Day 090: Seeing God's Face

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation."  Colossians 1:15

Here is the Good News.

When reading the Old Testament, especially the time period from the Exodus before the era of Judges, you can get an image of a community with a lot of angst.  There are many commandments coming from the God who liberated all of Israel from slavery in Egypt.  Not only that, but those commandments are only coming from Moses, the only person allowed to see God, let alone interact with God.

When Jesus came into the world, though, we now have a clear image of Almighty God.  We can see Jesus in the flesh.  We can hear Jesus in a language we can understand.  We see another human to whom we can relate, teaching us the Way.  It is a good thing, for we are all invited to participate in the divine.  Jesus gave us the Eucharist, and now we have a way to commune with God.

When I thought about this verse, I thought about an old hymn, where one of the verses says, "I see Thee face to face and live!"  And that's what we have now!  We see Jesus face to face and live!  We have so many things to be thankful for, and the chief of them is that we can come so much closer to God than ever before.  Love, which was once something concealed and confusing, is now something we can understand with many examples from Jesus Christ.  We have all of his teachings to guide us.

When we read the bible, when we pray, when we take communion, we are seeing God face to face, and we, indeed, are living.

Day 089: Strengthening Light

"Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound.  Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  Ephesians 4:11-13

Here's one of the most, if not most, popular verse in the bible.  I find that it is much more powerful when taken in the context of the letter Paul is writing.

Despite the fact that there are many things that I do not agree with that Paul writes, I still think that there are many things that he admonishes us to do.  In fact, when taking all the things he encourages (or commands) together, they seem to make up a large code of law not unlike that of the Old Covenant.  There are so many different things to keep track of, but they are all for our own betterment.  Many of the things he says are ones for us to live better with those around us, in order to strengthen our communities.  Still, though, they sound overbearing.

However, at the end of all these sorts of things, we read Paul, who says that he has accomplished many of these things.  Unlike a person wanting to boast about his own prowess, Paul actually teaches us why he is able to accomplish all of these things: Christ.

Jesus is walking all around us, following and reaching out to us.  Jesus is not following us so that he can push us down.  He didn't come into the world just to judge and condemn it.  We already have enough of that coming from our humankind.  Instead, Jesus came so that we all can be strengthened.  We have to face many challenges, and we all want to be the light for others to see, but the only way we can do that is by receiving the light in the first place.  I think of lighting candles.  A room can be full of candles, but without a lighting source, they will just stay there, filled with so much potential, but left completely still.  It is when we receive the light of Christ that we can shine and light others around us.

Jesus is right there with us, everywhere we go.  We just need to receive him as he receives us. 

 

Day 088: Godly Joy

"May all who seek You greatly rejoice and be glad in You, and let those who love Your salvation always say, 'Let God be magnified.'"  Psalm 69:5 (70:4)

This is a prayer that we should always pray, for we want for others to feel the same joy that we do.

Living a life in God is very rewarding, but sometimes we find that the difficulties can be too much for the moment.  God challenges us to strengthen our faith, and through every test, we come even closer to God.  But sometimes our friends will react negatively to us because of our faith.  Why would you waste your time going to church?  Why do you even read the bible?  What has prayer ever done for you?  Our answer to these questions should always remain the same, "God is magnificent."  We gather in praise of God so that we can feel comforted and loved.  We want to show others around us the same love that we feel from above.

However, many times we allow for the challenges to get the better of us.  We will start answering the above questions with, "yeah, I guess you have a point." However, when we turn from God, we start to feel empty inside.  We will start wandering on our own, questioning why we have no protection.  The world is very tough out there, and the only way we can manage to continue forwards is with the guidance and protection of Almighty God.

So, rather than allowing for your tests to get the better of you, take the opportunity to bring your friend along your walk with the Lord.  Show how great salvation feels.  Demonstrate all the good things that God has done in your life.  Rejoice and be glad in God, for God has indeed done so much out of God's unconditional love for each and every one of us.

Day 087: Community

"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself."  Philippians 2:3

This is a message that we seem to forget many times.

Why go to church if we aren't there to help build up the community?  We have been called to go to church and participate in corporate worship in order to build up a community.  We are called by Jesus to present a perfect offering of a Church before God - one without blemish or defect.  We are going to church in order to unite ourselves to God.

When we do things just for our own benefit, everybody suffers.  We are all born with gifts from God, and we are to use them to bring others to God.  Yet, if we go about using our gifts just for ourselves, we end up isolating ourselves from the greater community of people who thirst for your gift.  We find ourselves wandering without any direction, and we no longer experience the love that God wants us to experience.  When we do things for selfish interests, we are no longer living a life of godly love, but a life of hate.

Everybody out in the world is longing for something.  Many times, it is difficult to figure out what, exactly.  In fact, that's when people will turn to self destruction, for they will be pleasured in the moment, but they will continue searching for what they truly need.  We can help alleviate this issue by going out and presenting our gifts in ways that will build up strong communities.  It's all about making sure there is a constant dialogue in a community.  When we communicate, we will figure out what needs to happen.  Usually, when there is communication, we will understand that the answers and solutions are much simpler than we had ever thought.

Day 086: Willingness

Then Peter opened his mouth and said: "In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.  But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him."  Acts 10:34-35

Hallelujah! Christ is risen today!

We are called to proclaim this miracle loud and clear to everyone who will hear it.  We must follow Peter's example, which is to proclaim the Gospel from our own witness of Jesus.  We all have witnessed Jesus, and it's time for us to proclaim him.  For Jesus has broken down all the barriers to our faith.  Jesus has come down from heaven to preach to us, gone down into the depths in order to liberate the souls of the deceased, and has broken the barriers of language through his teaching.

Jesus has commanded us to go out and proclaim the Good News.  And why not?  Time and time again I get the question, "How can you remain so calm?"  My only answer that wells up from my heart is that Jesus is taking care of me.  Jesus is the one who has guided me through my life so that I can become a better person.  I am by no means perfect, but I pray every day that my life might become one that will bring me closer to all of those people around me.

God has spoken to each one of us.  It is now up to us whether to receive the Good News.  God has used each one of us as loud speakers so that others can witness God.  Jesus is teaching us every day through the scriptures and through our communities.  We all have been called to the communion table with Jesus.  We all have the great opportunity to live a life with Jesus.  All we need to do is accept him.  Accepting Jesus is not just a one time thing, though.  So many children go to school every day, but not all of them learn.  They have heard what they need to hear, but it is always up to them whether to apply what they learn.  They have to practice what they learn in order to maintain their newly learned skills.  In the same way, Jesus is constantly teaching us, so that we might be able to have willing spirits and willing bodies.

