Carrying out God's Will

 “If only you would heed the voice of the LORD, your God, and keep his commandments and statutes... it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out.” Dt 30: 10,14

Moses' command to his people is clear. Examine your hearts and minds. God and God's law already reside there. We have only to attend to what has been planted in our hearts to know God more deeply and love God more completely.

Theologians often speak of conscience as the "still, small voice," within our hearts, but Moses' challenge is more extensive than this. While conscience can help us discern and decipher what God wants for us, Moses pushes us to act  and live with passion when we discover the God who dwells within us. Faith is not simply about making just and other centered choices that resonate with the voice within us. Faith is a commitment to rest in and rely on God everyday. Even more, faith demands that we let God seek and do with us what promotes God's ways and will for all.

Because we most often see only what is directly in front of us, we can easily err when trying to live a faith filled life.  When a friend is ill,  or people in the next town have been flooded out, or our children are struggling to stay in a difficult marriage, we pause and pray naturally, but God wants more of us. Only when we take time to fly at 30,000 ft can we begin to emerge from our own world, needs and family concerns, and think and pray more systemically with and for God. How, we ask, can we live in and help create a more just world? How can we adjust our life and life styles to be in solidarity with our sisters and brothers around the world?

Today, step back in prayer and listen to the cries and groans of people and the earth far from your home.

How can you become more aware of and responsive to the God who is already living within you and among us?

Mobilizing Fear

  "What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul." Mt 10: 27-28

Fear is an incredible motivator. Threatened with losing our life or reputation, we might do anything. Some run away; others start a fight. Jesus asks us to transform our fear into action for good. Recognizing how natural it is to be afraid when faced with doing something new or agitating to others, we ask for the grace to discern how best to speak and live the gospel despite the consequences.

Trying to avoid fear or deny it will never be a successful strategy in the long run. Either we confront our fears in an effort to discover where they might be leading us in faith, or we are haunted by them our entire lives. Jesus gives us an option by promising always to be with us, but it is up to us to accept his help and trust that the result will be for the good of all.

Today, face one fear and see where it leads.

What fears most immobilize you?

Shrewd as Serpents

 "Be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves." Mt 10:16

Sometimes Jesus' advice to his disciples startles us. Most of us understand the call of the gospel to simplicity and transparency.  Although it might be uncomfortable, we realize there is a challenge in the good news not to worry about how we appear before others, not to try to impress others with our insight or wisdom. If we embody God's wisdom, God will do what God needs to do in and through us.

Shrewdness, on the other hand, is not something we usually associate with gospel living. Shrewd people make deals, compromise their ideals and work a crowd to get their way. It does not sound like a stance the followers of Jesus should take.

While it is clear that Jesus does not want his disciples to take advantage of others, he does want them to protect themselves from manipulation. Shrewdness means not allowing oneself to be trapped by false praise or individual honor. The shrewd person listens with the heart and discerns well what it is God wants, not to enhance his or her personal reputation or prestige, but to enliven and build up the entire community of faith.

Today, listen deeply to who it is God would have you be, and act upon it discreetly.

Have you known shrewd people of faith?

No one is Entitled

 "Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give." Mt 10:9

Attitude is everything and nothing gets in the way of having an authentic Christian attitude more than a sense of entitlement. When we begin to think that we have earned everything we have, even if we have worked hard all our lives, we forget how blessed we have been.

I grew up in a Catholic neighborhood. People shared freely the little they had. Our parents did everything they could to send us to Catholic schools and colleges where we would have an opportunity for a better life. They did not expect much from us in return. They were happy to give us everything they had, but they did demand that we work hard, be grateful, and never take for granted what came to us because of the generosity of others.

This is especially true of faith. Our attitude about faith, about what we can contribute to the building up of the body of Christ, about others who think differently than us must be one of gratitude. In fact, our faith reminds us continually that all is gift. Life is gift, creation is gift, friendship is gift, prayer is gift, and all are gifts to be given away. When Jesus sends the disciples out to proclaim good news he is clear: "Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give."(Mt 10:8)

Today, check your attitude and be grateful for your faith.

How do you avoid a sense of entitlement?

Know your Audience

  “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Mt 10:6

The Jesus of Matthew's gospel is clear about his intentions. A Jew who has been sent to the Jews, Jesus wants his disciples to be careful to live the Torah and its Rabbinic interpretations narrowly. They should avoid Samaria altogether in order that every Jew who hears them can trust that they are observant Jews who want only to introduce their hearers to Jesus, the Messiah who God has been promised to his people.

Matthew's perspective makes perfect sense in context. It was important that Jesus' disciples remember their audience while not changing Jesus' message. Luke's gospel, because it was addressed primarily to Gentiles, was not concerned with connecting Jesus' teaching to the Torah. Quoting Jesus warning his first followers to avoid Samaria would make no sense to Gentiles who knew nothing about Palestinian geography or the quarrels among Jews.

How important it is to learn to announce the Good News to the people of the 21st century in a form they can understand. For those who have never lived without a computer or a cell phone, images and metaphors that were helpful to the people of the 20th century make little sense. In order to follow the powerful example of the early church, we need to be more sophisticated about social media, the music they enjoy and how they interact with the world.

Today, live the Gospel in a way that speaks to the those born in the 21st century.

Who or what helps you make sense of your faith?

A

Sheep without a Shepherd

  "At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd." Mt 9:36

Jesus seems always able to summon mercy and understanding when meeting the poor and broken. Somehow he sees those most in need with compassionate eyes and heart, and responds to them without judgement. While Jesus can be hard on those who should know better, he seems never to dismiss the struggling. In fact, the scripture tells us that he sees them as sheep without a shepherd.

Jesus' mercy can easily be taken advantage of, but only those trying to control the world worry about this. While some of us will surely risk living an unfocused life thinking they have nothing about which to worry since Jesus promises undying love to all even the biggest sinner, Jesus continually seeks out sinners, inviting them to reconciliation and new life.

As C.S. Lewis reminds us in An Examined Life, "God was the hunter and I was the deer. He stalked me, . . . took unerring aim and fired,"(1). Captured by God's love, we find ourselves spending more time being grateful than worrying about our past faults, and discover, to our delight and God's, that we have very little time for wrong doing and sin. Filled with gratitude for all that God is and does, our joyful and free spirits shout Good News.

Today, ask forgiveness of God and move forward.

Which of your faults and sins do you find most difficult to avoid?

God Our Spouse

 "I will espouse you to me forever: I will espouse you in right and in justice, in love and in mercy; I will espouse you in fidelity, and you shall know the LORD." Hos 2:22

Hosea's prophecy is stunning in its directness and imagery. God is a bridegroom, newly in love with his Bride, and anxious to commit himself to his people forever without measuring the cost. God's love for us, his holy people, is full of justice and mercy and assures us that we shall always know him in this manner.

There is, however, a danger we must avoid. Knowing that God's love is unconditional and forever can cause us to take God for granted. Knowing God will always be near, waiting like a Bridegroom for us to respond, we can fail to discipline ourselves at prayer or ignore the needs of the poor, both practices demanded by the Bridegroom. When we do this, we cheat ourselves and God's beloved of the fruits of God's love.

Today, pay extra attention to someone you have been taking for granted.

What image of God is most strengthening to your faith?