Day 91 – April 1

Today’s Readings:

Joshua 7-8
Luke 6:27-49
Psalm 91

“I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them. That one is like a person building a house…on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built.” – Luke 6:47-48

The Lord teaches us with the parable of the two foundations: one foundation is solid and will withstand the storms of life; the other one is lazily constructed and will not support anything when even the slightest windstorm passes by.

We see an example of this played out in the book of Joshua today. Israel has the commandments of God to help them, for God knows that if they keep his commandments, they will learn to resist temptations in life that will lead to their destruction. In following the commandments, the people keep themselves pure, and can remain in God’s presence. When Israel attacks Ai the first time, and fails, Joshua asks God why the defeat. Someone failed in their obedience to God, keeping for themselves some plunder from Jericho:

“Among the spoils, I saw a beautiful Babylonian mantle, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight; I coveted them and I took them. They are now hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.” (Joshua 7:21)

Achan fell to temptation, which led him to live a hidden life, having to hide his ill-gotten gain from others. We see in this example the consequences of sin, that it reaches beyond the one who commits the act to the whole community. In Israel’s case it brought defeat at Ai, because God was not with them. In our lives, we may not see it so clearly spelled out as in the case of Achan, but the effects are no less serious in the spiritual realm. In our society sin is more often seen as a personal matter, but its effects are not. Even Achan’s acts caused the lives of his family to be lost as well.

Let us keep in mind the poor end of Achan and his family as an example for us then next time we feel the tug of temptation in our hearts, and ask God to give us strength to resist temptation and sin at all costs.

Lord, in your mercy, come to our aid today and always, Amen.

May God bless you.

Day 86 – March 27

Today’s Readings:

Deuteronomy 31-32
Luke 4:1-30
Psalm 86

“He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, and for forty days he was tempted by the devil…” – Luke 4:1-2

We have seen in the last couple of days in our reading, important moments in the life of Jesus. In the Temple when he was twelve, he came to understand in a unique sense that God is his Father. At his Baptism by John (only nuanced in Luke), God affirms him in a particular way.

Jesus entered into the desert, perhaps as his retreat of silence and prayer, to set the direction for his ministry. How was he best to lead the people to the Father? The temptations proposed were real potential obstacles to fulfilling his mission. Often, our temptations too, can seem like a means to fulfill our plans. They can make sense.

The evil one tempts us according to our capacities. Jesus was capable of doing all the things the Devil suggested to him. It helps us to understand that not everything we are capable of doing is meant for us to do. When we use our capacities solely to please ourselves, this is a danger to our souls and it is a misuse of  the ‘power’ given to us by God.

In these last weeks of Lent, let us be mindful to walk more closely with Jesus in the desert, abstaining from use of our gifts for our own desire, and reserve them to help bring about the Kingdom of God.

May God bless you.