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Faith Versus the Law

Thursday, March 19th, 2015

Thursday of the 4th Week in Lent

Feast of St. Joseph

2 Sam 7: 4-5a, 12-14a, 16; Rom 4: 13, 16-18, 22; Mt 1: 16, 18-21, 24a

Deacon Larry Brockman

Have you ever noticed how distorted the “law” can become at the expense of the intent of the law?   

Income tax law is a good example.  The intent is that all persons making income pay a fair share of their income as tax to support the Government.  Simple enough- but different factions have scrambled to define what the “fair share” is; and so, over the years, our income tax law has become terribly complex and contorted.  There are all kinds of exemptions, credits, special cases, variable rates, and other provisions which have found their way into our tax law, so that it is unclear who, if anybody, is really paying a fair share.   

The same thing is happening now with regard to laws that mandate how health care will be applied; and how marriage will be defined.  It is not clear how well the principle of doing “what is right” is being applied in either of these areas by our secular authorities.   

You see, no matter how well-meaning we are in applying the principle of “what is right”, if we lose sight of the primary motivation, then things will go awry.  With regard to moral law, the underlying motivation should be God’s natural law.  The Mosaic law; our national system of laws; and even the Islamic Sharia law, are all supposed to be based on God’s natural law.  But when mankind gets a hold of the first principles and defines the details, the results can, and do often get distorted.   

That’s why our second reading makes a very important point:  That God’s covenants with us are not primarily based on law; but rather on Faith.  If we have Faith in God’s word to us, then we will listen to God; trust in God; and act in accordance with the spirit of God’s word to us.  That is what we need to do to merit the fruits of the covenant.  For Christians, those fruits are everlasting life.   

So living in faith is not the same thing as living according to the law; because strict compliance with the details of the Mosaic law and secular law are not necessarily the same as following the word of God in faith.  I think another example would help.   

This is the feast of Joseph.  The Mosaic law was quite clear to St. Joseph at the time:  His betrothed wife was pregnant; and he was not the Father.  There were two possible remedies according to the law.  Go to the authorities and turn Mary in, which would have shamed her and possibly resulted in her being stoned to death; or quietly divorce her, which was his plan.    But Joseph did neither- because he was moved by the Spirit of God through the dream in which the angel appeared to him.  Joseph had faith in, and trusted in, God’s word to him and did not act according to the law.  This act of faith by Joseph ranks with Abraham’s faith in importance in human history; else Jesus Christ would not have entered into the world.   

We live in very interesting times.  For centuries now, Christians have lived their lives according to the law.  It was law that properly reflected the natural law of God.  But times are changing as the world becomes more pluralistic and secular.  Almost weekly we hear about Christians who are persecuted for living their faith, and even martyred for their faith.  It is even happening in this country- such as the owners of Hobby Lobby, the Little Sisters of the Poor, and Catholic Adoption agencies who refuse to allow same-sex couples to adopt children, can attest.     

All of us, like King David, are being called to build a house for the Lord.  The house is our bodies, which are temples of the Holy Spirit.  As such, we are called to hold firm and live by faith, and not blindly according to the “law”.   

Our hope is the promise afforded by God’s covenant with us- the New Covenant promise of everlasting life for those who live by faith.  The rewards are great as predicted by Nathan the prophet:  “Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever”. 

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Nobody is Beyond Saving

Thursday, March 12th, 2015

Thursday of Third Week of Lent
Jer 7: 23-28; Lk 11: 14-23
Deacon Larry Brockman

 

The other day I saw a man in the hospital from another state who claimed he was beyond saving.  His marriage was a wreck; he alone and separated from his family, and now, to top it all off, he had a serious medical problem and ended up in the hospital. He felt guilty of many things, and thought he was beyond saving. This man was in the grip of the devil   because the devil had convinced him he was beyond saving. How ironic that is, because from the depths of his depression, I could sense that this man had already taken the first critical step- He recognized his sinfulness and was disposed to repent. And yet, he resisted prayer and the sacraments because he believed he was beyond saving. This is just one form of modern day possession by the devil.  Yes, indeed, the devil is alive and well, and he controls many people either this way, or in some other cycle of possession.

