MARK 1:14-20
IN TODAY'S GOSPEL FROM MARK WE HAVE THE STORY OF JESUS CALLING FOUR DISCIPLES, PETER AND ANDREW, AND JAMES AND JOHN. IN BOTH CASES, THEY WERE INVOLVED IN THEIR TRADE, FISHING, AND WHEN HE CALLED THEM THEY FOLLOWED HIM. BUT WHAT ABOUT LAST WEEK? THAT WAS FROM THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, AND IT'S A VERY DIFFERENT STORY. JOHN THE BAPTIST POINTS TO JESUS AND SAYS, “THERE GOES THE LAMB OF GOD” AND ANDREW AND ANOTHER DISCIPLE OF JOHN'S START WALKING BEHIND JESUS, WHO SAYS, “WHAT DO YOU WANT?” AND THEY ANSWER, “WE WANT TO SEE WHERE YOU LIVE”. AND JESUS SAYS, “COME AND SEE”. THEN ANDREW GOES AND BRINGS PETER TO JESUS, SAYING, “WE HAVE FOUND THE MESSIAH.”
SO WHAT'S GOING ON? WHICH STORY IS TRUE? THEY CAN'T BOTH BE, CAN THEY? I THINK THEY CAN BE, AND IF WE LOOK AT THEM A LITTLE DEEPER WE WILL SEE HOW THE TWO STORIES MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH OUR OWN LIVES.
SOMEWHERE DURING HIS HIDDEN YEARS, JESUS MOVED FROM NAZARETH TO CAPARNUM. MAYBE IT WAS AFTER ST JOSEPH DIED; MAYBE HE BROUGHT HIS MOTHER. WE DON'T KNOW THE DETAILS, BUT THERE IS LOTS OF EVIDENCE FOR THIS IN THE GOSPELS. THIS IS THE AREA IN WHICH PETER AND ANDREW LIVED AS WELL. IN THE GOSPEL FROM LAST WEEK, ANDREW AND PETER ARE CURIOUS; THEY WANT TO GET TO KNOW THIS MAN THAT JOHN CALLS THE LAMB OF GOD; THEY WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT WHAT MAKES HIM TICK. I SUSPECT THAT OVER TIME THEY FORMED A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM, AND THE SAME MIGHT BE SAID FOR JAMES AND JOHN.
THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS. IN ANY HUMAN RELATIONSHIP, GOOD OR BAD, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT TWO PERSONS WHO HAVE AN EFFECT ON EACH OTHER'S LIFE. IT MAY BE THE RELATIONSHIP OF ACQUAINTANCES, WHERE YOU SAY “HELLO” WHEN YOU SEE THE OTHER PERSON. OR IT MIGHT BE FRIENDSHIP, WHERE YOU HAVE REGARD FOR THE OTHER PERSON, KNOW THEM PRETTY WELL, ACCEPT THEM AS THEY ARE, EVEN WHEN THEY DON'T THINK THE WAY YOU DO. IT MAY BE A RELATIONSHIP BASED ON LOVE, AS IN THE CASE OF A HUSBAND AND WIFE, OR A PARENT AND A CHILD. JESUS LOVES EACH OF US MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE EVER COULD; WE MAY IN FACT RECIPROCATE THIS LOVE TO SOME DEGREE OR ANOTHER, AND THAT WOULD BE A RELATIONSHIP. IN OUR PARISH WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO COME TO CHURCH ON CHRISTMAS AND EASTER, AND SOME WHO ARE HERE DAILY. WHETHER ALL YOU KNOW IS THAT JESUS EXISTS, OR IF YOU ARE MADLY IN LOVE WITH HIM, YOU HAVE A RELATIONSHIP.
IN THE FIRST STORY, PETER DEVELOPS A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS BECAUSE HE KNOWS AND TRUSTS ANDREW, AT LEAST ENOUGH TO AROUSE HIS OWN CURIOSITY. YOU AND I NEED TO REMEMBER THAT WE ARE BRIDGES TO JESUS AS WELL; PEOPLE WHO HAVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH US ARE THOSE THAT WE CAN HOPE WILL DEVELOP A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS.
THE SECOND STORY IS VERY DIFFERENT. I BELIEVE PETER, ANDREW JAMES AND JOHN HAVE KNOWN JESUS FOR A WHILE. THEY'VE HEARD HIM PREACH, THEY'VE SEEN A MIRACLE OR TWO, AND THEY PROBABLY CONSIDER HIM A FRIEND. IT'S AT THIS POINT THAT JESUS SAYS, “COME FOLLOW ME” AND ADDS THE PROMISE, “I WILL MAKE YOU FISHERS OF MEN.” IT IS THEN THAT PETER AND ANDREW DROP THEIR NETS, JAMES AND JOHN LEAVE THEIR FATHER AND THE HIRED MEN – AND MARK SAYS THIS HAPPENS “IMMEDIATELY”. THIS IS THE POINT AT WHICH THE FOUR APOSTLES COMMIT TO ACTUALLY BECOMING DISCIPLES. NOTICE THAT BEING A DISCIPLE IS MUCH MORE THAN BEING IN A RELATIONSHIP. YOU HAVE TO BE IN A RELATIONSHIP TO BE A DISCIPLE, BUT YOU ALSO HAVE TO FOLLOW THE MASTER. THAT MEANS YOU'VE RESOLVED TO LEARN ALL YOU CAN FROM HIM, AND IMITATE HIM IN HOW YOU LIVE YOUR OWN LIFE. BEING A DISCIPLE IS GOING TO BE PAINFUL. YOU HAVE TO CHANGE YOURSELF, YOU HAVE TO LET SOMEONE ELSE TELL YOU WHAT YOU SHOULD DO; AND THE MORE YOU WORK ON DISCIPLESHIP, THE MORE YOUR FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES ARE GOING TO BE DISTURBED. BEING A DISCIPLE IS GOING TO HAVE ITS SHARE OF LONELINESS, OF BEING MISUNDERSTOOD.
BUT WHY BE A DISCIPLE? JESUS ANSWERS THAT AS WELL – SO THAT YOU CAN BE A FISHER OF MEN. BEING A DISCIPLE ISN'T ABOUT GETTING TO HEAVEN, IT'S ABOUT BRINGING HEAVEN TO EARTH, BRINGING THE KINGDOM OF GOD TO OTHER PEOPLE. AND THAT ISN'T EASY EITHER, BUT IT IS CERTAINLY REWARDING, IT CERTAINLY BRINGS JOY. SOMEONE WHO IS A DISCIPLE HAS SET OUT ON THE ONE PATH THAT WILL SATISFY HIS DEEPEST LONGINGS – BECAUSE WE WERE MADE IN GOD'S IMAGE AND LIKENESS, TO CARRY OUT GOD'S PLAN, AND WHEN WE DON'T DO THIS, WE MISS THE POINT OF BEING ALIVE, BEING HUMAN.
DO YOU REMEMBER THE STORY OF THE RICH YOUNG MAN? WHEN HE TOLD JESUS THAT HE HAD FOLLOWED THE COMMANDMENTS FROM HIS YOUTH, IT SAYS JESUS LOOKED AT HIM AND LOVED HIM. THERE WAS A RELATIONSHIP THERE. BUT WHEN JESUS INVITED HIM TO BE A DISCIPLE, HE WENT AWAY SAD, BECAUSE HE HAD MANY POSSESSIONS; UNLIKE PETER AND ANDREW, HE WAS AFRAID TO DROP HIS NETS.
SO WE HAVE TWO STORIES THAT AT FIRST SEEM CONTRADICTORY; BUT IN ONE, THE DISCIPLES WANT TO FORM A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS; THEY WANT TO SEE WHERE HE LIVES, WHY HE DOES WHAT HE DOES, WHY JOHN CALLS HIM THE LAMB OF GOD. OVER TIME, WE MIGHT ASSUME, THEY BECOME HIS FRIENDS, AND HE, THEIRS. AND THEN ONE DAY, HE INVITES THEM TO BE HIS DISCIPLES, AND THEY MUST MAKE A LIFE-CHANGING DECISION, NOT KNOWING WHAT WILL HAPPEN, BUT TRUSTING THIS PERSON, THIS FRIEND THIS MAN WHO THEY HAVE COME TO KNOW. AND THEY MAKE THE DECISION, THEY DROP THEIR NETS AND FOLLOW HIM.
A DISCIPLE IS SOMEONE WHO CONSCIOUSLY TRIES TO LEARN WHAT JESUS HAS TO TEACH, AND TRIES TO CHANGE HIS OR HER LIFE SO THAT THOSE TEACHINGS ARE PUT INTO PRACTICE; AND PART OF FOLLOWING JESUS AS A DISCIPLE IS TO DO WHAT HE DID, WHICH IS TO SERVE, TO HEAL, TO BRING ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. SOMEONE WHO GOES AROUND AND TALKS ABOUT DISCIPLESHIP ALWAYS ASKS THE PASTORS SHE MEETS WHAT FRACTION OF HIS PARISH HE ESTIMATES TO BE REAL DISCIPLES? THE USUAL ANSWER IS ABOUT 5%. JESUS CALLS THOSE OF US WHO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM TO DISCIPLESHIP. TODAY WE SHOULD ASK OURSELVES WHETHER WE HAVE DROPPED OUR NETS AND FOLLOWED HIM, OR GONE AWAY SAD BECAUSE WE DON'T REALLY WANT TO MAKE THE COMMITMENT.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, cycle B
JOHN 1:35-42
WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE I WAS A BIOLOGY MAJOR, BUT I WAS FASCINATED BY THEOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY AS WELL, SO I MINORED IN PHILOSOPHY. IN MEDICAL SCHOOL I HAD A SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR, AND I REMEMBER TRYING TO GET HIM TO DISCUSS WITH ME SOME OF THE QUESTIONS I HAD ABOUT THEOLOGY. I WAS CURIOUS AND WANTED TO SATISFY MY HUNGER FOR KNOWLEDGE. BUT, EVEN THOUGH HE HAD A DOCTORATE IN THEOLOGY, HE SHOWED NO INTEREST IN ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS. HE KEPT LEADING ME BACK TO FIGURING OUT WHERE I WAS IN MY SPIRITUAL GROWTH AND WHAT I NEEDED TO DO TO GROW. IT TOOK ME A LONG TIME TO FIGURE OUT THAT THIS WAS A LOT MORE IMPORTANT THAN KNOWING STUFF.
