Two witnesses ... yes, but it depends who they are

Morning: Psalms 46, 48; Isaiah 62:10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:16-6:2

Evening: Psalm 90; Revelation 21:1-6; John 8:12-19

As Spiritual Care manager at London Health Sciences Centre, part of my job was ensuring that the more than 300 clergy who visit patients there are accredited by a church body. Once, a pastor told me he was accountable only to himself and God ... not enough accountability - he did not get a visitor’s badge. Now, when Jesus says he is the Light of the world, and they tell him he cannot speak on his own behalf, Jesus says the Father will vouch for him, too. Now - don’t ask me why! - I would give Jesus the badge!

 

Who is virtuous enough to condemn anyone else?

Morning: Psalms 20, 21:1-14; Isaiah 60:19-22; Revelation 1:9-20

Evening: Psalms 23, 27; John 7:53-8:11

How tragically common (comic even) it is for us to judge others. Do we think ourselves more virtuous than they are, so they are fair game? Or do we even consider it as carefully as that? Human judging is mostly habitual; we fall into it. Perhaps it makes us feel better about ourselves? Jesus gets to the heart of the matter; when those who judge the adulteress are lining up to stone her (no mention of her partner in the crime!), Jesus says: “Let the one who is without sin throw the first stone.” They (we) slink away.

 

Want to help others? ... attend first to your own soul

 

Morning: Psalm 18:1-20; Isaiah 60:1-5; Revelation 1:1-18

Evening: Psalm 18:21-50; John 7:37-52

 Remember how on airplanes (those contraptions we used to fly in?), when you are travelling with a child you are told, if there is an emergency, to put on your own oxygen mask first and then the child’s? Well, it is like that in the spiritual life ... Jesus invites: ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and ... drink.’ For, ‘out of the believer’s heart shall flow streams of living water.’ In other words: First, drink in all you can of Jesus’s life and teachings and then you will help other thirsty souls find refreshment.

Hope for the innocents ... Christ in you, Love in you

Morning: Psalm 26; Isaiah 26:1-9; Colossians 1:20-29

Evening: Psalms 2, 8; Jeremiah 31:10-17; Matthew 2:13-18

Recently in Toronto, a young boy was shot and killed, caught in the crossfire of an attempted gang murder. Today recalls the Massacre of the Innocents, children who were killed when King Herod tried to kill ‘King’ Jesus. The world is full of innocent suffering caused by other people’s greed. How will this ever be made right? St. Paul points toward a mystery ... “Christ in you.” Imagine the spirit of Love that was in Jesus also living in us, and in all humankind. Embody that love and there will be hope for the innocents.

 

 

Atonement ... healing requires sacrifice

Morning: Psalms 93, 96; Isaiah 62:6-7, 10-12; Hebrews 2:10-18

Evening: Psalm 34; Matthew 1:18-25

Hebrews says Christ made a ‘sacrifice of atonement’ for people’s sins. This is not Christ paying our debt to God. God needs no payment from us. When we act to deny Love - sin - a disruption occurs in the Cosmos. Our hearts know that this disruption calls for an act of healing to make it right. God’s taking flesh and dying to address human sin is that powerful act; it atones for harm done and opens the path to reconciliation. It makes us whole again. How? Our minds may not understand, but our hearts know that healing requires sacrifice.

 

Simeon

Morning: Psalm 145; Isaiah 12:1-6; Hebrews 1:1-12

Evening: Psalms 146, 147; Luke 2:22-40

My older son is called Simeon, after the Simeon in Luke’s Gospel, who believed he would not die before he saw the Messiah. The Messiah (for me, that is Jesus) is the sign that Love rules in the Cosmos. I hope that my son might, during his life, catch even a glimpse of the wonder of the Love that is shown in Jesus. I hope that, like the Simeon of Luke’s Gospel, he might know Peace. I am not sure he would say he has found Peace. Yet it is still my prayer for him ... for all of us.

