Do you wish to be great? Then begin by being. Do you desire to construct a vast and lofty fabric? Think first about the foundations of humility. The higher your structure is to be, the deeper must be its foundation. --Saint Augustine
Gospel text (Mt 23,1-12):
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,
"The scribes and the Pharisees
have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example.
For they preach but they do not practice.
They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry
and lay them on people's shoulders,
but they will not lift a finger to move them.
All their works are performed to be seen.
They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,
greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.'
As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.'
You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.
Call no one on earth your father;
you have but one Father in heaven.
Do not be called 'Master';
you have but one master, the Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
Today, Jesus exhorts us to bear witness of our Christian life through our example, the consistency of our life and the honesty of our intentions.
While the term hypocrisy usually means a more conscious and active “not practicing what you preach,” I think its important to note the huge difference between hypocrisy and growth in faith. Remember, none of us is perfect but the standard we strive for is perfection. That is why our Lord gives us the Sacrament of Reconciliation, to “level the playing field” so to speak when we fall.
For our behavior to fit with that of our Lord Jesus, a gesture of humility is fundamental, as our Pope Benedict says: «I recognize myself for what I am, a frail creature, made of earth and destined to the earth, but also made in the image of God and destined to him».
Our American society is "fond of places of honor." We have honor rolls, radio and TV interviews, Halls of Fame, autograph sessions, awards banquets, and numerous other ways to honor others. While the Lord does call us to honor our parents (Dt 5:16; Sir 3:2ff) and all people (1 Pt 2:17), He is adamant that we do not seek honor for ourselves.
In our gospel passage noted above today, the scribes were revered for their standing in religious circles in society. This indicates that in their time they were among the most intelligent and best educated people in the world. They were professionals and experts in the Holy Scripture. Yet, despite the greatness of the scribes and the Pharisees, most of them rejected Jesus, the Messiah, and thus prepared the way for their own downfall. Their problem was pride. They exalted themselves, so God humbled them (Mt 23:12).
Therefore, "be humbled in the sight of the Lord" (Jas 4:10). Learn from Jesus, Who is gentle and humble of heart (Mt 11:29). "In your relations with one another, clothe yourselves with humility, because God 'is stern with the arrogant but to the humble He shows kindness.' Bow humbly under God's mighty hand" (1 Pt 5:5-6). Humble yourself (Mt 23:12; Lk 14:11; 18:14).
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Monday, March 5, 2012
It is much harder to judge yourself than to judge others
This year, or this month, or, more likely, this very day, we have failed to practice ourselves the kind of behavior we expect from other people. - C. S. Lewis
Gospel text (Lk 6:36-38):
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
"Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you."
“Be merciful as your Father is merciful,” captures the essence of our relationship with others and with God. The “measuring stick” of our mercy is how we treat each other.
The Lord commands us not to judge or condemn others. However, that does not mean we should not recognize sins in our society and not address sinful behavior, which opposes the Natural Law and the Ten Commandments. The Catholic Church addresses such behavior so it will cease in our society and in those we love who are in our lives. Then we should leave the judging and sentencing up to God.
For example, if you know a person is committing the sin of adultery, you should love the person enough to talk to them about repenting of it (see Ez 3:17ff; 33:7ff). If this doesn't help free the person, you should talk to anyone with authority over the person, such as a parent or priest. Hopefully, this will stop the person from further sinful, self-destructive acts. Then we should leave it in God's hands. He alone is the Judge and the One with the authority to sentence unrepentant sinners. Our task as good Catholics is simply to warn, intercede for, teach, and serve all those we come in contact with.
Not judging or condemning does not mean doing nothing, being passive, or being permissive. Rather, we must bring back those straying from the Truth (Jas 5:19-20).
Do you love people enough to give them only the best, that is, the truth and light of God's word? If you truly want to understand much more of God's word, you can. Receive God's word "not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God at work within you who believe" (1 Thes 2:13).
Gospel text (Lk 6:36-38):
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
"Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you."
“Be merciful as your Father is merciful,” captures the essence of our relationship with others and with God. The “measuring stick” of our mercy is how we treat each other.
The Lord commands us not to judge or condemn others. However, that does not mean we should not recognize sins in our society and not address sinful behavior, which opposes the Natural Law and the Ten Commandments. The Catholic Church addresses such behavior so it will cease in our society and in those we love who are in our lives. Then we should leave the judging and sentencing up to God.
