2433AFC081624 – A Tasty Choice ← 😊 PODCAST LINK
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Proverbs 9:6 – (NLT) [1] 6 Leave your simple ways behind, and begin to live;
learn to use good judgment.”
Psalm 34:4-5 –
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Look to him, and be radiant;
so your faces shall never be ashamed.
8 O taste and see that the Lord is good; (↔ Music Link)
Ephesians 5:15-17 – 15 Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, 16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil. 17 So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
John 6:52-53 – 52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and Peace to each of you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. Today we give praise and glory to God for all the prayers you have offered for me during my hospital stay. I mentioned earlier that I was sick because of a bad altitude. Well, we are slowly climbing upwards to cruising altitude. I’ve started outpatient therapy sessions (O.T. and P.T,). We believe there are several more weeks of work to be done to restore lost muscle and endurance. Enough of that. Let’s see what’s in the queue for today.
The Key Verses for today all suggest the notion of discernment. That is a tough subject, especially when weighing spiritual things and options that affect our future. We might even say options that effect our future in that the choices we make also change our relationship with everything and everyone in our lives because, you know – YOLO-F. Let’s use the process of goal-setting as an example. Goals represent the choosing of a state of being we believe we would prefer. If I want to ace the exam, I have to study. The goal is to earn a good grade. The first objective I need to set to achieve that goal is to crack open the book. Then I need to review any notes I have on the relevant topics. As I work on my review, another objective might be to organize my objectives so that they match the teaching style of the professor – what s/he dwelt on and how that material’s relevance in the class was emphasized. Making these kinds of choices can be fairly easy if we practice them often. Sometimes, though, choices we must make are more difficult. Take, for example, choosing obedience to Christ’s Law of Love.
If anyone of you have participated in the podcasts presented by Ascension Media such as the Bible in a Year (BIAY) or Catechism in a Year (CIY), you will recognize this portrayal of sin as presented by Fr. Mike Schmitz: “God, I know what you want, and why you want it. But I don’t want that. I want what I want, so I’m not going to do what you want.” That is a choice that requires discernment. I look at what God wants, compare it with what I want, and I choose to have nothing to do with what God wants because what I want is more appealing to me. One of the life-choices we often hear discussed as requiring discernment is choosing a vocation.
Does God want me to serve his people as a professed religious, as a priest or deacon, as a layperson serving in one of the lay ministries of the Church? In these situations, the outcome of our discernment is taken more seriously. Going back to preparing for the exam, if I decide to choose playing a videogame online, or going out with friends instead of studying, my discernment is more like telling my professor, “I know what you want, but that’s not what I want.” Our failure to toe the line will most likely result in a failure to get a good grade on the exam. If we turn down the opportunity to serve God in the way he has planned for us, the consequences could be much more dire.
Choices, discernment, decisions – all of these have consequences. We have often stated here that “There are no inconsequential acts,” and “What we do says who we are. Actions speak louder than words.” Often we choose to accept the consequences rather than deny ourselves the gratification of doing what we want instead of doing what we should. IN THE LONG RUN e.g., eternity) Which is actually more gratifying: Pleasing myself or pleasing God? That answer may seem obvious, but most of the time the obvious isn’t so obvious. We choose wrongly.
What would happen if our discernment leads us to a decision that in all things we will always praise God? Wouldn’t that provide a context for all of our other decisions? Praising God in, through, for, and with all that we are, and with all that we have, would be an extraordinary goal – which is surprising because it should not be extraordinary at all. It should be natural and stand always as the primary purpose of our lives. Why? BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT GOD HAS INTENDED FOR US SINCE THE FIRST INTONATION OF “LET THERE BE ….”
It is indeed God’s Will that praises go to him before anything else we offer. We first capture this understanding in Judges 1:2 – 2 The Lord said, “Judah [1] shall go up. I hereby give the land into his hand.” You may recall that the top of the Ark of the Covenant had two Cherubim with their wings outstretched toward the center. This was The Mercy Seat, and it was there that God’s Sh’khinah Glory (← Check it out!) rested. Sh’khinah means resting, dwelling, and even throne. Consider, then, the meaning of Psalm 22:3 –
3 Yet you are holy,
enthroned [dwelling in] on the praises of Israel. God inhabits the praises of his People! Their Praises of God are his Throne. We lift our hearts and hands and voices in praise to our Creator. Now, there is some disagreement about whether or not it is appropriate for the assembly (congregation) to pray in the orans gesture during The Lord’s Prayer. Technically that posture is assigned only to the presiding priest in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM ↔ Click Link) , and laity should not be using it.