For example, there are many people who have lost a close one who can’t seem to snap out of it; the devil wants them to keep holding on, and works on them to shut God and his love out. Then, there are many are addicted to food, drugs, alcohol, pornography, Facebook, or any number of other things These people are not listening to God; but are slave to their addictions. .The devil feeds them on their gilt and gluttony, and encourages them to their excess. And then there are people so stagnant in their daily routine that they resist any and all kind of change. They have locked out the voice of God urging them to change, or they do as the man in the hospital, they tell themselves that they are beyond saving.  All of these things can be modern forms of possession.   

What’s the way out? Well, first we have to listen to the voice of God. Just as the prophets such as Jeremiah heralded God’s message to the Israelites long ago,   The Church and its messengers herald the voice of conversion and change. The Israelites are accused by Jeremiah of “not listening”. We need to learn a lesson from them, and listen to God.     

The Church asks us to listen for change often. We do it twice a year formally- in Advent and Lent. And of course, we are in the middle of Lent right now. So are we all listening?       

Now I know that all of you are committed to the focus of Lent. That’s why you’re all here at daily Mass. And so, all of you are searching for ways to improve your lives as  Christians. You are listening for the voice of God as you earnestly pray to make  yourselves better. But are you making the same mistake that many in the crowd made in the Gospel reading? Are you looking for a sign from heaven? You see, God has already spoken to us; and His word lasts forever. It is present in the scriptures, it is present in the traditions of the Church; and it is spoken to us unwittingly by those God places in our path every day. We just have to listen for it; and not look for a direct sign from heaven.

Jesus says something very powerful at the end of the Gospel as well. He talks about strength. The implication is clear. Make yourself strong spiritually so that the enemy cannot overcome you. For those of us who sincerely seek change in our spiritual wellness, spiritual strength is the key. And that means prayer, bible study, the sacraments, and becoming the best version of ourselves. It’s all the things that the Dynamic Catholic People are talking about in BestLentEver.com.       

God loves all of us and never gives up on us. He is constantly after us to repent and change.His message is ever right before us.  So, If today you hear his voice, however weak that may be, harden not your hearts

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How Torturous is the Human Heart

Thursday, March 5th, 2015

Thursday of the 2nd Week in Lent

Jer 17: 5-10; Luke 16: 19-31

Deacon Larry Brockman

“More tortuous than all else is the human heart, beyond remedy; who can understand it?”    How true is that with regard to the Rich Man in the Gospel?  One can only ask the question- Why?  Why, with all his wealth and comfort, would the Rich man ignore Lazarus day after day, month after month?   

Was it because the Rich Man was not aware?  Was it because he was not caring or generous?  What was it about the Rich Man that separates him from righteousness to such an extent that he is permanently exiled to an eternal place of torment?   

But the Rich man was aware- he knew who Lazarus was, even knew him by name; he hoped that Abraham would send Lazarus in a mission of kindness to him.  How ironic- a man who ignores Lazarus and his suffering for so many years now blithely begs for kindness from him.  No, the rich man was aware.   

Similarly, the Rich man cares- cares for his brothers and his family; otherwise he wouldn’t appeal for someone to go to his family so they could avoid his plight.  Granted, his generosity and concern is just for those close to him; but the Rich man doesn’t come across in the story as being totally uncaring.  

And so, if the Rich Man was sensitive enough to be aware and had a basic sense of caring for others; what was it that went on inside of his heart?  I think the rich man was too comfortable in his life.  He was always in control; everything was about him.  He made something of himself in life-  he amassed wealth; he was a member of the privileged and favored society.  But he was so preoccupied with himself that he just never got around to listening to his conscience, or responding to it either. Time passed, and before he knew it, life was over.      

Jeremiah quotes the Lord as follows: “Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the LORD.”  And that’s what happened to the Rich Man- he was cursed, and separated from favor in the Kingdom of God because he trusted in the world and what it had to offer.   

Can we apply this lesson to ourselves?  Are we aware of all the things that are happening right under our noses?  Like the homelessness and poverty and all kinds of moral evil that are going on around us constantly.  Ah, yes, we do notice it OK, and it gnaws at us too, doesn’t it; so we care, too.  But, like the Rich Man, are we so busy with our own agendas and find it difficult to really respond?     

