Matthew 23:1-12
 
We have all been given an extraordinary array of talents and treasures, to share with others and to use to love God and the women, men and children that cross our paths each day. Like the servant in Jesus’ parable who received just one talent and buried it in the ground, I can keep these talents and treasures to myself, bound by the fears and hesitancies that nag me, the what ifs of life: “What if my Master doesn’t approve…”, “What if I lose my health, my comfort, my security…”, “What if they don’t like it or don’t want it…”, “ What if it’s actually a foolish waste of time…” .  On the other hand, I can invest in any one of many possible ‘good’ things to do with the Good Gifts I have received from our heavenly Father. I can use my talents and treasure in a wide variety of ways to call others to the life, light and love of God: I can give generously of my time to volunteer in my community; I can accompany someone who is lonely ill, or depressed;  I can reach out to a grieving family, encourage struggling artists and feed the hungry; I can always reach out, if only by prayer, to a person who has lost their way home to God our Father.  Will I fearfully land hesitantly grasp to myself all the gifts God has made me to be, or will I generously use them for his purposes of love and life?  Holy Spirit of God, help me use my talents generously and well.
                                                                                                                   
O sing to the Lord a new song… Rejoice in the presence of the Lord!. (Psalm 98:1,9)
 
God loves a cheerful giver, Give it all you’ve got,
He loves to hear you laughing when you’re in an awkward spot,
When the odds line up against you, It’s time to stop and sing,
Praise God, to praise him is a joyous thing. 
Sr. Miriam Therese Winter
 
Soli ad gloriam
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1 Thessalonians3:7-13 & Matthew 25:1-13

 
On a beautiful warm day I swam with four small grandchildren in the sparkling clear waters of the St. Lawrence River. Playing tag we ran circles around each other squealing with glee and working our feet against a soft sandy bottom.  And then I ran into a rock. Within two days, I began a four week journey through back and leg pain. Even with physio and slowing down – and standing and sitting and walking on firm ground -I am still feeling the effects of running helter skelter on shifting sands for an hour of gleeful play. This forced retreat has given me pause to reflect on two themes in the scripture readings this summer, the theme of standing firm in the Lord and the idea of thte grace of patience and waiting for God’s will to unfold.  If I choose to engage with, or even to ‘stand my ground’ on, the sands of time, digging my feet into ideologies, philosophies or platforms of any kind, over time my footing will eventually become unstable as the waves of fame, fortune and success come and go around me – and chances are I will accidentally run into a submerged rock or two, and end up in agony of mind and soul.  But if I simply and deliberately choose to stand on the rock of faith in God’s mercy and grace, then I will be standing firm as the waves of change, trauma, or even joyful play wash around me.  Am I prepared to stand firm… in the Lord… continually?  Holy Spirit of Jesus, help me to continue to stand firm, with my lamp lit, with all of my heart, mind, soul and strength - in the Lord.     
                                                                                                                   
Light shines forth for the just and joy for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, O you who wait for the Lord. (Psalm 97)
 
On Christ the Solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand…
Hymn: My Hope is Built on Nothing Less , by Edward Mote
Annonymous
 
Soli ad gloriam
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Matthew 23:27-32

 
What is it that soils my soul? Jesus pointed to hypocrisy, that is saying one thing and doing another, as the major fault of the religious leaders of his times.  He likened them to ‘white-ed sepulchers’, good on the outside, while harboring great evil on the inside. He criticized people who appeared to be very religious but were actually walking around carrying the ‘bones of the dead’ in their souls, that is, past hurts and wrongs both given and received that remain unforgiven. Jesus also noted that it was often the ‘most religious’  people  who were actually full of filth and lawlessness within their hearts – pride, greed, lust envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth (acedia) that gave way to thoughts, words and deeds that were products of a self-referencing, rather than God-centering.  Will I allow the healing light of God’s love and life to sweep through the inner recesses of my heart, mind, soul and strength to cleanse, purify, and wash my be-ing? Holy Spirit of Jesus, purify my being through and through, so I can lead a life worthy of God.
                                                                                                             Examine me, O God, and know my mind; test me and discover my thoughts. Find out if there is any evil in me, and guide me in the everlasting way. (Psalm 139:23-24)
 
What Counts
It isn’t the things I talk about no matter how fine and true;
It isn’t the things I seem to think, nor even the things I do.
It isn’t the creed I call my own, nor the motto on my wall;
The only thing that really counts is what’s in my heart. That’s all.
Annonymous
 
Soli ad gloriam
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Joshua 24:1-18 & Ephesians 4:32-5:32

 
WWJD?  - What Would Jesus Do – still finds its way onto bracelets and coffee cups.  Living into what Jesus would do, and not becoming cozy with the sins of this age, takes a great deal of (divine) wisdom. Every day a new iteration of sin comes up in conversation, in the media or at the corner store sugar coated and prettied up to make it appear to be ‘good’.  It is easy to swallow ‘just this one little thing’ and carry on.  But that was not the way of Joshua, the successor to Moses, and pre-cursor of Jesus who led the Hebrews into the Promised Land. ‘Choose this day whom you will serve…’ Joshua told his people.  Nor was it the way of Jesus, who was crucified for serving his Father’s Mercy agenda.   Both Joshua and Jesus turned their back on the lure of the temptations to part ways with God. Joshua forced Hebrew families to make a choice, to turn to God or away from God. Days before his arrest, torture and death Jesus laid out the program in stark terms as well:  “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.  But among you are some who do not believe.” Depending on how we believe we will act, and depending on how we act, we will work for or against God’s merciful plans for justice and holiness for this world that we live in. Scripture is full of teachings, nuggets of wisdom, and clear guidance on what to do in any and all of life’s circumstances. Jesus’ life and ministry show us how we must apply the Word and to serve the Living God.  Will we, my household and I, choose self-referenced paths of comfort, security, fame and fortune, or will we choose to imitate Christ who chose humble obedience to the light and love and life of Father God?  Holy Spirit of God, help us imitate Christ Jesus as we,  I and my household, serve you.
 
 Look to him and be radiant so your faces shall never be ashamed.    (Psalm 34:5)
 
All that is in the world is vanity except to love God and serve him only.
― Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ
 
Soli ad gloriam
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Ruth 2:1-4:17
 
It seems that Ruth, the Moabite daughter in law of the Jewess Naomi, did not spend a lot of time agonizing about whether to go to Bethlehem or not. Nor did she take a lot of time planning and preparing for her journey to maximize its outcomes.  Naomi needed her, and so Ruth accompanied her mother in law to her home in Bethlehem, and lived into the life that unfolded for her day by day. By doing the best next thing, hour by hour, day by day, within a year Ruth was married to a good husband, and was pregnant with a son. Her son, Obed, grew up under the care and guidance of Naomi to become the  grandfather  (and guide) of King David, a man with profound influence for good on the future of Israel and the world, into whose family was born Jesus, the Son of the Living God.  Simply taking the best next steps, as Ruth did, is most often all that God needs from us to unfold the greater plan of his good will in our own and the lives of those around us. Will I agonize over my own plans and preparations or simply, and trustingly do the best next thing for the love of God and others? Holy Spirit of God, help me faithfully take the best next step along my life’s path. 
                                                                                                                   Happy the one who loves the Lord and walks in his ways… (Psalm 128:1)
 
If there is anywhere on earth a lover of God who is always kept safe, I know nothing of it, for it was not shown to me. But this was shown: that in falling and rising again we are always kept in that same precious love.
Julian of Norwich
 
Soli ad gloriam
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