For example, if you know a person is committing the sin of adultery, you should love the person enough to talk to them about repenting of it (see Ez 3:17ff; 33:7ff). If this doesn't help free the person, you should talk to anyone with authority over the person, such as a parent or priest. Hopefully, this will stop the person from further sinful, self-destructive acts. Then we should leave it in God's hands. He alone is the Judge and the One with the authority to sentence unrepentant sinners. Our task as good Catholics is simply to warn, intercede for, teach, and serve all those we come in contact with.
Not judging or condemning does not mean doing nothing, being passive, or being permissive. Rather, we must bring back those straying from the Truth (Jas 5:19-20).
Do you love people enough to give them only the best, that is, the truth and light of God's word? If you truly want to understand much more of God's word, you can. Receive God's word "not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God at work within you who believe" (1 Thes 2:13).
Sunday, March 4, 2012
“Spend time every day listening to what your muse is trying to tell you”
"We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.” Mother Teresa
Gospel text (Mc 9,2-10):
Jesus took Peter, James, and John
and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them,
and his clothes became dazzling white,
such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses,
and they were conversing with Jesus.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
"Rabbi, it is good that we are here!
Let us make three tents:
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them;
from the cloud came a voice,
"This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."
Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone
but Jesus alone with them.
As they were coming down from the mountain,
he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,
except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to themselves,
questioning what rising from the dead meant.
I remember not listening seriously to my father when I was a young boy, but then I saw him at his place of employment. My Dad was a barber in Belleville New Jersey for 37 years. I had never seen him in these circumstances. He was clearly a man of God, of faith, and of courage. He was transfigured in my eyes. I had never seen my dad in that way. From that point on, I listened to him as I had never done before.
Today the status quo in the United States of America does not take Jesus seriously. We seem unaware of His divinity. We don't listen to Him, His Word, and His Church. To listen to Him, we must see Jesus new and transfigured to break out of the rut of disobedience. We need to experience Jesus in a completely new way so we will listen to Him in a completely new way.
"Listen to Him" (Mk 9:7).
Gospel text (Mc 9,2-10):
Jesus took Peter, James, and John
and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them,
and his clothes became dazzling white,
such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses,
and they were conversing with Jesus.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
"Rabbi, it is good that we are here!
Let us make three tents:
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them;
from the cloud came a voice,
"This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."
Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone
but Jesus alone with them.
As they were coming down from the mountain,
he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,
except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to themselves,
questioning what rising from the dead meant.
I remember not listening seriously to my father when I was a young boy, but then I saw him at his place of employment. My Dad was a barber in Belleville New Jersey for 37 years. I had never seen him in these circumstances. He was clearly a man of God, of faith, and of courage. He was transfigured in my eyes. I had never seen my dad in that way. From that point on, I listened to him as I had never done before.
Today the status quo in the United States of America does not take Jesus seriously. We seem unaware of His divinity. We don't listen to Him, His Word, and His Church. To listen to Him, we must see Jesus new and transfigured to break out of the rut of disobedience. We need to experience Jesus in a completely new way so we will listen to Him in a completely new way.
"Listen to Him" (Mk 9:7).
Saturday, March 3, 2012
"Love to be real, it must cost—it must hurt—it must empty us of self."
"Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbor... Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting."--Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Gospel text (Mt 5,43-48):
Jesus said to his disciples:
"You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies,
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers and sisters only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Today's Gospel exhorts us to the most perfect love. Love is wanting to do good to others, and here lies our personal fulfillment.
Life in our world has many sorts of enmity. Enmities between a husband and wife on the brink of divorce, bullies and their victims, a person betrayed by a friend, or a child abused by a parent. Enmities between nations at war or adversaries in civil war. Between cheaters and cheated, criminals and victims. Among the wealthy and among the poor, and between rich and poor. Whatever the sort, only two options occur to me as possible for those embroiled in enmity. Let it be, or deal with it. There really isn't any "in between."
Letting an enmity be will likely make it worse. Recrimination will increase. Old hurts will get bruised and new ones will be perpetrated. Grudges and resentments will fester. Violence and bloodshed may even happen. And all this will occur for the enemies on both sides of a divide.
Dealing with the enmity requires both parties to turn their faces to one another and listen. Each needs to acknowledge to the other their own responsibility for the division, and to forgive the hurt and misunderstanding the other has caused -- more or less in that order. When all this takes root -- on both sides -- genuine reconciliation, which consists of deep down mutual forgiveness, becomes a real possibility. But sometimes it will occur only with the grace of God. If that is the case, then both sides will benefit from praying for the grace to reconcile.
