January 31, 2011

In today’s gospel reading I hear a call to embrace the shadow side. The man with the demon approaches Jesus (it’s unclear whether it is the demon speaking or the man himself, but either way, the man speaks with one and only one mouth). Jesus asks the man to name his demon. This is an interesting model to emulate. If you were to ask yourself to name a “demon” of yours, off the top of your head, what is the first to come to mind? Is it anger, fear, over-indulgence, envy, laziness, pride, shopping, greed, judgmentalism? Whatever it is, name it, acknowledge it, claim it. But do so with a light touch, not a hammer. Jesus doesn’t smack the man! That’s the first step. In Alcoholics Anonymous, the first step is to acknowledge that you are powerless over alcohol and then move on from there.

I commit to acknowledge my shadow side.

Namaste! Amen!

The Readings

Hebrews 11:32-40

Mark 5:1-20

5They came to the other side of the lake, to the country of the Gerasenes.* 2And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. 3He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; 4for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. 5Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. 6When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him; 7and he shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.’ 8For he had said to him, ‘Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!’ 9Then Jesus* asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He replied, ‘My name is Legion; for we are many.’ 10He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; 12and the unclean spirits* begged him, ‘Send us into the swine; let us enter them.’ 13So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the lake, and were drowned in the lake.

14 The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. 15They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. 16Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. 17Then they began to beg Jesus* to leave their neighbourhood. 18As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. 19But Jesus* refused, and said to him, ‘Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.’ 20And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.

The reading is from the website below.

http://bible.oremus.org/

January 30, 2011

It isn’t hard to picture the scene … a large crowd of dusty, tired, perhaps even cranky people, looking to the latest preacher for some wisdom to relieve them from their daily toil and suffering. Others had come before Jesus and they had all preached repentance: change the way you are and you will be happy. Perhaps this Jesus will say the same and perhaps his technique for change will at last be the trick that will do the trick. Follow this diet, recite these affirmations, deny yourself these pleasures, walk this way, step right up to the 9-step, the 12-step, the 7-step path to a new and better you.

But Jesus’s message on this day is not a mandate to change but rather an acceptance of the people we already are. We are poor and blessed. We mourn yet we are blessed. We are meek and blessed.

Jesus sees our sacredness AND our shadow side and invites us to be children of God in heaven anyway. On this cold day in January, we can rejoice and be glad and bring our whole selves to God, without shame, without hiding.

Namaste! Amen!

The Readings

Zephaniah 2:3;3:12-13

Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land,

   who do God’s commands;

seek righteousness, seek humility;

   perhaps you may be hidden

   on the day of the Lord’s wrath.

On that day you shall not be put to shame

   because of all the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;

for then I will remove from your midst

   your proudly exultant ones,

and you shall no longer be haughty

   in my holy mountain.

For I will leave in the midst of you

   a people humble and lowly.

They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord—

   the remnant of Israel;

they shall do no wrong

   and utter no lies,

nor shall a deceitful tongue

   be found in their mouths.

Then they will pasture and lie down,

   and no one shall make them afraid.

Psalm 146:6-10

Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

I will praise the Lord as long as I live;

   I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

Do not put your trust in princes,

   in mortals, in whom there is no help.

When their breath departs, they return to the earth;

   on that very day their plans perish.

Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,

   whose hope is in the Lord their God,

who made heaven and earth,

   the sea, and all that is in them;

who keeps faith for ever;

   who executes justice for the oppressed;

   who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;

   the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

   the Lord loves the righteous.

The Lord watches over the strangers;

   and upholds the orphan and the widow,

   but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

The Lord will reign for ever,

   your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the Lord!

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. God is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’

Matthew 5:1-12

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

 ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

 ‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

 ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

 ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

 ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

 ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

 ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The readings are from the website below.

http://bible.oremus.org/

January 29, 2011

I know that you are struggling, as I am, with your life, your relationships, your work, your plans. Today’s Gospel reading reminds us that divine presence is very close at hand, perhaps in the next room or in the stern of our little boat. We need only be aware and awake.

