rooted.

12/17/10

First Reading: Genesis 49:2, 8-10

Psalm 71:1-4, 7-8, 17

Gospel: Matthew 1:1-17

Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

Thus the total number of generations
from Abraham to David
is fourteen generations;
from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations;
from the Babylonian exile to the Christ,
fourteen generations.

Today's Gospel reading is, without a doubt, tough. And a little tedious. It's the genealogy of Jesus that's found at the beginning of Matthew's Gospel. And really at the beginning of the entire New Testament.

I feel that it's placed there, right at the beginning, to show that the Old Testament served a purpose. Jesus fulfills all the prophesies of the prophets, and he has the roots to prove it.

This immediately of the song by Robbie Seay Band called "Let Our Faith Be Not Alone." Jesus was divine, and he had 17 lines of scripture to prove who came before him, who had his back.Let our faith be not alone! Seek community. Build relationships.

Who has your back?

12/7-12/9

Missed a couple of days.

12/7/2010

Isaiah 40:1-11

Psalm 96:1-2,3 and 10ac, 11-12, 13

Matthew 18:12-14

Love the first reading. Includes the prelude to John the Baptist.

A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill shall be made low;
The rugged land shall be made a plain,
the rough country, a broad valley.
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

If we really take seriously the call of John the Baptist (and Isaiah) to prepare the way of the Lord, then we should take it seriously. It doesn't say "fill in some of the valleys, a couple of mountains, maybe a hill you can level." God doesn't want us to leave any areas of sin in our lives. "Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low." Don't take lightly the call to prepare for the coming of the Lord. Yes, our God loves while we are sinners, but He loves us too much to leave us in our sinful present state.

The first reading goes on to say,

Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
Carrying them in his bosom,
and leading the ewes with care.

God will not abandon us. What a tender shepherd He is. Feeds us, gathers us, and carries us. He does not abandon us to sin, but carries us out of out it. God will help you fill in the valleys of your life, with his assistance you can make mountains low. Amen!

12/8/2010 - Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Genesis 3:9-15, 20

Psalm 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4

Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12

Luke 1:26-38

12/9/2010

Isaiah 41:13-20

Psalm 145:1 and 9, 10-11, 12-13ab

Matthew 11:11-15

I want to write about these two readings together.

When I heard the first reading today it reminded me of the angel who appeared to Mary and her fiat.

And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.

And here is what struck me in the first reading from Isaiah.

I, the LORD, will answer them;

I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

I will open up rivers on the bare heights,

and fountains in the broad valleys;

I will turn the desert into a marshland,

and the dry ground into springs of water.

I will plant in the desert the cedar,

acacia, myrtle, and olive;

I will set in the wasteland the cypress,

together with the plane tree and the pine,

That all may see and know,

observe and understand,

That the hand of the LORD has done this,

the Holy One of Israel has created it.

"For nothing will be impossible for God." Such an amazing phrase. Mary was unsure of how she'd be the mother of Christ, as she was a virgin. The angel tells her that God has granted a child to Elizabeth, who was older and considered barren. This act of conception is nothing for a God who knows no limits. It's almost as if God is boasting of His glory. He gave life to an aged woman, and now will allow a virgin to give birth. And not just to any child, to the Savior of the world.

All glory to God, in the highest.

Then, look again at the reading from Isaiah. God promises not to forsake Israel and then lists all the things he is capable of. God will: create water where there is none, turn deserts into marshlands, dry ground into springs, plant mighty trees in the desert. God can do all the things that we deem impossible.

What impossible acts do you desire of God in your life? Trust. Know that He can and will accomplish things that you think will never happen. God believes in us far more than we usually believe in ourselves. Moreover, God can accomplish unimaginable works in our lives, things that we think we do not deserve or things that we believe to be truly impossible. We have to believe that our God is greater than all else, and capable of anything.

Once God works miracles in your life, be sure of your response. Give glory to the power and great love of the Father.

Like Psalm 145,

I will extol you, O my God and King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.

Amen. Praise God.

12/6/2010

Isaiah 35:1-10

Psalm 85: 9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14

Luke 5:17-26

"One day as Jesus was teaching,
Pharisees and teachers of the law,
who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem,
were sitting there,
and the power of the Lord was with him for healing.
And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed;
they were trying to bring him in and set him in his presence.
But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd,
they went up on the roof
and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles
into the middle in front of Jesus.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said,
“As for you, your sins are forgiven.”

What struck me first about today's Gospel was the determination of the man on the stretcher to see and be healed by Christ. Upon a second look, I see that we can also remark the determination of the friends of this man, who upon not finding a way in the front door, literally lower him in through the roof.

So first, the man. How determined are you to see Christ? Are you so confident in Christ's healing power in your life that you would be lowered through a roof? Especially during this time of Advent when we are preparing our hearts and lives to receive Christ, we must be willing to think creatively, to be determined. We must seek to be closer to Christ in every moment, and sometimes that takes creativity and willpower. Often I think we sit back and wait for Jesus to come to us. "Well, God if you're real... prove it." Or sometimes we are unsure of what to do, or confused as to why something is happening, and we cry out to God, "Why me?" or "What now?" We need to be willing to put in the time and effort to seek Christ. If you cannot feel the presence of God, think of what you can do differently. If that same old set of prayers every day is becoming more a rehearsed routine and less of a breath of inspiration, maybe you need to go in through the roof. Discover a new form of prayer, pray for someone new. Put your prayer into action - serve, minister to, love.

