"Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."Isaiah
If we were to reflect on our personal lives here in the Halifax area of Nova Scotia, we can agree that we live in a relatively prosperous community. We are fairly confident that the good things we have experienced in the past will continue in the future. We have the freedoms that we enjoy. We certainly expect that our material security will continue in the future. Most of us are of the view that all this is attributed to our own hard work and the values we live.
Now let's pretend for a moment that our city is invaded by a foreign power that has no concern for our comforts and security or what we believe. They come in, destroy our homes, our businesses, our sources of livelihood, seizing whatever we have of value. Then they gather us up and send us off to an unfamiliar place. They make us work for them in some subservient job. Although they feed us and give us a place to sleep, we no longer have the freedom to move about as we did before. Many of us who are seniors cannot expect that during our remaining years much change will happen, or that there will be a chance of recovering all we have lost. It would be an understatement to say that we would be dazed, discouraged, destitute and lacking hope.
When second Isaiah began to write his beautiful prophetic imagery in his book of the Old Testament, this was the state of the people of Israel. They had been defeated by Babylon, a pagan nation, who destroyed Jerusalem, their homes, their livelihood, and their place of worship. Most of the remaining citizens were then routed to a foreign land. They were a defeated people with not much left to live for.
In being detatched from all the things on which they had previously placed their hope, they heard from Isaiah a new message of hope. "Make His ways straight". They heard that their God, who made the stars in heaven, that created the boundaries of the earth, that gives strength and hope to the destitute, was walking with them.
It's hard for us to seriously hear this message when things are prosperous, when we have all we want, and when things are going our way. It's not that God is absent during good times. It's just that we have become overly satisfied and somewhat distracted by other things. But when these distractions are removed, it is then that we realize that our true identities can only be found in God.
Isaiah was there with his prophetic message to remind the people that all was not lost. Now was the time to discover their true identity. Now was the time to awaken from their state of unconsciousness and to see that the only source of their comfort and security could be found in God, and God was as close as their own hearts.
This is the message and purpose of advent. In all our prosperity, there is a danger of being covered with a shroud of darkness and distraction that prevents us from seeing properly. There is that danger of placing our hope in things that will not last. We must rediscover that through the darkness of this shroud, a light is shining, a light that can lead to our rebirth.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Experiencing God - Birth of Interior Beauty 126
"When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. Because I myself will give you an eloquence and a wisdom that no one will be able to contradict or compare."
Gospel of Matthew
I was recently reading a story about a famous movie actress who died in her eighties. As her beauty became ravaged by old age, she grew desperately unhappy, and as a result, turned into a recluse. She was over-identified with her external appearance. First her gift of beauty gave her a happy sense of self, but as it faded, an unhappy one. If she was able to connect with the formless and the timeless beauty within, she may have been able to watch the fading of her external beauty in serenity and peace.
Moreover, her external form would have become increasingly transparent to the light shining through her ageless true nature. Her beauty would not have faded, but simply changed with the passing of time.
I heard another story recently of the man who lost most of his wealth during the 1929 depression. He committed suicide after going into a deep despair over his loss. He was happy with his condition as a person with wealth, but could not stand himself when his wealth was gone. If only he was able to recognize that the road to interior freedom can only be found in the letting go of that which holds us prisoner. He failed to see that to over-identify with impermanent things only separates us from our true identity within, the only place where true peace and joy can be found.
The Gospels about the "end of times" are not ones that we normally like to hear about. "End of times" or "death" often cause disturbing feelings to arise for most of us. But in our Church year, "end of times" Gospels lead to Advent, a time of expectation, hope, and rebirth.
Some common facts about endings:
1. In order that we may experience rebirth to hope and expectancy, then something else has to end.
2. Endings and new beginnings are very much a part of the natural flow and cycle of life. It has been incorporated into the flow of life by God.
3. Most of our suffering and anguish comes from our resistance to this natural flow and cycle of life.
4. Often, we want to seal in concrete those things that exist in our external reality. Yet all external things are impermanent, changing, dying, rebirthing.