Use the Easter season to proclaim the Good News in every way possible.  Live out your prayers.

Day 085: A Loving Sacrifice

"But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.  And above all things have fervent love for one another, for 'love will cover a multitude of sins.'"  1 Peter 4:7-8

Holy Saturday is a very important day in Holy Week.

It is filled with both sadness and hope.  It is a day where we remember that some people gathered together in order to figure out what was next to do with Jesus' body.  It is a day where we gather together as well in order to proclaim our hope for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Although we miss Jesus on this day, for he is departed, he is not absent from us.  The neat thing about Holy Saturday is that it is the opportunity for us to show love for one another.  It's the time for us to start putting all of our learning to practice: to love one another.

On Holy Saturday, we recognize the full weight of Jesus' sacrifice for us on the cross: it's the day where the body of Jesus does not take breaths.  It is now that we realize that Jesus made a full on sacrifice for us.  It is the ultimate sign of love.

Until Easter Sunday, remember that Jesus fulfilled every single one of his words he preached to us.  He taught us how to live, and he died so that we wouldn't have to.  Let the light of Jesus' love shine within you.

Day 084: Holiest

"Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."  Hebrews 10:19-22

Today was a special day in church because we were invited to approach the cross.

This tactile symbol is an important one, for Jesus has prepared the way for us to walk straight to him.  Before Jesus, there was a veil that separated the Holiest from the rest of the temple, and only priests could enter under very specific conditions.  Jesus changed that for us, though, by offering himself as the ultimate sacrifice.  Jesus brought us into the Holiest so that we may be joined together in holiness.

The three day period observing the death of Christ can be one of intense reflection.  We ask ourselves, "how can we ever repay God?" or, "why do we get so much grace?"  This sort of reflection can lead us to respect and revere God more and understand a little bit more about the love we receive from God.  However, sometimes it might frighten us that we are too unworthy of this grace.  True, we are indeed unworthy, but God, the ultimate expression of love, loves us.  God shows us unconditional love at all times.

Today, God has shown us unconditional love in the form of an invitation.  We are invited to walk with Jesus into the Holiest so that we can experience the greatest of divinity.  We are invited to walk in Jesus' footsteps.  The only thing we need to do is accept the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.  Today, and tomorrow, allow for this sacrifice to take root in your soul.  Allow yourself to be comforted by the love that God shows to us.  Allow yourself to ascend from the earth and walk right next to Jesus into the Holiest. 

 

Day 083: Sign of Love

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."  John 13:34-35

This is our new commandment, and it carries lots of implications.

In context, this commandment comes right after Jesus tells his disciples that they will not be able to go with him and that they will be looking for him.  I like the context because it really puts the teaching into perspective.  We can repeat to each other that this is the golden rule, or that it is the greatest commandment, and we can even quote it verbatim, but it will mean nothing if we don't actually live it.  Sure, we may not be able to find the earthly body of Jesus, but we will no less find Jesus every time we show our love for one another, for God is love.  Love is the only way we will be able to experience God in every moment of our lives.  It is our lack of love that separates us from God.

Those around us will know that we are Jesus' disciples when we love our neighbors.  Those around us will know that we have studied Jesus, that we have been taught by Jesus, only when we show our love for one another - a love that goes very deep, a love that is unconditional, a love that serves others.  Our sign for being a student of Jesus doesn't come in the form of a paper we get to hang on our office walls.  It is not a series of shirts with our favorite bible verses on them.  It's not a bible with gilded edges and a leather binding.  Our sign is our love.  Jesus has shown us how to live our lives out of love.

And what better way to show a sign of our relationship with Christ than showing Christ himself before everybody around us?  When we show our love, we show God.  When we feel love, we feel God.  When we stop loving, we stop showing God.  During these next four days, our churches will usually use the most visuals during Mass.  These visuals will definitely help us engage more with God, but the ultimate message is still there: to love one another as Jesus loved us.  During this latter half of Holy Week, try to meditate on the unconditional love that Jesus has shown us.  Allow for all of his teachings grow in you.  Allow yourself to become a practicing student of Jesus Christ. 

Day 082: Devotion to Faith

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."  Hebrews 12:1-2

This author makes it sound so easy.

Many times, we can encounter things in our lives that "look easy on paper," and we accept that they are only easy in theory.  Yet, when I think back at these things, I realize that we prefer to turn away the minimum amount of effort required and, instead, opt to put in no effort.  In the same way, I feel many of us approach the Gospel.  Jesus calls us to follow him, but we have so many things that are holding us back.

In order to train for endurance running, or even just in efforts to lose more weight while running/walking, one can put on a weighted jacket, usually around 20-30 pounds of weight.  If anyone who is reading this has ever had to carry around a backpack for high school or college (or if you have yet to break such a habit), you know that carrying around so much extra weight will slow you down.  It also makes you sweat, and in Houston, that can be quite miserable (although, when I was in Chicago, sweating in the dead of winter under layers of coats is even worse, since you walk straight from the cold into heat, causing even more sweat).  I have tried many times to lighten my load in my backpack, but it always seems to creep back up with the amount of books I like carrying around.

But, the thing is, we are already running the race.  This isn't the race that you compete against one another.  This is a marathon.  This is a race against yourself.  The good thing, though, is that we already have all the equipment/assistance we need.  In this race, we are already running; therefore, we have no need for the extra baggage of sin to hold us down.  In this race, we have the one goal of running to Jesus, and when we look at him before us, we find that we can endure all that comes in our way.

Sin, indeed, is a baggage.  When we give into temptation, we waste our time.  We degrade ourselves from all the work that we had put into bettering ourselves.  When we lie, we only lie to ourselves, forcing us to believe the stories we are making up so that we can convince others.  When we envy others, we waste our time burning up in hate rather than building ourselves up.  Sin slows us down.

So, look to Jesus.  Read the Gospel.  Listen to his voice when you pray.  Feel his presence in church.  Be a part of his body when you commune.  During this Holy Week, remember that we are all looking towards Jesus, who leads us through all the worst suffering to the greatest redemption.

 

Day 081: Building Faith

Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going." John 12:35

This is a poignant message from Jesus, especially as he prepares to go to the cross.

I just learned that it is a description of how our lives are so short that we only have a little while to walk in the light so that we may head in the right direction.  And, when I think about the short time that we have, I also think about how we can even learn to make our lives ones of light.

I love to study languages.  The hardest part about learning a language, in my opinion, is building up vocabulary.  There are usually so many words to learn.  Sure, there are few that you need to get by, but after getting a "survival level" in your target language, you have to start fleshing it out until you can achieve "fluency", whatever that goal might be for you.  The issue with learning vocabulary is that it is so easy to forget it.  I can learn a word now and forget it in thirty seconds.  I could learn a phrase today and forget it tomorrow.  So, I have had to figure out ways to master my mind in order to learn vocabulary.