Namaste! Amen!

The Readings

Hebrews 11:1-2,8-19

(Psalm) Luke 1:69-75

Mark 4:35-41

35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ 36And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 37A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ 39He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ 41And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’

The reading is from the website below.

http://bible.oremus.org/

January 28, 2011

“The smallest of all the seeds on earth … becomes the greatest of all shrubs….” In this I hear that even the smallest good thing can have a huge impact. If I perform one act of kindness, extend one small bit of generosity, help one person, crack one smile, it makes a big difference. Imagine!

Namaste! Amen!

The Readings

Hebrews 10:32-39

Psalm 37

Mark 4:26-34

26 Jesus also said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, 27and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. 28The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. 29But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.’

30 He also said, ‘With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? 31It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; 32yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.’

33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; 34he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

The reading is from the website below.

http://bible.oremus.org/

January 27, 2011

“Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get.” What this says to me is that if I find that I am irked by someone, it is most likely my own shadow side that I am seeing in that person. For example, if I hear my inner voice complaining, “So-and-so is such a critical person” well wouldn’t that be ironic? Or if I snap loudly at a family member, “Why are you so angry?” what do you think that means? This practice tends to make me laugh at myself if I keep working at it.

What do you think?

Namaste! Amen!

The Readings for Today

Hebrews 10:19-25

Psalm 24

Mark 4:21-25

21 He said to them, ‘Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand? 22For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. 23Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’ 24And he said to them, ‘Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. 25For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.’

The reading is from the website below.

http://bible.oremus.org/

January 26, 2011

Today’s Gospel is the parable of the sower followed by an explanation of the parable. The entire text appears below. My take-away from this reading is that my goal for myself is to do my very best to sow good seeds, by which I mean to speak only kind words and do only compassionate things. If I fail, to make amends and try again. My focus is only on sowing good seeds and not on obsessing about the outcome. I need not be a control freak about everything around me.

What do you think?

Namaste! Amen!

The Readings

2 Timothy 1:1-8

Psalm 96

Mark 4:1-20

Again he began to teach beside the lake. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the lake and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the lake on the land. He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.’ And he said, ‘Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’

When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, ‘To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that

“they may indeed look, but not perceive,

   and may indeed listen, but not understand;

so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.” ’

And he said to them, ‘Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.’

The reading is from the website below.

http://bible.oremus.org/

January 25, 2011, The Conversion of Saint Paul

“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.” Today the church celebrates the conversion of Saint Paul, a persecutor who was literally blinded by God’s light. His journey was similar to John Newton, a slave trader who came to see the evil of his ways and later wrote the song Amazing Grace in thanksgiving for that conversion.

Oh God, open my eyes to see your way, your truth, your beauty, and blind me to all else.

Namaste! Amen!

The Readings

Acts 22:3-16

3 ‘I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to our ancestral law, being zealous for God, just as all of you are today. 4I persecuted this Way up to the point of death by binding both men and women and putting them in prison, 5as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. From them I also received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I went there in order to bind those who were there and to bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment.

Paul Tells of His Conversion6 ‘While I was on my way and approaching Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me. 7I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 8I answered, “Who are you, Lord?” Then he said to me, “I am Jesus of Nazareth* whom you are persecuting.” 9Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10I asked, “What am I to do, Lord?” The Lord said to me, “Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told everything that has been assigned to you to do.” 11Since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, those who were with me took my hand and led me to Damascus.

12 ‘A certain Ananias, who was a devout man according to the law and well spoken of by all the Jews living there, 13came to me; and standing beside me, he said, “Brother Saul, regain your sight!” In that very hour I regained my sight and saw him. 14Then he said, “The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear his own voice; 15for you will be his witness to all the world of what you have seen and heard. 16And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.”

