Lenten Meditation XVIII

inspired by Psalms 103:1-4

Today's readings feature the parable of the Prodigal Son. It's one of my favorites. I draw my lesson not from the prodigal, who probably exists in all of us to some degree, but from the good son who stayed home and obeyed his father. He was incensed to have part of his  inheritance slaughtered to celebrate the return of his profligate brother, much the same way that my namesake prophet, Jonah,  was upset when the Lord repented of the punishment he had in store for the Ninevites. It's easy to be a little jealous of the seemingly undeserved good fortune of those you deem unworthy. The trick, of course, is not to judge the worthiness or unworthiness of others. Leave the judgment to the Lord and you'll be happier for it. It won't be easy, but Lent is a good time to work on stuff like that. I'll be praying for you.

Lenten Meditation XVI

inspired by Psalms 1:1-4

My son once told me that if there is a fence around a playground, the children will roam the confined area to it's edges. However, if the fence is removed, the children will huddle in the center of the playground and not venture very far from there. A fence, in other words, is not a confinement, but something that sets the children free. It's there for their protection, and so it allows them to engage the world as they are - inquisitive and adventurous children. So it is with the Law of God. It is there, not to restrict our choices, but to set us free to become what God created us to be.

Lenten Meditation XV

inspired by Matthew 20:17-28

Today's message: self-sacrifice, not self-preservation. If you're worried about what will become of you if you focus on the problems of others at the expense of your own, you're not getting it. The old saw, "God helps those that help themselves," is not the Christian ideal. God helps those who help others. That's where our minds and hearts need to be.

Lenten Meditation XII

inspired by Genesis 2:15-17

Today's first reading is the famous story of Abraham taking his only son up on a mountain to offer him up as a burnt offering to the Lord. The Lord stays Abraham's hand, and instead offers up His own Son for the salvation of Abraham and all his descendants. There is a beautiful symmetry here, and the lesson is that if we withhold nothing from God, then He will withhold nothing from us.

This mirrors yesterday's exhortation from Matthew 5:48 to 'be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.' It would seem that God doesn't require anything of us that he hasn't also required of Himself. There is a kind of validation in that that is not available anywhere else in our human existence. Something to think about during Lent.

Lenten Meditation IX

inspired by Psalms 138:7-8

Today's readings are all about going to the Lord in prayer and getting what we ask for. We all know, if we have tried this, that it doesn't quite work that way. At least it seems not to most of the time. Jim Morrison proclaimed in the intro to The Soft Parade that "You cannot petition the Lord with prayer." Jim Morrison was a young man when he said this, and had not the time nor the wisdom to work out how he might have been wrong. 

We can petition the Lord with prayer, and the Lord always answers. It's just that most of the time the answer is "No." The reason for this is that the Lord has a better idea what we need than we do.

So, for instance, when I ask the Lord to give me $749 million so I can distribute it among the needy and accomplish much good work with it, he says to me, in effect, "If you want to do my work, you have to do it with humility. $749 million will not help you in this regard, so instead I am going to give you a huge dollop of poverty to get your mind and soul properly disposed. You're welcome."

And I say, prayerfully as I can manage, "Thank you, Lord." It's taken me a long time to learn this. I'm not very good at it yet, but I am improving. Lent is a good time to remember such things. Good luck with your observances. I'm praying for you.

Lenten Meditation VII

inspired by Matthew 6:7-15

Another one of those easier said than done things. I struggle with this on a daily basis - partly because I have been ill-used by so many fools, charlatans, pirates and thieves, and partly because I am a stubborn and vengeful old cuss. I cringe every time  I say the Lord's Prayer and realize that I am asking God to forgive me in the same measure that I forgive the rat bastards of my acquaintance. My one hope is that He is more merciful than I, else I am pretty much screwed.

Lenten Meditation VI

inspired by Matthew 25:31-46

These are easy concepts to grasp, rooted as they are in familiar Scripture often preached . . . much more difficult to put into practice. This is at the heart of my little Become the Answer campaign. Christ is the Answer, and to the extent that we are to 'put on Christ', to 'become Christ', we need to become the Answer. Christ in heaven is king and judge, but Christ on Earth - the Christ we must become - is mercy, compassion, and sacrifice. 

Lenten Meditation III

question inspired by Isaiah 58:1-9

The text from Isaiah reminds me of a similar passage from Matthew 7:21-23


Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

The gist is that not everyone who claims to be a follower of Christ actually understands what Jesus is all about. I'm thinking specifically of those conservative, self-righteous wags who use their faith and the Bible to justify withholding rights, dignity and even sustenance from the needy, the sick, the alien, and the oppressed in the misguided belief that those pitiful souls somehow brought their plight upon themselves. Lent seems like a good time to reassess, don't you think?

Lenten Meditation II

inspired by Psalms 1:1-4

Lenten Meditation I

Day 1 - Ash Wednesday
from Joel 2:12-18