Indeed, as Jeremiah said: “More tortuous than all else is the human heart; who can understand it?”  God understands it.  God knows what is really in our hearts.  And where our treasure is, that is where are hearts are.

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How Does Our Secular Culture Influence Us?

Thursday, February 19th, 2015

Thursday After Ash Wednesday

Dt 30: 15-20; Lk 9: 22-25

Deacon Larry Brockman

 

Do you any idea just how much influence our current culture has on you?

Listen again to the words in our Psalm this morning:  “Happy those who do not follow the counsel of the wicked, nor go the way of sinners, nor sit in company with scoffers.”   

You know what.  Every day we are exposed to the “counsel of the wicked” and we “sit in the company of scoffers” and we watch closely sinners going our way.  You say how is that?  When we listen to the radio and watch our TVs;  when we check out the Internet; and when we read secular magazines and other publications.  Much of what we see and hear in these venues has “subliminal” effects on us in the sense that we may not even be aware of the effects.  At other times, we see or hear the same thing often enough that it becomes second nature to us.  It seems like it is acceptable to us, even if we are just passive about it, especially when our passive behavior is around others, like our children.   

Perhaps a few examples would help.  How about the acceptability of the Sports Illustrated Swim Suit Calendar?  And then there those nightly TV shows and magazines that tell us what’s going on with the darlings of “pop culture”- how this starlet just had a baby with her “boyfriend”; or how long so and so have been living together.   

But then there’s this:  The other day, I heard an item on the news where a single person could join an internet service that would send to themselves love notes and other messages from a fictitious lover.  Why? So that friends and family would think that they had a lover and they would stop pressuring them.  I found it appalling; but how many others found it amusing to put one over on Mom and Dad, or that office acquaintance that never lets up.     

Actually, we are being given the same choice that the people in Moses time were being given.  We have laid out before us life and prosperity or death and doom.  We can choose to embrace God’s commandments and live; or we can face the doom that comes from ignoring God’s commandments.   

The Old Testament cycle of God’s people following Him and abandoning Him is being repeated today.  And the abandonment is always accompanied by apathy and lack of commitment to God’s commandments.  We are inundated in the media with morally unacceptable behavior in such a way that it seems mainline in our culture.  Then we become complacent, and even passively accepting of it.  That complacency and lack of conviction is noticed by our children, because our actions, or inactions as the case may be, allows the culture to speak loudly in the absence of our voices.  We effectively lead others to a choice by default.   

The Gospel today summarizes what life is all about.  We are challenged to take up our cross and follow after Jesus.  Our crosses are not like Jesus’ wooden cross, nor are they the martyr’s cross of those Christians in Iraq and Libya who were martyred this week by ISIS.  Those crosses are easy to identify- terrible adversity.  Our crosses are maintaining a life that conforms to God’s will in the midst of so much freedom, freedom that showers us with conflicting values, self-serving pleasures, and subtle slippery slopes.  But we still have an obligation to carry our crosses.; to stand up and be counted when we see evil.   

We have just started Lent.  Lent is a great time to reflect on our lives and make a change.  That is what the word repentance means.  So, take some time this week to reflect on the influences the media has on you and your family.  Identify the “ways of the sinners”, the “counsel of the wicked” and the “scoffers” who ridicule God’s law and the truth.   

And then make a choice.  Choose life and prosperity and not death and doom; that will be cross enough to carry.

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Life Is About What God Wants

Thursday, February 12th, 2015

Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Gen 2: 18-25; Mark 7: 24-30

Deacon Larry Brockman

 

“That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.”  That’s what we just heard God say in the book of Genesis.  And so God is the architect of marriage.  God made man; God made woman to be a suitable partner for man; and God willed that they should cling together as one as husband and wife.  Nowadays our society is trying to redefine marriage without taking into account what God said about it.  And that is a problem, a big problem for all of us.  But it is only a sign of the times.  Permit me to explain.   

You see, life is not all about living and let living; life is not all about just getting along; and life is not all about our rights as individuals because all three of these philosophies of life are all about us- what we want.  Life, rather, is all about what God wants.  God’s plan was that man and woman be joined in marriage.  Yes, his plan was for man and woman, and any other arrangement is not a marriage.

