| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 862.1 | Ash Wednesday | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Fri Feb 18 1994 18:25 | 40 |
| Ash Wednesday
Time To Remember
But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the
door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your
Father who sees in secret will reward you.
- Matthew 6:6
"Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return." Tradi-
tional Ash Wednesday words remind us of our need to repent and
turn toward God. We need not look far to find ways we can become
more God and Neighbor- centered, and one of the most basic means
to this end is daily prayer.
Too busy to pray? Not enough time in the day? The television
news anchor person will not remind us to pray. There will be no
billboards on the way to work that trumpet, "Remember to make ex-
tra time for prayer during Lent." No radio jingles will warble a
reminder to pray.
We need to do it ourselves, but we need to remember, also, that
God's grace, our loving Father's gift of divine life, is always
there to support and guide us. Why not ask the Holy Spirit to
remind us to pray this Lent? Or ask a friend to ask if we remem-
bered? Or put a note on the bathroom mirror: "Remember to pray
a little longer today!"
Lord Jesus, prayer and service were central to your
earthly life. You made time to be alone to pray and to
heal and teach. Help me, in my busy life, to make time
to pray and serve others.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.2 | Thursday after Ash Wednesday | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Fri Feb 18 1994 18:26 | 39 |
| Thursday after Ash Wednesday
Faith Active in Love
If any want to become my followers, let them deny them-
selves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
- Luke 9:23
Here's where the rubber hits the road, faith-wise. Jesus says,
right there in Luke's Gospel, that if we want to be his followers
we need to deny ourselves and pick up our cross each and every
day and go where he goes. Husband, bring your wife flowers or
write her a poem more than once during Lent. That's a cross for
many men that will lead to a marital resurrection. Wife, ask
your husband out for a "date" unexpectedly more than once during
Lent. Single adult, you may not like to do it, but volunteer to
baby-sit for your married brother or sister more than once during
Lent. And remember to do it cheerfully.
Talk like this does not come as the best of news if we believe
that life should be trouble free, devoid of hardship and sacri-
fice. Something in us wants faith to be not a daily cross but
just the opposite, a daily spiritual aspirin, a security blanket,
protection from anything that may harm us. On the contrary, to
say "yes" to the grace God freely gives us is to say "yes" to
daily self-denial in order to love others better, and to do this
with a certain joy. Today, make a plan to show a caring love for
someone you are not fond of. Pray for that person, then give him
or her a smile and a kind word. Like Jesus would.
Spirit of God, help me take up my cross this Lent.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.3 | Friday after Ash Wednesday | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Fri Feb 18 1994 18:27 | 39 |
| Friday after Ash Wednesday
Build Up "Other-Centeredness"
Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of
injustice...to let the oppressed go free...? Is it to to
share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless
poor into your house...?
- Isaiah 58:6-7
During Lent maybe we avoid certain goodies - candy, coffee, al-
cohol. Maybe we decide to do our heart and lungs a favor and try
to free ourselves from a nicotine addiction. All these things
are good. But they are no end in themselves. We fast and abstain
during Lent for one purpose only, to grow in love, love for God
and love for those we live and work with.
If we give up some delectable for Lent, the idea is to weaken
self-centeredness and build up the spirit of other-centeredness.
Perhaps I have trouble being sensitive to the feelings of my
spouse or children. Perhaps I am reluctant to take into account
the personal lives of my fellow workers or employees. Lent is
precisely the time to change, to reform my life.
Oh, but this is difficult, this business of self-denial. We do
so crave to coddle, cuddle and comfort our own little selves.
Sorry, the Gospel says, that's not the way of Jesus the Christ.
Come, Lord Jesus, help us to be less self-centered, more
other-centered. Help us t let our lives be truly changed
by the Gospel.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.4 | Saturday after Ash Wednesday | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Sat Feb 19 1994 17:28 | 39 |
| Saturday after Ash Wednesday
Face Up To Sin
I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to re-
pentance.
- Luke 5:32
The first four days of Lent are like the runway an airplane uses
to take off. During these four days, we try to get a running
start for the long haul of Lent. Now is when we accept the fact
that most of the time there are things about our lives that are
not what they should be. There are things about ourselves that
are out of whack, that need changing, in traditional language, we
face up to the fact that we are sinners.
When I slice a grapefruit in half for myself and my spouse,
perhaps I compare the halves, calculate which is the biggest, the
juiciest, and sometimes I give myself the half that I think is
best. That's a symptom of plain old self-centeredness. When I
must say no to my child but can't seem to do it without raising
my voice, that's a plain old refusal to exercise self-control.
When someone asks for my help but I make excuses so I can sit at
home and zone out on TV, that's plain old laziness.
Lent is time to look our sinfulness straight in the face and say,
"I'm going to do something about this, and with the grace of God
I will."
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and
right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.5 | First Sunday of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Sun Feb 20 1994 18:48 | 42 |
| First Sunday of Lent
A Call To Repent
He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan;
and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on
him.
- Mark 1:13
Lent is a season of wild beasts and angels. The wild beasts are
the ways we continue to live that do not bring the Spirit of
Jesus into our world. The angels we are the was in which we do
manifest the goodness and love of God in the world. We are
called to be converted in two ways. First, we face up to the
fact of our own sinfulness. Yes, we do behave in selfish, self-
centered ways. Yes, we deliberately hurt other people. Yes, we
neglect prayer and, yes, we fail to give time and attention to
those we say we love. Repent, the Jesus of Lent calls out.
Second we face up to the fact that sometimes we deny or downplay
the gifts God gave us. We can't take a compliment to save our
souls. OK, we say during Lent, I will admit that I'm good at
this or that. There are ways in which I am, in fact, a good
parent, a good spouse, a good friend, or a good worker. Quite
often I do it right. Sometimes when the Spirit moves a good
friend, or a good worker. Quite often I do it right. Sometimes
when the Spirit moves me, I do respond faithfully. I'm not en-
tirely sinful, in large part I'm also hugely blessed, and I will
stop denying that, for this, too, is sinful. Repent, the Jesus
of Lent calls out.
Lord Jesus, Lord of Lent, open our eyes in the ways we
are sinners, and open our eyes, too, to the ways we are
saints, all to the glory of your name.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.6 | Monday of the first week of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Mon Feb 21 1994 12:19 | 42 |
| Monday of the first week of Lent
Respond To "The Least"
Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least
of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.
- Matthew 25:40
Listen. Here, Jesus says, the truth is that you will never get
any closer to me in this knockabout world than you get to people
who need your time, attention, and gifts. Use Lent for this, the
King of the Universe calls out, use it to inch just a little
closer to "the least of these." Can you do that? Sure you can.
Must I make a journey to a distant place to find "the least of
these?" Must I take special training, buy a ticket, pack my bags,
leave behind all I cherish most to find "the least of these?"
Must I undergo culture shock? Don't be foolish, the King of the
Universe responds, chuckling. Some of my servants do this and
they are blessed. But most of my servants do not and they are
blessed, too.
Lent is a time to shake the scales from our eyes and see what's
what. What's what? "The least of these" are all around us,
that's what. Our children, and they are hungry for more than
food. Our neighbors, and they are thirsty for more than water.
Our co-workers, and they lack more than clothing. "The least of
these" crave a kind word, tolerance, patience, a helping hand,
affirmation, practical everyday kinds of love. That's what.
