Trust the Giver

 

Lk 19:11-28

The Parable of the Ten Minas

11 While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. 12 He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.[a] ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’

14 “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’

15 “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.

16 “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’

17 “‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’

18 “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’

19 “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’

20 “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’

22 “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’

24 “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’

25 “‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’

26 “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 27 But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

This parable is a strong reminder, yes, even warning, that we are called to use the gifts God has given to us, not to hide them or let them go inactive. Fear has no place in the kingdom of God, and if we hold back, we are doomed. Sometimes we look with envy at others, who in our eyes seem more gifted than we.  This leads us to dodge God's plan for us, and, as in the parable, incur his anger and punishment for the sin of omission. May we joyfully accept what gift of gifts God has given us, and put them to the use for which they were intended, trusting that this is what God wants and will help us to accomplish it.

Bro. Rene

Dear God, help me to accept the gifts you have given me and use them to the best of my ability. Amen

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A Good Heart Rewarded

 

Lk 19:1-10

Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

19 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Zacchaeus gives us hope. He has made mistakes in the past, but his curiosity leads to a change of his ways and new and special relationship with Jesus: he will host Jesus at his house.  What an honor, so much better than the meagre glimpse he wanted from his perch in the tree. "Small beginnings, greater ends," as the song goes. His brief contact with Jesus led to a change of heart and ways. Might we find a similar enthusiasm not only to see Jesus, but to welcome him into our hearts and homes. With Zacchaeus we can learn humility and allow our enthusiasm to bring us to a new level of relationship with Jesus. What is holding us back?

Bro. Rene

 Dear Jesus, help me to find the enthusiasm even to climb tree to get closer to you. Amen. 

Indomitable Faith

Lk 18:35-43 

A Blind Beggar Receives His Sight

35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”

38 He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.

42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” 43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.

A desperate man with ironclad faith challenges our own faith.  Are we so convinced in our prayer that we would allow nothing to stop us until we received an answer? Jesus was impressed with this man's faith, insistence and persistence and granted his request.  May we learn from these few verses what it means to pray with faith. It's evidently a lot simpler than we make it to be. 

Bro. Rene

Lord, increase my faith and help me to keep my prayer simple and direct. Amen.

Be Prepared

 

Mk 13:24-32

The Last Days

24 “But in those days, following that distress,

“‘the sun will be darkened,
    and the moon will not give its light;
25 the stars will fall from the sky,
    and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’

26 “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.

28 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 29 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. 30 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

The Day and Hour Unknown

32 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

It's that time of year again. These somber verses reflect what we see in Nature: the trees are losing their leaves, the nights are chillier, perhaps frost has already killed off the summer flowers, daylight hours are shorter, all reminders of the shortness of this life and the need to prepare for the great transition. "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."  Yes, we are assured that this moment is coming, but we know not the day nor the hour. It is best to be ready, as if these things will take place within the hour.  Next week we will celebrate Christ the King, and the week after, Advent will begin. So now is the time to take these words of Jesus to heart and try as best we can to mold our lives to them, not out of fear but out of love: to be ready to receive our Lord and Savior wearing the garments of good works over a heart of loving service to our neighbor.

Bro. Rene

Dear Jesus, help me to prepare for your coming by making a special effort to love all who come into my life. Amen. 

Don't Stop Asking

 

Lk 18:1-8

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”

6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Our tendency is to ask once, or at most a few times more, and if we don't receive an answer, to give up and stop asking.  But this is not what Jesus recommends.  He wants us to grow in faith even in the asking.  Like the widow, we don't give up. It's a test of faith and endurance as well as of trust that in God's good time, he will grant our request. It's a hard lesson, but an essential one.  Let us renew our faith and begin again to ask for the things we think have been refused or ignored. God will eventually come through for us in ways better than we anticipated.

Bro. Rene

Dear God, please grant me the grace to persist in prayer, even when it seems to us you are ignoring our requests.

A Stark Warning

 

Luke 17: 26-37

Stay Alert

26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

28 “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

30 “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. 32 Remember Lot’s wife! 33 Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. 35 Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.” [36] 

37 “Where, Lord?” they asked. "Where the dead body is, there also the vultures will gather.”

These sobering sayings set the tone for the closing of the liturgical year. Little by little we are facing the "end times" and the consequent adjustments we need to make in our lives. There is an urgency and a seriousness that impel us to cast away the frivolous and focus on the serious, to hold on to what nourishes our spiritual lives and free ourselves from what holds us back from a deeper union with Jesus. As Shakespeare put it, "the readiness is all." Even in these "pre-Advent days, let us start cleaning  up the obvious messes we have allowed to accumulate and shake the unnecessary clutter from our lives.

Bro. Rene

Dear God, help me "clean my house" from all that separates me from you. Amen.

  

Not What We Think

 

Lk 17:20-25

The Coming of the Kingdom of God

20 Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. 23 People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. 24 For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

The Kingdom of God is not your ordinary kingdom. It is elusive, it is present, but "not something that can be observed". It seems contradictory; it promises glory but demands suffering and rejection. Purification of purpose, focusing on Jesus, his example and teaching, and "doing whatever he tells us" are the components we need to add to our spiritual diet daily. That's why our time for prayer and reflection are so essential.   What is God giving me today and what is he asking of me? It's not always what we think.

Bro. Rene

Dear Jesus, guide me today on your mysterious and often elusive path to your kingdom. Amen.