Try this: hold your hands in the orans position – out to the side, palms up (See this link). Close your eyes and relax a bit, then say, “God, you are my God.” Now, I am going to give you a music link to one of my favorite hymns by one of my favorite composers – Rich Mullins. Click this music link, and listen to it in the orans position. O God, you are my God. (↔ Music Link)
Did you do those things? Did you try the orans position, and then use it to listen to that song of praise? If you did, then your discernment was that you would benefit from doing that. If you did not than your discernment was “nobody can see me, and besides, that looks silly,” or something to that effect. Please take a moment and think through the intended and unintended consequences of those decisions. I’ll wait.
<<<< PAUSE >>>>
Let’s expand that experience a bit to the moment you’re ready to get up and start your day. You will née to discern between watching Good Morning America (or participating in any other activity), or spending seven-and-one-half minutes in prayer. How obvious is the obvious? If you choose prayer, will you choose to let Judah (Praise) go first? In either of these actions we must discern what is proper (if we are at all interested in being proper), and so we must discern what is acceptable. In order to know what we want to be, we have to know what and where we are. Take Baskin-Robbins for instance.
Going for an ice cream can be a challenging experience for some of us. 32 flavors! What’s my favorite, do I want to try something new, who would ever choose that kind, would this one go well with that one? It is always simple for me. If they have lime sherbet, that’s the end of it; if they don’t, then any sherbet or sorbet will do. If I strike out there, it’s “I’ll have the same as s/he’s having.” Discernment doesn’t always have to be a struggle. If it works, don’t break it and don’t fix it, either. What exactly, then, is discernment?
This far in, we ought to be able to conclude that discernment is a form of decision-making. That implies that there are at least two options to consider. I’m going to list a few and then close it up. How does one become discerning, or put another way, what is the source of discernment? Like all Good things, discernment is a Gift from God – in fact, a Gift of the Holy Spirit. Way back in the book of Isaiah we have a list of Spiritual Gifts:
Isaiah 11:2 – 2 The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. If that sounds familiar it is because we find a similar list in the writings of The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 (↔ Click Link) which includes wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of [reverence for] the Lord. Right at the head of that list are wisdom and understanding. In the Book of Wisdom, we read that Wisdom was the first collaborator called by God to watch, enjoy, and wonder at all that God was creating. In Daniel 2:21 we read he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. On my logo (← Check it out!), there is a quote from Proverbs 9:10 – 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. We see a pattern here; discernment is gathering knowledge about anything ranging from something to everything, applying that knowledge to processing a decision, and basing that decision on what is right and just as God expects (Micah 6:8 … again!)
Sometimes I think of it as getting a little sample (like that tiny little spoon at Baskin-Robins) and acting on what I taste. In fact, guess what that word “taste” (Hebrew taam) means in the Key Verse from the Psalm above. It means to perceive, or to experience, to sample (eat) in a small quantity. Ah! As in “we become what we eat!” Take a sample of the Lord’s goodness, or his mercy, or his steadfast love, or any of the other multitude of benefits that well up in our lives “like the dewfall,” take a taste and we will gain knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and discern that, indeed, the Lord is Good! He is so Good, in fact, that we end up praising him and thanking him more and more which leads us to trust, surrender, love, believe, and receive him more and more.
Sometimes I think of it as getting a little sample (like that tiny little spoon at Baskin-Robins) and acting on what I taste. In fact, guess what that word “taste” (Hebrew taam) means in the Key Verse from the Psalm above. It means to perceive, or to experience, to sample (eat) in a small quantity. Ah! As in “we become what we eat!” Take a sample of the Lord’s goodness, or his mercy, or his steadfast love, or any of the other multitude of benefits that well up in our lives “like the dewfall,” take a taste and we will gain knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and discern that, indeed, the Lord is Good! He is so Good, in fact, that we end up praising him and thanking him more and more which leads us to trust, surrender, love, believe, and receive him more and more.
And – you guessed it – all of that brings us “closer” to God (he hasn’t moved away, we have). As we draw closer to God we become convinced by direct evidence that he IS. He is our God. We are his servants. It is in him that In him we live and move and have our being. (See Acts 17:28 a) I am, you are we are alive in him because We Are the Body of Christ (↔ Music Link) When I need to be certain about how to live, I Choose Christ (↔ Music Link) because I’m gonna live so God can use me! (↔ Music Link) How shall I serve him, when I ask him, What do you want of me, Lord? (↔ Music Link)? I will be HIS servant by serving his servants (↔ Music Link)
Now, my Belovéd reader, what shall we do? Let’s go out there into the Word with the Good News, proclaiming our Love of God in the lives we Live by discerning what is the will of God for us that we may best serve him by serving each other. Now, that’s the tastiest choice ever!
I will choose to eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood so that I will have Life within me. Can I get an AMEN?
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!
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Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the 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.
Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
[1] Judah – יְהוּדָה Yehudah the name JUDAH means Praise, ergo, let Praise go up first. We see this illustrated in the Lord’s Prayer. There is the address to God, Our Father, who art in Heaven, then Praise: Hallowed be thy name – Your Name is Holy.
[1] Passages marked (NLT) are from New Living Translation (NLT) – Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
