Prepare a Feast

Today's readings: Ps 63, 98; Job 25:1-6, 27:1-6; Rev 14:1-7, 13; Matt 5:13-20

Food is a common metaphor throughout the Bible. In Matt 5:13 Jesus (the bread of life!) compares his followers to the salt of the earth. The Eucharist is a physical manifestation of God as essential to life. Psalm 63 compares the satisfaction of a healthy prayer life with that of a rich feast (v 5). What else might prayer and food have in common? For starters, neither is consistently healthy without preparation.

It’s a rare shopper who can go to the grocery store without some kind of list and return home with the ingredients for a week of nutritious eating. Are we as intentional about building our prayer lives as we should be about our meals? Or do we cram our spiritual practices into an already tight schedule, settling for a fast food faith and a weekly dinner with the family? As much as we might like it to be otherwise, eating one healthy meal a week doesn’t make up for six days of burgers and fries, and a prayerful hour each Sunday doesn’t prepare us for the hundred and sixty-seven in between. Snacks are gratifying, but we can’t really live on them.

Just as common wisdom tells us shopping while hungry leads to rash choices, neither should we wait until we are spiritually famished – by crisis, doubt, or despair – to turn to prayer. A steady diet of daily prayer will help keep us spiritually fit, and more capable of handling difficult situations. When our pantry is properly stocked, we can even provide a meal for others when the need arises.

Sometimes prayer (or other spiritual disciplines) may seem like eating broccoli: we do it, but in the back of our minds we’re longing for the sugary rush of praise songs and other uplifting experiences. Any mother will tell you filling up on the sweet stuff ruins your appetite for good food, and makes you crave more empty calories. We need to engage in activities that build spiritual muscle, rather than fill us with temporary good feelings. Wise people cultivate a taste for what sustains them for the long haul, and realize some tastes have to be acquired through self-discipline. A properly prepared spiritual life is both tasty and well-balanced.

Comfort: The cup of grace goes with any meal.

Challenge: Plan for spiritual practices by adding them to your daily calendar, just like any other appointment, meeting or to-do item.

Prayer: God of life, thank you for providing all that sustains me.

Evening reading: Ps 103

Tomorrow's readings: Ps 41, 52; Job 32:1-10, 19, 33:1, 19-28; Acts 13:44-52; John 10:19-30

If Paul could do it...

Today's readings: Ps 1, 2, 3; Job 5:1-11, 17-21, 26-27; Acts 9:19b-31; John 6:52-59

Real change is difficult. Even after we’ve worked up the proper inner motivation to make a positive change, we must struggle with a world inclined to keep us as we were. If we leave behind bad habits, friends who shared those habits with us may try to drag us back to our old ways for any number of reasons. If we’ve repeatedly promised change only to let down our friends and family, they may view new declarations of change with understandable suspicion. Real change can’t depend on how other people perceive us, but on how we perceive ourselves.

Prior to his conversion, Paul was a Pharisee infamous for his ruthless persecution of Christians on behalf of the Jerusalem Temple. When he started to preach in Jesus’ name, people who knew him were “amazed” (Acts 9:21) at his radical change. Those in Jerusalem who did not doubt his sincerity attempted to kill him. On the other hand, when he joined the disciples “they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple” (v. 26). Many of them had been evading him for some time, and only the testimony of Barnabas on Paul’s behalf swayed them.

Paul’s old friends wanted him to stay the same, and the people he hoped would become his new friends weren’t ready to accept him. Despite the attitudes around him, Paul persevered because God had changed his heart. To a lesser degree, we may experience the same thing when we make a change. For example, if we decide to give up gossip, the friends we used to gossip with will undoubtedly feel snubbed when we decline to participate. Given our history, other people will find it difficult to trust us. The same would be true of addictions, lying, spitefulness or any host of vices. A truly penitent heart will persevere in change whether other people accept the change or not; our relationship with God will sustain us.

We can’t change any mind but our own. When we know we need to make a positive change, we must be prepared to endure and overcome resistance, and not let that resistance discourage us. God doesn’t promise us ease, but to be with us through everything.

Comfort: When we change our hearts, God knows and accepts.

Challenge: Be supportive to someone who is trying to change.

Prayer: God of truth, teach me how I need to change.

Evening readings: Ps 4, 7

Tomorrow's readings: Ps 5, 6; Job 6:1-4, 8-15, 21; Acts 9:32-43; John 6:60-71