For reconciliation to stick, the process needs to grow towards mutual love. This is more than mutual tolerance or respect. Love, in a situation where reconciliation has begun and is maturing will consist of not just words but especially in deeds: public acknowledgement of the dignity and goodness of the other (praise), revering the other in their dignity and goodness, and supporting the other by helping them to heal, reconstruct damaged relationships, and otherwise serving them.
Loving enemies is shocking, prophetic, and evangelistic. When we truly love our enemies, Jesus' death on the cross becomes luminous. When we love our enemies, countless knees bend and tongues proclaim: "Jesus Christ is Lord!" (Phil 2:10-11) By God's grace, love your enemies!
Gospel text (Mt 5,43-48):
Jesus said to his disciples:
"You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies,
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers and sisters only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Today's Gospel exhorts us to the most perfect love. Love is wanting to do good to others, and here lies our personal fulfillment.
Life in our world has many sorts of enmity. Enmities between a husband and wife on the brink of divorce, bullies and their victims, a person betrayed by a friend, or a child abused by a parent. Enmities between nations at war or adversaries in civil war. Between cheaters and cheated, criminals and victims. Among the wealthy and among the poor, and between rich and poor. Whatever the sort, only two options occur to me as possible for those embroiled in enmity. Let it be, or deal with it. There really isn't any "in between."
Letting an enmity be will likely make it worse. Recrimination will increase. Old hurts will get bruised and new ones will be perpetrated. Grudges and resentments will fester. Violence and bloodshed may even happen. And all this will occur for the enemies on both sides of a divide.
Dealing with the enmity requires both parties to turn their faces to one another and listen. Each needs to acknowledge to the other their own responsibility for the division, and to forgive the hurt and misunderstanding the other has caused -- more or less in that order. When all this takes root -- on both sides -- genuine reconciliation, which consists of deep down mutual forgiveness, becomes a real possibility. But sometimes it will occur only with the grace of God. If that is the case, then both sides will benefit from praying for the grace to reconcile.
For reconciliation to stick, the process needs to grow towards mutual love. This is more than mutual tolerance or respect. Love, in a situation where reconciliation has begun and is maturing will consist of not just words but especially in deeds: public acknowledgement of the dignity and goodness of the other (praise), revering the other in their dignity and goodness, and supporting the other by helping them to heal, reconstruct damaged relationships, and otherwise serving them.
Loving enemies is shocking, prophetic, and evangelistic. When we truly love our enemies, Jesus' death on the cross becomes luminous. When we love our enemies, countless knees bend and tongues proclaim: "Jesus Christ is Lord!" (Phil 2:10-11) By God's grace, love your enemies!
Friday, March 2, 2012
Its not how you start that counts - its how you finish - Let us begin!
Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again; for forgiveness has risen from the grave.--St. John Chrysostom - Easter sermon
Ezekiel 18:21-28
Thus says the Lord GOD:
If the wicked man turns away from all the sins he committed,
if he keeps all my statutes and does what is right and just,
he shall surely live, he shall not die.
None of the crimes he committed shall be remembered against him;
he shall live because of the virtue he has practiced.
Do I indeed derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked?
says the Lord GOD.
Do I not rather rejoice when he turns from his evil way
that he may live?
And if the virtuous man turns from the path of virtue to do evil,
the same kind of abominable things that the wicked man does,
can he do this and still live?
None of his virtuous deeds shall be remembered,
because he has broken faith and committed sin;
because of this, he shall die.
You say, "The LORD's way is not fair!"
Hear now, house of Israel:
Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?
When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies,
it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die.
But if the wicked, turning from the wickedness he has committed,
does what is right and just,
he shall preserve his life;
since he has turned away from all the sins that he committed,
he shall surely live, he shall not die.
"All's well that ends well."
Because our ending is all-important, some people wait until the end to convert to Christ and live in His ways. This is a serious mistake.
The Lord wants to forget your sins through the sacrament of reconciliation, and He wants you to forget them too. Your memories will no longer sadden, confuse, or torture you. The memory of His forgiveness will wipe away the memory of your sins.