God our loving Father, help us to recognize the people we
live and work with daily "the least of these who are
members of [your] family," and help us to care for them
lovingly and well.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.7 | Tuesday Of The First Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Tue Feb 22 1994 17:09 | 45 |
| Tuesday Of The First Week Of Lent
A Perfect Time To Forgive
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly
will also forgive you...
- Matthew 6:14
"Trespass." An intriguing word, that. One of its meanings is
"to sin against another." We tend to think of "sin" as an of-
fense against God. But we can sin against people, as well.
Lent is a perfect time to do something about forgiveness. Yes,
we need God's forgiveness for our sins. But we need to forgive
others for how they "trespassed" or sinned against us. So impor-
tant is this that Jesus actually says that if we forgive others
our heavenly Father will forgive us. As far as Jesus is con-
cerned, the two go together.
How easy it is to bear a grudge! Someone sins against us and
it's like we embrace our anger and it gives birth to a grudge,
heavy as lead, that we welcome into our heart and take a certain
perverse comfort from. "I'll never forgive you for that." "I'll
never speak to him/her again as long as I live." We've all heard
stories of brothers or sisters who had a "falling out" and died
never having spoken to one another again. Influenced by self-
help psychology, how many adult bear an angry grudge against
their parents "for all the bad things they did to me when I was
growing up?"
The Jesus of Lent beckons, come on over here. When you fail to
forgive, you behave as if you are never in need of forgiveness
yourself.
Spirit of God, fill our hearts with the humility and
courage we need to forgive others when they sin against
us.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.8 | Wednesday Of The First Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Wed Feb 23 1994 12:57 | 39 |
| Wednesday Of The First Week Of Lent
One Sign That Matters
This generation is an evil generation; it asks for a
sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of
Jonah.
- Luke 11:29
Lent slips into our days to remind us that we are dust and to
dust we shall return. Lent slips in to remind us that we are
sinners in need of salvation. Lent reminds us that we are on
death's doorstep but spiritual healing and liberation are avail-
able for the asking. And what do we do? We ask for a sign.
Our time, like all times, is impressed by signs. It knocks us
for a loop when we hear that someone was cured of a deadly ill-
ness when he or she visited a certain place or a certain person
or prayed just so. We, like the people of Jesus' time, have a
tough time settling for faith alone. Signs and Wonders, signs
and wonders, we want miracles and cures. Proof, that's what we
want.
What better time than Lent to repent of our desire for such a
proof? What better time than Lent to be satisfied with the only
sign that matters, the death and resurrection of Jesus the Messi-
ah?
Lord Jesus Christ, you died and were raised from the
darkness of the tomb that you might live in us. Let your
risen life in us be all the proof that we need.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.9 | Thursday Of The First Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Thu Feb 24 1994 16:42 | 44 |
| Thursday Of The First Week Of Lent
Don't Deny Evil
If you, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will your Father in heaven give
good things to those who ask him!
- Matthew 7:11
Jesus has a way of saying things we like and don't like. Did
Jesus merely exaggerate when he said that his listeners were
evil? Whoa! Not good for the old self-esteem, there!
On the contrary, Lent is a time to recognize that we are, indeed,
evil and capable of evil - small evils, perhaps, but mean little
evils all the same. We recognize this not to make ourselves feel
bad but because to do this is to know the truth ... and the truth
will make us free (John 3:32).
Only when we look our evil right in the eye and admit its
existence, only then can God forgive us, save us, heal and free
us. As long as we deny our sinfulness, we claim to be sinless
and we don't see ourselves as we are; we live with an illusion.
We need to ask - that's the crux of the matter. During Lent we
humble ourselves, we acknowledge that we are not in control, that
we are, in fact powerless. We must ask God our loving Father to
give us all that we need. The wonder, the joy, the over whelming
happiness is that God "will give good things to those who ask."
You might say: Those who humble themselves will rejoice. Even
during Lent.
Lord Jesus, help us to see our sinfulness for what it is.
An opportunity to accept healing and peace from our
heavenly Father, even now.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.10 | Friday Of The First Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Fri Feb 25 1994 17:21 | 41 |
| Friday Of The First Week Of Lent
Justified By Faith
For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of
the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the
kingdom of heaven.
- Matthew 5:20
Fyodor Dostoevski, the great 19th century Russian novelist, in
The Brothers Karamazov has one of his characters tell a story
called "The Grand Inquisitor." In the story, Jesus returns and
raises to life a little girl who had died. Watching, a 90-year-
old Cardinal Inquisitor is displeased and has Jesus imprisoned.
Visiting Jesus in his cell, the grim, gray Inquisitor berates
Jesus for coming back. You left everything in our hands when you
left, he says, and we have taken charge. People could not cope
with the freedom you came to bring them, so we make laws and tell
people what they may and may not do. It was a mistake for you to
return.
The Cardinal Inquisitor in Dostoevski's famous story echoes the
scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' time who believed that
"righteousness" consisted in a mere legalistic adherence to
religious rules and regulation. On the contrary, Jesus says,
true "righteousness" leaves behind religious legalism, as well as
the false sense of security it can give. "For we hold that a
person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by law"
(Romans 3:28).
Lord Jesus, help us during Lent to become more and more a
people of faith who trust in your love with all our
hearts.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.11 | Saturday Of The First Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Mon Feb 28 1994 14:30 | 38 |
| Saturday Of The First Week Of Lent
Perfect Love
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is
perfect.
- Matthew 5:48
Lent, of all the seasons of the church year is a time when we
meditate on the theme, "OK, I'm not perfect." Boy, am I not
perfect! We focus on our sinfulness, we try to repent. That's
what Lent is for, after all. Trouble is, sometimes we have a
funny idea of what the New Testament has in mind when it talks
about repentance, conversion, and sin.
In Mathew's Gospel, when Jesus talks about our need to "be
perfect" as our "heavenly Father is perfect," he doesn't mean
what we may think he means. To be perfect as our heavenly Father
is perfect does not imply becoming a brightly painted plaster
saint. Rather, as the lines just prior to the words of Jesus
quoted above make clear, perfection means to love
indiscriminately. God loves everyone, good and evil, and so
should we. God does not seek to get revenge when people make bad
choices, so neither should we. Our heavenly Father showers rain
and sun on the good and bad alike. To be perfect as God is
perfect is to act in a similar manner.
God our heavenly Father, help us to be perfect as you are
perfect by showing love, compassion and forgiveness for
all, the good and the bad alike.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.12 | Second Sunday of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Mon Feb 28 1994 17:04 | 40 |
| Second Sunday of Lent
Deeper Intimacy
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and
John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by
themselves. And he was transfigured before them...
- Mark 9:2
What we want is proof. Right? We want proof that Jesus was the
Son of God. So, along comes the Transfiguration and presto,
there's our proof. And along comes the Resurrection and presto,
there's the ultimate proof. Jesus was God. We have our proof.
Ah, but countless people still do not believe, so the
Transfiguration and Resurrection of Jesus must not be very good
proof. Unbelievers may say, "Oh, those are just stories, they
never really happened."