There are lots of other ways that our society is redefining the goals of society, and doing it in such a way that God’s input is missing .  Now we need to understand that when society doesn’t live according to God’s plan, then there will be consequences of that.  The entire Old Testament is a cycle of events that show what happens when people first listen to God; and then don’t listen to God.  Societies thrive when they put God first; and then crumble when they take control for themselves and ignore God’s will.  Our society will be no different.   

Our American government was framed by the country’s founders on the basis of Judeo-Christian values.  To be explicit- the ten commandments and the teachings of the Bible.  That’s why the ten commandments are copied on to the walls of our courthouses and state houses.  They are not posted there to endorse a religion.  They are posted there because our founding fathers universally recognized that laws of the land needed to reflect them:  “Thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not lie, and thou shalt not covet.”  It was just something that was understood.  Likewise, that’s why all our legal processes related to marriage up until now were predicated on marriage between a man and a woman.  Everyone just knew what marriage meant and why, because everybody was familiar with the Bible version-  the Genesis reading and others.   

But not now; as we find our nation marching down a path to redefine marriage.  Why is that so important to all of us?  Well, because God is watching us, just as he watched his people in the Old Testament, that‘s why.  The reality of life is that God not only wants us to live his plan for us as individuals; He also wants us to collectively live the life He wills for all of us.  And history has shown that when we don’t live collectively in harmony with God’s overall plan, disaster strikes.  It sure did strike for the Israeli nation over and over again in the Old Testament.  And it could happen to us.   

So, what can or should we do about our society as we watch it slip away from its Judeo-Christian roots?  First, we need to keep the faith, the faith that God’s word is the real authority; that God, not man knows best; and that God can and will conquer all evil in his own time. To do that, we have to know our faith like it was second nature to us.  And it should be second nature to us.   

Second, we need to teach that faith, and we need to be explicit about what is wrong with the alternatives.  That means teaching our children; our coworkers; and our political representatives.  We cannot afford to be passive- live and let live is not the answer.  We must personally stand up for our faith because that is the best way to teach our children and our coworkers.  That means getting involved- writing letters, speaking up at the office; participating in events like 40 days for life.   

Look at the faith of the woman in the Gospel as an example.  She heard that there was something special about Jesus’ teaching.  And so, she learned about him, and went to see him despite the fact that she was not a Jew.  She had three strikes against her- she was a woman; she was not a Jew or Jewish sympathizer, and she belonged to the pagans.   But she was willing to stand up and be counted in front of strangers and in opposition to her own people because she believed in Jesus and his message.   

If all of us stood up for Jesus as this woman did, our children, our coworkers, and our politicians would get the point.

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Joy Comes From Listening to God

Thursday, February 5th, 2015

Thursday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Heb 12: 18-19, 21-24; Mark 6: 7-13

Deacon Larry Brockman

 

I don’t know about you, but that first reading sounded kind of scary when I first read it!  Recall that when Moses led the people to Mt.Sinai, they saw what was truly unapproachable- that which couldn’t be touched because it was feared; a blazing fire; gloomy darkness covered by clouds; a storm; and a voice that those who heard feared greatly. 

And as a result, the Israelites asked to be spared of a repeat of the horrible spectacle.  They asked for someone to speak in God’s name.  Moses made the request, and God appointed prophets in the tradition of Moses.  Moses and these prophets spread God’s word in the form of the scripture and the law.  They were captured as the ten commandments and the other laws handed on by tradition in the Jewish scripture.   

But over the course of Israeli History, the people didn’t listen to the prophets.  They were disobedient.  And Israel was scattered in exile. But not before these same prophets had predicted a new order- a New Covenant; one in which God would send his only son.  God’s son would be like all the rest of us, human in form.  And his word would be direct, not through prophets, but through his own example and spoken word as God’s son.   

Jesus spent three years telling his good news- the Gospel, a message of the heart, a message of love.  And Jesus spoke and acted with “authority”.  “Authority” is that special quality one has who speaks and acts with power delegated from above, the power of God- just as the prophets spoke with authority.  But Jesus acted and spoke with a “fidelity” that rang true.  Jesus not only spoke for God, he was God.   

