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Do we really love God’s commands? For many people, the commandments have become God’s “suggestions.” Corporate theft has become so common it no longer rates headlines. Adultery??? It’s so common many have forgotten that it’s one of the “thou shalt nots” and violence in word and deed is rampant and no one seems to remember “thou shalt not kill.” The media delights in leading us in the way of covetousness. After all, don’t we all need fancy cars and expensive vacations? We forget God’s message, echoed by Jesus, to take care of the poor while we indulge in luxury. Putting God first, refraining from cursing, keeping Holy the Sabbath, respect for authority, eliminating violence, fidelity in marriage, honesty in word and action and being satisfied with the gifts we have without envy of others, are all proscribed by the commandments but seem to have gone out of favor in today’s world. It can be difficult to do the right thing when all around us say that this is old fashioned, that the commandments were meant for a different time and place. Yet, theologians of every denomination tell us that these are actually the basis for any civilized society. Perhaps, the lack of adherence to the commandments is the reason our civilization has become so less civilized! We need to get back to basics and reexamine our lives in respect to the commandments. As I began this reflection, do I really love God’s law?

Heb 11:1-3This passage gives us the connection between faith and hope. When I turn on a lamp, it is with faith. When my son turns on a lamp it is with the knowledge of an electrician. Faith is based on the unknown, once we have knowledge we no longer need faith. We were not there when the world was created, we have no knowledge of how it was done. But we believe, we have hope, that God is the author of creation. We were not there to walk with Jesus and listen to his preaching about the kingdom, but we have faith based on the word of God we find in Scripture. We trust the writings of the apostles. We have hope in his message.

Faith is an interesting virtue. What gives us the ability to have faith? Actually it begins in our infancy. We learn faith from our parents. Parents who tend to their child’s needs teach that child that there is someone who can be depended on. This gives them courage to believe. If you have ever known a child whose parents were not present or neglectful, you know that this child has a problem depending on anyone but himself. This inability to trust, to have faith, in anyone can last into adulthood, bringing many problems into his life. When you think about it, parents are the gods in a child’s life. The first prayer most of us learn is the Lord’s Prayer. How does it begin? Our Father, who art in heaven. If our parents have taught us to be fearful of them or to be unable to depend on them, what must they think of God? Faith must also be nurtured. By sharing with others the ways in which God has worked in our lives, we are nurturing the faith of others. When we listen to the faith stories of others, our faith is nurtured. May we always give witness to the faith and hope that lives in our hearts. Amen.

What will I render to God for all his benefits? Have you ever tried to write down all the blessings and benefits that God has given you? When I try to count my blessings, I wind up thinking of something else just when I think I’ve finished. First, I thank God for each day that I wake up. Sometimes I’m hurting from or I have a headache, or a cold, etc. But I woke up. I have a roof over my head and I pray for those who do not. I give thanks for the food in my refrigerator and again, I am reminded of those who wake up hungry and don’t know what they will eat that day. I do give to organizations that actually spend their donations on the poor, and am grateful that I have enough to do that. I have a family that is doing well with a few members that are struggling with finding work and pray that they will find a job soon. The older I get, I find that I am loosing friends who have returned to the Father, and I pray for them as well as for those still fighting the battle of aging. I am grateful that I have the freedom to worship my God in whichever way I choose and I make sure that I do not take this for granted, so I show up on Sunday! I have vowed to follow Jesus and I don’t take that vow lightly. I’m sure that you have many of the same blessings that I do. Although there may be many of you who also have the blessing of youth! Today, take some time and count your blessings and benefits and decide how you will give thanks to God and what sacrifice you will offer in thanksgiving. Thank you JESUS for the gift and benefits of the good things of life I am enjoying, I can’t thank you enough my God. THANK YOU JESUS.

With one small act of disobedience, sin entered the world. Do you ever wonder what induced Eve and then Adam to eat of the forbidden fruit? You have to admit that the serpent was sneaky! He didn’t say that they would get rich or famous, he came at them through their desire to be more than they were, he said they would be like God. Well he was right about one thing; they discovered the difference between good and evil. Original sin! Which was the original sin – eating the fruit of the tree or wanting to be God? Let’s face it, this goes right to the heart of the first commandment – you shall have no other gods before me – not even yourself! Could you resist the idea of being God, could I? I like to think no, but then I remember when I put myself and my own wants or needs before God. Satan is still up to his old tricks every day tempting us with ways of trying to be God. I am reminded of the story of Snow White. The wicked queen is jealous of Snow White and sets out to destroy her. First, she pretends to need her help and then offers her the reddest and shiniest apple in her basket. Satan can begin by working on our compassion and then offers the poison. All temptation looks good and that is why we fail.

Mark 7:14-16. Mark’s gospel continues with a list of those things that defiles a man: evil thoughts, sexual sins, thefts, murders, adulteries, coveting, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride and foolishness. Take a good look at the list. How many of these evils are now in vogue as opposed to being considered to be sins. The ads we see are designed to make us covet our neighbor’s goods, lifestyle and often, his wife. People climb all over others to get to the top at all cost in business. Pride makes us think that we deserve more than our share and there’s no point in talking about fornication or adultery because we are so past seeing the wrongdoing in either of those. Just listen to the music, watch a movie or television program, not to mention the ads, and we get the picture that this is just normal behavior. Jesus was quite specific in this teaching. Just because everyone is doing it, does that make it right? No wonder our world is in such a mess. Do today’s Christians even read the Bible? If so, how do we justify our actions or turn a blind eye to the actions of others? Let us take a good look at what “comes out of us” and make sure that we eliminate anything that defiles us and makes us unholy.

