Spy Wednesday

Matthew 26: 14-25

Judas to Betray Jesus

¹⁴ Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶ And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.

The Passover with the Disciples

¹⁷ Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” ¹⁸ He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” ¹⁹ And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover.

²⁰ When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve. ²¹ And as they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” ²² And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” ²³ He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. ²⁴ The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” ²⁵ Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You have said so.”

Wednesday of Holy Week has traditionally been called "Spy Wednesday", since it seems to have been the day when Judas made the agreement with the chief priests to hand Jesus over to them for a sum of money, the infamous 30 pieces of silver. There is no specific day mentioned, however,  but Matthew's account assures us that at some point, Judas chose this course of action. 

Matthew then continues with the Passover Meal at which Jesus declares that one of the apostles will betray him, which they all deny, even Judas.  His last words recorded are, "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?", to which Jesus answers, "You have said so" and then proceeds with what we acknowledge as the institution of the Eucharist.  An evil act is counterbalanced by a magnificent Gift,  one which continues to nourish us to this day.

The Mercy of God continues to outshine and out do even the worst of our sins or betrayals. May we find encouragement in the assurance that despite our daily or even hourly failures, mercy and   forgiveness are ours,.

Bro. Rene

 

Jesus Predicts the Betrayal

 John  13: 36-38,  21-33

 Judas makes his move

²¹ After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”

²² His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. ²³ One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. ²⁴ Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”

²⁵ Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”

²⁶ Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. ²⁷ As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.

So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” ²⁸ But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. ²⁹ Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. ³⁰ As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.

³¹ When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. ³² If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.

³³ “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

³⁶ Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”

Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”

³⁷ Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

³⁸ Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!

"And it was night,"  Yes, in more ways than one,  as the darkness of natural night was exceeded by the deeper darkness of the betrayal  which Judas left the meal to arrange.  His mind was set on it at this point, but only later did he regret it and try to stop it, casting his 30 pieces of silver back at the Pharisees who gave it to him. It was too late, however, the die was cast.

How often do we regret an action or statement and seek to reverse it?  Sometimes we succeed, others, we have to live with the mistake. But as with Peter's denial, repentance and forgiveness by Jesus, Judas would have also had a chance to save himself, but despaired beyond repair.  May we learn from his mistakes not to refuse the pardon God is only too willing to give us, no matter what we have done.

Bro. Rene 

Putting Jesus First

 

 

 

 John 12: 1-11

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ² Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. ³ Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

⁴ But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ⁵ “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” ⁶ He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

⁷ “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. ⁸ You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

⁹ Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. ¹⁰ So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, ¹¹ for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.

While Jesus "indulges" himself by allowing Mary to anoint his feet with the expensive perfume, he also points out the necessity of putting him first in our lives, even above the poor.  Our lives are empty if we don't give hm that place of honor and our service is meaningless or self-serving unless done for him.  We so often lose track of the correct ordering of priorities in our enthusiastic efforts "to do good".  Keeping the desire for a deeper friendship with Jesus requires the habit of recalling his Presence often during the day by simply saying his name or by putting his face on the people with whom we live or work.  We will keep our motives pure and even avoid rash judgments, self-pity or disparaging remarks by so doing.  Jesus, Be with me as I go about this day. 

Bro. Rene

 

Palm Sunday

 Mark 14: 1-15: 47

 The Passion according to Mark

(Note: Because of the length of today's Gospel, even though it is the shortest of the four, I quote only part of it, leaving you to find time to continue your reading of it during the day, I hope.)

14 Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. ² “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”

³ While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

⁴ Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? ⁵ It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

⁶ “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ⁷ The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. ⁸ She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. ⁹ Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

¹⁰ Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. ¹¹ They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

The Last Supper

¹² On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

¹³ So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. ¹⁴ Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹⁵ He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”

Earlier in today's liturgy, when the Palms were blessed, we heard Mark's description of the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, in which the waving of the palm branches and shouts of Hosanna! give the reason for calling this Palm Sunday.  This is just a prelude to a difficult week, (to say the least) for Jesus, as the confrontation with the Pharisees intensifies and results in his crucifixion.  Even so, the peace and love of the "The Last Supper" strike a calming note during the turmoil, as this passages recalls the excitement of Jesus's arrival before being replaced by the shouts of  "Crucify him."

