Into the Sacred Hills of Jade

DAILY DEVOTIONAL

Monday, June 18, 2018

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a Roman military officer came to Him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” – Matthew 8:5,6

A Roman military officer there in Galilee to enforce the Roman occupation of that land comes to a Galilean rabbi asking for help.  I find that rather unexpected, but then again, on several occasions certain Roman officers were viewed positive light.

Here we experience a Roman military officer who has compassion on his servant.  Not a man wielding an intimidating sword or demanding that this Galilean obey his orders… but a compassionate man respectfully, rather humbly, asking Christ for a measure of healing mercy.  In the end, the military officer’s request is granted and Christ affirms him as a man of great faith.  Later, other soldiers would brutally whip this rabbi, mock this rabbi, drive nails into his hands, all the while obeying orders.  But this one soldier acted in response to a greater command … to alleviate the suffering of a commoner, a servant.

The Christian has always struggled, or at least, those who are sensitive in spirit, with the tension between obedience to man’s law and obedience to the conscience of God.  Sometimes law and conscience coincide or at least tolerably coincide, but at other times, they cannot be reconciled, the demands of human law and the demands of a conscience Divinely graced.

Sometimes in human history and it has been often when Christian were called to be faithful to conscience, that Divinely graced conscience and were made martyrs by their lack of “patriotism, one defined in terms of law-and-order”.

Always in Christ’s Service,

Fr. Charitas de la Cruz

DAILY DEVOTIONAL

Sunday, June 17, 2018

On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled.  The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. – Luke 6:6,7

Supposedly they were godly men, these Pharisees so committed to keeping the Law and these Bible scholars who knew every jot and tittle of the scriptures … yet their zealotry led them into vile treachery.  They would watch this ragamuffin rabbi from the rough country of Galilee to see if He would yield to their authority and keep the letter of the Law.  They believed that a person could do no work on the holy Sabbath, though did have loopholes and self-exempting exceptions.  Would this Jesus goes against the Law of God by healing a wounded man?  Who is this rabbi who breaks with tradition, who does good on the holy Sabbath?

How can this happen, holy men, so schooled in the minutiae of the Faith, leaders who consider themselves so devout, so dedicated to keeping discipline, have hearts so filled with scheming, judgmental malice?  But it happened in that synagogue and it still happens in holy places in present times, this seductive sin of holy malice.

Look to the heart, Christ taught.  Look to the heart, it is God’s way.  Look to the heart and observe what is actually abiding there.  The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were so concerned for the sins that Christ might commit that they  were oblivious to the sin within themselves.

Always in Christ’s Service,

Fr. Charitas de la Cruz

DAILY DEVOTIONAL

Saturday, June 16, 2018

Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.” – Matthew 2:6-8

Matthew knows how this account of the furious Herod venting his rage on the families in the region of Bethlehem would stir moral outrage in the Judeo-Christian communities.  It is a sacred bond, this bond of mother and child.  How iconic is the image of Mary holding the Christ Child.  No worse moral transgression can there be, this ripping the children out of the arms of the mother.

I think of the horrific scene in Sophies’ Choice when the Nazi guard executes a cruel law all the more cruelly by separating child from mother.  That Nazi guard was on one level obeying the law; but on so many other levels, he was disobeying the moral imperative.  When I revisit that scene I always cry.

Throughout history, all despots use ever intensifying methods of intimidation to aggrandize their power and to work their will.  It is in the nature of this particular demon to lust for more and more self-aggrandizement.  They lust for the salutes of the frenzied loyalists and the fearful crowd; they lust for absolute loyalty and control.

The early Church went through a series of shifting persecutions.  First by Herod, an egotistical despot, a man who declared himself to be of a priestly caste; then by the Caesars who considered themselves to be as gods.  Through all these waves of persecution, the early Church obeyed where they could morally obey, but resisted where they could not morally obey.

Evil persists through the centuries, but thankfully also does the Good.

Always in Christ’s Service,

Fr. Charitas de la Cruz

DAILY DEVOTIONAL

Friday, June 15, 2018

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”  Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. – Matthew 18:2,22

I have heard a few take this literally, the limit is either seventy times or seven times seventy times.  I have heard a few who say this is a mysterious code tie in with the Book of Revelation.  I heard scholars emphasis the perfection of the numbers 7 (as in Sabbath) and 70 (as in the generations).  I take it to mean that Christ told Peter …“do not give up on the process of life-changing mercy.”