Another image that comes to mind is working out.  From a visual standpoint, it is usually pretty obvious who spends time exercising and dieting and who doesn't.  From a personal standpoint, though, you can't lie to yourself.  When you go run for a day, you might only be able to go so far for so long.  However, after training for weeks or even months, you can build up an endurance to run quite a distance.  When you build up that endurance, you will find smaller physical tasks to be much easier.  But, when you lay off of exercise for a period of time, you realize that you have to start the training all over.  Your endurance wanes, and/or your muscles shrink.

In the same ways, I like to think about walking in the light.  We have let the world of darkness take over so many facets of our lives that we need to put in an effort just to walk towards the light, let alone in it.  We need to surround ourselves with the resources we need in order to get to the light.  And, just as Jesus was showing us in this example, the Gospel is the easiest way to the light.  We have all this guidance from Jesus to walk in the right direction.  Pair that up with some prayer and you should be set for life.

In the end, whatever the method, we have to remember that it is not instantaneous.  We need to develop our lives in faith, and we need to build up our faith like a strong vocabulary or a set of muscles.  During Holy Week, take the opportunities that are out there to build up on your faith.  Attend a few services.  Read a few devotionals.  Pray. 

Day 080: A Ministry

"For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"  Hebrews 9:13-14

This is a great explanation about the greatness of Jesus and his sacrifice for us.

Just on the surface, Jesus has made so much of a greater sacrifice than all the priests before, for he offered his life for all of us.  He took all of our sins and went to the cross so that we won't have to.

Going further with this, I like to think about what the blood of Christ really is.  As God says in the Old Testament, the life is in the blood.  Christ's life is in his blood.  But the neat thing is that the blood of Christ is so much more than just blood.  For communion, it is nourishment that sustains us, day by day, healing us and bringing us closer to one another.  I also like to think that the blood of Christ is his teachings, for he lives in all of us through his many teachings.

We have so much to learn from the Gospels.  We learn how to handle living on earth.  We learn how to live with one another.  We learn how to get closer to God.  We learn about what God really is.  We witness the glory of God through Jesus' earthly ministry.  And, through Jesus' earthly ministry, we have been gathered together.  Jesus has gone out in every direction to bring us together and prepare us as a worthy offering to God.

During this Holy Week, make it a point to read more about Jesus and to pray to Jesus.  Ask Jesus for guidance during this week.  Ask for revelations.  Ask for direction.  And praise God for the salvation that we receive through Jesus. 

Day 079: Humility

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men."  Philippians 2:5-7

As Christians, we are called to follow Christ.

Obviously, one of the best ways to follow Christ is to imitate him.  We do that by observing what is written above, which was read in Palm Sunday Mass today.  We need to imitate Christ's humility in our livelihoods.  It's one thing to flaunt your absolute power around so that everybody can see it.  Nobody likes when a person shows off like that.  But, at the same time, we all know that if we were given such power we would be guilty of flaunting it before everybody.

Jesus came into this world in order to change all of us, so that we can all come closer to God than we ever would have been able to in the past.  However, Jesus didn't come to the world to change things that would conform to our own needs.  We obviously do just fine without that sort of change, hurting all of those around us and exalting our own selves above everybody else.  In fact, Jesus came to change everything, especially our thinking.  Jesus came to show us how to live a life of helping others out.  Jesus served us so that we might have an example of how to live our lives.

We read the Passion in Mass today, and that shows us how much Jesus loves us.  He went through all sorts of suffering so that we would be free from it.  He went through Hell so that we could go to Heaven.  Jesus shows us that the important thing is to remember to focus all your might to love.  Love God.  Love your neighbors.  Love yourself.

During Holy Week, allow for the gospel of love and humility to take hold of your life.  Let Jesus grow in you.  Let this week be the first step to greater spiritual growth.

Day 078: Liberty through Christ

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage."  Galatians 5:1

It's crazy that we would need to be reminded not to go back to our harmful ways.

But, then again, when I think about dating, that can become an entirely different challenge.  Whenever a relationship of any sort ends, many times one or both involved don't get over the entire relationship.  Rather than seeing all the destruction that leads one to dissolve the relationship in the first place, one sees all the desire, the other being now perfected through sheer fantasy.  In that case, one can no longer resist going back to the one who had hurt him in the past.

When I think about that factor, I can see how we can all wander away from God and back to a life of self-destruction.  I know that I personally am a person who enjoys variety in my life, and I could understand that perhaps there are times when we don't like to have everything falling into place perfectly for us.  Instead, in order to shake things up, we go out of our way to bring ourselves under a yoke of bondage, under a life that is bad for our physical, mental, and, most of all, our spiritual health.

Perhaps going back to a life of destruction can seem more attractive because some of our friends who enable this behavior are still being left behind.  Instead, though, we should try to bring them back to God as we are following God.  We should be helping others witness the freedom from the bondage of self-destruction.  I know that I try to help friends avoid destructive relationships, especially when they are facing relapses.  So, why not do the same for friends to come back to Jesus, to feel the liberty of the light yoke and the peace of mind?

This Lent, think about why you would want to wander away from following Jesus.  What's missing?  What's attracting you to go astray?  Pray to God to lead you not into temptation, and pray for the way out of any situation that would hurt you.  Pray for strength in the tough times.  Most importantly, though, walk into the light.  Seek God in every aspect of your life.  Gather good things around you.  Fill your life with positivity.  Stand fast in liberty.

Day 077: Fear

"Behold, the Lord your God is delivering the land to you in our presence; go up and take it as an inheritance, in the manner the Lord God of your fathers spoke to you; do not fear or be afraid."  Deuteronomy 1:21

Imagine that somebody calls you on the phone right now to tell you that your dream job is set up for you: you will do what you love, and you will get paid to do it - no risks.  Would you turn it away?

I find that the story of the Israelites going into the Promised Land is a great example for us to learn from.  God, who delivered them from Egypt and who led them through the desert with a sign of a cloud by day and fire (an entire pillar!) by night, told them that their land of promise, one flowing with abundant resources, one that they would be able to clear for themselves, was prepared and ready for them.  Almighty God told them this.  But they, in response, asked to reconsider everything, to make sure that everything was 'safe' and 'ready' to their arbitrary standards.  They became afraid because they reconsidered every single detail and found things to be afraid of, despite God's promise.  This, obviously, did not end well for them.

