Friday, October 28, 2016

How Much Is Enough?

How Much Is Enough?

Try your best to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed. (Luke 13:24)   

         Luke makes no effort to soften these Words of Jesus.  Matthew’s version of the narrow gate (Mt 7:13) is no different.  They are not meant to provide comfort, but to light a Fire.  Other translations of Luke say ‘Make every effort’ or ‘Strive’ to enter.  In each case, the root meaning evokes struggle –a struggle in which many will not succeed.  
         What Jesus says, and who Jesus is, is one and the same.  He said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.”  He said what he lived.  If I am to be obedient to what he Says, then my life must be congruent with his Life.  And if this is the standard, against which I will fail or succeed, then what cause do I have to Hope?  Do I have even kindle for Fire?  
         The things I Profess with all my heart are the very things which expose the gap between ‘what I say’ and ‘who I am’.  It is the gap in my Integrity -where what I Profess is not fully integrated into what I Do. This gap is the portrait of my Weakness, my Self-Delusion, my Unwillingness to Die, my Hidden Distrust of God’s Love.  It is a reflection of my compromised commitment to the Narrow Way.
          Try your best to enter by the narrow door…’ these Words of Jesus are exhorting me to narrow my gap, for, ‘to live a holy life is to be holy just as he is holy.’ (1Jn 3:7).  But will my ‘best’ be good enough?  If I, in this life, will never live up to what I Profess -to be a faithful follower of Christ- then, what cause do I have to Hope?  Do I have even kindle for Fire?
         I have a vivid memory four decades old.  Shame has not allowed it to fade.  I just gave my life to Christ and had a brand new Cross hanging from my neck.  I stopped by a friend, with whom I had done drugs in the past, to witness to him.  I began that night telling him about my new life in Jesus and I left that night stoned.
This memory, though shameful, is a sure cause to Hope.  I was unfaithful but Jesus remained faithful.  I abandoned him, but he did not abandon me.  As I was struggling in my failure, he was rejoicing in my return.
…many will try to enter and will not succeed.’  Yes, this is a hard Word.  Yes, Jesus, the Inviolable Truth, defines what is acceptable to the Kingdom of God; and he is the Only Door; but… he is the Narrow Way which opens wide to the Prodigal’s Father -whose Mercy searches the horizon of sin for a Repentant Soul.
         This event of trying to enter by the narrow door is not the moment at the end of my life when I am judged (then, it would be too late); it is every moment of my life since saying “yes” to Jesus’ invitation.  It is the lifelong struggle of submitting to the Saving Hand of God.  And from this perspective, not only will many not succeed, but all will fail!  For, we all have fallen short in sin.  
         The Many, who will not succeed, are not those who fail, but those who quit; who leave the path; who say, “Yes Father, I will do your work” but then, go their own way.  They are the ones who relinquish the Struggle, who resign themselves to the Lukewarm.
         John’s perspective of ‘Jesus-The-Gate’ is from a different window than Matthew and Luke:  Jesus says, ‘I am the gate.  Anyone who enters through me will be safe: he will go freely in and out and be sure of finding pasture.’ (Jn 10:9).  Jesus is still the Way and the Truth, but here, rather than focusing on Truth’s Judgment, John emphasizes Truth’s Salvation: If we, the Needy Sheep, walk in the Freedom of Truth we will surely find Life.
         Truth; Judgment; Salvation; Repentance; Obedience and Mercy –These are the footstones of the Narrow Way to Life and many will not find their footprints upon them.  This is the truth that brings God to tears.  …But for the Grace of God.  …But for the Grace of God.
         Jesus has brought me a long way since my shameful first attempt to evangelize.  I have failed many more times at the Narrow Way.  And each time my Good Shepherd rescues me -at the price of his Blood- always carrying me, held to his breast, back to the Fold.  My struggle is as hard as it has ever been, but the gap between what I Profess and who I Am has narrowed –and this is great cause for Hope; kindling for his Fire.

Friday, October 21, 2016

Will He Find Any Faith?

Will He Find Any Faith?

