God loves us. And He wants us to love Him. I said that yesterday and I'm repeating it today, because I am about to write about the seventh gift of the Holy Spirit, and it is one that gets a lot of preachers flak, especially when they don't sugar coat it to suit the palates of easy going Christians. The gift is Fear of the Lord. And it is a gift we really need in our lives because without it, we can end up losing the treasure that we've been looking at over the past week.
I recently watched a wonderful program on the cosmos (see introductory clip below; locate the others on http://www.youtube.com/) and couldn’t help but be awed at the realization that if the universe was so great, how much greater our God. And, despite our own insignificance—if we look at ourselves in relation to the canvas of the universe, we’re just a minute speck—we seem to think ourselves as masters of this universe. We’re not. God is. And it helps to have a healthy fear of Him, because as Scripture says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalms 111:10).
There are many Christian leaders these days who tell us that we don’t have to be afraid of God because His love is great, and so is His mercy. This is true, but it isn’t the complete truth. Yes, God's love is great. It is immense. So is God's mercy. It is vast. It is ongoing. It is limitless. Yet, it isn’t “infinite” as we commonly understand the word to be. God’s mercy, when not applied for reasons of sovereign grace, is dependent on the nature and sincerity of our repentance. True repentance involves turning our backs totally and completely on sin, giving up every thing that keeps us away from possessing the treasure that is the kingdom of heaven. And helping us ensure that we do not return to our old ways, like "a dog returning to its vomit" or a "pig returning to wallow in the mud" is the gift we are looking at today; a fear of what might happen if we do.
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:26-31)
There is going to be a day of judgment and not everybody is going to heaven. There is a place called hell, too, and no matter how vociferously we may protest the reality of hell, if we believe that the Bible is the Word of God, then we have to believe it its existence because the person who speaks about hell most of the time in the New Testament is the Word—Jesus—Himself! He is quite descriptive about it too, but we don't need to get into that here. It is enough if we understand what hell really is.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that “hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs” (CCC 1035). Without God we lose out on life and happiness. Without God, we lose out on the treasure we have found, because He is the treasure in the field. We lose Him when we reject God for the things of the world, not realizing that to be without Him for all eternity is something to be really afraid about! I mean, just think about it: we can't stand being depressed for one day, imagine not having any happiness, joy, peace, love, or hope for all eternity! That's what happens when we are separated from God. Fear of the Lord—perhaps more easily understood as Fear of Losing the Lord—is, therefore, a wise thing indeed.
I had begun this study with a few questions. I don't want to leave them unanswered, even though you have probably figured them out for yourself by now. The kingdom of heaven is God, Himself. Jesus. And although some of us, like the farmer in the field, find the kingdom by "accident", the knowledge of the kingdom is given only to the others who seek it. And we'd be well advised to do so.
May the Spirit be with you.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
The Isaiah Gifts: Piety
When I first read the parable of the Hidden Treasure (Matthew 13:44; also see previous posts), I let my mind wander through the possibilities of what the farmer might have done after he sold everything he had bought the field which contained the treasure? Did he dig up the treasure and take it to his new home? For sure! But after that, what? I figured he'd enjoy it for a while, then be consumed with the desire to share his treasure with his friends. Then, while they admired it, he would return to his field to see what else he could dig up.
I discovered Jesus six years ago (or is it seven?) and I remember being so happy at having found him I was on a cloud for days. I spent nearly all my time with him, talking to him, listening to him, learning from him, being loved by him, but within a few days I felt myself consumed with the desire to share him with others—and I did. I'd talk to everybody I met about Jesus, and while they were undoubtedly kicked at first to see this man who had denied God's existence for twenty five years now proclaiming him, I am sure I wore their patience thin after a while.
But that didn't stop me. I wanted to talk about him to more people and I went to my spiritual director asking him for permission to preach. "What will you preach about?" he asked amused. "Even the apostles were with Jesus for three years before they went out. You have not even spent a year with him."
"I'll preach the little I know," I said.
"And what is the little you know?" he asked.
"That God loves me," I answered. He studied me for a long moment, then told me I could go ahead.
I have not stopped preaching since then. I cannot. Because I have discovered the truth about the treasure—the kingdom of heaven—and I cannot keep it to myself.
The truth is that God loves me. He loves me tremendously. He loves me without condition. He doesn't care whether I am fat or thin, tall or short, ugly or handsome, smart or stupid, he loves me. I could be brown, black, white, even purple, he loves me. I could hurt him but that still doesn't change anything for him, he loves me.