 

The Word of Love in the Cosmos: now in a child

Morning: Psalms 2, 85; Zechariah 2:10-13; I John 4:7-16

Evening: Psalms 110:1-7, 132: Micah 4:1-5; 5:2-4; John 3:31-36

 Lately I have heard multiple messages in different contexts about the gift and art of listening. It has taken me back to the days when we used to train hospital staff and volunteers in the art of listening. Listening involves Words ~ 7%; Tone ~ 35%; and Body Language ~ 58%. Thus, the Word of Love in the Cosmos includes, yes, words, but also many different tones of voice, and divine ‘body language’, written in the galaxies and stars. Now, the Word of Love is spoken in a child. Maybe in a child you know? Listen carefully.

 

Christmas Eve: only the beginning

Morning: Psalms 45, 46; Isaiah 35:1-10; Luke 1:67-80

Evening: Psalm 89:1-29; Isaiah 59:15b-21; Philippians 2:5-11

The story of this night is only the beginning of the much larger and amazing story of a humble God who calls us to humility too. St. Paul says: “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself ...” The humility of God. Think about that. It is a truly astounding story!

 

Is it hard to stay focused? ... Embrace hope

Morning: Psalms 93,96; Isaiah 33:17-22; Revelation 22:6-11, 18-20

Evening: Psalms 148, 150; Baruch 4:21-29; Luke 1:57-66

With another Coronavirus lockdown looming, you can be forgiven for feeling distracted, finding it hard to focus on a goal or an outcome. These days sometimes feel to me like walking through a thick Manchester smog in my childhood - you could not see your own outstretched hand! In truth, there are dark and ‘smoggy’ moments about many of the times and seasons of human experience, things that distract us from hope. Which is why the call rings out: Embrace hope as your inspiration for living through every time and season ... Hope in Love; all will be well.

 

 

Hope for the Future ... say: Here I am, I can help!

Morning: Psalm 80; Isaiah 29:13-24; Revelation 21:22-22:5

Evening: Psalms 146, 147; 2 Samuel 7:18-29; Luke 1:39-56

In the human story, there is always hope for the future. We need plenty of that right now. We find it in Mary, who expects mercy, that the proud will be scattered, the powerful brought down, the lowly lifted up and the hungry filled with good things. Isaiah adds to that hope: that the deaf shall hear, the blind shall see, the meek find joy, the neediest be glad, and tyrants and all who do evil shall be no more. Both Mary and Isaiah, in their own ways, also say: Here I am, I can help!

 

“Let it be to me according to your word”

Morning: Psalm 72; Isaiah 28:9-22; Revelation 21:9-21

Evening: Psalms 111, 113; 2 Samuel 7:1-17; Luke 1:26-38

For God to be born in a human person, the person needs to agree to it. To honour her freedom, Mary cannot be just a passive vessel; she must actively want God to come into her life and, through her, into all human life. It takes courage for Mary to accept that God will only be born into the world through those who consent to God’s will. Because of her courage in saying, ‘Let it be ...’ Mary is called the ‘Mother of God’. So, too, may we be those who ‘give birth to God’ in the world.

‘A new heaven and a new earth’ - vision & prayer

Morning: Psalms 66, 67; Isaiah 11:10-16; Revelation 20.11-21:8

Evening: Psalms 116, 117; 1 Samuel 2:1b – 10; Luke 1:5-25

When John of Patmos wrote down his Revelation of a new heaven and a new earth, he was trying to express in words something inexpressible. His vision is of the renewal of all things ... ‘A new heaven’ implies that we have misunderstood God but that we will come to see God more clearly. ‘A new earth’ suggests that we have misunderstood the earth and our relationship with it, and one day we will come to understand the preciousness and beauty of this blue planet where we live. A new heaven and a new earth ... John’s vision, our prayer.

