End of the Age

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17         Psalm 103         2 Corinthians 5:20-6:10          Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

"Blow the trumpet in Zion!" declares the prophet Joel. "Sound the alarm, let the people tremble as God approaches in judgement of His people." The prophecy of Joel speaks of an invasion of locusts which will consume the land, of drought and fire that destroys the crops and even kills the wild animals. He speaks of wars. Interspersed in these calamities are the call to repentance and the promise of salvation. 

The short book of Joel is one of the reasons that secular news has been referencing the bible and the *apocalypse in their reporting of current events. Today a locust plague wreaks havoc from Africa into Asia. Hundreds of  billions of locusts may grow to over one hundred trillion by June. 

Australia's drought condition resulted in the deaths of millions of animals in devastating wildfires.  Australia exported 9 million tons of wheat a year ago, now they will need to import it for the foreseeable future.

Joel does not speak of disease, but Jesus does (Mt 24). China has lost 2/3rds of their herds to African swine fever (a quarter of the pigs on earth). In addition the coronavirus has the country on lockdown. In recent days Venice canceled Carnevale (their version of Mardi Gras) and the Catholic Church has closed its churches. Public health officials expect a global pandemic and economic impact is being felt, most intensely by the poor and weak.

Joel did not declare the end of the world, nor are our problems unique. A century ago, one third of the world had the Spanish flu and between 50 and 100 million died of it. Another **50 million people died in WW2, but since the birth of Christ, there have been nine other wars with over ten million fatalities and another fifteen with over three million. Jesus said that natural disasters and wars would come, but they are the birth pangs.

Lent confronts us with the truth: "You are dust and to dust you shall return." It is the prophetic message of judgement days, but God is with us even in the bad days. Lent leads us to Jerusalem where Jesus is crucified, standing with all the others who suffered at the hands of Rome and the other Empires of history. Jesus redeems the victims of locust and fire, sickness and starvation. 

Yes we are dust. 
Yes we will die. 
Yes the world is a hard place. 

But no.
No, we are not alone. He is with us.
No. Sin, suffering and death are not the last word.
Mercy, healing, life and love are.

Yes, we can repent, here and now. 
Repent in hope, repent in joy.
And we know: all will be well. And all will be well. (***Julian of Norwich)

*https://www.wired.com/story/the-terrifying-science-behind-the-locust-plagues-of-africa/
*https://www.thedailybeast.com/after-coronavirus-locusts-could-be-the-next-plague-that-hits-china
*https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7899247/East-Africa-hit-locust-outbreak-25-years.html
**https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_by_death_toll
***https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/156980.Julian_of_Norwich

Brief Words on Transfiguration

exodus 24:12-18   psalm 2   2 Peter 1:16-21   Mt 17:1-9

"And the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire." These words from Exodus remind us that God is not just "another guy" in our life.

In Jesus' time, many rabbis looked at where words appeared elsewhere in the Scripture--called stringing pearls. The Hebrew word "akal" first appears in Genesis when God tells the humans, "You may eat the fruit of any tree but you may not eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil." I find that connection interesting because it ties together the commandments of God to the first parents with the Law and Moses' encounter with God. 

"To eat, consume, devour or burn" is an interesting image of God's presence, and it gives us another angle on union with God, or "theosis". We know that what we eat becomes part of us, literally and figuratively. We believe that communion is eating the body of Christ and that He lives it us, but this is the other side of the story, the Presence of God consumes us like a fire and we become one with Him.

The church fathers payed special to the Lord's transfiguration in their discussions of theosis. The divine light which shines in Jesus is God-light. It is not just a created effect. Perhaps we can more easily understand that same divine light can and will shine in us who are one with Christ. Yet, like Jesus, the light may be hidden until our metamorphosis/transfiguration at the resurrection of the dead.

Darkness, after all, is not a something, it is an absence of something. Genesis says that darkness is the original state. God's first recorded words are LET THERE BE LIGHT. The darkness did not leave, it was filled with light. However there is no explanation of the source of this light at the beginning of creation (sun, moon and stars come days later). We can only meditate on the meaning of the word light in the creation account, but we must keep in mind the association of God and light includes supernatural light in the Bible.

The light shining in Jesus transforms—metamorphosis is the Greek—Him. This same light, the light of God within us is our ultimate destiny. To be children of light, is not in our power; it is a gift to be received. In Lent we will be invited to a focused attention to become vessels of light. In the days ahead I invite you to take seriously how you will spend those six weeks. It is God's work within you, but what will you do to receive the grace and cooperate? What will you do to be open the light of metamorphosis.

february 16

Deuteronomy 30:15-20     Ps 119:1-8    I Corinthians 3:1-9    Matthew 5:21-37



Deuteronomy 30 is a wonderful explanation of the purpose of Divine Instruction (Torah). It lays out the path of life and blessing (or the alternative, death and curse). God’s Kingdom is when God reigns in the heart of His people. As we trust and love Him in fidelity, His divine light and life work in us more and more. So, it is not so much about us “getting into heaven” as it is “getting heaven into us”!