When you encounter love like that, what do you do? Unless you have a heart of stone, you can only love him back. And when he asks you to love others like he loves you, what do you do? You can only love them the same way he does you. Unconditionally.
This understanding led me to an understanding of the gift of piety and how it works in making us holy. In one of his teachings on the gifts of the Holy Spirit during the Regina Coeli in May 1989, Pope John Paul II gave one of the best explanations of piety that I’ve ever come across and as I simply cannot say it any better, here are his words. “With the gift of piety,” the Holy Father wrote, “the Spirit heals our hearts of every form of hardness, and opens them to tenderness towards God and our brothers and sisters.
“Tenderness, as a truly filial attitude towards God, is expressed in prayer. The experience of one’s own existential poverty, of the void which earthly things leave in the soul, gives rise to the need to have recourse to God in order to obtain grace, help and pardon. The gift of piety directs and nourishes such need, enriching it with sentiments of profound confidence in God; trusted as a good and generous Father.
“Tenderness, an authentically fraternal openness towards one’s neighbor, is manifested in meekness. With the gift of piety the Spirit infuses into the believer a new capacity for love of the brethren, making his heart participate in some manner in the very meekness of the Heart of Christ. The “pious” Christian always sees others as children of the same Father, called to be part of the family of God which is the Church. He feels urged to treat them with the kindness and friendliness which are proper to a frank and fraternal relationship.
“The gift of piety further extinguishes in the heart those fires of tension and division which are bitterness, anger and impatience, and nourishes feelings of understanding, tolerance, and pardon. Such a gift is, therefore, at the root of that new human community which is based on the civilization of love.”
Amen.
Parable of the Hidden Treasure by Rembrandt (Eszterházy collection, 1871)
I discovered Jesus six years ago (or is it seven?) and I remember being so happy at having found him I was on a cloud for days. I spent nearly all my time with him, talking to him, listening to him, learning from him, being loved by him, but within a few days I felt myself consumed with the desire to share him with others—and I did. I'd talk to everybody I met about Jesus, and while they were undoubtedly kicked at first to see this man who had denied God's existence for twenty five years now proclaiming him, I am sure I wore their patience thin after a while.
But that didn't stop me. I wanted to talk about him to more people and I went to my spiritual director asking him for permission to preach. "What will you preach about?" he asked amused. "Even the apostles were with Jesus for three years before they went out. You have not even spent a year with him."
"I'll preach the little I know," I said.
"And what is the little you know?" he asked.
"That God loves me," I answered. He studied me for a long moment, then told me I could go ahead.
I have not stopped preaching since then. I cannot. Because I have discovered the truth about the treasure—the kingdom of heaven—and I cannot keep it to myself.
The truth is that God loves me. He loves me tremendously. He loves me without condition. He doesn't care whether I am fat or thin, tall or short, ugly or handsome, smart or stupid, he loves me. I could be brown, black, white, even purple, he loves me. I could hurt him but that still doesn't change anything for him, he loves me.
When you encounter love like that, what do you do? Unless you have a heart of stone, you can only love him back. And when he asks you to love others like he loves you, what do you do? You can only love them the same way he does you. Unconditionally.
This understanding led me to an understanding of the gift of piety and how it works in making us holy. In one of his teachings on the gifts of the Holy Spirit during the Regina Coeli in May 1989, Pope John Paul II gave one of the best explanations of piety that I’ve ever come across and as I simply cannot say it any better, here are his words. “With the gift of piety,” the Holy Father wrote, “the Spirit heals our hearts of every form of hardness, and opens them to tenderness towards God and our brothers and sisters.
“Tenderness, as a truly filial attitude towards God, is expressed in prayer. The experience of one’s own existential poverty, of the void which earthly things leave in the soul, gives rise to the need to have recourse to God in order to obtain grace, help and pardon. The gift of piety directs and nourishes such need, enriching it with sentiments of profound confidence in God; trusted as a good and generous Father.
“Tenderness, an authentically fraternal openness towards one’s neighbor, is manifested in meekness. With the gift of piety the Spirit infuses into the believer a new capacity for love of the brethren, making his heart participate in some manner in the very meekness of the Heart of Christ. The “pious” Christian always sees others as children of the same Father, called to be part of the family of God which is the Church. He feels urged to treat them with the kindness and friendliness which are proper to a frank and fraternal relationship.