In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus delegating his “authority” to the Apostles. And we hear that the Apostles worked the same wonders in healing as they spread God’s word.  How fortunate we are to have the Bishops and leaders of the Church who today lead us with the same authority that was delegated to the 12 Apostles.  The message that we have received from the Gospel is exhilarating and exciting.  By following the Gospel of Jesus, by accepting God’s word on Faith, and living as Jesus taught, we can share in the legacy of Jesus- eternal life in the resurrected state in the kingdom of God.   

This is what Paul is talking about in the second half of the first reading.  We share in this promise by preparing to approach Mount Zion as we go through our earthly lives.  And what are we approaching?  The city of the living God- Mount Zion and the new Jerusalem with.countless angels in festive gathering; and the assembly of Jesus, the firstborn, in heaven, along with the spirits of the just made perfect.  That is us- the spirits of the just made perfect.   

So rather than scary, that first reading should bring us much joy because it is a message of hope and of eternal happiness for those who believe. 

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Looking For a Messiah?

Thursday, January 8th, 2015

Thursday After Epiphany

John 4: 19 – 5: 4; Luke 4: 14-22

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

We keep looking at things the wrong way, and we take things too literally, as we journey through life looking for meaning.   

Take the quote from Isaiah that Jesus read for example.  Isaiah talks about freeing captives, good news for the poor, sight for the blind, and relief for the oppressed.  And when we hear that, we think of all those things literally.  That’s what the Jews of Jesus time were looking for as well- a literal rendering of all those things.  They were yearning for the “Christ” to come  to end the harsh, oppressive Roman rule; and restore Israel to greatness and prosperity.   

Now Jesus, fired up by the Holy Spirit after his Baptism, spent 40 days in the desert fending off temptations by the devil and sorting out what God’s mission was for him.  And so he emerges from the desert, all fired up with zeal for God.  He was the Messiah, and it was God’s will for Him to spread the good news of eternal life to everyone.  And who better to share that exuberance with than his own people- the people he grew up with.   

So, he returns to Galilee; and goes to Sabbath service in the temple.  Jesus boldly chooses the Isaiah scripture and reads it to tell the people through the prophecy that predicted him, who he really was.  But they didn’t get it, not at all.   So, he comes right out and tells them that He is the long awaited Christ;  He is the one who will free the captives, give sight to the blind, spread good news to the poor, and relieve the oppressed.    At first they were in awe; but then the reality sunk in.  And it didn’t take long for his own people to turn on him.  In the next few verses after today’s Gospel, the town people drive him away, angered at the preposterous notion that this simple carpenter’s son, poorly educated and without means, would dare to describe himself as the one and only Messiah.   

And it was kind of a wake-up call for Jesus as well.  His People were looking for the wrong things from the Messiah as they journeyed through life looking for meaning.  They didn’t want to be poor, sick, or burdened in this life; and they didn’t want their eyes opened up to the truth.     

Is it any different today?  I visit one of the local hospitals twice a week to help the chaplain.  I saw an elderly man in his mid-80’s recently who was suffering from serous heart disease.  He knew he didn’t have long to live.  He was resigned to that, but was concerned about his daughter, who he believed really needed his help.  She was financially strapped and abandoned by her husband.  He wanted to get out of the hospital as soon as possible so he could help her.   He didn’t want any open heart surgery that would slow him down or affect his ability to help her even if it meant shortening his life.  He was frustrated by the reality of the life he was in.  He wanted relief for the poor, healing for the sick, freedom from captivity; and that wasn’t likely to happen. 

I was moved at the situation he was in.  Many of us will find ourselves in these kinds of situations in real life.  But the reality is that the Messiah did not come to save us from the pain and suffering of this world.  Rather, He came to set us free from captivity to it in the next world; to open our eyes for God’s will for us now, so we can share in the Kingdom of God, where there will be no more poor or captives.  But most folks are looking for relief in this world- after all, it is the human thing to do.   

You know, even if somehow by magic this man could be cured of his heart ailment right away so he could help his daughter, that wouldn’t solve the problem.  Because such a miracle would last for another few years before the next reality would hit.  The solution Jesus promises, on the other hand, lasts forever.  That’s what Jesus was all fired up about and wanted to share.   