Next, the man's friends. Would your friends lower you through the roof in order to bring you to God? How dedicated are your friends to bettering not only their own faith lives, but yours? True friends should seek to leads your towards healing and salvation, not away. I am so thankful for the friends in my life that lead me to Christ, that lower me in through the roof when sometimes I am content to sit on the steps and complain that there's not enough room for me.

2nd Sunday of Advent

1st Reading - Isaiah 11:1-10

Psalm - 72 : 1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17

2nd Reading - Romans 15:4-9

Gospel - Matthew 3:1-12

2nd Sunday of Advent! This is such a beautiful season. And today is one of my favorite readings, where John the Baptist fulfills Isaiah's prediction:

A voice of one crying out in the desert,
Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.

I could write about this one section forever, as "prepare the way of the Lord" could take on so many facets. What struck me tonight, however, is the description in the Gospel of John the Baptist.

John wore clothing made of camel’s hair
and had a leather belt around his waist.
His food was locusts and wild honey.
At that time Jerusalem, all Judea,
and the whole region around the Jordan
were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River
as they acknowledged their sins.

Look at the description of John the Baptist. He wore clothing made of camel's hair. He ate bugs and honey. To me it just seems like he would smell. He roamed around the desert, in the intense heat, wearing an outfit made out of animal hair. It all seems very unappealing (especially to a vegetarian). On top of all that, he ate locusts.

At least to me, John the Baptist, or JtB for short, does not seem very physically appealing.

Read on in the excerpt though... "the whole region were going out to him and were being baptized... they acknowledged their sins."

He wore camel hair, ate bugs, potentially smelt, and he attracted crowds of people. Not only did people come to hear what he had to say, but they came to be baptized. They acknowledged and repented of their sins. Amen! What great things can be done when we let go of ourselves, our pride, and become less focused on shallow appearances.

What a great challenge for our society (myself included). Would I be willing to completely disregard beauty and appearances, knowing that God will use me to bring others to Him? My answer would have to be: I hope so.

With all the stock our culture puts in appearances, in being physically attractive, in doing the "cool" thing (see: not eating locusts), JtB's radical lifestyle seems irrelevant and impossible. And I'm not sure that many of us are actually called to roam the desert living off insects. I do think, however, that we are all called to reevaluate our priorities and our own vanity. What is more important, the Gospel or our own pride? What is more important, that others find us attractive or that we are constantly leading others to Christ? (prepare the way of the Lord!) How many times in youth ministry have I been more concerned with whether or not a teen likes me rather than their relationship with our Lord? It's fairly shameful. I do not matter, He does.

Going forward, Lord, help me to be like John the Baptist. Help me to live with less regard for appearances and more determination to spread the Gospel. (to cite another reading.. John 3:30, He must increase, I must decrease. )

Matthew 9:27-31

This reading (from Friday, Dec. 3rd) has been resonating in my head all weekend, so I feel like I have to get the words out somewhere.

As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out,
“Son of David, have pity on us!”
When he entered the house,
the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them,
“Do you believe that I can do this?”
“Yes, Lord,” they said to him.
Then he touched their eyes and said,
“Let it be done for you according to your faith.”
And their eyes were opened.
Jesus warned them sternly,
“See that no one knows about this.”
But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.

The part that sticks out to me, and nearly shouted at me during Mass on Friday morning, is the bolded line, "Do you believe that I can do this?"

It just seems so out of place to me. I had never picked up on it before, even though I'm fairly sure I had heard this reading before, or at least read it to myself.

Before Jesus heals the two men, he asks them if they actually believe he could do it. It almost seems unnecessary. Jesus has just healed a woman with a hemorrhage, brought a daughter back from the dead (literally), surely the two men would have heard of these things. Standing in the presence of the Savior, how could you not believe he could heal you? Surely his presence alone would bring with it enough faith to assure you?

It doesn't say if the two men doubted beforehand, or if they did not trust Jesus at the moment. Just the question, "Do you believe that I can do this?"

It's one thing to want Jesus to heal you, and mend your brokenness, it's another to be confident and sure that he will do so. How often do we respond to the Lord's question with, "I'm not sure." We all want healing, and peace, and beauty in our lives (and realistically so much more), but do we believe that Jesus can (and will) give us just that? True prayer needs to be more than just petition, asking God for things. True prayer needs to be an unreserved trust that God will fulfill his promises and that he will not abandon us to despair. When we pray, we need to be sure that God is hearing us, and will answer us. (Easier said than done. Working on that.)

Our Church is so beautiful to give us daily Masses, with daily readings that flow so wonderfully together. Today's first reading from Isaiah says,

He will be gracious to you when you cry out,
as soon as he hears he will answer you.
The Lord will give you the bread you need
and the water for which you thirst.

We need to remember this when we're praying. Do we believe that God hears us when we cry out? Do we believe that God will give us the bread we need and the water for which we thirst?

It's so tempting to fall on our own inadequacy, thinking that because we are unworthy, God is incapable. I do not deserve to be so wonderfully provided for. I do not deserve to be healed of my sin. But that does not mean that God is incapable of, or does not want to do so.

And so I'm left with the Savior's question to me, "Do you believe that I can do this?" Do I believe that God can accomplish things in my life that I don't feel worthy of? Do I believe that God can work miracles, move hearts, and sustain me? Do I truly trust and believe that God can do things for me, in my life that seem at moments to be so impossible?

Though at times I am tempted to doubt, my answer is yes. I believe that God can do "this." I will not allow my heart to be abandoned to despair, because I know God will do great things in my life.

You make beautiful things, You make beautiful things out of us ...