Author Archives: Bill Dalgetty

Jars of Clay

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St. Paul says we have this treasure in jars of clay. (2 Co. 4:7)  What is the treasure and what are the jars of clay?  

The treasure is Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit in us.  The jars of clay are we who have accepted Christ, who have been baptized into his church, who have opened the door of our hearts to experience his presence and the release of the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

But this treasure is not just for us, but also for the people and circumstances in our lives.  To release the treasure, the jars of clay need to be broken.  We need to be broken of our pride, our agendas and of doing things “my way.”  “A broken and contrite heart you will not despise.” (Ps. 51:17)

My self-focused nature is often the greatest obstacle to my sharing the treasure of God’s love with my family, friends and strangers that enter into my daily life.  It is amazing how easily I can forget that Christ lives in me when responding to an unsolicited phone caller, a store clerk who doesn’t seem to meet my expectations or the interruption of my plans for the day by a loved one.

It is interesting that Paul used the word-picture of a jar of clay rather than one of iron.  From his own self-described experience, he knows that we are weak vessels when it comes to holding God’s presence, love and willingness to sacrifice.

Yet as we share this treasure, the light of Christ, his love, truth and sacrifice will shine in the darkness of the world surrounding us even if the darkness does not understand it.  We must remember that one of Jesus’ harshest responses in all of scripture was directed at the servant who buried the talent given to him instead of investing and risking it for God’s kingdom.  Jesus concluded the parable by saying, “And throw that worthless servant outside into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Mt. 25:30)

There are of course countless ways to share this treasure.  Let me offer one example.  One day I was having lunch with one of the executives of the company where I worked and he started to share with me how his wife of more than 40 years had left him due to some actions on his part.  I could tell that he was very distraught over both his actions and her response.  After listening to him for more than an hour as he described their life and the recent developments, I asked him if I could pray with him.   He said yes, I reached across the table, took hold his arm and prayed that God would give him courage to say he was sorry and ask his wife to forgive him; that she would be open to receive his request and the grace to forgive.  He was not necessarily a religious person, but by God’s grace they reconciled.  He subsequently retired and died of cancer a couple of years later in her love and care.

“We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”

Speaking Truth to Today’s Issues

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Does political correctness and conventional wisdom deter you from speaking up for the truth of the Gospel on issues of life and morals?   

In recent years we have seen increasing cultural acceptance of governmental actions that erode the sanctity of life, God’s institution of marriage, and sexual identity.  Our health care laws require Catholic institutions to provide medical insurance for abortions.  Public accommodation laws require Christian business people to provide services for same sex marriage in contravention of their personal conscience.

More recently, the Fairfax County, Virginia School Board voted to include gender identity in their nondiscrimination polices.  Critics are concerned that it will lead to allowing students to choose bathrooms, locker rooms and even sports teams based upon their perceived sexual identity instead of their biological sex.  The school board’s excuse is that they are being mandated by the U. S. Department of Education to do this under the threat of the loss of federal funds of more than $41 million.

All of these proposals present a dilemma to Christians since they run counter to God’s Word found in the Holy Bible, natural law and even basic common sense.  How should we respond in the face of the so-called conventional wisdom and political correctness that seem to accompany these issues?

When God called Ezekiel to be a prophet to the Israelites in the sixth century, B. C., he said, “Do not be afraid of them or their words.  Do not be afraid, though briars and thorns are all around you and you are living among scorpions.  You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.” (Ez. 2:6, 7) The Lord went on to tell Ezekiel that he would hold him accountable if he did not speak up.

How often does fear of what others will think cause us to withhold our comments on proposed government actions that erode our First Amendment rights to live out our faith in our daily lives?    

Fear is a powerful human emotion.  Perhaps that is why God was preparing Ezekiel to deal with the resistance he would encounter when he began to speak God’s word.  That is why God told Isaac, “Do not be afraid, for I am with you.” (Genesis 26:24)  He encouraged Joshua to be “strong and courageous.”  (Joshua 1:6)   The first thing the angels told Zachariah, father of John the Baptist, Mary, and Joseph was not to be afraid.  The first words of St. John Paul II to the people in St. Peter’s Square upon his election as Pope were, “Be not afraid.”

