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officialyourdailyinspiration · 3 years

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Devotional Hours Within the Bible

by J.R. Miller

The Visit to Nazareth (Luke 4:16-30)

Christ never forgot the place where He had spent His childhood years. We are not given many facts of His life there. Nothing indicates that there was anything unusual in the story of the thirty years He spent there. The more we think of His life at Nazareth as simply natural, without anything unusual - the nearer shall we come to the true picture of the boy and young man - who grew up in the lowly village of Nazareth. Our passage today tells of His visit to His old home after He had been away for many months.

"He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up." It was not an easy place for Jesus to visit. Everybody knew Him. He had lived there for thirty years. He had been playmate and schoolmate with the children of His own age. He had been a carpenter, doing work for many years in the shop and about the town. The young men of Nazareth thought themselves as good as He was, and were not in any mood to receive instruction from Him. It is easy for us to understand the prejudice and envy with which people listened to Jesus, as He spoke to them that day in their synagogue.

There are some lessons to be taken, however, from our Lord's example in thus going back to Nazareth. One is that we ought to seek the good of our own neighbors and friends. Many young men go away from plain country or village homes, and in other and wider spheres rise to prominence and influence. Such ought not in their eminence, to forget their old home. They owe much to it. It is pleasant to hear of rich men giving libraries or establishing hospitals or doing other noble things for the town in which they were born. Among our first obligations, is that which we owe to our old friends and neighbors .

Another lesson is, that as young people - we ought to live so carefully that when we grow up - we may be able to go back to our old home and, in the midst of those who have know us all our life, witness for God. There are some men, good and great now; who's preaching would have but small effect where they were brought up - because of the way they lived during their youth. Sins of youth - break the power of life's testimonies in later years. A blameless youth-time, makes one's words strong in mature days.

"And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath Day, and stood up to read" (Luke 4:16). Here we have a glimpse of our Lord's religious habits. From childhood, His custom had been to attend the synagogue service on the Sabbath. Here are good shoe prints for young people to set their feet in. The time to begin to attend church-is in youth. Habits formed then - stay with us all our life. If our custom is to stay away then from church services, we will be very apt to keep up that custom when we get older. On the other hand, if we go to church regularly from childhood, the custom will become so wrought into our life - that in after years we shall not incline to stay away. And the value of such a habit is very great.

"He opened the book, and found the place where it was written." The book was part of the Old Testament. Some people have the feeling that the Old Testament is dry and uninteresting. But we see here what precious things Jesus found in it, that day in the synagogue. The passage which He quoted drips with the sweetness and tenderness of divine love. It is a great honeycomb of gospel grace !

Some men were about to tear down an old frame house, long unoccupied. When they began to remove the outer boarding, they found a mass of honey. As they removed the boards at different points they discovered the whole side of the house, between the weather boarding and the plastering, was filled with honey. People regard the Old Testament as an old, worn-out book, a mere relic of old ceremonial days. But when they begin to open it - they find honey, and as they look into it at other points they find that all the passages, in among the histories, the chronicles of war, and the descriptions of ceremonial rites - are full of sweetest honey! Here is a bit of dripping honey-comb, and there are hundreds more, which are just as rich. We do not know what we lose - when we do not study the Old Testament.

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed ." These are the special classes of people - to whom Jesus was sent. What a picture this is of humanity! Some people ridicule what the bible says about Adam and Eve's FALL. They tell us there never was a fall, and that the world is all right. They talk eloquently about the grandeur of human life. But this eighteenth verse certainly looks very much like the picture of a very bad ruin. Read the description - poor, prisoners, blind, oppressed. There is not much grandeur in that. Anyone who goes about and looks honestly at life - knows that the picture is not over-drawn. On every hand we see the wreck and ruin caused by sin. Then suffering and sorrow follow, and hearts and lives are crushed and bruised!

But there is something here a great deal brighter than this sad picture. Light breaks on the ruin - as we read that it was to repair such moral desolation as we see here that Jesus came. He came "to preach good news to the poor; to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed." He saw in all these ruins of humanity, something that by His grace - He could make beautiful enough for heaven and glory. Christ is a restorer. There are men who take old, dimmed, effaced, almost destroyed pictures - and restore them until they appear nearly as beautiful as when they first came from the artist's hand. So Christ comes to ruined souls, and by the power of His love and grace - He restores them until they wear His own beauty in the presence of God!

"To preach the acceptable year of the Lord." For the Jews this "acceptable year" closed with the condemnation of the Messiah. Jesus stood on Olivet and looked down upon the city and wept over it and said, "If you had known, even you, the things which belong unto your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes!" (Luke 10:42). When He spoke these words, amid the rush of tears and with loud outcry of grief, "the acceptable year" closed. After that - the doom hung over the beautiful city, which in forty years burst upon it in all its woe and terribleness. This is history.

But there is another way to look at this matter. There is an "acceptable year" for each soul. It begins when Christ first comes to us and offers salvation. It continues while He stands at our door and knocks. It closes when we drive Him away from our door by utter and final rejection - or when death comes upon us unsaved and hurries us away forever from the world of mercy. Since the past is gone and there is no certain future to anyone, the "acceptable year" to us all is NOW. Shall we allow it to pass and close - while we remain unsaved?

"Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." Seven hundred years before, had the words been written. Now Jesus reads them and says to the people: "I am the One to whom the description refers! I am the One the prophet meant!" The whole Old Testament was full of Christ; and the New Testament is full of fulfillments of the Old Testament.

It is pleasant, too, to take this particular passage and show how Christ indeed fulfilled in His life and ministry - the mission which the prophet marked out for Him. He preached to the poor, He healed the broken - hearted. Wherever He went, the sorrowing and the troubled flocked about Him. As a magnet draws steel filings to itself - out of a heap of rubbish; so did the heart of Christ draw to Him the needy, the sad, the suffering, and the oppressed. He was the friend of sinners. He brought deliverance to sin's captives, setting them free and breaking their chains. He opened blind eyes ; not only blind natural eyes to see the beautiful things of this world - but also blind spiritual eyes to see spiritual things. Then He lifted the yoke off the crushed and oppressed, inviting all the weary to Himself to find rest. His whole life was simply a filling out of this outline sketch !

They "rose up, and thrust Him out of the city, and led Him unto the brow of the hill… that they might cast Him down." Their envy grew into murderous rage. We see first, the danger of allowing envious feelings to stay in our hearts; they are sure to grow into greater bitterness, and may lead us into open and terrible sin. We should instantly check every thought or motion of envy, anger or hatred - and cast it out of our heart.

This act shows also the natural hatred of God which is in human hearts. We talk severely of the Jews' rejection of their Messiah - but this opposition to God is not exclusively a Jewish quality. Is it not the same with all of us? So long as the divine teaching runs along in lines that are pleasing to us, we assent, and applaud the beauty of God's truth. But when the teaching falls against our own tendencies and dispositions and opinions - we wince, and too often declare our disbelief. They tried to kill Him; is not the rejection of many people now just as violent? They would kill Him if they could!

His word was with authority. His words are always with authority. We remember how all things hearkened to His words and obeyed them. Diseases fled at His command. The winds and waves were quieted and hushed at His word. The water changed to wine at His bidding. The dead in their graves heard His call and answered. Evil spirits owned His lordship. Nothing for a moment resisted His authority. Shall we not take Christ's Word as the rule of our faith and of our conduct? Shall we not yield to His authority?

#J.R. Miller #Devotional Hours Within the Bible #The Visit to Nazareth #Luke 4:16-30 #June 14 #2021

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swtorpadawan · 4 years

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Tales from the Eternal Alliance : Perspectives

Author’s Notes: The following takes place prior to my Awakenings series.

In the weeks following the fall of the Eternal Empire and the final destruction of Valkorion, the Eternal Alliance finds itself ascendant, unquestionably holding the balance of power throughout the galaxy. The ships of the Eternal Fleet, formerly a symbol of destruction and oppression, now deliver relief supplies and transport refugees to safe havens throughout known space. Alliance operatives and expeditions journey from planet to planet, negotiating agreements, resolving disputes and providing assistance of all kinds where needed. More recruits continue to sign up on Odessen every day, while the base continues to receive a stream of envoys and overtures from countless planets and factions seeking alliances, aid and support. Perhaps never in galactic history – even at the mythical founding of the Galactic Republic – had there ever been such a diverse collection of talented and dedicated individuals serving under one banner. There are, of course, internal tensions and disputes. But these are resolved with surprising efficiency, as the Alliance’s seasoned core of leaders and officers demonstrated an esprit de corps that has proven unbreakable, even when the entire Eternal Empire had descended upon them.

Morale, naturally, is at an all-time high. The people who join the Alliance want to be there. The Alliance doesn’t ask people to change who they are. It merely asks them to ally with people who are also fighting for something better.

It was in these golden days that the Alliance Commander’s closest allies noticed that the one person in the entire organization who did not seem to be reveling in this upswing of enthusiasm was the Alliance Commander himself.

Corellan Halcyon had gone by a great many appellations throughout his career, including the Outlander, the Battlemaster of the Jedi Order and the Hero of Tython. He still goes about his duties without complaint. He is up early every morning, training in either lightsaber dueling, distance running or both. When he is focused on a mission or engaged in combat, he is as unstoppable as ever, perhaps even more so. He attends the meetings that Lana Beniko and Theron Shan schedule for him. He dutifully reads each report his advisors give him, acknowledges every message or memorandum and seeks the advice of his advisors regarding most decisions of policy.

He still inspires the personnel of the Alliance by his mere presence. A smile and a greeting convince nearly everyone that he is in good spirits. To most of the rank and file – the troops, the crews, the vast numbers of specialists and support personnel – he’s still the unassailable Alliance Commander. Invincible. Fearless. Driven. Somewhere along the road, the Commander learned how to speak to people. How to lead and inspire them. Those skills serve him well, here more than ever. They flocked to his banner for hope, and he has delivered victory.

Nevertheless, the Commander is… listless. Distracted. Without true direction. The drive that powered the Alliance through its rebellion against Zakuul’s reign is often absent. Those who’ve noticed cover for him as best they can, but among them there are a variety of perspectives.

T7-O1, Corellan Halcyon’s loyal astromech droid, has famously been with him since the beginning. Surely if anyone knows what troubles the spirit of the former Jedi Master, it would be Teeseven, the first companion.

These days, the droid is by his side almost constantly, even residing in his quarters when the Commander sleeps. Teeseven keeps his schedule, making sure he makes his appointments. He still joins him on many missions, either in the field or monitoring communications. The droid tracks his performance, his memory banks remembering virtually every lightsaber maneuver Corellan Halcyon had ever performed. Teeseven writes his speeches, an old talent the droid is happy to make use of again. They’re still a great team, as they were back when they were fighting flesh raiders on Tython when they’d first met.

Most nights, after withdrawing to his quarters, Commander will ask Teeseven to help him review everything they’d been told that day, to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. But some nights, the Commander will load up a map of the known galaxy on his holo-display and stare at it for an hour or longer. Teeseven will finally nudge Corellan silently in the leg, and he’ll sigh and rise to his feet, shutting off the display and then retreating to his bed to attempt to get a decent night’s sleep.

It is Teeseven who notes that Corellan rarely visits their old freighter, even though the ship is sitting unused on the landing pad and had been their home for nearly five years. He doesn’t share this observation. He also doesn’t share with anyone that he wakes the Commander each morning with an alarm. Or that he keeps the Commander’s schedule carefully, making sure that nothing relevant is missed. Or that he’s been tracking Corellan Halcyon’s intake of alcohol and has “advised” him more than once that he’s had enough.

(It isn’t a problem. Yet. The ex-Jedi is too disciplined to fall into that trap all at once. But Teeseven is determined that it doesn’t become an issue.)

Teeseven knows he can’t give his friend everything he needs. He knows that he is a constant reminder of the Commander’s past, and that’s not always a good thing. But he’s determined he will be part of his friend’s future, because despite everything, Teeseven knows that he’s a reminder of the promises Corellan has made. To his friends. To the galaxy. To himself.

And that most definitely is something he needs.

Shae Vizla, who will be known to history as Mandalore the Avenger, never thought she would find another warrior worth following into a war. Not after her experiences with Darth Malgus and the death of Mandalore the Vindicated.

And if someone had told her she would find such a warrior, she would have been incredulous to learn that the individual in question was a former Jetii – a Jedi. Unbelievable. But the death of her brother was decades ago, and even a Mandalorian’s vengeance eventually cools.

One night, at Vizla’s invitation, the Outlander ventures alone to the Mandalorian campsite near the base. There, around the bonfire, he addresses the Clans that have followed Vizla and the Alliance up to this point.

His fluency in Mando is not strong, but he makes the attempt. That impresses them. The Sith and their Imperial lackies rarely made the effort. He does not offer platitudes about peace, but instead offers them a battle that will never truly end. He tells the Mandalorians that they can adapt to a purpose that would make them stronger – a cause worthy of warriors – without abandoning who they were or losing their traditions. He speaks of serving as Cabure – as defenders – not for politicians (as the old Jedi had) but for people.

He expects to be challenged and is not disappointed. He faces his foes as a warrior, fighting according to Mandalorian traditions. He prevails, but he does nothing to dishonor his opponents. He spares those he defeats and, as he once did with Vizla herself years earlier on Rishi, he helps them to their feet as friends.

When it is over, the Clans chant his name over and over. They will follow this Outlander and his Alliance unto death. Vizla herself now presents him with a rare gift; a pair of beskar'gam bracers, one of the last few examples they had of true Mandalorian iron. Honored, he gratefully incorporates these bracers into his uniform; the one inspired by the dead Prince of Zakuul.

He will always be aruetii; never a true Mando. But to Shae Vizla and her followers, he is nevertheless alor. A leader.

In the weeks that follow, when the Mandalorians witness the Commander gazing up at the horizon at length, they whisper to themselves in anticipation that he is foreseeing the next great conflict. The next enemy. The next challenge.

Shae Vizla is less certain. She remembers Malgus. She knows great warriors tend to have great weaknesses. She knows that even Mandalorians take off their armor eventually.

She doubts she’s ever seen the Commander without his armor on.

But she is Mandalore, and she stands ready to lead her people into battle when needed.

Vette decides, all on her own, that it’s going to be her job to hand the Commander his cup of caf when he enters the war room each morning.

No one ordered this. No one even suggested this. She’d probably have rolled her eyes if they tried. This is all her.

The Commander saved Vette’s life from Vaylin’s troops during the Battle of Odessen. She’d come closer to dying that day than at any other moment in her life. The debt she owed him was one she doubted she could ever repay.

What kind of ‘thank you’ gift do you even get for the man who has everything but never seemed to want anything?

Up until that point, Corellan Halcyon had pointedly obtained his own caf at the station in the war room, taking it black without sweetener, and usually drinking only a single cup for a full day. (Vette, who piles on creamers and sweeteners and drinks several servings a day, finds that ridiculous, but she knows he used to be a Jedi, so maybe that’s what was going on? Doesn’t matter.)

So one morning, Corellan Halcyon, Commander of the Eternal Alliance, entered the central hub of the Alliance base, Teeseven following alongside him, when he was promptly presented with his cup of caf by a grinning Twi’lek.

The Commander was surprised and a bit embarrassed, thanking Vette and accepting the cup but insisting that it really wasn’t necessary.

Vette promptly did the exact same thing the following morning, again flustering the young Commander.

On the third morning, Vette tried to repeat it a third time, only to be approached from behind by Corellan Halcyon, caf already in hand. His smile isn’t exactly smug, (Corellan Halcyon doesn’t do smug.) but he did seem content at having obtained his own cup of caf. Confused, it took Vette most of the morning to work out that the Commander had gone out of his way by circumventing the entire base to approach the hub from the opposite direction from where Vette was waiting for him.

After that, it was on.

Each morning, the former Jedi and the former professional thief engage in a fierce contest of wills, attempting to outmaneuver the other, with Vette trying to present him with a cup of caf before he can get his own. On one day, the Commander thought he had successfully evaded her only for her to drop out of a ceiling panel hanging upside down, his caf in hand. (And her smile absolutely was smug.) Another day, Vette almost had him cornered before the Commander force leapt over her head and across the room, avoiding her and reaching the caf station. (That was so cheating!) He could have ordered her to stop, but she realized that wasn’t his style. Clearly, the Commander was somehow enjoying the challenge that Vette had presented to him.

Lana Beniko observes all of this disapprovingly, pressing her face to her palms and sighing in frustration while muttering about being ‘surrounded by children’. But notably, she doesn’t reproach Vette or try to put a stop to it.

(Theron Shan, of course, is amused to no end. Gault, meanwhile, starts taking bets.)

After about ten days of this, the Commander unexpectedly and gracefully surrenders one morning, accepting the caf when it is offered up and offering a ‘thank you, Vette’.

Vette’s happy she won, and that she gets to present the commander with his caf every morning. But privately, she’s disappointed to see the contest come to an end.

She wonders if the Commander is disappointed as well, not for having lost, but for losing the distraction from whatever’s been eating at him.

Talos Drellik has never been particularly adept at making friends.

The former officer in the Imperial Reclamation Service has long made peace with this fact of life, knowing full well that it dates to his childhood. (And it probably has something to do with his issues with his father and brother, but best not dwell on that.)

The field of Sith archaeology is a surprisingly small one, even within the Empire. Few non-Force sensitives have an interest in the study, and most Sith who have the necessary ‘intellectual bent’ to make real progress are principally concerned for what personal power may be gleaned from any artifacts or writings. But for Talos, Sith archaeology itself is his passion, perhaps to an extent that can make socialization challenging.

Talos had enjoyed his time with Darth Nox’s crew. He knew the Sith Lord valued his knowledge and his abilities. But at the same time, she never exactly warmed to him. She would enter his lab near the cargo hold, ask a series of questions about some subject related to his field of study, and then she would then leave, usually satisfied with his answers. In return, she’d allowed him to examine numerous archaeological sites on worlds he would never have otherwise had the chance to visit, like Voss. It had been a mutually beneficial relationship. The rest of Nox’s crew had been a mixed bag for him. Ashara had always been kind, but he knew that even she could lose patience with him when he prattled on for too long. Xalek had shown little use for him, and Revel – a constant thorn in his side – had even less. Talos had been initially excited by the idea of conversing with Khem Val, a being who had actually known Tulak Hord thousands of years ago. Sadly, the Dashade shadow assassin had soon grown bored with their interviews, finally complaining that modern “Imperials” simply couldn’t appreciate Hord’s contributions to Sith philosophy and culture.