At one time I thought of forgiveness as a one-time declaration like throwing the matter out of court.  But my life experience, especially a lifetime of practicing forgiveness, I find forgiveness is closing the distance from the place where we find ourselves in our relationship to the place where ought to find ourselves in our relationship.  And most often … it takes a process of time after time.

I have found this applies to forgiving to others and to forgiving one’s self.  And as an old man I am finding this applies to even forgiving life itself.  The grudges linger.  The hurts linger.  The frustrations linger.  The injustices linger.  The accusations linger.  The conflicts linger.  They keep returning to most human souls … so the forgiveness must come in waves … until sometimes after the seven times seventy … that which lingered has finally gone away.

Do not be flippant with forgiveness, offering a lip-service declaration of what may not yet fully processed.  Forgiveness so often is a human experience that requires some time to be fulfilled.

Always in Christ’s Service,

Fr. Charitas de la Cruz

DAILY DEVOTIONAL

Thursday, June 14, 2018

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. – Matthew 5:11,12

I have friends who are conservative and they have claimed this verse as one which speaks of their personal experience.  AND … I have friends who are progressive and they too have claimed this verse as one which speaks of their personal experience.  And both I believe are actually speaking about the experience of “being reviled”.  One definition of “revile” is … “to criticize in an abusive or angrily insulting manner”.

In His placing this last in the list of the Blessings, I find that it is rather confessional on the part of Christ.  I sense He is saying to the people, “As the prophets of the past were in their reviled and persecuted, so am I in this my time.”  And He prepares His followers for what they too will experience … in their time.

Zealous people can venture into cruelty.  Defenders of a certain point-of-view can step over the line into cruelty.  People who are trying to gain control can resort to cruel ways.  But as Christ modelled for His followers … we must not allow the ways of the revilers and persecutors become our own ways.  We must not seduced into the hatred they espouse.

And what is the compensatory blessing which comes to one who suffers at the words and the revilers and at the hands of the persecutors?  The respect of the Lord for choosing the nobler course.  And for myself … that is of great worth to my soul.

Always in Christ’s Service,

Fr. Charitas de la Cruz

DAILY DEVOTIONAL

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

While Christ continued His journey, He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” to this Christ responded, This happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him…” – John 9:1-3

The simple answer to the question asked by the disciples would be, “No, neither!”  But Christ then followed up with a miracle, a parable by example about the worth of people,   even people society might consider deficient.

“His blindness will prove to be something glorious, something that will prove of great worth, something that will be remembered and talked about from this moment on!”  What if this man was not blind he would have been but a figure in the crowd.  But because he was blind he brought his blindness into service for the Lord.

Loved Ones, we all have our imperfections.  Even our eventual “perfection”, our More Perfect Love, will include our imperfections now place in holy use.  People may have their sins, people may have their broken places, people may have their disabilities, but people are not defective.  No, people and their imperfections are here to be an aspect of God’s Glory being made manifest in this human experience.

And yet, in spite of all that we have learned, too many still hold that our imperfections must be caused by something sinful.  That somehow God made certain people superior and certain people inferior.  No, that is not at all in God’s heart.  We are all “imperfect” in one way or another; it just is in the caprice within the complexity of life.  And we are all, we the imperfect, are here so that works of God might be displayed in our living.

Always in Christ’s Service,

Fr. Charitas de la Cruz

DAILY DEVOTIONAL

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Christ taught His disciples who in turn taught the crowds, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.” – Matthew 5:14

If the people, as did Christ, ever travelled to Jerusalem, they would remember that slow ascent up the hill on which Jerusalem was built, Mount Zion.  Not a lofty mountain by any means, but quite visible for miles in the flat terrain of that region.  Jerusalem, the holy city of Israel, now being made all the glorious by the massive walls and buildings being built by the Herods, would literally glimmer in the blazing sun.  Jerusalem was truly a shining city on a hill.

But would it be the glint of swords that would be the Light to the world?  Would it the reflection off those massive stones placed by Herod’s ambition?  No, it would purer light of nobler character.  It would be the radiant light of a glowing Love.  It would be the light off the sterling of nobler ways.  It would be the light of God shining forth through lanterns of human grace.

In a few short years after Christ’s ministry, those flashing swords would be defeated and those glimmering stones of Herod would turn to rubble, but the lamps of faith burning with Presence of God, they would never be extinguished.