The more a culture moves away from God, the more it moves away from truth.  When Jesus, the embodiment of all truth, stood before Pilate and told him that he had come to testify to the truth, Pilate asked, “What is truth?” (John 18:37-38)

Fear is the favorite tool of the enemies of truth, but Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid.  I am with you always.”  (Luke 5:10; Mt. 28:20)

Complacency

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Are you complacent in living out your Christian faith day-to-day? 

During the middle of the eighth century before Christ, the prophet, Amos, said to the kingdom of Israel that was becoming increasingly rich and prosperous, “Woe to you who are complacent in Zion.”  He was decrying that those who were accumulating wealth were neglecting those who were poor.

Complacency is ruinous to almost any endeavor of life – athletics, parenting, doing your job well, and living out our Christian faith.  I am reading a book entitled Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis describing her experience of going on a mission trip to Uganda over Christmas break of her senior year in high school and how it led her into full time ministry to care for and educate the poorest children of Uganda.

The book describes multiple stories reflecting a special God-inspired love she acquired for children who live in houses of sticks, stones and mud, and sleep on hard dirt floors surrounded by filth and disease.  After returning to Uganda instead of going on to college as her parents desired, her reaction was:

“In my mind, these people had every reason to be despondent and downcast, but were the most joyful human beings I could imagine.  I learned so much from them as they made my frustrations seem small and petty and taught me just to rejoice in the simple pleasures God surrounded me with.  Once I could do this, I embraced extreme exhilaration; I felt closer to God, to myself and the people, and more alive than ever before.” 

Katy is the exact opposite of being complacent.  She is full of passion for the Lord Jesus Christ, and she is bringing his presence to hundreds of children in Uganda, thirteen of whom she has since adopted as a single mother.

Like Katie, all of us who have been baptized, have God dwelling within us.  Do we let his presence, love and compassion be manifested through us to the people and circumstances in our lives, or do we bury his presence through our complacency?   I wish I could say that I always embrace the same level of passion for the Lord’s call on my life as Katie’s, but I struggle with the distractions of my comfortable life.

We must remember the words of Jesus to the church of Laodicea, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.  I wish you were either one or the other!  So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” (Rev. 3:15)

Fortunately, through my affiliation with Christians in Commerce International, I have been able to support in an indirect way the people of Uganda to hear about Jesus Christ and to assist with their need for clean water, food and education.   But we don’t need to go to Africa, to bring God’s presence, and his love and mercy to the people in our lives including our families, work colleagues, friends and strangers.

Lord, may my lukewarmness be transformed to passion for the call you have on my life.

Exercising Faith on Another’s Behalf

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Is there someone in your life who needs you to exercise your faith on their behalf? 

The Gospel of Luke reports the story where some friends of a paralytic are trying to bring him to Jesus on a mat so that Jesus could heal him.  When they arrive at the house where Jesus is teaching, they could not get in because of the crowd.  So they take him up on the roof, remove the tiles and lower him down on his mat into the crowd, right in front of Jesus.  “When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend your sins are forgiven.’”

When some Pharisees who were present began to think that Jesus was speaking blasphemy because no one but God can forgive sins, Jesus responded, “That you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…he said to the paralyzed man, ‘I tell you get up, take your mat and go home.’  Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. (Luke 5:24-25)

Luke’s account of this event indicates that Jesus healed the paralytic and forgave his sins, not because of the paralytic’s faith, but the faith of his friends and the extreme efforts they undertook to get him to Jesus. 

This is a good example of how we can exercise our faith on behalf of another to bring the Lord’s presence, healing and forgiveness.  Sometimes a person cannot act on his or her own faith or take the kind of action that may be necessary.  While we don’t know anything about whether the paralytic had faith in this story, it does not appear that he would have been able to act on this faith without the help of his friends.

A few years ago a close friend who had been battling cancer for more than four years had a massive brain hemorrhage.  He could not pray for himself or take other action, but his family and friends gathered around his hospital bed praying with him and for him, singing his favorite hymns, reading his favorite Bible verses and leading him into the arms of the Father who was waiting for him.  Instead of lying in a comatose state indefinitely after years of suffering, his family and friends escorted him to the Father.  What a glorious day it was for him AND us who were privileged to be present exercising our faith on his behalf.  