The Gospel writers had no intention of proving anything. They
understood that even the Transfiguration and Resurrection of
Jesus have little meaning apart from faith, apart from ongoing,
everyday intimacy with the risen Christ. Let this, then, be our
goal for Lent: to deepen loving intimacy with God and rededicate
ourselves to loving service of our neighbor. In this way, we
will give evidence of our faith to those with whom we live and
work.
Someone once said: If being a Christian were against the law
would there be enough evidence to get you thrown in the slammer?
Lord Jesus, help us to recognize and love your presence
in the people we encounter each day.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.13 | Monday Of The Second Week of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Mon Feb 28 1994 17:34 | 36 |
| Monday Of The Second Week of Lent
Days Of Mercy
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
- Luke 6:36
Think of Lent as forty days to become more merciful. Imagine.
We want mercy for ourselves, we pray for God to be merciful to
us, but sometimes we find it so easy to withhold mercy from
others. Truth to tell, sometimes mercy can be difficult.
How can parents be merciful to their young children and not slip
into permissiveness? How can parents of teenagers be merciful to
their offspring and still help them learn to be responsible. How
can a teacher be merciful and still challenge students and help
them grow? How can an employer dismiss and employee in a
merciful way?
Mercy doesn't say, "It's OK that you did what you did." Mercy
says "It's not OK that you did what you did, but Ill forgive you
and give you another chance to do it right." Mercy carries with
it forgiveness and compassion, and since God is merciful to us,
we are to show mercy to one another. Now there's a discipline
for Lent.
God of mercy, help us to grow in Mercy, forgiveness and
compassion toward all these with whom we live and work.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.14 | Tuesday Of The Second Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Tue Mar 01 1994 15:41 | 39 |
| Tuesday Of The Second Week Of Lent
Genuine Humility
All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who
humble themselves will be exalted.
- Matthew 23:12
Uriah Heep is one of the most intriguing and despicable
characters in all the stories Charles Dickens wrote. Even his
name sounds vaguely repellant. Uriah Heep responds to a question
from young David Copperfield, who asks if he is a lawyer. "Me,
Master Copperfield?' said Uriah. 'Oh, no! I'm a very 'umble
person... I am well aware that I am the 'umblest person going ...
My mother is likewise a very 'umble person. We live in a 'umble
abode, Master Copperfield... My father's former calling was
'umble."
Uriah Heep's humility is as phony as a three dollar bill. He
pretends humility while plotting for his own advantage. He
grovels in the presence of the wealthy and powerful in the hope
that, by guile, someday he will be superior to them.
A truly humble person can take a compliment and not deny that he
or she did something praiseworthy. "Thanks, I enjoyed doing it."
Or, "You are very kind to say so." True humility gives thanks to
God for the talent or ability to do what was done.
Lord Jesus, help us to be humble as you are humble, happy
to serve others without denying our own dignity and worth
in God's eyes.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.15 | Wednesday Of The Second Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Wed Mar 02 1994 17:00 | 40 |
| Wednesday Of The Second Week Of Lent
In Need Of Healing
...whoever wishes to be first among you must be your
slave...
- Matthew 20:26-27
During Lent we are poised to learn a thing or two, to seek out
what was lost, to shed whatever keeps us from fidelity to our
baptismal promises. In other words, during Lent we acknowledge
that we are in need of healing.
Sometimes we need to be healed of our false sense of superiority.
We would never come right out with it: "I'm superior to lots of
other people because of the amount of money I make each year."
Or, "I'm obviously better than that lazy street person or that
disgusting drunk on the corner over there.
The Jesus of Matthew's Gospel crooks his finger in our direction
and says, Come on over here for half a minute. The "superior"
ones around here are the ones who look the least superior. How
does that grap ya?
Who are the great ones? The wealthy and powerful? Could any of
these be great as Jesus describes greatness? You never know.
It's all in how we approach our life, as service or as self-
promotion. As a way to be last or a way to be first...
Lord Jesus, help us to see how we are called to serve and
be last in the unique vocation you give to each of us.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.16 | Thursday Of The Second Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Thu Mar 03 1994 17:51 | 42 |
| Thursday Of The Second Week Of Lent
Don't Ignore The Needy
There was a rich man... And at his gate lay a poor man
named Lazarus... who longed to satisfy his hunger with
what fell from the rich man's table...
- Luke 16:19-21
Oh, how we sometimes wish that faith was a simple matter just
between God and each one of us! God and me, that's a lot simpler
to deal with than God and me and the people I encounter each day.
Other people complicate things, especially when I find the other
people unpleasant to be around. Everyone has more than one
Lazarus to deal with. Lent challenges us to recognize Lazarus in
those we meet each day and those we live and work with. Even if
they do not hunger for food, they do hunger for recognition,
respect, affirmation and affection.
Note that the sin of the rich man in Jesus' story was not being
rich. His sin was ignoring the needs of Lazarus, his hunger, his
sickness, his poverty. The repentance Lent calls for includes
turning away from our inclination to isolate ourselves from the
needs of others, including their need for simple human affection.
Yes, we're busy. Yes, we have more than enough to do. Yes, we
have a tough time making ends meet as it is. All the same, there
lies Lazarus at our door, hungry and sick, perhaps just empty-
hearted and sick and tired, but craving the crumbs of our love
all the same.
Lord Jesus, help us to see the needs of Lazarus in our
children, our spouse, our neighbors and fellow workers,
and help us respond with generosity.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
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| 862.17 | Friday Of The Second Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Fri Mar 04 1994 14:38 | 42 |
| Friday Of The Second Week Of Lent
Listen To The Prophets
But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed
another, and stoned another.
- Matthew 21:35
How well do we listen for the God's word in our own day? How
sharp a lookout do we keep for the prophets in our world? Would
we recognize the word of God if we heard it? Even if it
contradicts the opinions we cherish so? Even if it gives our
comfortable prejudices a ringing slap in the face? Even then,
will we welcome God's word and the maybe motley prophets who dare
to speak it? Even then? Could it be that we sometimes ignore
and reject - even if we don't beat and kill - those who speak the
word of God in our time and place?
Ah, could it be? (Not I, Lord?)
How could she be a prophet, how could she speak the word of God
in our time? Impossible! She's so liberal! How could he
possibly echo God's own truth? He's so conservative! She makes
no connections between faith and economics, therefore she's
wrong. He doesn't see that religion and politics do not mix,
therefore what he says has nothing to do with the truth.
Is it possible that some of our opinions, though we hold them
dear, could - just maybe - be wrong? Lent is a good time to
become a bit more open minded.
God the loving Father of all, help us to place our hope
and trust less in our opinions and prejudices and more in
your love for us.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.18 | Saturday Of The Second Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Sun Mar 06 1994 22:53 | 40 |
| Saturday Of The Second Week Of Lent
Our Loving Papa
So he set off and went to his father. But while he was
still far off, his father saw him and was filled with
compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and
kissed him.
- Luke 15:20
Sometimes it is utterly difficult to believe that God loves us
with a love beyond understanding. In the parable of the prodigal
son, we have no trouble identifying with the younger son who
"squandered his property in dissolute living." One way or
another, that's us all right. But we do find it hard to believe
that if we, too, trudge back with repentance on our mind, God,
while we are "still far off," will see us and be "filled with
compassion," that our loving father will run "and put his arms
around" us and kiss us. How could God throw compassion around so
indiscriminately? We find it difficult to believe.