The human center is the heart. The inner workings of each person—how they think and what they desire—are key to their relationship with God. Jesus is saying some very difficult things for many of us. There are some uncomfortable folks in here feeling condemnation. It is really important not to minimize what Jesus is saying, but it must be heard in the context of His message of salvation—bringing us into union with God. What are the underlying principles?

The problem with reading the text at the surface level is it is too narrow. The passive-aggressive deny their anger so they think it doesn’t apply to them. The Greek word, epithymia, means to set your heart on something or long for it. Lust takes many forms and it is easy to ignore how it applies to us.

Jesus is saying that we need a “heart” catheterization. We need to look into our heart and soul and analyze what thoughts and desires are lurking within us. In physical illnesses we see symptoms and the same is true of spiritual disease. My dad died of pancreatic cancer, so he was dying long before we knew he was sick. By the time the symptoms were obvious, it was too late.

I have said before that body and soul mirror one another. What Jesus is saying is that our behaviors manifest the spiritual sickness within us, but the problem is that they take hold of us long before they are manifest.

Anger, lust, fidelity and vows are mentioned in the Gospel today and all are manifestations of hearts which are impure and misdirected. Jesus is saying that the way we view another person impacts them, impacts us and impacts our relationship with God. Viewing humans as commodities—valuing what they can do for us and being angry when they are not fulfilling our wants and desires—is a sickness of perception. If we see other people that way then we will likely see God the same way. This would be why so many of us equate prayer with asking for things. True prayer focuses on gratitude and worship.

I am not trying to avoid the impact of Jesus’ hard teaching, but I would like to expand the underlying principle to every sin. The way we “see” others is central to our soul state.

God sees humans as images of Himself. In other words we were created to be/become what Jesus is. United with the Father in perfect obedience and love, we were meant to share in Divine life. Jesus’ instruction is meant to warn us, much like Deuteronomy, that we have a choice. We can secretly choose anger and lust, but we cannot choose those and still live an abundant life. We can chose to speak the truth and live with integrity, but if we choose deceit and our word can not be trusted, then we cannot be in relationship with God, others, or even ourselves.

Today’s Gospel is an invitation to examine our hearts and see what form sins take within us, in our secret thoughts and desires. Today’s Gospel is a warning that God will not be made a fool and in the end, the truth will be manifest.

Choose repentance. Seek healing and transformation. Trust your sins to His care.

On Being LIght to the World

Isaiah 58:1-9 (9-12)     Ps 112:1-9     1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16)      Matthew 5:13-20

The purpose of life is union with God and sin is any barrier to that union. God used the prophets of Israel as trumpets to sound a warning and call His people back to the right path. Today in Isaiah 58, Israel is accused of doing pious practices without seeking God. We see their “self-centered religion” manifested in their resentment of the Lord. They complain, “God does not see us, God does not know what we are doing,” which unveils their true motivation: “What’s in it for me?” This is the opposite of true religion.

The Lord tells Judah to fast from violence, greed and oppression. He calls them to be just and compassionate, providing for the needs of the lowly. "Then your light will burst forth and your healing will come quickly!"  

In Isaiah 42:6 God said, "I created you and made you a covenant people, a light to the nations" and in Isaiah 49:6 "I will make you a light to the nations that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth." Jesus applies the words of Isaiah to His disciples:

"You are the light of the world." Jesus then says that we glorify God in our good works, to which I would add that only God's glory can define which of our works are good. The Law serves as a guide on good works but it is only in Jesus that the Law is fulfilled. Jesus reveals what the Law—to love God and neighbor—looks like concretely. Like Isaiah, Jesus rejects any self-seeking, merely outward compliance. Only obedient trust motivated by love is life-giving.

St Gregory Palamas* teaches that through the conversion process and a life of intense prayer, Christians can be infused with the Light of God. It is the divine light within us which makes us the light of the world. This is the work of the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies our own efforts to overcome the passions and to take on the mind of Christ. Unfortunately, too few are seriously engaged in this transformation.

The church has failed to embrace the path of true repentance and theosis union; we are at home in the world and comfortable with our desires. The light within us is dim.

Fortunately, even a dim light can seem bright in the darkness. If we increase our efforts to walk the path of holiness, then that light will shine more brightly. We must help each other sincerely seek union with God. Without the Holy Spirit, even our efforts to do good are infected by the passions which rule us. The darkness within us will twist our efforts at justice into power struggles and oppression, our religious practice devolves into resentful self-seeking. We must be saved from ourselves! The only hope is theosis union with God in Christ. He will heal us. He will purify us. Yet we must strive to repent and become a holy people. Jesus gives us no other choice: You are the light of the world!

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabor_Light

*http://www.sophiausyd.org/articles/st-gregory-palamas-and-deification