Jesus healed others on behalf of the request and faith of family and friends.  He healed the servant of a centurion who believed that Jesus could do this simply by saying the word without even coming to pray over the servant. (Mt. 5:5-13)  Others were healed based on the faith of a parent — Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:21-43); and the royal official’s son in Capernaum.  (John 4:43-54)

We should never underestimate the power of our faith to bring God’s presence to others.

Belief in More than Ourselves

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What are the reasons for your belief or unbelief in God?

On a recent cruise vacation, my wife and I visited the Island of Gozo, part of Malta, where we toured the Ggantija Temples dating back to 3600 BC.  This makes them older than the pyramids of Egypt and Stonehenge in England.  Eighteen hundred years before Abraham, these ancient ruins reveal the human heart attempting to acknowledge a cause, force, or person larger than itself to explain our existence.

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God created us with a desire to seek him.  It is part of our DNA.  Intuitively, we know that there is something more than ourselves to explain all that we observe in the world in which we live.

The Book of Hebrews captures well what has happened and God’s intention.  “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.  The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” (Heb1:1-3)

God demonstrated his great love for us by becoming one of us in the person of Jesus, in order to bring his presence into the world in a very visible way at a specific time in history.  Jesus demonstrated his great love for us by sacrificing his life to free us from the grip of sin and Satan’s power over the world.  By the resurrection of Jesus, God confirmed the saving nature and power of that sacrifice.  

In contrast to the people of the ancient world, we are blessed to have the benefit of God’s revelation through the prophets, scripture, the words of Jesus and the teaching of the Church over many centuries.

God’s plan for creation is to dwell in us, his human creatures, through his son, Jesus Christ, so that we, with the power of the Holy Spirit, can partner with God in bringing his presence to the people and circumstances of our lives. 

God never stops reaching out to us.   Like the Father of the prodigal son, he is always waiting to receive us. (Luke 15:11-32)  Even when we have turned away from him, he is still seeking us.  Like the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine in search of the one lost sheep, God never stops loving us. (Luke 15:1-11)

We are incomplete without God in our life.  No matter the knowledge we have gained, the success we have achieved, the fame we have experienced, the wealth we have accumulated, the friends we have made, we are not complete and will not be satisfied until we ask the God of all creation to dwell in us.

Forgive me, Lord, for my sins and excluding you from the core of my life.  Come, dwell in my heart.  

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” (Is. 55:6)

Action — the Fruit of Faith

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Do your actions attest to your faith?

When I worked in the legal department of a large international oil company we had an administrative assistant who was quite vocal about her Christian faith.  Her conversation was filled with references to her Christian beliefs and opinions on a variety of subjects.

Her job performance in providing administrative assistance to three attorneys, however, fell short of the expectations for her position.  It fell to me to counsel her about her performance.  I will never forget her response when I pointed out that her work in serving the three attorneys assigned to her was not meeting the requirements for her job.  Indignantly, she declared, “I don’t serve anyone but God!

St. Anthony of Padua said, “Let your words teach and your actions speak.  We are full of words but empty of actions, and therefore, are cursed by the Lord, since he himself cursed the fig tree when he found no fruit, but only leaves.”  

Bearing fruit in our lives is important to Jesus.  He said, “I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.” (John 15:16)  What kind of fruit?  St. Paul sets out in Galatians 5:22-23 what he describes as the fruit of the spirit – “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”   I believe that faithfulness also includes seeking to do our best.

In the Parable of the Talents, Jesus is very harsh with the servant who buried the talent he had been given instead of investing and multiplying it — a lack of action.  In the Parable of the Sheep and Goats, Jesus condemns the people who did not provide food, drink, shelter, medical care and their time to individuals in need – a lack of action.

We have all heard the line, “actions speak louder than words.”  This is particularly true when it comes to faith and love.  Faith and love are not real until confirmed by our actions.  When Jesus told someone that his or her faith had healed them, it was usually preceded by some affirmative action of the person exhibiting their faith.  (The woman suffering from bleeding for twelve years, saying, “If only I can touch his cloak.” [Mt. 9:22])

This is not about whether salvation comes from faith or works.  This is about whether our actions make our faith and love real.

Scripture tells us that God is love.  Being omnipotent, God can of course exhibit that love through consolation in prayer or in any number of ways.  Oftentimes, his way is to use us in bringing that love to others.

Does God Dwell in You?