Although Corellan Halcyon had obviously spent far less time with Talos than Darth Nox had, he nevertheless felt that the Commander had been a warmer, more inspiring presence in his life than the Sith Lord had been. Talos understands that the former Jedi had developed a genuine interest in the archaeology of Force-sensitive cultures, including even the Sith. He further felt that the Commander valued him and his advice, even pursuing that lead on Yavin 4 that led to the recruitment of Ak'ghal Usar. And this ancient Dashade shadow assassin had proven to be far more helpful to Talos’ research than Khem had ever been, even if he had been spotty on details like the actual names of participating Sith Lords.

[ Talos doesn’t tell the Commander that he was once part of Darth Nox’s crew. That he was there during the fighting on Tython with Revel and Xalek, back on her Fury-interceptor, ready to intercede if she called on them. That call never came. He regretted the Sith Lord’s death at the Jedi Battlemaster’s hands, but he didn’t hold Corellan Halcyon responsible. Such things happened when Sith and Jedi went to war.]

But Talos would never presume that the Commander counted the Imperial Archeologist as a close friend or confidante.

So it was that Talos was quite startled when Corellan Halcyon had approached him one morning, informing him that his senior advisors had insisted that the Commander take a couple of days off, and he had decided that now was as good a time as any to investigate the old ruins he had observed months before in the wilds of Odessen. The Commander was convinced that Force-users had settled on Odessen in the past, perhaps even related to the early Zakuulans. He asked if Talos would be interested in putting a team together and joining him, embarking on a two-day expedition into the forest.

Talos had naturally jumped at the offer, quickly enlisting the aid of three more specialists from the science division.

The Commander with his astromech droid by his side had seemed as upbeat and vigorous as ever on their trip, even saving the lives of the quartet of field operatives from a pack of attacking shade stalkers who attempted to ambush them along the path. He emerged a natural outdoorsman, coordinating the setup of their campsite near the ruins. He seemed intrigued at the team’s findings over the next two days, carefully taking notes and promising to devote additional resources and to authorize further expeditions going forward. He spoke about his experiences with ancient Force sites on Tython, Voss and Ilum. At one point, sitting around a campfire, noting that he was technically off-duty, he asked Talos and the other team members to call him ‘Corellan’.

No Sith Lord who Talos Drellik had ever encountered in his entire life had ever asked him to call them by their given name.

Once they had returned to the base, Talos had been promptly summoned by Lana Beniko. That was unusual in and of itself. Beniko was, perhaps, the most considerate Sith who Talos had ever met. She rarely ‘summoned’ anyone in his experience. Once he reported in, she had questioned him at length about their trip and how the Commander had behaved, with Talos laying out the details to the best of his ability. Gradually, he began to understand that it was Beniko who had insisted on the Commander taking a couple of days off in the first place. Apparently, what she did not have in mind for him was taking an archaeological team into the forest and fighting shade stalkers.

While she was eventually satisfied with Talos’ answers, she was hardly pleased with the outcome.

After that, Talos made a point to privately observe the Commander in his natural, day-to-day environment. He was a better interpreter of ancient Sith hieroglyphics than he was in reading human body language, and initially he noticed no problems. But eventually he started to understand Lana Beniko’s concerns. When on a mission or with a clear task in front of him, the Commander seemed himself. When the path forward was unclear, he was… not.

Talos was driven to find answers in the past of the Sith and of other Force-users.

But sincerely Talos hoped that the Commander… Corellan… would find the answers he was seeking for his future, as well.

They say the hardest ‘mark’ for any con artist is another con artist.

It may or may not be true for others, but Gault Rennow certainly believes it.

The shifty Davorian plays his games, as he always has. The rules, the playing pieces and the stakes may have changed, but that’s no deterrent for a player like him.

Gault sometimes wonders if Corellan Halcyon is pulling the greatest con in galactic history. And if so, what’s he really after? (It’s certainly not credits. The Commander has shut down more of Gault’s money-making schemes than Gault cares to think about.)

Who is this fellow who risks his life constantly for other people, but who is clearly putting up a front? He’s everything that the old Jedi pretended to be, and yet… he’s not a Jedi at all.

It’s no skin off Gault’s nose. The Commander and the alliance have given Gault a place where he doesn’t have to constantly look for the exit. (And a place where maybe – maybe – Gault and Hylo have a future together.) It’s been a pretty good deal. Better even than the one he had with Xadya when he ran with her crew. He’s content then to sit back and watch. If the Commander really is playing a long-con, he’s doing it masterfully, and Gault could enjoy a show like that. And if he’s not, if this is just a situation that’s getting away from him, someone will need to be there to pick up the pieces when it blows up in his face.

So Gault kicks back, sips his drink and stays tuned.

Koth Vortena is a man of great personal faith.

The price of holding onto that faith has been high. He believed in Valkorion absolutely. After the death of the Immortal Emperor, he continued to believe in the Eternal Throne. After he lost faith in that, he eventually came to believe in the Alliance. Ultimately, even though he’s sometimes disagreed with the man, Koth Vortena found himself placing his faith in Corellan Halcyon.

He’s never questioned it. He was furious when the Commander let Arcann join, but Koth never questioned why. He understood the decision. It stuck in his craw, but he understood.

Koth remembers the days before they freed the Outlander, listening to Lana tell stories about their adventures. He honestly didn’t believe most of them. He never says it out loud, but the reality has been so much better than those stories. Honestly? Deep down, Koth knows that most people would have just let Zakuul burn.

Koth’s deepest regrets in life have been for those members of his crew who he’s lost along the way. They had been his people, following his orders and falling in battle while under his command. He will never forget any of them.

But at least in the case of his fallen crew, there can be some closure for him.

The Commander once had a crew of five on his little freighter. Koth remembered the stories. Two have returned. Teeseven – who Koth knows well from their time together with Lana, and that stone-faced alien soldier named Rusk.

Koth can’t help but wonder how he’d deal with it if three of his own crew were missing, their fates unknown. He seems to be the only one who notices the Commander never talks about the ones who haven’t come back.

Bas’rish, the woman once popularly known as the Voidhound, knew the Commander back in the day.

They’d done a few jobs together, and she’s even adopted him as her ‘little brother’, even though she’s only two years older and he’s about a head taller than she is. He’s saved her life at least twice, now. Through it all, he’s never really asked her for anything.

But the smuggler captain knows how to read people, and she’s seen things that others miss. Now she sees him start to flounder when the hyperspace route ahead of him isn’t clear.

She tries to talk to him about it. He always insists that he’s fine.

Yeah, Bas’rish knows about ‘fine’. She spent three years as a prisoner of Zakuul learning all about ‘fine’.

She’s tempted – sorely tempted – to talk to Shan or someone about her suspicions. These people do care about him as a person, if he’d only let them. (He’s lousy at that.)

No. Not yet. Not her style. (Not actually her business, maybe, but that’s family for you.)

Instead, she does the only thing she feels she can do. She puts out some feelers to her old contacts, and quietly starts to search the galaxy, hoping that if she finds the right trail of breadcrumbs, she can give Corellan Halcyon the mission he really needs. Just because he wasn’t confiding in her didn’t mean she couldn’t help him.

That’s what big sisters do, right?

Every morning, Arcann wakes up, dresses, then joins Corellan Halcyon in the training ring for a pre-breakfast lightsaber sparring session.

Given that the first two times they had crossed blades, the Jedi Battlemaster and the Emperor of Zakuul had been trying to kill each other, it’s a strange sensation at first.

But for Arcann, still struggling to make friends within the Alliance, it is a welcome one.

The Commander has been a good friend to Arcann since he had joined. Truth, he’s been the only true friend he’s had since Thexan. The Commander often brings him on missions, but more important to Arcann is the time they spend together off-duty. They spar together, frequently dine together, and talk. Occasionally, they play dejarik. It helps Arcann’s image. Their sparring matches, which are rather intense, routinely draw impressive crowds of Alliance personnel. As the Commander obviously trusts Arcann with a lightsaber, Alliance personnel are much more willing to accept the former Emperor’s presence, particularly on missions, where trust is imperative.

(There was a time when Arcann was supremely confident that he could defeat the Outlander in such a duel. Now, even without Valkorion’s aid, he can sense Corellan Halcyon’s power had eclipsed his own, and that the former Jedi was well ahead of him in innate skill. Nevertheless, Arcann was closer to the Commander’s level than anyone else in the Alliance.)

Arcann doesn’t know why the Commander shows him such kindness.

The former Emperor has famously never believed in destiny; he turned against the Scions for that very reason, back when he… back when he was that other person. Now he is starting to reconsider his beliefs. He is still trying to understand the vision he had of Thexan, when he and his family had fought Valkorion in Corellan’s mind. He’s convinced that even if it is not his destiny to aid the Commander, it is most certainly his choice.

Arcann does not know what troubles Corellan Halcyon these days, and he does not feel it his place to press him on the matter.

He just knows he will be there with lightsaber in hand when he is needed.

Marshall Fideltin Rusk is “old crew”.

The Commander’s crew from back when he was a Jedi is whispered of in reverence by many in the Alliance, their feats – real or imagined – having become legendary by now, rising to almost mythical status.

That is all that people seem to know about the old chagrian soldier.

A few brave souls have even asked Rusk about the stories they’ve heard. When asked by one of his trainees, they receive a harsh verbal rebuke. When he is asked by anyone else, they receive a raised eyebrow and an icy silence. In either case, a hasty withdrawal usually follows.

Rusk is valued and appreciated by Admiral Aygo and the rest of the command staff for his ability to train – and sometimes lead – Alliance infantry into able, combat-ready squads. Even Majors Antilles and Jorgan – the Alliance’s special forces commanders who have reformed Havoc Squad – consider him a premier instructor. He is respected by the other officers and those counted among the Commander’s companions for his abilities and resourcefulness in personal combat, even as he creeps into an age where most soldiers are already retired. He is viewed with a distinct combination of loathing, fear and ultimately grudging admiration by those he puts through the Alliance training regimen. The soldiers who eventually complete the training become indebted to him for what he has forged them into.

If Fideltin Rusk has a personal friend in the Alliance outside his former crewmates – the Commander and Teeseven – it is the best-held secret in the base. The old soldier doesn’t laugh. He doesn’t smile. He rarely seeks the company of others even when he is off duty, preferring to keep his own counsel. He is nicknamed “stone-face” behind his back by more than a few. Rusk demonstrates no signs that he knows or cares about this dynamic.

But once a week, Rusk meets with the Commander in a quiet corner of the cantina for a game of dejarik and a drink. The Commander seems to enjoy these games immensely, smiling and sometimes even laughing when the two privately share a memory concerning their old crew. It’s as if he lets the mask of the stoic Outlander to slip a bit. Rusk himself doesn’t laugh during these games. He doesn’t even smile. But the muscles of his face seem to relax in a way that they don’t seem to in any other situation.

The other Alliance members – from the top senior advisors to the lowliest recruits – do not disturb these games. But some watch from a distance, both puzzled and fascinated by this uncharacteristic ritual.

On rare occasion, some third party will note the Commander calling Rusk by his old rank of “Sergeant”. It is not the kind of slip-up he would normally make. A small handful of people consider that this is not a mistake of the tongue, but rather a sort of personal designation. (In truth the Commander has known Rusk for far too long to suddenly start calling him “Fideltin”.)

If Rusk – who shared a small ship with the Commander for four years – has any personal observations or insights regarding Corellan Halcyon’s state of mind, he keeps those to himself.

That does not mean he is not concerned for the man he has followed for so long. The only man for whom he would have left the Republic’s service.

But regardless, Rusk keeps his own peace even as he prepares his trainees for the next war.

Oddly enough, the only ‘Force user’ in the Alliance whom the Commander has confided his troubles to – indeed, the only Alliance member whom he’s actually spoken to about his innermost thoughts at all – is one who would not identify as such.

Yuun is a Gand Findsman. He can find things. He can find people. (Hence why so many of his kind choose to become bounty hunters and related professions.)

But he can only follow the signs as they appear to him.

Corellan Halcyon seeks him out one day, then shares what he seeks with the Gand.

Yuun listens attentively, then meditates at length, looking for the signs. When he is finished, he regretfully tells the Commander that there is no path for him to follow for what he seeks. He can tell him only that when the signs do come, they will come for the Commander only. On this point, Yuun is certain of intuitively.

Befitting his nature, Corellan Halcyon amicably thanks the Gand, then asks for his discretion in this matter. Yuun naturally acquiesces.

As the Commander takes his leave, the Gand can only hope that the signs will come soon.

Theron Shan is worried.

Theron was, once upon a time, one of the best SIS agents and analysts in the Republic’s service. (If he hadn’t been that good, Marcus Trant would have had him killed for all the operations of Theron’s that had gone sideways.)

But the point is he’s good at watching people. Damned good.

The Commander of the Eternal Alliance has become the most ‘watched’ man in the galaxy. Theron knows for a fact that the SIS’s psychological analysis of Corellan Halcyon is hundreds of pages long at this point, and that most of it is bantha dung. Lana doesn’t talk about the subject much, but he would be surprised if Sith Intelligence’s files weren’t even more convoluted.

Theron now observes the Alliance Commander, and hopes he is doing so with better skill than all those other intelligence analysts. (And hopefully, with better skill than every enemy who has ever lined up across from Corellan Halcyon.)

He sees the Commander standing on the observation deck at the base, staring up at the horizon.

No. Theron realizes. Not staring. His eyes are closed. He’s reaching with the Force, reaching out into the galaxy for… something.

That worried him.

Theron Shan’s family history was… complicated. That didn’t mean he hadn’t learned it. It didn’t mean he hadn’t heard the stories from Master Zho or that he hadn’t read the old reports once he’d joined the SIS.

Theron remembered Revan.

After the Jedi Civil War and the destruction of the Star Forge, Revan and Bastila Shan had retired to Coruscant, leading relatively quiet lives of married bliss. They were nominally still part of the Jedi order, with the council unable to expel their two galactic heroes for fear of the political fallout. Revan, redeemed, victorious and united with his love, should have lived out his life in happiness.

That wasn’t what happened. Revan became distracted by… something out in the galaxy. Ultimately, after months of bad dreams and premonitions, Revan finally left his pregnant wife behind while he ventured out towards the Outer Rim, never to be seen again.

… until three-hundred years later, but that was another story.

It turned out, of course, that it was the Sith Emperor that had plagued Revan’s thoughts. His memories of Vitiate from years before during the Mandalorian Wars may have been suppressed, but he could still feel the old bastard through the Force. Pursuing that feeling had led to Revan losing the life he had built for himself, as well as any chance at happiness.

The Sith Emperor was dead. Of that, everyone was certain.

So. What was plaguing the Alliance Commander? What was distracting him? What new threat had him reaching out like this?

Would the Commander hop in his old ship some day and just disappear? Like Revan had?

And if he did, what would become of the Alliance – and of the galaxy – without him?

Lana Beniko knows full-well that much of what has developed has been a result of her actions. She believes this without hubris or ego, and with some measure of guilt.

Koth had warned her years ago even before they freed Corellan Halcyon on Zakuul. Winning the war against the Eternal Throne would take a greater toll on the Outlander than any of them could have imagined.

Through it all, he’d been consummate hero every step of the way. Stoic. Selfless. Courageous beyond all reason. She remembers his near-death experience fighting Arcann on Asylum. Once he awoke, he didn’t seem remotely discouraged. Once upon a time, Lana would have dismissed much of this as displays of his damned Jedi ethics. Lana no longer believed that. Corellan may have left the order behind, but his principles were his own.

Lana had had been by his side ever since, whether coordinating the Alliance or fighting in the field. The former Minister of Sith Intelligence felt she owed it to him, given that she had effectively drafted him into a position of leadership in fighting a war that he’d never asked for, taking on the responsibility of leading the Alliance. In all but name, Lana was effectively serving his chief-of-staff. (Theron, meanwhile, preferred to play the free-wheeling subordinate.)

She watched him now. They had been victorious. Triumphant. Untold billions of lives had been saved. Even if the Empire and Republic needed to be kept at arm’s length, the galaxy was still more peaceful than it had been in decades.

He should be, if not happy, then at least satisfied. He is not.

He’s not right. He’s not himself.

She feels the pings of guilt that he’s in this state, even as she knows she would have done the same if she had to. (And the Commander would have agreed with her, she knows.) She understands that, ultimately, he hasn’t let her in. That hurts more than she’s willing to admit. Regardless, Lana Beniko will always do whatever is in her power to support him, regardless.

To that end, Lana insists – with Theron’s support – that the Commander take two days off. Corellan promptly ventures into the wilderness with Drellik and an archaeological team. She says nothing when he spends each morning sparring with Arcann. (She still doesn’t trust the deposed Emperor.) She rolls her eyes but keeps her peace when the Commander and Vette spend more than a week in a ridiculous display trying to outdo each other over a cup of caf. Lana Beniko realizes these are all temporary measures. They may bring the Commander relief, but they do not address the underlying issues.

Something more needs to be done.

A private meeting is quietly organized by Lana Beniko, composed of carefully selected Alliance members known for their pragmatic and discreet natures.

They talk for hours on their observations and concerns regarding the Commander. They attempt to construct a complete picture of the situation, despite clearly missing some pieces. Inevitably, they debate and argue. The eventual consensus of the gathering is that the Commander paid a steep price in his final battle with Valkorion, and that the effects of that encounter linger. That he was wounded in spirit in ways that are not healing on their own and which he refuses to talk about or address.

The discussion then pragmatically turns to what could be done about it.

The prospect of outside counseling is suggested but is quickly dismissed. None of those assembled are properly trained themselves and finding someone trustworthy who could compel the Commander to cooperate would be nigh impossible given the circumstances.

Inevitably, the prospect of using Force Healing is raised. It seems to have worked well for Arcann.