Don't we all believe, deep down, that what we deserve is
punishment, good and hard? We can forget that Abba, the Aramaic
title Jesus taught us to call God by, is best translated as
"loving Papa." Our God is no stern patriarch but a loving Papa,
who embraces his children tenderly, and rolls on the floor with
them, and tickles them. When they make bad choices, he longs
anxiously for their return, ready to forgive before they even
ask, ready to throw the mother of all parties to celebrate.
Lord Jesus, help us to give our heart completely to the
love of God and neighbor.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.19 | Third Sunday Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Sun Mar 06 1994 23:00 | 43 |
| Third Sunday Of Lent
What Do We Worship?
Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the
temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured
out the coins of the money changers and overturned their
tables.
- John 2:15
So much for "Jesus meek and mild." There's a place for righteous
anger - not to say self-righteous anger. There's a time to call
a spade a spade. Lent is an excellent time to set aside our
inclination to shrug our shoulders and say, helplessly, "There's
nothing I can do about it." When we recognize injustice our
faith obliges us to oppose it, if only by a letter or two to our
representatives in government. When there is no peace, our faith
obliges us to work for peace by our prayers and by whatever means
we can drum up.
Jesus created a commotion because people made his "Father's house
a marketplace" (John 2:16). Where there should have been prayer
and worship he found buying and selling. But what if we recall
St. Paul's conviction that each of us is a "temple of the Holy
Spirit" (1 Corinthians 6:19)? We live in a culture that
positively encourages us to make of ourselves temples of buying
and selling. It's called being a good consumer, and its highest
act of worship is "getting a good deal."
The love of God and neighbor should be enthroned in the temple of
our heart. Do we too often worship there the great god
Consumerism? Lent is a good time to change our ways.
Lord Jesus, help us to give our heart completely to the
love of God and neighbor.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.20 | Monday Of The Third Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Mon Mar 07 1994 16:05 | 41 |
| Monday Of The Third Week Of Lent
The Authority Of Jesus
They...led him to the brow of the hill on which their
town was built, so that they might hurl him off the
cliff. But he passed through the midst of them and went
on his way.
- Luke 4:29-30
What do we believe about Jesus? When we hear the name of Jesus
spoken, what sort of person enters our mind? What sort of man do
we think he was when he walked the dusty roads of Palestine?
When we read that the people of Nazareth wanted to push Jesus off
a cliff, but he "passed through the midst of them and went on his
way," what do we think happened? It depends on our assumptions
about who Jesus was.
Lent calls us to a more balanced, more adult understanding of
Jesus. If we think Jesus was God merely disguised as a human
being, we may think that by a miracle Jesus stopped the people
from doing him harm. Or maybe he became invisible and escaped
that way. If we take Jesus' humanity as seriously as we take his
divinity, however, it may make more sense to suggest that simply
because he had a certain "authority" (Luke 4:32), when push came
to shove - no pun intended - Jesus could walk through the midst
of those who thought he would be a pushover - pun intended.
This man, both fully human and fully divine, was on a mission no
one could stop.
God our loving Father, help us during Lent to come to a
deeper, more mature understanding of Jesus, your Son.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.21 | Tuesday Of The Third Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Tue Mar 08 1994 16:27 | 41 |
| Tuesday Of The Third Week Of Lent
A Community Of Worship
Then Peter came and said to him, "Lord, if another member
of the church sins against me, how often should I
forgive?"
- Matthew 18:21
In a world that encourages us to always think "I" and "me," the
Gospel leads us to think "we" and "us." We're all in this
together. There's no such thing as being a Christian in private.
There is no "God and me" off in a corner by ourselves, it's
always all of us together.
Lent leads us to repent of carrying individualism too far. Lent
leads us to renew our commitment to membership in the community
of God's people, the human race, because our relationships with
one another are tied directly to our relationship with God.
Jesus said, "where two or three are gathered in my name, I am
there among them" (Matthew 18:20). He did not say "when you are
isolated from others." Indeed, the message of salvation is
addressed to all of us together, as well as to each of us as
individuals. That's why God's forgiveness is tied to our
willingness to forgive one another.
This is why liturgy and worship are so communal in character. It
makes no sense to attend a public worship service as if we were
there alone. Lent is a good season to leave behind spiritual
privatism.
Lord Jesus, help us to draw closer to one another so that
we may draw closer to you.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.22 | Wednesday Of The Third Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Wed Mar 09 1994 17:51 | 40 |
| Wednesday Of The Third Week Of Lent
Grace Within Reach
...whoever does [these laws] and teaches them will be
called great in the kingdom of heaven.
- Matthew 5:10
Short story writer and novelist Flannery O'Connor wrote a book
titled The Violent Bear It Away, a line she took from an older
translation of Matthew 11:12: "From the days of John the Baptist
until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the
violent bear it away." O'Connor once heard from the owner of a
bookstore that someone called to ask if the bookstore had a copy
of Flannery O'Connor's book, "The Bear That Ran Away With It."
We, too, sometimes get our information scrambled. When Jesus
declares in Matthew's Gospel that he has not come to abolish the
Mosaic law, but to fulfill it, notice that he fulfills the law by
offering a new law - the Sermon on the Mount - which is not so
much a set of laws but a description of what the life of his
followers will look like if they are faithful to the Gospel.
Basic to Jesus' teaching are his words that we are called not
just to be aware of, reflect upon, or teach his way, but to
actually live it. There, of course, is the rub. The Gospel is
easy to talk about, difficult to live, but with the grace of God
it's well within our reach.
God our loving Father, help us to mediate on the word of
the Gospel prayerfully, but even more help us to live it
every day.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.23 | Thursday Of The Third Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Thu Mar 10 1994 17:16 | 38 |
| Thursday Of The Third Week Of Lent
Love In Action
Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does
not gather with me scatters.
- Luke 11:23
Lent slips in and out of our days and nights, and sin enters our
live in two ways, by things we do and things we don't do. The
Gospel calls us to actively choose a life of prayer and love in
action. There is no in-between. We're either hot or cold. Hop
on the hay wagon or get out of the way. If we don't choose for
ourselves a life based on faith then we choose something else,
and something else is bound to be bad news.
The tough part is to grasp what it means to be with Jesus in
terms of our everyday life, in our family, in our work, in our
friendships. Sometimes, of course, we can discern what to do or
say. But other times the loving thing to do isn't so clear, and
at such times all we can do is will that God's will be done and
entrust the person or situation to God's love.
If the only time we actively engage our faith and love for God
and neighbor is once a week when we slide into a pew in church,
our spirituality is a couple of fries short of a Happy Meal.
Lord Jesus, help us through prayer and mutual support to
draw closer to the way of life you would have your
disciples follow in today's world.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.24 | Friday Of The Third Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Fri Mar 11 1994 14:20 | 40 |
| Friday Of The Third Week Of Lent
Our "Other Selves"
..."to love [the Lord our God] with all the heart, and
with all the understanding, and with all the strength,"
and "to love one's neighbor as oneself," - this is much
more important than all whole burnt offerings and
sacrifices.