Life is like this, isn't it?  Good moments, "Triumphal Entries and Acclamations",  followed by challenges, trials and apparent failures. How we need the the help of the ONE who underwent all of this to survive!  And that we will, even through the worst, for he did so, and rose to new life...Each one of our difficulties will bring us new strength, new life.  Let us follow Jesus closely this week and and ask him to be at our side.

Bro. Rene

 

Better For One To Die

 

 

 John 11: 45-56

The Plot to Kill Jesus

⁴⁵ Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. ⁴⁶ But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷ Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. ⁴⁸ If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”

⁴⁹ Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! ⁵⁰ You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”

⁵¹ He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, ⁵² and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. ⁵³ So from that day on they plotted to take his life.

⁵⁴ Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.

⁵⁵ When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. ⁵⁶ They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?”

"The plot thickens" as the old Hollywood expression goes. It is now clear that the Pharisees definitely want to eliminate Jesus. God's plan for our redemption enters its final stages.  Indeed, within a week, Jesus will be captured, questioned, condemned, tortured, crucified and buried.  It all happens fast, so for us to be aware of these events, we need to set aside time from our ordinary routines and contemplate and absorb the depth of God's love for us, so visible during the coming week.Yes, the prophetic words ring true. It was better for one to die, so that all might have a chance for everlasting life.

Doesn't it see like it was just Ash Wednesday?  So fast go the days of our lives. Let us make the most of them and walk with Jesus to Calvary and the empty tomb.

Bro. Rene 

Where Do I stand?

 

John 10:31-42

John 10: 31-42

The Opposition Continues

³¹ Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, ³² but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

³³ “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’^[a]? ³⁵ If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— ³⁶ what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? ³⁷ Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. ³⁸ But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” ³⁹ Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

⁴⁰ Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, ⁴¹ and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.” ⁴² And in that place many believed in Jesus.

Jesus continues his defense against the opposing Jews. His miracles were not enough for them, but it seems the simple people had more sense than they had and believed.  If I were in this crowd, where would I stand?  Where do I stand now in view of the Pandemic, church attendance restrictions, working from home, and limited social gatherings, if any?  Are they taking a toll?  If so, how am I coping with it?  Am I ready to stone someone...curse God, or join the believers, trusting that God knows well what's going on in the world and in my heart, is with me and all of us and will not allow us to be TESTED beyond our strength?

 Bro, Rene

Be It Done to Me

 Luke 1: 26-38

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶ In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. ³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

³⁴ “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called^[a] the Son of God. ³⁶ Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. ³⁷ For no word from God will ever fail.”

³⁸ “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

As we approach Passion Week, Passion Week, we pause to celebrate the beginning of the story with the simple yet earth-shaking acceptance of Mary's acquiescence  to God's invitation. What an act of faith and  humble obedience!

As we struggle with life's daily demands, can be we as accepting and compliant as Mary?  A goal for us today and the rest of our lives...Nothing but GOOD can come from it.

Bro. Rene

PS... A phone call at the wrong time forces the brevity of today; slice...God's will be done!

The Truth Will Set You Free

John 8: 31-42

Dispute Over Whose Children Jesus’ Opponents Are

³¹ To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

³³ They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

³⁴ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵ Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷ I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. ³⁸ I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”

³⁹ “Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. ⁴⁰ As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. ⁴¹ You are doing the works of your own father.”

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “If  God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me.

The wrangling between Jesus and the Jews continues as the wall dividing them grows taller and thicker, leading soon to his condemnation and death.  We have a stunning picture of what stubbornness and closed-mindedness can do to relationships. Anger mounts and ears close tighter and tighter until there is no communication, and in the case of Jesus action, fatal action follows.

We might look at some of our own relationships where the battle lines, subtle or overt,  might exist and see if we can diffuse the situation before it goes too far.

And, we might look at our relationship with God to see of we are at odds with some of the things he is asking of us, or wants to do with us.  Are we hiding behind arguments to justify our unwillingness to change,as were the Jews? If so, we can use these last days of Lent to lower the barriers and humbly seek to bow to God's plan for us. There is no truth like God's truth and that is what will set us free.

Bro. Rene

 

 

Who Is Jesus To Me?

 John 8: 21-30

Dispute Over Who Jesus Is

²¹ Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”

²² This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”

²³ But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. ²⁴ I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”

²⁵ “Who are you?” they asked.