“The gift of piety further extinguishes in the heart those fires of tension and division which are bitterness, anger and impatience, and nourishes feelings of understanding, tolerance, and pardon. Such a gift is, therefore, at the root of that new human community which is based on the civilization of love.”
Amen.
Monday, December 7, 2009
The Isaiah Gifts: Fortitude
Solomon was one of the wisest men in the world—some say the wisest—yet for all his wisdom he did some pretty foolish things. Like, for instance, marrying 700 women! Leave aside the practical difficulties inherent in this situation, what he did was in direct violation of the commands of God.
They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. (1 Kings 11:1-3).
What's the lesson here? That while wisdom will let us know the right thing to do, it will not ensure that we do the right thing. That requires a special gift: a gift of fortitude, or courage.
The farmer in the field (see previous entries), knew what he had to do—he had to sell all he had to possess the treasure and everything else around it. But how easy was it for him to do that—to get rid of everything he had? He wouldn't have had much of value. Perhaps a photo album with a thousand memories; a treasured keepsake from his deceased mother; an old couch that he spent hours in before the fireplace; a stamp album passed down through the generations .... It may not seem like much, but I am sure that he found it difficult. Just as we find it difficult to get rid of things we are attached to. It takes courage, tremendous courage, to do so and that's a gift we need in our lives.
A few days ago I spoke about the struggle I had in recommitting myself to God (see Hineni, Abba). What was the struggle about, really? I spend a lot of time in prayer. I spend a lot of my time in ministering to his people. I am extremely close to God and try to ensure that I live in His will. So why did I find it difficult to recommit? Because I knew that he was going to ask me to give up things again the moment I said "yes." And I didn't want to! Let me explain.
During the first few years after I had first committed myself to God, all I thought about was Him. I had lost all interest in the secular world and all it contained. I wouldn't watch movies, or read books, or do anything that was unspiritual, not because they were bad, but because they were a distraction from the mission I believe I had been called to.
Over the past few months, however, I discovered I was slowly slipping back into old habits, and they were starting to feel comfortable. Kinda like a warm, old blanket that you hadn't used for a while. Not a bad thing, really, except you eventually begin to like it, and there is the very real danger that you might like so much, you wanna stay snuggled under it. And that doesn't make God too happy. Not when there is work to be done. And he asks you to say, "Hineni" again. And you find it hard. Because it is painful to come out from under, to cut off the things you are attached to—be they people or possessions. And it takes a lot of courage to do so.
But then it's a gift that God will give us if we ask. And we need to ask. Because we are all called to give up everything for the kingdom of heaven. And we can't do it without the gift of fortitude.
They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. (1 Kings 11:1-3).
What's the lesson here? That while wisdom will let us know the right thing to do, it will not ensure that we do the right thing. That requires a special gift: a gift of fortitude, or courage.
The farmer in the field (see previous entries), knew what he had to do—he had to sell all he had to possess the treasure and everything else around it. But how easy was it for him to do that—to get rid of everything he had? He wouldn't have had much of value. Perhaps a photo album with a thousand memories; a treasured keepsake from his deceased mother; an old couch that he spent hours in before the fireplace; a stamp album passed down through the generations .... It may not seem like much, but I am sure that he found it difficult. Just as we find it difficult to get rid of things we are attached to. It takes courage, tremendous courage, to do so and that's a gift we need in our lives.
A few days ago I spoke about the struggle I had in recommitting myself to God (see Hineni, Abba). What was the struggle about, really? I spend a lot of time in prayer. I spend a lot of my time in ministering to his people. I am extremely close to God and try to ensure that I live in His will. So why did I find it difficult to recommit? Because I knew that he was going to ask me to give up things again the moment I said "yes." And I didn't want to! Let me explain.
During the first few years after I had first committed myself to God, all I thought about was Him. I had lost all interest in the secular world and all it contained. I wouldn't watch movies, or read books, or do anything that was unspiritual, not because they were bad, but because they were a distraction from the mission I believe I had been called to.
Over the past few months, however, I discovered I was slowly slipping back into old habits, and they were starting to feel comfortable. Kinda like a warm, old blanket that you hadn't used for a while. Not a bad thing, really, except you eventually begin to like it, and there is the very real danger that you might like so much, you wanna stay snuggled under it. And that doesn't make God too happy. Not when there is work to be done. And he asks you to say, "Hineni" again. And you find it hard. Because it is painful to come out from under, to cut off the things you are attached to—be they people or possessions. And it takes a lot of courage to do so.
