Category: lectio divina

2015.03.09: choose life

Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth: “Amen, I say to you,no prophet is accepted in his own native place.”- Lk 4:24

The greatest effect of a miracle is not the impressiveness of the deed nor its inexplicability but rather the transformation of nonbelief into belief. For nonbelievers no deed will be great enough to effect this change, but for believers every ordinary event is a miracle to be witnessed with joy. Jesus said in John 10:10, “I came to that they (the believers of the good news which he proclaimed) may have life and have it abundantly.”

Whether or not i see it,
the sun will rise and the sun will set.
Whether or not i understand it,
the Truth will be the Truth
Whether or not i feel it,
Love will be Love
Whether or not i believe in his existence,
God will be God.
It is a matter of choice.
I choose belief.
I choose life.

2015.03.08: temple of God

You shall not have other gods beside me. – Ex 20:3
but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1 Cor 1:24
But he was speaking about the temple of his body. Jn 2:21

Lord Jesus, there is no other gods beside you.
You have rescued me from the waters of Death,
you have animated me with the breath of your Spirit,
you have given me new eyes to see your works,
you have given me new ears to hear your voice,
you have forgiven me my sins, and
you have taken residence in my humble house.
Lord Jesus grant that
my soul be a worthy temple for the Son of God,
my words be spoken with the wisdom of God,
and my works be done through the power of God.

2015.03.01: the Lord is enough

He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else along with him? – Rom 8:32

you are enough for me, Lord
if i have you what else do i need?

since i found you i can see
not just with my eyes but with my mind
i am aware of things i’ve never noticed before
i can find joy
even in the most ordinary of things

since i found you i can hear
not just with my ears but with my soul
i have learned to treasure the stillness
before your spirit moves me
i have found peace within
that none can take away

since i found you i can love
with a heart that’s not my own
my very being is flooded
with a compassion for those
that i had never noticed
i have cried with tears more than just my own
springing from a well much deeper than my soul

Jesus, since i found you
i have joy, peace, and love
i have life that is abundant to the fullest
if i have you what else do i need?
you are enough for me, Lord

2015.02.27: righteousness

Jesus said to his disciples:
“I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.” – Mt: 5:20

righteousness: morally upright, without guilt,
without sin. a word that casted fear into my
heart. how can i be more righteous than the
impeccable rule followers? am i doomed to
the netherworld? and if a righteous man
turns from the virtuous path before death,
the rest of his life counts for nought? what
kind of righteousness is that, Ezekiel?

thank God for the Word Incarnate, he who
brings the kingdom of God, a new heaven
and a new earth. his kingdom doesn’t depend
on the righteousness of humans. his kingdom
is founded on divine righteousness. in the
baptism of the sinful, he took on our sins:
past, present, and future. through his death
on the cross our sins died with him. with his
resurrection from the dead we rise with his
righteousness to a life everlasting. he remains
with us still, he lives in us, and he acts through
us – the Body of Christ. that is the good news.
we do not have to enter the kingdom of heaven
on our righteousness. we enter the kingdom of
heaven with, in, and through the righteousness
of Emmanuel, God with us. Praise be to God.

2015.02.26: all that is

For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Mt 7:8

all that is given leads to more wanting
all that is found leads to more seeking
all that is opened leads to more doors

which gift leads to the truth?
which answer leads to the way?
which door leads to the life?

am i doomed to constant longing?
am i destined to endless searching?
will i always face a hall of doors?

“be still
be still and know
be still and know that i am
be still and know that i am God”

is that knocking that i hear?