Luke 2:21-24. What does it take to be “Family?” For me, it means love, forgiveness, compassion, courage and sacrifice. Today we see Mary and Joseph bringing the baby Jesus to the temple to complete the purification rites according to the law of Moses. They are greeted there by Simeon, who realizes that he is in the presence of the promised Messiah, and by Anna, who has spent many years worshipping in the temple and also seems to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. What must Mary have thought when Simeon told her that a “sword would pierce her heart” even as this child was to do great things? As a mother, I am sure that every parent’s heart is pierced by a sword at some time or another. I am equally sure that every adult and child’s heart will at some time also be pierced by a sword because that is the price of love. The broader our definition of family, the more we are called to be open to suffering. We have our nuclear family, our extended family, our friends, our neighborhoods, our parish, our community and also the all-inclusive family of God. Our hearts break when we hear of tragedies even when we don’t know the people involved. We work to end violence and discrimination even when we are not the victims. The poet John Donne said it well in his poem, “No Man Is An Island.” We are all connected to each other. When Mary said, “Yes,” to the angel and Joseph welcomed Mary and the child yet to be born into his home, they both knew at some level that there would be sacrifices to make. This did not stop them from accepting what was to come. Let us all pray for our families in a special way today – living and dead, far and near, known and unknown to us, because God has called all families to be “Holy” as love abound in each home. Oh Lord bless us and our families, give us the grace to be forgiving and accepting of the fault and failings of those we love. Help us to reach out to other families who are in need. We thank you for giving us the example of Joseph and Mary and they nurtured your son, Jesu our Lord and Messiah. Amen.

Matthew 23:1-3. Of course, this could also be called, “Practice what you preach!” Today’s gospel reading gives us several directions in which to go. Humility would be another direction from the one I have chosen, but in our world today, it is so hard for children to distinguish right from wrong, that I settled on this topic.

Think of the difficulty today in teaching sexual morality to preteens and teens. I am appalled at many of the television programs that completely ignore the Scripture’s teachings and promote bed-hopping with no thought given to the damage this does psychologically to young people. Our children don’t see that there is anything wrong in that as “everybody does it these days.”

How many times have you heard parents swearing at their children for using foul language? Stealing is wrong, but it’s okay to bring home supplies from the office; lying is a sin, but I’m not going to tell you the truth if it gets me into trouble or makes you think less of me. Jesus called the scribes and Pharisees hypocrites. How we would hate to have that term used for us, but we all need to take stock once in a while and do a self-check. Am I a living example of how I want my children, my grandchildren, or others who know me as a Christian to live? If the answer is “no” then what can I do to make sure that what I say, I also do. Give us the strength of Lord to follow your path and also do as you have taught and commanded us to do. Amen.

Matthew 8:28-32. The Gospel speaks of Jesus driving out demons and we are still in need of this! True, we can think of personal demons such as drug abuse and alcohol addiction etc, but what of more systemic demons such as violence and discrimination, poverty, hunger and greed. We have been commissioned as disciples of Jesus in order that we may carry on his mission. I can already hear the wheels turning: How can I make a difference? The answer is one day at a time. Every journey begins with one step at a time. For those who may be affected by a personal demon, there is help available once we recognize that we can’t do it alone but with Jesus on our side and surrending to his authority we can do it. For systemic demons, it’s a little harder, but we can choose to be part of the problem or part of the solution. Doing nothing is being part of the problem. Let’s take violence. Think about your language. Are your words hurtful or helpful? Do you put people down or raise them up? The tongue is the first line of defense when it comes to violence. We may not be able to stop the violence in the world, but we can limit it in our homes, our neighborhoods, our city, and in our local communities. Once kindness replaces violence, it will be easier to replace discrimination with respect, poverty and hunger with sufficiency and greed with temperance. We each have a role to play in driving out today’s demons, are you up to it? Lord help us to be part of solution to casting out the demons in our lives as we live each day. Help us rid ourselves of prejudice and discrimination. Give us the courage to ask for help to end our addictions and give us the strength to face the demons in the world as we work for change. Amen.

Matthew 7:7-11. Today’s gospel passage makes it seem so simple! Ask God for what you want and you’ll get it; look for what you want and you’ll find it; just knock and doors will be opened unto you. However, Jesus reminds us that God is a good father and will not give us what is wrong for us! When you were young, did you ever ask your parents for something that was just not right for you? Perhaps your children have done the same to you. You don’t give a baby a steak, nor do you give a toddler a 10 speed bicycle. You wouldn’t let your children look for milk in the cabinet where you keep your cleaning supplies. But sometimes we are looking for what we think we need in all the wrong places and wrong time. Yes, Jesus tells us to keep asking for what we need and we will receive it, but he also expects that we will be asking for the right things. We are bombarded with ads that tell us what we need to do or own in order to be happy, but are those things truly what we need to make us happy and fulfilled? Jesus tells us that we need hearts that are open to others, that we must be people of peace, love, faith, hope and forgiveness, and when we ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit, we will surely receive. When we pray, do we ask God to give us those things which He knows we need in order to be happy, or do we ask for what the media or friends and family says we need? If we leave the decisions up to God, then we will always receive what we ask for; we will find what we are looking for; and doors will open at our knock. Matthew 7:7-11.

God is watchful over us, giving His attention and care to the path He sets for us to follow, and His guidance informs our steps. This is one of the many benefits and blessings of knowing, and being known by God. For to not know Him is to take a path that leads away from Him and a path of destruction we build for ourselves, which can only lead to ruin and damnation. Psalm 1:6.