Janice

Love of Neighbor and an Effort to Serve Them Beings Unity

The other day my dog rang the bell on our deck door. We taught him to do that as a way of letting us know when he wanted to go outside. It suddenly struck me as being really funny. I felt like the butler being called. The realization then hit me that God always gives us the opportunity to live out His teachings. Having to humbly serve a dog did just that.

We are called to love our neighbor just as we love God. One way we can live this out is by doing for the very least of our brothers because we know we are then doing it for God as well. It goes in line with being taught that in modeling Jesus, we must keep in mind that He came to serve, not to be served. We must live that out. It is a sacrificial life of putting others before us. It requires those “above” to be humble and serve. It does not require those “below” to be filled with pride and demand to be served or raised, however. They remain humble while served. These two positions help us to recognize that we are all called to be on an even playing field. When we remain faithful to God in the small things, He will answer our desires and raise us up when it is our time to move from the humble served to the humble servant. Yes. When our desires are answered and we are raised up, we must recognize that it comes with an attitude of servanthood. This is far different than that of the secular world that demands to be raised and then lords it over others causing division. The Christian attitude fully lived will always level the playing field. We are all equal before God and when we humbly serve with love those who are humble and in need of service we are reminded of our equality before God. This humility lived when we are raised up in position always maintains equality instead of division. We are mindful of whence we came and the unity of love for each other flourishes.

It doesn’t always play itself out this way in society. We are led to focus on what makes us different, judge and then get angry about it. We are different politically and religiously. We are different by our gender, ethnicity and race. We are led to believe we must all think the same way and we will go to great lengths to protect our position in life so we don’t drop lower in the eyes of others and be judged by those who hold different positions. Our many differences are seldom celebrated and seen as a beautiful and creative means of God making us different so that when we are united we are one complete and whole community known as the Body of Christ. Instead we are falsely led to believe that being united means we must be alike, be angry about any kind of recognized difference and refuse to celebrate those differences that are given to us for the glory of God. We act like God could only create flowers and animals to be different and we end up living in a world of division and chaos where Satan is the author who tries to destroy all that God creates.

As we are in Holy Week we are reminded that Jesus came and died so we might be one, but we jump at the words expressed by those who are used to divide. Stories of unity are seldom told. We easily vilify our neighbors before entire stories are told and gifts and talents are never lifted up. Unity and love of neighbor is forgotten and we fall into the trap of believing judgment is somehow righteous. We no longer know how to separate the act from the neighbor we are called to love. We can easily become blinded and let hatred be our compass.

We may be small in this world. We may have little influence, but it isn’t the powerful influencers that inherit the earth. It’s the meek. The meek have an easier time sitting back to take a pause to control pride, resentment and hatred. They can more easily see truth and as part of that they can discern what will cause love and unity and what will cause hatred and division. If everyone took this path in life, if they searched for unity within their circle through love and service, we would find a more peaceful world. We can make the choice not to let the fire of division and hatred overcome us. A house divided falls apart, but by being meek in our small circles, we could connect with other circles and the meek could overcome evil and inherit the earth with God as the head.

We may say we could never make a difference. We are far too small. But it is that very attitude that causes everyone to quit before they even start. Each small step every day can be in time a way to lead the world to one where we love our neighbor, serve them and find the equal playing field of love and unity by it. It doesn’t take a great effort just a great awareness of who is trying to lead us. God or the enemy. Do you want to be an instrument of love or do you want to jump on the latest bandwagon meant to make you an instrument of division? Do you want to view our differences as making us more completely one unit known as the Body of Christ or do you want to be like the Scarecrow whose parts were scattered preventing him from being able to do much of anything?

Holy Week is the perfect time to evaluate if we are loving our neighbor and living a life that encourages the unity that Jesus desired and died for or if we are being used by the pharaohs of the world to divide.

Prayerfully reflect on the following:

Jesus meant for us to be one.

“I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you and me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me.” John 17:22-23

We are called to love God and neighbor.

“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”Matthew 22:37-40.

We are called to serve, not lord our position over others and by hat highlight division.

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20 25–28.

The desire for position can be powerful, but it is God who raises us up.

“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones.” Luke 16:10 AND “For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work.”Philippians 2:13

We can overcome the darkness of the world.

“Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5

The Truth Hurts Before It can Set You Free To Embrace God’s Love For You

Truth. What about it frightens us so much? We want it when it’s good. We run from it when it’s bad.

As we get closer to Easter we can reflect that God is truth and just as Jesus could not be buried, the truth cannot be buried either. Both God and truth have resurrection power. When we embrace the truth, we embrace God. When we follow the truth, we are following God. Anytime we seek the truth, whether we realize it or not, we are seeking God. God is love. He can never go against that. It would do us well to remember that when we are frightened by the truth. It may be hard, but since God is love and truth, then even hard truths that we become aware of are signs of God‘s great love for us.

I love you! It’s a boy! You’re hired! You won the bid for the house! All these facts are truths we love to give and receive. Even something as simple as, “dinner is ready” can make a hungry one soar with joy.

On the other hand, the truths that are difficult to hear are often difficult to accept. The diagnosis of a serious illness, the death of a loved one, the loss of a dream you worked hard for, a betrayal and finding out you had been believing a lie are all examples of difficult truths to swallow. At times we try to bury them or we refuse to believe what we have discovered. It does us no good, however. As I said before, God is truth and just as God cannot be buried, neither can the truth. It begs to be noticed. The acceptance of the hard truths can be difficult. Acceptance will lead us on a different path, but we can be certain, as difficult as it is, we will not be alone. It is a path that God is sending us on and it is a path of love. It would do us well in these times to remember that God’s loving plans for us are often discovered by the uncovering and the following of the truth.

