Power and Equality

Friends of Faith:

First I would ask your prayers for Andy who began a seven day silent retreat yesterday as part of his orientation to Mundelein seminary where he will be studying theology for the next 4 years before his priestly ordination. Please pray that the challenge of living physically and mentally without any “outside” interference (primarily his IT devices) will lead to a deep spiritual “inside” connection to God’s call in his life.

"Thus says the LORD: Observe what is right, do what is just; for my salvation is about to come, my justice, about to be revealed.
The foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, ministering to him, loving the name of the LORD, and becoming his servants—all who keep the sabbath free from profanation and hold to my covenant, them I will bring to my holy mountain and make joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. Is 56: 1, 6-7

Insiders and outsiders, power and equality, foreigners and citizens, the chosen and the outcasts.

Our world is a dichotomy and a struggle to have both equality and power. In order to have earthly power, control, superiority, and to be “inside” then someone else must be “outside.” It is common to give power to the governmental elite who are able to make decisions which affect my lifestyle; to let the “inside”elite set societal norms; and to feel that the “chosen” are those who have money which set the standards for what I then think I deserve.

And these power struggles in turn create a social struggle directly opposite because of our innate desire to be “equal” – to have “equal” rights, “equal”opportunity, and “equal” choices.

Reality and entertainment are challenged by our competitive nature: our desire to win, to be the best, to be the leader, to be big, and to be chosen, accepted, powerful, and righteous.

And yet in “equal” there is no winner or loser, no hierarchy of power, no big or little, no leader or follower, no inside or outside, no control over another person, no principality, no more or less, there is nothing that is deserved.

“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She said,“Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour. Mt 15: 21-28

While I might deem the most powerful person as the pope, president, king or queen or doctor; you might deem the most powerful as your boss, the mayor, even a sports team, coach or player. It depends on our context in asking the question, or even in the context of the time the question is asked.

So who really deems me “the winner?” Who do I think is the most powerful? Who really chooses me as an “insider?”

As a Christian whose ultimate goal is heaven, there can be only one answer: God! It is through him I am created equal, it is in Him I am given power. It is by Him I will be allowed “inside” and it is by Him I hope to be chosen.

HE must be first and I must be last. Will I choose to be the obedient child of the Father, with no false god’s before me? Will I give selfless, unconditional service to all others? Will I live and serve faithfully under His commandments? And will I respect those to whom God has given earthly authority?

Heavenly Father, You are the one and only power. We are created in Your image and likeness. I strive to live as Your chosen. Thank you for giving me all that I need each day. Help me to honor you by living in faithful acceptance and with the sincere trust it takes to set aside worldly inequality. Help me to accept the challenges of sacrifice and suffering so that I may be your willing witness to others. Amen.

God is the only power. And thankfully we are created equal in His likeness. I seek only to be accepted and chosen by Him. May you choose the same.

Blessings,

Charlotte

www.morningreflection.blogspot.com

Competing Well

Friends of Faith:

I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. 2 Tm 4: 7
I will start where I left off a week ago: “it must be okay, because everyone else is doing it.”

If I am obeying a law, because it is the law and everyone else is doing it, but not because it is right by God, then maybe the law is unjust. Maybe I am not competing as well as I should.

Or maybe I am looking at the wrong finish line—social status, the number of “friends” I have, wealth or even health...

Maybe the law is one I shouldn’t be obeying—maybe the law was made by man (myself, a friend or a politician) and not by God.

When I finish, will I be at the true finish line? Will I have kept true to the one God, the one faith?

The way to know whether the law is God’s or man’s is to pray, read scripture, and to ask for God’s will (to listen to and be aware of the Spirit of God within us), and then to seek the advice and guidance of the Church’s interpretation. How does the Church of God speak about the “law” in question?

For he is a God who always repays and will give back to you sevenfold.  But offer no bribes; these he does not accept! Do not trust in sacrifice of the fruits of extortion. For he is a God of justice, who shows no partiality.  He shows no partiality to the weak but hears the grievance of the oppressed. ....  Those who serve God to please him are accepted; their petition reaches the clouds. Sir 35: 13-16, 20

To compete well—but not to bribe or be part of the pity party:  don’t do just what is required (a job for pay), or serve on a committee because it is a part of the job (obligation), or obey just because the law/commandments say we should or shouldn’t (to avoid punishment).  Compete Well—Serve  instead because it is right to visit a shut-in you don’t know (someone besides your grandma)....the thankful smile and warm hug are a well won competition.

To finish the race—to be rewarded not because we did the right thing, but because we did the right thing  for the right reason. It is not about the “how” we did it, but the “why” we did it.

