OLDER LECTIO DIVINA

Before we can understand the role faith plays, we have to get our own role in this parable right. When the disciples said, “Increase our faith,” they were not the servants. They were making a request, and Jesus is now telling them how to have it granted. The only way to increase our faith is to conform ourselves to God’s will, so we become one with him and become heirs of his power. Jesus is describing the proper relation between the creator and his creation. The creator does not have to be grateful to his creation for simply doing what the creator commanded. In the same way, the one who has faith does not doubt the creator’s abilities. So all this time, in asking for faith, I have been doubting what God can do. Jesus is inviting me to flip the script to see that all of creation is at his command, and when a miracle happens–the person of faith expects nothing less from God, because that’s just nature doing what it is obliged to do, which is to obey its creator.

The more I meditate on Scripture, the more layers of wisdom I see. The first layer is: Be grateful for the blessings God has already given us and don’t expect more. But underneath that is God’s invitation to be like him, to have creation under our command by doing his will. That is the only way we can be granted such a command, but God still offers it to those who are humble enough to know that all power has been given to us through him–and through him alone. 

PRAY

Lord,

I now see how I do in fact have faith smaller than a mustard seed, but I hear you calling me and offering me more faith. It’s there for the taking. I just have to take the leap. I have seen enough proof, yet I still hesitate. The time is now. Enough with the tests. It’s time to take the graces you have already given me and put my faith to the test, and to stop putting you to the test. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“have pity on me”

The moral of this parable is to not wait until it’s too late. When I lack faith, I doubt the consequences of my sin. It’s easier to live a life that way, I say. But there’s always a dead end. Sin does not possess the same infinite qualities that goodness possesses. This is something we can recognize in this life. We don’t have to wait for the afterlife to see sin as a dead end. When the rich man says, “have pity on me”, he missed his chance. Justice is like gravity. Sooner or later, the scales have to balance. We can’t cheat justice or the truth. Eventually, they catch up to us. If I slip and fall off a cliff, God is not going to suspend the laws of nature that govern his entire universe simply because I shout “have pity on me!” as I’m falling. By then it’s too late. But perhaps we think Father Abraham is being harsh when he says, “They have Moses and the prophets”

PRAY

Dear heavenly Father,

Through prayer, I can discover your will while here on earth, and avoid the torments described in this Sunday’s Gospel. Thank you for the wisdom you teach me. Help me to recognize the truth as I live on earth before it’s too late. Spare my loved ones from the torments of hell, and teach me to be a witness to them to help lead them to you. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep

God desires for everyone to come back to him, even those who were never part of the Body of Christ, the Church. In today’s culture, there is a crisis of fallen away Catholics. They are lost sheep, but so are those who never believed. Rejoice, Christ says, not only when a fallen away Catholic comes home but also rejoice when someone who never believed comes to the Church, since they also were lost and now are found. A nonbeliever may have never had a home in the Church, but Jesus still calls nonbelievers his lost sheep as well. We all are his sheep and we all belong to him. We all belong to the one true shepherd, who wills for all of us to be saved. 

PRAY

Dear Lord,

As I aim to be a good witness for you and your kingdom for others, keep me humble. We all need you. My goal in sharing you with others is to simply show them the great nourishment and blessings I’ve received from you, so they can share in them. Like a sheep who has found greener pastures, inspire and teach me how to show people the way to those pastures. Thank you for all you have given me, and show me how to share it with others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

When we listen to God, we remember how small we are. Sometimes I take a drive just to remember how big the world is, and how insignificant I am in the large scheme of things. This doesn’t mean I can do whatever I want and it won’t matter, because I have my own soul to tend to. In fact, when I see how big my Father’s world is, my task becomes clear. I then notice that he only expects me to get my own life in order. As St Teresa of Calcutta said, “Sanctify yourself, and you will sanctify the world.” 

PRAY

Dear heavenly Father,

When bombarded by the pressures of the world to be successful in the eyes of my peers and colleagues, it’s easy to lose sight of heaven and the values you cherish. Help me to focus on you and see that you are the only reward worth pursuing in the end. Everything else I pursue should only be a means to you. Then I will learn true humility, as I live for the one in whose presence I must always be humble. Teach me to be humble, because I believe that is the key to happiness in life. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

“For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."

It’s not about me. The quicker I notice that, the happier I will be. The sooner I can realize that it doesn’t matter if I get ahead, it doesn’t matter what other people think of me, the better off my day will be. And it does take daily reminders, because there’s this constant fear in the back of my mind that says I’ll be left behind. Being left behind in the race of life is not as bad as being dismissed by Jesus, though. He tells us to store up our treasures in heaven, treasures such as the virtues–because those last while the things the world tells us to chase after really do not. We will be looked down upon for upholding the values Jesus teaches, but we will have this reassurance in our souls that runs deeper than anything the world can give us. It’s that deeper meaning we’re all after, and that’s what Jesus offers.

PRAY

Dear heavenly Father,

When I come to you humbly, you remind me who I am. You remind me of the simple moments when there was just you and me, and I did not care what the world thought. Bring me back to those moments so I can recognize you for who you really are, and so you can recognize where I am from. I don’t want to come from a place of sin anymore. Show me the way back to your kingdom and help me build it up here on earth so more people can proclaim that they come from
there when they reach the gates of heaven. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen

"I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!”

