Rise Up and Walk - Tuesday, April 5th

Readings of the Day

Gospel: John 5: 1-16
There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes. In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be well?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.” Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.

Now that day was a sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who was cured, “It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.” He answered them, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’“ They asked him, “Who is the man who told you, ‘Take it up and walk’?” The man who was healed did not know who it was,
for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there.

After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him, “Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you.” The man went and told the Jews
that Jesus was the one who had made him well. Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath.

• no one: no person; nobody
• How often do I wait for someone else to come along and help me with a cross I am bearing?  How long does it take me to realize that no other person can give me what Jesus can - grace, salvation, eternal life, the sacraments? 
• rise: to assume an upright position especially from lying, kneeling or sitting; to become heartened; to increase in fervor or intensity; to exert oneself to meet a challenge; to be built up; to come into action.
• Am I open and willing to take action after encountering Christ?  Does my prayer life translate into following God's will and working for his Kingdom?
• persecute: to harass or punish in a manner designed to injure, grieve or afflict; specifically, to cause to suffer because of belief; trouble persistently.
• Do I ever act like the Pharisees when others have had a strong experience of grace or conversion?  Do I "harass" Jesus because He hasn't handled a situation the way I see fit?

Definitions from http://www.merriman-webster.com/ and http://www.dictionary.com/.

We Walk by Faith, and Not by Sight - Monday, April 4th

Readings of the Day

Gospel: John 4: 43-54
At that time Jesus left [Samaria] for Galilee. For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his native place. When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves had gone to the feast. Then he returned to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine.

Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, who was near death. Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” The royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left. While the man was on his way back, his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live. He asked them when he began to recover. They told him, “The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.” The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he and his whole household came to believe. Now this was the second sign Jesus did when he came to Galilee from Judea.

• welcome (welcomed): to greet with courtesty; to accept with please to occurence or presence of; a kindly greeting or reception.
• Did the Galileans welcome Jesus because of genuine faith?  Or because they had seen his miracles?  How about me?
• heal: to make sound or whole; to restore to health; to cause an undesirable condition to be overcome; to restore to original purity or integrity; to effect a cure.
• Why did Jesus heal the officials' son, even though He seemed frustrated that another "sign" was being asked for?  Was is that He saw the official's underlying sincere faith in the request?  When my prayers are answered do I react in the same way - increasing my own faith and giving witness that brings others to faith as well?
• unless: except on the condition that; except under the circumstances that.
• What are the conditions of my faith?  Unless I see what?  Do I not understand that believing without seeing is true faith - as the traditional hymn, "We walk by faith and not by sight..."?

Definitions from http://www.merriman-webster.com/ and http://www.dictionary.com/.

He washed and was able to see - Sunday, April 3rd

Readings of the Day

Gospel: John 9: 1-41 or 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38
As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth. He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” — which means Sent —. So he went and washed, and came back able to see.
His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said,  “Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?” Some said, “It is, “ but others said, “No, he just looks like him.”
He said, “I am.” They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees.

Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath. So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.” So some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God,
because he does not keep the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a sinful man do such signs?” And there was a division among them. So they said to the blind man again, “What do you have to say about him, since he opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”
They answered and said to him, “You were born totally in sin, and are you trying to teach us?” Then they threw him out.

When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered and said, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?”
Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” He said,
“I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him.

• blind: unwilling or unable to perceive or understand; not characterized or determined by reason; lacking all consciousness or awareness.
• Do I recognize the effect of of original sin in my life?  Even though I been washed clean through Baptism, am I aware of my fallen nature?  And the need to be reflecting often on where spiritual blindness is affecting me?
• wash: to apply water or some other liquid for the purpose of cleansing; to free from spiritual defilement; to remove (as dirt) by rubbing or drenching with liquid.
• Just as Jesus used earthly material and water, do I see His healing hands at work in my life through others and grace?  Am I open to others being His instrument?  Do I seek His grace, especially in confession, to cleanse my soul?
• see: to perceive mentally; discern; understand; to have experience of; to come to know.
• Does my experience of Christ and His forgiveness bring me to a deeper trust and commitment to follow Him?  Do my human experiences bring me to rely more on Him?  Or to end up trusting in my own self-sufficiency?

Definitions from http://www.merriman-webster.com/ and http://www.dictionary.com/.

Two people went up to pray - Saturday, April 2nd

Readings of the Day


Gospel: Luke 18: 9-14
Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

• justify (justified): to declare innocent or guiltless; uphold as well-grounded; to judge or regard as righteous and worthy of salvation.
• Do I pray as if I am already innocent?  Or do I place myself before God as I am, in need of salvation?  Do I realize that in justifying myself and not recognizing the forgiveness I need, I close myself off to God's mercy?
• humble (humbled): not proud or arrogant; modest; insignificant.
• Would I rather humble myself, or be humbled?  Do I know that humility is closely related to truth - so it is to recognize my weaknesses, but also my strengths and gifts?
• exalted: to raise in rank, honor, character; to elevate by praise or in estimation.
• Does it come natural to me to exalt myself?  Do I try to give God, and others esteem?  When I am complimented, do I gracefully accept?

Definitions from http://www.merriman-webster.com/ and http://www.dictionary.com/.

First & Second - Friday, April 1st

Readings of the Day

Gospel: Mark 12: 28-34
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, He is One and there is no other than he. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him,
“You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

• Lord: a person who has authority, control or power over others; a master, chief or ruler.
• Does Lord comprise my concept of God? - ruler, controller, master.  Or is my relationship with Him founded on a vision of Him as Lord, God and Father - loving Creator, giver of my life and my freedom, full of compassion and mercy?
• neighbor: a person (or thing) that is near another; one's fellow human being; a person who shows kindliness or helpfulness toward his or her fellow humans.
• How do I show kindness towards those around me?  How do I love myself - as the center of the universe?  Or not giving myself the dignity and respect that I am worthy of as God's child?  Am I aware that I can't truly love another until I have a deep sense of my own value before God?
• understanding: comprehension; knowledge of or familiarity with a particular thing; skill in dealing with or handling something.
• How do I develop my familiarity and skill when it comes to loving God, myself and others?  Do I realize that this takes time and effort - what more am I willing to do?  What more is God calling me to?

Definitions from http://www.merriman-webster.com/ and http://www.dictionary.com/.