Is There a Doctor in the House?

Luke 5:27-32

In today's Gospel, Luke recalls the scene where Levi, the tax collector, responds to Jesus' call. Levi drops everything, leaves his post and follows Jesus. Thinking in terms of the circumstances of our own day, this scenario is hard to imagine.

But taking the entire episode at its face (without really even examining what in the world Levi must have been experiencing in the exchange) we see something that the religious of the time could not understand. Jesus was not seeking out those who were righteous. He was reaching out to those who were perceived the dregs of their society. The guys you love to hate: the tax collectors. (Lenten restraint prevents me from making a bad IRS joke.)

Later in this passage, we are told of the gathering and dinner Levi hosts where Jesus is the guest of honor among a group of other tax collectors-- some of the society most notorious sinners.

What is going on here?

We must remember who Jesus is-- God. We must remember His job-- to proclaim the Truth about our destiny as man. Jesus uses the analogy of the patient-doctor relationship. This is a simple one to understand. Jesus reached out to the sick-- in this case, the spiritually sick.

This story says something beautiful about all of us. Whether we are believers or not, there is something inside each of us that knows that there is something missing in all of us. We may not always sense it. But, I think if we are honest with ourselves, we can point to episodes in our lives where we have felt a void.

The lesson today is that God makes house calls. We just have to recognize our symptoms and be honest enough with ourselves to tell the doctor the truth-- regardless of our fear of treatment.

Who's Driving Us Crazy?

James 1:12-18

In today's reading from the Letter of James, we learn yet another one of the important secrets of life. Who is it that is driving us crazy?

James instructs us to make no mistake-- it is NOT God who tempts us. This is because God is not subject to evil. If you can wrap your head around it-- God is goodness, itself.

So, who is driving us crazy?

On any given day, I am sure that it would be easy to fill in the blank. My vote is for Satan. But, that is not exactly right, either. What James wants us to know is something profound-- something that is frightening to admit out loud.

We are tempted (and in my parlance--driven crazy) when we are lured and enticed by our own desire. So, the person driving us crazy is OUR SELF.

God gave us all a dangerous and powerful gift. He gave us our will. But, in His loving wisdom, he also gave us His Word. Through His Word, if we listen, we have everything we need to harness our will and calm the crazies.

We Should All Want to be Poor

The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jer. 17:5-8

Today's First Reading is from the Prophet Jeremiah. I could have chosen the Gospel to talk about today because it shares this same theme, but Jeremiah speaks loudly to me.

The prophet explains in very clear words how important it is for all of us to trust and rely on God and not on man or the things of this world. This notion can be a tall order when you think about the idea of trusting completely in one and in something that you can not see, touch or hear without eyes, hands and ears of faith.

But that is the beautiful thing about what Jeremiah is trying to explain. He uses the analogy of the faithful and trusting man as one who is like a tree planted in fertile ground and perpetually nourished by a life-giving stream. He says this type of man stays healthy (spiritually), is tranquil in temperament and always bears fruit.

Simple: Trust God.

Letting go of things can be hard. God wants us to use our intellect, judgment, and the resources and gifts He has given us-- but he does not want them to be the masters of us. I think of Jesus and the Beatitudes-- blessed are the poor in spirit. The whole notion of spiritual poverty had for a long time be somewhat of a mystery to me. In fact, Jesus celebrates the joy of the poor to whom he says that the Kingdom already belongs. What does this all mean?

At its essence, it is really quite simple. Poverty of Spirit simply means a state of mind that is voluntary humility. Speaking from experience, this can be very hard. But God, himself, calls us to this state of mind because to get to this state of mind-- you have to let go and just TRUST GOD. This means trusting him in everything. For a control freak like me, this is the ultimate test of obedience and love.