TODAY, WE HAVE AN EXAMPLE IN THE GOSPEL OF DIFFICULTIES TRANSLATING SOMETHING FROM GREEK INTO ENGLISH. WHEN JESUS ASKS ANDREW AND THE OTHER DISCIPLE OF JOHN “WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?” THEY REPLY, “WHERE ARE YOU STAYING?” NOW THAT SEEMS LIKE A STRANGE QUESTION. IF TWO STRANGERS WERE FOLLOWING ME AND ASKED ME THAT QUESTION, I MIGHT BECOME HIGHLY SUSPICIOUS ABOUT WHY THEY WANTED TO KNOW WHERE I LIVED. AND EVEN IF JESUS WASN'T PUT OFF BY THEIR QUESTION, HE COULD HAVE JUST SAID, “I LIVE AT 21 FRONT STREET IN CAPARNUM” AND GONE ON.
THE POINT IS, THE DISCIPLES WERE USING A WORD THAT IS TRANSLATED IN OTHER PARTS OF SCRIPTURE AS ABIDE, REMAIN IN, LIVE, ENDURE, AWAIT, CONTINUE – AND ONE OF THE REASONS OLDER TRANSLATIONS OF THE BIBLE USE THE ODD WORD “ABIDE” IS BECAUSE THE GREEK WORD IS NOT EASILY TRANSLATED. JOHN'S GOSPEL USES THIS WORD OVER AND OVER AGAIN – 69 TIMES. HE MUST MEAN SOMETHING BY IT, BECAUSE NOWHERE ELSE IN SCRIPTURE DO YOU HAVE THAT WORD USED NEARLY SO OFTEN. IN THIS PASSAGE ALONE, YOU WOULD HEAR IT THREE TIMES – WHERE DO YOU ABIDE? AND THEN, “SO THEY WENT AND SAW WHERE JESUS WAS ABIDING, AND THEY ABIDED WITH HIM THAT DAY. SO MAYBE THE DISCIPLES MEANT SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN “WHERE ARE YOU STAYING.” THEY MIGHT HAVE MEANT “WHY ARE YOU THE LAMB OF GOD?” OR “WHAT MAKES YOU TICK, JESUS?” THEY WANTED THEIR CURIOSITY SATISFIED. AND JESUS DID NOT GIVE THEM A STRAIGHT ANSWER, HE SAID, “COME AND SEE.” IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT I AM ALL ABOUT, YOU CAN ONLY LEARN THIS FIRST-HAND, BY FOLLOWING ME AROUND.”
ALL OF US CATHOLICS SHOULD BE INTERESTED IN SPREADING THE GOSPEL. MOST OF US TRY TO LIVE OUR GOSPEL VALUES IN OUR LIVES. UNFORTUNATELY, ALTHOUGH WE TRY TO BE ETHICAL AND AVOID COMMITTING SINS, WE TEND TO BE VERY QUIET ABOUT WHAT MAKES US TICK. BUT NOW AND THEN, SOMEONE IS CURIOUS, AND ASKS OF US, “WHY DO YOU BELIEVE THAT STUFF? WHAT GOOD IS RELIGION? WHY ARE YOU A CATHOLIC? AND OTHER QUESTIONS ALONG THOSE LINES. THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE, INCLUDING OUR CHILDREN, WHO DON'T KNOW WHY ANYONE WOULD BELIEVE WHAT WE BELIEVE OR SPEND TIME EVERY SUNDAY SITTING IN A PEW AND PARTICIPATING IN AN OLD RITUAL. THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO DON'T SEE WHY ANYONE SHOULD EMBRACE VALUES THAT WE ASSOCIATE WITH OUR CHURCH – BEING PRO-LIFE, LOOKING AFTER THE POOR, THE ELDERLY, THE DISADVANTAGED; GIVING SOME OF OUR MONEY AWAY TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE; FASTING DURING LENT, CELEBRATING EASTER – THE LIST GOES ON. WE LIVE IN A SECULAR SOCIETY TODAY; WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, ABOUT 90% OF AMERICANS CLAIMED TO BE AFFILIATED WITH A RELIGION, AND MOST WERE CHRISTIAN, AT LEAST VAGUELY FAMILIAR WITH THE GOSPEL STORY. TODAY, AMONG THOSE UNDER 30, INCLUDING PEOPLE WHO WERE RAISED IN CATHOLIC FAMILIES, THAT NUMBER IS MORE LIKE 50%. AND MANY OF THESE AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH THE STORY OF JESUS. BUT THESE PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO SERIOUS TIES TO RELIGION ARE CURIOUS, AND SOME WILL ASK, “WHAT MAKES YOU TICK?” WHERE DO YOU GET ALL THIS? WHAT IS BEHIND HOW YOU LIVE?”
IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL IF WE INVITED THAT KIND OF QUESTION. IF I SAY GRACE BEFORE MY LUNCH WITH A COLLEAGUE; IF I INVITE SOMEONE TO PRAY WITH ME BEFORE DOING SOMETHING IMPORTANT; IF I SPEAK UP WHEN SOMEONE MAKES AN IGNORANT COMMENT ABOUT THE CHURCH, IF I GO OUT OF MY WAY TO DEFEND SOMEONE WHO IS GETTING UNJUST TREATMENT, WE WILL INVITE THOSE QUESTIONS. AND IF I'M REALLY BOLD, I'LL INVITE QUESTIONS BY ASKING A QUESTION: WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD? AND WHEN THEY BEGIN TO ASK QUESTIONS OF US, WHAT DO WE DO THEN?
JESUS KNEW THAT ANDREW AND THE OTHER DISCIPLE WERE NOT IN A POSITION TO UNDERSTAND WHAT HE HAD TO TEACH THEM, NOT RIGHT THEN. BUT HE ALSO KNEW THAT THE FIRST STEP WAS TO FORM A RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM. AND HE INVITED THEM INTO THAT RELATIONSHIP WHEN HE SAID, “COME AND SEE.” AND THAT'S A MODEL FOR US AS WELL. FOR MOST PEOPLE WHO HAVE LITTLE OR NO CONNECTION TO OUR CATHOLIC FAITH, OUR FORMING A RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM IS THE BRIDGE TO THEM FORMING A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS, WHICH IS THE GOAL OF EVANGELIZING.
AND BESIDE BEING A BRIDGE FOR THEM, WE NEED TO ASK OURSELVES WHAT WE WOULD DO IF THEY SOMEDAY SAID, “I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT YOUR FAITH.” IN THE COURSE OF MY LIFE, I'VE BEEN INVITED TO ATTEND SERVICES IN OTHER CHURCHES; THEY WERE HOPEFUL THAT IF I CAME AND SAW WHAT WAS GOING ON, I'D BECOME ONE OF THEM. WOULD WE INVITE SOMEONE WHO WAS SERIOUS ABOUT FINDING A FAITH INTO OUR CHURCH? WOULD THEY BE WELCOMED, WOULD THEY FIND ENTHUSIASM, WOULD THEY SEE A CONGREGATION WHO TRULY ENTERED INTO WORSHIP – WOULD WE PROUDLY SAY TO THEM, “COME AND SEE?”
ONE OF THE STATISTICS THAT CAME OUT OF A RECENT MASSIVE STUDY ON RELIGON IN AMERICA IS THIS: ON A GIVEN SUNDAY, THERE ARE USUALLY TWO OR THREE PEOPLE WHO COME TO A CATHOLIC MASS OUT OF CURIOSITY; SOME ARE UNCHURCHED, SOME BELONG TO OTHER FAITHS, SOME ARE LAPSED CATHOLICS. ARE YOU AND I DOING ANYTHING TO WELCOME THESE PEOPLE, TO BEGIN TO BUILD A BRIDGE? AND ANOTHER STATISTIC. WHEN YOU STUDY PEOPLE WHO USED TO BE ACTIVE CATHOLICS BUT LEFT THE CHURCH, SOMETIMES TO BECOME ANOTHER KIND OF CHRISTIAN, SOMETIMES TO DROP OUT ENTIRELY, THEY TAKE AN AVERAGE OF TWO YEARS BEFORE MAKING THAT DECISION. DO WE HAVE THE KIND OF PARISH THAT RECOGNIZES THEM AND MINISTERS TO THEM BEFORE THEY MAKE THAT DECISION?
IF THE ANSWER TO THESE QUESTIONS IS NO, THEN PART OF OUR JOB AS EVANGELISTS IS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY TO CHANGE THINGS.
WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE I WAS A BIOLOGY MAJOR, BUT I WAS FASCINATED BY THEOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY AS WELL, SO I MINORED IN PHILOSOPHY. IN MEDICAL SCHOOL I HAD A SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR, AND I REMEMBER TRYING TO GET HIM TO DISCUSS WITH ME SOME OF THE QUESTIONS I HAD ABOUT THEOLOGY. I WAS CURIOUS AND WANTED TO SATISFY MY HUNGER FOR KNOWLEDGE. BUT, EVEN THOUGH HE HAD A DOCTORATE IN THEOLOGY, HE SHOWED NO INTEREST IN ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS. HE KEPT LEADING ME BACK TO FIGURING OUT WHERE I WAS IN MY SPIRITUAL GROWTH AND WHAT I NEEDED TO DO TO GROW. IT TOOK ME A LONG TIME TO FIGURE OUT THAT THIS WAS A LOT MORE IMPORTANT THAN KNOWING STUFF.