But when the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?” (Luke 18:1-8)    
Luke prefaces the parable of the Importunate Widow with the call to pray continuously without losing heart, then, tells how the widow, after unrelentingly pestering the unscrupulous judge, receives a just settlement.  Lastly, he unleashes this fateful question of Jesus.  
This Gospel snapshot, on first read, seems disjointed.  It begins as if it’s a primer on prayer, yet, the widow is not portrayed as prayerful or pious, but as demanding justice against her enemy; the judge has no similarities to God; and it concludes with Jesus’ startling question about his Second Coming.
The beauty, of a portrait painted in broad strokes, is hidden close up -one must back away from it to capture its fullness.  So too, the Truth of these eight verses lies hidden until we back away from its literal setting.  Like a good painting, this parable makes its statement through contrast.  If a feisty widow, with nagging, can secure just settlement from a secular judge who hands out justice based on personal profit, how much more can a person of faith, with unrelenting prayer, find Recompense from a merciful God?  
On the surface, Jesus is telling us if we persevere in prayer, especially when it seems like God is not listening, we will surely be rewarded.  But, that he seals this parable with the Daunting Question, ‘will he find any faith on earth?’, speaks of something deeper than the shallow motivation of getting what we want if we persist in asking –he is summoning us to a life of Faith; to live as if God’s Promise is true, and to do so, not only in the absence of evidence, but even when evidence is to the contrary.
This kind of intractable Faith, is what gave Abraham the strength to offer his only begotten son.  It goes against our feelings, desires, and logic.  It offers no proof, but demands unconditional commitment.  As such, it is as uncommon as the ‘hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it(Mt 7:14).  Jesus forewarns us, that when he comes again, he will be looking for Faith, and he wonders aloud, if he will find any.  
He frames this intractable Faith as rare among men because it is not of man.  It cannot be conjured up like a fanciful wish, nor called forth as a feat of strength.  It cannot be earned.  It is won only by surrendering -to an Unseen Power, and at that, it is usually discovered after exhausting all other options.  If it is ever secured, it is only after having lost it many times.  It is never neat and tidy, but tattered and bloody.  Once known it cannot be unknown, yet it is easily forgotten in times of comfort.  
 Faith is an ephemeral mystery because it is a Gift not of our world –it is the Stuff of God.  We must believe it before we can know it -as courage cannot exist outside of fear, Faith cannot exist outside of uncertainty.  It exists in the absence of what we desire; in our desperation for consolation; in the strength of our weakness; in the impossible hoped possible.  
We can no more grasp Faith with our mind than we can hold onto Jello with our fingers, yet Faith is our only link to God –our only lifeline to transcend suffering and death.  As such, Faith is the Supreme Gift.  It is given for all to freely receive, yet the Many have rejected it.  Now, all gifts are given on the terms of the Giver, so isn’t it curious then, that Man would spurn the God-Given because it is not on his terms?  Oh, the Curse of Pride!  It is Pride then, which gives Christ the pause to wonder if he will find any Faith on earth.
          Lord, the Importunate Widow’s tragedy was her blessing –her poverty robbed her of the luxury of Pride -she was free to beg for mercy.  Oh Holy Spirit of my Lord Jesus, rob me of my Pride.  May my poverty of spirit free me to relentlessly beg your Mercy.  Good Father, I shall ever praise you for sending your Son to make straight the Way.

Friday, October 14, 2016

Today

Today

By your Grace, Lord,
Long Ago has become my Friend
…singing softly of your Power to Save.
And by your same Faithful Grace,
the Darkness of what is Yet To Be,
is a Provocation to Hope
…Reaching back into Now.

For the Past, now conquered
and testifying to your Truth,
is forever consigned
to point to a Future
filled with your Unchanging Mercy.
What was, and what is to be,
is cause to Praise,
to fall deeper in Love.

Lord, I can only love you this Moment Now,
in this your Gift of Today.
Here, you are my Refuge,
my Abode of Truth,
where your Mighty Right Hand sustains me,
where you are the Rock shoring up my feet;
where you cloak me in the Comfort of your Word.
Today, this Sacred Moment Now,
is enough to Be in You.

Friday, October 7, 2016

Happy Tails

Happy Tails

Recently, neurologists discovered that smiling is not merely a result of a happy feeling.  They found that the act of smiling, even when forced, activates an area in our brain which produces a sense of well being; and, that same mood enhancing effect is produced in another’s brain when they view our smile.  Reading this discovery triggered a memory of a silly fantasy I had entertained.
Let me digress.  Our kitchen has a set of French doors to an open back porch.  Every morning as I grope my way to the coffee pot, I am met by our dog, Staush, who lies waiting outside those doors.  As he hears my approaching footsteps, even before he lifts his head, his tail begins to wag.  It never ceases to give me joy.  He remains there as I have my prayer time at the nearby table.  
It was there I happened upon the fantasy (my mind often wanders during prayer.)  It began as I was thanking God for how Lovingly Made is his gift of dog to man –how dogs bring such joy.  If my chair stirs, or I turn my head toward the door, Staush’s tail will start to wag.  It has very long, dense fluffy hair, so it is like a flag waving, saying, “I am happy that you are here with me!”  The joy that his wagging tail evoked within me, caused me to fantasize how wonderful it would be if humans had tails which evoked joy into each other.
God created man out of Love and for Love, so when we are loved, we experience the affirmation of our deepest need, and this, we experienced as Joy.  God is Triune Love -where the identity of the Three Persons dissolve into One, each belonging to the Other.  God created man in His Image.  Such then, explains our need to belong.
So maybe, in creating Man’s Best Friend, God created dog in man’s image.  In giving the dog a driving need to belong to a pack, the dog, like Man, can only be joyful in belonging to another.  
 Now I realize, my secret disappointment in God’s tailless design for us, is for naught.  He did not give us tails because he gave us something much better.  He gave us a Smile.  
A smile is better, not just because a tail would make it harder to wear cloths; it is way better because we can wear a smile when we are happy and when we are not.  Staush doesn’t know his tail is wagging, he just knows he is delighted in my presence, and his tail shouts it so.  A smile can sneak onto our face when we are happy.  But we can also make a smile to make another person happy.
The gift of our smile is as powerful as it is delightful.  With the slightest effort of a smile, we can interject Joy into the life of another –actually bypassing their choice in the matter.  And to possess such a profound power calls us to a profound responsibility.  Does not the Heavens demand, that in possessing such a Precious Gift, which has no cost, that we must give it away –especially to those most in need?
          Two centuries past, Abe Lincoln said, “Smile and you will be happy.”  He understood what neural researchers, only today, have discovered.  Two millennia past, Jesus said, “Smile and make people happy.” (Well, ok, he’s not actually recorded as saying that –I just deduced those words from his Word that was recorded.)  How different we would be, and the world around us, if with every person we meet, we would smile with our ‘Happy Tail’ –we would say, “I am happy that you are here with me!”