However, we face this same sort of situation frequently in our lives.  We can go to church and pray and read the bible, but when it comes time for challenges in our lives, we cower.  We turn away from everything we have been taught and have seen and run away to our own detriment.

God used Mosaic Law to teach the people of Israel how to follow God.  Then, when the time was appropriate, God sent Jesus to free us from the tutelage of the Law so that we could walk in faith towards him without any reservations.  Jesus made it so much simpler for us.  But, we continue to walk away, saying it's too scary to follow, too risky to become a disciple, too good to be true.

And then, we have all of the blessings that we receive every day.  We can't seem to be thankful for each one of them.  Instead, we go to God, asking for God to make things the way that we want them, for the moment, for the minute that it sounds good.  Instead, God shows us the bright way, but we find the things to make it scary for us.  God shows you the dream job, but your investigation shows that you would have to put in a greater effort.  God shows you the dream house, but your investigation shows that you would have to mow the lawn.  God shows you salvation, but your investigation shows that you would have to follow God.

This Lent, take some time to thank God for all the blessings you have received.  Ask God for courage through every situation in your life, so that you might be able to become the best that you can be.

Day 076: Total Devotion

"Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, 'In you all the nations shall be blessed.' So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham."  Galatians 3:7-9

This is a revelation to us about how to live our lives.

On the one hand, Paul is clarifying the fact that the Gospel is not restricted to those who are related by blood line to Abraham.  In fact, the only way to become children of Abraham is through faith.  On the other hand, this is actually an explanation about how we can be true Christians.  Just as the Jews could only claim heritage to Abraham through their faith, in the same way we can only claim discipleship to Jesus through our faith.

We have all been called to become followers of Jesus through our faith.  And what does that entail?  It entails a total dedication of our lives to Jesus.  The neat thing about being followers of Jesus is the fact that we have lots of his teachings written down in the Gospels.  We know how Jesus wants us to live.  He calls us to put aside all of our judgments, our prejudices, our discrimination, and instead show our love for one another as signs of our love and devotion to God.  We have so many invitations to follow Jesus that you would think that more people would decide to become followers.  Again, it seems that it is because of the simplicity of the Gospel that we can scare ourselves away.

This Lent, take some time to read one of the Gospels (I'd recommend Mark because it's the shortest) and find out how you can become a closer follower of Jesus.  Point all of the things you do in your Lenten devotion to God.

Day 075: Bias

"But from those who seemed to be something - whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man - for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me."  Galatians 2:6

We need to go around remembering this.

Favoritism is a dangerous thing that has plagued humanity for quite a long time.  Holding onto just one person while disregarding everybody else who is much better qualified is something that can be harmful for a business, a class, a church, or a project.  Favoritism blinds us.

God, on the other hand, is not blind.  God sees all that we are worth and puts us to in places where we can shine the best.  God provides us with the opportunities to grow and to shine in ways that we couldn't ever have imagined.  On top of that, God can see through the acts that we each put on in order to deceive all of those around us.  God is the one with the sharp eye and the discerning ways to read past the papers that are framed and hanging on an office wall.  God can examine us entirely.

We allow for our own biases to rule over our lives.  But that adds nothing to our lives.  When we start deceiving ourselves about people that we like just because they went to a certain school, speak a certain way, or even have a certain skin color, we end up hurting ourselves.  Rather than making our lives better, we start to degenerate, undoing all the work that we had done to begin with.

What's a way to eliminate this issue?  How about turning to God?  When we make ourselves the boss, we don't know when to stop picking and choosing what we want.  We have gotten so used to allowing our biases to rule over us that we can't even make good decisions.  However, with prayer and meditation, with a constant communication with God, we can be more discerning.  When we allow for God to rule over us, God will put God's master plan into action.  We will discover greater things when we work together with what God gives us.

This Lent, meditate on what God has in store for you.  What issues are pressing you right now?  What kinds of goals do you have?  What are the God-given gifts that you have that you can use to get to your goals?  Pray and communicate with God.  God will show you the best way to live your life, and you won't have to worry about any biases putting you at a disadvantage. 

Day 074: Let God Live in You

"He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.  You are therefore greatly mistaken."  Mark 12:27

This is an admonishment that Jesus tells us every day.

It seems to be the answer to many people's questions about declining church attendance.  We have let God become the God of those who have died way in the past, people we don't even know personally.  We allow ourselves to be absorbed in motions and customs that we don't even believe in.  Why do we do this?

Perhaps we do this because of the fact that we are afraid of God: not with a godly fear, one that brings us closer to God, but a phobia, one that just forces us to run away from God.  We're afraid to explore our relationship with God, so we let those who have dared to draw closer to God guide us with their mere words.  However, I don't think that that's what those saints before us would have wanted.

What happens to you when you see something amazing?  When you go to a breathtaking beach for the first time, or climb up the top of the Great Wall of China?  You take pictures, you make your personal mark, and you tell every single person around you.  In the same way, those who have experienced God in so many ways have given us their postcards, their accounts, their videos, their selfies.  When we show off our pictures and talk about our experiences, we almost always conclude with the same recommendation, "you have to go do this."  And that's what the saints of the past are telling us, living in their words and their histories.

Sometimes, though, when we walk into church, pick up a prayer book, mouth the songs, or watch the priest do her thing, we are just there.  Imagine going to a foreign country for the first time and just walking around everywhere without taking a moment to breathe the new air, look at the new sights, or even taste the food.  You just wasted a trip.  In the same way, by not engaging in church, you're just wasting your time.  You are allowing God to be the God of the dead.

It will definitely take some effort, but a long line of saints will tell you that the results are worth the effort.  Raise your hands, think about the prayers, sing your best, just do something when you are in a spiritual space.  Allow for the Holy Spirit to enter you.  The only way you will truly reach God is by reaching out towards God, just as God is reaching out to you.

This Lent, take a moment to think about the different prayers you say in church, or think about your favorite hymn/worship song.  Think about how all the words can become part of your everyday life.

Day 073: Giving to God

And Jesus answered and said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  And they marveled at Him.  Mark 12:17

The Gospel prefaces this passage with the notion that the people asking Jesus were trying to test him.  However, it seems that this situation applies to all of us.

We sometimes like to use God as our excuse to do anything we want.  In fact, there are many who say that faith is a total departure from rationality.  But, the bible is very clear that this is not the case.  We can't just start putting all of our crazy ideas forth as ones inspired by God.  We know who God is by history and by the bible.  So why do we stray away in the first place?

I think the answer is in the reaction from the people who asked Jesus.  They marveled.  In the Gospels, people marvel only when something that goes completely against the grain happens.  It's whenever they are overtaken by the grandeur of a situation.  These scribes who asked Jesus were trying to make something marvelous happen.  They wanted their ideas to be glorified and approved by Jesus.