TODAY, WE HAVE AN EXAMPLE IN THE GOSPEL OF DIFFICULTIES TRANSLATING SOMETHING FROM GREEK INTO ENGLISH. WHEN JESUS ASKS ANDREW AND THE OTHER DISCIPLE OF JOHN “WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?” THEY REPLY, “WHERE ARE YOU STAYING?” NOW THAT SEEMS LIKE A STRANGE QUESTION. IF TWO STRANGERS WERE FOLLOWING ME AND ASKED ME THAT QUESTION, I MIGHT BECOME HIGHLY SUSPICIOUS ABOUT WHY THEY WANTED TO KNOW WHERE I LIVED. AND EVEN IF JESUS WASN'T PUT OFF BY THEIR QUESTION, HE COULD HAVE JUST SAID, “I LIVE AT 21 FRONT STREET IN CAPARNUM” AND GONE ON.
THE POINT IS, THE DISCIPLES WERE USING A WORD THAT IS TRANSLATED IN OTHER PARTS OF SCRIPTURE AS ABIDE, REMAIN IN, LIVE, ENDURE, AWAIT, CONTINUE – AND ONE OF THE REASONS OLDER TRANSLATIONS OF THE BIBLE USE THE ODD WORD “ABIDE” IS BECAUSE THE GREEK WORD IS NOT EASILY TRANSLATED. JOHN'S GOSPEL USES THIS WORD OVER AND OVER AGAIN – 69 TIMES. HE MUST MEAN SOMETHING BY IT, BECAUSE NOWHERE ELSE IN SCRIPTURE DO YOU HAVE THAT WORD USED NEARLY SO OFTEN. IN THIS PASSAGE ALONE, YOU WOULD HEAR IT THREE TIMES – WHERE DO YOU ABIDE? AND THEN, “SO THEY WENT AND SAW WHERE JESUS WAS ABIDING, AND THEY ABIDED WITH HIM THAT DAY. SO MAYBE THE DISCIPLES MEANT SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN “WHERE ARE YOU STAYING.” THEY MIGHT HAVE MEANT “WHY ARE YOU THE LAMB OF GOD?” OR “WHAT MAKES YOU TICK, JESUS?” THEY WANTED THEIR CURIOSITY SATISFIED. AND JESUS DID NOT GIVE THEM A STRAIGHT ANSWER, HE SAID, “COME AND SEE.” IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT I AM ALL ABOUT, YOU CAN ONLY LEARN THIS FIRST-HAND, BY FOLLOWING ME AROUND.”
ALL OF US CATHOLICS SHOULD BE INTERESTED IN SPREADING THE GOSPEL. MOST OF US TRY TO LIVE OUR GOSPEL VALUES IN OUR LIVES. UNFORTUNATELY, ALTHOUGH WE TRY TO BE ETHICAL AND AVOID COMMITTING SINS, WE TEND TO BE VERY QUIET ABOUT WHAT MAKES US TICK. BUT NOW AND THEN, SOMEONE IS CURIOUS, AND ASKS OF US, “WHY DO YOU BELIEVE THAT STUFF? WHAT GOOD IS RELIGION? WHY ARE YOU A CATHOLIC? AND OTHER QUESTIONS ALONG THOSE LINES. THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE, INCLUDING OUR CHILDREN, WHO DON'T KNOW WHY ANYONE WOULD BELIEVE WHAT WE BELIEVE OR SPEND TIME EVERY SUNDAY SITTING IN A PEW AND PARTICIPATING IN AN OLD RITUAL. THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO DON'T SEE WHY ANYONE SHOULD EMBRACE VALUES THAT WE ASSOCIATE WITH OUR CHURCH – BEING PRO-LIFE, LOOKING AFTER THE POOR, THE ELDERLY, THE DISADVANTAGED; GIVING SOME OF OUR MONEY AWAY TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE; FASTING DURING LENT, CELEBRATING EASTER – THE LIST GOES ON. WE LIVE IN A SECULAR SOCIETY TODAY; WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, ABOUT 90% OF AMERICANS CLAIMED TO BE AFFILIATED WITH A RELIGION, AND MOST WERE CHRISTIAN, AT LEAST VAGUELY FAMILIAR WITH THE GOSPEL STORY. TODAY, AMONG THOSE UNDER 30, INCLUDING PEOPLE WHO WERE RAISED IN CATHOLIC FAMILIES, THAT NUMBER IS MORE LIKE 50%. AND MANY OF THESE AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH THE STORY OF JESUS. BUT THESE PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO SERIOUS TIES TO RELIGION ARE CURIOUS, AND SOME WILL ASK, “WHAT MAKES YOU TICK?” WHERE DO YOU GET ALL THIS? WHAT IS BEHIND HOW YOU LIVE?”
IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL IF WE INVITED THAT KIND OF QUESTION. IF I SAY GRACE BEFORE MY LUNCH WITH A COLLEAGUE; IF I INVITE SOMEONE TO PRAY WITH ME BEFORE DOING SOMETHING IMPORTANT; IF I SPEAK UP WHEN SOMEONE MAKES AN IGNORANT COMMENT ABOUT THE CHURCH, IF I GO OUT OF MY WAY TO DEFEND SOMEONE WHO IS GETTING UNJUST TREATMENT, WE WILL INVITE THOSE QUESTIONS. AND IF I'M REALLY BOLD, I'LL INVITE QUESTIONS BY ASKING A QUESTION: WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD? AND WHEN THEY BEGIN TO ASK QUESTIONS OF US, WHAT DO WE DO THEN?
JESUS KNEW THAT ANDREW AND THE OTHER DISCIPLE WERE NOT IN A POSITION TO UNDERSTAND WHAT HE HAD TO TEACH THEM, NOT RIGHT THEN. BUT HE ALSO KNEW THAT THE FIRST STEP WAS TO FORM A RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM. AND HE INVITED THEM INTO THAT RELATIONSHIP WHEN HE SAID, “COME AND SEE.” AND THAT'S A MODEL FOR US AS WELL. FOR MOST PEOPLE WHO HAVE LITTLE OR NO CONNECTION TO OUR CATHOLIC FAITH, OUR FORMING A RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM IS THE BRIDGE TO THEM FORMING A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS, WHICH IS THE GOAL OF EVANGELIZING.
AND BESIDE BEING A BRIDGE FOR THEM, WE NEED TO ASK OURSELVES WHAT WE WOULD DO IF THEY SOMEDAY SAID, “I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT YOUR FAITH.” IN THE COURSE OF MY LIFE, I'VE BEEN INVITED TO ATTEND SERVICES IN OTHER CHURCHES; THEY WERE HOPEFUL THAT IF I CAME AND SAW WHAT WAS GOING ON, I'D BECOME ONE OF THEM. WOULD WE INVITE SOMEONE WHO WAS SERIOUS ABOUT FINDING A FAITH INTO OUR CHURCH? WOULD THEY BE WELCOMED, WOULD THEY FIND ENTHUSIASM, WOULD THEY SEE A CONGREGATION WHO TRULY ENTERED INTO WORSHIP – WOULD WE PROUDLY SAY TO THEM, “COME AND SEE?”
ONE OF THE STATISTICS THAT CAME OUT OF A RECENT MASSIVE STUDY ON RELIGON IN AMERICA IS THIS: ON A GIVEN SUNDAY, THERE ARE USUALLY TWO OR THREE PEOPLE WHO COME TO A CATHOLIC MASS OUT OF CURIOSITY; SOME ARE UNCHURCHED, SOME BELONG TO OTHER FAITHS, SOME ARE LAPSED CATHOLICS. ARE YOU AND I DOING ANYTHING TO WELCOME THESE PEOPLE, TO BEGIN TO BUILD A BRIDGE? AND ANOTHER STATISTIC. WHEN YOU STUDY PEOPLE WHO USED TO BE ACTIVE CATHOLICS BUT LEFT THE CHURCH, SOMETIMES TO BECOME ANOTHER KIND OF CHRISTIAN, SOMETIMES TO DROP OUT ENTIRELY, THEY TAKE AN AVERAGE OF TWO YEARS BEFORE MAKING THAT DECISION. DO WE HAVE THE KIND OF PARISH THAT RECOGNIZES THEM AND MINISTERS TO THEM BEFORE THEY MAKE THAT DECISION?
IF THE ANSWER TO THESE QUESTIONS IS NO, THEN PART OF OUR JOB AS EVANGELISTS IS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY TO CHANGE THINGS.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Baptism of the Lord, 2015
MARK 1:7-11
I KNOW AN ELDERLY MAN WHO SPENDS MUCH OF HIS TIME WITH HIS WIFE, WHO HAS SEVERE ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. I DON'T THINK SHE'S EVEN AWARE THAT HE'S THERE, AT LEAST NOT IN ANY WAY YOU COULD DETECT. HE COULD BE DOING OTHER THINGS, AND SHE WOULDN'T KNOW. BUT HE'S THERE, BEING PRESENT TO HER, ACCEPTING HE AS SHE IS. I DON'T KNOW IF HE'S DOING HER ANY GOOD, BUT SHE ALLOWS HIM TO FEED HER HER LUNCH, AND WHEN HE'S THERE SHE IS CALM. WHEN HE'S NOT, SHE SEEMS A BIT ANXIOUS AND HAS MOMENTS OF AGITATION. HIS PRESENCE SEEMS TO HAVE A POSITIVE EFFECT ON HER.