We often become like the actress, embittered and unhappy at the loss of her external beauty to the point that the grace that is meant for her senior years cannot be born.
Jesus says something quite remarkable in the Gospel of Matthew: "When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. Because I myself will give you an eloquence and a wisdom that no one will be able to contradict or compare."
Recognize each day as a gift of life to you. Place your hope on that which you can find interiorly in your heart. Listen to the still voice within, the voice that speaks of faith in God who loves us without end.
The exterior world may appear to be working against us, but metaphorically, not a hair on our heads will be lost. Are we to spend our time mourning the day which has just past, or are we to celebrate the new day giving birth with all of its possibilities?
If the actress had know Christ, if she could hear Jesus' words of consolation and love for her, she could have gracefully let her exterior beauty go with each passing day. She could then discover and embrace her interior beauty that was given birth as her attention to the exterior faded. A soul ignited by Christ's love shines more brightly in the darkness of the world than any complexion or feature or thing that we may externally possess.
Gospel of Matthew
I was recently reading a story about a famous movie actress who died in her eighties. As her beauty became ravaged by old age, she grew desperately unhappy, and as a result, turned into a recluse. She was over-identified with her external appearance. First her gift of beauty gave her a happy sense of self, but as it faded, an unhappy one. If she was able to connect with the formless and the timeless beauty within, she may have been able to watch the fading of her external beauty in serenity and peace.
Moreover, her external form would have become increasingly transparent to the light shining through her ageless true nature. Her beauty would not have faded, but simply changed with the passing of time.
I heard another story recently of the man who lost most of his wealth during the 1929 depression. He committed suicide after going into a deep despair over his loss. He was happy with his condition as a person with wealth, but could not stand himself when his wealth was gone. If only he was able to recognize that the road to interior freedom can only be found in the letting go of that which holds us prisoner. He failed to see that to over-identify with impermanent things only separates us from our true identity within, the only place where true peace and joy can be found.
The Gospels about the "end of times" are not ones that we normally like to hear about. "End of times" or "death" often cause disturbing feelings to arise for most of us. But in our Church year, "end of times" Gospels lead to Advent, a time of expectation, hope, and rebirth.
Some common facts about endings:
1. In order that we may experience rebirth to hope and expectancy, then something else has to end.
2. Endings and new beginnings are very much a part of the natural flow and cycle of life. It has been incorporated into the flow of life by God.
3. Most of our suffering and anguish comes from our resistance to this natural flow and cycle of life.
4. Often, we want to seal in concrete those things that exist in our external reality. Yet all external things are impermanent, changing, dying, rebirthing.
We often become like the actress, embittered and unhappy at the loss of her external beauty to the point that the grace that is meant for her senior years cannot be born.
Jesus says something quite remarkable in the Gospel of Matthew: "When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. Because I myself will give you an eloquence and a wisdom that no one will be able to contradict or compare."
Recognize each day as a gift of life to you. Place your hope on that which you can find interiorly in your heart. Listen to the still voice within, the voice that speaks of faith in God who loves us without end.
The exterior world may appear to be working against us, but metaphorically, not a hair on our heads will be lost. Are we to spend our time mourning the day which has just past, or are we to celebrate the new day giving birth with all of its possibilities?
If the actress had know Christ, if she could hear Jesus' words of consolation and love for her, she could have gracefully let her exterior beauty go with each passing day. She could then discover and embrace her interior beauty that was given birth as her attention to the exterior faded. A soul ignited by Christ's love shines more brightly in the darkness of the world than any complexion or feature or thing that we may externally possess.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Experiencing God - Obstacles of Fear and Mistrust 125
"Lord, here is your talent. I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow."
Gospel of Luke
Both the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke contain the parable of the talents. In this parable story in Matthew, only three servants were given talents. In Luke's Gospel, ten servants were given pounds with which to do business. But the message of the two Gospels are the same. The negligent servant in both Gospels is quoted as saving: "Lord, here is your talent. I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow."