Lana had already spoken to Sana-Rae. She told her that the Commander will always be considered a hero to the Voss, but that a vision by the Mystic, Valen-Da, predicted that Corellan Halcyon would find no peace among their people. That every time he would return to the planet would coincide with conflict and peril. So, it had been when he had confronted Fulminiss at the Dark Heart almost a decade ago. So, it had been when he had saved Voss-Ka from Vaylin. So, it would be again in the future.

Lana had been angry to hear this, but she had finally accepted the explanation. The Voss were out.

Neither Sith nor the Knights of Zakuul possessed the proper techniques – on this, there was no dispute. What about healing through a Jedi Force Meld?

More promising, that. But for someone like Corellan Halcyon, that would require a Jedi of sufficient power with a strong, pre-existing bond to the Commander.

He had been the Hero of Tython. Their Battlemaster. Their Champion. There must surely be many such Jedi…

Leeha Narezz and Jomar Chul both knew him before joining the Alliance, hadn’t they? He had called them his old friends. Not that deeply, the group is told. He had saved their lives twice over. But they didn’t pretend to have that sort of connection to him. Precious few Jedi had. But Satele Shan has not been seen since her appearance on Coruscant shortly after the war ended. What about the rest of the council? Bela Kiwiiks had been in touch with the Alliance but had not seen the Commander in person in years. The others? All missing or dead. Surely there were others? Kira Carsen, his former padawan, and Ulannium Kaarz, the Barsen’thor, had both gone missing during the invasion, like so many other Jedi. Corellan Halcyon may have been called the Hero of Tython, but he rarely seemed to spend much time on the Jedi homeworld.

As those assembled work their way down the list, they come to an uncomfortable realization.

Corellan Halcyon has spent his adult life going from world to world, saving people. First as a Jedi, now as the leader of the Eternal Alliance.

He seemed to call everyone his ‘friend’, but even Lana Beniko, who rescued him on Zakuul and had stood by his side ever since, was starting to question if she really knew him.

How many people had he even allowed himself to grow close to, aside from an astromech droid?

Senya Tirall finally slaps the table. She and Arcann will ‘take point’ on the situation, she declares. They owe the Commander that and more for what he has done for them.

When she is asked how she intended to help the Commander, the former Knight of Zakuul answered with steel in her eyes and in her voice.

“By being his friend.”

No one challenges this plan. It is, unfortunately, the most pragmatic they have right now.

Senya Tirall has a quality that many of her colleagues in the Alliance lack. That quality being life experience. In her time, Senya Tirall has protected Emperors and hunted criminals. She has tracked down traitors before ultimately becoming a rebel herself. She has warred with her own children and redeemed her son.

She has watched Corellan Halcyon since their first encounter in the Endless Swamp on Zakuul. He wasn’t quite what she expected at the time, and now, over a year later, she still found herself surprised at him sometimes. He was brave, compassionate, amicable and wise, all almost to a fault. He could also charm, flatter and even joke… in his moments.

Senya was fairly certain, however, that these last three characteristics were learned; that they did not come naturally to him. And that seemed typical of Corellan Halcyon; he constantly tried to remake himself into whomever he had to be to help others most effectively.

She saw this during Indo Zal’s celebration of the Eternal Alliance’s victory on Zakuul, held mere hours after the final battle against Valkorion in Corellan’s mind. The former Jedi refused to accept the title of Emperor, instead gathering the ‘movers and shakers’ of Zakuulan society and asking them to form a provisional government. The Commander had pledged that the Eternal Fleet – and the Alliance – would continue to defend Zakuul from external threats, but that they would not attempt to dominate the planet, nor would they interfere at all unless the Zakuulans themselves requested. Despite being mentally exhausted from his ordeal and months of fighting, Corellan spent six hours charming and cajoling the socialites and had them eating out of his hand.

(During the evening, Senya had been approached by no fewer than three matriarchs of influential Zakuulan families, each of whom had known Senya back when she had been the captain of Valkorion’s personal guard. After the obligatory small talk, all three had made inquiries to whether the Commander might be agreeable to a political marriage to one of their daughters or sons. Such deal-making had been commonplace at court back during Valkorion’s reign. Senya had not enjoyed passing along those overtures.)

The entire event had been a smashing triumph, successfully rebranding the infamous Outlander from a hated terrorist to the acclaimed savior of Zakuul.

It was only after all the guests had left that the Commander finally let out a sigh of exhaustion, catching himself against a table as he gazed up at Senya.

“How’d I do?” he’d asked her, like a student asking their teacher if they had passed a test.

Senya was starting to suspect that Corellan Halcyon viewed much of his life like that: Just a series of tests.

She’s even seen it when he was among his friends and allies at the Alliance base. Once, during an informal conversation, a joke seemed to go over his head. He’d blinked, then noting that everyone else seemed amused, he chuckled nervously. Senya didn’t think anyone else had caught it, but she had. A glimpse beneath the mask, perhaps?

It worried her that even after all this time, he didn’t feel completely at ease with his own people. He still felt the need to put up a front, a mask. Having been married to a man who’d worn a mask for centuries, only to have discovered a monster beneath it, Senya was determined to do something about it.

So not long after Lana’s meeting, she had Arcann go and extend an invitation to dinner for the three of them. If Corellan Halcyon was determined to be the “Protector of Zakuul” (as Indo and the aristocrats had acclaimed him), then he should at least become familiar with a homecooked Zakuulan meal. Senya was proved correct that, with the invitation going through Arcann, the Commander wouldn’t refuse.

That first dinner was pleasant enough. Arcann had been nervous about the whole thing; he respects the Outlander’s privacy absolutely, so was quiet for most of the evening. Corellan had even brought a bottle of Alderaanian wine. He seemed more at ease, though she wouldn’t say she understood him better. But the foundation had been laid; he agreed to a second dinner a week later.

By the third dinner, it had occurred to Senya that here she had two able young men who, almost inarguably, were the two greatest warriors in the galaxy. And both of them had apparently reached the age of thirty without picking up any culinary skills of any kind.

By the fourth dinner, she had put them both to work. The Commander was peeling vegetables for a soup while Arcann helped her mix a sauce. It didn’t occur to either Corellan or Arcann to refuse her ‘request’ for them to help.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Corellan’s smile at their weekly dinner starts to become more natural; less the mask worn by the Alliance Commander and more something else.

She’d get through to him, she was sure. She just needed time.

Apparently oblivious to these machinations, there stands Corellan Halcyon, the Alliance Commander.

He has stood tall against the Sith, against Dark Jedi, against the Knights of Zakuul, against challengers on every planet he has ever visited. He has even stood against Valkorion himself. And he has ultimately prevailed every time.

The challenge he now faces is unlike any of those.

Is it his destiny to prevail once again? To find that which he seeks?

He doesn’t know.

But he has hope.

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doctorlaelia-ffxiv · 3 years

Text

never let you go - part 1.

[[ tagging @benes-diction because i will never not be talking about her characters, i simply love them too much. ]]

It was at an officer’s ball that I didn’t want to go to that I met Cato Lucretius.

A nurse named Antonia that I worked with insisted that we go. It was a ball on behalf of a friend of a friend, but she’d been invited all the same, and so had I. She was hungry to meet eligible young bachelors, and with - somehow - nothing on my schedule for me to use to hide behind, I yielded.

We went. We did our hair and put on gowns, and I grimaced because I had promised that I’d never attend another ball after attending my own, celebrating my acceptance into my residency at the hospital.

And maybe I shouldn’t have worn something made of silk in blue that shimmered and clung to my curves, with a neckline that plunged. Maybe I shouldn’t have worn my hair loose and put something that sparkled in it. Maybe I should haven’t dressed to the nines, but in truth, I’ve never known a different way to dress. When I painted my lips red and lined my eyes with black, I had no intention other than to look pretty. It was a shame, I think, that I had tried so hard, because I got all the attention that came with it.

I should have known that I would.

Cato Lucretius was laughing with a group of his friends that knew my group of friends, and I felt his stormy ocean eyes on me for most of the night, even as I refused - on principal - the flutes of champagne that other men tried to give me. I wanted nothing other than to enjoy the evening and for it to go by quickly so that I could return to my books and to my work.

“Laelia Caelius,” he said with a broad smile when he approached, and I noted that he had perfect teeth. There wasn’t a single one out of place or anything but sparkling white. I wondered if he was wearing veneers. And then I realized that he had said my name, and I raised my eyebrows.

“Have we met?” I asked, and his smile broadened, and I admit that I thought he looked terribly handsome, in an old money sort of way. His suit was well-fitted, and he was tall and broad-shouldered, with golden blonde hair that had been neatly combed and gelled back from his forehead.

“I’m afraid I haven’t had the official honor, but everyone knows you, doctor. The ballroom has been flitting about since you walked in. It’s not often we all get to be in the presence of a prodigy,” he said, lowering his voice and winking at me before glancing at my hands. “Are you not drinking this evening?”

I didn’t want my heart to flutter when he winked, or at the low tone of his voice when he lowered it and leaned in towards me. It felt wrong. It wasn’t, of course. I was single. I was unattached. I was...

I was dangling and grasping onto a dream of a man that was dead, who couldn’t love me, who had only ever known me as a peer to his younger brother.

In truth, I thought myself pathetic. Looking back, maybe I just knew - I knew, in the back of my mind, that our book wasn’t shut. I knew that there was a part of me that belonged to a dead man. Maybe a part of me knew that I hadn’t, somehow, seen the last of him. But I was a woman of science before I was one of faith. And, by all accounts, Cato rem Benes was dead, and I could not exist on fumes and dreams and heart ache.

“I’m not drinking,” I confirmed, smiling back a little. “I don’t drink champagne during military balls, or toast to those going off to fight. You never know if you’re toasting to their deaths or not.”

The blonde man laughed, and the sound made me feel warm. It settled in my chest and seeped through my bones, and I laughed back, tilting my head.

“That’s an awfully morbid thought,” he told me, eyes glittering. “Poetic, though. Ah-- forgive me. I haven’t introduced myself.”

Shifting, he extended a large hand out to me, though it was soft. This man wasn’t a soldier or someone familiar with physical labor. I took his hand anyway, glancing back up at his face.

“My name is Cato Lucretius,” he said, and for a moment, it felt like my world had stopped. And maybe my face dropped, because this Cato tilted his head a little at me and looked down at our hands, then back up to my face.

“Ah,” he noised softly as he let go of me, slowly - reluctantly? “That’s right. You and your family were close to the Benes family at one time, weren’t they? It must have been quite a shock for you, with the tragic loss of their eldest...”

I swallowed thickly and glanced down at our hands, too. They were only a couple of ilms from each other still, hovering in the air in a way that made the backs of our fingers brush against each other’s. He had no idea. He had no idea the suffering I had felt so deeply, for reasons I couldn’t clearly explain, or the way that I had wept and sobbed when I found out Cato Benes was dead. It felt like another part of me had been ripped away and buried. It felt like someone had reached into my chest and grabbed my heart and crushed it in their hand, and I couldn’t explain way. I couldn’t make any sort of sense out of it.

Cato is dead, I told myself. You cannot be helpless forever. You cannot exist like this forever, in mourning while wearing blue and white.

When I looked back up at Cato Lucretius, I smiled in a way that I hoped looked demure, shifting my hand back to clasp it in front of me with my other. Over Cato Lucretius’ shoulder, I could see Antonia squinting at me, then at his back, and then beaming, giving me a big thumbs up.

“I admire Madame Benes a great deal for her accomplishments and support of the theater,” I murmured, dipping my head. “And mal Benes for the insurmountable amount he’s done for the medical community. I look up to them very much. They’ve always been very kind to me.”

Cato Lucretius smiled at the answer I gave him, quietly refusing another flute of champagne by a passing waiter. His stormy gray eyes stayed on me and on me alone, fixated on my face. Even if I hadn’t had a drop to drink, my cheeks felt hot, and I was worried that my neck would begin to flush if I didn’t do something - if I didn’t move, or find an excuse to leave, or... anything. Something.

“But you were to be bethrothed to their living son, weren’t you?” Cato Lucretius asked me, and I narrowed my eyes a little at him. He cleared his throat as I leveled the glare, dipping his head quickly.

“Forgive me. I don’t mean to pry, doctor. Please don’t misunderstand. It’s only that I couldn’t ask a woman spoken for to join me for dinner sometime,” he clarified, his voice velvety and low as he reached slowly for one of my hands again... and I swallowed again, my eyes still narrowed, but with less contempt.

Cato Lucretius knew that he was handsome. I could tell that right away. His eyes were sharp and bright, and I knew that he was charming with everyone, not just with women he was trying to woo. The man oozed a certain sort of warmth and charisma that made people flock to him, as evidenced by the crowd of friends that had been gathered around him before he parted their numbers to come and speak to me instead.

I took a breath, and I let myself smile, just slightly.

“No, sir. I am not in any sort of arrangement with Caius rem Benes or anyone else.”

Cato Lucretius smiled, flashing his perfect teeth at me.

“You don’t strike me as a woman easily satisfied, Doctor Caelius,” he told me, and I couldn’t help but to laugh, acutely aware that he was still holding onto one of my hands so very gently with one of his.

“Dear me, sir, what are you insinuating?” I fired back, unable to stop my smile from growing bigger with amusement, and Cato Lucretius laughed, too. He laughed, and it was such a warm, pretty sort of sound.

“I insinuate nothing other than that you are a strong, clever sort of woman who knows exactly what she wants. I believe we can be kindred spirits, in that regard, though you’re a thousand times more clever than I could ever hope to be.”

If only he had remembered that, or actually believed it.

“So what do you say?” he continued, bowing low at the waist and lifting my hand towards his lips as he glanced up at my face. “Will you grace a lowly writer such as myself with your company in the next sennight? I know your schedule must be busy, Doctor Caelius.”

A writer. A writer. A writer.

Who is this strange doppleganger of Cato Benes, and why do I not want to tell him ‘no’? Is it because he has bits of Cato Benes? Am I-...

Stop overthinking, Laelia.

“I’ll have to look at my schedule,” is what I said out loud, refusing to let the way I was panicking show on my face, that time. “But... I believe I can make time for you, Mr. Lucretius.”

“You have given me the very best news I could hope to receive,” he said as he beamed a smile, brushing his lips against my knuckles softly before slowly straightening back up. “I do hope that I don’t disappoint.”

“As do I,” I teased, but oh.

Oh, if only I had known then what I know now.

#ffxiv rp #ff14 rp #ffxiv #ff14 #writing #cato squared #in this house we stan cato benes and cato benes ONLY

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xiolaperry · 4 years

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The Piano - Chapter 13

Summary: Belle French and her daughter arrive in New Zealand to an arranged marriage with Gaston LeGume. Gaston shows little interest in her or her piano and books. However, Mr. Gold is fascinated… (Rumbelling of the 1993 film “The Piano”)

Rating: E for smut, dark subject matter and violence.

Also available on AO3

Two days earlier...

Needle and thread in hand, Gold settled himself on the porch to wait for Belle. He sat outside, wanting to see her the moment she appeared. He wore his best waistcoat, shirt, and trousers. No cravat. There was no need to look overdone.

He sewed the buttons Belle ripped off with passion yesterday. She'd been glorious and fierce, and he hoped the buttons he reattached would be popped off again. He'd suspected there was a passionate nature underneath her self-containment. Bringing that out was a highlight of his life and a privilege.

The bright sun shone overhead when he finished his mending. Gold got out his knife and a piece of wood. A rough form appeared beneath his patient hands. A new cat for Tilly. He'd make her a whole cat family. Perhaps Belle would bring Tilly with her today. As much as a repeat of the previous day's activities would be perfect, seeing Tilly again would be enjoyable as well. She was intelligent and spirited like her mother.

He must learn to sign as soon as possible. He learned the language of the Maori, he could learn this. There was much to discuss and there was the problem of what to do about Gaston. But he wasn’t concerned. If there was anything he was good at, it was dealing. When two people want something the other has, a deal could always be struck.

As the sun tracked its way across the sky, disquieting thoughts set in. Where was she? Maybe Gaston had worked at home today. The light faded, and with it, his earlier joy was replaced with despair.

Darkness came. Gold contemplated the indifferent stars above and felt very small. Those stars had seen many things. They'd seen the dark deeds and deals he used to amass his fortune in Scotland. He'd been ruthless. They saw him find a measure of peace here in verdant New Zealand among the forthright natives. The bargaining skills he’d gained he used for their benefit.

But he hadn't gone soft. No, old habits die hard, and he did not make friends with his fellow settlers. He wheeled and dealed, always in his favor, and to the detriment of the unwary. And now here he stood, gazing up at the night sky, alone.

He woke up the next morning to Granny poking him with her crossbow. “Are you still drunk, Gold?”

“You're not going to shoot me, are you? No, I'm painfully sober.” He stretched, stiff from sleeping in the chair. Every joint ached.

“Then why are you sleeping outside?”

“Because I didn't want to sleep in my bed, obviously.”

“Something wrong with it?”

“No.” It would have broken him to lie in it and catch a whiff of her fragrance.

Granny peered at him over her spectacles and frowned at the sadness etched in the lines of his face.

“Let's go inside, and I'll make you breakfast. You'll never guess what Hira told me about Nihe.”

“You just want to eat my food,” he grumbled. Granny's gossip always made an adequate distraction. A fresh day brightened his outlook, and a tiny ember of hope still burned. She might come today. - - -

The stars came out again, and still she had not returned. His hope transformed into grim acceptance. He should have known. No one could ever love him. Especially not a vibrant young woman with her entire future ahead of her.

Now, with a grief so profound he could neither sleep nor eat, he knew he had to leave. She had moved on. He must do likewise.

Granny had no need to poke him when she checked on him the next morning. If he'd slept the night before, he wasn't aware of it.

“Oh, Gold.” She sighed. One look at his face told her no amount of gossip would help. “I'll make you something to eat.”

“Nothing for me, thank you. Please make something for yourself.” Granny squeezed his arm as she passed him. “On second thought, could you make me some tea, please?”

“I'll get it started right away.”

His tea had cooled enough to drink when Cora's small group arrived.

“Hello, Mr. Gold. So nice to see you on this fine day.”

Gold felt sorry for Reverend Hopper. He was a kind man, he cared and tried to “shepherd his flock.” But he was firmly under Cora's thumb. He doubted she allowed him to give a sermon without her approval of the topic. What the Reverend needed was a strong wife, to balance out his gentleness with some backbone. That would be the only way for him to escape being Cora's puppet.