TO A GREATER OR LESS DEGREE, MOST OF US DESIRE TO BE ACCEPTED. IT MOTIVATES US, ESPECIALLY IN THE EARLY PART OF OUR LIVES. WHEN A NEW BABY IS BORN INTO A FAMILY, THE OLDER SIBLINGS OFTEN CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIORS – SOMETIMES FOR THE WORSE, CALLING ATTENTION TO THEMSELVES, SOMETIMES FOR THE BETTER, HOPING TO DRAW SOME OF THAT ATTENTION AWAY FROM THE BABY TO THEMSELVES. AND THIS GOES ON; THE DESIRE TO BE ACCEPTED BY PEERS IS FELT ACUTELY BY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. CLIQUES QUICKLY FORM; THE ATHLETES, THE POPULAR KIDS, THE NON CONFORMISTS, THE GEEKS – AND EVEN THE GEEKS NEED ACCEPTANCE – I KNOW, BECAUSE I WAS ONE. THE DESIRE FOR ACCEPTANCE SOMETIMES IMPACTS ON YOUR LIFE CHOICES. YOU FIND THAT OTHERS ENCOURAGE YOU TO PURSUE THIS PATH OR THAT IN LIFE, AND WHEN YOU DO, YOU FEEL ACCEPTANCE. WHEN WE GET MARRIED THAT'S DRIVEN IN PART BY THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ACCEPTED BY SOMEONE YOU HAVE COME TO REALLY LOVE.
PEOPLE WHO FEEL ACCEPTED SEEM TO HAVE ADVANTAGES OVER THOSE WHO DON'T. THEY ARE MORE RELAXED FOR ONE THING, MORE SELF-CONFIDENT. AND FROM THAT VANTAGE POINT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF ACCOMPLISHING MORE. STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT WHEN YOU FEEL ACCEPTED, YOU PASS ON THIS ACCEPTANCE TO OTHERS; THAT'S ESPECIALLY TRUE IN FAMILIES WHERE THE PARENTS HAVE A LOVING AND STRONG RELATIONSHIP; THE CHILDREN SEEM TO DO BETTER IN ALL WAYS ON THE AVERAGE.
TODAY WE SEE A TURNING POINT IN THE LIFE OF JESUS. SINCE THE BEGINNING OF CHRISTIANITY PEOPLE HAVE ASKED, WHY DID JESUS ALLOW HIMSELF TO BE BAPTIZED? HE HAD NOTHING FROM WHICH TO REPENT – HE WAS SINLESS. DID HE GET BAPTIZED AS AN EXAMPLE FOR US? BUT THEN HE WOULD JUST BE GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS. THAT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE JESUS.
WHEN WE THINK OF HIS BAPTISM, THOUGH, WE NEED TO REMEMBER THAT HE WAS A HUMAN BEING. WE CHRISTIANS HAVE A HARD TIME WITH THIS IDEA; WE TEND TO BE DOCETISTS – HERETICS WHO BELIEVED THAT GOD THE SON APPEARED TO BE A HUMAN BEING, BUT WASN'T REALLY. BUT IF JESUS IS REALLY A HUMAN BEING, HE'S LIKE YOU AND I AND HAS CERTAIN PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS AS WELL AS PHYSICAL ONES. JESUS NEEDED TO KNOW THAT HE WAS ACCEPTED.
JESUS UNDERWENT BAPTISM IN ONE SENSE BECAUSE HE WANTED TO BE IN SOLIDARITY WITH HUMAN BEINGS. EVEN THOUGH HE WAS SINLESS, HE WANTED TO ACCEPT IN HIMSELF THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR SINS. EVEN THOUGH HE MIGHT HAVE CALLED UPON ANGELS TO ATTEND TO HIS NEEDS, HE CHOSE TO MEET THOSE NEEDS LIKE HUMAN BEINGS DID, THROUGH HIS OWN EFFORTS. HE LED OUR LIFE SO THAT WE COULD LEAD HIS; THAT'S THE MEANING OF HOLY COMMUNION, WHEN WE INVITE JESUS TO BECOME ONE WITH US.
BUT ON ANOTHER LEVEL, JESUS' BAPTISM WAS A MOMENT WHEN HE FELT THE ACCEPTANCE OF GOD THE FATHER, WHEN HE HEARD THE WORDS “YOU ARE MY BELOVED SON, IN YOU I AM WELL PLEASED.” THE REST OF HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY WAS A CONSEQUENCE OF THIS PROFOUND ACCEPTANCE – HE WENT ABOUT SHOWING PEOPLE THAT NO MATTER HOW DEFORMED, ILL, SINFUL OR HOPELESS, JESUS ACCEPTED YOU, AND SINCE JESUS WAS GOD, WHEN HE ACCEPTED YOU, IT WAS A SIGN THAT THE FATHER DID AS WELL. IN A SHORT TIME WE WILL WATCH THAT SCENE WHERE JESUS STRETCHES OUT HIS HAND AND TOUCHES A LEPER. THAT WAS UNHEARD OF, THAT WAS AGAINST ALL THE RULES; BUT JESUS, WHO FELT THE DEEP AND ABIDING ACCEPTANCE OF THE FATHER, COULD REACH OUT AND ACCEPT THIS POOR CREATURE. ON THE CROSS JESUS CRIED OUT, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORESAKEN ME?” AND PERHAPS IN THAT MOMENT THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE FATHER WAS NO LONGER FELT; BUT HIS COMPOSURE SOON RETURNED AND HE SAID, “INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMEND MY SPIRIT”.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE CHRISTIANS NEED TO KEEP GOING BACK TO. MOST OF US DON'T REMEMBER OUR BAPTISM. I HAVE A CERTIFICATE AT HOME THAT I COULD LOOK AT SO THAT I WOULD AT LEAST KNOW THE DAY I WAS BAPTIZED AND BY WHOM. BUT I HAVE NO PERSONAL MEMORY OF IT. BUT THERE IS SOMETHING WE ALL SHOULD REFLECT ON. WHEN WE WERE BAPTIZED, WE, LIKE JESUS, WERE ACCEPTED BY THE FATHER. AND LIKE JESUS, THAT ACCEPTANCE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT WE HAD DONE OR WHO WE WERE. JESUS RECEIVED THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE FATHER BEFORE HE STARTED HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY; THE FATHER CALLED HIM “SON” AT THAT MOMENT, NOT BECAUSE OF WHAT HE WOULD DO, BUT BECAUSE OF WHO HE WAS. AND HE DOES THE SAME WITH US. IF I HAD SUPERNATURAL HEARING WHEN I WAS BAPTIZED, I WOULD HAVE HEARD THE SAME LOVING STATEMENT FROM THE FATHER; “YOU ARE MY BELOVED, IN YOU I AM WELL PLEASED.”
IF WE TRULY UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE HIS BELOVED SONS AND DAUGHTERS, IT SHOULD HAVE AN EFFECT ON OUR OWN BEHAVIOR. INSTEAD OF TRYING TO PLEASE GOD TO WIN HIS FAVOR, THE MOTIVE FOR OUR GOOD WORKS SHOULD BE OUT OF GRATITUDE THAT WE ARE LOVED AND THAT WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE LIKE OUR FATHER. IF WE TRULY UNDERSTAND THAT GOD ACCEPTS US WITHOUT RESERVE, THAT HE COULDN'T LOVE US MORE THAN HE DOES, REGARDLESS OF WHAT WE DO, THEN WE SHOULD HAVE A DESIRE TO HELP OTHERS REALIZE THIS AS WELL. AND IF WE REALLY KNOW IN OUR HEARTS THAT WE ARE LOVED, THEN WE BEGIN TO SEE EACH OTHER THROUGH OUR FATHER'S EYES – THAT THIS ONE IS HIS BELOVED, AND SO IS THAT ONE.
SO TODAY MEDITATE ON YOUR OWN BAPTISM, AND TRY TO HEAR THOSE WORDS WHICH THE FATHER SPOKE TO YOU THEN, AND SPEAKS TO YOU EVEN NOW, “YOU ARE MY BELOVED, IN YOU I AM WELL PLEASED.” AND WHEN YOU ALLOW YOURSELF TO ACCEPT THIS AS ABSOLUTELY AND UNCONDITIONALLY TRUE, IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
I KNOW AN ELDERLY MAN WHO SPENDS MUCH OF HIS TIME WITH HIS WIFE, WHO HAS SEVERE ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. I DON'T THINK SHE'S EVEN AWARE THAT HE'S THERE, AT LEAST NOT IN ANY WAY YOU COULD DETECT. HE COULD BE DOING OTHER THINGS, AND SHE WOULDN'T KNOW. BUT HE'S THERE, BEING PRESENT TO HER, ACCEPTING HE AS SHE IS. I DON'T KNOW IF HE'S DOING HER ANY GOOD, BUT SHE ALLOWS HIM TO FEED HER HER LUNCH, AND WHEN HE'S THERE SHE IS CALM. WHEN HE'S NOT, SHE SEEMS A BIT ANXIOUS AND HAS MOMENTS OF AGITATION. HIS PRESENCE SEEMS TO HAVE A POSITIVE EFFECT ON HER.
TO A GREATER OR LESS DEGREE, MOST OF US DESIRE TO BE ACCEPTED. IT MOTIVATES US, ESPECIALLY IN THE EARLY PART OF OUR LIVES. WHEN A NEW BABY IS BORN INTO A FAMILY, THE OLDER SIBLINGS OFTEN CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIORS – SOMETIMES FOR THE WORSE, CALLING ATTENTION TO THEMSELVES, SOMETIMES FOR THE BETTER, HOPING TO DRAW SOME OF THAT ATTENTION AWAY FROM THE BABY TO THEMSELVES. AND THIS GOES ON; THE DESIRE TO BE ACCEPTED BY PEERS IS FELT ACUTELY BY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. CLIQUES QUICKLY FORM; THE ATHLETES, THE POPULAR KIDS, THE NON CONFORMISTS, THE GEEKS – AND EVEN THE GEEKS NEED ACCEPTANCE – I KNOW, BECAUSE I WAS ONE. THE DESIRE FOR ACCEPTANCE SOMETIMES IMPACTS ON YOUR LIFE CHOICES. YOU FIND THAT OTHERS ENCOURAGE YOU TO PURSUE THIS PATH OR THAT IN LIFE, AND WHEN YOU DO, YOU FEEL ACCEPTANCE. WHEN WE GET MARRIED THAT'S DRIVEN IN PART BY THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ACCEPTED BY SOMEONE YOU HAVE COME TO REALLY LOVE.
