
for they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them,
for they cannot do evil,
nor is it in them to do good…
They are both stupid and foolish;
the instruction given by idols
is no better than wood!…
They are the work of the artisan and of the hands of the goldsmith;
their clothing is blue and purple;
they are all the product of skilled workers.

And some of you may be saying, I know where he’s going with this one: he’s about to tell us we make false gods and worship them. That would be legitimate, we do have a tendency to make gods out of many things, but I don’t believe you would be here if you were actively serving some other false god. You wouldn’t be here if you were not seeking the one true God, but even though we are, we can sometimes treat the Living God as though he were one of those dead idols, made of wood or gold. We can polish him up and dress him up, and then set him on a shelf, never really giving him much thought afterwards, unless of course we need something.

When we first encounter God, we are a bit like that taxi driver. God taps us on the shoulder and gets our attention. Scares the daylights out of us, but then we become accustomed. We know he’s back there, but over time, it no longer excites us. It no longer motivates us. He taps us on the shoulder, but over time if we don’t just learn to ignore it, that tapping can become an annoyance. Not a calling to return to God, but a guilt that can turn to anger. ‘Look God, I know you want something, but I’m busy with my own life. I know what I’m doing here.’ Even so, we still like the idea of God. We want him to be on our side, so instead of worshiping him, we nurture the ‘idea’ of God and we worship it. We practice a religion, but we have exchanged the living God for a golden calf, a bronze snake, something made of wood, or stained glass. Why? Because gold, bronze, wood, stained glass, these things require nothing of us. They are easy to serve. We can go about our daily lives and never have to give them a second thought. But you see, our God is not interested in being a… nativity scene. He’s not interested in being pulled out once a year, polished and dressed up, and put on display for a month only to be put away again. Our God is one who calls us into relationship with Him.

He called Samuel out of slumber. He called Matthew out of riches. James and John he called out of the ordinary into the extraordinary. Lazarus he called out of death. And when he called Nathanael out from under the fig tree, Nathanael responded, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Nathanael responded, “You know me for who I am and for what I am. As the Psalmist wrote, ‘Lord, you have searched me out and known me; you know my sitting down and my rising up; you discern my thoughts from afar.’” Nathanael said, “You are my God. You are my King and I will follow you.”

Our relationship with God is not like the relationship the Israelites and others had with the gods of gold and wood. Nor is our relationship with God an idea, that we pay homage to. Instead, our relationship with God is active and ongoing and involves a true encounter.

The Apostle Paul concludes his first letter to the Ephesians by saying: May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.

The one who calls you has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. He has called you by name and he is faithful. His call to you is a reminder that you are a son, a daughter of the Living God and he will accomplish in you His work of sanctification, of making you holy. Don’t ignore the tap on your shoulder. Actively follow Him in his glorious Way, which leads to eternal life.

Let us pray: Father in Heaven, You made us Your children and called us to walk in the Light of Christ. Free us from darkness and keep us in the Light of Your Truth. The Light of Jesus has scattered the darkness of hatred and sin. Called to that Light, we ask for Your guidance. Form our lives in Your Truth, our hearts in Your Love. Through the Holy Eucharist, give us the power of Your Grace that we may walk in the Light of Jesus and serve Him faithfully. Amen.

The podcast can be found here.

Little Johnny was having a tough day in his fourth grade math class which ended with him standing toe-to-toe with his teacher who did not look at all pleased. Behind them was the blackboard covered with math problems that Johnny hadn’t been able to answer. The teacher stared down at Johnny with angry disappointment written across her face and declared, “Johnny, you are an underachiever.” With rare perception Johnny said, “I’m not an underachiever, you’re an overexpecter!”

On any given day you can read the news and discover that our world is fascinated with folks who are the famous and infamous. We want to know who the OKC Thunder are going to sign next to which celebrity is caught up in the latest scandal to what color Meghan Markle’s dress will be at the reception following the next royal wedding.

Unlike these news makers, the average man, woman or child simply fade into the background. The fella who put in the fifty hour work week, paid his bills on time, loved his wife, played with the kids, and helped with housework never makes the news. The single mom that works two jobs, sees to it that her child gets to school on time and has what they need is never going to be a story on CNN. And the fact that Little Johnny, after months of hard work, finally got that passing grade in math will never make the headlines.

We look at the world around us and we say that these folks up here are the ones that matter and these down here—that is, the rest of us—are not so significant in the great scheme of things. We don’t live in big cities, there are no paparazzi trying to take our pictures, and most likely, if we are going to have a seven digit income we are going to have to count the two numbers after the decimal point.

Unfortunately we have a tendency to look at our life with God in the same way. We look at the folks like St. Francis and Mother Teresa, the Popes and the Bishops, those rare saintly priest, and we think that as far as the things of God are concerned, those are the ones that really matter. As far the rest of us… we’re not so significant in the eyes of God. If God is going to move, to reveal himself it will be through one of them, not through one of us.

“In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them…” The angel of the Lord did not come to kings, presidents, Lady Gaga or any other celebrities. The angel did not come to the Emperor, the Roman governor, the Temple leaders, or any of the movers and shakers during that time to announce the birth of the Lord. The angel of the Lord came to sheep herders. Sheep herders! The Mishnah—the interpretation of Jewish law—refers to shepherds as incompetent and goes on to say that you are not obligated to save one if you see that they’ve fallen into a pit. “To buy wool, milk or a kid from a shepherd was forbidden on the assumption that it would be stolen property.” There status was the equivalent of a tax collector, which—to show you how low that was—was equivalent to those whose job it was to sweep up the dung in the streets. This is who the birth of the Lord was announced!

What do we know about this Jesus who these sheep herders went to see? He was born in an obscure village in an obscure country. The child of a peasant woman, he grew up in another small village. He worked as a carpenter for most of his life with only three years as an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book, had an office, or even a cell phone. He never had a family or owned a home. Never went to college or to a big city. For that matter he never traveled more than two hundred miles from where He was born. Yet the world has never been the same.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “God becomes human out of love for humanity. God does not seek the most perfect human being with whom to be united, but takes on human nature as it is.” As it is.

During this season of Advent we have been talking about the Incarnation. God becoming flesh. And we have talked about living Incarnational lives, that is, continually putting flesh on God in this world. Making Him known through word and actions. But so often we mistakenly think that in order to do this we must be some kind of super Christian, leading the perfect, sinless life, but that’s not the case. God used a young girl. A Carpenter. Shepherds. Fishermen. Tax collectors. Prostitutes. For crying out loud God even used a dead guy – Lazarus. These were ordinary people living ordinary lives and they too changed the world. The baby lying in the manger was not born for ivory towers and silver tea sets. He was born for hearts like theirs. He was born for a heart like yours.

The angel of the Lord said to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people… for all people!… to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” The manger where Christ was born existed 2,000 years ago and it exists today, but today that manger is not in some far off land. Today, that manger is within you. It is within each and everyone of you… as you are.

Scripture says, “One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, ‘When will the Kingdom of God come?’ Jesus replied, ‘The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is within you.’” The Kingdom of God, the manger, the place where God desires to be born is within you. It is within you so that he might be made known to you and to the world.

We may never be the movers and shakers of the world who change the course of history, but in the eyes of God we are worth so much more. In the eyes of God, we are worth more than life itself and He desires to be joined to us… born within you. There was no room for him at the inn, but there is a manger within your heart? Allow the Christ Child to be born there.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas. We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day. We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us. We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom. We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence. We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light. To you we say, “Come Lord Jesus!” Amen.