 

Looking for life in all the wrong places

Morning: Psalms 61, 62; Isaiah 11:1-9; Revelation 20:1-10

Evening: Psalms 112, 115; Zephaniah 3:14-20; John 5:30-47

‘Quality of life’ is what matters, right? ‘Eternal life’ is appealing too. Jesus laments our looking for life in all the wrong places -- apart from him. Ironically, we may waste time fearfully searching for strategies that add time to our lives; but there are no cures for mortality. Anyway, what will we do with the added time if we do not know what life is for? Life is not an outcome but a journey into relationship with God. Fullness of life is found in that relationship. Choose God, says Jesus ... Let your life flow from that choice.

 

Will we live here believing it can work, or plan to leave?

Morning: Psalms 24, 29; Isaiah 42:1-12; Ephesians 6:10-20

Evening: Psalms 8, 84; Genesis 3:8-15; John 3:16-21

NASA and a few billionaires long to establish settlements on other planets. Is this to escape a devastated earth, or just adventurousness? A streak in humanity is discontented with where we are and wants to leave, either physically or for some spiritual ‘other world’. Jesus, though, dreams of making whole the world we already live in and calls us to help. Will we live here believing it can work, or plan to leave? ’Eternal life’ is not a better life beyond this one but the healing of our relationship with the place we already inhabit.

 

Fire

Morning: Psalm 50; Isaiah 9:18-10:4; 2 Peter 2:10b - 16

Evening: Psalm 33; Zechariah 4:1-14; Matthew 3:1-12

Who doesn’t love a fire? It’s comforting; nothing quite compares to a home heated by wood fires, as ours is. However, when John talks about Jesus baptizing us ‘with fire’ or gathering his wheat and burning the chaff ‘with unquenchable fire’, that fire starts to sound dangerous. Then, when I read it again, I realize that no person is burned, not I nor anyone else, only life’s chaff, stuff we no longer need, the dry waste of our lives ... Then, the Spirit’s fire sounds as comforting as the one in my living-room. Burn, I say! Burn! Clean things up!

 

Follow your calling ... help others with theirs

 

Morning: Psalm 119:49-72; Isaiah 9:8-17; 2 Peter 2:1-10a

Evening: Psalm 49; Zechariah 3:1-10; Mark 1:1-8

Whenever we wonder where we are, Mona quotes Bugs Bunny: “I knew we should have turned left at Albuquerque!” (click the link below). John and Jesus were cousins whose lives were intertwined, but they probably never realized that John’s life’s calling would be to baptize Jesus into his. When you follow your own calling faithfully, you help others with theirs. Discerning your calling (your life’s path) is not usually a straight line; you will have to make important turns along the way. It’s a life’s journey; you never arrive. Now, is there a left turn you should be taking? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8TUwHTfOOU

The consequences of telling the truth, and not

Morning: Psalm 45; Isaiah 9:1–7; 2 Peter 1:12-21

Evening: Psalms 47, 48; Zechariah 2:1-13; Luke 22:54-69

Have you ever been so afraid of the consequences of admitting to doing something people thought you should not have done that, when challenged, you lied? This was Peter’s dilemma ... admit that he was a disciple of the man, Jesus, who now stood condemned to death, or lie. It’s like, ‘If I admit it, then I’m dead too!’ Maybe Peter thought, ‘Better to lie, and stay alive; then I can do some good.’ Our dilemmas may not be as stark as Peter’s, but we must often weigh the consequences of either telling the truth or hiding it. Decisions! Decisions!

 

 

Blood, Sweat and Tears: the solidarity of God with us

Morning: Psalms 41, 52; Isaiah 8:16-9:1; 2 Peter 1:1-11

Evening: Psalm 44; Zechariah 1:7-17; Luke 22:39-53

Some have difficulty accepting that Jesus experienced human suffering. Today’s Gospel, though, shows Jesus suffering deep anguish: “In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.” Winston Churchill is said to have coined the phrase ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears’, which a Canadian-American band took as its name. I suspect, though, that ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears’ comes originally from this story about Jesus before he was crucified. Jesus’s suffering was as real as ours, the rest of his fellow-humans ... an expression of the solidarity of God with us

 

He (who is above all) must increase, I must decrease

Morning: Psalms 63, 98; Isaiah 13:6-13; Hebrews 12:18-29

Evening: Psalm 103; Amos 9:11-15; John 3:22-30

Life devoted purely to self - personal growth and fulfilment, your own happiness, self-promotion or individual success - is a hollow thing. Abundance of life lies in knowing that there is One who is greater than this solitary ‘I’, One who will inspire you to live for something bigger than yourself. Some call this great One their ‘Higher Power’. John the Baptist knew all along that Jesus was this One. Once you discover and accept that Jesus is God in the flesh, One ‘above all’, then what John the Baptist said applies to you: “He must increase, I must decrease.”