It is a people’s commitment to higher, nobler ideals that chases away the darkness.  It is a people reputation for love, justice, and mercy, all matters Divine, that conquers the darkness.  It is not the swords or palatial pride that illumines the world, but the lamps and candles who turn the days and ways of their lives into brings of Holy Light.

Always in Christ’s Service,

Fr. Charitas de la Cruz

DAILY DEVOTIONAL

Monday, June 11, 2018

Speaking to His disciples who in turn retold to the gathered crowds, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” – Matthew 5:13

Most know well this teaching metaphor from the Sermon on the Mount.  This metaphor has become part of our vernacular when we say of a person, “They are the salt of the earth.”  In fact, this popular idiom may pull us away from the powerful context of this place and time in which Christ taught.  For you see, the people of that region were custodians of the actual salt for the Roman Empire, the occupiers of their land.  The salts of the Dead Sea were as gold in those days, an easily transferable means of monetary exchange.  It was used as “salary” for the vast Roman armies.  Probably it was the salt that made the Romans put up with this troublesome population of Jews.

So when Christ reminded them of their value to the Romans, Christ reestablishing the worth they brought to the table.  As a land and as a people, they possessed an economic significance.  The Romans needed both them and their natural resources of salt.  It was a call to stand tall before the Romans.  To stand with dignity and resolve.  Not to be trampled upon by Roman boots, not to see themselves as slaves or chattel, but to be free souls even in this time of oppression.  They were not to cower under the Roman whips but to endure with courage and never surrender our worth in the eyes of God.  They were not to fear the intimidating specter of crosses but if need be carry your own cross lest the Romans think they have won.

People like you and people like me … we must remember the worth with which God endowed us.  We are children of God; we are men and women of significant worth not expendable pawns; we will not assume the ways of the enemy in order to defeat the enemy, but rather endure with dignity and godly integrity.

Always in Christ’s Service,

Fr. Charitas de la Cruz

DAILY DEVOTIONAL

Sunday, June 10, 2018

So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath. – Mark 2:28

I am one who believes that the Sabbath was a celebration of Creation and thus is celebrated with a creative spirit.  Inherent in the Hebrew word for “rest”, nuach, is the sense of renewal by way of re-creation.  The Sabbath is a time devoted to learning from our six days of work, our six days to living life to the fullest, and then to “re-create” our souls with the wisdom and understanding we have gained.  Each Sabbath might be viewed as a mile marker placed on our journey to wisdom, spiritual maturity, and a More Perfect Love.

Sabbath is a day for music and creating music.  Sabbath is a day for poetry and writing poetry.  Sabbath is a day for thoughtful strolls and forming wisdom.  Sabbath is a day for slowing time and quiet conversations.  Sabbath is a time for gathering souls and lifting praise in whatever way you yourself creatively praise.  Sabbath is a time for grace and mercy to be shared in hopeful restoration.  Sabbath is when the Son of Man mends the souls of men and women.

Sabbath is a creative time so that we might then be re-created.

Always in Christ’s Service,

Fr. Charitas de la Cruz

DAILY DEVOTIONAL

Saturday, June 9, 2018

And Christ summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, they must deny themselves, and take up their cross and follow Me.  For whoever wishes to save his or her life will lose it, but whoever loses his or her life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.  For what does it profit a person to gain the whole world, and forfeit his or her soul? For what will a person give in exchange for his or her soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of that person when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” – Mark 8:34-38

Worldly temptations are alluring, deceiving, and powerful.  The worldly temptations of fame, fortune, and control of others  are subtle and seductive.  The worldly temptations can be so persuasive for they are so easily rationalized.  And we fall prey to them more than we realize, more than we confess, more than we like to think.

To give one’s life fully to God is at the heart of Hebraic faith.  To give one’s life in the act of Holy Love is at the heart of the Christian faith.  But to give of one’s life is more encompassing that the slight chance that we might at some future time be martyred.  To give one’s life is to be willing to sacrifice the worldly comforts that tempt us so.  We yearn to be wealthy, but to be wealthy at what cost?  We yearn to be secure, but to be secure at what cost?  We yearn to be in control of people and events, but to do so at what cost?

How do we measure the prosperity of our lives or our land?  How do we define ourselves by worldly definitions of this political party or this ideology or this economic class or this nationality?  How do we measure the worth of ourselves and others, by what measure do we use to determine the success of our living?

I confess I am seduced by the worldly temptations than I dare to admit, but I pray that with the help of the Lord I will make progress to living with a More Perfect Love.

In Christ’s Service always,

Fr. Charitas de la Cruz