But then it's a gift that God will give us if we ask. And we need to ask. Because we are all called to give up everything for the kingdom of heaven. And we can't do it without the gift of fortitude.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
The Isaiah Gifts: Counsel
The gift of counsel is not one that we use to counsel others; rather it is counsel that we ourselves receive from God—if we go to Him seeking it, that is.
We all face situations in life where difficult decisions need to be made, and we need help, especially help from on high. The farmer in the field (see previous blog entries) had a difficult decision to make after he discovered the treasure in the field. I can picture the man squatting there in the field, the open chest at his feet revealing the treasure within, considering his options. He wants to take it home and hide it, but something nags him about that decision, some sense that tells him that there is something very different about this treasure: it can't be tucked out of sight. And although Scripture doesn't say it, I imagine he seeks the help of God who replies, "Go, sell everything you have. You have to do that to possess this particular treasure and all that comes with it."
That is the cost of the treasure that is the kingdom of heaven. Everything we have.
A young man once approached Jesus asking what needed to be done to gain eternal life. Jesus said, "If you want to enter life, obey the commandments. 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself’”
“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Matthew 19:17-22).
The young man couldn't pay the price. Many of us can't either. It is too much for us to pay, attached as we are to the things of the world. So we hang on to these worldly pleasures, impermanent though they are, sacrificing the life that is eternal.
Some of us don't believe that there is a price to pay. After all salvation is free. Nothing else needs to be done. Perhaps Jesus's words will convince them: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26-27,33).
As we gain a deeper understanding of the parable of the treasure hidden in the field, we also begin to get a greater understanding of what is required of us. But how do we do what is required? By seeking the counsel of God who will give us advice about what needs to be done—and the grace to do it.
We all face situations in life where difficult decisions need to be made, and we need help, especially help from on high. The farmer in the field (see previous blog entries) had a difficult decision to make after he discovered the treasure in the field. I can picture the man squatting there in the field, the open chest at his feet revealing the treasure within, considering his options. He wants to take it home and hide it, but something nags him about that decision, some sense that tells him that there is something very different about this treasure: it can't be tucked out of sight. And although Scripture doesn't say it, I imagine he seeks the help of God who replies, "Go, sell everything you have. You have to do that to possess this particular treasure and all that comes with it."
That is the cost of the treasure that is the kingdom of heaven. Everything we have.
A young man once approached Jesus asking what needed to be done to gain eternal life. Jesus said, "If you want to enter life, obey the commandments. 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself’”
“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Matthew 19:17-22).
The young man couldn't pay the price. Many of us can't either. It is too much for us to pay, attached as we are to the things of the world. So we hang on to these worldly pleasures, impermanent though they are, sacrificing the life that is eternal.
Some of us don't believe that there is a price to pay. After all salvation is free. Nothing else needs to be done. Perhaps Jesus's words will convince them: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26-27,33).
As we gain a deeper understanding of the parable of the treasure hidden in the field, we also begin to get a greater understanding of what is required of us. But how do we do what is required? By seeking the counsel of God who will give us advice about what needs to be done—and the grace to do it.
Friday, December 4, 2009
The Isaiah Gifts: Wisdom
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5-6)
God once told Solomon to ask for whatever he wanted and in response the king asked for wisdom. “Give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong,” he said. It so pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked for this, and not wealth, that He gave him not only “a wise and discerning heart,” but also riches and honor (cf. 1 Kings 3:4-15). There was no king as wise as Solomon in all of Israel’s history (although that didn't stop him from doing some rather foolish things).
Let's return to the parable of the Hidden Treasure (see previous posts). The farmer digs out the chest and finds treasure in it that is valuable beyond belief. He is, undoubtedly, overjoyed. But he does something strange. He doesn't take it away, but puts it back into the ground! Why? It was his for the taking. In the days before Jesus, invasions by marauding armies were frequent and they would often loot and pillage entire towns and villages. So what the occupants of these towns and villages would do was bury their valuables under the ground. Unfortunately, what often happened was that the owners of the treasure would die, without letting anybody know where it had been buried. The land would pass on to somebody else, and nobody would know there was treasure hidden in it, until somebody stumbled across it. Now because the treasure did not actually belong to the owners, the law stated that it would become the property of whoever found it. Therefore, this farmer could just have easily taken the treasure home and not feel guilty about it, but he wants to make sure that he owns the treasure legitimately. Besides, he wants to do something else. He wants the entire field that contains the treasure because he suspects there is a lot more of it lying around. He realizes, even as he shovels the earth back over the chest that this is going to come at a price. The price is everything he owns. But he is a wise man who decides it is worth it.
