Stand up and Lift Your Head

When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.
Lk.21:28

Jesus prophesies the final destruction of all creation, including the sun, moon and stars. At this moment of greatest calamity his disciples are not to quake with fear. Just the opposite. We are to stand up and lift our heads. Why? For our liberation is near at hand.

I'm looking out on a beautiful spring morning. Birds are singing. All is calm and full of promise. But, as good as all this gets, it's still just shadowlands. It will pass away. Greater things are to come. If this were not true then Jesus is a liar and we are the saddest of all people. 

So, today I stand up and lift my head. I am a prophet of joy and hope. Maranatha, come Lord Jesus!

Fight! Win!

Standing by the lake of glass, those who had fought against the beast and won.
Rev.15:2

John's vision portrays a victorious host standing before God the Father and worshipping him. The host had a common experience. They had fought and won.

I am a member of the Church Militant, an army that is in battle every day. At the end of the Church's liturgical year I am reminded not only of this but also that I will be part of the Church Triumphant if I do one thing. What is that? Fight. 

This is not a time to roll over and capitulate. The battle is winnable. I just need to keep fighting evil wherever I find it. This can be within me and without. As Edna Mode says in the Incredibles, "Fight! Win!" Remind the devil who he is (a loser) and who I am (Victorious). 

Amen!

Why Marry?

...but those who are judged worthy of a place in the other world and in the resurrection from the dead do not marry because they can no longer die, for they are the same as the angels.
Lk.20:35,36

Jesus silences the sadducees' attempt to discredit his promise of a resurrected life to look forward to. While doing so, he also shines light on one of the main reasons for marriage... the procreation of children.

This is the "Gospel according to Mike". If you don't agree with it, just let it lie on the floor and die.

The reason Jesus gives for there being no need for marriage in heaven is that there, we can no longer die. We will no longer need "replacement" as we do here on earth. On earth we need children.

This is only one reason for marriage. There is a far greater mystical reason in my mind, that is the sacramental role of being Jesus in the flesh for an aching world. 

So, knowing that there indeed is a resurrection to look forward to, I can be a prophet of joy and hope with my wife as we let our sacrament shine.

It's Coming!

The bridegroom is here; let us go out to meet Christ the Lord.
Psalm response

When the bridegroom arrives, what follows? The wedding feast.

The Church now has us staring steadily at the end of time. There is mounting excitement for something glorious, just over the horizon. What is that "something"? The wedding feast. 

What a great way to enter today. I live today with one eye firmly on the promise of the feast. What hope. What joy.

Thank you Jesus for showing the way home, the way to the wedding feast.
Saint John the Apostle and Saint Cecilia, please pray for me.

Missing God

...all because you did not recognise your opportunity when God offered it!
Lk.19:44

Jesus prophesies the destruction of Jerusalem, a destruction resulting from missing the chance God offered to receive him.

Missing the chance. Even though God is a God of patience, a God knocking and waiting, a God of the eleventh hour, it is still possible to miss him. Missing God are the "many taking the wide, easy path to destruction" (Mt.7:13). 

My own family members are among those not recognising their God given opportunity. How do I reach them? On this feast of her presentation, prayer to Mary is a good place to start. She grasped her God-given opportunity with both hands and never let go.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Holy and Timeless

Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty; he was, he is and he is to come.
Apoc.4:8

In John's apocalyptic vision, four beasts cry out an ovation before God on his throne, defining who God is... holy and timeless.

As we near the end of the Church's year our gaze is led to end times. Scripture tries to describe the indescribable. It always comes back to God's holiness and timelessness. Death is defeated and never ending joy comes. 

Maranatha. Come Lord Jesus come. Alleluia!

  

No Favourites

So if all that we have in common means anything to you, welcome him as you would me.
Phil.17

Paul, a prisoner in chains, writes to a wealthy convert, Philemon, a letter to accompany the return of a slave, Onesimus. What do a prisoner, a rich man and a slave have in common? Jesus Christ.

Jesus levels the playing field. A pauper and a king are each the same before Jesus. All mankind is greatly loved. This is as revolutionary today as it was two thousand years ago. 

This truth is both a blessing and a responsibility. I am blessed knowing God has no favourites, that power and position hold no sway with him. I bear a responsibility to enact this truth in my relationships with every human being I meet, be he a prisoner, a rich man or a slave.

Jesus, help me treat all I meet today as you would treat them, with dignity, respect and love.
Saint Paul, please pray for me.

Grateful

It seems that no one has come back to give praise to God, except this foreigner.’ And he said to the man, ‘Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.’
Lk.17:17-19

Jesus has healed ten lepers. Only one gives thanks. What is it that has truly saved the life of this leper? Not his healing, which will have only a temporary effect. It is his faith as shown by his gratitude.

An attitude of gratitude. What  a great way to enter my day. Somehow gratitude makes the glass always appear half full. It's time to start counting my blessings.

"One, two, three up to infinity
I'd run out of numbers
Before I could thank You for everything
God, I'm still counting my blessings
For all that You've done in my life
The more that I look in the details
The more of Your goodness I find"

by Seph Schlueter

Christ is Risen Alleluia!

But he was speaking of the sanctuary that was his body, and when Jesus rose from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed...
Jn.2:22

Jesus has cleared the temple of people using it as a marketplace, reconcercrating it for worship. Then he reveals God is not found just in a physical building but within him, and that he is risen and alive.

That Jesus rose from the dead is central to my Christian Faith. As Saint Paul says, if this is not true then we of all people are to be most pitied. 

But in fact Christ is risen. We are a resurrection people of joy and hope. Every day is Easter. Christ  is risen, Alleluia!

Jesus, you are alive. Today I live in the joy of your resurrection. 

Look for Others Advantage

‘The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light.’
Lk:.6:8

Jesus tells a parable that at first appears to be encouraging me to be selfish. The key to my understanding of the parable lies in a word from Jesus in the last verse. Astute.

Astute: Having an ability to accurately assess situations or people and turn this to one's advantage. 

Jesus sees astuteness as something to desire when dealing with other believers. This makes sense when remembering that the world Jesus calls me to, the world of "light", is the opposite of this present world. Instead of always looking for my own advantage, Jesus calls me to think of others first, to look for their advantage. I'm to be astute in calling forth good in others. 

Jesus, this is hard. Help me intentionally step into the world of light and love others as I love myself.