Episode Notes

John was a man -sent from God. We know that his conception was miraculous, next to our Blessed Mother and the Savior John’s nativity is the one other nativity feast we celebrate- he was slightly older than Jesus, of the priestly class, they met while in their mothers wombs and John leapt for joy. We read that John was filled with the Holy Spirit while in the womb- he went out into the wilderness and became a great ascetic and to be with God. He knew God in the Wilderness, God spoke to him and told him things as he did the prophets of old but John was greater than all the prophets of old, there had been no one greater born of women.

Episode Notes

I have heard recently of a person who is very angry at God for all the awful things he does to people or allows to happen to people- which I suppose, in this person’s mind is the same thing- if he allows it, he might as well have done it himself- in the final tally, He is responsible for all the awful things. It is a somewhat understandable position to assume and one that God anticipates. He is quite aware that this is how things appear and He warns us repeatedly of the threatening delusion.

God is not the author of evil, can not be tempted by evil nor does he tempt any man with evil. And yet all the same he does test our faith that it might be proven. Proven to be true- and proven as in refined and made perfect. And the testing of our faith consists in a fiery trial of suffering- in some form or another. Why does he have to be so mean, can’t he just prove our faith another way, with walks by the lake and mimosas at brunch? We’ll no he can’t as a matter of fact or else I’m sure he would.

Episode Notes

There is no one without sin. Our confidence is not in our sinlessness but in the Goodness and mercy of God to forgive the honest sinner who fears and waits upon the Lord. What does it mean to fear and wait upon the Lord? To wait is one who has hope in God’s mercy and goodness, to fear is to recognize the uncompromising nature of reality, that is the Holiness of God- that this eternal blaze of glory, goodness, joy and truth will destroy all that is treacherous and disloyal. Jesus said if you deny me before men I will deny you before my Father in heaven. God does not just forgive the honest sinner but he invites him into his divine counsel and gives him and his descendants the earth.

Episode Notes

Jesus warns us in the gospel this morning that there is a great tribulation coming. Whether he speaks of something yet to happen or something that has already happened- there will be tribulations until the end. He promised us in the world you will have tribulation. Why? He is God, He is good and wants us to be happy, I mean he created us for the express purpose of being filled with delight and joy. So why doesn’t he just fix it all with a wave of His hand- why this tribulation? Apparently it would not be what is best for us or else He would.

Episode Notes

A phrase from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians caught my attention this morning. He tells the Ephesians to redeem the time because the days are evil. The days are evil… It’s hard to image something written 2K years ago that could sound more contemporary. We are likely in the beginning throws of the collapse of a civilization. It has happened before, and if Jesus tarries it will happen again. Feeling our contemporary demise acutely we may miss the obvious, St. Paul was also in days which were evil, and that was long ago with much historical and social water under the bridge. We have no corner on evil days, mankind has been living in days which are evil for a very long time.

Episode Notes

When we study Jesus' life in the Scripture he appears as many things, he is a shepherd carrying for his sheep, a vintner growing and tending his vine, a creator bringing things into existence, a teacher showing the way, a miracle worker setting people free, a destroyer of death, a redeemer who offers his life to pay the price of our salvation and deliverance from enslavement to the enemy. He is certainly all of these things and more. The first clear apostolic proclamation to the world was: JESUS IS LORD!

Episode Notes

The temptation of any heresy is to choose. That's what heresy means, to choose. The tension between truth and love, the seeming tension, as if somehow we need to "strike a balance", is a false dichotomy. And whenever a choice is made, in choosing that thing that is chosen, the choice becomes something other than it is, when it is left without its partner. Things that are good and true are only good and true when taken together. As soon as they are broken apart, they become something else. Love becomes "tolerance", niceness, an occasion to blur reality in order to salve our broken psyche. Truth becomes some radicalized system which excludes judges, radicalizes and oppresses people. We have to ask, how can Christ himself, who is the Truth and who is Love, how can Christ be divided? We cannot choose! To choose is heresy.

Episode Notes

God has not predestined anyone to perdition- that notion is an obscenity to be denounced and rejected. We are not trapped in a hopelessly irreversible trajectory towards our fate. You can choose the good and the beautiful or you can do nothing in which case by tragic default you will succumb to the powers of this fallen state, the overlords of corruption and atrophy. These harsh taskmasters will carry you down a dark river to a place you do not really want to go but you will go because you did not bother to desire what you truly desire.  That is up to you. That is the power that God implanted in your being and which identifies you as human made in God’s image.

This is a test of keeping your bearings, of good judgment and discernment about what is true, about what matters, about who butters your bread, about what kingdom you belong to, where do you draw your breath, what is the source of your life? Whose your mother? Everything that can be shaken is shaking right now, are you shaken? Confused and destabilized? This world will burn, the kingdom of God alone will remain.

In times like these when everything has been thrown into disorder and chaos, when our lives have been disrupted by threat of sickness and death and loss of property and comfort we must be courageous and steady in our faith and in our living as well. There is no more important time than in this to live orderly.

We shall go on living- if you are a follow of Christ that is what you shall do, you shall live, that is not a prophecy that you will not get sick itis a fact- whether you get sick or not you shall live and so live your life free from fear, live courageously in faith.