It’s The Little Things That Matter

Zechariah 12:10-11, 13:1

Galatians 3:26-29

Matthew 25:31-46

Divine Inspiration

What can you do to make someone else’s life just a little easier?  What is one thing that may not be a big thing for us, but it makes such a difference in someone else’s life?  It can be something as small as a smile, a kind word, a phone call to say, “I’m thinking of you.”  I love the part of today’s Gospel in which Jesus says, “I was naked and you clothed me.  I was hungry and you fed me.”  And, one of the disciples asks him when – “When, Lord, did I do all these things?”  And, Jesus explains that when that person helped others, he helped Jesus. 

Jesus – God – the Holy Spirit – is a part of and in each one of us.  He is there, in our soul.  When we do something for someone – anyone – we are doing it for God.  Some of us do a lot for others.  Some of us go out of our way to make others happy.  But, some of us could do a little more, if we are truly honest with ourselves.  In today’s Gospel, Jesus says to take up his cross daily.  The image of the cross may make you think that you have to do big and hard things every day.  But, I don’t think that that’s what Jesus meant.  I think He meant that we just need to look beyond our own issues, maladies and pain to think of and reach out to someone else; whether it’s in a big way or a small way.

I’ll give you a couple of examples from my life – one where my small action helped someone, and one in which I could have taken a small action but didn’t and regretted it.  Last week, I heard that one of our friends from our small church group had her mom pass away.  I could have just sent a card and she would have been glad to have received it.  But instead, I took five minutes to call instead and let her know how much I care.   I could tell in her voice and words that this one call made a difference for her, and it made me feel good to know I could ease her pain a little, too.  The other example is a little lighter.  Yesterday as my husband Craig and I got ready to jump into our pool, I grabbed a towel for myself but not one for him.  I could have gotten one for him, but I assumed he’d just get his own.  When he asked if I had gotten one for him, I felt bad.  It’s a tiny thing that would have made him happy. 

This is what I’m talking about here – serving each other in little ways; ways that are not difficult or particularly time-consuming.  They just take a little thoughtfulness.  But they can make a big difference in making someone else feel loved, cared for and appreciated.  This is how we can take up our cross every day and serve one another while serving the Lord.

Amen.

Readings and Divine Inspiration from Sunday, June 23, 2013.

He Calms The Storm

Job 38:1, 8-11

2 Corinthians 5:14-17

Mark 4:35-41

Divine Inspiration

When we go through trials and tribulations in life, it’s easy to jump to the conclusion that God is testing us, testing our faith.  The first reading from today’s readings is from the Book of Job.  Is there anyone who has suffered more than Job, who would be within their rights to ask why God is testing him?  In reality, all that Job was afflicted with was borne out of the lack of cleanliness and lack of modern-day medical assistance.  It was not God creating the misery.  Yet, what pulled Job through was his faith in God.

In the New Testament, the Gospel of Mark, the disciples are in the boat, fishing, just trying to do their jobs, when a huge storm blows out of nowhere.  Isn’t this usually the way it happens?  We’re minding our own business, doing our jobs, doing our best each day, when out of nowhere, stress, conflict, even tragedy strikes.  The stock market crashes and jobs are lost.  Or, disease settles in.  Suddenly, we’re thrown into chaos, and we start asking, “Why, God?  Why are you testing me?” 

Yet, it really is not God testing us.  Why would he send bad things when he loves us?  He wouldn’t.  The things that happen to us are just part of the human experience here on earth.  No, what we need to ask during those times is for God to guide us through them; to calm the wind and the storm the way Jesus did for the disciples in the boat.  We need to dig deep into our faith, the faith that we work on building every day when we pray, when we give thanks to God, when we talk with him.  It’s important to build this faith, this relationship with the Lord, so that it’s there when we need it most.

How is your relationship with the Lord, the Divine, the Universe?  Do you know Him?  He knows you, he loves you, and he’s there waiting.  It is never too late to call out to him.  And the relationship we have with him can never be deep enough.  The point – the message – here is to turn to the Lord ALWAYS.  Whether in good times or bad, the Lord loves us and wants to be our Rock.

