Wednesday in The Week of The 5th Sunday in Lent (04/01/09)

So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, be was appointed by the one who said to him, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you"; as he says also in another place, "You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek."

--Hebrews 5:5-6

Jesus didn't go to West Point, and He didn't burst onto the Wall Street scene, all newly-minted, with a Harvard MBA in His hands. Career advancement, as it's known today, wasn't in the cards. The Bible says nothing of Jesus enhancing His resume.

Who He was and what He did came to Him in the way of a gift. He was "begotten"; He was "appointed". He was enlisted in another's cause.

Fr. Richard John Neuhaus -- profound thinker, gifted and prolific writer, former Lutheran turned Roman Catholic -- died this past January. In one of his published prayers, he captures what it means for us to be enlisted in the Lord's cause:

God,

Gift us with the lightheartedness of those

who know that every cause of ours

that is good

is Yours before it is ours.

Amen.

A good -- and lighthearted! -- day to you all!

PD

Fr. Richard John Neuhaus

Tuesday in The Week of The 5th Sunday in Lent (03/31/09)

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

--Psalm 51:2

Certain kinds of magic markers leave nearly indelible marks on dustless chalkboards. Erasers won't completely take away the stain. Soon enough, it's off to the cleaning closet for Windex and rags.

Human sin -- the kind about which King David wrote about in today's verse -- is not dealt with by half-hearted attempts at erasure. It requires a thorough cleansing.

Make no mistake, sin is a dirty topic and an even dirtier reality. It doesn't pop up very often in polite, "enlightened" conversation. In 1973, Dr. Karl Menninger wrote a famous book with an even more famous title: Whatever Became of Sin? Decades later, it's still a great question.

King David didn't have to look very far. He saw it in himself; he called it "my iniquity" and "my sin." Here is a gut-level honesty that is far more appreciated these days than it is practiced.

The good news of the Gospel, to carry the analogy through, is that God headed for the cleaning closet and brought out the Windex and the rags. The sins of the world -- King David's and ours included -- were given a thorough cleansing. It was and is the "Windex" of the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from all sin.

PD

Monday in The Week of The 5th Sunday in Lent

For I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

--Jeremiah 31:34b

A former mentor described it as follows: "God buried our sins in an ocean of forgiveness, and He placed a floating sign in the water that says 'No Fishing Here!'."

But still we fish. Our memories, not all of them good, tend to linger. With Cher, our souls sing out: "If I could turn back time... ." We try to come to a point where "Regret is but a memory written on my brow, and there's nothing I can do about it now" (Willie Nelson), but that effort doesn't always succeed. (Rationalizations rarely do.) We still fish.

God doesn't run a bait and tackle shop. The fact, according to Jeremiah, is that God will have no memory of our sin. The bad data is deleted and the "caustic assets" of our faults and failures are wiped away. The reality of life -- and its joy! -- is forgiveness. That's the point that Lent, Holy Week, and Easter attempt to make!

PD

5th Sunday in Lent (03/29/09)

Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.

--Psalm 43:1

Long ago, the 5th Sunday in Lent was called Judica. This Latin term means "judge", and its use in the Christian calendar derives from Psalm 43:1.

Apparently, things were coming down to the wire for the author of this psalm. It was crunch time; the pressure was intense, and the stakes were sky high. Instead of sitting around and waiting for the worst with an attitude of weak resignation, the psalmist throws caution to the wind and gets aggresssive. The time for polite, prayerful "diplomacy" was long gone. The demand was about to be made and the ultimatum delivered: God, You be my judge AND my defense attorney AND my deliverer!

This is prayer that has obviously done its calisthenics. It's a rugged, muscular plea straight from the pages of God's Word. I'd like to think that it captures what Jesus was thinking as He looked forward to going to Jerusalem and on to His passion, death, and resurrection.

The season of Lent, which Christians are observing the world over, is a great time for faith to do its calisthenics. We are free to pray boldly, ruggedly, muscularly. God will see us through!

PD

Saturday in The Week of The 4th Sunday in Lent (03/28/09)

Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
--John 3:17

Happy Saturday! We have The Sandpipers to thank for that mellow, even mystic anthem ("Come Saturday Morning") to the last day of the week. Here's a snippet: "Just I and my friend, we'll travel for miles in our Saturday smiles and then we'll move on. But we will remember long after Saturday's gone." Saturdays, for many, are like a mini-vacation. And, as with so many other good experiences, they seem to be over before they start. Before you know it, Monday morning's alarm goes off and it's back to the world of economic downturns, troop surges, "another-day-at-the-office", and a growing pile of uncertainties. Have you ever felt as though reality is something you have to "peacefully co-exist" with?

Pretty clearly, Jesus didn't come into the world to make Saturdays happier or to baptize the Monday status quo. Neither did God send Jesus in order to cough up caustic commentary and blasting bromides on the awful state of the world. Jesus appeared on our scene on a saving mission. Crucified and risen from the dead, He got the job done! That means, among other things, that your Saturdays -- and your Mondays! -- are in His nail-marked hands.

PD

Friday in The Week of the 4th Sunday in Lent (03/27/09)

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that ytou do apart from the presence of God."

--John 3:1-2

The third chapter of John's gospel features quite an exchange between Jesus and a man, a Pharisee, named Nicodemus. Interestingly, the conversation took place at night. It was "under the cover darkness," we might say.

Less than a year ago, I had an experience called clinical pastoral education. I served as a chaplain in a children's hospital. On overnight stays, I would make rounds like doctors do. The visits would begin on the intensive care unit. On countless Saturday evenings, I would take the elevator up to the 12th floor and drop in on the family waiting room. The lighting was soft, and a look out the bank of windows offered panoramic view of the city at night. I had many conversations in that room -- some were sad; others were nervous; and, yes, some were joyful. I called that waiting area the "Nicodemus room" and not without reason; for I truly believe that I met Jesus in the faces and lives of His people who were hurting.

The sun might not have gone down yet, but several good questions can be asked: where will we meet Jesus today? What will we learn? What will we say?

PD

Thursday in The Week of The 4th Sunday in Lent (03/26/09)

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.

--Psalm 107:1

Who's up for a little gratitude today? It's not something we can gin up or choreograph. Left to ourselves, there may be little more than our lucky stars to thank.

More significant than the reality of gratitude is the direction it takes. Gratitude isn't an emotion that simply sits around. It goes somewhere: to the Lord! No better place for it to go! And it's all for a very good couple of reasons. The Lord is good, and His steadfast love is going to be sticking around for a good long time!

(By the way, thanks for logging on and logging in. My current writing project is a series of short meditations based on the Scriptures readings appointed for each week in the church year. I hope you'll come back and check-in on occasion!)

PD