- Mark 12:33
When we get down to brass tacks, making sacrifices - "giving up"
whatever we may give up for Lent - has a goal we may overlook,
and that is to deepen our awareness that my neighbor is not
foreign to me but is, in truth, my other self. The reason for
Lent, and the disciplines of Lent, is to deepen our active love
for God and neighbor, which means the people we live and work
with. To do this is to "love my neighbor as myself."
It takes faith to believe that, in fact, my neighbor is my other
self. My spouse is my other self. My children are my other self.
The people I gather in church with are my other self, and so are
the people who gather in other places of worship, and those who
don't gather to worship at all. Even more challenging people I
don't particularly like are my other self, too. The two-year-old
or the teenager who drive me crazy is my other self. The person
who dents my car in the supermarket parking lot is my other self.
Jesus invites me, with the grace of God, to love these people,
too.
Spirit of God, help us to love you with our whole being
and to love those we live and work with as ourselves.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.25 | Saturday Of The Third Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Mon Mar 14 1994 16:46 | 41 |
| Saturday Of The Third Week Of Lent
A Threat To Happiness
Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for those
who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!"
- Luke 18:24
Stephen King is best known for novels designed to stand the
readers hair on end. Now and then, along the way he also offers
the occasional spiritual insight. For example, in his novel,
Needful Things, on of Stephen King's characters asks: "Why is it
that so many people think that all the answers are in their
wallet?"
We spend so much time thinking about money. We worry about not
having enough. We worry about not being able to pay our bills,
which sometimes follows the imprudent use of credit, that is
buying what we can't afford. More than that, we dream of having
vast amounts of money. State lotteries are immensely popular.
If only we could win the lottery, we think, all our worries would
be over.
Surely unemployment or not having enough income to live with a
modicum of financial security and comfort is a serious problem.
But the opposite extreme, being wealthy, can threaten one's
happiness now and in eternity. We who struggle to make ends meet
find this difficult to fathom, but it's true. Wealth is a
dangerous thing.
Spirit of God, help us to have the financial resources we
need to get along in the world, but help us to trust in
you alone.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.26 | Fourth Sunday Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Mon Mar 14 1994 16:57 | 38 |
| Fourth Sunday Of Lent
Jesus Saves
Indeed, God did not send the Son into world to condemn
the world, but in order that the world might be saved
through him.
- John 3:17
Sometimes we have this peculiar idea that judgment and
condemnation is what the Christian faith is about. We act as if
God sent his Son to judge and condemn and we darn well better be
frightened out of our wits about it most of the time. We can be
saved, but only if we live right, and we're not doing such a
great job of it so far.
Au contraire, as the French say. Jesus judges no one, and Jesus
condemns no one. "Jesus saves." And it's a good thing, too,
because the more aware we become of our sinfulness, the more
inclined we are to throw in the towel. Instead, being aware of
our sinfulness should lead us to place our hope in God alone. We
can save money in the bank, but we can't save ourselves. We
don't deserve it, scoundrels, rascals and cads that we are. But
our loving Father loves us and wants us to be with him now, in
this world, and for all eternity. All we have to do is accept
the invitation.
God our loving Father, help us to believe more deeply in
your loving concern for us, and help us to abandon
ourselves entirely to you.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.27 | Monday Of The Fourth Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Mon Mar 14 1994 17:20 | 42 |
| Monday Of The Fourth Week Of Lent
God's Children
Jesus said to him, "Go; your son will live." The man
believed the word that Jesus spoke to him...
- John 4:50
What did Jesus know about the joys and pains of parenthood? He
did not marry and he had no children. What did he know of what
takes place in the heart of a parent, from the birth of a child
until the child is grown? The joy and anguish of parenthood
never ends, and then your kids have kids and you get a whole new
set of ecstasies and agonies. But what did Jesus know of this?
Lent would beckon us to read through the Gospels with such
questions in mind and marvel of marvels, we discover important
occasions when Jesus responded with deep compassion and mercy to
parents whose children needed help. He heals children, he raises
them back to life, he embraces them. Jesus grew up in a family,
he had been a child himself, and he remembered..
Parents, Lent invites us to entrust our children, no matter what
their ages, into the care of the risen Christ, who cares. Our
children cover the spectrum from wonderfully gifted and
successful to struggling, afflicted, confused and disturbed.
But, while they are our children they are, even more, God's
children. During Lent we can make a special effort to pray: See
here, God our loving Father, these children of yours need you and
they need your help. How about it? Amen.
Lord Jesus, just as you responded with mercy to parents
when you walked this earth, so take care of our children
who need you now.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.28 | Tuesday Of The Fourth Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Tue Mar 15 1994 17:31 | 39 |
| Tuesday Of The Fourth Week Of Lent
Freedom In The Spirit
For this reason the Jews were seeking all the more to
kill him, because he was not only breaking the sabbath,
but was also calling God his own Father, thereby making
himself equal to God.
- John 5:18
Years ago, funnyman Bill Cosby used to tell a story about being
the father of an infant daughter. He explained that one thing he
would not do was change diapers. "Do not like surprises," he
quipped. Sometimes we're the same in our attitude toward Jesus.
We don't want him to do anything unexpected or outside the
boundaries. We don't want to question the established order.
"We've always done it this way." For Jesus, what mattered was not
established tradition but to allow the Spirit free rein so the
kingdom of God could become more present.
During Lent, the readings from Scripture remind us time after
time that the essence of faith is, by God's grace, to love God
and neighbor. If a law obstructs peace or a tradition bars
justice, perhaps they no longer serve their original purpose. If
obedience to a rule or regulation is a barrier to loving intimacy
with God and neighbor, perhaps that rule or regulation has
outlived its usefulness.
God our loving Father, help us to be faithful to you in
all things, and give us the courage to obey your will,
for in your will is our only peace.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.29 | Wednesday Of The Fourth Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Wed Mar 16 1994 17:04 | 41 |
| Wednesday Of The Fourth Week Of Lent
Pure Faith
Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and
believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not
come under judgment, but has passed from death to life.
- John 5:24
In his posthumously published journal, A Vow of Conversation, the
famous Trappist monk and author Thomas Merton wrote: "I heard and
I believed. And I believe that [God] has called me freely, out
of pure mercy, to His love and salvation. That at the end, to
which all is directed by His will, I shall see Him after I have
put off my body in death and have risen together with Him to take
up my body again. That at the last day all flesh shall see the
salvation of God.
Lent is a time to purify our faith, to realize anew that
ultimately our faith can be faith in God alone. We talk about
having faith in oneself, faith in the economy, faith in the
leaders of our church, faith in the leaders of our country. Many
people place a lot of faith in money. All the faith we place in
things other than God simply shows how weak our faith is. We
have the most difficult time believing that God called each of us
"freely, out of pure mercy, to his love and salvation." We find
it almost impossible to believe that we have already "passed from
death to life," and that therefore there is no further need to be
fearful and anxious. But with God's help we can do it.
God of faithful love, help us to place our faith in you
alone and to truly believe that we already have eternal
life.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.30 | Thursday Of The Fourth Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Thu Mar 17 1994 16:19 | 38 |
| Thursday Of The Fourth Week Of Lent
Give God The Glory
How can you believe when you accept glory from one
another and do not seek the glory that comes from the one
who alone is God.
