Alms

 Just not sure

Why I'm at this keyboard right now

10:00 PM I should be asleep

Just not sure

Why I stepped into the study to take

This machine off the shelf tonight

A night filled with a Dodger win 

And a good supper 

Other than a reflection I heard this morning

Taken from Luke 7 where

Jesus upends and berates the Pharisees 

In shockingly, even rude language

He wasted no time in offending his dinner host

Made statements about them focusing on outward appearances

Instead of attending to their internal chaos and upheaval 

Then he used a word that caught me straight up

Absolutely straight up

Not a common word, sort of an old word

Seemingly a powerful word 

That's come back to me over and over today

Alms

Alms

Alms

"Give alms to clean the inside"

Which is much more important than polishing the outside

Alms for whom?

Alms from where?

Alms for what?

Why alms?

"Give alms to clean the inside."

So simple

So brilliantly simple

So shockingly hard to do

For others

For ourselves

For God

Why am I writing this now?

Really no perceptible reason

Other than to given in and obey

Obey the lifelong voice deep inside

To write it down

Just write it down

It doesn't matter why

Just write it down

To clean the inside

Giving alms.

1,925 years ago------

 ------- a philosopher born in Palestine was well educated in Greek thought and beliefs, but he wasn't satisfied. One day he was walking along and met an very elderly man from Syria. He told this man about his search for Truth and the man surprised him with a story that rang of Truth like he'd not heard before. As he walked the roads of the Middle East he came to Ephesus where some of the first Christians lived. He was so taken with the Truth of their converted lives that he, too, became a Christian. Given his position as a highly educated philosopher he felt the need to go to Rome, speak with the Emperor, try to convince him to stop killing Christians, well,  just because. His arguments were strong and so clear, but it was too risky for the Roman elite, at that time, to listen and to believe. It would take them another 200 years. In the meantime he could see it was a no win situation and sooner or later (which came in 155) they'd take his life. As this became more obvious he wrote his First Apology and then his Second Apology in defense of the new Christians, the new congregants called Catholics.

I knew nothing of this man until yesterday morning when I made a serious search online of how Catholicism differs from my Lutheran/Presbyterian background. I'm taking a class at St. Paul's with the intent of converting at Easter Vigil Mass, but I have alot of questions. In my search I learned about St. Justin Martyr and his First Apology that includes a very clear description of the mass (as it was in 130 and still is today) and the Catholic Eucharist. Of course, I  had to know more so I went to Amazon and ordered up a book with all of this new information and it arrived 24 hours later. I spent this afternoon in the warm fall sun consuming it.

Now I've made the acquaintance of this amazing person who lived and wrote 1.925 years ago because he met an elderly Syrian Christian man in his wanderings who told him about Christ. He founded a school in Rome to teach new converts and made it his mission to save as many Christians as he could. 

Think of this chain of events ---- elderly Syrian man speaks to Greek Palestinian who writes a profound treatise on the faith that I learn about via the internet and Amazon brings me his book in 24 hours. 

I'm most grateful to that elderly Syrian man who shared his faith. He has spoken to me today through St. Justin Martyr.

Thank you, Lord.

Remnants

My fridge is often a sundry collection of remnants. "A small quantity of something." "Leftovers, residue, tail end, scrap, fragment." "A small part or portion that remains after the main part no longer exists."

The English "remnant"comes from the French word  "remanant" which means "to remain."

If I think of it this way it sounds like the remnants of past meals choose to remain in the fridge, when I actually choose for them to remain, until they meet their ultimate demise of being thrown out.

It seems outside influences can determine if a remnant remains and for how long. Simple enough for my fridge. Not so simple for the wider world.

Biblically, God promises there will always be a remnant of those he pledged eternal love to so many centuries ago.   These remnants continue to exist because God  has never chosen to throw them out. God never will.  It's an eternal non-negotiable. 

But, looking at the condition of our world today it seems everyone believes that they, and only they,  know which remnants are still worth the high cost of support, which ones should be thrown out, and which ones are truly rotten.  

Both sides, every side, all sides are on very thin ice here.  Unless we're in the deepest of daily prayer and communion with God it's not wise to throw out a remnant that could be a warm patch or a way through a tough time or a life-saving piece of sustenance for someone, for anyone. 

By the grace of God, humanity continues on the shoulders of remnants who live out their invisible calling to be scraps of love, fragments of faith, and delightful residues of fragrant forgiveness.

Amen.