I'm sure the same thing can be said about us.  Many times, we stray from God and start to use God as our scapegoat when we want people to approve of our irrational ideas.  Yet, just as in the above passage, in the end, God will come back with something that will leave us awestruck.  These moments leave us even more dumbfounded because of the fact that they are moments where we have to humble ourselves and leave behind our own selfish ways to go back to God.

This Lent, take some time to pray and meditate about how you can go back to God.  Make this Lent be a time for you to render your own thoughts to your own thoughts, but your soul to God. 

Una Reflexión

Sandra Montes reflexiona…

Como la Pascua de Resurrección es mi época favorita del año, siempre la he celebrado en grande con mi hijo. Cuando Ellis estaba creciendo pasamos por momentos muy difíciles debido a que su padre y yo nos divorciamos cuando Ellis era muy chico. Recuerdo que me sentía muy culpable por ser madre soltera y por no hacer las cosas como una “buena madre” que veía en películas. Cuando miro hacia atrás pienso que hubieron muchas estaciones de la Cuaresma en nuestras vidas llenas de desierto, incertidumbre, y hasta oscuridad.

Ellis nació en la Iglesia Episcopal y nuestra tradición de fe latina está enraizada en la crianza Evangélica de mis padres. No crecí observando la Cuaresma como much@s de mis herman@s Episcopales o Católic@s Roman@s. Recuerdo que oía de vez en cuando que alguien dejaba de comer o hacer algo durante la Cuaresma y recuerdo que nos daban pescado cada viernes en la escuela pero no entendía lo que realmente significaba la Cuaresma.

A medida que crecía y aprendía más sobre mi fe y las tradiciones Episcopales empecé a renunciar a cosas como parte de mi disciplina Cuaresmal. Siempre bromeo que tenía una barra de chocolate cerca de mi boca abierta cada sábado de la Cuaresma esperando que el reloj marcara la medianoche para darle un gran mordisco alabando a Dios que los domingos no eran parte de la Cuaresma (algo que aprendí en un viaje en taxi con cinco obispos).

Entonces me di cuenta que a pesar de que era difícil renunciar a cosas como dulces o refrescos, tenía que haber algo más para que la Cuaresma fuera significativa. Empecé a añadir cosas a mi disciplina – leer más la Biblia, diaria meditación y escritura, cantos, y compartir mi fe con otr@s – especialmente con Ellis.

Siempre tuve la esperanza de que podía ser como mis padres que me enseñaron a amar a Jesús con su ejemplo y acciones en lugar de palabras o sermones. Ellis, mi mayor bendición, me ha enseñado lo que es vivir una vida en Cristo – en el Cristo resucitado – con su propia vida.

Todo lo que hacemos durante la Cuaresma – meditaciones, discusiones, comidas – nos lleva más allá de la cruz y a la tumba vacía (y a las cestas de Pascua anuales que hago para mi hijo, mi sobrino y sobrinas). Oro para que Ellis haya visto eso en mí. Oro para que Ellis pueda ver más allá de mis propias cruces que llevo abiertamente o en silencio y pueda ver la tumba vacía hacia la que camino.

Ellis Montes reflexiona…

Cuando era más joven, recuerdo que la Cuaresma era un tiempo para renunciar a algo por cuarenta días, Por lo general, tenía que ser algo que era difícil de renunciar, porque así tenía significado. Casi siempre renunciaba a los refrescos (que es algo que ahora fuera muy fácil de hacer), porque mi mamá renunciaba a los dulces casi todos lo años.

Esta práctica se desarrolló, sobre todo cuando estaba en la escuela secundaria, porque estaba tratando de ver cuáles hábitos hacían que la temporada “valiera la pena”. Renuncié la carne un año y recuerdo que fue todo un reto, no sólo para mí, pero también para mi mamá. Comenzamos a compartir nuestros ayunos cuaresmales, especialmente a medida que crecía. Recuerdo que no me gustaba la idea de renunciar los dulces cuando lo intenté por primera vez, pero por fin comencé a renunciar las mismas cosas que mi mamá y la carne fue una de ellas. Fue muy difícil, por supuesto, especialmente siendo latino, donde la carne es todo lo que hay. Un día, después de un largo día en la escuela y la iglesia, llegamos a casa y compramos comida rápida para cenar y tenía carne. Estaba preocupado, pero mi mamá me dijo que no me preocupara. De hecho, aprendí mucho sobre no preocuparme sobre el ayuno en un día en particular. A veces, me explicaba, si un día no cumplíamos con el ayuno era importante hacerlo el siguiente domingo, que eran los días libres. Y así seguíamos con nuestro ayuno.

A medida que fui creciendo, empecé a darme cuenta que la Cuaresma era mucho más que renunciar a algo. Mirando hacia atrás, siento que mi mamá trataba de participar más espiritualmente durante la Cuaresma cada año, comenzando a renunciar a algo hasta fomentar una vida más fuerte de oración. Hace unos años, mi abuelito, nuestro rector, comenzó una tradición de cuarenta horas de oración, desde el mardi gras (el martes antes del miércoles de ceniza) hasta la misa del miércoles de ceniza. Estaba confundido sobre cómo funcionaría porque la gente se inscribía para orar por una hora. ¡Una hora! No fue hasta que mi mamá me inscribió para orar una madrugada con algunos de los jóvenes adult@s que entendí cómo funcionaba. Oramos por algunas cosas que estaban escritas en un papel además de nuestras propias peticiones, por la hora entera. Este compromiso durante la Cuaresma fue algo que mi mamá me inculcó desde que era niño, y le agradezco a Dios por eso. Cada año encuentro la Cuaresma como una oportunidad para explorar nuevas facetas de oración, devoción, y por supuesto, ayuno. Sí, es un tiempo difícil, pero también es una experiencia agradable, donde abstenerme de comer durante 24 horas y orando durante tres horas seguidas me llamó mucho la atención, y publicar reflexiones cuaresmales diarias parece más un desafío que una tarea.

Day 072: Truth

Truthful lips establish a testimony, but a hasty witness has an unrighteous tongue.  Proverbs 12:21

This proverb is telling me about the importance of telling the truth from an interesting standpoint.

The best thing about telling the truth is that it is something that will ultimately feel the most comfortable to the teller.  There's no need to be hasty in making up an entire history behind a lie when telling the truth.  Telling the truth also establishes a testimony about your own character.  If you are bound to tell the truth at all times, then you will show that you have a very good character.

