Soften Up

The Holy Spirit says: If only you would listen to him today; do not harden your hearts, as happened in the Rebellion, on the Day of Temptation in the wilderness, when your ancestors challenged me and tested me.

Heb. 3:7-9

The writer of Hebrews warns against unbelief.  Unbelief is described as a condition of a hardened heart.  A hard heart comes from "sin's deceitfulness" and will deny us entry into the kingdom.

The antithesis of a hard heart is a soft heart.  A soft heart is vulnerable to being hurt by others.  My heart gets especially hardened when I get hurt.  I harden my heart to try and protect it.  Yet, here we are being told by the Holy Spirit to soften up, become vulnerable.  

Jesus is the ultimate example of a softened heart.  He is love and compassion incarnate.  It cost Him dearly but look where it got Him in the end... at the right hand of the Father.  If I want to "share in Christ", which I do, then it's time to soften up, become vulnerable and yes, maybe get hurt.  The end result is worth it.

Lord Jesus, it's scary allowing my heart to be soft, to be touched by others.  Help me soften up Lord that I may be with You.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

The Big Picture

Simon and his companions set out in search of him, and when they found him they said, ‘Everybody is looking for you.’ He answered, ‘Let us go elsewhere, to the neighbouring country towns, so that I can preach there too, because that is why I came.’ 
Mark 1:36-38

After a busy day preaching, healing the sick and delivering the possessed, Jesus goes off to a lonely place to pray.  The disciples, keen to continue a successful mission, seek Jesus out to carry on where He had left off. Jesus however has other plans and sets off to neighbouring towns.

I'm always slightly scandalised when I read this passage.  Here were people who were sick, possessed and keen to hear the Gospel that Jesus walked away from.  Yet He knew it was time to move on to other towns.

Pressing needs can obscure the bigger objectives. How do I know when to move on?  It's noteworthy that Jesus made this call after a time of prayer.  Here's the answer to my need for clear vision.  Times of prayer.  I'm reminded of DC Talk's song Day by Day that has the lines:

I live a simple life, I take a day at a time.  
I spend my mornings with God before I hit the grind.  
The subtleties of darkness never cease to amaze, 
as the physical world creates a spiritual haze.

Mornings with God.  There's the answer...

Thank you Jesus for your faithfulness in meeting me each morning I pray.  Give me wisdom to see the big picture You have for me today.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Teaching with Authority

As soon as the Sabbath came Jesus went to the synagogue and began to teach. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority.
Mk.1:21,22

Jesus has gathered His disciples and is beginning His public ministry.  He starts by teaching in the local established church, the Jewish synagogues.

Jesus used the then established church to give His radically new teaching, until the crowds got to number in the thousands and He had to teach outside.  The organised structure of church wasn't ignored by Jesus.  He used it as much as He could and then established the new church, giving His authority to Peter and the Apostles.

This teaching with authority is still available for me today in the church founded by Jesus.  It's a good place for me to hangout if I want to gain a deep impression from Jesus.

Thank you Lord Jesus for the gift of Your Church.  Help me avail myself to Your wisdom, that I may gain a deep impression from You.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Less Space for Me

‘The bride is only for the bridegroom; and yet the bridegroom’s friend, who stands there and listens, is glad when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. This same joy I feel, and now it is complete. He must grow greater, I must grow smaller.’
Jn.3:29,30

John the Baptist is approached by his followers to query the authority of Jesus to baptise.  John emphatically promotes Jesus by saying Jesus must increase in His ministry while John's own ministry must decrease.

John has poured his whole life into his ministry and now he lets it all go.  He expresses joy while his own disciples leave to go and follow Jesus.  This is the man of whom Jesus Said, "No greater man has been born of a woman..." Mt.11:11, yet he shrinks his own stature.  The hallmark of John's greatness is his meekness and humility.

This is an area of struggle for me.  There is within me a trumpeting braggart who desires nothing but aggrandisement. The antidote?  More of Jesus, less of me...

Lord Jesus, Your measure of greatness is shown in John the Baptist, the greatest of all men who was the most humble.  Help me fill myself with You so there is less space for me.
Saint John the Baptist, please pray for me.

Love

My dear people, let us love one another since love comes from God and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
1Jn.4:7

John's letter is to early churches under threat of disintegration due to heresies being advanced within their communities.  He summarises his own religious experience, always coming back to the great gospel message; love one another as we have been loved.

The great hallmark of Jesus is His demonstrative love.  It follows that as a follower of Jesus this is also to be my trademark.  Do people look at me and say, "There is a great lover"?

Love is great in theory but hard in practice.  As I heard recently, “Love in dreams is easy. Love in reality is a harsh and terrible thing”. Of my own strength I will never be a great lover.  As love comes from God I need His help to be motivated by it.  Meditating on the love Jesus has shown to me is great place to start...

Lord Jesus, You have shown Your love for me on the cross.  This frightens me.  Help me overcome my fear and become a great lover in a world hungry for love.
Saint John, please pray for me.

Under the Fig Tree

How do you know me?’ said Nathanael ‘Before Philip came to call you,’ said Jesus ‘I saw you under the fig tree.’ Nathanael answered, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.’
Jn.1:48,49

Jesus is starting His public ministry and forming the core of His disciples.  These disciples come from family or friendship relationships.  Philip calls Nathanael to come and see Jesus.  Initially scornful of the idea of a messiah from Nazareth, Nathanael encounters Jesus and is instantly convinced He is the Son of God.

I have often puzzled over how Nathanael was so convinced about Jesus' divinity simply by Jesus saying He saw him under the fig tree.  I recently heard a teaching that has helped explain this.  Nathanael was a Zealot. Being opposite to  Pharisees,  Zealots would go into the wilderness to pray where no one would see them except God.  Nathanael knew no one would know he had been under the fig tree praying except God.  He recognised God in Jesus.

My "Fig Tree" time is early in the morning.  This time helps me recognise Jesus when I met Him in the sacraments, in Holy Scripture, in family prayer, even in other random people I meet in my day.  Maybe even someone from Nazareth...

Lord Jesus, thank you for meeting me under my olive tree.  Help me see you in the people I meet today.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Less is More

So John said, ‘I am, as Isaiah prophesied: a voice that cries in the wilderness: Make a straight way for the Lord.’
Jn.1:23

Priests are sent to interrogate John the Baptist to try and identify his credentials.  They are more concerned about him being a threat than they are about what it is he is saying.  John allays their fears by denying he is the the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet.  He tells them he is simply a voice.

Here was a prime opportunity for John the Baptist to advance his career. The attention of the the powerful was on him.  But instead of promoting himself, John made himself smaller.  "I am not fit to undo his sandal-strap" Jn.1:27.  John, who Jesus named as the greatest of all men born of a woman, displayed his strength through his humility.

If I am honest, I would have to admit I most likely would not have responded as John did.  There is within me a desire to be held up before men.  To become lesser so that someone else can become greater is not a natural characteristic within me.  Perhaps it needs to be...

Jesus, You are the great role model of infinite power held in check through humbleness   Give me the strength of character to embrace Your virtue of humility.
Saint John the Baptist, please pray for me.