- John 5:44
Matthew Gregory Lewis (1775 - 1818), an English author, wrote a
bestselling novel called Monk, and the author basked in the
adulation of high society. Lord Byron, the poet, saw Lewis one
day with red eyes and "air sentimental," and asked him what was
the matter. "I am so deeply affected by kindness," Lewis said,
"and just now the Duchess of York said something so kind to
me..." And the tears began to flow again. "Never mind, Lewis,"
said a colonel who was standing nearby, "never mind, don't cry.
She couldn't mean it."
We take the praise of others so seriously. Sometimes we go out
of our way to try to get others to praise what we have done. But
how much do we care that what we do be praiseworthy in the eyes
of God? Lent calls us to remember that human praise can be empty
and self-serving. We should accept a compliment politely but not
take it too seriously. The main question is: Does what we did
give glory to God, no matter in how small a fashion?
Lord God, help us to give glory to you in all things, and
help us to care for your approval beyond all human
praise.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.31 | Friday Of The Fourth Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Fri Mar 18 1994 17:06 | 41 |
| Friday Of The Fourth Week Of Lent
The Heart Of Everything
Then Jesus cried out as he was teaching in the temple,
"You know me, and you know where I am from. I have not
come on my own. But the one who sent me is true, and you
do not know him."
- John 7:28
Years ago, there was a popular book called Your God is Too Small.
The point of the book was to help the reader understand that many
ideas of God are either inadequate, unfaithful to Scripture, or
both. The author suggested that many people behave as if God
were a cosmic policeman. Others think of God as a Hanging judge"
devoid of all mercy. Many of us, the author said, try to put God
in a mental box, the better to contain control of God. If our
God is a clearly defined box, we won't have to be open to new
ideas about God.
In Jesus we see God alive among us, but it is impossible for the
tiny human intellect to ever God completely. St. Thomas Aquinas
said that the first thing we must say about God is that we can
say nothing. Then we may go about reflecting upon our experience
of the Divine Mystery. Because we can never fully understand
God, of course, that does not mean what we can never know God.
We can know God by love. We can experience God as the very heart
of everything else we experience. We can be lovingly intimate
with God in prayer, and we can be intimate with God by caring for
those with whom we live and work.
God our loving Father, help us to know you more each day;
help us to draw closer to you in love.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.32 | Saturday Of The Fourth Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Mon Mar 21 1994 16:50 | 38 |
| Saturday Of The Fourth Week Of Lent
Holy In The Ordinary
Others said, "This is the Messiah." But some asked,
"Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he?"
- John 7:41
We all have our own little Galilees. You think you can find God
in the middle of your workplace? Think again! Someone said that
I could pray while driving on the freeway to and from work, but I
just laughed. We cannot find God except in church. The best
place to find God is in a monastery. The Holy One is found only
in holy places!
These are fine-sounding ideas, except they're wrong. The Messiah
came from the most ordinary of places: Galilee. More than
ordinary, it had a reputation for being outside the mainstream, a
place where bumpkins lived. Maybe the people of Jesus' time
told "Galilean jokes." The Messiah could not possibly come from
there. Except he did. Just as we are likely to encounter the
Lord our God in the most unlikely places.
Lent is a time to open our eyes to the holy in the ordinary, to
repent of our prejudice that we must go someplace "holy" before
we can find God and commune with the Holy of Holies.
Loving God, help us to be more sensitive to your presence
in the ordinary times an places, and help us to turn to
you more often in the course of our everyday affairs.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.33 | Sunday Of The Fifth Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Mon Mar 21 1994 17:04 | 40 |
| Sunday Of The Fifth Week Of Lent
Begin Here And Now
I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in
me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me
you can do nothing.
- John 15:5
There are so many voices in our world today that cry out, "Apart
from me you can do nothing!" All we need do is watch television
for half an hour any time of the day or night and we hear
hucksters for everything from underarm deodorant to station
wagons. They declare, "Apart from me you can do nothing;" or
perhaps what they say is, "Apart from me you are nothing." On
the contrary, to take such things seriously can only lead to
spiritual death.
Jesus, for his part, reminds us during Lent that union with him
is the key to eternal life beginning here and now, and if we hope
to accomplish anything worthwhile in this world it can only be
through continuing unity with him.
A woman, age 80, said: "I was very busy during my lifetime. I
was a wife, a mother and a teacher, and I was always involved in
so many volunteer activities, especially after I retired. All
those things were good, but I failed to see what mattered most
was the love with which I did all the things I did. If I had
known that I would have given more time to prayer."
Spirit of God, help us to live in union with your Son,
Jesus, and to be guided by your Spirit in all that we do.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.34 | Monday Of The Fifth Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Mon Mar 21 1994 17:13 | 40 |
| Monday Of The Fifth Week Of Lent
Light Of The World
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the
world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness
but will have the light of life.
- John 8:12
A young family gathers for their simple Lenten evening meal. The
children are ages eight and six and three, and it is part of
being who they are to fidget. Everyone is seated, but before
they pray the oldest child lights a candle in the middle of the
table. All have witnessed this small ritual countless times, but
this evening it occurs to the middle child to ask, "Why do we
light a candle in the middle of the table?" This is just the
opening a parent waits for. "We light a candle in the middle of
the table to remind ourselves that Jesus is the light of the
world and that he is here with us all the time."
A man, age 73, sits down to the sandwich and soup he prepared for
himself. It's just one week since his wife of many years died.
It still seems strange to fix his own lunch, and the house seems
so empty. In the evenings, he sometimes lights two candles on
the mantel above the fireplace, and from that he takes some
comfort. The light from the candles reminds him that he and his
wife still go on together, only now their union is more
mysterious than ever.
Lord Jesus, you who are the light of the world, help us
to see life and the world only in the light that you give
us to see by.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.35 | Tuesday Of The Fifth Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Tue Mar 22 1994 14:28 | 39 |
| Tuesday Of The Fifth Week Of Lent
Not Of This World
He said to them, "You are from below, I am from above;
you are of this world, I am not of this world."
- John 8:23
When Jesus told his critics, those who would plot his death, that
he was "from above," while they were "of this world," he said as
much about us as he did about himself. Because we are really but
invisibly united with Jesus through baptism, whatever he says
about himself applies to us, as well. Therefore, we are meant to
be "from above" just as he was. In a very real way, we are to be
"not of this world." Lent is the ideal time to ponder what this
should mean for our everyday life.
Does being "from above" mean we are to be other-worldly and walk
around like spiritual space cadets? Hardly! Does being "not of
this world" mean that the concerns of this world are of no
concern to us? No way. The challenge of the Gospel is much
greater. We are to bring the truth and grace of the Gospel into
the world and do what we can to change the world around us.
Indeed, the example of our lives may well be a better form of
evangelization than preaching. As someone once said, Christians
are to proclaim the Gospel in everything they do and use words if
necessary.
Spirit of God, help us each day to live in and for the
world according to the spirit of the Gospel.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.36 | Wednesday Of The Fifth Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Wed Mar 23 1994 16:16 | 42 |
| Wednesday Of The Fifth Week Of Lent
Truths's Freedom
If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples;
and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you
free.
- John 8:31-32
Lent is the season par excellence for coming to a greater sense
of truth and the freedom it brings. We want to have a better
understanding of the truth about ourselves; that is, we want to
see ourselves as God sees us. And how does God see us? Because
in baptism we become brothers and sisters of the risen Christ,
God sees us in that way.
