Better than Besties

And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother."
Mk.3:34,35

Jesus is addressing crowds so huge that his family hear of it and are concerned for him, thinking him deranged. Word reaches Jesus that his family have arrived for him and, typically, he takes what could be a scandalous situation and uses it to teach a great truth. We, the Church, are all part of the family of God.

In a scale of intimacy, brother, sister and mother would have to be at the top. You can have no closer relationship with another than these. And these are the levels of relationship that Jesus uses to describe my relationship with him. We are more than just "besties" as my fifteen year old daughter would say, we are family!

I have a family of five children, four with spouses, and five grand children. Families are a complex mix of imperfect individuals. Yet we love each other despite our faults, overlooking imperfections to see the good. This is the type of relationship Jesus has with me, today.

Jesus, my Lord, my friend, my brother. Thank you for your offer of intimacy with me today. Your love is new every morning.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

See the Saint in the Sinner

When his relatives heard of this, they set out to take charge of him, convinced he was out of his mind.
Mk.3:21

 Jesus' ministry has truely taken off. The word is out, the crowds are pouring in. And the relatives? They're freaking out, convinced that this "new Jesus", a Jesus even they had never seen before, was deranged.

This is such an obscure detail to have in the Gospels that it convinces me of their authenticity. Why record such a detail unless to simply reflect what actually happened. The human messiness of the story would have been left out of any fabricated story of a saviour.

In a way, this detail sanctifies the human messiness of my story. I'm not perfect, I do things that even make me think I'm deranged! The good news is this doesn't distance me from God. It's part of the human condition that he is very familiar with. Jesus meets me in my messiness, today.

Thank you Jesus that you that never classify me as deranged, that my human weakness is not abhorrent to you. Your steadfast love raises me up as you see a saint in the sinner, as you see gold in the clay.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

An Open Ear

You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings, but an open ear. You do not ask for holocaust and victim. Instead, here am I. 
Ps.39:7

 The response verse to today's psalm echos this opening verse; "Here I am Lord, I come to do your will". God's request of me this morning is very simple; an open ear.

An open ear is an attentive ear, an undistracted ear. I think this is why I find morning prayer so rewarding.  I deliberatly do nothing beforehand. I am silent, I think of nothing else, my first action of the day is to settle into God's presence.  My first brain engagement is to read the Church's daily readings. I then take my lead from there.

God just wants me to be with him this morning, totally present to him. He wants to be in relationship with me; to be my Emanuel, God with me. I love this intimacey he offers. Morning by morning new mercies I see.

Thank you God that you desire friendship with me. Here I am Lord, I come to do your will.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Joy!

Let the faithful exult in glory; 
let them sing for joy upon their couches; 
Let the high praises of God be in their throats. 
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia! 
Ps149:6a.9b.

The final psalms are ringing with praise to God in an ecstasy of exaltant jubilation. Why do we the Church join in this noisy throng? Because it is our glory!

Pope Francis has called us, the Church, to avoid wearing perpetually Lenten faces. We are attractive when we blaze in the joy of the Gospel. Yes, scripture says Jesus wept, but the whole of the Gospels scream that he also laughed with joy. That's why people enjoyed his company.

Jesus partied at weddings, feasted at banquettes, drank wine with his friends. In short, he was fully and joyfully alive. Oh what a fullness of life he calls me to today!

Lord Jesus, my source of joy and hope. Fill me with your life-giving joy today that I may be a source of joy to others today.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Life and Light

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; 
Jn.1:1,4

John starts his Gospel placing Jesus, the Word, at the beginning of time working beside God the Father in the great act of creation. Jesus role then was to give life. His role today is unchnaged.

I love the picture this reading gives of Jesus and God the Father working side by side creating the world that I was destined to live in. I belive Jesus had me in mind at this time and interceded for me to the Father. "Dad, Dad! Create a beautiful lake just here, fed by streams from those those mountains over there. Mike will look at those and think of You as his spirit is being refreshed by the view.  Dad, Dad, make a sandy beach along this coastline with Pohutukawa trees leaning over it. Mike will swim in these waters and be grateful to you for creating it".

Today is a day to look again at the world God has created for me to enjoy and be thankful.

Thank you Jesus for the life you have given me and for this beautiful world in whch to enjoy it.
Saint John the Apostle, pray for me.

A Sign

Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." Lk.2:35

Simion gives his prophecy over the infant Jesus. God reveals through  Simion the role Jesus is to play in the affairs of men; the rise of some, the fall of others, a sign from God and the revealer of hidden thoughts. In short, Jesus was destined to someone no one could ignore.

We have just celebrated Christmas Day. Even our secular nation stopped to observe the Holy Day. Jesus cannot be ignored. As the bumper sticker says, wise men still seek him.

Jesus, I place you in the center of my day. May my life today prophesy as to who you are. 
Saint Joseph, pray for me.

Submit and be Saved

You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. Mt.10:22

Jesus warns his disciples that being a follower is not to be chosen for a popularity vote. In fact it incurs the opposite; persecution.

Being a Christian automatically invites opposition. Why? Because the Good News we proclaim invites, no, demands change.  Not everyone wants to change.

Often, I don't want to change. Change means putting my agenda aside, acknowledging that my agenda is not the best agenda. Sometimes it means acknowledging that my agenda is down-right sinful. All this is very counter-cultural.  The world says my agenda has a right to claim its space under the sun.  My faith says my agenda can only exist if it is under the Son.

Jesus adds that my very salvation is dependant on this submission. Yikes!

Lord Jesus, you know my struggle with Me. Help me submit to you joyfully, trusting in my promised salvation.
Mary, Mother of the infant Jesus, Mother of mine, pray for me.