In the first reading, John talks about loving God, trusting God, and keeping His commandments.  That is what we all need to do to follow the Messiah in this life.  If we do that, all of the saving predictions from Isaiah will come true for us.

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God Is With Us- All the Time

Thursday, December 18th, 2014

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Advent
Blessed Anna Rosa Gattorno

Jer 23: 5-8; Mt 1: 18-25

Dc. Larry Brockman

“God is With Us”   That is what Immanuel means,   I think it is really important to understand what that really means.   You see, we were saved from our sins by Jesus, and the passion and resurrection that we observe each year during the Lent and Easter Season tells that story in a literal sense.   But the promise this morning is that “God is with us”.   And that means something different.   It means that God came among us and lived as we do- the Incarnation.   The realization of that promise forever made God present,  relevant, and personal in our lives.   He is not remote, distant, and separated from us.   He is with us, even now; he is still with us.   

Part of that presence is the Eucharist, to be sure because we can be certain that God is in us at any time by receiving Communion.   But the promise is even more basic than that.  It is that God is present to us always, at every waking moment.   Of course, we have to be open to God in order to recognize that presence and allow Him to be with us.   But if we are open, then we will be saved from our own sins.

Jeremiah kind of predicts a new order, one separate from the Old Testament promise to Moses.   You see, the Jews did not recognize God’s presence in their lives in Jeremiah’s day.   They thought they were in control despite the warnings of the prophets,   So, the rulers of Israel, along with the people, ignored the prophets and did things their way.   And as a result, God could not help them.   God cannot help those who don’t listen to Him.   

The consequences of the Israelis infidelity were the exile; they were scattered all over the ancient world.   This morning Jeremiah is predicting a new order.   An order in which God will send Jesus, the root of Jesse; and after that, God’s presence will bring all the people of God back together to live in their own land- the promised land. 

One of the reasons we read of this Old Testament cycle of disobedience and then conversion is because it is the pattern of history.   Things are no different in the modern world than they were in the ancient world.   Our society goes through cycles like that.   There are times when communities, groups of communities, and even nations listen to the word of God, obey his commands, and walk with   God as they go through life.   And there are times when society thinks that it is in control.   When people ignore God and his commands, and think they are in control rather than God.   Then the consequences are effectively the same as Jews experienced.   Things go badly; society is ravaged; and the people of God are effectively scattered among the non-believers.   

I don’t know about you, but I see all kinds of signs in today’s world that society is not listening to the word of God.   Let me give an example.   Instead of saying Merry Christmas, it is Happy Holidays for most  folks.   That really sums it up- because that is celebrating a secular holiday, not the coming of Christ.  That’s why we hear holiday music and not Christmas Carols this time of year.   Don’t think that this doesn’t have consequences.   Because if our focus is on a Holly, Jolly Christmas; Santa Baby,   and a Marshmallow World for the 4 weeks of Advent rather than on the coming of Christ heralded by Silent Night, O Come O Come Emmanuel, and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen;  then inside of ourselves, we are ignoring the real meaning of Christmas-  that “God is with us”.   

Starting right now Let’s all of us recognize that “God is With Us” in all we do, every hour of the day; that he is there to pick us up when we falter, when we are ill, and when we are down.   And that will bring “Joy to the World”. 

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Advent is All About Repentance

Thursday, December 11th, 2014

Thursday of the 3rd Week of Advent

Is 41: 13-20; Mt 11: 11-15

Dc. Larry Brockman

So, the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than John the Baptist!  This is what Jerome said about this Gospel:  “Every saint who is already with the Lord is greater than he who yet stands in the battle; for it is one thing to have gained the crown of victory, another to be yet fighting in the field.”  That’s what all of us are still doing, you see; fighting in the field.  And that’s how John the Baptist, who was as great or greater than any person born of a woman, could still be less than the least in the Kingdom of God.

Yes, we all still have a way to go in our battle to enter the kingdom of God.  But we have help, the kind of help Isaiah talks about.  For the Lord says:  “Fear not, I will help you”.  And it is as if he is talking to each and every one of us.  All of us are all being told to “Fear not, I will help you”.