We are all sinners and there are times when we fall and do things that are wrong. To avoid facing the truth of what we have done, we try to bury it in our subconscious. We can only get away with that for so long. The truth will not be kept down and buried. It will eventually bubble up to the surface. The deeper we try to bury it, the harder is the work to deal with it. How much easier it can be to heal if we are mindful that within the hurt is a God who loves us unconditionally and the fear of looking at the truth is fear of being a part of mutual love. Mutual love? What do I mean by that? In our love for God, we cannot bear to look at what we have done to hurt Him. In His love for us, He desires that we look because when we do, we will find that He is not resurrecting the truth so we can see His anger. He is resurrecting it so we can see His mercy and love. There in the depths of the truth is a mutual love that is stronger than death and just as truth cannot be buried, neither can love, who is God.

Of course, there are times when we know the truth and others refuse to accept it. We may even be attacked for speaking truth. In those times we can take comfort in the truth, in God. We can rest in knowing that the truth will resurrect and never stays buried in the tomb no matter how much man or the devil may try. Easter morning proves that. We can also find comfort in reflecting on the mercy of God. When truth is difficult and one’s emotions are taking over, it is hard to sit back and reflect. Oftentimes people lash out without thinking. It is almost as if God has given them a safety net in those times. When they aren’t thinking straight, instead of attacking truth, who is God, they attack the messenger. Yes. God is in us and we are being attacked, but it is almost as if attacking truth is a direct hit since God is truth. When we are attacked it is almost as if we are taking the greater hit so God doesn’t have to. It is like we are shielding Him. If we were to keep both those reflections in mind when being attacked, we may end up staying calm and being a model of God’s patient mercy…a shield for our neighbor against our anger…while, at the same time, shielding God by defending truth.

God is love. God is truth. Truth is love. Maybe if we remember these points when we are hit with hard truths or we find that we are the messenger of truth, we can better deal with the situation. Our immediate reaction is to treat the hard truths as a foe. If we take a pause, we can see that that foe is really a friend and that friend is God. If we are the messenger, we can then be the model of that very dear and loving friend.

Prayerfully Reflect on the Following:

Can you recall a past hard truth that sent you down a different path that ended up to be filled with love? In looking back, can you now see God’s hand in it?

Were you ever attacked for being a messenger of truth? Can you see that by defending truth you were defending God? Can you see the importance of defending truth, while at the same time being God’s mercy? In the future would it help to think that when people are attacking you for being the messenger, you are shielding God, who is truth, from being directly attacked and, at the same time, being given the opportunity to be His mercy by shielding your neighbor from any attacks that may come from you?

“I am the way, the truth and the life.” John 14:6a

“Children, let us love not in word or speech, but in deed and truth.” 1John 3:18

“And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” John 1:16

“But when He comes, the Spirit of Truth, He will guide you to all truth.” John 16:13

“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 32:8

“The Word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.” Proverbs 30:5

“Assuming that you have heard of Him and were taught in Him, as truth is in Jesus, that you should put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.” Ephesians 4:20

“If we say, we are without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” 1John 1:8

BE ANXIOUS FOR NOTHING

Here there and everywhere. That’s how it can feel at times. There are so many things pulling at us at any given moment. We walk along our path journeying towards God, but the world begs for our attention and as we lose the present moment, we often lose our way.

Yes, there are times when it feels that the more we try to be on the path towards God, the harder it is to be certain we are on it. That’s when we can have the greatest peace if we take a pause and let our focus be on the present moment, God and trust Him more.

When it looks like you are in the storm, remember that in that moment He is in the boat with such a great peace that He sleeps right through it.

When it looks like a good Friday is the end it never is because God hasn’t had the last word yet. Stay calm.

When it looks like there is no clear way to go, stop and look at the present moment where you may find that He is ready to part the sea.

When it seems like you are going uphill with 100 pounds on your back in the pouring rain and you question if you are in God’s will as you certainly thought when you first started out, remember when God wants it there will be a battle and the greater the importance, the greater will the battle be. That alone can give us great peace in the battle.

The point is, God is always there. He hasn’t left. He only asks that you be mindful of Him, remain thankful and trust that He is your compass. You don’t need to know where north is. He knows. In the moment keep your focus on Him and while your heart is sincerely on His will, He will make it so. There is no need to be anxious. He knows your heart and He will not steer your boat wrong.

We should always put time aside daily to be prayerfully in the presence of God, but when the moments come when we feel overwhelmed and we don’t know which way to turn, time alone with God is essential. The storm is not the time to drop prayer and get distracted with worry. Trust that He will calm your heart. He will give you peace. He will remind you that He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. No situation is bigger than Him. Hold His hand and He will bring you through it.

God gives you what you need in the moment. As we close, maybe Mary Magdalene is a great way to remember all of this. When we are anxious, we tend to look either ahead or behind. Jesus said that Mary Magdalene should not give the perfume to the poor because she would need it for His burial (John 12:3). In that moment, because He was her focus, she could trust that He took care of her needs even if she and the disciples didn’t fully understand what He meant. He told her to hold onto the perfume and at the same time He stuck up for her and what she had done. Those two actions met her immediate needs and that is all she really needed to understand. Later, at the time of His death, it turned out that she did need the perfume for His burial…or so she thought when she was headed for His tomb. When going to the tomb she needed the perfume in anticipation that it would be used to anoint the body of Jesus for His burial. When she got there, however, she saw that that was not why she needed it. He had risen. It turned out that the purpose of the perfume being needed for Jesus’s burial was correct, but not in the way she would have thought it to be. God knew, however. In the present moment she needed it when she was heading for the tomb (John 20). The sorrow in her heart would have been too great if she headed to the tomb knowing she had no perfume to anoint His body with. As it turned out, she did not need it for His burial, but for the peace and calm as she journeyed to the tomb to ready His body for burial. She couldn’t have known this, but in each present moment, she did what was expected and the future need worked out without her worrying about it. She did not need to worry about the future. She only needed to know the calm Jesus offered in each of the present moments.