I think all of you who have been traveling with me on this little journey are beginning to realize where we are headed with all this. The treasure which the man found is representational of the kingdom of heaven, which is Jesus himself. What do we do when we discover this kingdom? Say, "That's great news!" (or good news, if you prefer), and then get on with our lives? Or do we understand the value of what we have found and, therefore, get rid of all the excess baggage we have been carrying (which is everything we have, really), so that we can possess the kingdom in its entirety?
Paul discovered this treasure on the way to Damascus and he did what the farmer in the field did, which is sell everything he had. As he would say later in his letter to the Philippians, "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ." (Philippians 3:8)
Have you discovered the treasure that is Christ? And having discovered it, have you realized its value? And having realized that, have you gotten rid of everything else you have as rubbish?
If yes, you've got the gift of wisdom.
God once told Solomon to ask for whatever he wanted and in response the king asked for wisdom. “Give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong,” he said. It so pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked for this, and not wealth, that He gave him not only “a wise and discerning heart,” but also riches and honor (cf. 1 Kings 3:4-15). There was no king as wise as Solomon in all of Israel’s history (although that didn't stop him from doing some rather foolish things).
Let's return to the parable of the Hidden Treasure (see previous posts). The farmer digs out the chest and finds treasure in it that is valuable beyond belief. He is, undoubtedly, overjoyed. But he does something strange. He doesn't take it away, but puts it back into the ground! Why? It was his for the taking. In the days before Jesus, invasions by marauding armies were frequent and they would often loot and pillage entire towns and villages. So what the occupants of these towns and villages would do was bury their valuables under the ground. Unfortunately, what often happened was that the owners of the treasure would die, without letting anybody know where it had been buried. The land would pass on to somebody else, and nobody would know there was treasure hidden in it, until somebody stumbled across it. Now because the treasure did not actually belong to the owners, the law stated that it would become the property of whoever found it. Therefore, this farmer could just have easily taken the treasure home and not feel guilty about it, but he wants to make sure that he owns the treasure legitimately. Besides, he wants to do something else. He wants the entire field that contains the treasure because he suspects there is a lot more of it lying around. He realizes, even as he shovels the earth back over the chest that this is going to come at a price. The price is everything he owns. But he is a wise man who decides it is worth it.
I think all of you who have been traveling with me on this little journey are beginning to realize where we are headed with all this. The treasure which the man found is representational of the kingdom of heaven, which is Jesus himself. What do we do when we discover this kingdom? Say, "That's great news!" (or good news, if you prefer), and then get on with our lives? Or do we understand the value of what we have found and, therefore, get rid of all the excess baggage we have been carrying (which is everything we have, really), so that we can possess the kingdom in its entirety?
The conversion of St. Paul by Carvaggio
Paul discovered this treasure on the way to Damascus and he did what the farmer in the field did, which is sell everything he had. As he would say later in his letter to the Philippians, "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ." (Philippians 3:8)
Have you discovered the treasure that is Christ? And having discovered it, have you realized its value? And having realized that, have you gotten rid of everything else you have as rubbish?
If yes, you've got the gift of wisdom.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The Isaiah Gifts: Understanding
There are a lot of rather interesting coversations that take place between Jesus and his apostles, but perhaps the strangest is the one we find narrated in Matthew 16:5-12.
When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.” Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Jesus makes a rather ambiguous remark about the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees, which the apostles, not surprisingly, don't understand. They think he is speaking about bread. Jesus scolds them for not understanding, then makes a series of references to the miracles he had just performed, before asking them: How is it that you don't understand that I was not talking to you about bread? I have read all that Jesus said here about a hundred times and still can't understand how anybody is supposed to arrive at the conclusion he wants them to arrive at. But, bewilderingly, it now all makes perfect sense to the apostles!
This is the gift of understanding Isaiah speaks about; when you understand what God is saying even if it seems totally baffling. Like the parable we have been looking at. Let's look at it again:
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."
What do you understand from it? If this is the first or second time you are reading it, probably little. How do we begin to understand these parables? The best way is to put ourself in the picture, so let us—in our mind's eye—travel to that field. It is an ordinary field. There is nothing to distinguish it from thousands of other fields around the world. In the middle of the field walks a man. He is an ordinary man. There is nothing to distinguish him from thousands of other men in the world. He is plowing the field. It is a hot afternoon, and the sun blazes overhead. He sweats, waiting for the day to get over, so that he can go home and have a refreshing shower followed by a hot meal with his family.
