Mark 9:10-16 - Learning Three Things

So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.

 

And they asked Him, saying, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

 

Then He answered and told them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt?

 

But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him.

 

And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them.

 

Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him.

 

And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?

Yes, Three!

God does things that surprise us.  The Scribes expected that Elijah would come before the Messiah and help the Messiah in ushering in a new kingdom.  Instead, Jesus remarks that Elijah will come before the Son of Man must suffer.  This all happened as Jesus predicted.  Elijah, in the person of John the Forerunner, came to recommend Jesus as the Messiah.  And both John and Jesus ended up suffering.  This was not what the religious leaders thought should happen by their reading of Sacred Scripture.

What I learn from this is three things: First, God does things that I do not expect. Second, It's easy to miss things in the Bible and actually get things wrong except for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the Church.  And, third, God does way more than you ask Him:  The religious leaders of Jesus' time wanted God to set up His Kingdom and kick out the Romans.  But God did more than that. He overthrew Satan who has bound us through death and corruption. Yes, someday the Kingdom of God will be on earth. But it will be more than just a millennial reign of peace. Instead, it will be an eternal reign in which I may participate and all will be set right in the universe.

May I always look to the Wisdom of the Holy Spirit, through His Church, on how the Kingdom of God can be realized in my own life. Amen.

Matthew 5:14-19 - Good works show the Light of Christ!

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.

 

Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

 

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

 

Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.

 

For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

 

Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Let your Light Shine!

The proof that I am a follower of Christ, is in my actions. It is not what I say, not what I "pray about," nor what thoughts occupy my mind. I may think spiritual things all day long but if none of the Gospel Teachings translate into actions, then I am not a follower of Christ   Jesus said, "Let you light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. When I let the light of Christ take hold of me then it will result in good works. And people around me seeing those works, will glorify God (whether willingly or not) because of them.

A lamp is always put in a place in a room so that it will illuminate as much as the dark area as possible. It is intentionally  placed in a conspicuous place.  When I receive the Light of Christ, I, too, must make sure the Light shines so others can see. And not to bring attention to my "good works" but so that the Light of Christ can cast out the darkness around me.

When I see darkness this day, May Your Light, O Christ, lead me to show Your Love. Amen.

Mark 8:22-26 - Here's Mud in your Eye

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.

 

So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.

 

And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.”

 

Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.

 

Then He sent him away to his house, saying, “Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town.”

Mud in the eye isn't always pleasant

Yes, it's true that this is not the passage of John chapter 9 where Jesus made mud out of his own spit to apply to the blind's man eye but it is the first thing I thought of when I read this passage from the Gospel of Mark.  In both cases, anyway, Jesus used matter to heal. He had in the past just spoken the Word and the healings happened yet in this case and in the case of John chapter 9, Jesus applied "ointment" and effected the healing that way. To us, it seems disgusting and yet this is how Jesus operated.

Notice the special attention He gives to this man. After He is apprised of his condition, Jesus led him out of the town, away from everyone else. It was just him and Jesus. And even then the healing wasn't all at once but in degrees.  Finally, the man goes from seeing people walking as if they were trees to seeing everything clearly. This is how Jesus deals with me. He gives me "special attention" and He patiently applies His healing to my life. And my healing isn't all at once. Rather, as I approach Him in faith, He brings me His healing, little by little. And like mud or spit in the eye, it isn't always pleasant....but it works!

I love how the podcast The Path which comments on this passage, brings up St. Ambrose of Milan.(You can listen here)  'Just as the blind man was healed through the touch of Christ, using the things of this world, we also are healed through our baptism.' Sadly, one of the things that Evangelicals are missing because of their proper rejection of Roman Catholic heretical abuses, is the comfort and Truth that God uses water to heal us.  John chapter 3 says, "Unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God."  It is my baptism that began the work of Salvation in my life and, Lord have mercy, it is His Spirit that shall complete it.  May I remember this day that God is using matter to reveal His presence to me.  May I look for God in all things. Amen.

Mark 8:11-21 - Worry about the Important Things

Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.”And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side. Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have no bread.” But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened?Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up? They said to Him, “Twelve.”Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up? And they said, “Seven.”So He said to them, “How is it you do not understand?”

Don't worry about Bread

 The disciples are with Jesus in the boat and they realize they only have one load of bread with them. One loaf for 13 people won't go very far.  Jesus took the opportunity of the disciples desire for bread to teach them. He said, "Beware the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." By that, did He not mean their teaching? On the one hand, the Pharisees were very zealous for the Law yet without love for God or their neighbor and Herod had no regard for God, his neighbor nor even his own family. Rather, he lived for his own pleasure. Both are extremes and should be avoided.  Instead, we should look to God.