Cora's haughty voice cut into his musings. “Aren't you going to greet us, Mr. Gold? Or has living among the savages caused you to forget all your manners?”

Gold put aside his tea and leveraged himself up with his cane. He made a courtly bow, extending his arm with a flourish. “Good morning, Reverend Hopper, Regina. You'll notice I don't include you in my greeting, Cora, as any morning with you in it could never be good.”

Reverend Hopper tried to salvage the visit, which was not going the way he hoped. “Mr. Gold, we are here at my suggestion. I want to spread Christmas cheer and greetings to everyone, and that includes you. Might we please come in?”

Hopper was making a valiant effort, he had to give him that. On any other day, he might have invited them in and played dutiful host. But this was not any other day.

“I appreciate the sentiment, Reverend. But Cora can take her bloody Christmas cheer elsewhere.”

Granny came out when she heard him raise his voice. “I see you have a visitor here already,” sneered Cora.

“Yes, I do. And I have much to accomplish today, so I'll bid you haere rā.”

“Come, Regina. I won't spend another second in this miserable man's rude presence.”

“Actually, a moment please, Regina. I'm leaving, and this will probably be the last time I see you. You have spirit, and there is good in you. Get as far away from your mother as possible and give that goodness room to grow. You'll be much better off.” He hoped she'd take his advice. It was the only way she'd find any happiness.

Regina removed a package from her basket and handed it to Reverend Hopper. He approached and placed it on the step.

“I'm sorry to hear you're leaving us. The Maori will miss your help. I wish you safe travels.”

“Thank you, Reverend. I meant no offense to you, it has been a difficult couple of days. But you're another who would do well to rid himself of that viper. Goodbye.”

Granny picked up the package to spare him the step down, knowing his leg must ache. They turned their backs on the trio and entered the house.

“Keep whatever that is. Knowing Cora, it’s probably poisoned.” He rubbed his fingers, uncomfortable with what he was about to ask. “Can you do me a favor?”

“Of course.”

“Can you make sure the cat is taken care of?”

“The cat? The little black one that comes around?”

“Yes. After I'm gone, see if Gaston will take it for Tilly. If he thinks it is his idea, he might let her have it. But if he doesn't, would you look after it?

“Yes, I can do that. You're really leaving?”

“Yes, I am. And thank you.”

“I'm sure you have a lot to do, so I'll go. But don't leave without saying goodbye.”

“I won't.”

Exhausted, Gold sat on the porch again. Thankfully Granny had asked no questions about the cat. He was too tired to explain.

A few minutes later Ebony herself appeared, weaving through the plants on dainty feet. She jumped into his lap and settled there, purring.

Gold scratched her head and ears. Her golden eyes closed to contented slits. He remembered the first time he saw her, a scrawny little thing, just skin and bones. The smell of his dinner cooking had drawn her, and she'd watched him with bleary eyes, hopeful for something to eat.

Hunger was a suffering Gold understood all too well, and he couldn't bear to let anything starve, not even a cat. He'd tossed it scraps of meat and after that, the cat was a regular visitor.

He'd found satisfaction in watching the cat fill out, her dull fur becoming glossy with health, her ribs no longer visible. But he never named her. No, naming was not for the likes of him. Then Tilly came along, and now she was Ebony.

Lost in his memories, his cat warm in his lap, he dozed.

He spent the next morning packing the few belongings he wished to keep into the saddlebags. The teacup and book were wrapped with care, the only two things he truly cherished. Gold saddled his horse. The Maori village would be his first stop. He would gift his land to them; it was theirs to begin with. And he wanted to say goodbye.

Granny was leaving with her crossbow, ready to hunt when he arrived. She surprised him with a traditional Maori greeting, the hongi. As she pressed her nose to his, she said, “I'll miss you, Gold. You've been a good friend to me.”

“And you to me. Haere rā.”

“Let's not drag this out. I wish you well Gold. Goodbye.”

He saw Kamira on his way to the village elders.

“Gold! Just the person I was hoping to run into,” said Kamira, speaking to him in his native tongue. “I have something to trade.”

“I'm not making deals today.”

Kamira pulled the gleaming ivory piano key from his waistband. Gold lunged for it.

“Give me that.”

“I found it. What will you offer me for it?” He knew Gold valued the piano the white woman had brought and thought he might make a good trade for this piece of it.

“Where did you find it?” His fingers tightened on the reins to keep himself from grabbing for it again.

“There's something written on the side, but I can't read English.” He pondered for a moment. “I'll trade you this for your knife.” Kamira had long admired it and Gold never showed any willingness to part with it.

“Deal.” Gold dismounted and opened his saddlebag. The knife, really more of a dagger, was ornate, a work of art. He pulled it from its sheath and it gleamed in the sun. They traded.

The words were difficult to decipher. They were written in flowing script instead of plain print. He concentrated. His eyes narrowed as he sounded out the words, his heart thudding in his chest. These might be the most important words he'd ever read.

“Dear … Gold … You … Have … My … Heart. Belle French.”

Tilting his head back, he laughed with joy. Hope rushed back. In his giddy relief, he did not think to chase down Kamira and ask how the key had come into his possession. Belle loved him.

He'd be patient and go home. No matter how long it took, he'd wait for her. She'd sent him a piece of her treasured piano that was her voice. No one had ever given him anything so precious.

The rain that fell on him as he rode did not dampen his spirits. He repeated the message to himself over and over, savoring the sound of the words, his heart so full of happiness he thought it might burst. “Dear Gold, you have my heart. Belle French.” He was still smiling when he reached his home.

Granny rushed out.

“Gold! I heard the girl, Tilly, screaming, and I came running. She has blood splattered on her. I took her inside the house. Get in here, quickly!”

#the piano #my fic #rumbelle #rumbelle fic

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frmartinshomiliesandreflections · 3 years

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25th December >> Fr. Martin’s Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Luke 2:1-14 for The Feast of Christmas: ‘Today in the town of David, a Saviour has been born to you’.

Feast of Christmas Night and Day

Gospel (Except USA)

Luke 2:1-14

'In the town of David a saviour has been born to you'

Caesar Augustus issued a decree for a census of the whole world to be taken. This census – the first – took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria, and everyone went to his own town to be registered. So Joseph set out from the town of Nazareth in Galilee and travelled up to Judaea, to the town of David called Bethlehem, since he was of David’s House and line, in order to be registered together with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to a son, her first born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them at the inn. In the countryside close by there were shepherds who lived in the fields and took it in turns to watch their flocks during the night. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone round them. They were terrified, but the angel said, ‘Do not be afraid. Listen, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of David a saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. And here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly with the angel there was a great throng of the heavenly host, praising God and singing:

‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace to men who enjoy his favour.’

Gospel (USA)

Luke 2:1–14

Today a Savior has been born for you.

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:

“Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Reflections (7)

(i) Feast of Christmas

Every year on Christmas night we listen to the Christmas story from the gospels. Each year the story we hear is the same, but each year we are different. Something will have changed for us since last Christmas. For many people, a lot will have changed in the past twelve months due to the onset of a pandemic we never foresaw last Christmas and is very much still with us, as we face into level 5 restrictions again. Many people may be feeling more despondent and anxious. Some will have experienced a level of isolation that they had never knows before. For many, their work situation is much less secure than it was. We sense that many of us are more on edge. Those for whom life has always been a struggle have been finding it much more of a struggle. As individuals, as communities, we come to this Christmas somewhat more stressed and bruised than normal. Because it has been a darker year for many, the opening line of today’s first reading can resonate all the more with us, ‘the people that walked in darkness has seen a great light’. This Christmas, as we continue to walk in the darkness of this pandemic, we are invited to open ourselves up to the great light of the birth of Jesus.

The Christmas story speaks to us of a light that shines in the darkness and that the darkness cannot overcome. The story of the birth of Jesus is told as a night time event in which a great light shines. The shepherds were watching their flocks during the night, when the glory of the Lord shone around them. This light of God’s presence did not eliminate the darkness, but it shone in the midst of it. I am reminded of that lovely hymn written by John Henry Newman, ‘Lead, kindly light, amid the encircling gloom’. The feast of Christmas celebrates the shining of God’s kindly light in the midst of the gloom in which we often find ourselves. The writer Dostoevsky once wrote, ‘We grope as though in the dark… but for the precious image of Christ before us, we would lose our way’. God’s kindly light shone in the face of Jesus that night in Bethlehem and it continues to shine for each one of us this Christmas, wherever we happen to find ourselves. Each of our lives has its own personal drama but tonight we are invited to let ourselves be drawn into a drama that is larger than our own, the drama of God’s loving relationship with us.

The child that was born to Mary and Joseph has been born to each one of us. In the words of the angels to the shepherds, ‘Today, in the town of David, a saviour has been born to you’. Each one of us is included in that ‘to you’. That is why the birth of the one who was born homeless can be celebrated in every home. The one born of Mary wants to make his home in each of our lives, this Christmas and throughout the coming year. The birth of Jesus reveals God’s desire to draw close to us. When Mary and Joseph looked upon their child, they were looking upon the human face of God. When we look upon this child, when we look upon the adult Jesus in the gospels, the crucified Jesus on the cross, we are looking at the human face of God. Through this child, who became the adult of the gospels, and, eventually the risen Lord of the church, God is embracing us in love. That is what Saint Paul means when he says at the beginning of today’s second reading, ‘God’s grace has been revealed’. God’s gracious love has been revealed, a love that accepts us as we are, without any merit on our part. God’s Son, born of Mary and Joseph, loudly proclaims that we are all beloved sons and daughters of God. However difficult or complicated the drama of our own life story may be, Christmas is a moment when God calls out to us to accept his loving embrace of us, through his Son. Graced by God’s love, we will be empowered to love ourselves, and to love others, the whole human family. Not only do we celebrate at Christmas God’s desire to draw close to us, but Christmas can bring each of us closer to God. As the humble shepherds and the sophisticated magi were both drawn to the stable in Bethlehem, we too can find ourselves drawn to the God who loves us so much that he became as vulnerable as a new born child for our sakes.

In speaking to the shepherds, the angels describe their message about the birth of a saviour as ‘news of great joy’. God wants each of us to find joy in being unconditionally loved. There may not have been much joy for many people in the year just past. Some will be grieving the recent death of a loved one. Many may be struggling in some version of the ‘encircling gloom’ that Newman speaks of. Yet, at a deeper level of our being, we can experience the joy which is the fruit of the Spirit of God’s love. It is the joy which flows from knowing that the kindly light of God’s gracious love, the light of Bethlehem, is always shining upon us. This kindly light is our ultimate destiny; we are journeying towards it, but it is also our constant companion.

And/Or

(ii) Feast of Christmas Day

I would like on your behalf to congratulate the children on the wonderful way that they acted out the Christmas story. I am always struck by how easily children enter into the Christmas story and how well they announce it to us all. Perhaps that is because at the centre of the Christmas story is a family - a mother, a father and their child – not unlike the children’s own families. Many of the children will have baby brothers and sisters, and they can relate easily to the baby who is the very heart of the Christmas story.

The word ‘God’ can suggest someone remote, very far above us, somewhat inaccessible. However, there is nothing more accessible than a new born baby. Everyone wants to get close to a new born baby. They exert a certain fascination on all of us. We look at this new bundle of life, mesmerized. The parents who are here this morning know that better than I do. Christmas celebrates the extraordinary good news that the new born child of Mary and Joseph is God - God-with-us, Emmanuel. Those who looked into the eyes of this child were looking into the eyes of God. It is hard to imagine how God could have become more accessible to us than by taking the form of a new born child. If God wanted to draw close to us, to engage us, to draw us into relationship, this was a very good way to do it. In Jesus, the first born child of Mary and Joseph, God became vulnerable, accessible, engaging.

Perhaps that is why the feast of Christmas continues to engage us at the more spiritual level of our make up. Yes, Christmas has become overly commercialized. We all spend more than we need to; if we are not careful we can easily go overboard. Yet, the numbers who come to church on Christmas day are always well up on other times of the year. God who reached out to us through a new born babe continues to draw us at this time of the year. It somehow feels right to come to church on this day of all days. It is as if we sense, at some level, that if God has gone to such lengths to connect with us, the least we can do is attempt to connect with God. Like the shepherds in today’s gospel reading, we hear the call to come to the crib. On reaching it, we are invited to let our eyes and our minds roam free as we ponder the wonderful mystery of Jesus’ birth, the mystery of Emmanuel, God-with-us.

Mary and Joseph’s child, of course, became an adult, a vigorous young man who placed his life’s energy at the disposal of God the Father for the service of all men and woman. As the adult Jesus went on to say, ‘the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many’. He gave his life for us all, and, having been raised from the dead, he continues to give himself to us all. Indeed, at this Eucharist which we now celebrate, the risen Lord gives himself to each of us as the bread of life. We come here on this Christmas morning not only to ponder the image of the child Jesus in the crib, but to receive into our lives in the Eucharist the glorious and risen adult Jesus. He calls us who are adults into an adult relationship with him. He says to us what he said to his disciples on the night before he died, ‘I no longer call your servants, I call you friends’. He waits for us to reciprocate, to befriend him as he has befriended us, to reach out towards him as he has reached out towards us, to accept him as our companion on our life’s way.

The second reading this morning speaks of God’s Son as ‘the radiant light of God’s glory’. When John the evangelist wanted to express the mystery of this feast of Christmas, he wrote: ‘A light… shines in the darkness, a light that darkness could not overpower’. The adult Jesus spoke of himself as the light of the world and promised that those who follow him will never walk in darkness. Many of us today experience a sense of darkness in one form of another. It might be the darkness of depression, of illness, of a broken relationship, of a deep loss, or the darkness that envelopes us when we look at all that is not right with our world. At Christmas we celebrate the coming of Jesus as light into our darkness. On this Christmas morning, we might make our own that wonderful prayer of John Henry Newman, a great scholar and writer of the 19th century, an Anglican who became a Roman Catholic, a prayer addressed to the risen Jesus as light in our darkness: ‘Lead kindly light amid the encircling gloom, lead Thou me on. The night is dark and I am far from home, lead Thou me on. I do not ask to see the distant scene. One step enough for me’.

And/Or

(iii) Feast of Christmas Day

There has been quite a bit of bad news in recent times. We know the economy has taken a serious downturn and many people who had jobs last Christmas don’t have jobs this Christmas. The future is more uncertain for many people than it might have been this time last year. We have also heard news of murders in broad daylight at either end of our parish here in Clontarf. For those who have been affected by those murders this Christmas will be an ordeal. There has been bad news for the church this Christmas, as well, with the recent report on Cloyne Diocese.

Today’s feast sends a ray of light into the doom and gloom. The first line of this morning’s first reading sets the tone for the feast, ‘How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of one who brings good news’. What is this good news, according to that reading? It is the good news that the Lord is returning to Zion and consoling his people and that all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. As Christians we recognize the fulfilment of that promise of good news in the birth of Jesus who is both the son of Mary and Joseph, and Son of God. On that first Christmas night, a child was born for us, a son was given to us, who brought God to us in a way that no human being ever did before or since. In bringing God to us with such clarity, he showed the name of that God to be love. In his gospel St John would put it very succinctly, ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only Son’. That is why we have cribs in our churches and in our homes at this time of the year, to remind us of that good news. Children can get more excited by good news than us adults. We are often more attuned to bad news. It can be the open-eyed wonder of children before the crib that helps all of us to hear and be touched by the good news that is at the heart of today’s feast. The adult Jesus would go on to say, ‘unless you become like little children you will not enter the kingdom of God’.

The gospel reading we have just heard acknowledges the reality of the darkness in our world, and yet it also announces the good news that there is a more fundamental reality enveloping us, which the reading simply refers to as ‘light’. ‘A light shines in the darkness, a light that darkness could not overpower’. That reading reassures us that no matter how dark things may appear to be in our own personal lives, in the lives of our family, in the life of our church, in the life of our nation, there is a light shining there, a light that is stronger than the darkness and that is destined to overcome the darkness. The gospel reading for Christmas morning invites us to ask the question, ‘Where is the light in our darkness?’ It encourages us to search for the light, because it is there. The reading speaks of this light as the true light, and it then identifies this true light with the Word of God who became flesh and was given the name Jesus. We come to the crib at this time of the year because we are drawn by the light that shines in the darkness, and deep down we are convinced that the darkness will not overcome this light. What is this light? It is ultimately the light of love, the light of God’s love. In the New Testament, there are two three word statements identifying who God is, and they are both to be found in the first letter of Saint John, ‘God is light’, and ‘God is love’. The gospel reading assures us that God’s love is always shining in whatever darkness we may find ourselves, and because genuine love is always life-giving, and God’s love is infinitely life-giving, at the heart of all darkness we will find not only light but also new life. In the words of our gospel reading, ‘that life was the light of all’. God works in life-giving ways even in situations that appear to be hopeless. Even when human beings threw God’s gift of his Son back in his face by crucifying his Son, God turned that to our good, by raising his Son from the dead and giving him to us as a light that endures forever. In the words of the second reading, the risen Lord ‘is the radiant light of God’s glory’. The light of God’s love for us simply cannot be extinguished. Paul put that very simply and very profoundly when he declared that nothing ‘will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord’. That is why we celebrate Christmas the way we do. The gifts we give to each other remind us of the greater gift of God’s Son that we rejoice in at this time of the year; the candles we light, the lights we turn on, remind us of the light of God’s love which shines brightly even when darkness seems to be triumphing, the visits we make to each other remind us of that great visitation of God to his people through his Son. We can allow ourselves to be happy in these days, because we have something to be happy about.

And/Or

(iv) Feast of Christmas Night

We don’t often gather here in our parish church so late in the evening, at 9.00 pm. There are only two times in the year when we do that, on Christmas night and at the Easter Vigil. On those two nights we gather to celebrate the birth of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus, the beginning and end of the story of Jesus as we find it in the gospels. On both occasions we gather in darkness, at night time. The story of the birth of Jesus which we have just heard is told by Luke as a night time event. It was while the shepherds were watching their flocks by night that the angels appeared to them and proclaimed the good news of a wonderful event that had just taken place, ‘a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord’. It is that same good news that is proclaimed to us tonight and that brings us together in this church long after the sun has set, at a time when we would normally be thinking about winding down for the day and getting ready for bed.

