Jesus in the Wilderness

The lectionary reading for today's Gospel is taken from Mark 1:9-15. It speak of Jesus being driven (thrust, thrown or cast) into the wilderness by the Spirit. There He would fast and pray for forty days and forty nights and face great temptations before entering into His public ministry. It is here Jesus truly begins His journey to the cross, the purpose for which he came.

This nicely done little video depicts Jesus time in His wilderness experience. A great video for this, the first Sunday in Lent.

The Acts of Contemplation

The acts of contemplation are four:

• to seek after God
• to find Him
• to feel His sacred touch in the soul
• to be united with Him and to enjoy Him

----- Archbishop William Bernard Ullathorne (1806-1889)

Worthy Fruits

John the Baptist came preaching a message of repentance. Part of that message was that the repentant was to “bear fruits worthy of repentance.” (Luke 3:8) Some may refer to these fruits as “penance.” Penance doesn't produce repentance, penance should be the fruit – the evidence - that shows repentance has taken place or is in the process of taking place. Penance doesn't pay a debt of sin, the Cross took care of that. Acts of penance express a desire to “walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work.” (Colossians 1:10)

Thomas Aquinas (1225-1275 a.d.) said there were conditions necessary for true penance:

• Contrition, which is sorrow for sin, together with a purpose of amendment

• Confession of sins without omissions

• Satisfaction by means of good works

With that in mind, may you have a very fruitful Lenten season.

Pleasing or Displeasing God

Celtic saint, Ita, was once asked what were the three things that most pleased God, and the three things that most displeased Him.

She answered, "Three things that most please God are:

• true faith in God with a pure heart,
• a simple life with a grateful spirit,
• and generosity inspired by charity.

The three things that most displease God are:

• a mouth that hates people,
• a heart harboring resentments,
• and confidence in wealth."

May we seek to please God in all we do.

Interesting Reading From The Apocrypha

Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 15:14-20

(My paraphrase based on readings from the following: 1568 Bishops' Bible, 1587 Geneva Bible, 1899 Douay-Rheims Bible and the 1611 King James Bible)

14) He made man from the beginning, and placed in his hand the freedom to make his own choices, and gave him His commandments and precepts.

15) If you will observe the commandments and live an acceptable life of faithfulness forever, they shall preserve you.

16) He has set water and fire before you, reach out your hand to the one of your choosing.

17) Before man is life and death, good and evil, which ever he desires will be given him.

18) For the wisdom of God is great and mighty in power, and continually beholds all things.

19) The eyes of the Lord are upon them that fear Him, and He knows all the works of man.

20) He has commanded no man to act wickedly, nor has He given any man permission to sin.

Early Monastics

There were those in the early church who withdrew to the desert to devote themselves to prayer. They felt the church was compromising too much, and was becoming too worldly. These are known as monastics. I wonder what they would think about our modern day church.

A PRAYER FOR THE NEW YEAR

I am no longer my own, but Yours.

Use me as You choose;

rank me alongside whoever You choose;

put me to doing, put me to suffering;

let me be employed for You, or laid aside for You;

raised up for You, or brought down for You;

let me be full, let me be empty;

let me have all things, let me have nothing;

with my whole heart I freely choose to yield

all things to Your ordering and approval.

So now, God of all glory,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

You are mine, and I am Your own.

---Taken from Celtic Daily Prayer, “New Year: A Covenant Service”

Reminders for Ministers

I was going through some old pocket notebooks and stumbled across the following list. I jotted these down at a ministers and spouse retreat a few years back and though I'd pass them along. If I recall correctly, they list was given by Pastor Dave Williams of Mount Hope Church of Lansing, MI. There's something here for everyone.

For lack of the original title, I'll simply call the list, "Reminders for Ministers."

1. You must work at staying simple and uncluttered

2. It is better to look for symptoms of health rather than sickness

3. Love your work or find work you do

4. Use your mouth to speak faith, encouragement and cheer to others

5. I can defy the odds if God is working with me

6. Make decisions unashamedly

7. I have to keep getting up again

8. I can't give up on humanity because I was hurt by another person

9. God's mercy endures forever

10. In life I can never succeed alone

11. Be suspicious of all my first impressions

12. Learn the power of focus

13. I have to take time for privacy and rest

14. Focus on the important, not just on the urgent

15. Seek God early

16. The "victim mentality" never brings increase, but ensures decrease

17. Unless I keep expanding, growing and developing, I will level off and die

18. The true meaning of the New Testament staff and board

19. Jesus will multiply what you have if you give Him what you have

20. It's a sin to be good when God has called you to be great

21. There are only two wills in the universe: God's and some other

22. I must understand the "seasons"

23. Always ask questions

24. Try to annihilate fear and anxiety

25. If I don't want to be lost, I need to hang out with those who know where they are going

What is Wisdom?

Early this morning I was certain I saw someone on Facebook ask the question. “What is wisdom?” A little later, when I went back to the individual's page to make a comment, the question was no longer there. Then I wondered if I mistakenly thought it was one person, when, in fact, it was another. Maybe I dreamed it. Now I am not sure. Regardless, this led me to jot down a few thoughts concerning wisdom, which I will now share with you.

Three words are sometimes used interchangeably: knowledge, understanding and wisdom. Though they are related and often interwoven, they are not synonyms.

Knowledge – has to do with mental gathering of facts,

Understanding – has to do with the mental grasping of those facts in the context of its original setting - why a fact is a fact, so to speak,

Wisdom – puts into practice the making of right decisions in ones life – in thought, word and deed – based on the knowledge and understanding we have.

Opposites

The opposite of knowledge is ignorance

The opposite of understanding, in this context, is being naive

The opposite of wisdom is foolishness

As one simply and succinctly put it, “Wisdom is the ability to live life skillfully.”

How often have we or others we know made foolish decisions that resulted in bad outcomes? Outcomes that could have easily been avoided if we had acted wisely instead.

As we go through life, we would do well to remember the words of Proverbs 4:7, which says, “Wisdom is the principle thing, therefore get wisdom.”

A Franciscan Benediction

May God bless us with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that we may live from deep within our hearts.

May God bless us with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of God's creations
So that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless us with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war,
So that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless us with just enough foolishness
To believe that we can make a difference in the world,
So that we can do what others claim cannot be done:
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and all our neighbors who are poor.
Amen.

There is a Contemplative

There is a contemplative

in all of us,

almost strangled

but still alive,

who craves quiet

enjoyment of the Now,

and longs to touch

the seamless

garment of silence

which makes whole.

- Alan P. Tory, taken from Celtic Daily Prayer

A Bit of Silence

These thoughts were taken from this morning's devotional reading and were found in the book, Celtic Daily Prayer.

"If we practised silence a little bit more, then when we did speak we'd have something to say." - John Skinner -

"I weave a silence on to my lips
I weave silence into my mind
I weave silence within my heart
I close my ears to distractions
I close my eyes to attractions
I close my heart to temptations.
Calm me, O Lord, as You stilled the storm
Still me, O Lord, keep me from harm
Let all the tumult within me cease
Enfold me, Lord, in your peace."
- David Adam -