Amen.

Readings and Divine Inspiration from Sunday, June 21, 2015

Be Amazed!

Deuteronomy 4:32-34

Romans 8:14-17

Matthew 28:16-20

Divine Inspiration

Be amazed at the Glory of God!

Be AMAZED at the Glory of God!

As we go about our days, our lives, our own issues, it is easy to take the Lord for granted.  Sure, we love Him and we pray to Him; that’s not in question.  But do we really ever step back to just revel in how AWESOME God is?

In the Old Testament, Moses asks the people if they have ever seen or heard anything so great as the Voice of God.  Think about it – God had just brought them out of Egypt and slavery.  He parted the Red Sea, for Heaven’s sake!  And yet, the people fell back into their daily issues and worries and started complaining again.  They had failed to continue to be amazed at God’s glory.

In the Gospel, the eleven disciples are travelling with Christ.  They see all He is doing – the teaching, healing and miracles – and yet, they doubted.  They failed to be amazed by the glory of God.  And there were there with Him!

When we get caught up in our own fears, doubts and issues, and we fail to be amazed by God, we’re not alone!  In fact, we’re in good company.  But, that doesn’t mean we should give up.  No, to the contrary, we should try to remember and find something every single day that reminds us of God’s glory and amazes us.  Maybe it’s seeing a beautiful picture of the land.  Maybe it’s simply seeing the sun!  Maybe it’s a phone call from a loved one or a smile from a dear friend.  All of this comes from God and is a reminder of how much He loves us.  And when take time to notice the signs he sends to us every single day, when we realize just how very much He loves us, it is truly awesome, truly amazing.

Be amazed at the glory of God.  Be amazed every day with the signs of His love for us.  And, share that love with one another. 

Amen.

Readings and Divine Inspiration from Sunday, May 31, 2015

We Are All Connected

Acts 8:5-8, 14-17

1 Peter 3:15-18

John 14:15-21

Divine Inspiration

Life is good when we can stay connected with others.  This is what Jesus is doing with the disciples in the gospel today – trying to tell them they will stay connected.  He will go to His Father, and someone (or something) will be sent from the Father – an advocate of sorts – to stay connected.  This advocate is the Holy Spirit.  It will always keep the disciples together.  And, it binds us to Jesus and each other in communion. 

This friendship and connection will never end, even in death.  We belong to the communion of saints.  It is a connection to all - living and deceased.  It goes on forever.  And, it gives us strength to continue Jesus’ work here on earth.  The Holy Spirit flows through this connection, guiding us, urging us to do God’s will.  It is always with us, always. We are never alone.  The Holy Spirit is part of God here on earth, loving us, comforting us.  And, we take that love and comfort so that we can give it to others, spreading the gospel and being filled with the Holy Spirit.  The connection we have with God through the Holy Spirit becomes the connection we have with all people.

Amen.

Readings and Divine Inspiration from Sunday, May 29, 2011

Choices

Acts 2:14, 36-41

1 Peter 2:20-25

John 10:1-10

Divine Inspiration

The gospel reading today celebrates the Feast of the Good Shepherd.  The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.  The key here is recognizing that the Lord is my shepherd.

Sounds simple.  But, do we really follow Christ?  Or do we allow our own perceived needs and wants to guide us?  Do we want something so much that it consumes our thoughts, our actions?  And, if so, are we choosing to be led by something or someone other than the Lord? 

God has given us free will.  He does not require that we follow Him.  In fact, that’s an example of His unconditional love for us – He loves us whether we follow Him or not.  He waits for us, gently (or sometimes not so gently) reminding us that He’s there for us, loving us, wanting to lead us.  It’s our choice to follow.  And when we do, when we make an active decision to, “Let go and let God,” everything falls into place.  Our worries and fears melt into the background.  They may not go away completely.  But, we, as God’s sheep, are better able to deal with them because the Good Shepherd is truly leading us.

Amen.