The reaction of many people when they hear this parable is guilt. Why guilt? Because it generates the question - Am I doing enough? We picture in our minds that the ones passing the test are those who are very busy, those who are at the centre of every activity. But the Gospel is not about busyness. It is not about the multiplication of our money. It's about trust and faith.
Do you believe that God loves you unconditionally? If you do, is that belief integrated into your life to the point that it affects and influences your relationships with others?
If you look at Jesus' own life, you discover that there are a lot of things he was not about. Jesus came from an obscure Nazareth village. He did a bit of carpentry work in His early years but left that for other pursuits. He had no university degrees. He did not seek or attain fame or fortune. He wrote no books. He belonged to no committees or organizations. He depended largely on others for His personal needs which were minimal. And yet, more than any other person, He touched the lives of others. He was present to them in a way that changed their lives.
The difficulty with the servant who took his talent and hid it in a piece of cloth was that he could not trust in God's unconditional love for him. His life did not reflect the awesome presence of God's abundance and goodness because his heart was closed and fearful. He could not trust. The little he had of the very thing he needed the most was lost to him because he chose to remain closed to God's creative energy that permeates all things.
The question that arises from all this is: "In what ways am I shutting out God's love that prevent me from seeing His goodness and abundance? What do I need to change in my life so that this goodness is reflected in my life and shared with the people I encounter; my spouse, my children, my friends and neighbors, those with whom I share faith, the stranger I meet in my daily journey? These are the moments that give witness to God's Kingdom. These are the moments that Jesus was able to live so well.
Gospel of Luke
Both the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke contain the parable of the talents. In this parable story in Matthew, only three servants were given talents. In Luke's Gospel, ten servants were given pounds with which to do business. But the message of the two Gospels are the same. The negligent servant in both Gospels is quoted as saving: "Lord, here is your talent. I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow."
The reaction of many people when they hear this parable is guilt. Why guilt? Because it generates the question - Am I doing enough? We picture in our minds that the ones passing the test are those who are very busy, those who are at the centre of every activity. But the Gospel is not about busyness. It is not about the multiplication of our money. It's about trust and faith.
Do you believe that God loves you unconditionally? If you do, is that belief integrated into your life to the point that it affects and influences your relationships with others?
If you look at Jesus' own life, you discover that there are a lot of things he was not about. Jesus came from an obscure Nazareth village. He did a bit of carpentry work in His early years but left that for other pursuits. He had no university degrees. He did not seek or attain fame or fortune. He wrote no books. He belonged to no committees or organizations. He depended largely on others for His personal needs which were minimal. And yet, more than any other person, He touched the lives of others. He was present to them in a way that changed their lives.
The difficulty with the servant who took his talent and hid it in a piece of cloth was that he could not trust in God's unconditional love for him. His life did not reflect the awesome presence of God's abundance and goodness because his heart was closed and fearful. He could not trust. The little he had of the very thing he needed the most was lost to him because he chose to remain closed to God's creative energy that permeates all things.
The question that arises from all this is: "In what ways am I shutting out God's love that prevent me from seeing His goodness and abundance? What do I need to change in my life so that this goodness is reflected in my life and shared with the people I encounter; my spouse, my children, my friends and neighbors, those with whom I share faith, the stranger I meet in my daily journey? These are the moments that give witness to God's Kingdom. These are the moments that Jesus was able to live so well.
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Experiencing God - Dying to Self 124
"Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone."
Titus
Saint Paul is a master at explaining the core and essence of our Christian Faith. He presents it so well. And of course, what he is recommending to us is very much based on his own experience of being converted to Christ on the road to Damascus. Paul was a Pharisee who followed the strict rules and laws of his order. What he discovered on the road to Damascus was that the saving action of Grace, which is a gift, has nothing to do with our own personal attempts at saving ourselves through the performance of righteous actions motivated by self-justification.