As we move closer and closer to Holy Week, it is a good time to be mindful of staying calm. Be anxious for nothing. Pray. Keep your heart open and let God lead in each moment. He will show you the way. He will show you what you need to do now so the future works it’s way out even if you don’t understand. It will always works out when Jesus is your focus and your compass.

Prayerfully reflect on any part above and the following:

“Have no anxiety at all, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:6-7)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; on your own intelligence do not rely; in all your ways be mindful of Him, and He will make straight your paths.” (Prov 3:5-6)

“And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you are also called in one body. And be thankful.” (Col 3:15)

The story of Jesus asleep in the boat. (Luke 8:22-25)

The story of the parting and crossing of the Red Sea. (Exodus 14:10-31)

PICKING UP OUR DAILY CROSSES (PART 3 of 3)

THE CRUCIFIXION

Today is my third and final reflection on picking up our daily crosses. I’d like to look at how Jesus’s prayer life and what He taught manifested itself at the time of His crucifixion.

First He went to the Garden of Gethsamane to pray and He separated Himself from His disciples so that He could PRAY QUIETLY ALONE. “Then Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and He said to them, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray” (Matthew 26:36). This is in line with His teaching about praying alone in quiet places. At Gethsamane we see He was modeling what He taught when we recall He had previously said, “When you pray go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6) Because Jesus always modeled what he taught, He must have modeled this completely at Calvary as well.

When He said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do,” (Luke 23:34), we see He forgave just as He taught on countless occasions.

Knowing He always lived what He taught, we can trust He had to have given thanks and believed as well. Last week we reflected on Jesus teaching the importance of giving thanks and believing our prayers have been heard and answered. He, therefore, had to know that in spite of what it looked like, He would conquer death. This belief could only have been the result of much prayer and years of believing that He would conquer it…and He did. When Jesus said, “It is finished,” (John 19:30), He knew that all He believed that had to be accomplished in order for us to be saved had been completed even though His death looked like the opposite. Three days later He rose. His prayers were answered. He won. He had the relationship, and in growing closer to the Father, He came to know His will and greatly desired to conquer death. He prayed, trusted, forgave, hoped and believed. Those are the lessons of how we should act when we carry our crosses. Let’s not embrace fear like we so often think of the cross as being, but instead take on a view that it will make us conquerors. “In all things we have complete victory through Him who loved us!” (Rom 8:37).

Some may question this because they know that Jesus asked that the cup be taken from Him. “Father,’ he prayed, ‘My Father! All things are possible for You. Take this cup of suffering away from Me. Not what I want, but what You want” (Mark 14:35-36). Wanting the suffering to be taken away did not mean He wanted to drop His mission. How often do parents express that a situation they find themselves going through is not what they signed up for? How many times do they say if they had known, they wouldn’t have signed up? The truth is they would have. They greatly love their children and would go through anything for them. When a great desire is in our heart, it is best not to know all that will be required to achieve it. At the foot of the mountain, we enthusiastically say yes to being a parent. Knowing what we may encounter on the path going up the mountain may prevent us from even trying. When the cross comes, we may want it to be taken away, but the bottom line is we would never want it if it meant a door of harm to our children would be open. Love sacrifices and the cross teaches us. “No greater has a man that He lays down his life for a friend” (John 15:13) is foundational to being able to act as conquerors when carrying a cross. We know that as hard as things can get, when we choose poorly, God always takes free will and uses it for good. Trust in that truth and how sacrificial love plays into it is what Jesus modeled. He may have wanted the suffering to stop, but not His sacrificial mission of love. The desire to save us was there. It was being realized. He loved us. He would see it through if that was how the mission was to be a success because He knew His Father ultimately uses all bad for good.

Adding to Jesus’s ability to see it through was the added comfort in being able to remember when His Father intervened when He was in Nazareth and some in the community wanted to kill Him. “When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were filled with anger. They rose up, dragged Jesus out of town, and took Him to the top of the hill on which the town was built. They meant to throw Him over the cliff, but He walked through the middle of the crowd and went His way. (Luke 4:28-30). It was not His time to battle against and conquer death. If Good Friday was not the time or means by which He would do battle, He knew the Father would turn it around and intervene just as before. He had prepared for this in so many different ways because HE HAD A RELATIONSHIP THAT WAS STRONG DUE TO HIS PRAYER LIFE. It didn’t just happen. He worked at the relationship and that made Him free to love and conquer.

Some may say that their cross came out of left field had had nothing to do with their purpose. I would argue that in some ways they always do because we are where we are at any given moment because of our choices that are made because of who we are. Simon of Cyrene is an example of this. Scripture tells us, “The soldiers led Jesus away, and as they were going, they met a man from Cyrene named Simon who was coming into the city from the country. They seized him, put the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus” (Luke 23:26). It is said that Simon was coming from the country or fields. Perhaps he worked there and was heading home. His home and his way of making a living all brought him to where he was at that time. It is also said that he and his family converted to Christianity. God wins. Did Simon pray and believe? Perhaps he prayed for the salvation of his family. He received it through a cross that was unexpected, but He was a conqueror in Christ Jesus. In all crosses, we are given the opportunity to be victors.

Jesus gave us the formula. Pray so as to be close to God the Father and believe. We know in our mission/vocation, it will be hard, but we know that “in all things God works for good with those who love Him, those whom He has called according to His purpose” (Rom 8:28).