As he is plowing, his plow suddenly hits something hard in the ground making him stop. He curses, thinking he has hit another rock. He gets down to his knees and begins digging the earth with his bare hands. To his surprise, he doesn't find a rock, but a chest that looks like it might contain treasure. His heart beating fast, he pulls it up out of the ground, wondering if he has found something valuable.
He opens it, and there before his eyes lies treasure more valuable that he could ever have dreamed of in his wildest imagination. Even if he had worked for a thousand years, he could not have earned the wealth that lay before him now. He was rich! So what does he do? Take it home and show it to his wife and celebrate his new fortune? No! He puts it back into the ground, covers it with earth again, goes home, takes an inventory of everything he owns, sells it all, comes back and buys that field so that he could own that treasure and everything else the field contains!
The kingdom of heaven is like that treasure. Is understanding coming?
When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.” Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Jesus makes a rather ambiguous remark about the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees, which the apostles, not surprisingly, don't understand. They think he is speaking about bread. Jesus scolds them for not understanding, then makes a series of references to the miracles he had just performed, before asking them: How is it that you don't understand that I was not talking to you about bread? I have read all that Jesus said here about a hundred times and still can't understand how anybody is supposed to arrive at the conclusion he wants them to arrive at. But, bewilderingly, it now all makes perfect sense to the apostles!
This is the gift of understanding Isaiah speaks about; when you understand what God is saying even if it seems totally baffling. Like the parable we have been looking at. Let's look at it again:
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."
What do you understand from it? If this is the first or second time you are reading it, probably little. How do we begin to understand these parables? The best way is to put ourself in the picture, so let us—in our mind's eye—travel to that field. It is an ordinary field. There is nothing to distinguish it from thousands of other fields around the world. In the middle of the field walks a man. He is an ordinary man. There is nothing to distinguish him from thousands of other men in the world. He is plowing the field. It is a hot afternoon, and the sun blazes overhead. He sweats, waiting for the day to get over, so that he can go home and have a refreshing shower followed by a hot meal with his family.
He opens it, and there before his eyes lies treasure more valuable that he could ever have dreamed of in his wildest imagination. Even if he had worked for a thousand years, he could not have earned the wealth that lay before him now. He was rich! So what does he do? Take it home and show it to his wife and celebrate his new fortune? No! He puts it back into the ground, covers it with earth again, goes home, takes an inventory of everything he owns, sells it all, comes back and buys that field so that he could own that treasure and everything else the field contains!
The kingdom of heaven is like that treasure. Is understanding coming?
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
The Isaiah Gifts: Knowledge
Today's first reading at Mass was from Isaiah 11, where we find the prophet speaking about the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD—
and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. (Isaiah 11:2-3)
These are the gifts of sanctification, also referred to as the Isaiah gifts. (Note that while the Hebrew text of Isaiah lists only six gifts, with fear of the Lord mentioned twice, the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations list seven, with “piety” replacing the repeated occurrence of “fear of the Lord.”). The purpose of these gifts—wisdom, understanding, counsel, might (or fortitude), knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord—are to make us more like Jesus.
A teaching on these gifts comprises one of the lessons in the HSI School of Discipleship, and I was invited to speak about them at one of our communities a couple of months ago. Wanting to make it a little easier for the members to understand, I spent some time that morning asking God for help and found myself being led to think a bit deeper about a short little parable that Jesus taught in Matthew 13:44.
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."
By the time I got up from my knees I had my teaching ready. I share it with you here, a gift a day (or two). But let me first reorder these gifts for the purpose of this lesson:
Knowledge
Understanding
Wisdom
Counsel
Might/Fortitude
Piety
Fear of the Lord
In Matthew 13, we see Jesus begin to speak in parables, referring in all of them to the "kingdom of heaven". The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. (Matthew 13:10-11).
What is this knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven? Who is it given to? Why isn't it given to everybody? The parables help to explain that, including this little one that we are using to illustrate the gifts of the spirit: The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field .....
We will discover what this knowledge is by the time we come to the end of this study. Stay with me on this one; you won't regret it, I promise :)
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD—
and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. (Isaiah 11:2-3)
These are the gifts of sanctification, also referred to as the Isaiah gifts. (Note that while the Hebrew text of Isaiah lists only six gifts, with fear of the Lord mentioned twice, the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations list seven, with “piety” replacing the repeated occurrence of “fear of the Lord.”). The purpose of these gifts—wisdom, understanding, counsel, might (or fortitude), knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord—are to make us more like Jesus.