 

The natural ups and downs of faith

Morning: Psalms 30, 32; Isaiah 8:1-15; 2 Thessalonians 3.6-18

Evening: Psalms 42, 43; Haggai 2:1-9; Luke 22:31-38

Simon Peter takes offence when Jesus says to him: “Once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Jesus predicts that Peter will turn away. And yet, he still wants Peter - in fact, Jesus relies on people who have not always done well. His disciples all turn away in fear, but later the Spirit gives them strength to devote their lives to him. There are natural ups and downs in a life of faith. To understand those who do not know faith, it helps if your own faith has been tested, or if you yourself have failed in some way.

 

Leadership ... the greatest is the one who serves

Morning: Psalm 31; Isaiah 7:10-25; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5

Evening: Psalm 35; Haggai 1:1-15; Luke 22:14-30

For 3 years, I was privileged to work in a Roman Catholic hospital. There, I learned an important lesson about leadership from a new V.P., Beth. Beth began her first team meeting with some preliminary introductions. She then said that she would like us to speak a little about how she might be of service to us, the members of her team. Over the years, she delivered. Beth made concrete the lesson that Jesus taught his disciples when they argued about who was the greatest: “The leader must be among you as one who serves.” Just so, in every circumstance.

 

Betrayal and conflicting ideas about what is right

Morning: Psalm 37:1-18; Isaiah 7:1–9; 2 Thessalonians 2.1-12

Evening: Psalm 37:19-42; Amos 9:1-10; Luke 22:1-13

Theories abound concerning Judas’s betrayal of Jesus. How could Judas spend 3 years with Jesus only to betray him? The most compelling answer is this: <<Judas thought he was doing the right thing - facilitating Jesus’s anticipated victorious confrontation with the Jewish authorities who were benefitting from the Roman occupation of Israel. Judas thought he would help Jesus fulfil his destiny as Messiah. When Judas’s actions had unintended consequences, he committed suicide because of his deep despair about Jesus’s crucifixion.>> This answer makes sense. Betrayers may think that their betrayal serves a just cause, only to find themselves sadly mistaken.

 

Send me!

Morning: Psalm 38; Isaiah 6:1–13; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

Evening: Psalm 119:25-48; Amos 8:1-14; John 7:53-8:11“You send me!” Sam Cooke’s 1957 love song (covered by Aretha, Otis Redding, etc.) is about being ‘sent’ into awe, even worship, of someone. When Isaiah offers himself - “Here am I, send me!” - he is ‘sent’ to call others into the same awe that he has experienced. Israel tries to live without God. So does our own age. They cannot. “There is a God-shaped hole in every human heart”, writes Pascal. We are at home when ‘sent’ into awe and wonder at the mystery we call God, the only one who can fill the emptiness in us.

 

Guard your heart ... take care to be light-hearted

Morning: Psalms 26, 28; Isaiah 5:13-17, 24-25; I Thessalonians 5:12-28

Evening: Psalms 36, 39; Amos 7:10-17; Luke 21:29-38

“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down ...” says Jesus. The Book of Proverbs urges ‘heart health’, too (4:23-27): “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” The idea of being on guard over your heart is unusual but very appealing ... being sure that your heart is not weighed with heaviness so that you drown in drink or worry. Think about this: Jesus teaches light-heartedness. It has never occurred to me before, but I think the saints I have known have been light-hearted souls. Let me be light-hearted too!