What about death? While we can learn much from Jesus when those difficult times come, we can also see that the crucifixion showed us the pain of the cross at death. While we may not die on a cross, we often find that at death the cross comes in the form of a bed we cannot get up from when our mission is complete. In the end, it is not death, but the ultimate victorious conquest. It is that hope that always gets us through. On the other side of the cross is a victory for those who believe. While this is true of all crosses because they present us with the opportunity to lose our life in some way so it can be saved, it is never more powerfully seen as when we die and go to Heaven.

How different we would be if we looked at the cross through the lens of hope, of believing what we pray for is being accomplished and that good will be the fruit. How different it would be if we saw ourselves, not as victims, but as conquerors filled with love just as Jesus was even while experiencing unimaginable pain. This can only happen by seeing the cross not as a weapon of defeat to be feared, but as an instrument that brings us to our form of a wonderful resurrection because with each cross we know that “the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us” (Rom 18:8).

PRAYERFULLY REFLECT ON THE FOLLOWING:.

Are there crosses in your life now that you can embrace as Jesus did by being close to the Father, trusting, believing and hoping? Can you see that sacrificial love is foundational to it in some way? Not seeing it does not mean it isn’t somehow a means to desire you have based on love. If you cannot see the sacrificial love behind it, offer the cross up as a prayer. In that way you will make what you cannot see, seen.

Can you see the good that has come out of past crosses? Did it ever turn out that a cross was the means to getting a past prayer answered? In looking back, can you see former crosses can now be seen as a means to give you courage and strength for one you may be experiencing now?

Last week we reflected in the practice of giving thanks to God in advance for answering your prayers. Have you been practicing that? Are you living as if your prayers have already been answered or are you living in fear and worry? How do you think this practice may have helped Jesus in leading up to the cross and experiencing the crucifixion? In light of this prayer practice, how do you think Jesus felt about all His thankfulness and believing being manifested at His resurrection?

Prayerfully reflect on the scriptures cited above and bring in any cross you may be carrying currently. Talk to Jesus about these.

PICKING UP OUR DAILY CROSSES (Part 2 of 3)

PRAYER IS FOUNDATIONAL

Today I am picking up where I left off last week in my reflections about picking up our daily crosses.

Some crosses seem catastrophic and that is what we most often think of when we think of Jesus and His crucifixion. What starts out like any other day can suddenly hand us a cross that is extremely heavy. We are going about our day and suddenly we are like Simon of Cyrene. We are handed a heavy cross we never expected.

How do we carry and rise up from our crosses when they grip us with fear? How do we break from the impression that these crosses are to be feared and that the closer we get to Jesus, the more these fearful crosses may come? In the crucifixion of Jesus, I think it helps to think of the lessons Jesus taught in His ministry and how He lived them out in the cross. I think the most powerful message is the message of hope that was rooted in many of the things He did and said so let’s focus on some foundational teachings of Jesus.

Prayer is foundational to all things. Jesus always prayed so we know He was very close to the Father. We know that we are all capable of that closeness because Jesus emptied Himself of His Divinity so He could be like us. The closeness Jesus had was not because He was the second person of the Trinity. He emptied Himself of that. His closeness came from prayer. . Like Him we can experience the growth in prayer and in relationship with the Father. We are, in fact, all called to do that. “This attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had: He always had the nature of God, but He did not think that by force He should try to remain equal with God. Instead of this, of His own free will He gave up all He had, and took the nature of a servant. He became like a human being and appeared in human likeness. He was humbled and walked the path of obedience all the way to death—His death on the cross.” (Phil 2:5-8). Herein lies our hope. We can model Jesus in prayer and by that be closer to God, the Father. That closeness will give us great trust and courage. United to Jesus as a child of the Father, we are assured that we will always be taken care of.

But that closeness also ended in a cross! Suddenly our hope shrivels and we become fearful.

Given we know that Jesus emptied Himself to be like us and it is prayer that brought Him closer to God, we can understand that through prayer He came to know His mission was to conquer death. He couldn’t conquer an enemy without facing it and wrestling with it. He eventually knew the cross was coming. “Then Jesus began to teach His disciples: ‘The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law. He will be put to death, but three days later He will rise to life.’ He made this very clear to them. So Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But Jesus turned around, looked at His disciples, and rebuked Peter. ‘Get away from Me Satan,’ he said. ‘Your thoughts don’t come from God but from human nature.” (Mark 8:31-33). If He emptied Himself of His Divinity, He could only have known what His mission was and what was coming through a deep relationship with God through prayer. He emptied Himself of His Divinity so if He was not thinking like a man, it was because He had a deep union with God the Father. When you are in union with God and you want something badly enough your heart is filled up with love and you don’t run from the cross. There is a powerful purpose tied up in it. Again, when we understand that our purpose is tied up in the cross, we can focus on the love that is foundational and we can have hope. Suddenly the cross of being hung up on the phone trying to straighten out a medical bill for our spouse isn’t seen through the lens of victimhood and why me. It is seen through the lens of love and we have this cross because of the gift of our spouse. We are straightening it out for their good. Love is central. Is it pleasant? More than likely not, but we wouldn’t ever think to abandon it out of love.

But there is more.

Jesus said give thanks, pray and believe. Another strong message of the power of hope. “For this reason I tell you: when you pray and ask for something, believe that you have received it, and you will be given whatever you ask for. And when you stand and pray forgive anything you may have against anyone so that your father in heaven will forgive the wrongs you have done” (Mark 11:24-25). In raising up Lazarus, Jesus started out His prayer with thanksgiving that His Father had heard His petition. “Jesus looked up and said, ‘I thank you, Father, that you listen to me. I know that you always listen to you but I say this for the sake of the people here, so that they will believe that you sent me” (Luke 11:41-42). He was thankful ahead of time that His prayer would be answered just as it always had been. He had no reason to believe that would ever be any different. He had no reason to ever start out prayers of petition without ever thinking His prayers would not be answered. The same is true for us.