A teaching on these gifts comprises one of the lessons in the HSI School of Discipleship, and I was invited to speak about them at one of our communities a couple of months ago. Wanting to make it a little easier for the members to understand, I spent some time that morning asking God for help and found myself being led to think a bit deeper about a short little parable that Jesus taught in Matthew 13:44.
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."
By the time I got up from my knees I had my teaching ready. I share it with you here, a gift a day (or two). But let me first reorder these gifts for the purpose of this lesson:
Knowledge
Understanding
Wisdom
Counsel
Might/Fortitude
Piety
Fear of the Lord
In Matthew 13, we see Jesus begin to speak in parables, referring in all of them to the "kingdom of heaven". The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. (Matthew 13:10-11).
What is this knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven? Who is it given to? Why isn't it given to everybody? The parables help to explain that, including this little one that we are using to illustrate the gifts of the spirit: The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field .....
We will discover what this knowledge is by the time we come to the end of this study. Stay with me on this one; you won't regret it, I promise :)
Monday, November 30, 2009
Ascend / Lenny LeBlanc
Ascend. Any Christian mountain climber will love this song by Lenny LeBlanc, and the album itself (All for Love) has enough gems to justify purchasing it.
Who will ascend to the mountain of the Lord?
Who will ascend to the mountain of the Lord?
We will ascend to the mountain of the Lord,
Generation, pure and holy.
I will not bow down to the idols of this world,
My heart belongs to only you,
My voice will cry out, forever give you praise,
My King of Glory, My King of Glory.
Only your blood can wash these stains from my hands,
You are the God of my salvation,
No one but you could ever purify my heart,
I need your mercy, I need your mercy.
Who will ascend to the mountain of the Lord?
Who will ascend to the mountain of the Lord?
We will ascend to the mountain of the Lord,
Generation, pure and holy.
I will not bow down to the idols of this world,
My heart belongs to only you,
My voice will cry out, forever give you praise,
My King of Glory, My King of Glory.
Only your blood can wash these stains from my hands,
You are the God of my salvation,
No one but you could ever purify my heart,
I need your mercy, I need your mercy.
When God says Hineni
Yesterday, I spoke about how we need to say Hineni (Here I am!) to God and how difficult that can be, given all the statement implies. We can take encouragement from the knowledge that God, too, says Hineni to us. In Isaiah 58:9, he says:
Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
God promises that when we call him, he too will stand still and listen to whatever we ask him to do. It is a tremendous promise that even surpasses the one he makes in John 15:7, where Jesus says, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you."
But the promise is not without reservation. The verses that Isaiah writes preceding this read:
“Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the house of Jacob their sins.
For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.
‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.
Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD?
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
God promises that when we call him, he too will stand still and listen to whatever we ask him to do. It is a tremendous promise that even surpasses the one he makes in John 15:7, where Jesus says, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you."
But the promise is not without reservation. The verses that Isaiah writes preceding this read:
“Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the house of Jacob their sins.
For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.
‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.
Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD?
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Hineni, Abba
Every once in a while an event takes place in a persons life that results in a change that can only be described as dramatic. There have been several such instances in my life, especially over the last few years, but the most recent one took place just a few days ago. A bunch of musicians and worship leaders from the HSI ministry had accompanied me to a worship conference conducted by Paul Wilbur. While much of the workshop was targeted at the musicians, just before the session concluded Wilbur came and gave a short talk on worship that had me spinning for the next 48 hours. What got me going was what he said about hineni, which in Hebrew means, "Here I am".
This was Abraham's response to God when God called out to him. “Here I am,” he replied (Genesis 22:1). But Abraham was doing more than state his location. He was saying: "Here I am, standing before you with deep humility. You have my full attention. All that I have is at your disposal. I am ready, willing and able to do whatever it is you ask me to. Here I am, Lord."
And in reply God asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac as a burnt offering.
Abraham didn't wilt. The very next morning he saddled his donkeys and along with Isaac and two servants he set out for the place God had told him about, ready to sacrifice his son who was born after years of waiting. And he would have done it too, had not the hand of the Lord stopped him.
"Here I am," he had said. "Hineni." And had meant it.
I had said "Hineni" to God soon after my conversion seven years ago and the result of that is the man you see today. But I knew he wanted me to say it again now, with the deeper understanding I had just been given of what the statement truly implied, and I shocked myself by finding myself unable to. I didn't want to say it because I was afraid of what I knew would follow.