As we gather in the darkness, we celebrate this feast of Christmas with candles and lights. The five candles on the Advent wreath, including the white one for the feast of Christmas, are all lighting; the lights of the Christmas tree are on. There was a tradition in the past of a candle being lit in the widow of our homes on this night. Christmas is a feast of light. In the wonderful opening words of our first reading tonight, ‘the people that walked in darkness has seen a great light; on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone’. The child whose birth we celebrate tonight is the light of God’s love shining upon us. This light does not eliminate the darkness but it shines brightly within in. As Saint John says at the beginning of his gospel, ‘the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it’. We each have our own share of darkness, and for each of us the darkness is different. For some, this time of the year can accentuate the darkness. The loneliness of the bereaved and the isolated can be felt more sharply at this time of the year. Whatever darkness we may find ourselves in this Christmas, we are invited this night to allow ourselves to be bathed in the light of that wonderful news that the angels announced to the shepherds, ‘Today, in the town of Bethlehem, a Saviour has been born to you’ – to you, to each of us personally. In the mystery of a new born baby lying in a manger, a feeding trough for animals, we are being reminded that God is breathing his Spirit into the darkness of our lives.

The child of Bethlehem is God’s gift to humanity, to each one of us. We give gifts to each other at this time of the year. It is as if deep down we realize that we have been greatly gifted or graced, and we want to give out of what we have received. Because of this night, we have each been wonderfully graced by God. In the opening words of tonight’s second reading, ‘God’s grace has been revealed’. A genuine gift is not something we have worked for or have earned or deserved. It is simply give to us out of love, and all that is asked of us is that we receive the gift and the love that it expresses. Jesus is God’s greatest gift to us. God does not ask us to earn or work for this gift. In the child of Bethlehem, God accepts us as we are and loves us without any merit on our part. All that God asks of us is that we receive this gift of his Son in faith and then to live out of the gift we have received. God desperately wants us to receive this gift because it is the gift of life. Jesus is the life-giver, given to us so that we can live fully human lives in this earthly life, and enter into eternal life beyond this earthly life.

Sometimes giving can come easier to us than receiving. Many of us can find it easier to give than to receive. This feast of Christmas requires us to fine tune our capacity to receive, especially to receive from God. If we struggle to receive from others, we can struggle even more to receive from God, because we can image God as one who is constantly looking to receive from us. Yet, tonight’s feast reminds us that the initiative is always with God. In the words of the first letter of Saint John, ‘God first loved us’. Tonight we are called to have something of the openness of the shepherds to God’s gift. We are invited to go with them to the manger and to welcome this extraordinary grace into our lives. We find it easy to receive a new born child. We delight in taking the child into our arms. Perhaps God was making it easy for us to receive his love by immersing himself in the tiny, fragile flesh of a new born child. If this is how God has chosen to approach us, it may be saying something about how God wants to be approached by us. We come close to God in the way we come close to a child, gently and noiselessly, with no solemn talk but only plains words coming from a graced and grateful heart.

And/Or

(v) Feast of Christmas Night

It is striking the efforts people make to get home for Christmas. Christmas is a feast that moves people to get back to their roots. It draws people to make contact with those who have helped to shape and form them. The feast of Christmas seems to have the power to bring us back to basics as it were. A striking example of that was to be found among the trenches near Armentieres on Christmas Day 1914. A twenty-five year old Lieutenant wrote a letter home in which he said: ‘Detachments of British and Germans formed a line and a German and British chaplain read some prayers alternately. The whole of this was done in great solemnity and reverence’. Here were sworn enemies fighting a bitter war. But, they also knew that at a much more basic level, they were fellow human beings, who had been equally graced by the birth of God’s Son. The feast of that day helped those men to see each other with new eyes. They beheld each other in a new light, the light of God’s love revealed in the birth of his Son. It is hard to conceive of any other Christian feast, or indeed the feast of any other religion, having that kind of power.

The feast of Christmas can touch all our lives in an equally powerful way. We are not at war with others in the way those soldiers were at war with each other on that Christmas day almost 90 years ago. Yet, we might find ourselves coming to this feast of Christmas battered and bruised in various ways. Some of us here today may have come through, or be in the midst of, a painful experience of one kind or another. We may be embroiled in some form of conflict that leaves us drained. We may have suffered some significant loss in recent months. Some hope we cherished may not have materialized. Our health may have deteriorated. Our faith may have grown weak. We may be troubled by some wrong we did or some good we failed to do. What may be true of any one of us as individuals is true of our church. The church comes to this Christmas somewhat battered and bruised. The damage done by some priests to young children, and the failure of our bishops to deal with this situation adequately has affected us all.

Wherever and however we find ourselves this Christmas, today’s feast invites us to look up, as it were, with the shepherds in the gospel reading. We hear for ourselves the words the shepherds heard: ‘Do not be afraid. Listen, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today a saviour has been born to you’. A child has been born for all of us, whoever we are, whatever situation we find ourselves in. The birth of a child is a wonderful time for any family, a time of grace. Today we celebrate a birth that has graced us all, and continues to grace us all. The child of Mary and Joseph reveals the kindness and love of God for us all. God has given us the gift of his Son, and, having given this gift, God will never take it back. God’s Son has become our brother, our companion on the way, becoming like us in all things, but sin. God has become flesh and dwelt, and continues to dwell, among us. God’s Son who dwells among us invites us to receive from his fullness, grace upon grace. In receiving from him in this way, we are empowered to rise above all that oppresses us and diminishes us. Here is a wonderful gift that calls us out of our trenches, as it were, and has the potential to transform how we see ourselves and each other.

Christmas is a feast of light. It is celebrated just as the days begin to get longer. Within our own tradition we have recognized this dimension of the feast of Christmas, with our custom of lighting candles and placing them in front of the windows of our homes. At Christmas we celebrate the coming into the world of the true light who enlightens everyone. The glory of the Lord shone around the shepherds and shines around all of us. We are invited to stand under that light, the light of God’s favour, and to allow that light to fill us and renew us. We are not asked to do anything to make this light shine. It is there; it is given to us. We are only asked to receive it and to become the light that we receive. The feast of Christmas assures us that the light shines in the darkness and the darkness will not overcome it. God has graced us in a very definitive way, and God’s gracious presence to us is a more fundamental reality than the darkness in which we find ourselves and which we sometimes help to create. This is the good news of great joy that was given to the shepherds on that first Christmas night and that is given to us today. It is this good news that is at the heart of all our Christmas celebrations.

And/Or

(vi) Feast of Christmas Night

It is lovely to see so many people here in our parish church tonight. Apart from the Easter Vigil this is the only time we gather in church at nine o’clock at night. We are here because we want to be here. We feel drawn to join in the celebration of the Eucharist on this night above all nights. Our gathering together in church tonight as brothers and sisters in the Lord is one example of the gatherings that Christmas seems to inspire among us. In all kinds of ways we gather at Christmas time. People make a special effort to gather with their families at Christmas; our airports and ports and roads are exceptionally busy. All kinds of other gatherings happen at this time. In our own parish recently members of the hospitality group gathered the senior members of the parish community for a Christmas party in the parish centre. Tomorrow there will be a great gathering of Dublin’s poor and homeless in the Mansion House for a Christmas dinner. People tend to be very sensitive to those living on their own at this time of the year and often make a special effort to include them in some Christmas gathering or other. Instinctively we seem to make a special effort to include each other, at this time of the year. We may even go out of our way to connect with those from whom we have become estranged for one reason or another.

Our particular gathering in this church springs from our faith in Jesus, whom tonight’s gospel reading speaks of as Saviour and Christ the Lord. We could be somewhere else at this time, but we are here and our presence here in this gathering is an expression of our faith. At times, we may feel that our faith in the Lord is not very strong. We may identify very easily with the prayer that the disciples once addressed to Jesus, ‘Lord, increase our faith’, or with the prayer of the father who approached Jesus to heal his son, ‘Lord, I believe, help my unbelief’. None of us would feel a stranger to those prayers. Yet, it is our shared faith in Jesus that has brought us here this Christmas night. We want to celebrate the birth of someone who has become significant for us, and we want to celebrate this birth not just on our own but with others for whom this particular birth is also significant. We gather because we recognize that the birth of this child in a stable at Bethlehem is good news for us all. The angel announced to the shepherds in tonight’s gospel reading, ‘Listen, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people’. The birth of this child was not just good news for a select few, but for the whole people, for everyone without exception. The impact of the birth of any child into a family will be felt by that family into eternity. The impact of the birth of this child will be felt by the whole people into eternity. We gather to savour this good news which is addressed to all of us and to each one of us personally. There is no shortage of bad news these days. Tonight we gather in faith to allow some truly good news to wash over us and renew us.

Faith is always a response to God’s initiative. Tonight we gather in response to the extraordinary initiative that God took to enter into communion with the whole of humanity. God entered into communion with us by becoming one of us. The Word who was God became flesh and dwelt among us. It is God’s initiative to become flesh for our sakes that gathers us here in this church tonight. God became vulnerable in Mary’s child. God took the risk of becoming vulnerable so as to enter into a deeper communion with us all, and it was a risk. The vulnerable child who was born outside of Bethlehem went on to become the vulnerable adult who was crucified outside of Jerusalem. In between his birth and death as an outsider he spoke of himself as the Son of Man who had nowhere to lay his head. According to the letter to the Hebrews, he was like us in all things, but sin. God loves us enough to take the risk of entering into the deepest possible communion with us through his Son, Jesus. We are here this evening because, at some level of our being, we recognize the lengths God has gone to enter into our experience and we want to respond to God’s gracious initiative towards us. We want to be in communion with God through Jesus, in response to God’s desire to be in communion with us through Jesus. It has been said that the birth of every child is a small protest against the tired view that there is nothing new under the sun. The birth of the child we celebrate this night is a very large protest against such a view. Jesus spoke of his life and ministry as new wine. Tonight we are invited to drink of that new wine. As we do so we will hear the call to be as generous in our dealings with each other as God has been with us. In the words of tonight’s second reading, this Christmas feast calls on us to have no ambition except to do good.

And/Or

(vii) Feast of Christmas Night

One of the verses in Patrick Kavanagh’s well-known poem, ‘A Christmas Childhood’, goes as follows, ‘A water-hen screeched in the bog, Mass-going feet Crunched the wafer-ice on the pot-holes, Somebody wistfully twisted the bellows wheel’. It was a poem that was born of loneliness and solitude. He penned it after spending a lonely Christmas in his flat in Dublin. He nostalgically looks back at the Christmases of his childhood in his native Monaghan. Christmas can be a lonely time for many people, those living alone, those who have been recently bereaved, those living far from home. Kavanagh’s loneliness that Christmas turned out to be a truly generative and creative moment for him.

I was struck by the line in that verse, ‘Mass-going feet crunched the wafer-thin ice on the pot-holes’. I fond it very evocative. There may be less ‘Mass-going feet’ these days that there was when Patrick Kavanagh penned ‘A Christmas Childhood’. Yet, there is something about the feast of Christmas that brings people to Mass, especially on Christmas night. Christmas is a time when we feel the need to gather in various ways. Within our families we gather in each other’s homes, around each other’s tables. We gather with friends. Some of you will have been involved in organizing different kinds of gatherings in the past few weeks, such as the gathering of the senior members of our parish community we had recently in our parish centre. Many also feel the need to gather in church at this time, alongside others who are trying to follow in the way of the One whose birth we celebrate tonight.

Tonight’s gospel reading begins with a reference to a decree of the first Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, for a census throughout his Empire, and it concludes with a heavenly host of angels praising God and announcing to some shepherds that God’s favour was resting on all men and women. The birth of Jesus was overshadowed both by the presence of the Roman Emperor and the presence of heavenly angels. It was rooted in history and, yet, somehow beyond it. It happened at a particular time and place in human history, and, yet, it transcended that historical time and place. This child was born to a particular young couple, Mary and Joseph, in a small town on the margins of the Roman Empire, and yet he was also born to everyone in every generation and place. As Saint Paul puts it in tonight’s second reading, ‘God’s grace has been revealed, and it has made salvation possible for the whole human race’. The birth of this child reveals God’s gracious love for all humanity. The birth of a child to a young couple in the town of Bethlehem that night would impact the whole human race for every succeeding generation, down to our own time. The birth of Jesus has, in some way, touched all of our lives, which is why we have gathered together here in this parish church on this Christmas night, why we are happy to belong among those Mass-going feet.

Because of the birth of this child to Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem, we have all been greatly graced. God has given us the most precious gift he could give us, the gift of Jesus, the son of Mary and Joseph, but also God’s own Son. In coming among us through his Son, God has, in a sense, become one of us. God has taken the shape of a human life, and in doing so God has shown what a human life at its best looks like, what it is to be fully human. Jesus reveals ourselves to us. He also reveals God to us. The son of Mary and Joseph allows us to put a human face on God. There was a strong conviction in the Jewish Scriptures that people could not see God and live. Because God was so transcendent, so other, to see God was to die. Yet, through Jesus, God has become visible to us. When we look upon the face of God in Jesus, what we see is a face of love. That is why the message of the angel to the shepherds was, ‘Do not be afraid. Listen I bring you news of great joy’. Joy, not fear, is to characterize our relationship with God. In the words of the heavenly choir of angels at the end of the gospel reading, the birth of Jesus reveals God’s favour towards us, ‘Peace to all who enjoy God’s favour’.

Perhaps one of the reasons we are happy to be among the Mass-going feet at Christmas time is that we sense that God has greatly favoured us through the birth of Jesus and his subsequent life, death and resurrection, and we want to respond in some way. God has graciously favoured us, without asking us to earn that favour. ‘God’s grace has been revealed’, in the words of Paul in the second reading. We are here tonight to acknowledge that God continues to favour and grace us through his Son and to give thanks to God for God’s favour. It is a night to allow ourselves to receive afresh God’s favour, to open our hearts anew to the light of God’s loving presence in Jesus, so that it penetrates whatever darkness we may find ourselves it. Christmas is the feast of God’s closeness. It is a feast that can bring us closer to God. Tonight we are invited to allow that to happen for us.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

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gimmetheheadcanons · 6 years

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Empty - Day 4 (Gothic Klonnie)

A/N: So here is Day 4 and I’m kinda disappointed with it because it probably deserves to be a proper story and not a short piece hammered out like this and so blah. But anyway, I have to post it so post I shall. It is connected to Day 1,2 and 3 so feel free to read those.

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Day 4: Draugagangur : the walking of ghosts, a haunting.

The Sheila Bennett who sold her soul didn’t think it was worth very much at the time.

Twenty-four years old and dressed like a death wish, she always packed light for her journeys. Shivering under a street light and her feet firmly planted on a sidewalk full of cracks, she thought about the winding road that brought her here.

When remaining a troubled teen well into her twenties was no longer an option, she set out on her own; travelled across all fifty states, searching for the next sinister thing that could seduce her.

Sheila had always been hungry.

A higher high was out there. All she needed to do was find it.

Power. Purpose. The things her content parents could never understand.

As a child, they were helpless to stop her and simply stood by as their daughter dabble in darkness. Again and again.

First, it was small stuff. Just being bad enough to distress her dad, bad enough to dull the senses, to combat the daily dreariness of working in that damn family diner.

Then came the late sixties, a decade that demanded a little danger and young Sheila Bennett wanted a lot of it.

Finally, it was love; making a girl so lost and in the end so lonely.

His sex set her skin alit and for a while, in return, she would follow him down every avenue of sin. After years of ‘pretending’ to be bad, Sheila was finally ready to be so much worse.

She ditched the diner and danced all night. Every night.

Floating high enough to touch ceilings then punching it until her knuckles blooded up and she was forced to come crashing down.

He’d try to catch her. She never let him.

In the end, her dalliance with the devil and his music just didn’t cut it.

As he lay naked beside her, the magnetic frontman who stole her heart, picking away at what was left of her skin - Sheila became acutely aware of how many more layers his calloused fingers could never truly touch.

The jukebox in her head was done with playing covers.

She was more than a groupie but unwilling to graduate to girlfriend.

Doused in stench of yesterday’s drinks, he dared to ask for the impossible one last time.

“I love you but you need to slow down cher.”

Never, Sheila thought as she obliterated his guitar, grabbed his leather jacket, the last of his stash and split.

When it was all over she realized she’d outgrown New Orleans too and made plans to leave that very night.

But Sheila was a clever girl with so much wasted potential. Every seemingly impulsive decision really the result of hours of careful thought. The kind of thought her school teachers thought her incapable of.

The hours he spent recording, Sheila spent doing research.

Reading up on the symptoms of her illness.

There was something wrong with her - not medically but spiritually.

There was an enormous emptiness she could never seem to fill. Her grandmother, far more intuitive than her parents, had always sensed it and tried to throw scripture and prayers at it.

It tired Sheila because she knew the truth.

Whenever she slowed down she would notice it - the emptiness that used to house something old and powerful.

She looked for untried and wilder ways to break her body because it was just that - a body. A vessel made to host something more than her. Fashioned for a purpose that escaped her her entire life.

Sheila wasn’t going to find the answers on the front benches of a church, the front row of his show or on the bathroom floor of a seedy club.

However, she did think she could find it here on Bourbon Street, in the shop window of Nandi’s Specials and hopefully in the potions of the Magnificent Madame LaMarche.

Sheila wasn’t wrong.

It was waiting for her, in there.

She dropped her cigarette on the ground and crushed it under her heavy boot. Stamping out its heat and her only excuse to remain outside.

The old witch sat by the fireplace took one look at her, in that oversized stolen jacket and ridiculous hair, and just laughed.

“What? Is this not a good time?”

“Concern yourself not with goodness child. The things you are searching for will find you when you give yourself to the dark.”

Without hesitation, Sheila accepted the terms the witch laid out before her and together they burned the only thing she felt sentimental enough to bring with her.

The crone didn’t stop there however.

“There is more to give.”

“Then take it all.”

Sensing the elderly woman waver for a moment made Sheila almost sneer at her.

The stupid hag could have her soul and do with it as she pleased.

How would a girl like Sheila even notice the missing weight of a soul when she felt so untethered her entire life?