Jesus gave us the formula that would get us through any difficulty. Pray always so as to be close to God the Father, be thankful, have hope, trust and believe. We know in our mission/vocation, it will be hard, but we know that “in all things God works for good with those who love Him, those whom He has called according to His purpose” (Rom 8:28). The deeper our prayer life, the more at peace we will have be because of this truth.

So how did Jesus prayer life manifest itself at the time of His crucifixion? We will cover that next week.

PRAYERFULLY REFLECT ON THE FOLLOWING:.

Are there crosses in your life now that you can embrace by seeing your vocation and purpose being tied up in them? Can you see the love that is central so as to help you carry the burden?

Do you make it a practice to thank God in advance for answering your prayers? Do you live as if they have already been answered or do you live in fear and worry?

Jesus emptied Himself of His Divinity so He could share in our humanity. As part of our humanity, He showed us that when we empty ourselves of our humanity, He can fill us with His Divinity. It is there that the union occurs. How can you improve your prayer life so that your union with God may grow?

Prayerfully reflect on the scriptures cited above and bring in any cross you may be carrying currently. Talk to Jesus about these.

Prayerfully reflect on some scripture passages that refer to Jesus praying. Here are some, but there are many more: MATT 14:23, LUKE 9:18, LUKE 9:28 and John 11: 41-42.

PICKING UP OUR DAILY CROSSES & EXPANDING OUR LOVE (Part 1 of 3)

“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24)

The cross is terrifying. We fear it and I believe that is because we take it out of context. We look at it as if it stands alone and we fail to incorporate it into the entirety of what Jesus taught.

Jesus taught us that crosses come daily and that we need to pick them up. If we look at Jesus‘s life, we see He was not crucified, put to death and buried daily. He did have daily crosses, but they came in the same form that our crosses come in. They showed themselves in His acts of self-giving that were needed so as to daily accomplish His vocation and mission. They specifically came in the form of Him walking many miles to teach others His message. They were evident in the verbal abuse He encountered from those in authority and the disrespect He received from the people of His own town. He gave us a glimpse of it when, after all His teachings, the apostles didn’t understand Him. We glanced at it when we saw that His prayer life was interrupted by those who wanted what He could give. And, of course, we see that even as a baby He had to experience the cross in the pain of circumcision and in having to flee to a foreign land so as to escape death. Through many examples, Jesus gave us a picture of what the self-giving crosses of His vocation entailed daily so that we could all relate to the self-giving crosses we must embrace to complete our vocational mission. Compared to the crucifixion, these self-giving acts may seem small, but it is not the size of the sacrifice that matters. It is the love in which we embrace them that matters. Jesus lived what He taught so we can imagine that a glass of water given by Him was a small sacrifice done with great love. We can imagine that Jesus was aware of picking up the daily crosses with love and by them, His love for us grew. The same holds true for us. The more we pick up our crosses with a self-giving heart, the more our hearts will expand with love.

There are other forms of the cross that Jesus faced, but that are more subtle in the writings. They came in the form of transitions. The transition of fleeing from the homeland that His parents knew and the comforts their hearts would have known in raising their son there initially. The transition of leaving His boyhood to become a man at his bar mitzvah and what would be expected of Him in the transition of one day having to leave His mother’s home in order to set out on a path unfamiliar to Him. In these times, while all crosses are self-giving, we can see more evidently the death of one life in order for a new life to rise and have growth. We can see that Jesus lived the scripture He taught…“Unless a seed falls to the ground and dies, it will not grow fruit” (John 12:24). We can relate to those times of transition. We’ve had to say goodbye to the friends in our class because we have completed the year of school. Like the grain of wheat, to grow we all have to leave the familiar at some point and say goodbye in order to graduate, to marry, to move to a new town or state, to find a new job or to retire. The transitions are painful, but we must be like the grain of wheat if we are to move forward towards some type of greater growth.

In these daily crosses and transitional ones, we can grow closer to Jesus because we know that out of great love for us, He suffered the same way. We can meditate on a daily cross He endured that seem similar to ours so as to draw closer to Him. While meditating with an open heart, we may get new insights on how to deal with our situations and have a heart more drawn to God as we see the emotions He felt during similar times. We suddenly sense that we are not alone. We recognize a seed of love that is causing us to suffer. We are aware that if the love is a self-love it needs to be purged so that we can be closer to God. We are also aware if the reason for our suffering is a self-giving love and we know that love is God loving in us. We understand His heart more and know that He understands ours. Suddenly, the tedium of the daily crosses aren’t so annoying because in taking a prayerful pause, we find ourselves more deeply united to God and His love for us. Suddenly the heartaches of some of the more difficult crosses aren’t as devastating because we see an invitation to be one with God and His love.

Of course, some crosses come out of nowhere and are truly devastating. We will begin to reflect on those in Part 2 next week.

Prayerfully Reflect and Talk to Jesus About:

“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24)

“Unless a seed falls to the ground and dies, it will not grow fruit” (John 12:24).

“Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you? And the King will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these little brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:37- 40)

Pick 4-5 Gospel messages of Jesus. It doesn’t matter which you choose. Pray beforehand and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in what you choose. What sacrifices can you see Jesus making in them? How might they relate to some daily crosses and self-giving you are experiencing? Talk to Jesus about them. Open your heart to how He felt at the time towards His love for God and neighbor. How does your heart feel now? Is your heart similar to His? Can you have compassion for what He felt? Does that give you a greater insight? Allow yourself to feel closer to Jesus based on what your heart is feeling. Be open to the expansion of love for God and neighbor through observing Jesus and His acts of self-giving.

