Show Up - Ash Wednedsay Reflection

Friends of Faith:

Yesterday the Ash Wednesday reflection was about our relationship with Jesus, about showing up to be with him. About showing up for him like we would for a friend, giving him our attention – not when we need his attention, but when, like a friend, he asks us to join him, to be present, so that he can have our undivided attention.

It got me to thinking about the empty pews we all see at church (regardless of which one we attend) and the difficulty so many have in following the “Keep Holy the Sabbath.” Commandment – even for only one hour on Sunday morning (or Saturday night).

It got me to thinking about why it’s so hard to just show up, for one hour to worship God, to give him our glory, our troubles and our attention; to just show up and be his friend.

Then today’s reading said this

Moses said to the people: “Today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom.
If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin on you today, loving him, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees, you will live and grow numerous, and the LORD, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy. If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen, but are led astray and adore and serve other gods, I tell you now that you will certainly perish; you will not have a long life on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and occupy. I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him. For that will mean life for you, a long life for you to live on the land that the LORD swore he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” 1 Dt 30:15-20

There’s 9 other commandments that this reading applies to – not just showing up for one hour on Sunday, but for “do not kill” (showing up to protect life at all ages), “do not take the Lord’s name in vain”(do not swear, including using “xxx’s” and showing up with positive words) etc, etc.

May you find this Lenten season to be a new time of commitment, a new time to take courage to say no to all of those Sunday activities which interfere with God’s request and to just SHOW UP!

And if your relationship with Jesus is what it should be on Sunday – you’re showing up -- then think about the other commandments that may take courage or change in order to grow closer to him, to be a better listener, to be a better example of Christian charity and mercy.

Blessings on your Lenten journey,

Charlotte

God is Everywhere

Friends of Faith:

“‘Tis the season” where we remind our children: “Be good, Santa’s watching.” Or, “you know, Santa can see when you are mean to your sister or brother, or when you don’t pick up your toys.”

It struck me that while Santa may see many things, as adults we have someone much more important to answer to than Santa. Santa may know if I have been naughty or nice, but it is God who knows what is in my heart and it is God who gives us the eternal gift, life everlasting.

And while Santa may have more than one set of eyes through us as parents; God, as the supreme parent, needs no eyes, and yet He can see everything, everywhere.

I recently heard a Christian business owner talking about what might correct the faults within the business economy, he said: “nothing in this world will change as long as we obey man’s laws” – and then he pulled out a piece of worn paper from his pocket and said: “this is the only thing that will change our outcomes – obeying God’s commandments.”

He proceeded to read:  “I am the Lord your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me, you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain ….  You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor…You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.” Ex 20: 1-17 “‘You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great­est and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two com­mandments’” (Mt 22:37-40).

(“Have I treated people, events, or things as more important than God? Have my words, actively or passively, put down God, the Church, or people? Have I harmed another through physical, verbal, or emotional means, including gossip or manipulation of any kind? Have I respected the physical and sexual dignity of others and of myself? Have I taken or wasted time or resources that belonged to another? Have I gossiped, told lies, or embellished stories at the expense of another? Am I content with my own means and needs, or do I com­pare myself to others unnecessarily?”—USCCB exam of conscience)

Wouldn’t this world, our economy, businesses and relationships be different if we all obeyed these commands?

And it made me immediately think of Father Larry Richards in one of his talks with the comment that “not many of us ever confess to doing something against the very first commandment—that our “strange gods” are not statutes and idols as they were in the Old Testament, but rather that our gods have become the greed of materialism.” Exactly the reason the business owner reminded himself each morning before he started work, that his JOB wasn’t about money, but about serving others and about acting towards others as if they were the Samaritan who was ignored, or the sinners who were made first through the ministry of Jesus Christ.

So regardless of what my “job” is today or tomorrow it is important that I remind myself that God is everywhere and that God is supposed to be in charge of my work, that there is no “one,” no “thing,” and no event more important than fully loving, fully serving and fully knowing him. And that every choice I make should be directed to the choice of Jesus—to know, love and serve others.

So much more concerning than Santa knowing if I have been naughty or nice…. is that God knows my heart and as an adult I have a much higher standard to live up to than do our children and that includes teaching our children what it is that is truly important – God’s laws, not man’s.

Heavenly Father, You command goodness and give us your unconditional love. Help me to strive to behave in the manner in which you created me – willing to obey You, willing to serve others, and willing to be satisfied with all you have given me. Thank you for the constant reminders that you are everywhere. Help me to keep my eyes and ears open to your word. Purify my heart so that even when I fail, I will never be afraid to return to the love of your waiting arms. Amen.

So the reminder that children are to be good for Santa is also our reminder that we are to answer to the God who is everywhere,
Blessings,
Charlotte
www.morningreflection.blogspot.com

 

 

 

Live by a King

Women of Faith:

“Let us give thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light.  He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God,  ….He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  He is the head of the body, the church. ….  For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the blood of his cross through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven” Col 1: 12-20

Yesterday we celebrated “Christ the King” Sunday. The readings point to what it takes to be a great king, with a great kingdom, and why we should want to seek these same “kingly” characteristics and follow such a king.

The kings examples make us ‘fit to share in their inheritance’ (make us feel like them), they ‘deliver us from darkness’ (give us wisdom), and they ‘are the head of all:’ bringing fulfillment, reconciliation, peace and unity.

Many of the Old and New Testament readings are drawn as parallels—so that we can learn to be better Christians by their contrasts, their examples and the outcomes of each.