“Jesus!? You want to set the world on fire? What on earth do you mean?” That’s my first thought upon reading this as a responsible adult who is generally opposed to pyromaniacs. But then again, Jesus’ message still burns within me despite my inclination to resist reckless behavior. He is not encouraging reckless abandonment of the world, but he is encouraging abandonment of it. In fact, that seems to be a central theme to the entire gospel: Cast away your concerns for the
earth. “Store up your treasures in heaven,” as we heard in last week’s Gospel. As dramatic and radical as Jesus’ teachings may sound sometimes, he definitely is consistent, nonetheless. Don’t cling to this world. It will pass away. It will go up in flames. All of this will perish. Keep your eyes on heaven. Learn the biblical virtues at any cost: charity, faith, hope, justice, temperance, fortitude, and prudence. These are treasures in heaven. Jesus wishes everything in this world would go up in flames because of how much it all distracts us from these treasures, from love for him.

PRAY

Dear God,

While I struggle to leave this world and all of its pleasures behind, I am encouraged by your message because the world also often disappoints. It promises one thing and then gives something else, or takes away what it gave. You are not like that. You are an abundant font of grace that seeks nothing in return but love and gratitude. Even those things are gifts from you, because you are their ultimate source. So, help me to cast aside everything I treasure in this world, even my loving relationships–because if I do not put you first then even the love I have in those relationships is disordered. I ask for the strength to do your will, because it is so contrary to earthly wisdom.

Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival

In keeping the faith, there is a great deal of waiting involved. We hold vigils to prove our faithfulness as we wait for the Lord to act, for the Lord to return. I’m sorry, but I can’t help but ponder, what if we are wrong? What if Jesus isn’t coming back, and what if a life of faith ends up being all in vain? Blaise Pascal, a philosopher and mathematician during the Enlightenment, and a Christian, asked the same question. His conclusion is known as Pascal’s Wager, which states:

“ Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is.”

Fans of sports teams could wait an entire lifetime for their team to win a championship and never see it happen. Was their hope all in vain? I would say no, of course not. As we wait, we learn what it means to be faithful, hopeful, and patient. We learn how to live with integrity. At the end of our lives, being vigilant in waiting for the Lord will make us into virtuous people because of the very nature of vigilance. God is vigilant in waiting for us to turn to him. By being vigilant as we wait for him, as we wait for anything good, we exhibit one of his qualities.

PRAY

Lord,

Thank you for the hope you give. Help me to be vigilant as I wait for your return. Having faith is not easy. Sometimes I wonder why you make it so difficult. But it’s my own stubbornness that makes it so hard. Teach me to be humble and to see the truth all around me, your truth. Let that truth lead me to the hope of your return, so I may live a life of virtue and vigilance. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen. 

Rich in what matters to God.

More and more I am noticing how Sunday Gospels end with a few powerful words that resonate. This week, we are left with these words, “what matters to God.” What riches matter to God? Virtue, holiness, doing good and avoiding evil. What matters to God is the heart, so I ought to work on having a rich heart. What does this mean? Fill it with the things and people I love, and nourish those people and things like the plants and flowers in a garden. Jesus wants me to be happy. He tells me to store up treasures in heaven, because those are the treasures that have deep, lasting qualities which will sustain my happiness longer and not leave me disappointed.  

PRAY

Good teacher,

I ask nothing of you, except for you to teach me more about these treasures of heaven and how to obtain them. I know too little about them, and that’s why the treasures of this world tempt me so much. I know they do not compare to the treasures of heaven, but the treasures of heaven are so hard to notice and appreciate while we are surrounded by things that appeal to the senses. I turn to those things for immediate satisfaction, but they always fall short of completely satisfying. Thank you for reminding me that we are made for something more. Please, show me more of that something more. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. 

“Be watchful! Be alert!

You do not know when the time will come.”

Many of us have, or have had, a pet dog who would come running to greet us after a long day. The time separated from us must have been unbearable, judging by the uncontainable happiness they have at the sight of us. He might have filled in the time chewing on shoes and salvaging through the garbage, just because he didn’t know what else to do without us there. I didn’t want to compare us to dogs, but let’s admit sometimes our behavior isn’t much better. Feeling God’s absence, we fill our lives with sin. As a society, we even become prone to try and replace God and become our own arbiters of truth and justice. This has become especially apparent in 2020. With the way things have been going this year, we may be asking ourselves, “If the Lord isn’t coming soon, when in the world is he coming?” Talk show hosts are trying to indoctrinate us into a new morality that’s the opposite of the Bible’s teachings. In no exaggerated terms, the authorities are telling many of us where we can go, when we can go there, and what we have to wear on our faces when we go. Is this the end? Maybe, maybe not. The truth that matters is simply that Christ can come back tomorrow. And at the very least, he will definitely call for us to come home within our own lifetime. Another fact is that many societies have been through worse than what we are going through now. Nonetheless, we should be watchful if only to prove our love for Jesus. What does it mean for us humans to wait and be faithful, though? It means to continue to follow God’s commandments in love. Love God with all your heart, mind and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself. If you ever are finding it hard to love in any situation, don’t be afraid to call upon God even in the midst of your anger, fear, or whatever else you’re dealing with. He is there whenever we call upon him. It makes sense, then, for him to require the same kind of faithfulness from us.