God loves each of us with a love that is endless and
unconditional. No strings attached. More often than not, this
is such good news that it seems too good to be true. Yet our
acceptance of this truth will bring freedom of mind and heart,
freedom not only from what hinders us, but freedom to actively
choose the path of true disciples of Christ.
It's easy to crave "freedom from" restraints, not so easy to
embrace "freedom to" act lovingly. If I'm free to live as a true
disciple of Christ, that means I'm free to stick my neck out now
and then. I'm free to take a risk based on faith, because that's
a big part of what faith means. I'm free to risk commitments to
others, and I'm free to risk depending on God instead of myself.
I'm free to risk believing in God's love for me instead of
believing in other people's opinion of me.
Lord Jesus Christ, help us truly to be your disciples so
that we may know the truth and the truth may set us free.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
|
| 862.37 | Thursday Of The Fifth Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Thu Mar 24 1994 17:56 | 44 |
| Thursday Of The Fifth Week Of Lent
How To Die Well
Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never
see death.
- John 8:51
William Saroyan, the great American writer of fiction and drama,
phoned the Associated Press in 1981 after he learned that he had
a terminal illness. He dictated this statement to be released
upon his death: "Everybody has got to die, but I have always
believed that an exception would be made in my case. Now what?"
With Saroyan, we leave death in the abstract when it come to
ourselves. After all, we haven't died yet, have we? Other
people die, not us. Then when it happens it comes as a shock,
instead of as a natural part of life, to be expected. "Death is
the fruit of a whole life," said Maximillian Kolbe, who died in
a World War II Nazi concentration camp.
Jesus not only showed us how to live, he showed us how to die.
But we tend to overlook the latter. Jesus put complete trust in
his heavenly Father because he knew that death is a
transformation, not an end. The end we call death is an ending
only the way a seed falling into the earth comes to an end. Just
as no one could predict the flower that comes from the plain
little seed, so no one can predict the new life we will discover
on the other side of death.
We take joy in the flower, and we will take joy in the completely
delightful experience that awaits us when we die.
God our loving Father, help us face up to the fact of our
own death and, by faith, to see beyond the life that
awaits us.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
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| 862.38 | Friday Of The Fifth Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Fri Mar 25 1994 18:51 | 37 |
| Friday Of The Fifth Week Of Lent
Faith In The Risen Christ
The Jews said, "It is not for a good work that we are
going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you,
though only a human, are making yourself God."
- John 10:33
Sometimes we wonder what Jesus looked like. We have questions
about the Jesus his first disciples knew. What kind of
personality did he have? For the most part, we will never know
the answers to these questions. Scripture scholars tell us that
there is no reason to believe that Jesus looked like anything but
an ordinary first-century Palestinian peasant, very much like the
people who populate that part of the world today.
Lent is a good season to renew our appreciation for what
theologians call "the Jesus of faith." It is not the "historical
Jesus" that matters so much, rather it is the risen Jesus present
and active in our midst and in the world today that matters. It
matters that Jesus was born and lived a human life, of course,
because that means that our own lives have a far greater value.
Still, it is the "Jesus of faith" that matters here and now, and
it is the risen Christ that we encounter in word, sacrament, and
one another.
Lord Jesus Christ, help us to give ourselves entirely to
you and to the service of your people here and now.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
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| 862.39 | Saturday Of The Fifth Week Of Lent | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Mon Mar 28 1994 19:15 | 38 |
| Saturday Of The Fifth Week Of Lent
Disciples Together
... Jesus was about to die for the nation, and not for
the nation only, but to gather into one the dispersed
children of God.
- John 11:51-52
Time after time, during Lent, the Scriptures remind us that
central to the Christian life is reconciliation among people and
the call for people to strive for unity. Love of God and
neighbor go hand in hand. There's no being a Christian in
isolation from others. We bring our relationships with other
people to our relationship with God, and we bring our
relationship with God to our relationships with other people. So
central is this truth that the Gospel of John declares hat the
reason Jesus died was to bring about unity among "the dispersed
children of God."
Lent carries a challenge, then, to work for unity not only among
Christians but among all of God's people. Of course, we need to
begin with those to whom we are closest, our family, our friends,
our wider community. Unity begins with families striving to
overcome the ways society scatters them today. Is there at least
one time each week when we can all be together?
Lord Jesus Christ, gather into one the members of your
family, beginning with our own family and spreading out
to encompass all of God's people.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
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| 862.40 | Passion Sunday / Palm Sunday | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Mon Mar 28 1994 19:25 | 40 |
| Passion Sunday / Palm Sunday
Teaching Us To Live
Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet,
not my will but yours be done.
- Luke 22:42
Today, through the Scriptures and the liturgy, we enter into the
Paschal Mystery with Jesus, the mystery of his death and
resurrection. Here we also encounter the mystery of our own
death and resurrection.
Jesus teaches us how to live. But part of the lesson Jesus
teaches includes showing us how to die so that we may share, too,
in his resurrection. Death is frightening, Jesus acknowledges.
His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane reveals that he did not
want to die. Still, he abandoned himself to the loving will of
his Father. He acknowledged that his own will might not be best,
so with complete trust he set aside his own will. In this, Jesus
shows us the attitude we need to have toward death, as well.
Death happens many times in our life, of course. Often we must
die to our own ego, our own preferences, in order to love others.
Often it can be an act of love to say to someone else, "This what
I would like, but this time I would like to do what you prefer."
This is one of the basics that makes a marriage, a family, a
community possible.
Lord Jesus, help us to learn from your attitude toward
death how we must accept our own death, and many little
deaths, in order to know eternal life even now.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
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| 862.41 | Monday Of Holy Week | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Mon Mar 28 1994 19:33 | 40 |
| Monday Of Holy Week
A Touching Gesture
Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard,
anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The
house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
- John 12:3
In all the Gospels, women often provide a witness that strikes
closer to the heart of the matter than do the men. As we begin
Holy Week, we will benefit if we pay close attention to how women
act throughout the drama of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Life isn't all nuts and bolts, and we need to be concerned about
more than just keeping our nose to the grindstone, the women of
the Gospels tell us. Bravado and saber-rattling are empty
gestures without genuine courage. Dollars and cents have their
limits. Style matters, aesthetics have their place, and
sometimes a symbolic gesture says volumes more than all the
abstractions we muster up.
Mary spends a lot of expensive perfume that has no practical
purpose whatsoever, and why? Perhaps because she understands,
somehow, that Jesus needs some simple human comfort. With a
gesture touching, warm, even sensual, she applies the perfume and
wipes Jesus' feet with her hair. All because it seems the right
thing to do, the caring thing to do.
God of tender compassion, help us to be impractical
sometimes in ways that will help us to love you and those
close to us more faithfully.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
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| 862.42 | Tuesday Of Holy Week | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Tue Mar 29 1994 18:10 | 37 |
| Tuesday Of Holy Week
Love Makes A Disciple
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if
you have love for one another.
- John 13:35
Lent quickly draws to a close, and as we approach the holiest
days in the Christian liturgical year we would do well to reflect
that when all is said and done, love is what it's all about.
Say a radio or television interviewer stopped people on the
street and asked, "How can you tell if someone is a Christian?"