Reading and Divine Inspiration from Sunday, May 14, 2011

The Bond of Love

Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48

1 John 4:7-10

John 15:9-17

Divine Inspiration

Today’s readings are all centered around love.  How fitting, when today we celebrate our mothers and our love for them.  While we may all not be mothers, we all have or had a mother.  And, the love between us – mother and child – is deep, special and unlike any other.  It is a bond that can never be broken, regardless of the state of the relationship.  The love that God has for us is similar.  He is love, and He loves us all without conditions, regardless of the state of our relationship with Him.

In the New Testament reading, it is said that whoever is without love does not know God.  And, that is true.  But that does not mean that God does not know him or her.  God knows us better than we know ourselves, and he loves, warts and all, because God IS love.  The bond is there - He is simply waiting for each of us to wake up to that realization.  He will wait for as long as it takes, loving us unceasingly.  No matter how distant or far we may feel from God, He is always there, waiting for us, loving us, calling to us and welcoming us when we do wake up to the realization that we are living in the shining glory of God’s love.

Happy Mother’s Day, everyone!

Amen.

Readings and Divine Inspiration from Sunday, May 13, 2012.

Know God’s Love Through Serving Each Other

Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48

1 John 4:7-10

John 15:9-17

Divine Inspiration

Today is all about one of my favorite topics – love!  In the Gospel, Jesus gives us his famous and only commandment – to love one another as He loves us.  And in the new testament reading, John says let us love one another because love is of God.  There seems to be all this love swirling around!  But what happens when we don’t necessarily, “feel the love?”  It’s great to hear how much God loves us – that He sent His only son.  And it’s truly awesome that Christ loved us so much that He died on the cross for us.  So, if we don’t really feel it, truly feel it in our hearts, does that mean that we’ve somehow, by some weird twist of fate, been left out of the loop?  Could God have accidentally missed us?

There is a very important line in the New Testament reading.  It says, “Whoever is without love does not know God.”  Think about this.  It is not saying that God only loves some.  It is not saying that only some have God’s love and others don’t.  I’ll read it again.  “Whoever is without love does not know God.”  The accountability here is on us.  God ALWAYS loves us.  That never, ever changes.  Ever.  God has told us and shown us over and over that He loves us.  But relationships go in two directions, not one.  And it is up to us to say, “OK, God, I want to know You and I want to feel your love.”  And, even then, after we say it, we have to do more.  We have to talk with God every day, multiple times a day.  And then, we have to take it a step further.  We have to – MUST – love each other.  We must look for ways to serve and see God in each other.  Because, in serving each other, we are serving God and building that relationship with Him.

I have one final thought on loving and serving God through serving each other.  In the very first reading today, Cornelius, upon meeting Peter, fell to his knees before Peter.  Cornelius was honoring Peter, his way of loving.  And, Peter said, ‘Get up, I am also a human being.’  Peter, who could have fed his ego, chose instead to love and connect with Cornelius.  Peter even went on to say that ‘God shows no partiality.’  This is how we need to be with everyone we know and meet every day.  When we are complimented and honored by others, it is important to keep the ego in check and return the compliment, honor and love that are flowing our way to the person from whom it is flowing.  And, as we focus on loving each other, we will feel God’s loving arms wrapping around us, too.

Amen.

Readings and Divine Inspiration from Sunday, May 10, 2015

What Now?

Acts 1:1-11

Ephesians 1:17-23

Luke 24:46-53

Divine Inspiration

This morning, in the first reading which is from the Acts of the Apostles, the apostles find themselves standing there, looking up to the sky as Jesus had just been lifted up.  And, I believe they were probably thinking to themselves, “What now?”  Imagine all that they had just experienced and been through – from Jesus first coming on the scene, to their leaving their jobs, following him, his dying and his return.  It’s as if they had lived an entire lifetime in a matter of a few short months.  And now, here they were, left alone to look up at the sky and say, “What now?”

Well, the “What now?” was that it was time to learn something new.  For the apostles, it was time to learn how to lead.  Whether they knew it or not, they had a job to do, and that job was to step up and start the church and lead more people to God.