PEOPLE WHO FEEL ACCEPTED SEEM TO HAVE ADVANTAGES OVER THOSE WHO DON'T. THEY ARE MORE RELAXED FOR ONE THING, MORE SELF-CONFIDENT. AND FROM THAT VANTAGE POINT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF ACCOMPLISHING MORE. STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT WHEN YOU FEEL ACCEPTED, YOU PASS ON THIS ACCEPTANCE TO OTHERS; THAT'S ESPECIALLY TRUE IN FAMILIES WHERE THE PARENTS HAVE A LOVING AND STRONG RELATIONSHIP; THE CHILDREN SEEM TO DO BETTER IN ALL WAYS ON THE AVERAGE.
TODAY WE SEE A TURNING POINT IN THE LIFE OF JESUS. SINCE THE BEGINNING OF CHRISTIANITY PEOPLE HAVE ASKED, WHY DID JESUS ALLOW HIMSELF TO BE BAPTIZED? HE HAD NOTHING FROM WHICH TO REPENT – HE WAS SINLESS. DID HE GET BAPTIZED AS AN EXAMPLE FOR US? BUT THEN HE WOULD JUST BE GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS. THAT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE JESUS.
WHEN WE THINK OF HIS BAPTISM, THOUGH, WE NEED TO REMEMBER THAT HE WAS A HUMAN BEING. WE CHRISTIANS HAVE A HARD TIME WITH THIS IDEA; WE TEND TO BE DOCETISTS – HERETICS WHO BELIEVED THAT GOD THE SON APPEARED TO BE A HUMAN BEING, BUT WASN'T REALLY. BUT IF JESUS IS REALLY A HUMAN BEING, HE'S LIKE YOU AND I AND HAS CERTAIN PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS AS WELL AS PHYSICAL ONES. JESUS NEEDED TO KNOW THAT HE WAS ACCEPTED.
JESUS UNDERWENT BAPTISM IN ONE SENSE BECAUSE HE WANTED TO BE IN SOLIDARITY WITH HUMAN BEINGS. EVEN THOUGH HE WAS SINLESS, HE WANTED TO ACCEPT IN HIMSELF THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR SINS. EVEN THOUGH HE MIGHT HAVE CALLED UPON ANGELS TO ATTEND TO HIS NEEDS, HE CHOSE TO MEET THOSE NEEDS LIKE HUMAN BEINGS DID, THROUGH HIS OWN EFFORTS. HE LED OUR LIFE SO THAT WE COULD LEAD HIS; THAT'S THE MEANING OF HOLY COMMUNION, WHEN WE INVITE JESUS TO BECOME ONE WITH US.
BUT ON ANOTHER LEVEL, JESUS' BAPTISM WAS A MOMENT WHEN HE FELT THE ACCEPTANCE OF GOD THE FATHER, WHEN HE HEARD THE WORDS “YOU ARE MY BELOVED SON, IN YOU I AM WELL PLEASED.” THE REST OF HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY WAS A CONSEQUENCE OF THIS PROFOUND ACCEPTANCE – HE WENT ABOUT SHOWING PEOPLE THAT NO MATTER HOW DEFORMED, ILL, SINFUL OR HOPELESS, JESUS ACCEPTED YOU, AND SINCE JESUS WAS GOD, WHEN HE ACCEPTED YOU, IT WAS A SIGN THAT THE FATHER DID AS WELL. IN A SHORT TIME WE WILL WATCH THAT SCENE WHERE JESUS STRETCHES OUT HIS HAND AND TOUCHES A LEPER. THAT WAS UNHEARD OF, THAT WAS AGAINST ALL THE RULES; BUT JESUS, WHO FELT THE DEEP AND ABIDING ACCEPTANCE OF THE FATHER, COULD REACH OUT AND ACCEPT THIS POOR CREATURE. ON THE CROSS JESUS CRIED OUT, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORESAKEN ME?” AND PERHAPS IN THAT MOMENT THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE FATHER WAS NO LONGER FELT; BUT HIS COMPOSURE SOON RETURNED AND HE SAID, “INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMEND MY SPIRIT”.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE CHRISTIANS NEED TO KEEP GOING BACK TO. MOST OF US DON'T REMEMBER OUR BAPTISM. I HAVE A CERTIFICATE AT HOME THAT I COULD LOOK AT SO THAT I WOULD AT LEAST KNOW THE DAY I WAS BAPTIZED AND BY WHOM. BUT I HAVE NO PERSONAL MEMORY OF IT. BUT THERE IS SOMETHING WE ALL SHOULD REFLECT ON. WHEN WE WERE BAPTIZED, WE, LIKE JESUS, WERE ACCEPTED BY THE FATHER. AND LIKE JESUS, THAT ACCEPTANCE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT WE HAD DONE OR WHO WE WERE. JESUS RECEIVED THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE FATHER BEFORE HE STARTED HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY; THE FATHER CALLED HIM “SON” AT THAT MOMENT, NOT BECAUSE OF WHAT HE WOULD DO, BUT BECAUSE OF WHO HE WAS. AND HE DOES THE SAME WITH US. IF I HAD SUPERNATURAL HEARING WHEN I WAS BAPTIZED, I WOULD HAVE HEARD THE SAME LOVING STATEMENT FROM THE FATHER; “YOU ARE MY BELOVED, IN YOU I AM WELL PLEASED.”
IF WE TRULY UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE HIS BELOVED SONS AND DAUGHTERS, IT SHOULD HAVE AN EFFECT ON OUR OWN BEHAVIOR. INSTEAD OF TRYING TO PLEASE GOD TO WIN HIS FAVOR, THE MOTIVE FOR OUR GOOD WORKS SHOULD BE OUT OF GRATITUDE THAT WE ARE LOVED AND THAT WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE LIKE OUR FATHER. IF WE TRULY UNDERSTAND THAT GOD ACCEPTS US WITHOUT RESERVE, THAT HE COULDN'T LOVE US MORE THAN HE DOES, REGARDLESS OF WHAT WE DO, THEN WE SHOULD HAVE A DESIRE TO HELP OTHERS REALIZE THIS AS WELL. AND IF WE REALLY KNOW IN OUR HEARTS THAT WE ARE LOVED, THEN WE BEGIN TO SEE EACH OTHER THROUGH OUR FATHER'S EYES – THAT THIS ONE IS HIS BELOVED, AND SO IS THAT ONE.
SO TODAY MEDITATE ON YOUR OWN BAPTISM, AND TRY TO HEAR THOSE WORDS WHICH THE FATHER SPOKE TO YOU THEN, AND SPEAKS TO YOU EVEN NOW, “YOU ARE MY BELOVED, IN YOU I AM WELL PLEASED.” AND WHEN YOU ALLOW YOURSELF TO ACCEPT THIS AS ABSOLUTELY AND UNCONDITIONALLY TRUE, IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Feast of the Epiphany, 2015
MATTHEW 2:1-12
THE GOSPEL STORY WE'VE JUST HEARD SETS UP AN INTERESTING CONTRAST. ON THE ONE HAND, THERE ARE SOME PAGANS FROM THE EAST, WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE ARISTOCRACY. THE MAGI IN PERSIAN SOCIETY WERE WISE MEN, ADVISORS TO THE RULERS; THEY WERE SCIENTISTS, GOOD AT OBSERVING NATURE; AND THEY WERE PROBABLY THE EQUIVALENT OF PRIESTS, OFFICIATING IN THE CEREMONIES OF THEIR RELIGION. IN OTHER WORDS, LIFE WAS GOOD FOR THEM. YOU WOULD NOT EXPECT THEM TO PACK EVERYTHING UP AND TAKE A JOURNEY OF NEARLY A THOUSAND MILES ONE WAY. THAT WOULD BE A MAJOR HARDSHIP AND TAKE A GREAT DEAL OF TIME. IT WOULD BE DANGEROUS AS WELL. AND WHY DID THEY DO IT? THEY HAD OBSERVED A STAR IN THE SKY AND WONDERED WHAT IT MEANT, AND AFTER THINKING ABOUT IT, STUDYING THE HOLY BOOKS THEY HAD AVAILABLE TO THEM, PROBABLY EVEN PRAYED, AND CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THIS ALL POINTED TO AN EVENT OF GREAT IMPORTANCE – THE BIRTH OF THE NEWBORN KING OF THE JEWS. AND THEY DECIDED THAT THEY WERE BEING CALLED TO HONOR HIM AND BRING HIM GIFTS, PRECISELY, GOLD BECAUSE HE WAS KING; FRANKINCENSE BECAUSE HE WOULD BE THE GREAT HIGH PRIEST; AND MYRHH, BECAUSE HE WOULD ACCOMPLISH HIS DESTINY THROUGH HIS OWN DEATH. EACH OF THEM HAD A GIFT TO BRING.
HEROD AND ALL JERUSALEM, HOWEVER, WERE TROUBLED. THEY TOO WERE AWARE THAT SOMETHING BIG WAS HAPPENING. AFTER ALL, THEIR OWN SCRIPTURES WERE FULL OF REFERENCES TO THE COMING OF THE HEIR OF DAVID, THE SUFFERING SERVANT REFERRED TO BY ISAIAH, THE SON OF MAN THAT DANIEL THE PROPHET TALKED ABOUT. THE WISE MEN OF THE JEWS HAD ALL THIS INFORMATION AT HAND, INCLUDING AN IDEA OF ABOUT WHEN ALL THIS WOULD HAPPEN; AFTER ALL, DANIEL HAD MADE THAT PREDICTION. BUT THEY HAD DONE NOTHING. YOU WOULD THINK THAT SINCE THE PROPHET MICAH HAD EVEN NAMED THE CITY, THERE WOULD BE PEOPLE IN BETHLEHEM JUST WAITING FOR THIS EVENT TO HAPPEN. BUT THEY WERE ALL TROUBLED. THEY WERE TROUBLED BECAUSE IF THE PROPHECIES WERE ABOUT TO BE FULFILLED, THEY WOULD HAVE TO MAKE SOME CHOICES; THEY MIGHT HAVE TO CHANGE THEIR LIVES. AND HEROD, WHO HAD DEMONSTRATED THAT HE COULD EVEN HAVE HIS OWN SONS EXECUTED ON SUSPICION THAT THEY WERE TRYING TO TAKE OVER HIS THRONE, WAS WILLING TO GO TO GREAT LENGTHS TO KEEP HIS POWER, EVEN IF, AS WE WILL SEE LATER, IT MEANS EXECUTING ALL THE BOYS UNDER TWO YEARS OLD. HEROD BELIEVED JUST AS STRONGLY AS THE MAGI THAT A SINGULAR MOMENT IN HISTORY HAD COME; BUT HE WANTED NO CHANGE.