OUR LENTEN JOURNEY CAN LEAD US TOWARDS GREATER LOVE

It hard to believe Lent is upon us. It seems we just finished Christmas. Never the less it’s here and it’s one of my favorite times of the year. I know some people think of it as a heavy, somber time and during Holy Week it can most definitely be, but I look at it as an abridged marriage journey. Fat Tuesday is like the wedding ceremony. Then the start of Lent is similar to a couple starting out on their honeymoon season. It’s a time when I can enter the desert alone with the Alone. Jesus and I together. I can pack lightly because He is all I need or want. Then just as the years go by in a marriage and the love increases and deepens leading to sacrifice, so does the Lenten marriage journey as we end in Holy Week with a greater love for God and neighbor. It is then that we find our journey has expanded our heart and by that we have a greater ability to sacrifice in union with Jesus. It is a time when our hearts have expanded with love because during our marriage journey we have died to self so our true identity, our love, our union with Jesus can rise with Him at Easter. In the celebration of our risen Lord we find that we have moved beyond an earthly marriage and have journeyed to a Heavenly marriage as we celebrate that Jesus has risen and has taken us to be His bride. In 40 days we can model what our entire life should be…a marriage with Jesus where we slowly empty ourselves of self so we can be in a greater union of love with the one who emptied Himself to be one with us.

Lent is a time when we are advised to focus more on prayer, fasting and almsgiving. I look at prayer and fasting being means to help me to love God more. I think of almsgiving as my way to love God in my neighbor. All three of these encompass the two most important commandments of loving God and neighbor. Almsgiving helps me to love God in my neighbor and how we love our neighbor is a good measuring stick of how our prayer life is going as it is a fruit of it. Without a strong prayer life that leads to a greater love of God, we cannot love our neighbor. On the same token, the more we love our neighbor, the more we will love God because He will not let our generous heart for our neighbor go without a reward. When we give, it is given back to us in an overflowing manner. Our love for neighbor is then rewarded with greater love for God. These two commandments are deeply intertwined and dependent on one another. Through prayer, fasting and almsgiving, Lent gives us the opportunity to step back and allow our focus on God and neighbor to become realigned so we can have fuel for the year to come.

Prayer is our time spent intimately alone with the one who loves us more than anyone. We can take the time to grow in this area in some way that builds on our relationship with God. Using scripture is a great start for our prayer time. When we pray on a passage we can reflect on how it helps our relationship with God grow in our interior life, our active life and in our love for neighbor…those we see and those we don’t. When we read scripture with our personal relationship with God in mind in these areas that totally encompass our lives, we can find that even a passage on war can help us in our interior life. What at first seems to be two total opposites…war and prayer…surprisingly fit together perfectly. Suddenly we see our enemies can be our distractions and that only God can tame and defeat them. Yes, every passage has the potential to help in our personal relationship with God in these areas that make up our lives if we ask the Holy Spirit to help us and prayerfully reflect on them.

We often think of Almsgiving as only being a financial gift. Money isn’t always feasible, but if that’s not possible, there are other ways we can give. Jesus tells us not to perform righteous deeds so that others may see them. We can give our neighbor our time or talents, for example, without them knowing we are doing it as a form of almsgiving for God. If you bake, you can take your time to use your gift of baking to buy ingredients or use those you already have on hand to bake someone a cake. You may feel uncomfortable giving money that a cake mix would cost, but that cake can be a huge gesture of love to give to someone who is hurting in some way. They don’t have to know it is your form of almsgiving, but this act will take your focus off of self and put it on loving God in them. It also can enhance your desert experience of being on your honeymoon. Alone with the Alone.

Fasting can also help us in our relationship because it is done with God and He alone sees. A traditional bread and water fast can free up your time spent on figuring out what you are going to cook and eat so you have more time for prayer. There are other things you can fast on, but it is best that the sacrifice helps you to focus on God and grow closer to Him. For instance, a sacrifice of time in some way can help in your relationship. If you gave up an hour of tv time, that hour could be used for more prayer time, spiritual reading or in loving God in your neighbor. That time could be used to clear the calendar to be with your bridegroom more and letting Him be your focus. My reason for doing my part to ensure that Lenten fasting is done in a way that helps me to focus on Jesus is twofold. One is as I mentioned above. Lent is our marriage journey that starts out with the desert honeymoon and continues on in time with the deep love of sacrifice. To be in greater union with God, Jesus, our bridegroom, started His honeymoon alone and with fasting and we would do well to do the same. Secondly and as part of this, I believe that throughout Jesus’s passion, the cross was always at His back because He wanted us to see that the cross should not be our focus. He didn’t let it be His focus. He cleared the view to let His Heavenly Father and us be His focus. So while I am making a sacrifice of fasting I try and not make it the focus, but make God, my neighbor and love be my focus. I do my part to be open to the Union and I trust that God will do His part. That brings us right back to Lent being a condensed version of our marriage journey. Fasting is different for everyone because it is led by the Holy Spirit. Just as He did with Jesus, He will help you to be God focused through it. If fasting on chocolate is what you desire, pray for a way to find that the sacrifice of giving it up ends in you being closer to God and having Him be your focus. Doing it as a mindful sacrifice united to Jesus for someone who is in need is different than giving it up, never thinking about God or others by it, but daily checking the scale. On the cross we were the focus of Jesus. We would do well to do the same so our union grows stronger day by day as we approach Holy Week and ultimately our departure for Heaven one day to the Heavenly banquet.

I suggest you pray on how you can make this Lenten journey a special time with God. My ways are just a sampling of what you may be drawn to do. Through prayer the Holy Spirit will show you what to do so that by Easter you won’t be the same person as you are now because your love for God and neighbor will have grown. Jesus’s love reached a climax by Good Friday so it can be our goal to be more in union with Him by then and love more because of that greater union.