We've all read many conversion stories. Perhaps you have one of your own. Certainly Paul's conversion is the one that is most familiar to us. St. Augustine, in the book on his confessions, is certainly another classic witness to conversion. Whether these conversion stories are elegantly written and passed down from generation to generation, or whether, like most of us, are stories that will eventually be lost, the message in all of them are the same. That message is that the Grace that led to the conversion is a gift from God. It is a gift that is present at all times, but it is a gift that awakens us to a new reality as we relinquish or surrender our tight grip on "self". This is the message that Saint Paul is trying to convey in his letter to Titus.
"For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another."
What he is saying is that at one point we were all filled with nothing but "self" concern, slaves to various passions and pleasures. We possessed malice and envy, often hating one another. Although Grace is present, it is these selfish preoccupations that prevent us from realizing it.
"But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
The journey away from "self"; self concern, self preoccupation; is a difficult one, and for some, a long journey. There is just so much in this life that is competing for our attention. We all struggle with this reality, and probably the struggle will never to fully over. However, those of us who have been awakened to God's presence, God's love, know unquestionably that Grace will lead us to our ultimate destiny and purpose for being. The road there is through acts of generous self-giving. That's why Paul starts off his reading with an exhortation to be ready for every generous act. Obedience is an act of surrender of "self" in our movement to the Absolute. "Speak evil of no one, avoid quarreling, be gentle, show courtesy to everyone."
Our struggle with "self", whether it be selfishness or self-preoccupation, is countered with acts of love and generosity towards others. It is the royal road, not only emphasized over and over again by our Christian teaching, but by the teachings of all of the world's religions.
Titus
Saint Paul is a master at explaining the core and essence of our Christian Faith. He presents it so well. And of course, what he is recommending to us is very much based on his own experience of being converted to Christ on the road to Damascus. Paul was a Pharisee who followed the strict rules and laws of his order. What he discovered on the road to Damascus was that the saving action of Grace, which is a gift, has nothing to do with our own personal attempts at saving ourselves through the performance of righteous actions motivated by self-justification.
We've all read many conversion stories. Perhaps you have one of your own. Certainly Paul's conversion is the one that is most familiar to us. St. Augustine, in the book on his confessions, is certainly another classic witness to conversion. Whether these conversion stories are elegantly written and passed down from generation to generation, or whether, like most of us, are stories that will eventually be lost, the message in all of them are the same. That message is that the Grace that led to the conversion is a gift from God. It is a gift that is present at all times, but it is a gift that awakens us to a new reality as we relinquish or surrender our tight grip on "self". This is the message that Saint Paul is trying to convey in his letter to Titus.
"For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another."
What he is saying is that at one point we were all filled with nothing but "self" concern, slaves to various passions and pleasures. We possessed malice and envy, often hating one another. Although Grace is present, it is these selfish preoccupations that prevent us from realizing it.
"But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
The journey away from "self"; self concern, self preoccupation; is a difficult one, and for some, a long journey. There is just so much in this life that is competing for our attention. We all struggle with this reality, and probably the struggle will never to fully over. However, those of us who have been awakened to God's presence, God's love, know unquestionably that Grace will lead us to our ultimate destiny and purpose for being. The road there is through acts of generous self-giving. That's why Paul starts off his reading with an exhortation to be ready for every generous act. Obedience is an act of surrender of "self" in our movement to the Absolute. "Speak evil of no one, avoid quarreling, be gentle, show courtesy to everyone."
Our struggle with "self", whether it be selfishness or self-preoccupation, is countered with acts of love and generosity towards others. It is the royal road, not only emphasized over and over again by our Christian teaching, but by the teachings of all of the world's religions.
Experiencing God - Faith, Trust, Surrender 123
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to."
Gospel of Matthew
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus issues a series of woes against the Scribes and Pharisees. Pronouncing a woe on someone or some group expresses grief at their sorry state, and warning them of the bad consequences to follow. Why is Jesus so hard hitting to this particular group, using language that is not normally associated with Him.
In order to gain some understanding of Jesus' critical side, it is good to step back and listen to Jesus' more gentle side, which is far more common in the Gospels.
