During the really cold weather two women evangelists came knocking on my door. One asked me to read a Scripture from one of the prophets. It promised a bad reward for those who are evil and a good reward for those who are good. The woman asked me, "Isn't that good news?" I replied, "It's not good news for the evil." "Oh," she said, "I meant for you to read another verse." This one was about the Kingdom of God. So she asked, "Where do you think the Kingdom of God is?" I replied, "It's here on earth." But said disagreed. She said, "I think if you read the Scriptures more closely you'll find that the Kingdom of God is in heaven." "Jesus came to bring the Kingdom of God on earth, and He did," I responded. "We don't see the fullness of it yet, but it is here all around us." The other woman with her was considering this, but the woman speaking would have none of it. So I continued, "Not only is the Kingdom of God all around us it is also within us." Having given them a little something to think about, I bid them farewell after complimenting them for their tenacity in being out on such a cold day. I was reminded of this by reading two Scriptures this morning. Psalm 132:7 "Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool" and Revelation 21:3, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God." For me these two verses bring up contradictory images: either we go to God's dwelling or he comes to us. The psalmist was thinking of going to the Ark of the Covenant where God dwelt. In Revelation, the author is speaking of his vision of the new Jerusalem where there is no Ark of the Covenant, no temple building because Jesus himself is the Ark, the Temple and he is among and within his people. There is no separation between God and his people. For reflection: Today let us secure ourselves in the heart of God, listening to the Father's heartbeat. Let us pray in rhythm with the heartbeat: Love you. Love you. Love you.
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We last reflected on Paul's words of praise about Jesus in Colossians 1:12-20. John has a similar reflection at the beginning of his Gospel: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. (John 1:1-4) Let's intersperse the two passages: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He is the image of the invisible God. He was with God in the beginning. He is the firstborn over all creation. Through him all things were made, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. He is the firstborn from among the dead. God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him. For reflection: What does it mean that Jesus is God made visible? Adam and Eve had spoken to God face-to-face, as had Moses. But now all could see Jesus, image of the invisible God. The fullness of God was in him. Let us pray. Invisible made visible, show yourself to me today. Let me see your face. In the 3rd chapter of Galatians, which is certainly a difficult one, Paul contrasts the law with the promise given to Abraham and the law with faith in God/Christ. In both cases, the law is the loser. The promise to Abraham is greater than the law and faith in Christ is greater than the law. Let us pray. Lord, you have lavished me with your love The image of light runs throughout the Scriptures - both Old and New Testaments. So let's stay with it for a little bit. Our text is Matthew 5:14-16. If we are the light of the world, and Jesus said we are, why do we hide our light? One reason is we fear being rejected. We are afraid that we will say something to someone about Jesus, or even Christianity in general, and they will reject what we say and thereby reject us. Does this happen? Of course it does. As Christians we come from a long line of people who have been rejected. The Old Testament prophets were rejected in their day even though they were Jews speaking to Jews. Moving to the New Testament, John the Baptist was rejected. Jesus was rejected. Peter and the other disciples were rejected. Rejection did not stop them from letting their light shine, from doing what God told them to do, and saying what God told them to say. Which takes us back to verse 11 of Matthew 5: "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me." To this we can add these verses from 1 John 4: "God is love. . . . There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear." So being rejected sometimes should not be unexpected for us. Knowing that we will be rejected sometimes helps to take the fear out of it. It will come in the normal course of events. But we won't be rejected every time, and people really need to hear the message of Jesus from us. Let's not hide our light. For Reflection: What is greater in me - the love of God or the fear of rejection? Let us pray. God, you are perfect love. I give you my fear of rejection. I trust that even when I am rejected you will take care of me. Help me to let my light shine today. Let's look at another prophet who didn't exactly make an excuse to God, but who recognized his deficiency before he answered a call from God. Isaiah has a vivid vision in which he sees the throne room of God Almighty with angels worshipping in full voice. The room shook and was filled with smoke. The magnificence of the vision terrorizes Isaiah, who cries out, "Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty" (Isaiah 6:1-5). One of the angels flies to Isaiah and touches a live coal to his lips as an act of atonement for his sin and remission of his guilt. Being cleansed, he is no longer a man of unclean lips. So when God asks, "Whom shall I send?" Isaiah is able to answer, "Send me" (Isaiah 6:6-8). Does Isaiah even know what he is volunteering for? Perhaps not. But by cleansing him God has equipped him to speak to a nation where justice is perverted, the poor are oppressed, idols are worshipped and the government looks to pagan nations for help rather than to God. But we see that just as God gave words to Moses and Jeremiah, God supplied words of prophecy to Isaiah. God does not call anyone without equipping them to do the job. For reflection: To what mission has God called me? How has God equipped me for that mission? Le us pray. Lord, we bow before your holiness and acknowledge that we too are a people of unclean lips. We see justice perverted and don't speak up. We see the poor oppressed and expect someone else to do something. We see our nation turn for help to anyone but you. Cleanse us of our sin, equip us with your words, and help us to proclaim your righteousness in the land. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Jeremiah, like Moses, made objections to God's call. Jeremiah's excuses were "I do not know how to speak" and "I am only a child" (Jeremiah 1:6). I don't know how old Jeremiah was when God called him, but being young seems like a good reason to postpone being a prophet. However old he was though, God did not accept that as an excuse. In fact, God said, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you" (Jeremiah 1:7-8). As with Moses, God promised to tell him what to say. As with Moses, God promised to be with him. As with Moses, God sent him to a hostile audience. God did not promise that Jeremiah would not suffer for being a prophet, but he promised to rescue him. "Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land. They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," he assured Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:18-19). On the outside, it might look like Jeremiah was a failure because, on the whole, the kings and the nations did not listen to God's word through him. But in God's eyes he was successful because he completed the task God gave him; he fulfilled his calling; he was obedient. He did not let his original excuses - I don't know how to speak and I'm too young - hold him back. For reflection: How obedient am I to answering God's call? Do I trust God to give me the words to speak when I need them? Let us pray. Lord, here I am. I trust you not to call me to do anything you will not enable me to do. I place my trust in you. We can learn about how God works by looking at how he calls people to help him. Earlier we went through the numerous objections that Moses gave God for not going to speak to Pharaoh. Today let's look at the call of Jeremiah. God begins by telling Jeremiah that he knew him before he was born and that he determined even then to appoint Jeremiah as a prophet (Jeremiah 1:4-5). What God says to Jeremiah is true for each of us. God knew us before we were born. He gave us life in the womb. He appointed some specific task for each of us. It may not be as a "prophet to the nations" as it was for Jeremiah. It may not be to set a nation free as it was for Moses. But we each have a purpose. The basic purpose for each human being is to know God, to love him and to serve him in whatever way God asks. For reflection: Knowing, loving and serving God are my tasks. Where am I with each of these? Let us pray. (based on Psalm 139) Lord, you know everything about me - the good, the bad and the ugly. Yet you surround me with your love and your presence so much so that I cannot escape them. You think of me day and night. I am always on your mind. Thank you for knowing and loving me so thoroughly. When God calls people to do his work he accepts no excuses. Take the example of Moses and his conversation with God at the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-4:17). When God tells Moses he is sending him back to Egypt to free the Israelites from slavery under Pharaoh, Moses' first objection is, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" Next Moses tries "What if they ask me what your name is?" Then, "What if they don't believe me or listen to me?" Still not willing to go, Moses objects, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." Like any good salesman, God answers every question and meets every objection. Finally Moses gets right down to what he really wants. "O Lord, please send someone else." And God gets angry. Even so, he doesn't let Moses off the hook, he simply assigns Aaron to go with him. When God wants us to do something, he accepts no excuses. Arguing with God is useless; he has all the answers. When God calls, he qualifies, equips and empowers the person called. As reluctant as Moses was, he still succeeded. For reflection: What has God called me to do? What excuses am I giving for not doing it? Let us pray. Father, you are the God of No Excuses. You are God Who Calls, God Who Qualifies, God Who Equips and God Who Empowers. I come to do your will. Let us spend today praising the Lord for his goodness. Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him. From everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children - with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. (Psalm 103:1-5, 8, 11, 17-18) The team skaters at the Olympics are graded mercilessly on the execution of certain elements. Are they performing their moves in unison? How elegantly do they get in and out of a lift? Do their movements express the mood of the music? They are expected to achieve perfection throughout the entire program. They work years toward a flawless performance for those few minutes on one day of their lives. Perfection is a tall order. Having judges watch your every move and grade you on it is nerve-racking. But the athletes have gotten used to being criticized by their coaches, and made to do it over again, until they get it right. There is a place in the Scriptures where Jesus tells us to be perfect. "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" is part of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:48). In this section of Matthew, Jesus is giving instructions for living which go beyond the letter of the law. It was the religious leaders of the day who were acting like Olympic judges, watching and grading people on who was keeping the law and who wasn't. But Jesus was telling them that they had it wrong. They were looking at the lesser elements. Their scoring was skewed. When Jesus said, "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect," he was referring to being perfect in love. Don't just love those who love you; love your enemies. That way lies perfection. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, I want to be perfect for you. I want to be in sync with you. I want to work in unison with you. |
AliceI started this website and blog on May 1, 2012. I am a Catholic who has been in ministry for many years. I first developed what I would call a close relationship with Jesus in the early 1970s. Ever since then I have been praying with people for healing and other needs. It is because I have seen so many of these prayers answered that I am so bold as to offer to pray for you individually through this website and phone line. Archives
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