DO YOU KNOW HOW GOD WORKS? WELL, I DON'T EITHER. BUT SAINT PAUL TELLS US THAT EVERY BAPTIZED CHRISTIAN IS GIVEN A GIFT, NOT FOR HIMSELF, BUT FOR THE CHURCH. THESE INCLUDE WISDOM, KNOWLEDGE, FAITH, HEALING, PROPHECY … AND SO ON. I THINK THAT IS FOR THE MOST PART HOW GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS – THROUGH THE GIFTS HE GIVES US TO GIVE TO EACH OTHER. AND IF WE WANT TO USE THESE GIFTS, WE HAVE TO BECOME DISCIPLES, OTHERWISE, WE WON'T REALLY BE AWARE OF GOD'S WILL FOR US. AND BECOMING A DISCIPLE DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN; IT TAKES GOD'S GRACE, BUT IT TAKES OUR COOPERATION; AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT TAKES A LIFETIME. THE MAGI GAVE UP EVERYTHING TO FOLLOW THE STAR, TO DO WHAT THEY HAD DISCERNED WHAT GOD WANTED THEM TO DO.
JESUS HIMSELF TOLD US HOW TO BE DISCIPLES. FIRST, WE NEED TO LOVE GOD MORE THAN ANYONE OR ANYTHING ELSE. THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE TURN OUR BACK ON THOSE WE LOVE; IN FACT, IF WE LOVE GOD MORE THAN WE LOVE OUR DEAREST LOVED ONES, WE LOVE THEM MORE THAN IF WE DON'T LOVE GOD THE MOST. LOVING GOD BLESSES OUR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER. PUTTING GOD FIRST PURIFIES OUR LOVE FOR OUR SPOUSES, OUR CHILDREN, OUR FRIENDS. SECOND, JESUS TELLS US THAT HIS DISCIPLES MUST DENY THEMSELVES AND TAKE UP THEIR CROSSES AND FOLLOW HIM. THIS FOLLOWS FROM STEP ONE; ONCE I'VE DECIDED TO LOVE GOD ABOVE ALL THINGS, I'VE GOT TO DO THE HARDEST THING FOR A HUMAN BEING TO DO – MOVE MYSELF FROM FIRST PLACE TO THIRD. DENYING MYSELF MEANS EXACTLY THAT – I HAVE TO STOP BEING THE CENTER OF MY UNIVERSE SO THAT GOD CAN FILL THAT SPACE. AND LIKE THE MAGI, I HAVE TO BEGIN THE PROCESS OF SHAPING MYSELF TO BE MORE LIKE CHRIST; I'VE GOT TO MAKE THE COMMITMENT TO LEARN MORE AND MORE ABOUT CHRIST, AND THEN TO START TO SHAPE MY LIFE IN HIS IMAGE. THAT IN ITSELF IS A WORK THAT NEVER ENDS, BUT THE SAINTS ARE OUR INSPIRATIONS; THEY SHOW US THAT YOU CAN BE RICH OR POOR, MALE OR FEMALE, SMART OR MENTALLY CHALLENGED, A KING OR A MARTYR, AND IN ALL THESE CIRCUMSTANCES, YOU CAN BE LIKE CHRIST. ANYONE CAN BE A SAINT, IF HE OR SHE WANTS TO BE. THE THIRD REQUIREMENT IS TO FORSAKE ALL WE HAVE. THIS DOESN'T MEAN TO TAKE A VOW OF POVERTY; IT DOES MEAN TO CHANGE THE WAY WE SEE WHAT HAS BEEN GIVEN TO US. IT ISN'T OURS, IT BELONGS TO GOD; AND ITS TO BE USED TO BUILD UP GOD'S KINGDOM. FINALLY, JESUS TELLS US THAT IF WE ARE TO BE DISCIPLES, WE MUST COUNT THE COST. YOU CAN'T BE 50% A DISCIPLE. YOU HAVE TO GO ALL THE WAY. BILLY GRAHAM SAID “SALVATION IS FREE, BUT DISCIPLESHIP COSTS EVERYTHING.” WE HAVE TO GIVE UP EVERYTHING THAT STANDS BETWEEN US AND JESUS, AND IT'S HARDEST TO GIVE UP OUR HABITS, ESPECIALLY THOSE THINGS THAT WE CONFESS WEEK AFTER WEEK, AND NEVER SEEM TO BE ABLE TO GET AHEAD OF. IT'S EASIER TO STOP COMMITTING MAJOR SINS THAN IT IS TO BREAK THE HABITS THAT REINFORCE OUR SELFISHNESS.
WE ARE BEGINNING A NEW YEAR. WE SHOULD ASK, HAVE WE MADE REAL PROGRESS IN OUR JOURNEY TO BECOME A TRUE DISCIPLE OF JESUS THIS PAST YEAR? OR ARE WE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME AS WE WERE LAST NEW YEARS. AND IN THE COURSE OF MAKING RESOLUTIONS, PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT RESOLUTION WE CAN MAKE IS THAT THIS YEAR WE WILL TAKE CONCRETE STEPS TO BECOMING NOT JUST GOOD PEOPLE, NOT JUST CHURCH GOERS, BUT TRUE DISCIPLES, WHO WILL BRING OUR GIFTS TO THE SERVICE OF EACH OTHER, SO THAT GOD'S INTENTIONS FOR THE WORLD CAN BE REALIZED THROUGH US. WHAT A WONDERFUL DESTINY AWAITS US IF WE ACCEPT IT.. HOW SAD IT WILL BE IF NEXT YEAR THIS TIME WE ARE NO CLOSER TO BEING DISCIPLES, BUT ARE A YEAR CLOSER TO RUNNING OUT OF TIME.
THE GOSPEL STORY WE'VE JUST HEARD SETS UP AN INTERESTING CONTRAST. ON THE ONE HAND, THERE ARE SOME PAGANS FROM THE EAST, WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE ARISTOCRACY. THE MAGI IN PERSIAN SOCIETY WERE WISE MEN, ADVISORS TO THE RULERS; THEY WERE SCIENTISTS, GOOD AT OBSERVING NATURE; AND THEY WERE PROBABLY THE EQUIVALENT OF PRIESTS, OFFICIATING IN THE CEREMONIES OF THEIR RELIGION. IN OTHER WORDS, LIFE WAS GOOD FOR THEM. YOU WOULD NOT EXPECT THEM TO PACK EVERYTHING UP AND TAKE A JOURNEY OF NEARLY A THOUSAND MILES ONE WAY. THAT WOULD BE A MAJOR HARDSHIP AND TAKE A GREAT DEAL OF TIME. IT WOULD BE DANGEROUS AS WELL. AND WHY DID THEY DO IT? THEY HAD OBSERVED A STAR IN THE SKY AND WONDERED WHAT IT MEANT, AND AFTER THINKING ABOUT IT, STUDYING THE HOLY BOOKS THEY HAD AVAILABLE TO THEM, PROBABLY EVEN PRAYED, AND CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THIS ALL POINTED TO AN EVENT OF GREAT IMPORTANCE – THE BIRTH OF THE NEWBORN KING OF THE JEWS. AND THEY DECIDED THAT THEY WERE BEING CALLED TO HONOR HIM AND BRING HIM GIFTS, PRECISELY, GOLD BECAUSE HE WAS KING; FRANKINCENSE BECAUSE HE WOULD BE THE GREAT HIGH PRIEST; AND MYRHH, BECAUSE HE WOULD ACCOMPLISH HIS DESTINY THROUGH HIS OWN DEATH. EACH OF THEM HAD A GIFT TO BRING.
HEROD AND ALL JERUSALEM, HOWEVER, WERE TROUBLED. THEY TOO WERE AWARE THAT SOMETHING BIG WAS HAPPENING. AFTER ALL, THEIR OWN SCRIPTURES WERE FULL OF REFERENCES TO THE COMING OF THE HEIR OF DAVID, THE SUFFERING SERVANT REFERRED TO BY ISAIAH, THE SON OF MAN THAT DANIEL THE PROPHET TALKED ABOUT. THE WISE MEN OF THE JEWS HAD ALL THIS INFORMATION AT HAND, INCLUDING AN IDEA OF ABOUT WHEN ALL THIS WOULD HAPPEN; AFTER ALL, DANIEL HAD MADE THAT PREDICTION. BUT THEY HAD DONE NOTHING. YOU WOULD THINK THAT SINCE THE PROPHET MICAH HAD EVEN NAMED THE CITY, THERE WOULD BE PEOPLE IN BETHLEHEM JUST WAITING FOR THIS EVENT TO HAPPEN. BUT THEY WERE ALL TROUBLED. THEY WERE TROUBLED BECAUSE IF THE PROPHECIES WERE ABOUT TO BE FULFILLED, THEY WOULD HAVE TO MAKE SOME CHOICES; THEY MIGHT HAVE TO CHANGE THEIR LIVES. AND HEROD, WHO HAD DEMONSTRATED THAT HE COULD EVEN HAVE HIS OWN SONS EXECUTED ON SUSPICION THAT THEY WERE TRYING TO TAKE OVER HIS THRONE, WAS WILLING TO GO TO GREAT LENGTHS TO KEEP HIS POWER, EVEN IF, AS WE WILL SEE LATER, IT MEANS EXECUTING ALL THE BOYS UNDER TWO YEARS OLD. HEROD BELIEVED JUST AS STRONGLY AS THE MAGI THAT A SINGULAR MOMENT IN HISTORY HAD COME; BUT HE WANTED NO CHANGE.