Prayerfully Reflect on the following with God:

Jesus teaches about almsgiving. Matt 6 1- 4

Jesus teaches about prayer. Matt 6 5 – 14

Jesus teaches about fasting. Matt 6:15-18

Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit and fasted. Luke 4:1-2

You can’t out give God. Luke 6:38

WE CAN ALWAYS FIND WAYS OF BEING A PRAYER OF LOVE

Recently I read an article about the sport of lacrosse. It deeply touched my heart as I see it as a sport where the Native Americans are the prayer while playing. If you are a regular of my blog, you know how important I think being the prayer is.

When the Native Americans play lacrosse, they see it as a way of entertaining God. We may not think that all we do entertains God, but I’m sure that when we use our gifts and our talents given to us by Him, He is delighted. If you give a gift to someone and they use it, doesn’t that make you feel good? If you give a gift to a small child and they play with it all the time, it melts your heart. Everything we have and all we can do is because God has gifted us. When we lovingly and joyfully use those gifts, we must make His heart sing.

Another meaningful thing they do with the sport is offering it as a prayer for someone in their tribe who may be in need of prayer. Offering up your actions for someone is a beautiful prayer. Jesus was on the cross and could do nothing, but He offered it up for us. It was His greatest prayer. By that He taught us that if we are actively doing something and we offer it up with love, it is a powerful prayer. We can be mindful of this and complete our tasks with love and not anger or agitation so that our prayer offering is not tainted.

Lastly, when the game that was offered up is over, they gave the ball to the person they were praying for. It reminds me of a prayer shawl, but instead it’s a prayer ball. If you are offering up your actions for someone they are wrapped in love. There is so much love that can be given to a family when actions are offered for them. Dinner becomes a prayer, laundry becomes a prayer, grocery shopping becomes a prayer, etc. Actions are a prayer not just for family, but for anyone we offer them up for. Even if we are alone, there are so many creative ways we can offer our actions up as a prayer for others .

Imagine a world where people were mindful of this and took great care to make sure their actions were all love and never violent or filled with hate or judgment. Try and be mindful of being the prayer so you can bring delight to God and help those in need. When you do, you will find your heart will expand with love and love is always a powerful prayer.

Prayerfully Reflect On:

God’s delight in us...

“For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the humble with salvation.” Psalm 149:4

“Behold my servant, whom I uphold, My chosen, in whom My soul delights; I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.” Is 42:1

Intercessory Prayer…

Put yourself at the foot of the cross. Reflect on being the recipient of this powerful prayer of love.

EVERYTHING WE DO MATTERS

No job is too small. No gift is wasted. In faith we know we all make a difference.

The average person goes about their day doing little things. They don’t think they are making a difference. Perhaps the biggest proof of this is the parent that takes care of their child moment by moment and suddenly they are graduating from school. How were they able to do that? Through the constant care of their parents. Even with that knowledge we often think that what we do isn’t important. Maybe what we are doing lasts a season. Maybe it’s just one action taken on any given day. No matter what, there are times when we feel what we do is just a waste of time. Is it though?

There are many giants in scripture that exemplify to me that it all matters.

The first that comes to mind is Noah. Every day he got up and did what he had to do to build the ark. With the information given, we can guess that it took approximately 50-75 years to build. Doing all this in the middle of the desert to be safe in a flood undoubtedly seemed odd to most. Noah was a man of faith and he trusted God, but I have to imagine that there were days when he even questioned what he was doing. He was a man of faith, but he was human and probably being taunted regularly. That can happen to us all. We question due to the negative Nancy’s and their words that we replay. We don’t necessarily need the people in our community to cause our doubt. We have a committee in our head. After years of faithfully carrying out his responsibility to God and after daily allowing God to work through him, in with him, he saw the fruits of his labor. When we feel overwhelmed with the mundane, it would do us good to remember Noah and how what appeared to be useless and somewhat mundane, was monumentally important.

The next person that comes to mind is David. He was just a shepherd boy. Nothing special. He learned to use a sling shot while shepherding his sheep. Nothing out of the ordinary. It was a means of keeping them in line. Then came Goliath and while the King wanted David to put on his armor to fight Goliath, David found that he couldn’t move in it. He couldn’t imitate Saul. He had to be David and do it the seemingly lowly way he was used to. It worked. He took down the giant on his first attempt. How long had David prepared for this moment without even knowing it? How many skills have we learned that end up being of service to others. When you were 16 and learning how to drive a car, did you think of the countless ways God would use your skill to transport people who needed help? Did you think of the times you would have to get in the car so you could reach somebody who was in need? The time spent learning mattered. It always does.

Saint Joseph is another giant. We have to use imagination with Joseph because he was a silent man that took great action. One thing that has always struck me with St. Joseph is that being a carpenter, he must have made a cradle of some sort for Jesus. He had no intention of putting his Son in a feeding trough and yet that is exactly what happened. Then, after the birth of Jesus, he went to Egypt, not back to Nazareth. I imagine that Joseph carefully and lovingly made a great cradle for his Son that was never used as he had intended. We know, however, that nothing is ever wasted with God. So just as the ark seemed unnecessary and just as learning to use a slingshot seemed to be very narrow in scope as to what purpose it could be to the owner, Joseph’s cradle was needed. We don’t know if he kept it or sold it so he could provide in some way for his family. What we do know is that God knows how precious time is. We also know that God gives us skills and talents so He can work through us and with us . Given that, we know the cradle was made for a future purpose and like the arc, it would one day be needed because all we do matters even when we can’t see ahead. How often do we say something was a waste. Joseph shows us that nothing is ever wasted.