“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. ²⁶ “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”

²⁷ They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. ²⁹ The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” ³⁰ Even as he spoke, many believed in him.

Even as we watch the on-going struggle to accept Jesus, to believe in him, that bogged down the Jews in these eternal questions, we also see the frustration in Jesus as he tries to explain who he is in simple language, but in terms that challenge their mindset.  He was and always will be demanding a big "leap of faith", something not easy to do when it seems it will disturb our comfort or crumble our way of looking at him.  That leap is risky, especially where faith is thin, but once taken, brings a peace and strength that is life-giving. Verses 23-24 are key to the argument of Jesus.  May we take them to heart, accept and believe what Jesus is saying of himself.  "Lord, I do believe, help my unbelief!"

Bro. Rene

 

..

Neither Do I Condemn You

 

 

John 8:1-11

The Woman Caught in Adultery

8 ¹ but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

² At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. ³ The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group ⁴ and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” ⁶ They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. ⁷ When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

⁹ At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. ¹⁰ Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

¹¹ “No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Jesus calmly dispels the angry accusers by cleverly reminding them of their own sinfulness and with great love and compassion sets  the unnamed woman on the path to a new life. That unnamed woman could be any one of us who stand in need of forgiveness.  Lent is the time to look carefully at our thoughts as well as our behaviors.  What secret sins do we harbor in our heads and hearts in addition to those we commit in the open?  Is it time to clean the inside of the cup as well as the outside? Are we ready to hear Jesus say, "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more." (Jn 8: 11)  let us ponder and act so that we might truly rise with Christ on Easter.

Bro. Rene

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We Too Must Die

John 12: 20-33

Jesus Predicts His Death

²⁰ Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. ²¹ They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” ²² Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

²³ Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. ²⁵ Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

²⁷ “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” ²⁹ The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

³⁰ Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. ³¹ Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. ³² And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” ³³ He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

We know well that death awaits each one of us, but there is another death, the death to self, which we can choose or reject.  If we choose it, empty our lives of selfishness, self-aggrandizement, and self-centeredness and allow God to fill us with his grace and guide us in HIS plan for us, we will find a new level of life that brings us the total fulfillment of who and what God created us to be. It seems contradictory, but the truth is, we die to self, and live in Christ. That's the "program"; can we, do we want it?  It's tough, but it's the best. May our Lenten practices help us adopt it and live it.

Bro. Rene 

 

 

Who Is Jesus To Me?

 

⁴⁰ On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”

⁴¹ Others said, “He is the Messiah.”

Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? ⁴² Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” ⁴³ Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.

Unbelief of the Jewish Leaders

⁴⁵ Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”

⁴⁶ “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied.

⁴⁷ “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. ⁴⁸ “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? ⁴⁹ No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”

⁵⁰ Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, ⁵¹ “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”

⁵² They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”

 ⁵³ Then they all went home,

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The enemies of Jesus are confused and indecisive at this point, but their goal, the death of Jesus, sharpens in their focus as the days go by.  Indeed,  Palm Sunday is a week and a day away. This passage from John challenges us as well to sharpen our focus by asking, Who is Jesus for me?  To me?  As I've followed and listened to him this Lent, have I come to a greater knowledge of him and of his love for me?  Have my sacrifices and extra prayers brought me closer to him?  Have I been able to rely on him as I carry my cross?  Am I learning that life without him is empty?  May I continue to be humbled by life's challenges and come to rely more and more on him to help me over the humps. There is still time,,,the rest of Lent, the rest of our lives!

Bro. Rene

Protecting Jesus And US

 

 

Luke 2: 41-51a

The Boy Jesus at the Temple

41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover.

42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom.

43 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it.

44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends.

45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him.

46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.

48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”

50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things 

The finding of Jesus in the Temple is the last mention of Joseph in the New Testament.  We conjecture that Jesus learned carpentry from him, working with him until his death.  "Is not this the Carpenter's son?" (Mt 13:55)  The Gospel scenes of Joseph in Matthew reveal a humble, good, obedient, quiet man who stands as a pillar of strength in times of upheaval:  marrying a pregnant fiancee whose child was not his, traveling to Bethlehem for the census, escaping to Egypt to save the child, and returning to Nazareth to support the family as a carpenter.... Truly an extraordinary man, and fittingly the Guardian and Protector of the Church, which over the centuries to our present day has had a tumultuous history.  Happily, Pope Francis has proclaimed this a Year of  St. Joseph, to bring his virtues to the forefront and allow him to set the example of fidelity, faith, trust and compliance to God's will to us. His shoes are too big for us to fill, but at least we can walk in his footsteps with the assurance that he will be our protector as he was for his family.