 

Encourage one another and build up each other

Morning: Psalm 25; Isaiah 5:8-12, 18-23; I Thessalonians 5:1-11

Evening: Psalms 9, 15; Amos 7:1-9; Luke 21:20-28

The New Testament says the end times will be chaotic and cataclysmic. Since there is chaos and upheaval in every age, there are always a few who think, now this must be the end. It may be, but rather than focus a lot of energy on that, it is more helpful to imagine what is important for living well; it might even help to improve things. St. Paul urges that, in chaotic times, it is best to “encourage one another and build up each other.” Good idea! Discouraging one another and running each other down only adds to the chaos.

 

The true path ... let justice roll down like waters!

Morning: Psalms 20, 21; Isaiah 4:2-6; I Thessalonians 4:13-18

Evening: Psalms 110, 116, 117; Amos 5:18-27; Luke 21:5-19

Walking at night can be dangerous ... headlights are sometimes so blinding that you cannot see where you are walking! Prophets point out humanity’s blind spots.  The prophet Amos says God tires of celebration while others are suffering. Instead of feasting, “let justice roll down like waters.” Centuries later, some are admiring the Temple, but Jesus says there will come a time when it will be destroyed. For God is not honoured by temples, but by actions. Passionate devotion to one particular way can also blind you to where the true path lies.

 

Our gifts our not just for us; they are for the world

Morning: Psalms 16, 17; Isaiah 3:8-15; I Thessalonians 4:1-12

Evening: Psalm 22; Amos 5:1-17; Luke 20:41 – 21:4

Jesus calls us to use well our gifts. Some are very gifted but squander their treasure and miss life’s opportunities. Some receive relatively few gifts, which they focus and develop, nurture and refine, and use generously. One who starts out with little, but who values her gifts and gives abundantly, lives more fully than one who starts out with much, but fails to appreciate that her gifts are treasures to be shared. Unused gifts gather dust and are lost. The secret is this: our gifts are not just for us; they are for the world.

 

How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

Morning: Psalm 18:1-20; Isaiah 2:12-22; I Thessalonians 3:1-13

Evening: Psalm 18:21-50; Amos 4:6-13; Luke 20:27-40

In medieval times, scholastic theologians were challenged about their absurd arguments, with this question: ‘How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?’ Some religious folk came to Jesus with equally absurd questions, trying to catch him out ... Like, if you have had more than one spouse in this life, to whom will you be married in the next life? Jesus had no time for these absurdities, except to point out how ridiculous it is to waste time and brain-cells debating a reality that is beyond your comprehension. Better to get on with living in this world.

 

What’s the matter with our attitude to taxes?

Morning: Psalm 119:1-24; Isaiah 2:1-11; I Thessalonians 2:13-20

Evening: Psalm 12, 13, 14; Amos 3:12 - 4:5; Luke 20:19-26

“Give the ‘emperor’ (read, ‘the state’) what is the emperor’s, and give God what is God’s.” Some people (often the wealthiest) pay as little tax as possible, even none at all ... It’s a game - they overlook the connection between what they owe and what it is for, which they also enjoy - education, roads, services, healthcare, infrastructure, etc. Jesus’s challenge goes further; he offers no middle ground, like, ‘keep 90% for yourself.’ What does not belong to others is God’s! All of it! Jesus leaves us to figure out what to do about our attitude to these things.

 

If you had made the world ... ?

Morning: Psalms 5, 6; Isaiah 1:21-31: I Thessalonians 2:1-12

Evening: Psalms 10, 11; Amos 3:1-11; Luke 20:9-18

If you had made this beautiful earth, would you not be dismayed at how some mistreat both the earth and those who want to care for it - like indigenous peoples, so-called ‘tree-huggers’ and ‘liberals’, green new dealers, environmentalists? Would you not be angry at what is happening to all that you made so beautifully and so well? Then you would understand the wrath of God depicted in Jesus’ parable of the vineyard. The parable suggests that what God has made may turn against those who damage it, and perhaps God will, too? If they don’t shape up. Wouldn’t you?