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In Galatians 2:20, St. Paul says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”   Do we as Christians really believe that Christ lives in us, and more importantly, do we live our lives as if God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is present in us?

Imagine if Jesus were physically at your side 24/7.  Would his presence not have an impact on what you say, do, and how you react to the people and circumstances in your life?  One of the great benefits would be that in every kind of circumstance you could ask, “What do you want me to do now, Lord?”  

Think of having the Lord’s ever-present counsel in how to respond to a difficult colleague at work, a child in need of discipline, a friend who needs someone to talk to, the morality of a certain business practice, the need to reconcile with someone you have offended, and all the myriad of life’s daily challenges.

This is exactly what God offers us when he says, “Here I am.  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.” (Rev. 3:20)  Eating together is a sign of being together and sharing life.   John’s Gospel affirms this reality when Jesus says that he will not leave us as orphans, but will live in us and that he and the Father will make their home in us. (John 14:15-24)

Three times, St Paul speaks of this in terms of our being “the temple of the living God” and “the temple of the Holy Spirit that is in you.” (2 Co. 6:16, 19; 1 Co. 3:16)  In other words, we are the place where God dwells.

God’s plan for his creation is to dwell in us through his son, Jesus Christ, so that we, with the power of the Holy Spirit, can partner with God in bringing his presence to the people and circumstances of our lives.

Yesterday we were at a Christian gathering where several teenagers were being sent on a mission trip for a couple of weeks.  One of them was our grandson, Max.  As people gathered to pray with them, I found myself at the back of the crowd.  I asked the Lord if I should push my way through the crowd so I could put my hand on Max’s shoulder, and I thought the Lord said yes.  I pushed my way through the crowd so I was standing directly behind Max and put a firm hand on his shoulder.  As the prayers were concluded, Max turned around to see whose hand was on his shoulder and saw that it was me, his grandfather.  With big smiles, we gave each other a big bear hug — a small thing, perhaps, but hopefully an encouragement to Max.

God, who dwells in us, wants us to come to him with all our decisions, small and large.  Like all endeavors, practice makes it better.  Our goal should be to make it a habit.  Jesus says, “I am with you always.”  Paul says, “The mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations…is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col. 1:26-27)

Thorns of Busyness*

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Does busyness choke out your relationship with God – spending time with him in prayer, reading scripture and seeking his will in your lives? 

In explaining one aspect of the of the Parable of the Sower, Jesus says, “Still others, like seed sown among the thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word and make it unfruitful.”  (Mark 4:18)

There are many kinds of thorns – worries, ambition, wealth, recognition, position, possessions and busyness, to name a few.  The Roman soldiers placed a crown of thorns on Jesus’ head, but he did not let the pain of them deter him from his mission.

Busyness, as much any other circumstance, makes the word in many of us unfruitful.  We rush to get dressed in the morning and have our breakfast before we rush to work.  At work, there is often more to do than the time available, so we rush from one task to another.  After work, we rush to take our kids to practice or a sporting event.  We then rush home for dinner because we have a meeting after dinner at church, school or some other place, or we need to help the children with their homework, or we have a brief case full of work.  Even when we are not in fact being rushed, we have a sense of being rushed.

All of this rushing crowds out God.  Intimacy with him is sacrificed.  The noise of busyness keeps us from hearing the whisper of the Holy Spirit and understanding the Spirit’s call each day.  Notice that Jesus says the outcome is that the word in us becomes unfruitful.  The rich guidance of the word goes unused.  Jesus’ desire for us is just the opposite – “I chose you and appointed you to bear fruit, fruit that will last.” (John 15:16)

Life will always have its demands.  Do we let these demands choke out God’s word and presence in us, or do we invite him to join us in their midst?  I used to pray a lot in hallways and elevators as I went from one meeting to another, acknowledging God’s presence and asking him to go before me.  There seemed to be more fruit when I did and less when I didn’t.

God’s presence is available to us in the midst of our busyness.  Offer up your schedule to him at the beginning of each day.  Remember his words, “I am with you always.” (Matthew 28:20)

*Reposted from July, 2014

“Is that Your Boy?”*

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Processed with VSCOcam with lv01 preset“Is that your boy?” asked the salty 82 year old owner of the marina as we backed the boat into the slip, with my son, Steve and son-in-law, Greg handling the lines.  “Yes,” I answered, “He’s my son,” and then pointing to Greg, “and he’s my son-in-law.”

