Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent

READINGS

Isaiah 40:25-31
Psalm 103
Matthew 11:28-30

REFLECTION: “Can I believe it?”

Our Gospel reading today gives us simple words: 'you will find rest for your souls'. It is often hard, however, to accept these words, or, to be more precise... to live them.

It is hard to live them because, at times, it is hard for us to believe them. We live in a world filled with violence, inequality, suffering, and pain. Sometimes we imagine this is a unique feature of modern society... but it is only today's manifestation of that fact. The multitude of news networks and their endless news cycle leaves us with images of terror, hurt, and brutality day by day... but the same images were imprinted on the minds of people hundreds of years, yes, even thousands of years ago.

The prophet Isaiah writes to a people who have witnessed foreign oppression, whose faith is teetering, whose spirits in many instances have been crushed... to say nothing of the situation within Judah itself. He passionately refutes the notion that God doesn't care about their plight, and illustrates in the beautiful words that follow how Yahweh's commitment to his people is manifest.

In our own day, we are called to embrace Isaiah's words as a means of reinforcing our faith and trust in Jesus' own promise of rest. If we recognize and embrace who God is, if we are able to understand the immensity of his majesty and the tender personal-ness of his care, then Jesus' promise of an easy yoke, a lightened burden, and rest for the soul become accessible and real to us. But this can only take root in our souls if we can accept God for who he is... and often, that can be a challenge.

But it's a challenge I invite you to accept. Allow God to be sovereign in your life, as he is sovereign over creation. Allow him to rule your heart and mind. Allow him to speak words of comfort to you when even your senses tell you otherwise... and believe them! For Yahweh, the creator of all, is always present to his people... to those who seek him with sincerity and with truth.

Is something causing me to hold back today? I something keeping me from embracing God as I should? 

Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent

READINGS

Amos 5:18-24
Psalm 96
Matthew 18:12-14

REFLECTION: “Ouch! That's harsh.”

Our first reading today, from the prophecy of Amos, leaves us with some pretty harsh words concerning the end of time. In particular, verse 20, which states "the day of Yahweh will be dark and hopeless, without a ray of joy or hope." Such a statement stands in stark contrast with texts like Revelation 21 which states: " He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain."

Of course, this is a point where some contextual reading is necessary. The prophet Amos is writing during the reign of Jeroboam II, whose reign coincided with relative peace and prosperity among the people, but also with a precipitous decline in religious practice. A disparity was rapidly evolving between the 'haves' and the 'have nots'... and God did not find such an evolution to be pleasing. Not at all.

And yet it is precisely the growing distance between rich and poor, and the neglect of the needs of the less fortunate, that leads the Lord to speak through his prophet to announce that their religious observances was utterly useless. More so, they were detestable to him.

Here is God saying that he hates their worship, their feasts, their offerings, their hymns of praise. Even their hymns! Can you imagine God hating Psalm 150? His own word, detested, when flowing from the lips of those whose worship was worth nothing more than the puff of vapor that came from their lungs.

Do not mistake this reading of Amos to teach us that worship is pointless. It isn't. The point of worship is to glorify God and to convert our hearts. God speaks to us through worship... but when we stop listening, our worship becomes pointless. When our worship does not impel us beyond our pious cozy place, it is displeasing to God.

Authentic worship is a challenge to reach out in ministry and mission to others. It is a place for equipping for that outreach. It is a place of refuge... but only when something flows from it.

In our day and age, we desperately need to remember this lesson, so that we will have no fear on the last great day; for, if we simply move our lips in our worship without moving our entire spirit, the day of Yahweh will be dark and sorrowful for us, just as it Amos prophesied to the people of the Kingdom of Israel so very long ago.

Lord, please convert any selfishness in my worship, and allow me to glorify you in prayer, study, worship, and in deed! 

Feast of the Conception of Saint Mary the God-bearer

READINGS

Genesis 3:8-15, 20
Psalm 98
Ephesians 1:3-11
Luke 1:46-55

REFLECTION: “WWMD?”

I've never been one for embracing fads in their prime. Do you remember bib overall shorts, you know, back in like 1992? Yea, I adopted those in 1994. Star Trek: The Next Generation? I was a year late to that party. And do you remember the 'WWJD' bracelets of the early 1990's? That's a fad I never embraced.

With the Bibs, I couldn't afford them when they were popular. With Star Trek, well, how could the bald guy from England who was supposed to be French possibly replace Captain Kirk? But with the bracelet... something never sat right with me.

It wasn't until seminary that I realized why it hit me so flat. There is something fundamentally flawed at the root of the contemporary use of the phrase 'What would Jesus do?' as a motivator for personal action: and that flaw is the fact that we do not have a dual nature, as Jesus does.

It's also why today's feast day is so very important.

You see, while we are adopted sons and daughters of the Father, and thus brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, we do not share in what is known as the 'hypostatic union' of God and Man which is manifest in Christ. In short, this doctrine states that God became man, without becoming any less God, in the person of Jesus Christ.

Since the "WWJD" trend was directed at individual decision-making in a time of moral and cultural upheaval, it's not a fair question to ask, because when we compare our decision-making capacity with Jesus', we will always come up short. We are not hypostatically united with God. We are at a disadvantage.

And yet, for the better part of the Church's two-thousand year history, an answer has been present. The answer is biblical, it is beautiful, and it is relevant. The answer is Mary.