When is the last time you learned something new?  I imagine some of us may feel like those apostles standing there, looking up at the sky.  We may be thinking, “I’m tired, exhausted even, and I’ve lived an entire lifetime.  Isn’t it time for me to just rest?”  The answer to that is yes and no.  It’s always important to rest and recharge.  But, we can’t stay in that space all of our waking hours.  We must say to ourselves, “What now?” and learn something new.  It can be anything – from coloring in one of those new coloring books they have for adults, to getting some flowers, whether fake or fresh, and arranging them in new and different combinations.

I think that, often times, we have a tendency to think that if we haven’t learned a skill by a certain age or point in life, that we’re not going to ever learn it.  But, that’s not true!!  It is never too late to learn a new skill.  There is so much to be gained from it, from the new grooves you put in your brain to the deep sense of fulfillment that comes from seeing the new creation come to life.  Imagine how the apostles must have felt as they saw people grow in their faith and the earliest church being to form.  They probably had no idea they had it in them.  After all, it was Jesus who had started it all and Jesus who had done all the miracles.  They were just the loyal friends who had helped and served and protected him.  But, no, they had an important role to play, too, and it was time for them to step into it.

What new role or phase or activity will you step into?  What fun thing will you learn how to do?  Are you still asking yourself, “What now?”  You have the ability to answer that question.  You need only to listen to God, to that voice deep down inside your heart, to know how God is calling you to answer that question.

Amen.

Readings and Divine Inspiration from Sunday, May 8, 2016.

Conscious Love

Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41

Revelation 5:11-14

John 21:1-19

Divine Inspiration

In the Gospel today, Jesus asks Peter if Peter loves Jesus three times.  And, I have always wondered why.  First, Jesus knows everything.  He is the son of God and he has risen from the dead.  Surely he doesn’t need to ask anything; he is all-knowing, omnipotent.   So, why does he ask not once but three times?  Because it’s not about Jesus needing an answer.  It’s about Peter making a conscious decision and commitment to love the Lord.  The first time Jesus asked, Peter’s response was like ours whenever someone asks us how we’re doing – “Fine, thanks, and you?”  it rolls off the tongue without even thinking first.  The second time Jesus asked, Peter’s response was in the context of, ‘I just said yes, didn’t you hear me?’  There was thought behind Peter’s response, but not the thought Jesus was looking for.  The third time, Peter consciously and thoughtfully said ‘Yes, Lord, I love you.’  It wasn’t an automatic response or irritation at not having been heard.  It was from the heart.

Do we consciously commit to love the Lord from our hearts?  And, if we do, do we do it daily, or even hourly?  To consciously love the Lord with all one’s heart, mind and soul takes work and commitment, like a marriage.  It’s important because it deepens our relationship with God.  We can’t just assume He knows, because that doesn’t grow the relationship.  How much do we long to hear the words from a loved one?  It doesn’t warm us to simply know that the other one loves us, without hearing it and feeling it.  We must say it – often – and we must show it.

Maybe tomorrow, as we wake up, we can let our first thought be of the Lord, that we love Him and want to show Him.  And, maybe, if we start our day that way, the entire day and all of our actions will flow from that conscious love.

Amen.

Readings and Divine Inspiration from Sunday, April 14, 2013.

Welcome!

Matthew 21:1-11

Isaiah 50:4-7

Philippians 2:6-11

Matthew 26:14-27:66

Divine Inspiration

Today is Palm Sunday, and as I watched everyone walk into the church with their palms, the word, “welcome” jumped out at me.  Welcoming is and was happening everywhere.  The church had opened its doors and was welcoming everyone in, just as the people laid down their palms for Jesus and welcomed Him as He rode into town.  I also thought about how we invite and welcome Jesus into our hearts as little children, or when people convert to Christianity.  Typically, that happens only once in a lifetime.  And, Palm Sunday only happens once a year.  But, it is possible (and highly recommended!) to invite Christ into our hearts every day, even multiple times a day!  Think about it – we pray for many things – to heal others, to heal ourselves, to help us to make it through the day, to bless our food.  The list goes on and on, and they are all good things to pray for.  But, how often do we just invite Christ into our hearts, our minds, our souls?  How often do we say, “Lord, I invite you and welcome you into my heart?”  Such a simple prayer.  But, if everyone prayed it, it could change the world. 