I lay in bed last night, my body wracked in pain as muscles that hadn't been used in ages protested the vigorous exercise they had been given when I had gone swimming earlier in the day. Unable to sleep, I tossed and turned, struggling as much with the mental anguish of what God was asking me to do as the physical pain, until finally, I dropped to my knees by the side of my bed and said, "Hineni, Abba". A while later when I crawled back into bed, I wasn't too surprised that my pain had completely disappeared, and the sleep that followed was peaceful and restful. I believe Abraham slept easily that night God spoke to him too.
Hineni, Abba.
This was Abraham's response to God when God called out to him. “Here I am,” he replied (Genesis 22:1). But Abraham was doing more than state his location. He was saying: "Here I am, standing before you with deep humility. You have my full attention. All that I have is at your disposal. I am ready, willing and able to do whatever it is you ask me to. Here I am, Lord."
And in reply God asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac as a burnt offering.
Abraham didn't wilt. The very next morning he saddled his donkeys and along with Isaac and two servants he set out for the place God had told him about, ready to sacrifice his son who was born after years of waiting. And he would have done it too, had not the hand of the Lord stopped him.
"Here I am," he had said. "Hineni." And had meant it.
I had said "Hineni" to God soon after my conversion seven years ago and the result of that is the man you see today. But I knew he wanted me to say it again now, with the deeper understanding I had just been given of what the statement truly implied, and I shocked myself by finding myself unable to. I didn't want to say it because I was afraid of what I knew would follow.
I lay in bed last night, my body wracked in pain as muscles that hadn't been used in ages protested the vigorous exercise they had been given when I had gone swimming earlier in the day. Unable to sleep, I tossed and turned, struggling as much with the mental anguish of what God was asking me to do as the physical pain, until finally, I dropped to my knees by the side of my bed and said, "Hineni, Abba". A while later when I crawled back into bed, I wasn't too surprised that my pain had completely disappeared, and the sleep that followed was peaceful and restful. I believe Abraham slept easily that night God spoke to him too.
Hineni, Abba.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
History Rising
Voices were raised in unison this evening in shouts of praise as Christians from all sides of the divide got together in the Dubai Tennis Stadium for an evening of soul stirring worship led by messianic singer Paul Wilbur. This was history in the making, as he became the first singer to ever perform in a public arena in the Middle East. HSI didn't organize the event (although I very much wish we had), but we did our best to help those who did — a group named Voice — make it a success, understanding that in events like these lie opportunities to end the divide that separates Christians from each other.
We, unfortunately, couldn't help much. We got the approval of Church elders, as regulations required, to involve ourselves in this project. Bishop Paul Hinder, who is a wise man and understands all too well the need for ecumenical endeavours, said he had no problem with this event, or of our own involvement with it. Fr. Tomasito Venaracion, parish priest of St. Mary's Church, is a wise man too. Although he knew that there could be repurcussions working with us (it is public knowledge that certain people in positions of power are allergic to us), he gave us the go ahead as well, showing himself to be a courageous man too. But that is as far as it went.
The details of what happened can be found, for whenever history finds the need for it, in the records of my correspondence with the Bishop, but for now there is no need to go public with the rather disgusting sequence of events that took place. What is important for the public record is the concert itself that took place tonight (November 24). It was an event that will live on in the memories of all those who attended as evidence of what God does when his children come together as one family. Something in the very atmosphere of the city changed, and by the end of it, when Paul Wilbur declared that Dubai had become a city of praise, everybody said, Amen.
We, unfortunately, couldn't help much. We got the approval of Church elders, as regulations required, to involve ourselves in this project. Bishop Paul Hinder, who is a wise man and understands all too well the need for ecumenical endeavours, said he had no problem with this event, or of our own involvement with it. Fr. Tomasito Venaracion, parish priest of St. Mary's Church, is a wise man too. Although he knew that there could be repurcussions working with us (it is public knowledge that certain people in positions of power are allergic to us), he gave us the go ahead as well, showing himself to be a courageous man too. But that is as far as it went.
The details of what happened can be found, for whenever history finds the need for it, in the records of my correspondence with the Bishop, but for now there is no need to go public with the rather disgusting sequence of events that took place. What is important for the public record is the concert itself that took place tonight (November 24). It was an event that will live on in the memories of all those who attended as evidence of what God does when his children come together as one family. Something in the very atmosphere of the city changed, and by the end of it, when Paul Wilbur declared that Dubai had become a city of praise, everybody said, Amen.
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