To keep the faith—to know Him, to love Him and to serve Him—because it is the right way, not because it is the way we will get what we want. To pray for God’s will and then to trust that God knows what is best for us—even if it means we will have to be patient,  do without, suffer, or give up what we have “earned.”

After all, everything we have is a blessing from him—nothing is really ours, he is not showing us partiality because we have “done” nothing extraordinary.

In yesterday’s gospel:  “Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else.  "Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.  The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, 'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity -- greedy, dishonest, adulterous -- or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, 'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.' I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted." Lk 18: 9-14

Is the competition to win justification here on earth (health or wealth or friendships), or is it to win justification in heaven?

Am I the Pharisee who thinks he is impressing God by doing better than everyone else? Or am I the tax collector willing to admit my wrongs, praying with my heart and soul to know God’s will, doing what he asks of me, and asking for God’s mercy and compassion when I fail?

Heavenly Father: You have promised to rescue me from every evil threat and to bring me safely to your heavenly kingdom. (2 Tm 4: 18) Help me to open my heart and listen to the Spirit within so that I may not “just” finish, but that I may compete wisely and keep the faith always. To Him be the glory, forever and ever, Amen.

I want my finish to be by thanking God for the blessings He pours out on me; offering Him any suffering with acceptance and true sacrifice; holding true to HIS truth even when it is unpopular with conventional wisdom; and unselfishly giving to the beggar, the “least,” the lonely and the broken hearted my earthly riches (time and talents).

Compete well, Finish strong, and Keep the faith,
Charlotte

Compete

Friends of Faith:

“Compete well for the faith.” 1 Tim 6: 12

Volleyball season at our house can be a challenge, often stressful and overly busy. The past couple of weeks have certainly been that, as Stan’s team played their toughest two challengers, immediately followed by homecoming week, another two tough matches and concluding with the distraction of a tournament on the day of the homecoming dance.

Over the years, we both remind ourselves, others, the parents and the team—“it’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game.”

So the challenge in a week where you end up going from a decisively winning season to a so-so just over break even season, is to truly believe those words and to look for and find the good in “how you played (or coached) the game.”

The same can be said in a far more important game, that of our eternal faith life: “Am I competing well?” “How am I playing the game?” “Am I giving it my all?” “Am I working as a team, and bringing them up with me?” “Am I listening to and following the coaches (God’s) instructions?” “Would God, the final judge, call me a winner?” AND “Am I spending as much time on training for heaven as I am on winning socially here on earth?”

These are the team instructions:

“Those who are under the yoke of slavery must regard their masters as worthy of full respect, so that the name of God and our teaching may not suffer abuse. Those whose masters are believers must not take advantage of them because they are brothers but must give better service because those who will profit from their work are believers and are beloved.eaching and True Wealth

Whoever teaches something different and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the religious teaching is conceited, understanding nothing, and has a morbid disposition for arguments and verbal disputes. From these come envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions, and mutual friction among people with corrupted minds, who are deprived of the truth, supposing religion to be a means of gain. Indeed, religion with contentment is a great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it. If we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that. Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains. “But you, man of God, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called when you made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate for the noble confession, to keep the commandment without stain or reproach.” 1Tim 6: 1-14

First we need a goal in life. Is it heavenly richness? Or is it earthly riches.

Next we need a game plan with the assistance of His coaches…The Church (His apostolic succession, trainers of the Word) and His Word--BIBLE (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.)

And finally we need to actually do the things we say we believe – we need to train for the game, give God’s instructions, the coaching manual, our utmost attention, and spend our time living for Christ at 100% so the rest of the team will win with us.

The instructions say: respect (the maker—God AND the players, those created in His image and likeness—every human being), serve (train well by doing good works), don’t listen to and be tempted by false teachings (societies“what makes me happy” goal), get back to the basic richness (food and clothing, the Eucharist), and find contentment with simple religion (the Church Christ instituted).

Heavenly Father, ultimate coach and trainer, You gave us all the means to win, by giving us Your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank you for your constant forgiveness and mercy of my continual training errors (sins). Send Your Spirit upon me with the grace of courage and perseverance against the enemies of conceit, envy and earthly riches. Help me to have the discipline and focus to follow your moral truths and set aside my own selfish desires so that I will serve the team (my spouse and/or my family) and encourage my neighbors to an even higher level of competition. Amen.

There is only ONE Team Win that matters—and it’s how we live the journey that will accomplish the win for us all.

In Christ,

Charlotte

www.morningreflection.blogspot.com