Madame LaMarche’s resolve returned, as did a frown Sheila wasn’t sure she’d seen before. From then onwards, the elderly woman worked in silence and Sheila winced at the thought of the witch having read her mind or something.

The sudden sight of a long ceremonial dagger appearing out of thin air, put enough sense into the reckless young woman to keep her mind blank and opinions for later.

“Your hands child.”

The witch pulled her closer and quickly drew blood from the center of each palm. When she finished the holes in her own hands wept.

Preparations complete, Madame LaMarche started her incantation.

“Release. Receive. Release….”

“Receive.” Sheila said without being prompted.

She was ready. The spell cast, connections made and Sheila Bennett’s empty husk found its purpose again.

It ended pretty fast - the human girl gone and a vessel fashioned in her place.

“When will I feel again?”

Careful to suppress her usual mocking laugh this time, Madame LaMarche shook her head.

“Oh my child! But you have! And always far too much too.”

Sheila left the shop without saying goodbye.

It was a clumsily phrased question and a ridiculous answer when all she just meant was her hands. Drained, damaged and with long crevices running towards the center, they felt alien against her face.

Cracks on the sidewalk, now cracks on her hands.

My poor mother.

Sheila couldn’t help cackle at the thought of her wickedness, the repercussions.

It would be worth it. She could feel their presence already.

Spirits, thousands of them flocking to her now and wherever she went next, she would always have company during the cold.

Beings lost as she was, lonely and longing to rise.

Rise…rise...rise…

And never again fall.

Her body would house them.

Sad souls, angry souls, any that sought her out really.

She would set off now, to build a home for them - a place where they could be together.

Time and this new purpose in life tamed Sheila Bennett enough to find success in the boring way her parents had always hoped for.

Their wayward daughter transformed into a celebrated writer.

The souls came with stories and Sheila happened to put some of them down on paper. Who knew there was such a market for pain.

Now she had more followers, living ones and some other luxuries too.

A rising star.

He walked into her life right before the money and right before the cynicism of celebrity kicked in.

But she could trust his intentions. He was more angel than devil; a tasty slice of something she never thought to try before. God, how he reminded her of the diner she fled from. Of the pies in the oven she prayed would explode and blow them all to Hades.

Starved for human touch, Sheila indulged a little and then a little more, not knowing how sweet things were often far worse for you in the end.

When he left her, Sheila knew it was because of the spirits.

The home she built for many hadn’t enough room for one.

Haunted and afraid by the unnatural things he saw and the secrets she expected him to keep - her love fled just as she had so long ago.

It was the ghost of a much angrier woman who then flung trash bags filled with clothes out of a balcony. Enraged, she cursed her modest angel for not having more things she could smash or burn.

Exhausted but not quite alone (she never was), she thought back to Madame LaMarche’s words.

Goodness was something she didn’t have to concern herself with; and so Sheila was more than a little surprised when it turned out that it was growing inside of her.

They were all wrong. Him because there was room and her because the emptiness could be filled with something pure and perfect without a price. Something she’d water and feed and love until it bloomed and bore more of its perfect self.

A daughter. A granddaughter.

Just like she had been, a lifetime ago.

And whilst she disappointed every person who dared to love her and grew bored with every role she ever played, her good little girls could never do the same.

They filled her life, they found their own and she fell back on old habits, destined to let them down.

Especially Bonnie, the beautiful baby girl born on a day as bright as the sparks in her mesmerizing eyes. Sheila should have kept her away the most. But the dreams began weeks before Abby even told anyone she was pregnant.

A man called from beyond the veil. He didn’t need home like the others, in fact he already had one large enough for all of them. That was when Sheila realized, the pleas for help this time were in fact an invitation to help her.

In all her joy as a mother she had forgotten the sad truth of motherhood.

Abby had her own life. The baby would one day too.

Sheila needed to keep the connection with the spirits strong, keep serving them, keep the emptiness at bay.

So she didn’t stop to ask any of the right questions. Age made her complacent and her old teachers all of a sudden were vindicated. The crone LaMarche, long dead now, mocked her too.

Still, she set out on a new mission. An expensive and long one where her growing wealth turned out to be very handy.

Each night, in her dreams, she’d discover a new detail about the alluring man and his divine promise of a grand home; and each day, she’d put it to paper, slowly carving out a map to take her and her family there.

Twenty states later, Sheila found it.

The house surrounded by a near perfect ring of white oak trees.

Sheila was about to step over the threshold and into her new home when she was met by one of the movers on his way out.

He took one look at her, a grandmother in oversized leather jacket, and laughed.

“Well, good luck to yah lady. This place you just bought? Fuck me, does it look haunted! Cursed, I’m tellin’ you.”

“Cursed.”

#klonnie #gothic klonnie 2k18 #bonnie bennett #klaus mikaelson #fanfiction

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yhwhrulz · 2 years

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Today's Daily Encounter 28th December 2021

The Work of Christmas

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners… to comfort all who mourn… to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”1

Christmas has come and gone, and for many it is easy to go back into our usual routine and forget why we celebrated in the first place. I found the following poem and wanted to share it with you:

When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the kings and princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flock,

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,

To heal the broken,

To feed the hungry,

To release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nations,

To bring peace among brothers,

To make music in the heart.2

Christmas is not just a day out of the year where we remember the Savior, instead it is the beginning of a new year of diligent work as we continue to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those around us. Bringing hope where it is lost, finding lost souls, and sharing the Good News of Salvation with them, loving our neighbor, serving others joyfully, being peacemakers in the presence of conflict. These are all things we should be encouraged and inspired to do because of the great Gift that was given to us at Christmas. Let us not forget but be active participants of God’s plan and great work.

Suggested prayer:

Dear God, help me not fall back into a meaningless routine of busyness, but rather fill me with your Spirit so I can be a witness of Christmas every day of the year. Use me to be Your presence to someone in need today. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. In Jesus’ name, amen.

1. Isaiah 61:1-3 (NIV).

2. Howard Thurman.

NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.

* * * * * * *

Daily Encounter is published at no charge by ACTS International, a non-profit organization, and made possible through the donations of interested friends. Donations can be sent at: http://www.actscom.com

ACTS International P.O. Box 73545 San Clemente, California 92673-0119 U.S.A.

Phone: 949-940-9050 http://www.actsweb.org

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fr-martin-gospel-reflections · 3 years

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25th December - ‘Today in the town of David, a Saviour has been born to you’, Reflection on today’s gospel reading (Lk 2:1-14)

Feast of Christmas

Parish Website: www.stjbclontarf.ie Join us via our webcam

Twitter: @SJtBClontarf RC

Facebook: @SJtBClontarf

Tumbler: St-John-the-baptist-Clontarf-Rd

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frmartinshomiliesandreflections · 5 years

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21st July >> Fr. Martin’s Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Luke 10:38-42 for Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C: ‘It is Mary who has chosen the better part’.

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Gospel (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Luke 10:38-42

Martha works; Mary listens

Jesus came to a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. She had a sister called Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet and listened to him speaking. Now Martha who was distracted with all the serving said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered: ‘Martha, Martha,’ he said ‘you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her.’

Gospel (USA)

Luke 10:38–42

Martha welcomed him. Mary has chosen the better part.

Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

Reflections (2)

(i) Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

I was fortunate to have two aunts who together were almost like a second mother to myself and my brothers when we were growing up. They were my mother’s older sisters. Neither of them ever married. They lived together in my maternal grandparents’ house on Oulton Road, until they needed to live in a more supportive environment. One of my aunts was 90 when she died and he other was 96. They were very different in temperament and, yet, they were inseparable. One of them, Addie, always reminded me of Martha. She was always doing something for others, whether it was cleaning the house, or cooking a meal, or washing clothes or one hundred and one other things. My other aunt, Eve, reminded me of Mary, Martha’s sister. You wouldn’t find her down on her knees scrubbing a floor like Addie. She tended to sit quietly, often reading. Yet, she was a great listener and there was a very lovely quality to her quiet presence. They were both equally hospitable people, but they expressed their hospitable spirit in very different ways.

The gospels suggest that Jesus was very hospitable to people. Indeed, he came to reveal the hospitality of God, especially to those who were most in need of it. It is above all Luke’s gospel, from which we are reading these Sundays, that highlights the hospital nature of Jesus. Perhaps, this is why in this gospel more than any other gospel Jesus spends so much time at people’s tables, especially at the table of those considered beyond the scope of God’s loving embrace, ‘tax collectors and sinners’. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus is also portrayed as accepting hospitality from others. In a story that is unique to this gospel, two disciples invite the risen Lord to be a guest at their table in Emmaus. In today’s gospel reading Jesus is offered hospitality by two women. It is said of Martha that she welcomed Jesus to her house. Martha’s way of showing hospitality was to roll up her sleeves and to prepare an elaborate meal, apparently in a rather anxious frame of mind. Her anxious activity seems to have left her rather angry with her sister, Mary, whom she perceived not to be carrying her weight sufficiently. She comes across as angry with Jesus too for not giving Mary a telling off, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please, tell her to help me’. I think many of us find it easy to identify with Martha. We can all feel a bit put upon from time to time. We sense that if only so-and-so would pull his or her weight a bit more, our life would be a lot easier. We can all get into an overly anxious frame of mind about all we have to do, and our anxiety can easily quench the Holy Spirit in us somewhat. Paul in one of his letters reminds us that ‘God loves a cheerful giver’.

Mary, however, was showing Jesus a different kind of hospitality to Martha. She was sitting at his feet, listening to what Jesus had to say. It was traditional for disciples to sit at the feet of the Rabbi, when the Rabbi was teaching. Mary was taking up the posture of a disciple, a pupil of Jesus. She wanted to hear what he had to say. Rather than being overly anxious about nourishing Jesus, she was trying to nourish herself on his word. In the gospels we often find Jesus defending people against the criticism of others. On this occasion he defends Mary against Martha’s criticism, but does so in a way that is very respectful of and even affectionate towards Martha. It is very rarely in the gospels that Jesus addresses someone by their personal name, twice, as here, ‘Martha, Martha’. Jesus clearly loved both sisters very much. Yet, Jesus wanted to validate the kind of hospitality that Mary was showing him, the hospitality of attentive listening, the hospitality of presence, rather than of anxious activity. On this occasion it seems that this was the kind of hospitality that Jesus actually desired, ‘Mary has chosen the better part’.

This passage follows immediately after Jesus spoke the parable of the good Samaritan, which highlights that there is a time for anxious activity in the service of others, especially the most vulnerable. Yet, there is also a time for being present to someone who has something important to say to us. We always need to ask, ‘What is it that love requires of me at this moment, under these circumstances? How can I best serve this person at this time?’ In terms of our relationship with Jesus, there is a time to be present to him by actively serving him, as one of his labourers. This is what we find Abraham doing in today’s first reading. He was serving the Lord by busying himself offering hospitality to strangers. Yet, there is also a time to be present to Jesus by silently attending to his presence to us. In today’s second reading, Paul speaks of the mystery of ‘Christ among you, your hope of glory’. Christ is among us and within us. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus is calling on us to find ways of being silently attentive to his presence within and among us.

And/Or

(ii) Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

One of the great gifts we can give each other is the gift of our attention. We tend to be very aware when people are paying attention to us and when they are not. It can be disconcerting to find ourselves saying something to someone and then to get a response which indicates that the person has not really been listening to us. On the other hand, we value very much those who attend to us when we have something to say, especially if they are capable of noticing not only the words we speak but what is going on within us which our words may only be partially expressing. As we know, real attention goes beyond listening to the words someone might be speaking; it involves attending to the whole person.

Being truly attentive to someone will express itself in a variety of ways. Sometimes it will involve very careful listening. At other times real attentiveness will demand some kind of activity on our part. A good example of this latter kind of attentiveness was the Samaritan in last Sunday’s gospel reading. When he noticed the broken traveller on the roadside, he attended to him by jumping into action: bandaging his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them, lifting him on his own mount, carrying him to the inn, looking after him there, handing over money to the innkeeper and promising to visit on his way back. Here indeed, was a marvellous quality of attention. We find something similar in today’s first reading. In response to the arrival of the three guests, Abraham jumps into action: running to meet his guests, rushing to his wife Sarah to give her instructions for the meal, running to take a calf from his flock, giving it to the servant to prepare, placing the prepared calf along with cream and milk before the visitors. Both the frenetic activity of the Samaritan and of Abraham are model responses to people in need, be it the need of healing in the first instance or the need of hospitality in the second.

We all need the kind of attention from time to time that the Samaritan and Abraham provided. Every so often, we need people to go into overdrive for us – especially when it might be a case of life or death, as in the story of the Good Samaritan. However, we also know from experience that there are times when we need a different kind of attention – the kind of attention which does not involve someone ‘doing’ something for us, taking all kinds of initiatives on our behalf. Indeed, it can be somewhat annoying when, for example, someone starts doing things for us that we don’t want done or need doing, when all we really want is their attentive presence. There are different forms of attentiveness or hospitality; there is the hospitality of activity and the hospitality of presence. In today’s gospel reading, Martha exemplifies the hospitality of activity and Mary the hospitality of presence. It seems that on this occasion, it was the hospitality of presence rather than of activity that Jesus was really looking for. In that sense, Mary read the situation better than Martha did. In the words of Jesus, she chose the better part. Jesus was not looking for an elaborate meal; he had something to say and he wanted a listening ear. It was Mary who noticed this and who sat at his feet to listen to his word. Mary was more hospitable on this occasion because she was more attentive to the needs of the guest than Martha was. There is a time to listen and there is a time to get busy. As the Book of Qoheleth puts it, ‘for everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven’. Wisdom consists in knowing what is appropriate at any particular time. A lot of people feel sorry for Martha when they hear this morning’s gospel reading. Yet, she was fretting unnecessarily over Jesus. Martha shows us how, sometimes, the good can get in the way of the better. On this occasion, it was Mary who chose the better part. Today’s gospel reading invites us to ask, ‘What is it that love requires of us at this time?’

In our own relationship with the Lord there is a time for both sitting at his feet to listen to him and for rolling up our sleeves and getting down to some serious work. We need to be attentive to both the Lord of the work and the work of the Lord. The Lord needs us at times to be the good Samaritan to others, to share in his compassionate work of serving others in practical ways. He needs us to visit the sick, to support the weak, to help carry the burdens of others. There are other times when he needs us and wants us to be still before him and to ponder his word. This is the two-fold rhythm that is at the heart of following him, listening prayerfully to the word of God and then keeping it by the way we live. In these busy times, it can be the rhythm of listening to his word in prayerful silence that can get neglected. We have just as much to learn from the prayerful attitude of Mary in today’s gospel reading, as much as from the busy attitude of Abraham in today’s first reading.

Fr. Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, D03 AO62, Ireland.

Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Parish Website: www.stjohnsclontarf.ie Please join us via our webcam.

Twitter: @SJtBClontarfRC.

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dfroza · 5 years

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will you stand for True nature?

will you stand for the truth in Love?

and Love is our beautiful Creator, who is God (who is Light)

with a revealing of His True nature as read in the Scriptures and a portion of Today’s reading being the closing of the ancient Letter of Titus:

[He Put Our Lives Together]

Remind the people to respect the government and be law-abiding, always ready to lend a helping hand. No insults, no fights. God’s people should be bighearted and courteous.

It wasn’t so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, dupes of sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back. But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God’s gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there’s more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this.

I want you to put your foot down. Take a firm stand on these matters so that those who have put their trust in God will concentrate on the essentials that are good for everyone. Stay away from mindless, pointless quarreling over genealogies and fine print in the law code. That gets you nowhere. Warn a quarrelsome person once or twice, but then be done with him. It’s obvious that such a person is out of line, rebellious against God. By persisting in divisiveness he cuts himself off.

As soon as I send either Artemas or Tychicus to you, come immediately and meet me in Nicopolis. I’ve decided to spend the winter there. Give Zenas the lawyer and Apollos a hearty send-off. Take good care of them.

Our people have to learn to be diligent in their work so that all necessities are met (especially among the needy) and they don’t end up with nothing to show for their lives.

All here want to be remembered to you. Say hello to our friends in the faith. Grace to all of you.

The Letter of Titus, Chapter 3 (The Message)

and again, mirrored in The Voice:

And remind them of this: respect the rulers and the courts. Obey them. Be ready to do what is good and honorable. Don’t tear down another person with your words. Instead, keep the peace, and be considerate. Be truly humble toward everyone because there was a time when we, too, were foolish, rebellious, and deceived—we were slaves to sensual cravings and pleasures; and we spent our lives being spiteful, envious, hated by many, and hating one another. But then something happened: God our Savior and His overpowering love and kindness for humankind entered our world; He came to save us. It’s not that we earned it by doing good works or righteous deeds; He came because He is merciful. He brought us out of our old ways of living to a new beginning through the washing of regeneration; and He made us completely new through the Holy Spirit, who was poured out in abundance through Jesus the Anointed, our Savior. All of this happened so that through His grace we would be accepted into God’s covenant family and appointed to be His heirs, full of the hope that comes from knowing you have eternal life. This is a faithful statement of what we believe.

Concerning this, I want you to put it out there boldly so that those who believe in God will be constant in doing the right things, which will benefit all of us. Listen, don’t get trapped in brainless debates; avoid competition over family trees or pedigrees; stay away from fights and disagreements over the law. They are a waste of your time. If a person is causing divisions in the community, warn him once; and if necessary, warn him twice. After that, avoid him completely because by then you are sure that you are dealing with a corrupt, sinful person. He is determined to condemn himself.

I am sending either Artemas or Tychicus to you. When one of them arrives, try your best to make your way to me at Nicopolis (I plan to spend the winter there). Do what you can to get Zenas (the lawyer) and Apollos on their way; make sure they have everything they need. Our people must learn to get involved when a need arises, particularly when the need is urgent. Teach them to do what is good so they won’t become unproductive members of the community.

Everyone with me sends his greetings. Greet all our friends in the faith. May grace be with all of you. [Amen.]

The Letter of Titus, Chapter 3 (The Voice)

along with inspiration from Today’s Psalms and Proverbs :

Even if we had forgotten the name of our God

or offered praise to another god,

Would not the True God have known it?

For He can see the hidden places of our hearts.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 44:20-21 (The Voice)

God, you know our every heart secret.