Psalm 117

Mark 16:15-18

The reading is from the website below.

http://bible.oremus.org/

January 24, 2011

I am reading David Richo’s book, When the Past Is Present: Healing the Emotional Wounds That Sabotage Our Relationships. In it he talks about how through transference we relive our earliest hurts in an unrelenting cycle and that by facing that pattern consciously we can break through and become our whole selves. Today’s first reading from Paul’s letter to the Hebrews resonates that for me. Through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ we discover the healing ability to find truth so that we need not offer ourselves again and again, but rather we enter into one single continuous arc of heavenly awareness and compassion.

What do you think?

Namaste! Amen!

The Readings

Hebrews 9

15 For this reason Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, because a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant.* 24For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; 26for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgement, 28so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Psalm 98

Mark 3:22-30

January 23, 2011

Please consider listening to the sermon of Rev. Tony Buquor - it moved me greatly: January 23rd Sermon

January 22, 2011

Today’s gospel story (included below) happens just after Jesus has healed several people and appointed the twelve apostles. Immediately thereafter he is assaulted verbally and hemmed in by family, friends and foes. He is accused of being Beelzebul, otherwise known as “The Lord of the Flies.” The other shoe had dropped for Jesus and it was a heavy shoe!

I think it was Winston Churchill who said, “If you are going through hell keep going.” I am deeply moved by this reading because it does seem to mirror a similar pattern in my own life, and in the world. We ride a wave of praise, followed by a wave of blame. The Buddhists call this “dualistic thinking” and we can learn from their wisdom, which teaches us to avoid the trap of sinking into either mindset. Rumi, who was a Sufi writes:

Beyond our ideas of right-doing and wrong-doing,

there is a field. I'll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass,

the world is too full to talk about.

Ideas, language, even the phrase 'each other'

doesn't make sense any more.

Namaste! Amen!

The Readings

Hebrews 9:2-3,11-14

Psalm 47: 2-3,6-9

Mark 3:19-27

Then Jesus went home; and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, ‘He has gone out of his mind.’ And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.’ And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.

The gospel passage is taken from the website below:

http://bible.oremus.org/

January 21, 2011

In Psalm 85 we read:

Kindness and truth shall meet;

   justice and peace shall kiss.

Truth shall spring out of the earth,

   and justice shall look down from heaven.

David Richo, in his book, When the Past Is Present, talks about transference as an “attempt to complete with new people what is still incomplete with the original people…. By transference we open the healthy possibility of self-completion. By keeping it unconscious we curtail its benefits; by making it conscious we capitalize on them.” It’s when the ugly truth meets kindness and compassion. It’s when we embrace our complete selves, our complete existence, and declare, “It is good!”

May it be so.

Namaste! Amen!

The Readings

Hebrews 8:6-13

Psalm 85

Mark 3:13-19

January 21, 2011

Take a look at a beautiful image of Psalm 85 on John August Swanson’s website. http://www.johnaugustswanson.com/ImagesUpload/Ps85-700.jpg

Kindness and truth shall meet;

   justice and peace shall kiss.

Truth shall spring out of the earth,

   and justice shall look down from heaven.

May it be so.

Namaste! Amen!

On January 21, 1977, President Jimmy Carter pardons nearly all American Vietnam War draft evaders, some of whom had emigrated to Canada.

The Readings

Hebrews 8:6-13

Psalm 85

Mark 3:13-19

January 20, 2011

Today’s psalm tells us that God does not want nor expect sacrifice from us and that our deepest desire and truest selves rests in goodness and justice. We need not torment ourselves with useless penance but only follow our bliss. What wondrous love is this oh my soul, oh my soul.

Namaste! Amen!