Jesus has a mission. That mission is to reveal to others the Kingdom of God. In Matthew chapter six or Luke chapter twelve, Jesus is telling His disciples and those gathered with Him: "Do not worry about your life and what your are to eat, and your body and how you are to cloth it. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing." Evidence of God's presence can be found in His care for the birds of the air, who need no storehouses or barns, or the lilies of the field that neither toil or spin. This passage is about many things.
The first is faith. Have faith in God. He is near and will take care of your needs.
The second is trust. There are things in life that are important, and there are things in life that have lessor importance. The Kingdom of God is revealed to those who have placed these things in their right priority. Unfortunately, we do not always have things in the right priority. But through our trust in God, we can begin to see properly the right order of things.
The third is surrender. Surrender has to do with releasing our tight grip on all those things we are inclined to cling too. Our clinging or grasping after things, whether it be material or otherwise, are the very things that separate us from the Kingdom that Jesus wants to reveal to us. When we loosen our tight grip, and surrender the things we cling too as an act of trust, then the Kingdom of God is revealed to us. It's not that it wasn't there before. It's just that now we are able to see it.
What the Scribes and Pharisees taught and lived prevented the Kingdom of God from being revealed. What they were teaching and living opposed the very thing that Jesus came to reveal. And they lacked the humility to acknowledge and see that they were wrong. You might say they were inordinately attached to their rules and standards of behaviors. They lacked faith and trust in God. They were unable to let go and surrender those things they saw as justifying themselves.
Whenever we use our own sacred practices as a measure of how well we are doing in relation to someone else, we fall into the same trap.
The revelation of God's Kingdom is not based on how well we are doing in relation to another in following sacred practices, precepts and laws. God's Kingdom is revealed as we dare to surrender such notions, and place ourselves at the mercy, love, and trust of God.
Faith, trust, surrender: "Let the little children come to me and do not stop them. For it is such as these that the Kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom as a little child, will not enter into it."
Gospel of Matthew
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus issues a series of woes against the Scribes and Pharisees. Pronouncing a woe on someone or some group expresses grief at their sorry state, and warning them of the bad consequences to follow. Why is Jesus so hard hitting to this particular group, using language that is not normally associated with Him.
In order to gain some understanding of Jesus' critical side, it is good to step back and listen to Jesus' more gentle side, which is far more common in the Gospels.
Jesus has a mission. That mission is to reveal to others the Kingdom of God. In Matthew chapter six or Luke chapter twelve, Jesus is telling His disciples and those gathered with Him: "Do not worry about your life and what your are to eat, and your body and how you are to cloth it. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing." Evidence of God's presence can be found in His care for the birds of the air, who need no storehouses or barns, or the lilies of the field that neither toil or spin. This passage is about many things.
The first is faith. Have faith in God. He is near and will take care of your needs.
The second is trust. There are things in life that are important, and there are things in life that have lessor importance. The Kingdom of God is revealed to those who have placed these things in their right priority. Unfortunately, we do not always have things in the right priority. But through our trust in God, we can begin to see properly the right order of things.
The third is surrender. Surrender has to do with releasing our tight grip on all those things we are inclined to cling too. Our clinging or grasping after things, whether it be material or otherwise, are the very things that separate us from the Kingdom that Jesus wants to reveal to us. When we loosen our tight grip, and surrender the things we cling too as an act of trust, then the Kingdom of God is revealed to us. It's not that it wasn't there before. It's just that now we are able to see it.
What the Scribes and Pharisees taught and lived prevented the Kingdom of God from being revealed. What they were teaching and living opposed the very thing that Jesus came to reveal. And they lacked the humility to acknowledge and see that they were wrong. You might say they were inordinately attached to their rules and standards of behaviors. They lacked faith and trust in God. They were unable to let go and surrender those things they saw as justifying themselves.
Whenever we use our own sacred practices as a measure of how well we are doing in relation to someone else, we fall into the same trap.