You know we still want you!

The Book of Psalms, Poem 44:21 (The Passion Translation)

[Psalm 65]

For the worship leader. A song of David.

All will stand in awe to praise You.

Praise will sweep through Zion, the Sacred City, O God.

Solemn vows uttered to You will now be performed.

You hear us pray in words and silence;

all humanity comes into Your presence.

Injustice overwhelms me!

But You forgive our sins, restoring as only You can.

You invite us near, drawing us

into Your courts—what an honor and a privilege!

We feast until we’re full on the goodness of Your house,

Your sacred temple made manifest.

You leave us breathless when Your awesome works answer us by putting everything right.

God of our liberation—

You are the hope of all creation, from the far corners of the earth

to distant life-giving oceans.

With immense power, You erected mountains.

Wrapped in strength, You compelled

Choppy seas,

crashing waves,

and crowds of people

To sit in astonished silence.

Those who inhabit the boundaries of the earth are awed by Your signs,

strong and subtle hints of Your indelible presence.

Even the dawn and dusk respond to You with joy.

You spend time on the good earth,

watering and nourishing the networks of the living.

God’s river is full of water!

By preparing the land,

You have provided us grain for nourishment.

You are the gentle equalizer: soaking the furrows,

smoothing soil’s ridges,

Softening sun-baked earth with generous showers,

blessing the fruit of the ground.

You crown the year with a fruitful harvest;

the paths are worn down by carts overflowing with unstoppable growth.

Barren desert pastures yield fruit;

craggy hills are now dressed for celebration.

Meadows are clothed with frolicking flocks of lambs;

valleys are covered with a carpet of autumn-harvest grain;

the land shouts and sings in joyous celebration.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 65 (The Voice)

with 65 being the alphabetic number of the word “music”

to be concluded by ancient wisdom from the book of Proverbs in chapter 3:

My child, if you truly want a long and satisfying life,

never forget the things that I’ve taught you.

Follow closely every truth that I’ve given you.

Then you will have a full, rewarding life.

Hold on to loyal love and don’t let go,

and be faithful to all that you’ve been taught.

Let your life be shaped by integrity,

with truth written upon your heart.

That’s how you will find favor and understanding

with both God and men—

you will gain the reputation of living life well.

[Wisdom’s Guidance]

Trust in the Lord completely,

and do not rely on your own opinions.

With all your heart rely on him to guide you,

and he will lead you in every decision you make.

Become intimate with him in whatever you do,

and he will lead you wherever you go.

Don’t think for a moment that you know it all,

for wisdom comes when you adore him with undivided devotion

and avoid everything that’s wrong.

Then you will find the healing refreshment

your body and spirit long for.

Glorify God with all your wealth,

honoring him with your very best,

with every increase that comes to you.

Then every dimension of your life will overflow with blessings

from an uncontainable source of inner joy!

[Wisdom’s Correction]

My child, when the Lord God speaks to you,

never take his words lightly,

and never be upset when he corrects you.

For the Father’s discipline comes only

from his passionate love and pleasure for you.

Even when it seems like his correction is harsh,

it’s still better than any father on earth gives to his child.

Those who find true wisdom obtain the tools for understanding,

the proper way to live,

for they will have a fountain of blessing pouring into their lives.

To gain the riches of wisdom is far greater

than gaining the wealth of the world.

As wisdom increases, a great treasure is imparted,

greater than many bars of refined gold.

It is a more valuable commodity than gold and gemstones,

for there is nothing you desire that could compare to her.

Wisdom extends to you long life in one hand

and wealth and promotion in the other.

Out of her mouth flows righteousness,

and her words release both law and mercy.

The ways of wisdom are sweet,

always drawing you into the place of wholeness.

Seeking for her brings the discovery of untold blessings,

for she is the healing tree of life to those who taste her fruits.

[Wisdom’s Blueprints]

The Lord laid the earth’s foundations with wisdom’s blueprints.

By his living-understanding all the universe came into being.

By his divine revelation he broke open

the hidden fountains of the deep,

bringing secret springs to the surface

as the mist of the night dripped down from heaven.

[Wisdom, Our Hiding Place]

My child, never drift off course from these two goals for your life:

to walk in wisdom and to discover discernment.

Don’t ever forget how they empower you.

For they strengthen you inside and out

and inspire you to do what’s right;

you will be energized and refreshed by the healing they bring.

They give you living hope to guide you,

and not one of life’s tests will cause you to stumble.

You will sleep like a baby, safe and sound—

your rest will be sweet and secure.

You will not be subject to terror, for it will not terrify you.

Nor will the disrespectful be able to push you aside,

because God is your confidence in times of crisis,

keeping your heart at rest in every situation.

[Wisdom in Relationships]

Why would you withhold payment on your debt

when you have the ability to pay? Just do it!

When your friend comes to ask you for a favor,

why would you say, “Perhaps tomorrow,”

when you have the money right there in your pocket?

Help him today!

Why would you hold a grudge in your heart

toward your neighbor who lives right next door?

And why would you quarrel with those

who have done nothing wrong to you?

Is that a chip on your shoulder?

Don’t act like those bullies or learn their ways.

Every violent thug is despised by the Lord,

but every tender lover finds friendship with God

and will hear his intimate secrets.

The wicked walk under God’s constant curse,

but godly lovers walk under a stream of his blessing,

for they seek to do what is right.

If you walk with the mockers you will learn to mock,

but God’s grace and favor flow to the meek.

Stubborn fools fill their lives with disgrace,

but glory and honor rest upon the wise.

The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 3 (The Passion Translation)

my reading in the Scriptures for August 3, day 44 of Summer and day 215 of the year:

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dailychapel · 4 years

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Dear God, at the start of each day, help us to recognize you above all else. Enlighten the eyes of our heart that we might see you, and notice how you're at work through our lives. Give us wisdom to make the best choices, fill us with a desire to seek after you more than anything else in this world. Let your Spirit and power breathe in us, through us, again, fresh and new. Thank you that you are greater than anything we may face in our day. Thank you that your presence goes with us, and that your joy is never dependent on our circumstances, but it is our true and lasting strength, no matter what we're up against. We ask that your peace lead us, that it would guard our hearts and minds in you. We ask for your grace to cover our lives this day. We love you Lord...we need you. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Psa 144:1-15 NLT] 1 A psalm of David. Praise the LORD, who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle. 2 He is my loving ally and my fortress, my tower of safety, my rescuer. He is my shield, and I take refuge in him. He makes the nations submit to me. 3 O LORD, what are human beings that you should notice them, mere mortals that you should think about them? 4 For they are like a breath of air; their days are like a passing shadow. 5 Open the heavens, LORD, and come down. Touch the mountains so they billow smoke. 6 Hurl your lightning bolts and scatter your enemies! Shoot your arrows and confuse them! 7 Reach down from heaven and rescue me; rescue me from deep waters, from the power of my enemies. 8 Their mouths are full of lies; they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead. 9 I will sing a new song to you, O God! I will sing your praises with a ten-stringed harp. 10 For you grant victory to kings! You rescued your servant David from the fatal sword. 11 Save me! Rescue me from the power of my enemies. Their mouths are full of lies; they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead. 12 May our sons flourish in their youth like well-nurtured plants. May our daughters be like graceful pillars, carved to beautify a palace. 13 May our barns be filled with crops of every kind. May the flocks in our fields multiply by the thousands, even tens of thousands, 14 and may our oxen be loaded down with produce. May there be no enemy breaking through our walls, no going into captivity, no cries of alarm in our town squares. 15 Yes, joyful are those who live like this! Joyful indeed are those whose God is the LORD.

[1Sa 10:1-16 NLT] 1 Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it over Saul's head. He kissed Saul and said, "I am doing this because the LORD has appointed you to be the ruler over Israel, his special possession. 2 When you leave me today, you will see two men beside Rachel's tomb at Zelzah, on the border of Benjamin. They will tell you that the donkeys have been found and that your father has stopped worrying about them and is now worried about you. He is asking, 'Have you seen my son?' 3 "When you get to the oak of Tabor, you will see three men coming toward you who are on their way to worship God at Bethel. One will be bringing three young goats, another will have three loaves of bread, and the third will be carrying a wineskin full of wine. 4 They will greet you and offer you two of the loaves, which you are to accept. 5 "When you arrive at Gibeah of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is located, you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the place of worship. They will be playing a harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre, and they will be prophesying. 6 At that time the Spirit of the LORD will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them. You will be changed into a different person. 7 After these signs take place, do what must be done, for God is with you. 8 Then go down to Gilgal ahead of me. I will join you there to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. You must wait for seven days until I arrive and give you further instructions." 9 As Saul turned and started to leave, God gave him a new heart, and all Samuel's signs were fulfilled that day. 10 When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, they saw a group of prophets coming toward them. Then the Spirit of God came powerfully upon Saul, and he, too, began to prophesy. 11 When those who knew Saul heard about it, they exclaimed, "What? Is even Saul a prophet? How did the son of Kish become a prophet?" 12 And one of those standing there said, "Can anyone become a prophet, no matter who his father is?" So that is the origin of the saying "Is even Saul a prophet?" 13 When Saul had finished prophesying, he went up to the place of worship. 14 "Where have you been?" Saul's uncle asked him and his servant. "We were looking for the donkeys," Saul replied, "but we couldn't find them. So we went to Samuel to ask him where they were." 15 "Oh? And what did he say?" his uncle asked. 16 "He told us that the donkeys had already been found," Saul replied. But Saul didn't tell his uncle what Samuel said about the kingdom.

[Act 28:1-16 NLT] 1 Once we were safe on shore, we learned that we were on the island of Malta. 2 The people of the island were very kind to us. It was cold and rainy, so they built a fire on the shore to welcome us. 3 As Paul gathered an armful of sticks and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, bit him on the hand. 4 The people of the island saw it hanging from his hand and said to each other, "A murderer, no doubt! Though he escaped the sea, justice will not permit him to live." 5 But Paul shook off the snake into the fire and was unharmed. 6 The people waited for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw that he wasn't harmed, they changed their minds and decided he was a god. 7 Near the shore where we landed was an estate belonging to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us and treated us kindly for three days. 8 As it happened, Publius's father was ill with fever and dysentery. Paul went in and prayed for him, and laying his hands on him, he healed him. 9 Then all the other sick people on the island came and were healed. 10 As a result we were showered with honors, and when the time came to sail, people supplied us with everything we would need for the trip. 11 It was three months after the shipwreck that we set sail on another ship that had wintered at the island--an Alexandrian ship with the twin gods as its figurehead. 12 Our first stop was Syracuse, where we stayed three days. 13 From there we sailed across to Rhegium. A day later a south wind began blowing, so the following day we sailed up the coast to Puteoli. 14 There we found some believers, who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome. 15 The brothers and sisters in Rome had heard we were coming, and they came to meet us at the Forum on the Appian Way. Others joined us at The Three Taverns. When Paul saw them, he was encouraged and thanked God. 16 When we arrived in Rome, Paul was permitted to have his own private lodging, though he was guarded by a soldier.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

“May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Heb. 13:20-21)

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araitsume · 4 years

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The Desire of Ages, pp. 557-568: Chapter (62) The Feast at Simon's House

This chapter is based on Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-11; Luke 7:36-50; John 11:55-57; John 12:1-11.

Simon of Bethany was accounted a disciple of Jesus. He was one of the few Pharisees who had openly joined Christ's followers. He acknowledged Jesus as a teacher, and hoped that He might be the Messiah, but he had not accepted Him as a Saviour. His character was not transformed; his principles were unchanged.

Simon had been healed of the leprosy, and it was this that had drawn him to Jesus. He desired to show his gratitude, and at Christ's last visit to Bethany he made a feast for the Saviour and His disciples. This feast brought together many of the Jews. There was at this time much excitement at Jerusalem. Christ and His mission were attracting greater attention than ever before. Those who had come to the feast closely watched His movements, and some of them with unfriendly eyes.

The Saviour had reached Bethany only six days before the Passover, and according to His custom had sought rest at the home of Lazarus. The crowds of travelers who passed on to the city spread the tidings that He was on His way to Jerusalem, and that He would rest over the Sabbath at Bethany. Among the people there was great enthusiasm. Many flocked to Bethany, some out of sympathy with Jesus, and others from curiosity to see one who had been raised from the dead.

Many expected to hear from Lazarus a wonderful account of scenes witnessed after death. They were surprised that he told them nothing. He had nothing of this kind to tell. Inspiration declares, “The dead know not anything.... Their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished.” Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6. But Lazarus did have a wonderful testimony to bear in regard to the work of Christ. He had been raised from the dead for this purpose. With assurance and power he declared that Jesus was the Son of God.

The reports carried back to Jerusalem by the visitors to Bethany increased the excitement. The people were eager to see and hear Jesus. There was a general inquiry as to whether Lazarus would accompany Him to Jerusalem, and if the prophet would be crowned king at the Passover. The priests and rulers saw that their hold upon the people was still weakening, and their rage against Jesus grew more bitter. They could hardly wait for the opportunity of removing Him forever from their way. As time passed, they began to fear that after all He might not come to Jerusalem. They remembered how often He had baffled their murderous designs, and they were fearful that He had now read their purposes against Him, and would remain away. They could ill conceal their anxiety, and questioned among themselves, “What think ye, that He will not come to the feast?”

A council of the priests and Pharisees was called. Since the raising of Lazarus the sympathies of the people were so fully with Christ that it would be dangerous to seize upon Him openly. So the authorities determined to take Him secretly, and carry on the trial as quietly as possible. They hoped that when His condemnation became known, the fickle tide of public opinion would set in their favor.

Thus they proposed to destroy Jesus. But so long as Lazarus lived, the priests and rabbis knew that they were not secure. The very existence of a man who had been four days in the grave, and who had been restored by a word from Jesus, would sooner or later cause a reaction. The people would be avenged on their leaders for taking the life of One who could perform such a miracle. The Sanhedrin therefore decided that Lazarus also must die. To such lengths do envy and prejudice lead their slaves. The hatred and unbelief of the Jewish leaders had increased until they would even take the life of one whom infinite power had rescued from the grave.

While this plotting was going on at Jerusalem, Jesus and His friends were invited to Simon's feast. At the table the Saviour sat with Simon, whom He had cured of a loathsome disease, on one side, and Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead, on the other. Martha served at the table, but Mary was earnestly listening to every word from the lips of Jesus. In His mercy, Jesus had pardoned her sins, He had called forth her beloved brother from the grave, and Mary's heart was filled with gratitude. She had heard Jesus speak of His approaching death, and in her deep love and sorrow she had longed to show Him honor. At great personal sacrifice she had purchased an alabaster box of “ointment of spikenard, very costly,” with which to anoint His body. But now many were declaring that He was about to be crowned king. Her grief was turned to joy, and she was eager to be first in honoring her Lord. Breaking her box of ointment, she poured its contents upon the head and feet of Jesus; then, as she knelt weeping, moistening them with her tears, she wiped His feet with her long, flowing hair.

She had sought to avoid observation, and her movements might have passed unnoticed, but the ointment filled the room with its fragrance, and published her act to all present. Judas looked upon this act with great displeasure. Instead of waiting to hear what Christ would say of the matter, he began to whisper his complaints to those near him, throwing reproach upon Christ for suffering such waste. Craftily he made suggestions that would be likely to cause disaffection.

Judas was treasurer for the disciples, and from their little store he had secretly drawn for his own use, thus narrowing down their resources to a meager pittance. He was eager to put into the bag all that he could obtain. The treasure in the bag was often drawn upon to relieve the poor; and when something that Judas did not think essential was bought, he would say, Why is this waste? why was not the cost of this put into the bag that I carry for the poor? Now the act of Mary was in such marked contrast to his selfishness that he was put to shame; and according to his custom, he sought to assign a worthy motive for his objection to her gift. Turning to the disciples, he asked, “Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.” Judas had no heart for the poor. Had Mary's ointment been sold, and the proceeds fallen into his possession, the poor would have received no benefit.

Judas had a high opinion of his own executive ability. As a financier he thought himself greatly superior to his fellow disciples, and he had led them to regard him in the same light. He had gained their confidence, and had a strong influence over them. His professed sympathy for the poor deceived them, and his artful insinuation caused them to look distrustfully upon Mary's devotion. The murmur passed round the table, “To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.”

Mary heard the words of criticism. Her heart trembled within her. She feared that her sister would reproach her for extravagance. The Master, too, might think her improvident. Without apology or excuse she was about to shrink away, when the voice of her Lord was heard, “Let her alone; why trouble ye her?” He saw that she was embarrassed and distressed. He knew that in this act of service she had expressed her gratitude for the forgiveness of her sins, and He brought relief to her mind. Lifting His voice above the murmur of criticism, He said, “She hath wrought a good work on Me. For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but Me ye have not always. She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint My body to the burying.”

The fragrant gift which Mary had thought to lavish upon the dead body of the Saviour she poured upon His living form. At the burial its sweetness could only have pervaded the tomb; now it gladdened His heart with the assurance of her faith and love. Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus offered not their gift of love to Jesus in His life. With bitter tears they brought their costly spices for His cold, unconscious form. The women who bore spices to the tomb found their errand in vain, for He had risen. But Mary, pouring out her love upon the Saviour while He was conscious of her devotion, was anointing Him for the burial. And as He went down into the darkness of His great trial, He carried with Him the memory of that deed, an earnest of the love that would be His from His redeemed ones forever.

Many there are who bring their precious gifts for the dead. As they stand about the cold, silent form, words of love are freely spoken. Tenderness, appreciation, devotion, all are lavished upon one who sees not nor hears. Had these words been spoken when the weary spirit needed them so much, when the ear could hear and the heart could feel, how precious would have been their fragrance!

Mary knew not the full significance of her deed of love. She could not answer her accusers. She could not explain why she had chosen that occasion for anointing Jesus. The Holy Spirit had planned for her, and she had obeyed His promptings. Inspiration stoops to give no reason. An unseen presence, it speaks to mind and soul, and moves the heart to action. It is its own justification. Christ told Mary the meaning of her act, and in this He gave her more than He had received. “In that she hath poured this ointment on My body,” He said, “she did it for My burial.” As the alabaster box was broken, and filled the whole house with its fragrance, so Christ was to die, His body was to be broken; but He was to rise from the tomb, and the fragrance of His life was to fill the earth. Christ “hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.” Ephesians 5:2.