DO YOU KNOW HOW GOD WORKS? WELL, I DON'T EITHER. BUT SAINT PAUL TELLS US THAT EVERY BAPTIZED CHRISTIAN IS GIVEN A GIFT, NOT FOR HIMSELF, BUT FOR THE CHURCH. THESE INCLUDE WISDOM, KNOWLEDGE, FAITH, HEALING, PROPHECY … AND SO ON. I THINK THAT IS FOR THE MOST PART HOW GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS – THROUGH THE GIFTS HE GIVES US TO GIVE TO EACH OTHER. AND IF WE WANT TO USE THESE GIFTS, WE HAVE TO BECOME DISCIPLES, OTHERWISE, WE WON'T REALLY BE AWARE OF GOD'S WILL FOR US. AND BECOMING A DISCIPLE DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN; IT TAKES GOD'S GRACE, BUT IT TAKES OUR COOPERATION; AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT TAKES A LIFETIME. THE MAGI GAVE UP EVERYTHING TO FOLLOW THE STAR, TO DO WHAT THEY HAD DISCERNED WHAT GOD WANTED THEM TO DO.
JESUS HIMSELF TOLD US HOW TO BE DISCIPLES. FIRST, WE NEED TO LOVE GOD MORE THAN ANYONE OR ANYTHING ELSE. THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE TURN OUR BACK ON THOSE WE LOVE; IN FACT, IF WE LOVE GOD MORE THAN WE LOVE OUR DEAREST LOVED ONES, WE LOVE THEM MORE THAN IF WE DON'T LOVE GOD THE MOST. LOVING GOD BLESSES OUR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER. PUTTING GOD FIRST PURIFIES OUR LOVE FOR OUR SPOUSES, OUR CHILDREN, OUR FRIENDS. SECOND, JESUS TELLS US THAT HIS DISCIPLES MUST DENY THEMSELVES AND TAKE UP THEIR CROSSES AND FOLLOW HIM. THIS FOLLOWS FROM STEP ONE; ONCE I'VE DECIDED TO LOVE GOD ABOVE ALL THINGS, I'VE GOT TO DO THE HARDEST THING FOR A HUMAN BEING TO DO – MOVE MYSELF FROM FIRST PLACE TO THIRD. DENYING MYSELF MEANS EXACTLY THAT – I HAVE TO STOP BEING THE CENTER OF MY UNIVERSE SO THAT GOD CAN FILL THAT SPACE. AND LIKE THE MAGI, I HAVE TO BEGIN THE PROCESS OF SHAPING MYSELF TO BE MORE LIKE CHRIST; I'VE GOT TO MAKE THE COMMITMENT TO LEARN MORE AND MORE ABOUT CHRIST, AND THEN TO START TO SHAPE MY LIFE IN HIS IMAGE. THAT IN ITSELF IS A WORK THAT NEVER ENDS, BUT THE SAINTS ARE OUR INSPIRATIONS; THEY SHOW US THAT YOU CAN BE RICH OR POOR, MALE OR FEMALE, SMART OR MENTALLY CHALLENGED, A KING OR A MARTYR, AND IN ALL THESE CIRCUMSTANCES, YOU CAN BE LIKE CHRIST. ANYONE CAN BE A SAINT, IF HE OR SHE WANTS TO BE. THE THIRD REQUIREMENT IS TO FORSAKE ALL WE HAVE. THIS DOESN'T MEAN TO TAKE A VOW OF POVERTY; IT DOES MEAN TO CHANGE THE WAY WE SEE WHAT HAS BEEN GIVEN TO US. IT ISN'T OURS, IT BELONGS TO GOD; AND ITS TO BE USED TO BUILD UP GOD'S KINGDOM. FINALLY, JESUS TELLS US THAT IF WE ARE TO BE DISCIPLES, WE MUST COUNT THE COST. YOU CAN'T BE 50% A DISCIPLE. YOU HAVE TO GO ALL THE WAY. BILLY GRAHAM SAID “SALVATION IS FREE, BUT DISCIPLESHIP COSTS EVERYTHING.” WE HAVE TO GIVE UP EVERYTHING THAT STANDS BETWEEN US AND JESUS, AND IT'S HARDEST TO GIVE UP OUR HABITS, ESPECIALLY THOSE THINGS THAT WE CONFESS WEEK AFTER WEEK, AND NEVER SEEM TO BE ABLE TO GET AHEAD OF. IT'S EASIER TO STOP COMMITTING MAJOR SINS THAN IT IS TO BREAK THE HABITS THAT REINFORCE OUR SELFISHNESS.
WE ARE BEGINNING A NEW YEAR. WE SHOULD ASK, HAVE WE MADE REAL PROGRESS IN OUR JOURNEY TO BECOME A TRUE DISCIPLE OF JESUS THIS PAST YEAR? OR ARE WE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME AS WE WERE LAST NEW YEARS. AND IN THE COURSE OF MAKING RESOLUTIONS, PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT RESOLUTION WE CAN MAKE IS THAT THIS YEAR WE WILL TAKE CONCRETE STEPS TO BECOMING NOT JUST GOOD PEOPLE, NOT JUST CHURCH GOERS, BUT TRUE DISCIPLES, WHO WILL BRING OUR GIFTS TO THE SERVICE OF EACH OTHER, SO THAT GOD'S INTENTIONS FOR THE WORLD CAN BE REALIZED THROUGH US. WHAT A WONDERFUL DESTINY AWAITS US IF WE ACCEPT IT.. HOW SAD IT WILL BE IF NEXT YEAR THIS TIME WE ARE NO CLOSER TO BEING DISCIPLES, BUT ARE A YEAR CLOSER TO RUNNING OUT OF TIME.
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Feast of the Holy Family, 2014
LUKE 2:22-40
WHEN I WAS A LITTLE KID, I REMEMBER MY MOTHER REMARKING NOW AND THEN, “IT WAS EASY FOR THE HOLY FAMILY TO BE PERFECT. THEY ONLY HAD ONE KID AND HE WAS GOD.” MY PARENTS HAD THREE AND NONE OF US WERE GOD. BUT MY MOTHER MADE A THEOLOGICAL MISTAKE. THE HOLY FAMILY WAS HOLY, NO QUESTION, BUT THEY WEREN'T PERFECT AS A FAMILY. MARY AND JOSEPH PROBABLY WERE QUITE POOR, AND JOSEPH MUST HAVE SPENT EVERY MOMENT HE COULD TRYING TO EARN A LIVING. THE TWO OF THEM WERE PROABLY GOSSIPPED ABOUT BECAUSE OF WHAT HAD SEEMED TO BE A SHOTGUN WEDDING. THEY HAD TO DROP EVERYTHING AND GO TO EGYPT, WHICH MEANT STARTING OVER AGAIN; AND THEN THEY HAD TO START ALL OVER AGAIN WHEN THEY WENT BACK TO NAZARETH. JESUS DISAPPEARED AND THEY SPENT THREE ANXIOUS DAYS LOOKING FOR HIM WHEN HE WAS TWELVE. AND THERE IS A LOT THAT WAS NEVER WRITTEN DOWN; LUKE TELLS US THAT JESUS GREW IN GRACE AND WISDOM, WHICH MEANS THAT THERE WAS A TIME WHEN HE DIDN'T HAVE MUCH GRACE OR WISDOM. JESUS HAD A HARD TIME BEING ACCEPTED BY THE PEOPLE WHO KNEW HIM WELL, BECAUSE THEY HAD KNOWN HIM AS HE GREW UP, AND DIDN'T THINK HE HAD ANY CLAIM TO BEING “SPECIAL”. SO JUST FROM THE LITTLE WE CAN KNOW ABOUT THE HOLY FAMILY FROM THE SCRIPTURES, THEY DID NOT HAVE A PERFECT FAMILY, EVEN IF THE INDIVIDUALS IN THE FAMILY WERE PERFECT. I'M SURE IF YOU ASKED MARY OR JOSEPH WHETHER THEY HAD A PERFECT FAMILY, THEY WOULD HAVE LAUGHED.
BUT ONE THING WE KNOW FROM BOTH GOSPELS IS THAT MARY AND JOSEPH PRACTICED THEIR RELIGION. IT SAYS THAT THEY WENT “EVERY YEAR” TO JERUSALEM. THAT WOULD BE A 200 MILE ROUND TRIP, ON FOOT. THEY WOULD DO THIS TO CELEBRATE THE PASSOVER. IT'S CERTAIN THAT THEY ATTENDED SYNAGOGUE EVERY WEEK. JOSEPH WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MEN WHO COULD BE COUNTED UPON TO HELP CONSTITUTE A MINYAN; TEN MEN WOULD COME TO THE SYNAGOGUE EVERY DAY TO PRAY TOGETHER.
BUT THE MAJOR REASON WE KNOW THEY PRACTICED THEIR RELIGION IS THAT JESUS DID. WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE IN THE SCRIPTURES THAT JESUS EVER STOPPED BEING A RELIGIOUS JEW. HE CROSSED UP THE PHARISEES NOW AND THEN, WHO ACCUSED HIM OF VIOLATING THE SABBATH; BUT REMEMBER, THEY WERE NOT THE OFFICIAL INTERPRETERS OF THE LAW. THEY HAD DEVELOPED A WAY OF DOING THE LAW WHICH WAS PRETTY BURDENSOME, BUT MOST JEWS WERE NOT SO UP TIGHT. THE REASON JESUS LIVED AND DIED A GOOD JEW WAS BECAUSE HIS PARENTS WERE GOOD JEWS; AND WHEN JESUS LIVED AND DIED A JEW, THE JEWISH RELIGION WAS THE ONLY RELIGION WHICH HAD BEEN GIVEN TO MAN BY GOD.