“In those days, all the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and said: "Here we are, your bone and your flesh.  In days past, when Saul was our king, it was you who led the Israelites out and brought them back.  And the LORD said to you, 'You shall shepherd my people Israel and shall be commander of Israel.'"  When all the elders of Israel came to David in Hebron, King David made an agreement with them there before the LORD, and they anointed him king of Israel”. 2 Sam 5: 1-3

King David formed a covenant with God. And because of this covenant God protected him and the people, allowing a great military to be built, the tribes to be unified, and the economy to thrive. They were “one nation, under God.”

King David was a great king because he knew WHO to promise his life and livelihood to (covenant), WHO to trust and WHO to obey. And under his reign He did not stray from the important principals of trusting and obeying God, and he was allowed to bring the people under his authority to that same trust and obedience.

Unfortunately, the kings who followed David weren’t as trusting or obedient. They thought they knew better than David so they formed their own gods, made themselves gods by the creation of idols, and created their own sets of rules. They neither fully obeyed, nor fully trusted God. And eventually the holdings of the Promised Land which King David had unified were divided and reduced to fragments of their former greatness.

“The rulers sneered at Jesus and said, "He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God."  Even the soldiers jeered at him.  As they approached to offer him wine they called out, "If you are King of the Jews, save yourself."  Above him there was an inscription that read, "This is the King of the Jews." Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us."  The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." Lk 23: 35-43

Because of God’s mercy He then sacrificed His son, Jesus Christ, to save and unify us by forming the Church to guide us.

And Christ showed us a new example of obedience and trust: not by saving himself but by being mocked, ridiculed, and even dying on the cross for our sins. His new way was not like the power and authority of King David, but in the service of self giving love. His death on the cross returned to us not the promised land (physical), but the promise of Paradise (eternal).

Both Kings made their people FEEL like Kings. Both trusted that they had the power of God behind them. Both obeyed God’s laws and did not take the power and control into their own hands as they were tempted. Both gave up their lives in service to God.

And in turn both received back from God: unification of the Promised Land, unification of the people (the Church) and resurrection to the Promised Eternal and unified Paradise.

Am I willing to trust and obey to the same extent? Is the promise to be unified with God as awe inspiring today as it was then? Or am I tempted by the world’s promises of riches and materialism?

Remarkably I see a similar parallel to King David’s time in the formation of the United States which was built into a powerful and great country because of our forefathers (the Kings) who had a desire to trust and obey God’s commandments and protect our faith beliefs ( the freedom of religion.)

We became a country of people UNDER GOD (our Constitution), who trusted and cared for the exiled (formed by the acceptance of immigrants) and who’s economy and wealth was built by serving each other using our talents and treasures wisely and obediently (think of the first Thanksgiving.)

And unfortunately I would say that the division in our country and the world is a repetition of history: dysfunction caused by a similar disobedience and lack of trust in God’s plan. We are either a part of the problem (to become our own law), or a part of the solution (to be UNDER God.) We cannot be both.

Heavenly Father, King of All, You have promised us a share of Your inheritance. Help me to trust in the hope of Your promises and guided by Your examples of Kingship. Give me patience and tolerance in seeking to understand and grow in the knowledge of Your Church. May I find unity with You through obedience of your commandments. And protect and guard me from being led astray by the kings of the principalities and powers who tempt me with the fleeting happiness of worldly righteousness. Amen.

Do I love and serve others as Jesus commanded and am I willing to give up my life without regard to my own comfort, trusting that God will provide for and protect me? Will I courageously stand to protect my freedom to practice my faith under God?

Live by the King’s rule,
Blessings,
Charlotte

The "Commander" in Chief

Women of Faith:

My question today is soul searching, and yet I believe God has given us all the simple solution: Are we living by God’s commands? And the solution: WWJD!

What commands/laws have we created as humans because we “are” human?

Moses said to the people: "Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. In your observance of the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin upon you, you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it. Dt 4:1-2

God says we have a choice: good or evil, God or the devil.

God says we are all equal: not that we will be treated equally by the law, but by HIM.

So what laws protecting choice and equality are of God, and what laws protecting choice and equality are of man? Do our laws protect what God designed: Life and Marriage? Or are humans redesigning God’s commands?

This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts. You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition." Mk 7: 6-8

Do the laws we follow honor God’s Ten commandments? Or as the Ten Commandments have been taken off of the courthouse lawns, have God’s 10 been taken out of our moral and social compass, and therefore our human laws?

Is our government a god who is taking care of orphans and widows? Is everyone who proclaims to be “needy” really in need? What is it that we as humans really need? And have we determined that it is  government that will be the god to those who want to be taken care of, or is that the role we as humans, designed by God were given—to unselfishly take care of those in need?

All good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.  Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world. Jas 1: 17-28, 21B-22

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, proclaiming the mystery of God, I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling, and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of spirit and power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God. 1 Cor 2: 1-5

Our conscience is the soul God gave us as a “natural checkpoint” of right and wrong. What does our conscience tell us are the right things to teach, promote and most importantly to do?

He summoned the crowd again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile. "From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy,  blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile." Mk 7:14-15, 21-23

Lord, I love your commands. From every evil way I withhold my feet, that I may keep your words. From your ordinances I turn not away, for you have instructed me. Ps 119: 97, 101-102

Lord God, Heavenly King, the Greatest Commander, may I DO what I KNOW is Your will. Help all who proclaim to be Your followers have the courage to defend the unborn (God’s orphans) and to take a stand against all who promote and allow abortion.  Help us to give encouragement to single mothers (God’s widows) who have been abandoned by fathers of unborn children. Help them to be guided to Pro-life centers who have the resources necessary to support them and their children. Thank you for Your most perfect gift, Life.  Amen.

Follow God’s Command!

Blessings,

Charlotte