Delving deeper into this proverb, though, I find that this concept can be applied to another aspect of living.  When we know what the truth is, we can find comfort in it.  When we are living in a lie, or even when we are living in a fiction, reality (or truth) weighs down on us.  If you watch a movie or read a novel, you might enjoy experiencing a new world, but once you close the cover or leave the theater, you are stuck with your own world.

However, imagine how much comfort can come from knowing that the truth that weighs down on you is not fiction or hardship, but love and grace.  In God, we can find the truth, which is a story of love from God to each one of us.  We can find comfort in knowing that God loves us and builds us up to love all of those around us.

If times are feeling stressful, perhaps it's time to go back to God.  Perhaps it's time to contemplate the beauty of the love that God has for us.  This Lent, turn to God so that you can find more of this love that comforts us in all of our hardships.

Day 071: Simplicity

"But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."  2 Corinthians 11:3

We have been deceived many times that simplicity is something to be suspicious about.  We respond to things that are simple with, "it's too good to be true."  In order to cope with this sentiment, we have decided to make everything around us more and more complex.  On top of everything else, though, we have done this to the Gospel.

Jesus asserted many times in the Gospels that the whole message is just one of love.  Love God.  Love your neighbors.  Go out into the world with this message.  Bring the love that I have given you to everybody in every nation, in every language.  But that's too simple for us, isn't it?  I mean, God, the creator of the universe and all that is in it, the governor over everything and every day, only asks for us to love.  That's it.

However, we have gone out into the world, baptizing ourselves in the name of our own thoughts.  We have taken not only two tunics, but an entire wardrobe with us: all of our interpretations, all of our biases, all of our judgments.  Instead of accepting others with welcoming hands, we have gone into other houses and poured our dust over everybody who comes to us with a question.  We have isolated everybody around us in the name of something we call our own "gospel".

That's not what Jesus preached.  That's not what we have learned.  That's what we have deceived ourselves into believing and doing.  Rather, we are called to love everybody with the same love that God has given us.

This Lent, meditate on the simplicity of the Gospel.  Let the Gospel of love permeate all throughout your mind and body.  Let the love shine through you in everything you do.

Day 070: Jesus Said It Best

But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."  Mark 10:27

Recently, I've been posting about the importance of giving.  Most of my support for those posts came from Paul's writing.  However, I feel that this verse here, which is among the most quoted, is the best way of putting the message.

Jesus says that it is very difficult for a person who trusts in riches to enter the Kingdom of God.  For us Americans, who are living in one of the richest nations in the world, this might seem kind of harsh.  Sure, many of us may have volunteered or donated money to charity, but we haven't given it all away.  So what are we supposed to do?

This is where Jesus replied: for with God all things are possible.  With God, we will have enough to live day by day.  With God, we will be able to live all our dreams.  With God, we will have such an overflow of blessings that we will be able to bless many more people around us.  God is looking after us.  God is that loving parent who won't fall asleep until you are home in bed.  God is the parent who will communicate with us about how to live a better life.  God is the parent who will be patient with all of our errors.

This Lent, if things are starting to seem rough, remember that God is watching out for you.  Take some time to meditate on all the blessings that you already have, and listen to God, who is already telling you what's your next step.

Day 069: Giving

"But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.  So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.  And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work."  2 Corinthians 9:6-8

God provides.  It's as simple as that.  God provides us a means to live our lives, but God also gives us a means by which we can give.

Receiving something to give is something we don't think about that often.  We want all the goodness that comes our way just to benefit ourselves, yet we are called to give.  In fact, the notion of giving can seem quite difficult for many of us, especially if we don't have the highest paying job or the most flexible hours.  But this passage above states the contrary: God provides us with ways to give.

So what the next step?  In order to give, it takes discernment.  From another perspective, we can think of our giving in the way that we might give a gift at a birthday party or for any other holiday.  We take time to think about what we will give, usually having many reasons behind our gifts.  In the same way, we should consider how we are going to give to our neighbors and/or our church.  The above says that God calls us to be cheerful givers, and in the Old Testament, we are told that we need to give thoughtfully to God - we are to give the very best to God.  In that case, we can see that we won't all give the same gift.  In fact, it is the diversity of the gifts that we can give that makes this a rewarding experience.

Think about all the different things that a church does.  It provides a space for worship, which requires funding for the electricity (air conditioning/heating) and water.  It provides for the community that serves there, which requires not only funding for the different staff members, but also requires many who are willing to work and volunteers.  It provides methods of worship, which require things from musicians, to books, to teachers, to speakers, and to many other sorts of people.  In this description of a church, we can see that there are already many ways to give.  If those aren't enough, pray to God to help you discern what your best way to give is.

If one doesn't feel comfortable teaching, however, she shouldn't donate her time as a teacher.  If one doesn't feel comfortable cooking, he shouldn't donate his time as a cook.  All of these things require lots of prayer and meditations so that the giving can be beneficial for both you and the receiver.  In the end, you as a giver will be a receiver, for the one who sows abundantly will reap abundantly.

This Lent, direct your thoughts and prayers towards discerning how you can give to your community, church, and/or your friends and family.

Day 068: Charitable Giving

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich."                        2 Corinthians 8:9

Paul does a very good job at giving us some very concrete images for some otherwise complex subjects.  I feel that many people like to downplay the importance that many of the writers in the bible placed on giving.  And this is not just giving offerings to God or the temple, but also giving to others (which can be seen as a form of godly giving).

In order to explain the importance of this giving, though, Paul begins by explaining that Jesus gave us everything.  Jesus became poor so that we might become rich.  And that's the ultimate sign of grace and mercy from God.  Despite the fact that we have been shown so much mercy, we decide many times to run away with what we are given.  We want to put all that God has given us in place just for our own benefit.  But that's not what Jesus did.  Jesus suffered more than any of us has and handed himself over so that he could die on our behalf, so that he could be offered in our place.

We are called, therefore, to perpetuate this mercy towards all of those around us.  We are called to show mercy to those who haven't been shown it by all of those above them.  We are called to be support for those who have lost it all.  We are called to bring up those who have been trampled on the ground.

Paul gives an interesting caveat, though, saying that we are not supposed to burden ourselves so that others may become higher than us.  When I think about all the types of support that Jesus has given me, I think about how many different ways I can give to those around me who are in need.  I am by no means the richest person out there, and I don't think that I ever will be.  Yet, I know that I have been blessed to be able to pursue my own dreams without worrying so much about finances, thanks to my mom and grandparents who have supported me in so many different ways.  How can I give?  I can bring others to God, because that's how I find comfort in difficult times, and who doesn't want comfort in the difficult times?  I can volunteer my time to help those in need.  I can dedicate so much of what I am towards my neighbors.