Today, we recall her conception in her mother's womb. Unlike the conception of Christ, which flowed from divine agency, Mary's was a conception like every other. She is not a partaker of a hypostatic union, she has no physical, spiritual, or moral difference from any of us in the manner of her entry to this world... and yet she is the one prophesied in our first reading. There would be hostility between her and the enemy, and indeed between her child and all of Satan's servants. In spite of her being a regular human being, in spite of her being a daughter of fallen Adam and Eve, in spite of her being born in a land under bondage to a foreign power... in spite of every disadvantage she faced, she rejoiced in the Lord, trusted in him, and spoke an all-important yes when the message of the angel echoed in her soul.

All of this figured into God's gracious plan of redemption, as we hear in our second reading today. Mary had a place prepared for her from the foundation of the world... a calling to bear within herself the Redeemer of the universe. We too have that same calling, my brothers and sisters... though, obviously in a different way. And yes, even there, God uses Mary to teach us how to do so.

In our Gospel today, Mary acclaims her Savior. The little son of her womb is already glorified in her words... her song points the way to Jesus, as does her every action. Mary seeks not her own glory. Mary speaks little of herself, other than to point out her humble state of life. But she consistently points to Jesus... just as at the Wedding of Cana where she tells the servants to 'do whatever he tells you."

Mary is so deeply beloved by the Church for precisely these reasons - she is a fully human, accessible, loving woman, who shows us the way to serve God and find joy in every circumstance.

So the next time you find yourself perplexed, confused, worried, or concerned, take a moment to ask yourself, "What would Mary do?" I ensure you, if you do, you will find yourself pointed to Jesus, and encouraged in whatever challenge or fears you face... for Mary's example is always one of trust, reliance, and hope in the one who is the author and finisher of our faith.

Is there a challenge today that I face that Mary's example could help me face with greater confidence and peace?

Conception of Saint Mary the God-bearer

Today the Primitive Catholic Community celebrates the Feast of the Conception of Saint Mary the God-bearer.

This festival in honor of the conception of the mother of our Lord is celebrated on this day in both the eastern and the western Church. This feast, which dates from the seventh century, acknowledges the preparation by God of his people to receive their Savior, and shows that mortal flesh can indeed bring Christ to the world.

The Second Sunday of Advent

READINGS

Isaiah 40: 1-5 [6-8] 9-11
Psalm 85
2 Peter 3:8-14
Mark 1: 1-8

REFLECTION: “Start With the Heart”

 

When you prepare for things, were do you start? You select a logical starting point, right? Well, where do you start preparing for Christmas or, perhaps more importantly, where do you start when you are preparing yourself for a deeper connection with Jesus Christ?

 

Today, as we are gathered in our fellowship of Word and Sacrament, we are giving priority towards the outward manifestation of our preparation for Christ’s presence, but each and every one of us is called to go deep. We are called to start with our heart.
Starting with our hearts requires that we listen clearly to the call of God on us. We must examine ourselves… really look deeply into our spiritual state. We must fully reveal ourselves to God, holding nothing back.

John the Baptist, our Lord’s own forerunner, came to encourage God’s chosen people to do just that. He wanted the people to trust in God, to turn to him, and to allow his Spirit to hold sway. His baptism was meant to be a turning point, rooted in the heart of the one who had listened carefully to the words that the Sovereign Lord had placed in his heart.

 

Do we listen to the Word of the Lord today with the same vigor and sense of necessity that we did when we first believed? I certainly hope so… for each day we live, we draw closer to the day in which we shall behold Jesus face to face. We must continually seek to conform our hearts to his loving calling on our lives, so that on the day of his return we shall behold him without fear, but with great confidence, trust, and joy.

 

To be able to do that… you’ve got to start with the heart.

 

In what ways do I still need to prepare my heart for the celebration of Christmas… and for Christ’s personal coming at my last day?

Saturday of the First Week of Advent

READINGS

Isaiah 30:19-26
Psalm 147
Matthew 9:35-10:1, 5-8

REFLECTION: “Do you see the Lord?”

In our first reading today, we hear the challenging words, "Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you." In a world full of difficulties and pain, it can be hard to see the Lord, to recognize his presence, and to feel his peace.

Sometimes, it is hard for us to imagine that God cares for us, or that we ourselves are notable to him, in the midst of this world. And yet, he who counts the stars and calls them by name, calls us too by name, in the very depths of our heart.

When this is hard to feel, to know, to accept, God provides - he sends individuals into our lives in order to reinforce his loving care through ministry in his name.

Today, as we remember the example of Nicholas of Myra, we recall one who served as a prototype of loving care for many. I bet most of us can think of another caring pastor, or believer, who also revealed the love and compassion of God to us in a moment of trouble, doubt, or fear.

Ultimately, however, no matter who ministers to us in word and sacrament, what we behold is the Lord. Yahweh himself empowers the word wherever it is preached, and breathes life into the sacraments wherever they are ministered. Without him, they are nothing. But when they are present, we behold the Lord.

How has the Lord revealed himself to you? 

Nicholas

Today, the Primitive Catholic Community commemorates Nicholas, bishop of Myra, whose generosity and concern for others has endeared him to generations of Christians.

Nicholas was the forth-century bishop of Myra, in Asia Minor. He was a man of deep faith, compassionate to all, and deeply concerned with the welfare of his people. Nicholas was well known for rescuing victims of shipwreck and advocating for the safety of young children, but it is his generosity that has – for good or for ill – gained the most notoriety, particularly in modern western culture.

Perhaps the best-known story about Nicholas concerns his charity towards a poor man who was unable to provide dowries for is three daughters. Rather than see them forced into prostitution, Nicholas secretly tossed a bag of gold through the poor man’s window on three separate occasions, thus enabling the daughters to be married. Over the centuries, this particular legend evolved into the custom of gift-giving on his feast day.