“Verily I say unto you,” Christ declared, “Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.” Looking into the future, the Saviour spoke with certainty concerning His gospel. It was to be preached throughout the world. And as far as the gospel extended, Mary's gift would shed its fragrance, and hearts would be blessed through her unstudied act. Kingdoms would rise and fall; the names of monarchs and conquerors would be forgotten; but this woman's deed would be immortalized upon the pages of sacred history. Until time should be no more, that broken alabaster box would tell the story of the abundant love of God for a fallen race.

Mary's act was in marked contrast with that which Judas was about to do. What a sharp lesson Christ might have given him who had dropped the seed of criticism and evil thinking into the minds of the disciples! How justly the accuser might have been accused! He who reads the motives of every heart, and understands every action, might have opened before those at the feast dark chapters in the experience of Judas. The hollow pretense on which the traitor based his words might have been laid bare; for, instead of sympathizing with the poor, he was robbing them of the money intended for their relief. Indignation might have been excited against him for his oppression of the widow, the orphan, and the hireling. But had Christ unmasked Judas, this would have been urged as a reason for the betrayal. And though charged with being a thief, Judas would have gained sympathy, even among the disciples. The Saviour reproached him not, and thus avoided giving him an excuse for his treachery.

But the look which Jesus cast upon Judas convinced him that the Saviour penetrated his hypocrisy, and read his base, contemptible character. And in commending Mary's action, which had been so severely condemned, Christ had rebuked Judas. Prior to this, the Saviour had never given him a direct rebuke. Now the reproof rankled in his heart. He determined to be revenged. From the supper he went directly to the palace of the high priest, where he found the council assembled, and he offered to betray Jesus into their hands.

The priests were greatly rejoiced. These leaders of Israel had been given the privilege of receiving Christ as their Saviour, without money and without price. But they refused the precious gift offered them in the most tender spirit of constraining love. They refused to accept that salvation which is of more value than gold, and bought their Lord for thirty pieces of silver.

Judas had indulged avarice until it overpowered every good trait of his character. He grudged the offering made to Jesus. His heart burned with envy that the Saviour should be the recipient of a gift suitable for the monarchs of the earth. For a sum far less than the box of ointment cost, he betrayed his Lord.

The disciples were not like Judas. They loved the Saviour. But they did not rightly appreciate His exalted character. Had they realized what He had done for them, they would have felt that nothing bestowed upon Him was wasted. The wise men from the East, who knew so little of Jesus, had shown a truer appreciation of the honor due Him. They brought precious gifts to the Saviour, and bowed in homage before Him when He was but a babe, and cradled in a manger.

Christ values acts of heartfelt courtesy. When anyone did Him a favor, with heavenly politeness He blessed the actor. He did not refuse the simplest flower plucked by the hand of a child, and offered to Him in love. He accepted the offerings of children, and blessed the givers, inscribing their names in the book of life. In the Scriptures, Mary's anointing of Jesus is mentioned as distinguishing her from the other Marys. Acts of love and reverence for Jesus are an evidence of faith in Him as the Son of God. And the Holy Spirit mentions, as evidences of woman's loyalty to Christ: “If she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.” 1 Timothy 5:10.

Christ delighted in the earnest desire of Mary to do the will of her Lord. He accepted the wealth of pure affection which His disciples did not, would not, understand. The desire that Mary had to do this service for her Lord was of more value to Christ than all the precious ointment in the world, because it expressed her appreciation of the world's Redeemer. It was the love of Christ that constrained her. The matchless excellence of the character of Christ filled her soul. That ointment was a symbol of the heart of the giver. It was the outward demonstration of a love fed by heavenly streams until it overflowed.

The work of Mary was just the lesson the disciples needed to show them that the expression of their love for Him would be pleasing to Christ. He had been everything to them, and they did not realize that soon they would be deprived of His presence, that soon they could offer Him no token of their gratitude for His great love. The loneliness of Christ, separated from the heavenly courts, living the life of humanity, was never understood or appreciated by the disciples as it should have been. He was often grieved because His disciples did not give Him that which He should have received from them. He knew that if they were under the influence of the heavenly angels that accompanied Him, they too would think no offering of sufficient value to declare the heart's spiritual affection.

Their afterknowledge gave them a true sense of the many things they might have done for Jesus expressive of the love and gratitude of their hearts, while they were near Him. When Jesus was no longer with them, and they felt indeed as sheep without a shepherd, they began to see how they might have shown Him attentions that would have brought gladness to His heart. They no longer cast blame upon Mary, but upon themselves. Oh, if they could have taken back their censuring, their presenting the poor as more worthy of the gift than was Christ! They felt the reproof keenly as they took from the cross the bruised body of their Lord.

The same want is evident in our world today. But few appreciate all that Christ is to them. If they did, the great love of Mary would be expressed, the anointing would be freely bestowed. The expensive ointment would not be called a waste. Nothing would be thought too costly to give for Christ, no self-denial or self-sacrifice too great to be endured for His sake.

The words spoken in indignation, “To what purpose is this waste?” brought vividly before Christ the greatest sacrifice ever made,—the gift of Himself as the propitiation for a lost world. The Lord would be so bountiful to His human family that it could not be said of Him that He could do more. In the gift of Jesus, God gave all heaven. From a human point of view, such a sacrifice was a wanton waste. To human reasoning the whole plan of salvation is a waste of mercies and resources. Self-denial and wholehearted sacrifice meet us everywhere. Well may the heavenly host look with amazement upon the human family who refuse to be uplifted and enriched with the boundless love expressed in Christ. Well may they exclaim, Why this great waste?

But the atonement for a lost world was to be full, abundant, and complete. Christ's offering was exceedingly abundant to reach every soul that God had created. It could not be restricted so as not to exceed the number who would accept the great Gift. All men are not saved; yet the plan of redemption is not a waste because it does not accomplish all that its liberality has provided for. There must be enough and to spare.

Simon the host had been influenced by the criticism of Judas upon Mary's gift, and he was surprised at the conduct of Jesus. His Pharisaic pride was offended. He knew that many of his guests were looking upon Christ with distrust and displeasure. Simon said in his heart, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth Him: for she is a sinner.”

By curing Simon of leprosy, Christ had saved him from a living death. But now Simon questioned whether the Saviour were a prophet. Because Christ allowed this woman to approach Him, because He did not indignantly spurn her as one whose sins were too great to be forgiven, because He did not show that He realized she had fallen, Simon was tempted to think that He was not a prophet. Jesus knows nothing of this woman who is so free in her demonstrations, he thought, or He would not allow her to touch Him.

But it was Simon's ignorance of God and of Christ that led him to think as he did. He did not realize that God's Son must act in God's way, with compassion, tenderness, and mercy. Simon's way was to take no notice of Mary's penitent service. Her act of kissing Christ's feet and anointing them with ointment was exasperating to his hardheartedness. He thought that if Christ were a prophet, He would recognize sinners and rebuke them.

To this unspoken thought the Saviour answered: “Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee.... There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell Me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And He said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.”

As did Nathan with David, Christ concealed His home thrust under the veil of a parable. He threw upon His host the burden of pronouncing sentence upon himself. Simon had led into sin the woman he now despised. She had been deeply wronged by him. By the two debtors of the parable, Simon and the woman were represented. Jesus did not design to teach that different degrees of obligation should be felt by the two persons, for each owed a debt of gratitude that never could be repaid. But Simon felt himself more righteous than Mary, and Jesus desired him to see how great his guilt really was. He would show him that his sin was greater than hers, as much greater as a debt of five hundred pence exceeds a debt of fifty pence.

Simon now began to see himself in a new light. He saw how Mary was regarded by One who was more than a prophet. He saw that with keen prophetic eye Christ read her heart of love and devotion. Shame seized upon him, and he realized that he was in the presence of One superior to himself.

“I entered into thine house,” Christ continued, “thou gavest Me no water for My feet;” but with tears of repentance, prompted by love, Mary hath washed My feet, and wiped them with the hair of her head. “Thou gavest Me no kiss: but this woman,” whom you despise, “since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss My feet.” Christ recounted the opportunities Simon had had to show his love for his Lord, and his appreciation of what had been done for him. Plainly, yet with delicate politeness, the Saviour assured His disciples that His heart is grieved when His children neglect to show their gratitude to Him by words and deeds of love.

The Heart Searcher read the motive that led to Mary's action, and He saw also the spirit that prompted Simon's words. “Seest thou this woman?” He said to him. She is a sinner. “I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.”

Simon's coldness and neglect toward the Saviour showed how little he appreciated the mercy he had received. He had thought he honored Jesus by inviting Him to his house. But he now saw himself as he really was. While he thought himself reading his Guest, his Guest had been reading him. He saw how true Christ's judgment of him was. His religion had been a robe of Pharisaism. He had despised the compassion of Jesus. He had not recognized Him as the representative of God. While Mary was a sinner pardoned, he was a sinner unpardoned. The rigid rule of justice he had desired to enforce against her condemned him.

Simon was touched by the kindness of Jesus in not openly rebuking him before the guests. He had not been treated as he desired Mary to be treated. He saw that Jesus did not wish to expose his guilt to others, but sought by a true statement of the case to convince his mind, and by pitying kindness to subdue his heart. Stern denunciation would have hardened Simon against repentance, but patient admonition convinced him of his error. He saw the magnitude of the debt which he owed his Lord. His pride was humbled, he repented, and the proud Pharisee became a lowly, self-sacrificing disciple.

Mary had been looked upon as a great sinner, but Christ knew the circumstances that had shaped her life. He might have extinguished every spark of hope in her soul, but He did not. It was He who had lifted her from despair and ruin. Seven times she had heard His rebuke of the demons that controlled her heart and mind. She had heard His strong cries to the Father in her behalf. She knew how offensive is sin to His unsullied purity, and in His strength she had overcome.

When to human eyes her case appeared hopeless, Christ saw in Mary capabilities for good. He saw the better traits of her character. The plan of redemption has invested humanity with great possibilities, and in Mary these possibilities were to be realized. Through His grace she became a partaker of the divine nature. The one who had fallen, and whose mind had been a habitation of demons, was brought very near to the Saviour in fellowship and ministry. It was Mary who sat at His feet and learned of Him. It was Mary who poured upon His head the precious anointing oil, and bathed His feet with her tears. Mary stood beside the cross, and followed Him to the sepulcher. Mary was first at the tomb after His resurrection. It was Mary who first proclaimed a risen Saviour.

Jesus knows the circumstances of every soul. You may say, I am sinful, very sinful. You may be; but the worse you are, the more you need Jesus. He turns no weeping, contrite one away. He does not tell to any all that He might reveal, but He bids every trembling soul take courage. Freely will He pardon all who come to Him for forgiveness and restoration.

Christ might commission the angels of heaven to pour out the vials of His wrath on our world, to destroy those who are filled with hatred of God. He might wipe this dark spot from His universe. But He does not do this. He is today standing at the altar of incense, presenting before God the prayers of those who desire His help.

The souls that turn to Him for refuge, Jesus lifts above the accusing and the strife of tongues. No man or evil angel can impeach these souls. Christ unites them to His own divine-human nature. They stand beside the great Sin Bearer, in the light proceeding from the throne of God. “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” Romans 8:33, 34.

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dailybiblelessons · 5 years

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Wednesday: Reflection on the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Roman Catholic Proper 22 Common Lectionary Proper 17

Complementary Hebrew Scripture Lesson from the Latter Prophets: Isaiah 57:14-21

It shall be said, “Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people's way.” For thus says the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with those who are contrite and humble in spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite. For I will not continually accuse, nor will I always be angry; for then the spirits would grow faint before me, even the souls that I have made. Because of their wicked covetousness I was angry; I struck them, I hid and was angry; but they kept turning back to their own ways. I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will lead them and repay them with comfort, creating for their mourners the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and the near, says the Lord; and I will heal them.¹ But the wicked are like the tossing sea that cannot keep still; its waters toss up mire and mud. There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked.

¹Paul quotes this verse in Ephesians 2:11-22, where he explains that we are all one in Christ.

Semi-continuous Hebrew Scripture from the Latter Prophets: Jeremiah 3:15-25

I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. And when you have multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, says the Lord, they shall no longer say, “The ark of the covenant of the Lord.” It shall not come to mind, or be remembered, or missed; nor shall another one be made. At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no longer stubbornly follow their own evil will. In those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land of the north to the land that I gave your ancestors for a heritage.

I thought how I would set you among my children, and give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful heritage of all the nations. And I thought you would call me, My Father and would not turn from following me. Instead, as a faithless wife leaves her husband, so you have been faithless to me, O house of Israel, says the Lord.

A voice on the bare heights is heard, the plaintive weeping of Israel's children, because they have perverted their way, they have forgotten the Lord their God: Return, O faithless children, I will heal your faithlessness.

“Here we come to you; for you are the Lord our God. Truly the hills are a delusion, the orgies on the mountains. “Truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.

“But from our youth the shameful thing has devoured all for which our ancestors had labored, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us; for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our ancestors, from our youth even to this day; and we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”

Complementary Psalm 119:65-72

You have dealt well with your servant, O Lord, according to your word. Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments. Before I was humbled I went astray, but now I keep your word. You are good and do good; teach me your statutes. The arrogant smear me with lies, but with my whole heart I keep your precepts. Their hearts are fat and gross, but I delight in your law. It is good for me that I was humbled, so that I might learn your statutes. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

Semi-continuous Psalm 58

Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge people fairly? No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth.

The wicked go astray from the womb; they err from their birth, speaking lies. They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear, so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter.

O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord! Let them vanish like water that runs away; like grass let them be trodden down and wither. Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime; like the untimely birth that never sees the sun. Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!

The righteous will rejoice when they see vengeance done; they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked. People will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth.”

New Testament Gospel Lesson: Luke 14:15-24

There is a parallel passage at Matthew 22:1-10.

One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, “Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” Then Jesus said to him, “Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.’ So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ And the slave said, ‘Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.” Then the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.’”

Year C Ordinary 22, Catholic Proper 22, Common Lectionary Proper 17: Wednesday

Selections are from Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings copyright © 1995 by the Consultation on Common Texts. Unless otherwise indicated, Bible text is from New Revised Standard Version Bible (NRSV) copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Image Credit: Bruegel, Pieter, approximately 1525-1569. The Cripples, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN, [retrieved August 17, 2016], licensed under Creative Commons 3.0. Original source: Wikimedia Commons.

#C Ordinary 22 Wednesday #guests #refusal #blind #lame #crippled #poor #peace #no peace for the wicked #disobedience

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dailyofficereadings · 5 years

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Daily Office Readings May 12, 2019

Psalm 63

Comfort and Assurance in God’s Presence

A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah.

1 O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 4 So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.

5 My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,[a] and my mouth praises you with joyful lips 6 when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; 7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

9 But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth; 10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword, they shall be prey for jackals. 11 But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

Footnotes:

Psalm 63:5 Heb with fat and fatness

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Psalm 98

Praise the Judge of the World

A Psalm.

1 O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory. 2 The Lord has made known his victory; he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations. 3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.

4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises. 5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody. 6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.

7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it. 8 Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy 9 at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Psalm 103

Thanksgiving for God’s Goodness

Of David.

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits— 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good as long as you live[a] so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

6 The Lord works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed. 7 He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. 8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever. 10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us. 13 As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him. 14 For he knows how we were made; he remembers that we are dust.

15 As for mortals, their days are like grass; they flourish like a flower of the field; 16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. 17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, 18 to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.

19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. 20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, obedient to his spoken word. 21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers that do his will. 22 Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul.

Footnotes:

Psalm 103:5 Meaning of Heb uncertain

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Wisdom 1:1-15

Exhortation to Uprightness

1 Love righteousness, you rulers of the earth, think of the Lord in goodness and seek him with sincerity of heart; 2 because he is found by those who do not put him to the test, and manifests himself to those who do not distrust him. 3 For perverse thoughts separate people from God, and when his power is tested, it exposes the foolish; 4 because wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul, or dwell in a body enslaved to sin. 5 For a holy and disciplined spirit will flee from deceit, and will leave foolish thoughts behind, and will be ashamed at the approach of unrighteousness.

6 For wisdom is a kindly spirit, but will not free blasphemers from the guilt of their words; because God is witness of their inmost feelings, and a true observer of their hearts, and a hearer of their tongues. 7 Because the spirit of the Lord has filled the world, and that which holds all things together knows what is said, 8 therefore those who utter unrighteous things will not escape notice, and justice, when it punishes, will not pass them by. 9 For inquiry will be made into the counsels of the ungodly, and a report of their words will come to the Lord, to convict them of their lawless deeds; 10 because a jealous ear hears all things, and the sound of grumbling does not go unheard. 11 Beware then of useless grumbling, and keep your tongue from slander; because no secret word is without result,[a] and a lying mouth destroys the soul.

12 Do not invite death by the error of your life, or bring on destruction by the works of your hands; 13 because God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living. 14 For he created all things so that they might exist; the generative forces[b] of the world are wholesome, and there is no destructive poison in them, and the dominion[c] of Hades is not on earth. 15 For righteousness is immortal.

Footnotes:

Wisdom 1:11 Or will go unpunished

Wisdom 1:14 Or the creatures

Wisdom 1:14 Or palace

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

1 Peter 5:1-11

Tending the Flock of God

5 Now as an elder myself and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you 2 to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight,[a] not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do it[b]—not for sordid gain but eagerly. 3 Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief shepherd appears, you will win the crown of glory that never fades away. 5 In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders.[c] And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for

“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. 8 Discipline yourselves, keep alert.[d] Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters[e] in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. 10 And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.

Footnotes:

1 Peter 5:2 Other ancient authorities lack exercising the oversight

1 Peter 5:2 Other ancient authorities lack as God would have you do it

1 Peter 5:5 Or of those who are older

1 Peter 5:8 Or be vigilant

1 Peter 5:9 Gk your brotherhood

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Matthew 7:15-29

A Tree and Its Fruit

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? 17 In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will know them by their fruits.

Concerning Self-Deception

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’

Hearers and Doers

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!”

28 Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, 29 for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

#May 12 #2019

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