In the same way, we are all called to give to our neighbors in different ways.  Sure, money might seem to be the easiest way because of the fact that it can be transformed into so many different things.  However, just as we are going to read this upcoming Sunday, any gift that we give will be gladly accepted before God, for God will transform each gift into something magnificent.

Take some time this Lent to see what time or talents you have that you can give to those who are in need.  In fact, look around you to see who is close to you who might be in need.  Spend time with your relatives who don't get company that often.  Talk to those of your friends who might seem down.  Be a support to your neighbors.

Day 067: Discipline

So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."       Mark 9:29

This is a recurring theme from Jesus, and it emphasizes the importance of prayer and fasting in our life in faith.

Ever since I heard my Abuelito talk about the teacher-student relationship between Jesus and his disciples, I have read the Gospels with attention towards such a relationship.  When I read this, I thought about how Jesus must have felt after seeing his disciples asking him why they couldn't cast out a demon.  Jesus seems to respond in a way that a teacher would (and most definitely should): they were not doing what he had taught them.

The disciples were students of living a spiritual life, above all else.  When I think of that, I begin to think about how Jesus' statement can apply to other aspects of my life.  Prayer and fasting are foundations to living faithfully, but they are also disciplines (things disciples should teach and follow).  When I think of it that way, I think about the other images from this passage.  The demon in the story is every doubt that we have in our own lives.  The demon doesn't have to be something that possesses us in the way the bible shows, but demons loom all about us, and many times we fall slaves to them.  Self-doubt is a demon that I have to face quite regularly, especially as a musician.  It doesn't only manifest itself in me as doubt, but it also overtakes me in every aspect of my life.  My practicing becomes vain.  My lessons become hopeless.  I lose all confidence, even downplaying my own talents before every person that I meet.  It's a show of helplessness.

Prayer and fasting, discipline, are what will cast out demons from all around us.  We need to become better disciplined in whatever we pursue.  If it's weight loss, we have to keep up with our dieting and exercising.  If it is an art, it is practice and dedication.  If it is a relationship, it is communication and faith.  We are called to become more disciplined in our lives so that we can take control.

This Lent, take some time to turn your life into one where you can have confidence in yourself.  Pray for guidance from God so that God can help you cast out all the demons that plague your life. 

Day 066: Direction

"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it."  Mark 8:35

 This sounds like quite an order, but it's for our own sake that Jesus commanded it.

But, to preserve our own life can seem pretty selfish, especially before God.  When we go about on our own, making everything in our life just the way we want it, many times the process leads us on a path away from God.  Our life would have our name on it, but it would fall very far from God.  Directing our lives can isolate us from all those around us, and then we will indeed be gaining our own world while losing our soul.

Losing our life means to let go of it.  We need to let go of our lives so that God can take it and shape it into the best that it can be.  What do Jesus and the Gospel mean?  They mean love.  They mean support.  They mean everything that is good.  So why would we want to keep our life from all of that?

Giving our life over to Jesus is a constant thing, though.  We periodically take it back from God's hands out of fear.  However, in order to make sure that God has complete control over our lives, we need to be in constant communication with God through prayer and reading the bible.  We will only be able to give our lives over for the Gospel's sake if we actually know what the Gospel is.  We direct our lives on the basis that we know our every thought.  If we familiarize ourselves with the Gospel, then we can allow for the Gospel to take over.  It will be a lot of work, just as Jesus pointed out (take up your cross), but Jesus will be there every step of the way, guiding us and helping us.

Take some time this Lent to familiarize yourself with God in a new way.  Find a new devotional, have a conversation with a faith leader or even your friends, or just sit down and read the Gospel of Mark (it's the shortest one).  Also, pray for guidance through your process of learning.

 

Day 065: Lawn of Life

He who works his own land will be satisfied with bread, but those who pursue vain things are in need of discernment.  Proverbs 12:11

Here is a commentary on how we should be living our lives.

On the surface, this admonishes us to live productively.  The second half of the proverb is pretty vague when it is taken by itself, but in context with the first half, it suggests that living one's life just to judge somebody else's is pointless.  As a musician, I have learned that I can't be directing my craft towards every set of ears out there.  In fact, I shouldn't even be directing my practice just to somebody else's ears.  I need to play for myself.  I have learned over the years about what I like and what I don't like in music.  I've been quite fortunate to have teachers direct me towards understanding my preferences and keeping consistent with them.

In the same way, we should be living our lives concerned with our own tasks at hand.  We have so many different challenges facing us each day that we can't handle all of them at once.  Just think about the things that you are already leaving off for tomorrow, next week, or even next year.  Yet, we think it's alright to make sure we are judging all the people around us as well.  That is what our issue is.  When we start bringing other people's faults (according to our own perceptions) into our lives, we end up wasting so much of our precious energy on the things that don't benefit us.  Rather than finishing up our projects for our school/job, we stand in a corner, burning with anger about someone else who - at least - is doing something.

Think about the image of land.  This past winter (which barely existed) has been quite an ugly one with our front yard.  I didn't bother to rake the leaves this winter, and the grass stopped growing, so I figured that everything was going to be alright until the next rains would come and wash away the superfluous leaves.  However, a bunch of crane flies decided to lay their eggs among the leaves instead.  Now, for the past two months, we have had quite a few crane flies just hanging out all over our front lawn, cars, trees, doorway, and, with little effort, in our own house.  Now that plants are starting to grow once again, there are very tall weeds growing around our rose bushes.  My own land is quite horrid at the moment.

Now, place that entire concept of land into the proverb.  Our lives are just as horrid as that land.  We face many different challenges with the land: weeds, flies, gardening, pruning, cutting grass, raking.  When we do the work that is necessary in our lives, we will receive our daily bread, and we will be satisfied.  When we tend to our spiritual lives, we will receive the bread of eternal life.

During this Lent, ask God to turn your discipline into daily bread.  Ask God how you can work on all the challenges you are facing.  Then, go and do them.

Day 064: A Spiritual Gift

Then Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for my sake?  Would that all the Lord's people might be prophets, when the Lord would put His Spirit upon them."  Numbers 11:29

I found this to be a pretty interesting remark in the midst of the otherwise mundane Book of Numbers.  I feel like it's a strong wish from God for each one of us.

A prophet can seem quite foreign at a first glance.  Sometimes, when you read the bible, you might think that prophets were just like oracles in Ancient Greek culture: they could see into the future and talked about it in mysterious ways.  However, prophets did more than just that.  Prophets proclaimed.  They proclaimed their sadness for the calamities that might befall their community.  They proclaimed the grace and mercy of God when it was to arrive.  They prepared the way for Jesus.  When I think of prophesying in that way, I say to myself, would that I might be a prophet, when the Lord would put His Spirit upon me.

When Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit, he gave us a great encouragement to preach.  He sent us out into the world in order to bring more people to God.  What can we do to become better prophets?  First, we can do what all the prophets did, which was become completely familiar with the Word.  When we become so familiar with the word of God in its entirety, it starts to grow within us.  It takes over us in such a way that it begins to drive our every action.  The next step is to make sure to be in constant communication with God.  A prophet brings words from heaven to earth, and the only way we can be sure we have words to bring down is by making sure we are keeping the avenue to receive words open.  Then, we need to be sure, on top of these two traits, to live the Word.  We need to make sure that every deed we do is what we pray for.

This Lent, think more about how you can let the Holy Spirit guide you to proclaim the Gospel to everybody around you.  Allow for the Word to live in you and you to live in it.

Day 063: Recommendation Letter

"You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart."                           2 Corinthians 3:2-3

When applying for a school or a job, you usually need a letter of recommendation or a reference.  In both instances, it's a way for the employer to become familiar with who you are.  In these letters, you can usually find someone writing about all the best that you have done and all the good that you are.

From the above passage, we can see that we are letters of recommendation of God, for we are reflections of all the good that God has done.  God created us with many gifts, talents, and other positive traits.  We need to remember this when we go about living our lives, because we need to show that we truly are children of God and not just bags of bones on earth.

Another thing that comes to mind from this passage is that we need to be sure that we are producing results with our work.  Now, results aren't going to look the same for every person.  For some, good results are a massive church with thousands of congregants.  For others, good results will be your living each day.  The world around us, the things and people with which we surround ourselves, reflect who we are as people.  We always need to work to produce good signs about us in those who are around us.  In order to accomplish this, though, is to remember that we too are recommendation letters.  When we finally write ourselves to be perfect, with everything in line, and with all the good in our letters representing all that we are, we can start to write great ones on other people.  We are all called to build each other up as a community: a community of successes.

Take some time this Lent to reevaluate your spiritual life.  Ask for God to write all the good things on you, and ask how you can write great things onto your friends and neighbors. 

 

Day 062: Meditation

And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."  For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.  So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.  Mark 6:30-32

The theme of rest comes up every once in a while in the Gospels, and they show that even Jesus rested from time to time.  That's the gift that we have from Jesus, that he understands how our living is, with all the troubles, temptations, and even the strain.

Jesus led his disciples to do difficult tasks, especially sending them out to preach the Gospel, to baptize, to pray, to heal, and many other things.  However, Jesus also led them to rest.  This above passage seems to suggest that the disciples didn't want to rest, though, since Jesus had to tell them specifically to rest amidst their work.  Indeed, this also happens when they are stressing out in the sea in their boat and Jesus is very calm.  Jesus gives us an example of knowing when to strain and when to rest.

The neat thing about rest, though, is that that's when Jesus reveals very special things to the disciples.  In this example, the disciples go to rest, but then they are confronted with a hungry crowd, where Jesus shows his divinity by breaking bread and fish to feed over five thousand people.  It's an example for us to follow.  Many times, we like to look at our lives as things where as long as we strain ourselves to the greatest possible ways, we will be able to reap tons of rewards from our work.  However, Jesus has shown us time and again that we can receive rewards when we take the time to rest as well.  And, in our culture today, it might seem impossible to take a break.

Now, this break isn't just a time to lounge about and do nothing.  In fact, the sort of rest we are called to do might even seem like stress to some.  Rest is when we stop thinking about all the things around us.  It's when we take time to enjoy the silence, to close our eyes, to sit comfortably.  It's a time when we open our ears and our hearts to God.  When we do this, we can take time to become much more familiar with God.  God will give us our comfort, our relaxation, our calm in the middle of the storm.

Take some time this Lent to meditate and listen to God. 

 

 

 

Day 061: Our Mission

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

There is our calling, right in plain sight.  Sure, the language might be a little cluttered, but it's still there.

Think a moment about how education works. There are schools which have teachers who have studied the materials they're teaching.  While the teachers are teaching some necessary skills, they are also, in turn, training some students to become teachers.  In reality, all of the students come out as teachers to certain degrees, utilizing the skills that they learned in school.  That's how God works in us.

God calls us not only so we can be comforted, but also that we might be able to comfort others.  And, the way that we can comfort others is by bringing them to God.  If you find a good picture on social media, you don't just tell your friends about it.  You share it on social media, and if you are interacting in real life, you show your friends right next to you.  In the same way, we are to bring all of those around us to the source of our great comfort, to God.

Make Lent be a time not only to reflect and improve yourself, but let it be a time when you can bring others to God, so that they might be able to experience the same comfort that you do in your own fast and/or discipline.

Day 060: Amazing Jesus

"Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?"  So they were offended at Him.  Mark 6:3

Why yes, yes it is Jesus.  Jesus, the one who lives as a human does, taking on the job of his father.  Yes, Jesus is the one who grew up with a family (whether direct relatives or not, the argument doesn't make much of a difference here).  Jesus, the son of a woman that I'm sure many different people around town knew.  Why does that offend you?

I can write that directly to those who lived around Jesus back in the day, but I must ask the same question to my readers and to myself.  Does the idea of Jesus offend you?  Does the Jesus who walked around and abounded in love and forgiveness offend you?  Does the Jesus who reached out to all the people that were hated offend you?  Jesus is somebody that I'm sure offends many, if not most, of us on a regular basis.  We have trouble understanding Jesus at times.

How do I know this?  We all have stepped away from following Jesus at least once in our lives.  It's difficult to follow Jesus.  Jesus lived the hard life.  Jesus faced all the same temptations that we face, yet he conquered sin and temptation.  We, on the other hand, find temptations to be so great that we would rather follow them than conquer them.

Perhaps it's the fact that Jesus lived our lives that trips us up from time to time.  We like to separate ourselves from Jesus, calling him a being who lives out there, far away, and has no connection to us.  In reality, Jesus is here with us, right now.  Jesus is talking to us every day.  Maybe we've gotten used to it and just decide to ignore him as an annoying banter.  That's what his hometown did to him.

Instead, we are called to continue our faith in him.  We are called to follow him.  We are called to reach out to those we might not find so favorable.  We are called to live holy lives.  We are called to be in communion with Jesus.  We are called to embrace Jesus rather than reject him.

How do we follow Jesus?  We just need to make ourselves more familiar with him.  Read some of the Gospel today, meditate on his teachings.  Accept what he teaches.  That's all we need to do in order to grow closer to Jesus.  It's our prejudices against Jesus that separate us from him.  Rather, let this Lent be a time when you get closer to Jesus.