Even though Palm Sunday only happens once a year, let it happen every day in your life.  Ask Jesus into your heart every single day, and watch how your life and the world around you changes for the better.

Amen.

Readings from Sunday, April 13, 2014.

Listen

Genesis 12:1-4a

2 Timothy 1:8b-10

Matthew 17:1-9

Divine Inspiration

The common thread in the New Testament reading – Paul’s second letter to Timothy – and the Gospel is basically, “Be still and know that I am Lord.”  Did that stand out for anyone else?  It’s subtle, but it’s there.  Paul writes, “He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to His design and grace.”  In the Gospel, Peter sees Jesus talking to Elijah and Moses on the mountain top, and what’s his reaction?  He immediately wants to take action, to do something, and he offers to build three tents.  God’s response is to say, “This is my Son.  Listen to Him.” 

Humans are action oriented.  Action seems to be our natural response to anything.  When someone is hurting, we ask, “What can I do?”  When someone has something great happen for them, we automatically think about planning a celebration.  In every area of life, we are constantly looking to do.  But that’s not what God is telling us.  His instruction was very clear – to listen.  Just listen.  It’s not through works, but by His grace that we are saved.  Never underestimate the powerful good that simply listening to God or to one another can do.  It’s also one of the most difficult things for humans to do.  It’s in our nature to fix things.  But that’s not our job; it’s God’s.  God will fix everything in time (His time!).  He doesn’t need our help.  What He needs from us is stillness, quiet, space to listen and hear His guidance in our lives.  It’s the same between friends and loved ones.  The most precious gift we can give someone is our full, undistracted presence to simply listen. 

The next time you’re tempted to do or take action, take a deep breath and pause.  Listen.  Focus.  And pray.  The outcome will be far better than anything you or any one person can do.

Amen.

Readings and Divine Inspiration from Sunday, March 16, 2014.

Scrutiny

1 Samuel 16:1B, 6-7, 10-13A

Ephesians 5:8-14

John 9:1-41

Divine Inspiration

Today is the 2^nd Scrutiny.  The word scrutiny tends to conjure up a negative feeling.  We may think of our words and actions as being scrutinized by others, and the possibly criticized or judged.  And few of us like that.  But the word scrutiny here isn’t about looking with the purpose of criticizing.  It’s really about looking deep, deeper than you typically look or see on a normal day.  In the Lenten Season, it’s meant to encourage us to look deep into ourselves, our hearts, our words and our actions. 

In the reading from the Old Testament, the Lord said to Samuel, “Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart.”  God sees into our hearts every day, whether it’s Lent or not.  What does he see?  Do we know?  Have we looked into our own hearts recently to see what’s living there?  And if we have, do we like what we see?  This is what scrutiny is all about.  Paul’s letter to the Ephesians and the Gospel are all about seeing, coming out of the dark and the blindness and really taking a look at ourselves.  And then, once we see, it’s time to make the change that we want in our lives.  It’s not about changing out of fear of judgment.  It’s about making changes out of a love of God and others that helps us to love ourselves. 

Lent is half over.  But that doesn’t mean we can go back on auto-pilot.  No, we need to take this time to ask God to open our eyes, to give us the courage to really look and see deep into our hearts, and the strength to work on the dark areas we want to clean up.  Only God can help us with this.  It’s a reminder to us of just how much we need Him – with all our hearts, souls and minds.  And through this time of scrutiny, of asking God to open our eyes and work on what we see, we will come through with a deeper, richer loving relationship with God, with each other and with our own selves.

Amen.