Bro. Rene

Grappling for the Truth

John 5:31-42

Testimonies About Jesus

³¹ “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. ³² There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.

³³ “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. ³⁴ Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. ³⁵ John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.

³⁶ “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. ³⁷ And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, ³⁸ nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. ³⁹ You study^[a] the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, ⁴⁰ yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

⁴¹ “I do not accept glory from human beings, ⁴² but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. ⁴³ I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. ⁴⁴ How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God^[b]?

⁴⁵ “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. ⁴⁶ If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. ⁴⁷ But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”

 

Jesus could be having this discussion today with people who no longer accept "objective truth."  In today's thinking there is no such thing...it's all "relative", up to the individual, or "with the flow."

See what chaos results from such thinking...We live with it each day and it seems to be getting worse. Are there "lamps" such as John the Baptist today who are attempting to guide us but we ignore them?  How can we clean up our thinking, clearly hear and act in union with Jesus?

Bro, Rene

Do Not Be Afraid

 Luke 5:1-11

Jesus Calls His First Disciples

5 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,^[a] the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. ² He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. ³ He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

⁴ When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

⁵ Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

⁶ When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. ⁷ So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

⁸ When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” ⁹ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, ¹⁰ and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” ¹¹ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Even after seeing the miraculous catch of fish,  Simon, James and John must have had a bit of anxiety in leaving their tried and true business, to follow Jesus, only with a vague idea of what they would  be doing the rest of their lives, let alone that night.  Where would they eat, sleep, how long was this commitment?  Yet, they left all and followed.

At one point, or even perhaps at several points in our lives, the invitation is put before us.  Sometimes we don't hear the reassurance, "Don't be afraid" and it takes extra coercion for us to step into the unknown and when we do, we find what the apostles found:  he calls, we comply and he provides.  As simple as that, and it truly works. As the old saying goes: "Try it, you'll like it,"

Bro, Rene

 

Where Do I Stand?

 John 5: 1-16

The Healing at the Pool

5 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. ² Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda^[ and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. ³ Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.  ⁵ One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

⁷ “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

⁸ Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” ⁹ At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, ¹⁰ and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”

¹¹ But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”

¹² So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”

¹³ The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

¹⁴ Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” ¹⁵ The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.

¹⁶ So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him.

How do I react when Jesus heals me?

 

Where Is My Faith?

 John 4: 43-54

Jesus Heals an Official’s Son

⁴³ After the two days he left for Galilee. ⁴⁴ (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) ⁴⁵ When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, for they also had been there.

⁴⁶ Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. ⁴⁷ When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.

⁴⁸ “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”

⁴⁹ The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

⁵⁰ “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.” 

The man took Jesus at his word and departed. ⁵¹ While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. ⁵² When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.”

⁵³ Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed.

⁵⁴ This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.

In the letter to the Hebrews we read that "Faith is confident assurance concerning what we  hope for and conviction about things we do not see." (Heb 11: 1)  Certainly the royal official had this assurance, ignoring the objection of Jesus, so desperate was he to have his son cured.  This depth of faith moved Jesus to cure the boy and serves as a model for us.  So many times we pray without this strong conviction and wonder why our prayers are not answered...Part of the answer might be the lesson of FAITH. We need to learn it over and over, it seems,  How many times do we have to say, "Lord, I do believe; help my unbelief?"

Bro. Rene

For God So Loved The World

 

 John 3: 14-21

Light has come into the world

¹⁴ Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

Here in the United States we have begun Daylight Saving Time, a practice begun in 1918 during World War I as a means of conserving energy by arranging the clock to give more daylight to the work day. Our Gospel helps us to focus on the Light, who is Jesus and urges us to live in the light of truth  It is reassuring to read that God so loves us that he sent Jesus to provide the Light that overcomes the darkness, which we continually seem to choose, and that this Light will always extricate us from the darkness that plagues us. On this Fourth Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday, (Rejoice Sunday), may we set aside time to reflect on how effective the Light has been in our lives and where patches of darkness remain. May the Light of Christ illumine our path as we continue our journey to Easter.