Chances are people would identity things like going to church on
Sunday, reading the Bible, and praying. Some might say that
people are Christian if they "accept Jesus Christ as their
personal Savior." Others might say a person is a Christian if he
or she obeys the laws and teachings of the church.
The perspective of the Gospels is different. Love for one
another, that's what marks us as disciples of Jesus. Of course,
the Gospels mean active love in the real world, not love in
theory. Do the people we say we love actually _feel_ loved by
us?
Lord Jesus, help us to love one another in ways that make
a difference in people's lives, so we may truly be your
disciples.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
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| 862.43 | Wednesday Of Holy Week | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Thu Mar 31 1994 00:29 | 41 |
| Wednesday Of Holy Week
Denying Christ
Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot,
went to the chief priests and said, "What will you give
me if I betray him to you?" They paid him thirty pieces
of silver.
- Matthew 26:14-15
The story of the death of Jesus is a story of betrayal and greed.
Always we must ask ourselves, is there something of the betrayal
and greed of Judas in us? No one wants to identify with Judas, he
is such an evil character. Still, still... how often do we act
in ways that deny our faith and our relationship with Christ?
How often do we ration our love for God and neighbor, thus
denying our faith, if not for the thirty pieces of silver then
for "a more affluent livestyle," or to gain the admiration of
non-believers or those whose only religion is the cult of the
consumer culture?
As we face the final hours of Lent, the Gospel calls us to repent
of the ways in which we deny Christ and our faith for what cannot
last, for the glitter of cheap baubles or the insubstantial
security of what cannot ultimately be trusted. The Christ of
Lent invites us to trust in him alone, to give our heart to him
alone, and to follow him alone, even as he walks the way of the
cross and stretches out his hands for the nails. For this alone,
he says, is the way to eternal life, even in this life.
Lord Jesus Christ, by the grace of our baptism may we
follow you along the way of the cross, sharing in your
death that we might share in your resurrection.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
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| 862.44 | Holy Thursday | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Thu Mar 31 1994 19:33 | 38 |
| Holy Thursday
An Example Of Love
I have set you an example, that you also should do as I
have done to you.
- John 13:15
Jesus sets an example and directs his disciples, very simply, to
do as he has done. He washes the feet of his disciples, of
course. But everything we learn from the New Testament about
Jesus and his way forms the example we are to follow. As Jesus
became a servant and cared for us, so by God's grace, we are to
care for and serve one another. This is the heart of the Gospel
message and the heart of the lesson Lent teaches us.
"Do this in remembrance of me," (1 Corinthians 11:23-24) Jesus
said, and we may take this to mean not only that we are to follow
him in the Eucharist. Prior to this, "in remembrance of him" we
are to give ourselves to a life of servanthood, "washing one
another's feet" in countless ways, caring, loving, serving,
bearing one another's burdens. It is only when we "wash one
another's feet" that the Eucharist has the fullness of meaning
given it by Jesus at the Last Supper. "For I have set you an
example, that you also should do as I have done to you" (John
13:15).
Lord Jesus, help us to be your presence in our world
caring for one another, serving and loving without
calculating the cost.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
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| 862.45 | Good Friday | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Fri Apr 01 1994 15:40 | 41 |
| Good Friday
Love Speaks
When Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It is
finished." The he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
- John 19:30
Our journey to Jerusalem with Jesus is complete, and it leaves us
standing at the foot of the cross. But we do not stand there
alone. We are surrounded by countless fellow believers and, of
course, there are the women:"...standing near the cross of Jesus
were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of
Clopas, and Mary Magdalene" (John 19:25).
Good Friday is the culmination of Lent, the church's season of
repentance and conversion, and it is finished. We stand in the
shadow of the cross, waiting. The tomb is sealed, only faith
reveals that this is not the end. Still, everything is so dark.
Yet in the dark, love speaks, an eternal love that shows us how
to live and now shows up how to die. The sky is empty, we wait
in silence. It is finished.
What have we learned on our journey to Jerusalem? Do we know
ourselves better? Are we freer to respond to the guidance of the
Spirit in our daily life? Regardless, all around there are
echoes of liberation, rumors of grace. If we listen, angels on
their way, angels with a message of eternal joy and eternal
hope...
God our loving Father, we abandon ourselves to your love
on this day of darkness when your Son died for us and was
buried in the tomb.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
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| 862.46 | Holy Saturday/Easter Vigil | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Sat Apr 02 1994 15:33 | 39 |
| Holy Saturday/Easter Vigil
The In-Between Day
Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth,
who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here.
- Mark 16:6
The women who went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus had to
take the word of "a young man, dressed in a white robe" (Mark
16:5) that Jesus was raised and that he was going ahead of them
to Galilee, just as he had told them he would. Mary Magdalene,
Mary the mother of James, and Salome saw nothing but a huge stone
rolled back and the empty tomb donated by Joseph of Arimathea.
No wonder they were scared out of their wits. No wonder they
said nothing to anybody even though the mysterious young man - an
angel, surely - directed them to deliver a message to Peter and
the other disciples.
Holy Saturday is the in-between day. The somber mood of Good
Friday is over, but the resounding joy of Easter is yet to come.
Waiting, waiting, staring into an empty tomb. Wondering. Could
it be? The sun passes across the sky one time with no clear
messages; nothing is definite until the sun sets, the darkness
descends... and then will come the hour of fire and rejoicing in
the face of a mystery the human mind will never comprehend but
which the human heart embraces with eternal joy.
Lord Jesus, risen Christ, fill our hearts with the new
life won by your death and resurrection, and help us to
share this new life with the world.
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
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| 862.47 | Easter Sunday | SOLVIT::HAECK | Debby Haeck | Sun Apr 03 1994 22:27 | 47 |
| Easter Sunday
A Wonder To Tell
But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen
by her, they would not believe it.
- Mark 16:11
We make our way through Lent, and lo and behold, all of a sudden
it's Easter Sunday. Ah, we say, Spring is here. Baskets of
candy and gaily wrapped chocolate rabbits for the wee ones.
Easter egg hunts. In the old days, the ladies might have a new
"bonnet" for Easter. Ah, Easter.
Do we stop to reflect that Easter is so much more than this?
Easter Sunday makes an eternally cosmic explosion at the heart of
the universe and all creation. Resurrection! Ah, yes, Jesus was
raised from the dead. Wake up, cries the guardian of the dawn.
Resurrection! Do we simply smile sweetly at the children with
their chocolate bunnies and let it go at that?
"Resurrection," of course, is a troublesome word. Truth to tell,
we don't really know what it means. "Resurrection" happened to
Jesus, and it will happen to us, but we don't yet know exactly
what it means. We call the Resurrection a mystery, but that
solves nothing, because this mystery is an event that blasts an
opening in the created world order where God slips through the
wonders to tell.
That's what Easter is, a wonder to tell, a mystery we begin to
experience even now. It is a mystery that fires the faith of
those who believe in this "first raised" Jesus, and who believe
that after their death, they will see the face of God. A wonder
to tell, so let's tell it. Near and far.
Lord Jesus, Risen Christ, fill us with the power of your
risen life, that we might proclaim the wonders of your
Father's love by the way we live, day in and day out.
Amen
Re-typed w/o permission from "On To Jerusalem, Daily Meditations
and Prayers for Lent" by Mitch Finley.
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