The revelation of God's Kingdom is not based on how well we are doing in relation to another in following sacred practices, precepts and laws. God's Kingdom is revealed as we dare to surrender such notions, and place ourselves at the mercy, love, and trust of God.
Faith, trust, surrender: "Let the little children come to me and do not stop them. For it is such as these that the Kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom as a little child, will not enter into it."
Experiencing God - Spirit of Stewardship 122
"The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?"
Ezekiel
In the book of the Ezekiel, this zealous prophet issues an indictment against those who have been called by God to shepherd their people in Israel. He accuses them of looking after themselves, and being neglectful of the ones under their care. They feed themselves while the flock goes hungry. Their abuse of power, exploitation of the weak, has not gone unnoticed by God. Those who do this will be held accountable.
In the meantime, Ezekiel prophesizes: "God Himself will become the One who will look after this scattered flock."
According to the St. Jerome Biblical commentary, this is a call to the people to return to God, to become God centred. When this happens, then we also become other-centred and seek to care for those around us.
This reading flows very nicely into Psalm 23; "The Lord is My Shepherd".
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever
Ezekiel
In the book of the Ezekiel, this zealous prophet issues an indictment against those who have been called by God to shepherd their people in Israel. He accuses them of looking after themselves, and being neglectful of the ones under their care. They feed themselves while the flock goes hungry. Their abuse of power, exploitation of the weak, has not gone unnoticed by God. Those who do this will be held accountable.
In the meantime, Ezekiel prophesizes: "God Himself will become the One who will look after this scattered flock."
According to the St. Jerome Biblical commentary, this is a call to the people to return to God, to become God centred. When this happens, then we also become other-centred and seek to care for those around us.
This reading flows very nicely into Psalm 23; "The Lord is My Shepherd".
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever
When we recognize the Lord as our chief shepherd, our wants and desires for other things fall into their correct priority.
I received a posting on the internet the other day which said: "The important things in life are not things". When the Lord is our shepherd, we no longer seek after things in an inordinate way. The gift of the Lord's presence becomes the source of our hope and desires. The Lord will not be outdone in His generosity as we place our hope and trust in Him.
This quite naturally comes out in the gospel parable of the laborers in the vineyard. Many times when we read this parable, there is triggered a sense of injustice or unfairness. That's because initially we are inclined to approach this parable from the perspective of our human conditioning. We are deeply engrained with the belief that we should be treated fairly and honestly in accordance with how we work and act. We expect to receive a fair wage for an honest day's work.
Jesus is not condoning unfair practices. He is simply trying to get His listeners to consider how extravagant God's love and mercy can be.
Jesus knows that most of the ordinary people in Palestine hire themselves out as day laborers. They would go to the market place each morning and wait for someone to hire them for a job, such as harvesting the fruit in the vineyard. To stand idle all day without work usually meant that the laborer would return home empty handed with no money to provide for his family. The owner of the vineyard in Jesus' parable recognizes the plight of the workers. As a result, he shows compassion for those who were called at the last hour by giving them the same wage as those who worked all day. Each person, each family, had a need that was as great as the other. Therefore, God, in His abundant mercy and love showed concern for meeting the need of each of the laborers. His love overcomes our conditional logic as to what we feel we deserve based on what we do.
As we put on Christ, as we recognize the special gift of His love and forgiveness, we begin to dislodge our conditional thinking and replace it with an awareness that all is gift from God, a gift that must be shared with those of greater need than ourselves. This happens when we recognize that the Lord is truly our shepherd, there is nothing that I shall want apart from His love.
This, of course is the spirit of Stewardship. We share our gifts of time, talent and treasure because God has abundantly blessed us, beyond measure, with all that we need and more. God lavishes us with the gifts of His Kingdom, supplying not only what we lack, but giving us more than we can possibly expect. The denarius, a days wage, given to the laborers who worked only one hour, is a symbol of God's generosity.