Reconciliation begins with experiencing sorrow and asking for forgiveness. Saying, "I'm sorry, please forgive me," is a wonderful breakthrough moment. However, there is much deep, rich reflection and personal conversion that can, and perhaps must, accompany this level of reconciliation. Why did I do what I did? What was I choosing, reacting to, or making a point about? In what part of this conflict was I being selfish, stubborn, wanting it my way? What part involved a call to surrender, let go, or compromise? Is some part of this fight a "cover-up" for some real sin on my part? Am I being dishonest in this relationship, in some way? Was my anger really about something else? Did it come out of an insecurity, a tender spot, a vulnerable place because of past hurts? Is some part of this fight revealing a need for healing in me, a need for me to turn to the Lord for forgiveness and mercy?
Always remember, the "good thief" lived a miserable life, but ended well and was in paradise with Jesus on the day they both died (Lk 23:43).
Ezekiel 18:21-28
Thus says the Lord GOD:
If the wicked man turns away from all the sins he committed,
if he keeps all my statutes and does what is right and just,
he shall surely live, he shall not die.
None of the crimes he committed shall be remembered against him;
he shall live because of the virtue he has practiced.
Do I indeed derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked?
says the Lord GOD.
Do I not rather rejoice when he turns from his evil way
that he may live?
And if the virtuous man turns from the path of virtue to do evil,
the same kind of abominable things that the wicked man does,
can he do this and still live?
None of his virtuous deeds shall be remembered,
because he has broken faith and committed sin;
because of this, he shall die.
You say, "The LORD's way is not fair!"
Hear now, house of Israel:
Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?
When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies,
it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die.
But if the wicked, turning from the wickedness he has committed,
does what is right and just,
he shall preserve his life;
since he has turned away from all the sins that he committed,
he shall surely live, he shall not die.
"All's well that ends well."
Because our ending is all-important, some people wait until the end to convert to Christ and live in His ways. This is a serious mistake.
The Lord wants to forget your sins through the sacrament of reconciliation, and He wants you to forget them too. Your memories will no longer sadden, confuse, or torture you. The memory of His forgiveness will wipe away the memory of your sins.
Reconciliation begins with experiencing sorrow and asking for forgiveness. Saying, "I'm sorry, please forgive me," is a wonderful breakthrough moment. However, there is much deep, rich reflection and personal conversion that can, and perhaps must, accompany this level of reconciliation. Why did I do what I did? What was I choosing, reacting to, or making a point about? In what part of this conflict was I being selfish, stubborn, wanting it my way? What part involved a call to surrender, let go, or compromise? Is some part of this fight a "cover-up" for some real sin on my part? Am I being dishonest in this relationship, in some way? Was my anger really about something else? Did it come out of an insecurity, a tender spot, a vulnerable place because of past hurts? Is some part of this fight revealing a need for healing in me, a need for me to turn to the Lord for forgiveness and mercy?
Always remember, the "good thief" lived a miserable life, but ended well and was in paradise with Jesus on the day they both died (Lk 23:43).
Thursday, March 1, 2012
We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties
We must speak to God as a friend speaks to his friend, servant to his master; now asking some favor, now acknowledging our faults, and communicating to Him all that concerns us, our thoughts, our fears, our projects, our desires, and in all things seeking His counsel.--St. Ignatius of Loyola
Gospel text (Mt 7:7-12):
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Which one of you would hand his son a stone
when he asked for a loaf of bread,
or a snake when he asked for a fish?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father give good things
to those who ask him.
"Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the law and the prophets."
Today, Jesus reminds us of the need and power of prayer. We cannot understand our Christian life without being related to God, and in this relation, prayer takes a central place. While we live in this world, we Christians find ourselves on a pilgrimage road, but our prayer gets us closer to God and opens up the door of His immense love.
In the Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that "ask and it will be given to you." To my youthful ears this made it seem as though God were the ultimate giver of presents. New bike? Just ask. Those really cool tennis shoes? Right there on request.
Of course, this happy view bumps up against the messy realities of life. For when our prayers seemingly go unanswered we sometimes fail to see God's concern for us, or may even feel God does not love us. About two years ago my aunt was ill with cancer. To say that I "asked" God to heal her would be a monumental understatement. I prayed, begged and lit candles, but God decided to take her. Any believer who has undergone a family tragedy has certainly had a similar experience.
So how do we reconcile this reality with the Gospel?
I think a lot of it has to do with what is really meant by "ask." In an important way, we don't really know what we are asking for. Really about all we have the capacity to ask for is to be accepted as children of God. And God does accept us as His own despite our sins, failings and shortcomings.