The Readings

Hebrews 7:25-8:6

Psalm 40:7-10,17

Mark 3:7-12

January 6, 2011, Epiphany

Reflection (The readings are below, for your reference)

We are now forty days into the liturgical year and for seven of those days subsets of Psalm 72 have been appointed, including today. The entire psalm appears below and I am moved by several things in it. A world where true leaders are recognized as those who are just and charitable is rewarded by nature herself. Might is not rewarded, charitable love is. The psalmist envisions a paradise where the most vulnerable are seen (that’s the first big step … to be seen) and then defended, honored and saved. The rewards are great in this paradise: peace reigns, nature smiles, refreshing rains fall softly, the fields are fertile, and strangers from far off lands pay tribute. In response to such wonder, I feel called to look around me in the nooks and crannies where I am something of a leader. Where can I find excuses to be just and charitable? Come Holy Spirit and open my eyes!

Namaste. Amen.

What are your thoughts? Please add your comments.

Psalm 72

O God, with your judgment and with your justice,
   endow the leaders.

They shall govern your people with justice
   and your afflicted ones with righteousness.

The mountains will bring peace for the people,
   and the hills justice.

They shall defend the afflicted among the people,
   save the children of the poor,
   and crush the oppressor.

May they endure as long as the sun
   and like the moon through all generations.

They shall be like rain coming down on the field,
   like showers watering the earth.

Virtue shall flower in their days,
   and world peace till the moon is no more.

May they rule from sea to sea,
   and from the river to the ends of the earth.

Their foes shall bow before them,
   and their enemies will lick the dust.

Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
   Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.

All other rulers shall pay homage to them;
   all nations shall serve them.

For they shall rescue the poor when they cry out
   and the afflicted when they have no one to help them.

They shall have compassion for the needy and the poor;
   they shall save the lives of the poor.

From oppression and violence they shall redeem them,
   and precious shall their blood be.

To them, long life and continuous prayers;
   day by day shall they be blessed.

May grain be in abundance on the earth,
   and on the tops of the mountains
   the crops shall rustle like Lebanon.
   The city dwellers shall flourish
   like the grass of the fields.

Blessed be their name forever;
   their name shall remain as long as the sun.
In them shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
   all the nations shall proclaim their happiness.

This translation of Psalm 72 is from Psalms Anew, St. Mary’s Press, 1986.

The Readings

1 John 4:19-5:4

Psalm 721-2,14,15bc,17

Luke 4:14-22

January 5, 2011, John Neumann

Reflection (The readings are below, for your reference)

“If we love one another, God lives in us, and God’s love is perfected in us.”

Sri Nisargadatta said, “When the mind is momentarily free from its own pre-occupations it becomes quiet. If you do not disturb this quiet and stay in it you find that it is permeated with a light and love you’ve never known and yet you recognize it at once as your own true nature.”

John’s epistle and Sri Nisargadatta’s words seem connected in my mind in that if we pare down all the pre-occupations, what’s left is love. Love for self and love for others … perfect love. Is that our own true nature? I think so.

What do you think?

Namaste. Amen.

The Readings

1 John 4:11-18

Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and God’s love is perfected in us.

By this we know that we abide in God and God in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.

Psalm 72:1-2,10,12-13

O God, with your judgment and with your justice,
   endow the leaders.

They shall govern your people with justice
   and your afflicted ones with righteousness.

Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
   Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.

For they shall rescue the poor when they cry out
   and the afflicted when they have no one to help them.

They shall have compassion for the needy and the poor;
   they shall save the lives of the poor.

Mark 6:45-52

Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After saying farewell to them, he went up on the mountain to pray.

When evening came, the boat was out on the lake, and he was alone on the land. When he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in the morning, walking on the lake. He intended to pass them by. But when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’ Then he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

With one exception, the readings are from the website below, with adjustments to make the text more inclusive. The Psalm is from Psalms Anew, St. Mary’s Press, 1986.

http://bible.oremus.org/

January 4, 2011, Elizabeth Ann Seton

Reflection (The readings are below, for your reference)