We were on a three day boat trip down the Potomac River, across the Chesapeake Bay to Tangier Island, then up the St. Mary’s River and finally back to Occoquan, south of Washington.  It was early October and God had blessed us with absolutely beautiful weather – warm sunshine days and cool nights – picturesque sunrises and artistic sunsets.  We had lunch at various crab houses along the way and anchored out each evening with one of the boys cooking dinner on the boat.  We were all easy to be with.

Tangier Island is like stepping into a time warp, discovered by Captain John Smith in 1608, a population of 569 who still speak with a trace of Elizabethan accent; all connected either directly or indirectly with the crabbing industry.  No cars, only golf carts and walking paths populated with houses and front yards filled with gravestones of preceding generations; lots of docks, marshes and crab boats.

It may sound like a small thing, but for the owner of the marina to see enough resemblance to ask the question, “Is that your boy?” made me feel kind of proud.  Forty-three years separate my son, Stephen and me.  He is 30 and vigorous.  I have white hair and am not quite so vigorous.

In today’s society, families tend to get so disbursed that we can easily lose our sense of family and identity from generation to generation.  We go our separate ways, life full of work, children activities and busyness; seldom doing things together, living far apart, seeing each other only on an occasional holiday.  In prior generations, like Tangier Island, families tended to live together more, or at least in closer proximity, sons worked with their fathers and were a continuation of the father in both work and life.

Tradition tells us that Jesus initially took on the work of his earthly father, Joseph, working as a carpenter before he began his public life. “Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them.  And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” (Luke 2:51-52) In his public life he also took on the work of his heavenly Father, becoming his presence in human form in the family business of salvation, offering the fullness of life from God, the Father to all people.

This is the natural order established by God – man, woman, family cooperating with God’s creative act to fill the earth and to work and take care of the garden of creation, extending God’s plan and leading each generation to God, so that God may one day be “all in all.” (1Cor. 15:28)  Let us pray that God may be as proud of us, his extension in this world, as I am of my son, Stephen, son-in-law, Greg, and all my children, their spouses and families, who are an extension of our family and heritage.

*Reposted from February, 2014

A Surprising Outcome with the Lord’s Prayer

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Does our frequent use of the Lord’s Prayer result in it becoming a rote prayer with no power?

Over the past couple of years, I have been taking communion on Sundays to residents of a local nursing home.   One of the residents on the Alzheimer’s floor (we will call her Mary Jane) has always been eager to receive communion, but on a recent visit she became quite agitated and even accused me of wanting to kill her.  I was shocked as was her attendant, who tried to calm and assure her that everything was fine.  She would have none of it, and I retreated to call on other residents.

Last week when I returned to the home, I found Mary Jane just finishing her breakfast and asked if she wanted to receive communion.  She did not respond.  I knelt down beside her chair and asked if she would like to say the Lord’s Prayer.   I started to say it slowly, “Our Father who art in heaven…”  She quietly joined in, “Hallowed be thy name.”  As we continued, she pronounced each word in a slow deliberate fashion, “Thy – kingdom – come, thy – will – be – done, on – earth – as – it – is – in – heaven.”  She grew more emphatic, “Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” With a smile on her face and a look of contentment, we continued, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

I gave her communion, and then to my surprise, she said, “I love you.”  I responded, “I love you, too, Mary Jane,” and gave her a pat.  What a contrast to my prior visit! 

In reciting the Lord’s Prayer, Mary Jane may have been recalling a prior time in her relationship with God – perhaps in church, maybe in personal prayer or a family prayer time.  We can only speculate what she may have been thinking, but it brought her peace and contentment.

We must never underestimate the power of this prayer which Jesus used to teach his disciples how to pray.  Its proclamation of the holiness and omnipotence of God, and its petitions that God’s will to be done on this earth, that our daily needs be provided, that our sins be forgiven as we forgive others, and that we be protected from temptation and evil are a profound and eloquent summation of what counts most in life

Why should we be surprised that this prayer, testifying to the kingdom, glory and power of God, awakens a soul ensnared in the darkness of Alzheimer’s disease?

St. Paul declared, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power.” (1 Co. 4:20)  There is power in the Lord’s Prayer and God’s word.  May we all be awakened!