Readings and Divine Inspiration from Sunday, March 15, 2015

Breathe Out Compassion

1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a

Ephesians 5:8-14

John 9:1-41

Divine Inspiration

Today’s reading from the Old Testament involves Samuel making a judgment about Eliab.  It says that, “Samuel looked at Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is here before him.’  But the Lord says to Samuel, “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature.  No man sees as God sees.  Man sees the appearance, but God sees into the heart.”  This is a tremendous reminder of the old adage not to judge a book by its cover.  It seems logical, and we all may be thinking to ourselves, ‘Well sure, I know that!’  But knowing and doing are two different things.  How often do we hear about political or wealthy figures in the news coming upon a hardship and we think, ‘Oh, well, I’m sure he or she can afford it?’  Or, the opposite can happen, such as what happened to Samuel – we see someone who appears to be great at what they do or beautiful or just have it all together, and we think, ‘Wow, that person must have a great life!’  And again, it’s just our perception.  We don’t know what that person is dealing with inside, in their hearts.  But, God does.  He is the only one who does.  Even those who we call our closest friends and family have issues on their hearts that only God sees, not us.

When we feel that moment of judgment coming on, you know – the eyebrows start to go up, a sigh of exasperation starts to form in the back of our throats – we can catch ourselves in that moment.  We can give compassion instead of judgment, even if the other person looks like they’re not in need of any.  Take a deep breath and replace judgment, any type of judgment – for better or for worse – with the belief and mindset that we DON’T see everything, and breathe out kindness and compassion.  This continual practice of giving kindness and compassion to everyone around us will make us softer, gentler, more accepting and loving people filled with God’s love.

Amen.

Readings and Divine Inspiration from Sunday, March 10, 2013.

Our Own Transfiguration

Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18

Romans 8:31b-34

Mark 9:2-10

Divine Inspiration

Today is about transfiguration.  Jesus took three friends with him up the mountain where he knew they would have a direct experience with God.  This is rare.  We meet up with God in prayer, in our hearts.  But, how many times have we actually encountered him on a physical level?  Thankfully, we don’t have to meet up with Him physically to know that He’s there for us – always.

Whenever we suffer through a particularly difficult time or situation, wither it’s positive or negative, we come through it changed – transfigured – in some way.  We look at life differently after.  It is in that transfiguration that we see and hear God most clearly, if we are listening.  The challenge is to listen, to focus on God, to pray and meditate, rather than focusing on the experience itself.  God speaks to us in so many ways, but in those moments during and after a tough time, we are most vulnerable and therefore most open to hearing God’s voice.  If we listen and open ourselves completely to His will, we will be forever changed and transfigured in the Light of the Lord.

Amen.

Readings and Divine Inspiration from Sunday, March 4, 2012

Covenants And Signs

Genesis 9:8-15

1 Peter 3:18-22

Mark 1:12-15

Divine Inspiration

God made a covenant – a promise – to Noah that never again would life on earth be destroyed.  And, after He made that promise, God gave Noah a sign of his promise – his bow set in the clouds, so that Noah could see it when the clouds rolled in.  There were two key things here:  God’s promise and God’s sign.  At what other time have we received a promise from God?  It’s when Jesus says, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’  And the sign he gives us is his rising from the cross; once again, a very powerful covenant along with a sign of that promise.  However, at times, it can be difficult to remember this promise of Jesus.  We can feel so alone, so in the dark, that if we do remember, we may not truly believe.

Lent is a time to renew our belief and faith in Christ Jesus.  It is a time of self-reflection, of quiet.  It can even seem dark.  We are meant to pray, to connect as deeply with God as we humanly can.  I’m not talking about the typical prayers we say on a daily basis, but to actually ask Christ to fill our hearts, and then be quiet and observe the fullness that follows.  That fullness that we will feel is a sign that God is with us.  In fact, there are many signs of Christ’s promise to us.  We’ll see them if we just quiet ourselves and observe.

I was walking into my building at work after lunch last week, and among the winter flowers – all the lovely yellow and purple pansies, was a single red tulip about to open.  And, I was so busy walking and thinking about stuff I needed to do, that I almost missed it.  Fortunately, I didn’t.  I stopped, looked at it, and thanked God for sharing that sign with me.  It could have been a sign of the coming Spring or a sign that I wasn’t alone.  The specifics aren’t as important as the fact that it was a sign from Christ and I felt that love and fullness as a result.