St. Paul simply wrote letters. He could not have imagined the importance they would have in the lives of Christians for 2,000 years and counting. Joseph could interpret dreams. A gift his brothers found annoying and unimportant. Being thrown in a well and in jail could not stop him from using his gift and by it he saved countless lives. Abraham plugged away day and night and became a father of one with countless descendants. Mary said yes to having a baby whom she then simply raised to grow in wisdom as she cooked countless meals for Him and taught Him right from wrong.

We could go on and on with individuals we find in scripture that made a difference. Differences that were made by doing the little things they were given day by day. It all mattered for them even if they couldn’t see. It all matters for us even 2000 years later because we are all united as one in Christ. No gift is given to us for no reason. No job is too small. Nothing is wasted. It all matters when we have faith. Faith is key. That dinner you cooked, that email you sent, that car ride you made, that garbage you threw out, that meeting you attended, the homework you helped with…it all mattered because in faith we know we are united as one in Christ and we are the prayer.

Prayerfully reflect on:

Any of the people cited above or any other people you choose from scripture.

Were they much different than you?

Did they make a difference doing anything that we would consider great by today’s standards?

Here are some additional people you might consider reflecting on if you would like to.

John the Baptist. A man who hung out in the desert and later baptized people and Jesus.

St. Elizabeth…John the Baptist’s mother.

Naomi and Ruth. A mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

Rhoda, a servant who opened the door. (Acts 12:13)

Priscilla and Aquila, friends of St. Paul. (Rom 16:3-4)

God Has an Important Plan & You are a Part of It

God Has an Important Plan and You are a Part of It

God uses every one of us and every situation for His glory and our good.

People fill up our lives whether we know them or not; whether they are with us or not. Strangers, family and friends may be responsible for the directions are lives take or they may simply fill up our heart. Either way, because of that, in some way, they are with us wherever we go and we are with them! They fill our lives and help us to grow so we are ready each moment to be an instrument of God’s loving plan.

God is so amazing! He knows exactly what this world needs to complete His plan and His plan is to love. He knows exactly which parents are suited for the child He wants to bring into the world. He then gives each one the gifts and talents that are needed so that we can all take care of each other. He knows exactly how many doctors, teachers, civic leaders, scientists, inventors, plumbers, grocers, truck drivers, etc. are needed. It is a perfect plan of love.

Often times we miss it. We get stuck in the muck and mire. We get preoccupied by the salaries of jobs and the endless to-do-list. That’s understandable, but sad. These things must be secondary. By faith we must know that God didn’t give us gifts and talents, expect us to use them and then cause us to starve because we did. Nor did God give us a to-do-list that would make us so busy that we would have no time to use our gifts. God gives us the desires of our hearts and it is up to us to take the time to pray and find out what gifts and talents He has given us that may be used to help our desires come to fruition. We may love the arts, but have a scientific mind. We may want to be doctors and the arts are a way for us to wind down and relax from the stress. We may want the art to be our primary goal. We think it doesn’t make sense, but it is our desire. Let God work it out. Remember, Jesus was a carpenter before He set out on His ministry. He will show you the way. There is a well orchestrated plan by God for our sanctification and the sanctification of our neighbor. It is a plan filled with love when we touch our neighbors with our given gifts and our hearts of love. We must respect the position everyone has. We would not function without a President nor our cashier attendants. Each of us holds a place in the lives of others. We all perfectly fit in the tapestry of love that God is making. We can choose not to like someone, but then we miss God. We can choose not to respect someone, but what would happen if their vital help was not there? Whether we realize it or not, everyone holds a special place in our lives because God loves us. We are not our gifts and talents. We are children of God. We are His love being poured out and He chooses which gifts we need to bring forth that love, His help. Without God, we can do nothing.

I think this is one of the best ways to show non believers that God exists and that He loves them. We must show them that they are special and have a purpose that is very much needed. They must understand that they are a message of God‘s love, but we must treat everyone that way. If we don’t, then trying to show an unbeliever or one filled with dismay that God loves them, that he or she has all they have as a gift from God and that God will use it all for their benefit as well as others will seem completely insincere and patronizing. We must have this sincere attitude towards all whether we like them or not. In this way we practice the Gospel we preach. We should never underestimate the power in that.

Do we sometimes mess up? Yes. And perhaps the most common reason is that our eyes come off God. We then lose sight of the gifts and talents He has given us for His glory and to make a difference for our neighbor. Instead we become focused on self, honor and money. The temptation enters. When that happens to others, we must have mercy. We know it could happen to us so we shouldn’t judge, but repair with love. We don’t accept the bad actions, but we must love the person, look for their good and pray for them. That’s how we show an unbeliever we are sincere.

Prayerfully Reflect on the Following:

“Lord, you will decree peace for us, for you have accomplished all we have done.” Isaiah 26:12

“For I know well the plans I have in mind for you—plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the spirit is given for some benefit.” 1Corinthians 12:4-7

“Love must be completely sincere. Hate what is evil, hold onto what is good. Love one another warmly as Christians and be eager to show respect for one another. Work hard and do not be lazy. Serve the Lord with a heart full of devotion. Let your hope keep your joyful, be patient in your troubles and pray at all times. Share your belongings with your fellow Christians and open your homes to strangers.” Romans 12:9-13

Reflect on the people that have helped you in the past week, whether it was their job or not, whether you knew them or not, whether you even saw them or not. Did something in particular touch your life?

Reflect on the people that you have helped in the past week, whether it was your job or not, whether you knew them or not, whether you saw them or not. What gifts did God give you so you could be an expression of His love? How did you fit into His plan of love and salvation?

Based on your words and actions this past week, would an unbeliever be certain that you know God has a plan of love and that we are all an important part of it? If not, how might you grow in this area?