Gold from Clay

Jesus went up into the hills and summoned those he wanted. So they came to him and he appointed twelve; they were to be his companions and to be sent out to preach, with power to cast out devils.

Mk.3:13-15

Jesus appoints the twelve Apostles who are to be his core team in ministry. They are made up of a cross section of broken humanity yet Jesus used them to change the world.

From Peter the sandpile through the hotheads James and John to Judas the betrayer, this is hardly an A-team but Jesus treats them as one. He sets high expectations and responsibilities, sending them out on their own mission trips. 

Barring Judas, each of the apostles become saints. Jesus didn't focus on their brokenness, he encouraged and drew forth their strengths, a great lesson in team building. It's also a model on how I should see myself. Satan wants me to stop at the stinking pile of my brokenness. Jesus wants me to step over that and move further up and further in to him. Starting today...

Thank you Jesus that you see past my failures and call me into the successes you see in me. Help me to see myself, and others, as you do.... a potential saint.

Saint Agnes, please pray for me.

 

 

Life

Alleluia, alleluia! 

Our Saviour Jesus Christ has done away with death 

and brought us life through his gospel. 

Alleluia!

Today's Gospel Acclamation quotes from 2Tim.1:10. Jesus has conquered death by bringing eternal life. How? Through the good news he has created.

People die. Where is this life Saint Paul raves about? Obviously it's not life in this world, it's life in the next. There's the rub. The Good News of Jesus is based on delayed gratification. Or is it...?

I've  been on both sides of the faith fence and I far prefer living the life of a believer. It makes me an optimist which is not a bad worldview to start your day. As an unbeliever my world was tiny. It circled around me and what I thought could make me happy. The Gospel has me placing others happiness before my own. Suddenly my world expands and has meaning and purpose. I am given a glimpse of what eternal life could be like. This is real living.

Jesus, your Gospel, your good news, is the very air I breathe today. Thank you for bringing me life.

Saint Philip Neri, please pray for us. 

 

Law or Love

Is it against the law on the sabbath day to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to kill?

Mk.3:4

Jesus is challenging the Pharisees' heart motivation. Are they fixated on love or the law?

Jesus usually heals out of compassion. Today's Gospel has him healing a man with a withered hand out of anger. The Pharisees' blind adherence to the law grieves him. They would rather leave a man crippled than have him healed on the sabbath.

The law has a seductive appeal to me. It's so neat, so black and white, so easy to administer. Compassion gets messy. It often involves extending mercy to someone I judge doesn't deserve it. I have to roll up my sleeves and do something for someone else rather than for me. 

Am I fixated on love or the law? Today I choose to be intentional about loving.

Jesus, help me to love. It's not my natural state.
Saint Philip Neri, please pray for me.

Heart Reader

Take no notice of his appearance or his height for I have rejected him; God does not see as man sees; man looks at appearances but the Lord looks at the heart.

1 Sam.16:7

Samuel has been called by God to find a new king among the sons of Jessie. The eldest son Eliab impresses Samuel by his looks but God rejects Eliab after judging his heart.

Important character is found on the inside. The world judges by beauty, brains and wealth. I am seduced by these same external attributes. God steps past the outside stuff and judges the heart. I am about to form an Alpha hosting team. I need to be a heart reader.

Jesus, you looked past the externals and read people's hearts. Help me be a heart reader so I am not mislead by external appearance.

Saint Philip Neri, please pray for me.

 

New Wine

And nobody puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins too. No! New wine, fresh skins!

Mk.2:22

Jesus has been questioned about why his disciples are not fasting like the Pharisees or even John's disciples. His reply infers he is doing something new that has with it new disciplines and new power.

This reading always makes me question, "What is the new wine God is pouring into my life at the moment?" Often I'm so busy savouring the old wine that I'm missing the new work God is calling me to. This can be at my work, in my family life or in my ministry. God is interested in all those areas. 

Lord, I can be distracted by the cares and worries of this world. The exciting place to be focussed is in the center of your will... today.

Saint Philip Neri, please pray for me.

 

Authority to Forgive

But to prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,’ – he turned to the paralytic – ‘I order you: get up, pick up your stretcher, and go off home.’ And the man got up, picked up his stretcher at once and walked out in front of everyone.

Mk.2:10-12

Jesus has just forgiven the sins of a paralytic. To demonstrate to offended scribes his authority to forgive sins, he miraculously heals the paralytic.

To Jesus, the healing of the paralytic was secondary to the forgiving of his sins. When focussed on the paralytic, the best Jesus could give him was forgiveness. The healing was simply to demonstrate to unbelievers that he had authority to forgive. 

Forgiveness continues to be the best that Jesus can give. It brings freedom, peace and joy, all priceless gifts. We focus on the physical which is temporary at best. It all turns to dust. This is where Janis Joplin got it wrong when singing, "Lord, won't you give me a colour TV". My soul is eternal. Fix that and I'm fixed for ever. 

Time to visit the confessional...

Thank you Jesus that your greatest gift for me is forgiveness. Thank you that you have made forgiveness so readily available through your Church.

Saint Philip Neri, please pray for me.

Compulsive Compassion

A leper came to Jesus and pleaded on his knees: ‘If you want to’ he said ‘you can cure me.’ Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. ‘Of course I want to!’ he said. ‘Be cured!’ And the leprosy left him at once and he was cured. 
Mk.1:40,41

Jesus has started his public ministry and is gaining fame for healing. His compulsive compassion for the leper led Jesus to break Mosaic Law and touch him. The leper is instantly healed.

Jesus almost rebukes the leper for inferring his compassion was conditional. "If you want to..." Jesus' compassion isn't conditional. It's compulsive. He can't help but love us. He can't help but love me. 

Sometimes I doubt Jesus' love for me. How could he after what I have just done/thought/not done? This is from the devil who wants me to doubt my beliefs and believe my doubts. Jesus calls me to doubt my doubts and believe my beliefs, especially my belief in his love for me. I step into today knowing I am infinitely loveable and infinitely loved.

Jesus, I receive your love. Help me be compulsively compassionate to others I meet today.
Saint Philip Neri, please pray for me.