Friday, December 6, 2013
Experiencing God - Conversion of the Heart 121
"Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”2nd Kings
Naaman, wasn't any ordinary person. He was a commander with power and influence. He was favored and respected by his King who would have been his superior. Naaman, through his leadership skills, knowledge and self-assuredness had special connections. His problem was that he had leprosy, a fatal disease. But through his astuteness and connections, he sought to find a solution to his problem which indirectly lead him to the Israelite prophet Elisha.
As he arrived at Elisha's door with his chariots and escorts, in festive robes, and with gold and shekels, he assumed his accustomed self-righteous position of being there as the one in control. He was accustomed to relying on his own skills, personality and influence. He came to Elisha with his own preconceived ideas of what would be necessary for a cure of his disease.
Naaman came to be healed of his leprosy, but the leprosy was the least of his problems. His biggest problem was that he lacked faith and trust in God. Faith and trust would require Naaman to let go of any pre-conceived ideas that he might have in respect to his own limited human understanding of things, and to trust that God in his infinite mercy knows what is best for each situation in his life.
Ultimately, life brings each of us to this choice. We either accept that trust in God, or we reject it. For many of us, the choice is not made until we run out of human options. "Lord, I have no where else to turn. I place this into your hands. May it be done in accordance to your will."
Most of us know when we reach this point of human brokenness, when we reach the end of our rope with no where else to turn. Then we give God the opportunity to work in a powerful way. I don't know why it is like this. I only know that it is. And for many, including myself, true freedom is not reached until we've come to the end of all human options, and we are left standing naked before the cross of Christ asking for His mercy and help.
Often times, like Naaman, we first get angry. Why can't it be done my way? But if its done my way, then its not faith. It's only my way.
God dwells intimately within each of us. God wants to bring each of us to the fullness of life. Until we get out of our own way, it's as if God has the inability to act. But when we do get out of the way, then we experience His presence, His mercy, His love, and His healing in ways we would never believe possible.
Naaman's subsequent healing of leprosy is really anti-climatic to the teaching in this story. A heart set free by faith is the real miracle. This is what Jesus was trying to convey to the people in the Gospels. This is what He desires to convey to us.
Naaman, wasn't any ordinary person. He was a commander with power and influence. He was favored and respected by his King who would have been his superior. Naaman, through his leadership skills, knowledge and self-assuredness had special connections. His problem was that he had leprosy, a fatal disease. But through his astuteness and connections, he sought to find a solution to his problem which indirectly lead him to the Israelite prophet Elisha.
As he arrived at Elisha's door with his chariots and escorts, in festive robes, and with gold and shekels, he assumed his accustomed self-righteous position of being there as the one in control. He was accustomed to relying on his own skills, personality and influence. He came to Elisha with his own preconceived ideas of what would be necessary for a cure of his disease.
Naaman came to be healed of his leprosy, but the leprosy was the least of his problems. His biggest problem was that he lacked faith and trust in God. Faith and trust would require Naaman to let go of any pre-conceived ideas that he might have in respect to his own limited human understanding of things, and to trust that God in his infinite mercy knows what is best for each situation in his life.
Ultimately, life brings each of us to this choice. We either accept that trust in God, or we reject it. For many of us, the choice is not made until we run out of human options. "Lord, I have no where else to turn. I place this into your hands. May it be done in accordance to your will."
Most of us know when we reach this point of human brokenness, when we reach the end of our rope with no where else to turn. Then we give God the opportunity to work in a powerful way. I don't know why it is like this. I only know that it is. And for many, including myself, true freedom is not reached until we've come to the end of all human options, and we are left standing naked before the cross of Christ asking for His mercy and help.
Often times, like Naaman, we first get angry. Why can't it be done my way? But if its done my way, then its not faith. It's only my way.
God dwells intimately within each of us. God wants to bring each of us to the fullness of life. Until we get out of our own way, it's as if God has the inability to act. But when we do get out of the way, then we experience His presence, His mercy, His love, and His healing in ways we would never believe possible.
Naaman's subsequent healing of leprosy is really anti-climatic to the teaching in this story. A heart set free by faith is the real miracle. This is what Jesus was trying to convey to the people in the Gospels. This is what He desires to convey to us.
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