Bro. Rene

Have Mercy On Me

 Luke 18: 9-14

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹ To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Looking at the two men at prayer, which one would I choose to be?  The answer seems obvious, but I can be so blinded by my  "goodness", that I fail to catch myself  praying as the Pharisee. Often enough, observations and even outright criticism from others helps me to see myself as I really am,  not a pretty sight. We might all have this self-righteous bent, so to keep us on track, might we make the prayer of the Publican part of our daily prayer, not just once a day, but several times, as  a constant reminder of our need for mercy?  "O God, be merciful to me a sinner."

Bro. Rene

Divine Nudging and Patience

(Note:  Yesterday's Slice should appear with today's.  I missed the posting time by a minute, but all should be well today.)

 Mk 12: 28-34

The Greatest Commandment

²⁸ One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

²⁹ “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[c] There is no commandment greater than these.”

³² “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. ³³ To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

³⁴ When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

Like the teacher of the Law. we know the two great commandments, but the rub comes with putting them into practice. It's an age-old dilemma and one that will be with us till we breathe our last.  Lent is a time to make a special effort to restructure our thinking, our habits, our prayer life, so that we live these commandments a bit better on Easter and beyond than we did prior to Ash Wednesday. God is patient with us, forgives, and replenishes us when we fall short or run out of  "fuel" and nudges us forward each day.  May we be open to that nudging as well as being as patient with ourselves as he is with us.

Bro. Rene

 

Whoever Is Not With Me....

Luke 11: 14-23 

Jesus and Beelzebul

¹⁴ Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. ¹⁵ But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” ¹⁶ while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. ¹⁷ But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. ¹⁸ And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹ When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; ²² but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. ²³ Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Abraham Lincoln' s famous statement, "A House Divided cannot stand," as we read this passage.  We cannot claim allegiance to Jesus and serve the Father of Lies. We must be straightforward, "what you see is what you get."  A challenge, for it is much easier to "put on a front" then do as we please behind turned backs.  The Prince of Demons is always at hand to convince us that "fooling others" is worthy of a reward.  May we be beware of this deception and seek to live as well as preach the truth.  We cannot serve two masters.

Bro. Rene

 

Live the Commandments

Mt 5:  17-19

The Fulfillment of the Law

¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. ¹⁹ Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus summed up the Ten Commandments in the Two Great Commandments:  Love of God and Love of Neighbor.  Here he challenges us not only to put them into practice, but to teach them to others. We can do this by word of mouth, or even more effectively, by LIVING them  Elsewhere he says, "by their fruits you will know them" (Mt 7: 20) Nothing like putting words into action to convince others.  As we continue through Lent, let us make a conscious effort to make our good deeds speak louder than our words!

Bro. Rene 

 

Forgive From the Heart

 Mt 18: 21-35

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

²³ “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. ²⁵ Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

²⁶ “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ ²⁷ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

²⁸ “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

²⁹ “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

³⁰ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

³² “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

³⁵ “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

We all like to, need to, be forgiven,  but ironically have difficulty forgiving others.  This parable mirrors our behavior and serves as a wake up call on how not to behave. We need to ask God for  the humility to see ourselves as we are, so much in need of mercy and forgiveness, in order to extend that mercy and forgiveness to others. It's not an easy order, but one that will eventually help us to forgive from the heart and love  those who mistreat us, belittle us, or take us for granted.

Bro. Rene

Do I Accept Jesus?

 Luke 4: 24-30

No prophet is accepted in his hometown

²⁴ “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. ²⁵ I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. ²⁶ Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. ²⁷ And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

²⁸ All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. ²⁹ They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. ³⁰ But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

Again, Jesus faces "a tough audience," but he is in good company: Elijah and Elisha faced unbelievers no matter what wonders they worked.  Where do I stand at this point in Lent, in this point in my life in my faith journey with Jesus?  Despite all the signs and wonders I have seen in my own life, do I still fear that I am alone and unable to bear the stresses and demands imposed on me by others, or even my own expectations of myself?  Why do l continue to live with that queezie feeling in my stomach  when I know God is with me and will give me strength to bear with every challenge?  Open my eyes, Lord, stir up my faith and confidence that I may not let FEAR get the best of me!

Bro. Rene