What does Jesus mean by never and always? - Sunday, April 10th

Readings of the Day

Gospel: Jn 11:1-45 or 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45
The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus, saying, “Master, the one you love is ill.” When Jesus heard this he said, “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God,
that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was. Then after this he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea.”

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” Martha said, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”

He became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Sir, come and see.” And Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.” But some of them said, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man
have done something so that this man would not have died?” So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him, “Lord, by now there will be a stench;
he has been dead for four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe
you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.” And when he had said this, He cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out,
tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.” Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.

• glory: worshipful praise, honor and thanksgiving; praise, honor or distinction extended by common consent; a state of absolute happiness, gratification, contentment.
• Does it make me happy and content to see God praised?  To see someone "come back to life" through and Him, especially from "spiritual death"?
• never: not ever; at no time; not in any degree or under any condition.
• What is the condition Christ places on never dying? What does it mean to "live in Him" and "believe in Him"? 
• always: at all times; forever; in any event; on every occasion; without exception.
• Do I believe that God always hears me?  What would cause Him not?  When He doesn't answer prayers the way I would wish, does it mean that God didn't listen?  What does it mean?

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

Have you also been deceived? - Saturday, April 9th

Readings of the Day

Gospel: John 7: 40-53
Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said, “This is truly the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But others said, “The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he? Does not Scripture say that the Christ will be of David’s family and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” So a division occurred in the crowd because of him. Some of them even wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not bring him?” The guards answered, “Never before has anyone spoken like this man.” So the Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.” Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them,
“Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?” They answered and said to him, “You are not from Galilee also, are you? Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” Then each went to his own house.

• division: act or process of dividing; separation by difference of opinion; disagreement
• Do I see "crowds" where Jesus's words have caused division?  Why do so many accept Jesus as a prophet, but not as the Christ?  What "side" am I on?
• deceive (deceived): to mislead by a false appearance or statement; to cause to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid.
• The Pharisees claim Jesus is deceiving - have I ever been misled by Him?  Has He ever asked me to accept as true what is false?  Do I see the deception in the pop culture - where true and false are obliterated by subjectivism?  Can I see the truth, and stand up for it?
• believe (believed): to have confidence in the truth or the reliability of something, although without proof that one is right in doing so; give credence to; accept something as true or genuine.
• What roadblocks didn't allow many of the Jewish authorities to believe in Him?  What roadblocks threaten my acceptance of Him?  Can I believe without proof?

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

He is Speaking Openly... - Friday, April 8th

Readings of the Day

Gospel: John 7: 1-2, 10, 25-30
Jesus moved about within Galilee; he did not wish to travel in Judea, because the Jews were trying to kill him. But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near. But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, he himself also went up, not openly but as it were in secret. Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, "Is he not the one they are trying to kill? And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him. Could the authorities have realized that he is the Christ? But we know where he is from. When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from." So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said, "You know me and also know where I am from. Yet I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me." So they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come.

• openly: completely free from concealment; exposed to general view or knowledge; not restricted to a particular group or category of particpants; having the interior immediately accessible
• Does Jesus ever conceal Himself from me, even when He knows that what He is saying is not what I want to hear?  What barriers do I put up that don't allow me immediate access to knowledge of God?  What about the barriers I build to try and conceal my interior from Him?
• realize (realized): be fully aware of; to grasp or understand clearly.
• What caused the Jewish authorities to not accept Jesus as the Christ?  How often am I aware of God's will (general or specific), and still choose to follow my own way?  Why can His will be so hard to accept and act on?
• send (sent): to cause to go; deliver; to propel in a particular direction.
• Do I know that, by virtue of my Baptism, I also am sent by the Father into the world?  How can I be an authentic ambassador of His today?

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

Actions Speak Louder than Words - Thursday, April 7th

Readings of the Day

Gospel: John 5: 31-47
Jesus said to the Jews:  “If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true. But there is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true. You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth. I do not accept human testimony, but I say this so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,
and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. But you do not want to come to me to have life. “I do not accept human praise; moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you. I came in the name of my Father, but you do not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father: the one who will accuse you is Moses,
in whom you have placed your hope. For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me.  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

• testimony: firsthand authentication of a fact; an open acknowledgment; a public profession of religious experience.
• What is Jesus Christ's testimony?  If He is the One whom the Father sent to save us, then why does Jesus always refer and point us back to the Father?
• accept: to make a favorable response to; to endure without protest or reaction; to receive willingly; to undertake the responsibility, duties of; regard as true or sound.
• Do I accept Christ?  Do I respond favorably to Him?  Do I receive willingly His teachings - ALL of them, not just the ones I pick and choose?  Does my acceptance translate into undertaking the duties of His word and example?
• hope: to desire with expectation of obtainment; to expect with confidence (trust).
• In whom or what is my hope placed?  What do I expect with confidence from Jesus, the Father and/or the Holy Spirit?

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

If Jesus does nothing on His own, why do I? - Wednesday, April 6th

Readings of the Day

Gospel: John 5: 17-30
Jesus answered the Jews: “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.” For this reason they tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God. Jesus answered and said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for what he does, the Son will do also. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life. Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.  For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to the Son the possession of life in himself. And he gave him power to exercise judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation. “I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.”

• work: activity in which one exerts strength or faculties to do or perform something; something that results from the use or fashioning of a particular material; something produced by the exercise of creative talent or expenditure of creative effort; to have an effect or influence.
• Where and how do I see the work of God?  Jesus works because the Father is at work - why do I work?  Does my work contribute to that of God?  Are my works directed towards His glory and the establishment of His Kingdom, or my own glory, my own kingdom?
• honor: a good name or public esteem; one whose worth brings respect; to give special recognition to; to accept as valid and conform to the request or demands of.
• What forms does respect, recognition and esteem of God take on in my life?  What, or whom, do I honor more than Him? 
• anything: any thing whatever; in any way; no matter what.
• Can I make the same claim as Jesus? - "I cannot do anything on my own...I do not seek my own will but the will of the One who sent me".  Does this concept feel constricting?  Or freeing?  Do I really, truly believe in God's wisdom and providence?  In my efforts, do I work the way He does, or in ways that are humanly "logical" and "acceptable"?

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