All we have to do is ask
Gospel text (Mt 7:7-12):
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Which one of you would hand his son a stone
when he asked for a loaf of bread,
or a snake when he asked for a fish?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father give good things
to those who ask him.
"Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the law and the prophets."
Today, Jesus reminds us of the need and power of prayer. We cannot understand our Christian life without being related to God, and in this relation, prayer takes a central place. While we live in this world, we Christians find ourselves on a pilgrimage road, but our prayer gets us closer to God and opens up the door of His immense love.
In the Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that "ask and it will be given to you." To my youthful ears this made it seem as though God were the ultimate giver of presents. New bike? Just ask. Those really cool tennis shoes? Right there on request.
Of course, this happy view bumps up against the messy realities of life. For when our prayers seemingly go unanswered we sometimes fail to see God's concern for us, or may even feel God does not love us. About two years ago my aunt was ill with cancer. To say that I "asked" God to heal her would be a monumental understatement. I prayed, begged and lit candles, but God decided to take her. Any believer who has undergone a family tragedy has certainly had a similar experience.
So how do we reconcile this reality with the Gospel?
I think a lot of it has to do with what is really meant by "ask." In an important way, we don't really know what we are asking for. Really about all we have the capacity to ask for is to be accepted as children of God. And God does accept us as His own despite our sins, failings and shortcomings.
All we have to do is ask
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
When prodigals return great things are done
Men do not differ much about what things they call evils; they differ enormously about what evils they will call excusable. -- G. K. Chesterton
Jonah 3:1-10
The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:
"Set out for the great city of Nineveh,
and announce to it the message that I will tell you."
So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,
according to the LORD's bidding.
Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;
it took three days to go through it.
Jonah began his journey through the city,
and had gone but a single day's walk announcing,
"Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,"
when the people of Nineveh believed God;
they proclaimed a fast
and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.
When the news reached the king of Nineveh,
he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe,
covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.
Then he had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh,
by decree of the king and his nobles:
"Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep,
shall taste anything;
they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water.
Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God;
every man shall turn from his evil way
and from the violence he has in hand.
Who knows, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath,
so that we shall not perish."
When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way,
he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them;
he did not carry it out.
How do we express our repentance? This is a critical question.
Picture the president of the United States dressed not in a fine suit but covered with sackcloth, and sitting not at a conference table but in a pile of ashes (Jon 3:6). Imagine the members of the Congress and Senate dressed also in sackcloth and sitting in ashes. Picture the whole country — both man and beast — covered with sackcloth and sitting in ashes (Jon 3:8). Imagine no one eating or drinking anything, and the animals complaining accordingly (Jon 3:7-8). What a scene! What noise! What repentance! What grace and mercy!
Even if we've never seen mass repentance and can think of a thousand obstacles to God's grace, the Lord can surprise us, especially in the worst of circumstances. Expect the Lord to do the impossible this Lent. Expect the world to be surprisingly transformed this Lent.
His grace is sufficient (2 Cor 12:9)
Jonah 3:1-10
The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:
"Set out for the great city of Nineveh,
and announce to it the message that I will tell you."
So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,
according to the LORD's bidding.
Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;
it took three days to go through it.
Jonah began his journey through the city,
and had gone but a single day's walk announcing,
"Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,"
when the people of Nineveh believed God;
they proclaimed a fast
and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.
When the news reached the king of Nineveh,
he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe,
covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.
Then he had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh,
by decree of the king and his nobles:
"Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep,
shall taste anything;
they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water.
Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God;
every man shall turn from his evil way
and from the violence he has in hand.
Who knows, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath,
so that we shall not perish."
When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way,
he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them;
he did not carry it out.
How do we express our repentance? This is a critical question.
Picture the president of the United States dressed not in a fine suit but covered with sackcloth, and sitting not at a conference table but in a pile of ashes (Jon 3:6). Imagine the members of the Congress and Senate dressed also in sackcloth and sitting in ashes. Picture the whole country — both man and beast — covered with sackcloth and sitting in ashes (Jon 3:8). Imagine no one eating or drinking anything, and the animals complaining accordingly (Jon 3:7-8). What a scene! What noise! What repentance! What grace and mercy!
Even if we've never seen mass repentance and can think of a thousand obstacles to God's grace, the Lord can surprise us, especially in the worst of circumstances. Expect the Lord to do the impossible this Lent. Expect the world to be surprisingly transformed this Lent.
His grace is sufficient (2 Cor 12:9)
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