Some of us have a whole lifetime of years left in the battle for our souls- 70, 80 years or more.  Others of us have already gone through most of the battle- 70 or 80 years of it.  Yet none of us knows when the battle will end; for the battle could end just minutes from now as well as years from now no matter how young or old we are.

The question for all of us this morning is simply this?  Are you ready for the battle you are engaged in right now?  Are you fighting as a soldier of God against the forces of evil, striving to enter the narrow gate, to enter the Kingdom of God.  Because you have to be ready and prepared for that constantly, at all times; there is never a break.

The rest of Isaiah’s words seem mysterious.  The Lord offers his help, yet he calls the people, his own people, worms and maggots.  That’s because the people of Isaiah’s time were not listening.  They were not heeding the warnings of the prophets; and they were faltering in their battle with evil.  They were failing as individuals; and they were failing as a nation.  They were depressed and turning from their God.  Yet, even so, God tells them that he is with them; and that to take heart, because no matter what, they will prevail if they accept his help.

It’s the same way for us.  No matter how grim things may seem for us, we need to fight on because God is with us the whole way.

These are great words of consolation for me.  Because no matter how hard I try to avoid some occasions to sin, it just seems like I falter and fail in the same ways over and over again.  But God doesn’t make junk.  All of us are loved by God else he wouldn’t have made us.  God doesn’t give up on any of us easily.  And so, yes, he is there always to help us in battle.  He doesn’t abandon us when we fall.  Rather, he is there beside us trying to get us to get up and fight on.  And if we keep doing that, resolving to get up, sin no more, and fight on, then things will be as he describes later in Isaiah.  Eventually we will break through; the way will we opened for us.

What I have just described is called “Repentance”:  Recognizing what we need to change in our lives, resolving to change them for the better, and moving out accordingly.  Advent is all about repentance.  It was John the Baptist’s message.  And the Kingdom of God belongs to those who repent.

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The Kingdom of God is Amongst Us

Thursday, November 13th, 2014

Thursday of the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time

Phil 7-20; Luke 17: 20-25

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

“The Kingdom of God is among you”!  Just how did that strike you this morning?  Do you feel that the Kingdom of God is here already?

I’ll bet that Philemon, the person to whom our first reading was addressed, did not understand that.  Here was a well to do person whose slave had run away.  And now Paul was sending him back as a free man, asking the former Master to accept Onesimus as a brother, as an equal.  In those days, a slave was valued property. And although Philemon was a Christian, his culture was a strong influence; and a former slave was not easy to accept as an equal.  That must have been pretty hard.

But you know what?  That’s exactly what the Kingdom of God will be like for all of us.  There will be no more rich or poor; slave and master; boss and worker; teacher and student; or husband and wife In the Kingdom of God  Rather, we will all be on the same footing-   servants to the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father, but sharing the Glory of our Lord none the less.

And yet, Jesus is telling the Pharisees that one cannot sense the Kingdom, not because it isn’t real; it certainly is real; but because it is already amongst us, but we are blinded to seeing it for what it is.  We simply have to recognize that all of us are equal in the eyes of God and rejoice in that.

When you think about it, it is very clear that God values all of us the same, whether we are rich or poor; master or slave; boss or worker; or student or teacher.  How can it possibly be otherwise?  God made each of us, and God doesn’t willfully make junk.  It’s just that all of us have been blessed in our own way, and these blessings distinguish us from one another in this world by the areas mentioned.  But these blessings are God’s gifts to us; they are not of our own making.  And so when we move into the next life in the Kingdom, each of us will be glorified for how we lived with our gifts, not how we compared to anyone else.

Each of us will be content with our own status with the Lord in the Kingdom of God.  It is, after all, heaven.  So, if we can do the same here and now- be happy for everyone else in their gifts, then we will share now in the Kingdom of God.

So, our attitude here must be one of humble acceptance of our own gifts, and a lack of preoccupation with our neighbor’s gifts.  Such an attitude removes anger, greed, laziness, gluttony, pride, lust, and envy from the scene- the seven deadly sins because such a person is focused on their relationship with God; and they are content with their relationship with God.  Not only that, such a person is happy that others have a similar relationship with God.

Indeed, the Kingdom of God is amongst us!

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