Christina Rossetti wrote a beautiful poem that was matched with an Irish melody and recorded by Jars of Clay. The poem is here below. I thought of it when I read today’s scriptures. Love surely came down at Christmas … AGAIN! And it comes again today, and tomorrow and the next day after that. One of the (many) images of God that comes to mind is that of a parent who observes the kids once again misbehaving and says, “Do I have to come over there?” Because that’s exactly what God did … and does! God, who is love, came over here to show us a lesson! So every time I witness an example of God’s love in the actions or words of another person, whether it’s Mother Theresa, or Bono, or my neighbor across the street; every time I catch myself before I say the hurtful word; every time someone forgives me; every time anyone defends the afflicted, or saves the children of the poor, or reaches out to an enemy in a gesture of peace; each time one of these things (and a thousand others) happens, I know that love surely did come down at Christmas and we are learning the lesson!

What do you see in today’s readings?

Love came down at Christmas,

Love all lovely, Love Divine;

Love was born at Christmas,

Star and Angels gave the sign.

Worship we the Godhead,

Love Incarnate, Love Divine;

Worship we our Jesus:

But wherewith for sacred sign?

Love shall be our token,

Love shall be yours and love be mine,

Love to God and all men,

Love for plea and gift and sign.

The Readings

1 John 4:7-10

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God became human into the world so that we might live through God. In this is love, not that we loved God but that God loved us and became human to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Psalm 72:1-4,7-8

O God, with your judgment and with your justice, endow the leaders.

They shall govern your people with justice
   and your afflicted ones with righteousness.

The mountains will bring peace for the people,
   and the hills justice.

They shall defend the afflicted among the people,
   save the children of the poor,
   and crush the oppressor.

Virtue shall flower in their days,
   and world peace till the moon is no more.

May they rule from sea to sea,
   and from the river to the ends of the earth.

Their foes shall bow before them,
   and their enemies will lick the dust.

Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
   Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.

Mark 6:34-44

As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. When it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is now very late; send them away so that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy something for themselves to eat.’ But he answered them, ‘You give them something to eat.’ They said to him, ‘Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?’ And he said to them, ‘How many loaves have you? Go and see.’ When they had found out, they said, ‘Five, and two fish.’ Then he ordered them to get all the people to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. And all ate and were filled; and they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. Those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand households.

With one exception, the readings are from the website below, with adjustments to make the text more inclusive. The Psalm is from Psalms Anew, St. Mary’s Press, 1986.

http://bible.oremus.org/

January 3, 2011, The Most Holy Name of Jesus

Reflection (The readings are below, for your reference)

I recently received a card from a friend. The front cover showed a cat looking out the window proclaiming, “Today is the first day of the rest of your life!” and the inside of the card said “But don’t sweat it, tomorrow is too.” That card came to mind as I read Psalm 2: “God said to me, ‘You are mine. It is I who have begotten you this day.'” Indeed, everyday God declares a fresh start. If yesterday you forgot, well then you are begotten yet again today. Start fresh, start right where you are. That’s what I hear the Spirit saying to me today. How about you?

The Readings

1 John 3:22-4:6

We receive from God whatever we ask, because we obey God’s commandments and do what pleases God.

And this is God’s commandment: that we should believe in the name of God’s Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who obey these commandments abide in God, and God abides in them. And by this we know that God abides in us, by the Spirit that God has given us.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world. Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Psalm 2:7-8,10-12

I will proclaim the decree of God.

God said to me, ‘You are mine.

   It is I who have begotten you this day.

Ask and I shall bequeath you the nations,

   make the ends of the earth in your possession.

Now, O leaders, understand;

   take warning, rulers of the earth.

Serve God with awe and trembling,

   paying homage,

lest God be angry and you perish;

   for God’s anger will suddenly blaze.

Blessed are they who put their trust in God.

Matthew 4:12-17,23-25

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the lake, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

‘Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,

   on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—

the people who sat in darkness

   have seen a great light,

and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death

   light has dawned.’

From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

With one exception, the readings are from the website below, with adjustments to make the text more inclusive. The Psalm is from Psalms Anew, St. Mary’s Press, 1986.

http://bible.oremus.org/