But the disciples didn't understand what Jesus was talking about. When He mentioned leaven, they thought Jesus was somehow referencing their forgotten loaves.  Jesus had to remind them that He had provided for their physical needs in the past and, by implication, would do so in the future. The point is, that is not what we are to worry about. Instead, we should look to God.

Jesus was always looking for the "God angle." When He heard the disciples arguing about forgotten loaves of bread, He sought to remind us of God.  May I do the same this day. May I not just see common everyday things that make up my daily life.  Instead, may I see what God has to teach me in them. Just like Jesus used the opportunity of an ordinary discussion about eating, to raise our sights towards God, may I, in all the mundane things I see today, look for how I can learn of God. Amen.

Matthew 28:16-20 - The Atheists have a Point.

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.

When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.

That's one way of putting it!

So the disciples are standing on the mountain, just before Jesus is to ascend into heaven.  And when they were looking at them with their own eyes, some still doubted. It reminds me of a youtube video I saw where a very educated lecturer who was explaining to the audience why it is not rational to believe in the existence of God said, If he were to see a man standing before him, whom he knew to have been dead, instead of believing that person had been ressurected, he'd have to believe the 'logical' thought that something was wrong with his own senses. I marveled at this and, yet, in some ways, the man is correct. We can be deceived by our own senses.  Surely, the devil masquerades himself as an angel of light. So is it wrong for a man to doubt his own senses?

This reminds me of many teachings I have heard of late were the speaker said that Faith itself is actually an act of the will.  People can wrestle within themselves about the matters of faith, whether they should believe or not, but it comes to a point where they simply must choose.  It turns out the atheists are right; you can't prove in the existence of God. But I think God planned it that way.

 The witness of most people's heart is that He does exist. Is this just mass delusion? Is it an evolutionary device to give hope to the species- false though it be- so that we can prosper? I think not. I believe God wants us to learn to trust Him. And in my own life, to make this happen today, I must use my will to remember all that He has revealed in Christ and in the Gospel.  I don't have to argue with others who disagree with me, I simply must believe.

The funny thing is, it isn't until you exercise your will to have faith that faith actually makes sense and turns out to be the most logical thing to have.  May God grant me the will to believe. Amen.

Luke 13:18-29 - Kingdom of God; not what you Expect

 Then He said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?                                                            

It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.And again He said, “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.

And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.
Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them,Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.

Bird's nest in Trees that start out small.

The Kingdom of God is full of surprises and not what you might expect. It starts out small and grows.  A mustard seed flourishes into a tree so large that birds nest in its branches. And like leaven grows, making the bread rise so, too,  the Kingdom of God.  I might think that the Kingdom of God is always grand and, well, ostentatious...and I'd be wrong. It's not about "super mega church pep rallies"or announcing to everyone what wonderful thing you are going to do for God.  Rather the Kingdom of God is in the small things, like showing kindness to those around me, especially to those who share the same house.  It's giving a massage to my wife when she feels a migraine coming on or looking for ways to serve my children. And, of course, when I am out and about, it certainly means being a courteous driver. That can be tough in New Jersey. :)

The Kingdom of God is full of surprises and I don't want to find myself on the outside of it.  You can hear the surprise in their voices in the story that Jesus told. "What do you mean, you don't know us? We are and drank in Your Presence and You taught in our streets."   I do not want to find myself saying to the Lord, I went to church every Sunday morning and on Saturday nights for Vespers. I read my Bible and prayed most mornings.  And Jesus response? I really don't know you! That would be horrifying.

Don't want to find myself on the wrong side of the door

May the Lord grant me to always be humble, to seek God in the small things, treating each moment as if I must find the Kingdom of God in it.  Amen.

Luke 21:37-22:8 - Learning from Judas

  And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet. Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him. Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.
 And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people. Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.
 So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude. Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb must be killed. And He sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.”

From Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ

In this passage, I learn how Jesus is betrayed by one of His friends. It says in the text that Judas was numbered among the twelve. That is, he was chosen by Jesus to be His disciple.  And even though Judas was a witness to all Christ did~ all His miracles, all His teachings, all His actions and even though Judas was one who was "sent out" and performed miracles and cast out demons (Luke 9: 1-6). yet he found himself in a position where he would sell out the Lord.  In some movies about the Life of Christ, much is made of the motivation for why Judas did it~ how he was trying to force Jesus' Hand so He could reveal Himself as Messiah and kick out the Romans but, according to Scripture, the only reason Judas betrayed Christ was for money.  There might have been other, more lofty reasons but we are not told.

In my life, my own betrayal of Christ by how I live may be for reasons just as base as Judas'. Do I neglect prayer? It usually isn't because I was exhausted from performing great acts of mercy but rather because I am simply lazy.  Do I neglect the poor? Surely it is because I'd rather spend money on myself, little as I have than, give it to someone more needy.

I call myself a friend of Christ. So did Judas. May my life not betray Him today. Amen.