I guess the point of all this is to remember that God and Jesus have made us promises – covenants – and that they give us signs of those promises every single day.  We just have to be quiet, watch for them and let them fill us with His love.

Amen.

Readings and Divine Inspiration from Sunday, February 22, 2015

Moments of Clarity

Deuteronomy 26:4-10

Romans 10:8-18

Luke 4:1-13

Divine Inspiration

Moments of clarity – we all have them.  They don’t come often.  But when they do, they are so powerful, so impactful, that they overrule all distractions, temptations and day-to-day chaos in our lives.

Jesus had clarity in all he did and said.  When he was up on the mountain, hungry, tired and lonely with the devil whispering in his ear about all he could give to Jesus, Jesus was completely, totally 100% clear about who he (Jesus) was and why he was there on the mountain and what he was meant to do here on earth.  He was not here for the power or to prove anything to anyone.  He was here to show people how to love one another; he was here to show people how to love God.  And, he knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that he was and is the Son of God.

Have you ever had a moment of clarity like this in your own life?  If so, when was it?  What were you doing or thinking or involved in at the time?  It certainly is not a requirement, but often these moments of clarity come when we’re in the midst of trouble, sorrow or suffering.  Jesus was alone; he was fasting; and in a sense, he was suffering.  But because of that, he was able to be very clear about his purpose here on earth. 

This is what Lent is about.  It is not meant to be a time of purposeless denial or suffering.  It is meant to be a time of clarity, and the way to achieve that clarity is to turn off all those things in life that distract us – things like mindless TV, gossip, junkfood.  Yes, some may look on giving these things up as suffering and denial, but that’s ok.  It causes us to turn even stronger to God to get us through that time.  And, in doing this – turning to God in our time of suffering – the moment of clarity will dawn upon us.  It’s not something we can control or will to happen.  It just does by the grace of God.  And, when it does, it’s important for us to recognize it, to be in the moment, and to thank God for the vision and clarity he has bestowed upon us.

This Lent, as you deny yourself the worldly pleasures and indulgences, pray for the clarity and vision that God wants you to have.

Amen.

Readings and Divine Inspiration from Sunday, February 14, 2016.

“Practicing” Our Faith

Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8

1 Corinthians 1-11

Luke 5:1-11

Divine Inspiration

Today’s Gospel is about going deeper.  Simon, who is a professional fisherman, has been fishing all day.  And, he has caught nothing.  After a long day of preaching, Jesus decides to get into Simon’s boat.  Simon was probably thinking, “Well, I’m not doing very well as a fisherman.  I may as well be a boat chauffer.”  But, Jesus asks him to put out his nets.  Simon, who truly is a professional fisherman and knows what he’s doing, tells Jesus that he’s been at it all day and caught nothing.  He might have even thought, ‘This Jesus is a great preacher, but he’s no fisherman.”  But, Simon figures he’s got nothing to lose and says, “As you command.”  He goes out to deeper water, puts out his nets, and the result is astounding – he catches more fish than the nets can hold.  He’s so amazed that, afterward he says he’s done as a professional fisherman and going to follow Christ full-time.  Just think how close he came to missing out on this because he thought he knew more than Jesus.

How often in our lives do we hear the little voice in our head or heart telling us what to do, yet we ignore it because we think we know more or we know better?  And, in that moment, what wondrous experiences with God are we missing out on?  The thing of it all is that God has blessed us with brains to think.  But, sometimes, those brains get in the way.  We might even go as far as to tell God that He doesn’t understand the circumstances.  But not only does he understand them, he will pull us through them with flying colors if we only let him, if we listen to Him and not ourselves, if we have FAITH.

This is the very essence of faith – thinking we may know better or want to do something different, yet yielding to God anyway.  It takes practice.  It doesn’t just happen.  Well, maybe after lots of practice, it just happens naturally.  But, it takes a daily – even hourly – recognition that in that moment when we think we know what we’re doing, we take a step back and ask God what is HIS will, and then we do THAT instead.  The more we do this, the more natural it becomes and the deeper our faith and our relationship with God grows.

Amen.

Readings and Divine Inspiration from Sunday, February 10, 2013.