THERE HAS BEEN SOME INTERESTING RESEARCH ON THE TRANSMISSION OF THE FAITH. IT'S BASICALLY SUMMED UP BY THE STATEMENT: IF YOU WANT YOUR CHILDREN TO RETAIN THEIR FAITH, DON'T SEND THEM TO CHURCH, TAKE THEM TO CHURCH.
YOU WOULD THINK THAT CATHOLIC PARENTS WOULD WANT THEIR CHILDREN TO BE FAITHFUL CATHOLICS, BECAUSE THAT'S THEIR BEST SHOT TO GET TO HEAVEN AND SPEND ETERNITY WITH GOD. BUT ODDLY ENOUGH, THIS ISN'T SUFFICIENT MOTIVATION FOR ABOUT TWO THIRDS OF CATHOLIC PARENTS, WHO DESPITE CONSIDERING THEMSELVES CATHOLICS, HAVE LITTLE TO NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CHURCH. THEY DROP THEIR KIDS OFF AT FAITH FORMATION CLASS UNTIL CONFIRMATION, AND SELDOM ACTUALLY GO TO CHURCH THEMSELVES. BUT THERE ARE SEVERAL EARTHLY REASONS FOR RAISING YOUR CHILDREN IN THE FAITH. THESE INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING SCIENTIFICALLY DOCUMENTED FACTS:
MEMBERS OF FAITH COMMUNITIES ARE IN GENERAL HAPPIER THAN THOSE WHO ARE NOT MEMBERS.
RELIGIOUS PEOPLE ARE HAPPIER IN THEIR MARRIAGES THAN THOSE WHO AREN'T. AND WHEN BOTH SPOUSES ARE ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE SAME RELIGION, THEY ARE HAPPIER STILL.
PEOPLE WHO ATTEND RELIGIOUS SERVICES REGULARLY ARE TWICE AS LIKELY TO AVOID DIVORCE THAN THOSE WHO DO NOT.
SIXTY PERCENT OF MARRIED PEOPLE WHO ATTEND RELIGIOUS SERVICES REGULARLY DESCRIBE THEIR MARRIAGES AS “VERY SATISFACTORY” COMPARED WITH 40% OF THOSE WHO DO NOT.
OBJECTIVE STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT MOTHERS WHO ARE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THEIR RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY HAVE BETTER RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEIR CHILDREN THAN THOSE WHO DO NOT.
WHEN FATHERS ARE ACTIVE IN THEIR RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY, THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH THEIR CHILDREN IS SUBSTANTIALLY BETTER THAN THOSE WHERE FATHERS DON'T PARTICIPATE. AND ONE OF THE BEST PREDICTORS OF WHETHER CHILDREN WILL BE “RELIGIOUS” IS WHETHER THE FATHER WAS RELIGIOUS.
THE CHILDREN OF FAMILIES WHO ARE RELIGIOUS HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER RISK OF OUT OF WEDLOCK PREGNANCY, MENTAL ILLNESS, TOBACCO, ALCOHOL, OR DRUG ABUSE, THAN THOSE WHO COME FROM NON-RELIGOUS FAMILIES.
THE DEGREE TO WHICH THE PARENTS ARE RELIGIOUS IS RELATED TO OVERALL HAPPINESS, LESS DEPRESSION, BETTER PHYSICAL HEALTH, BETTER ABILITY TO COPE, HIGHER LEVELS OF ACADEMIC ATTAINMENT, AND LOWER FREQUENCY OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AMONG THEIR ADULT CHILDREN.
WITH ALL THESE EARTHLY BENEFITS AND THE HOPE OF ETERNAL SALVATION, IT'S OBVIOUS THAT PARENTS WHO REALLY LOVE THEIR CHILDREN ARE NOT GOING TO SIT STILL AND ALLOW THEM TO DRIFT AWAY FROM THE CHURCH. THAT GOES FOR GRANDPARENTS AS WELL. AND IF YOU WANT YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER TO MARRY A SPOUSE WHO IS ALSO RELIGIOUS, THEN IT FOLLOWS THAT YOU SHOULD BE VERY INTERESTED IN EVANGELIZING THAT GENERATION.
WHEN JESUS TOLD HIS PARENTS THAT HE HAD TO BE ABOUT HIS FATHER'S BUSINESS, JOSEPH AND MARY DIDN'T BACK OFF AND SAY, “STAY HERE IN THE TEMPLE, SON.” THEY KNEW THEY STILL HAD WORK TO DO AND THAT IT WAS WAY TOO EARLY FOR JESUS TO MAKE UP HIS OWN MIND ABOUT WHAT HE WANTED TO DO. AND THEY TOOK HIM HOME AND CONTINUED TO RAISE HIM, AND CONTINUED TO SHOW HIM BY THEIR OWN EXAMPLE HOW TO LIVE.
AND THE PEOPLE OF NAZARETH MAY HAVE REJECTED JESUS BECAUSE THEY REMEMBERED HOW ORDINARY HE SEEMED TO BE WHEN HE WAS GROWING UP; BUT THE PEOPLE IN THE REST OF PALESTINE WHO HEARD HIM PREACH AND SAW HIS MIRACLES, ALSO SAW THAT THIS JESUS WHO WORKED MIRACLES AND PREACHED THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN ACTIVELY PARTICIPATED IN HIS RELIGION, AND ENCOURAGED OTHERS TO DO SO AS WELL, AND THAT WAS THE ROOT OF THE GREATEST RELIGIOUS REVIVAL IN HISTORY, THE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIANITY. JOSEPH AND MARY RAISED HIM RIGHT. MAY CATHOLIC PARENTS EVERYWHERE LEARN FROM THE HOLY FAMILY.
WHEN I WAS A LITTLE KID, I REMEMBER MY MOTHER REMARKING NOW AND THEN, “IT WAS EASY FOR THE HOLY FAMILY TO BE PERFECT. THEY ONLY HAD ONE KID AND HE WAS GOD.” MY PARENTS HAD THREE AND NONE OF US WERE GOD. BUT MY MOTHER MADE A THEOLOGICAL MISTAKE. THE HOLY FAMILY WAS HOLY, NO QUESTION, BUT THEY WEREN'T PERFECT AS A FAMILY. MARY AND JOSEPH PROBABLY WERE QUITE POOR, AND JOSEPH MUST HAVE SPENT EVERY MOMENT HE COULD TRYING TO EARN A LIVING. THE TWO OF THEM WERE PROABLY GOSSIPPED ABOUT BECAUSE OF WHAT HAD SEEMED TO BE A SHOTGUN WEDDING. THEY HAD TO DROP EVERYTHING AND GO TO EGYPT, WHICH MEANT STARTING OVER AGAIN; AND THEN THEY HAD TO START ALL OVER AGAIN WHEN THEY WENT BACK TO NAZARETH. JESUS DISAPPEARED AND THEY SPENT THREE ANXIOUS DAYS LOOKING FOR HIM WHEN HE WAS TWELVE. AND THERE IS A LOT THAT WAS NEVER WRITTEN DOWN; LUKE TELLS US THAT JESUS GREW IN GRACE AND WISDOM, WHICH MEANS THAT THERE WAS A TIME WHEN HE DIDN'T HAVE MUCH GRACE OR WISDOM. JESUS HAD A HARD TIME BEING ACCEPTED BY THE PEOPLE WHO KNEW HIM WELL, BECAUSE THEY HAD KNOWN HIM AS HE GREW UP, AND DIDN'T THINK HE HAD ANY CLAIM TO BEING “SPECIAL”. SO JUST FROM THE LITTLE WE CAN KNOW ABOUT THE HOLY FAMILY FROM THE SCRIPTURES, THEY DID NOT HAVE A PERFECT FAMILY, EVEN IF THE INDIVIDUALS IN THE FAMILY WERE PERFECT. I'M SURE IF YOU ASKED MARY OR JOSEPH WHETHER THEY HAD A PERFECT FAMILY, THEY WOULD HAVE LAUGHED.
BUT ONE THING WE KNOW FROM BOTH GOSPELS IS THAT MARY AND JOSEPH PRACTICED THEIR RELIGION. IT SAYS THAT THEY WENT “EVERY YEAR” TO JERUSALEM. THAT WOULD BE A 200 MILE ROUND TRIP, ON FOOT. THEY WOULD DO THIS TO CELEBRATE THE PASSOVER. IT'S CERTAIN THAT THEY ATTENDED SYNAGOGUE EVERY WEEK. JOSEPH WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MEN WHO COULD BE COUNTED UPON TO HELP CONSTITUTE A MINYAN; TEN MEN WOULD COME TO THE SYNAGOGUE EVERY DAY TO PRAY TOGETHER.
BUT THE MAJOR REASON WE KNOW THEY PRACTICED THEIR RELIGION IS THAT JESUS DID. WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE IN THE SCRIPTURES THAT JESUS EVER STOPPED BEING A RELIGIOUS JEW. HE CROSSED UP THE PHARISEES NOW AND THEN, WHO ACCUSED HIM OF VIOLATING THE SABBATH; BUT REMEMBER, THEY WERE NOT THE OFFICIAL INTERPRETERS OF THE LAW. THEY HAD DEVELOPED A WAY OF DOING THE LAW WHICH WAS PRETTY BURDENSOME, BUT MOST JEWS WERE NOT SO UP TIGHT. THE REASON JESUS LIVED AND DIED A GOOD JEW WAS BECAUSE HIS PARENTS WERE GOOD JEWS; AND WHEN JESUS LIVED AND DIED A JEW, THE JEWISH RELIGION WAS THE ONLY RELIGION WHICH HAD BEEN GIVEN TO MAN BY GOD.
THERE HAS BEEN SOME INTERESTING RESEARCH ON THE TRANSMISSION OF THE FAITH. IT'S BASICALLY SUMMED UP BY THE STATEMENT: IF YOU WANT YOUR CHILDREN TO RETAIN THEIR FAITH, DON'T SEND THEM TO CHURCH, TAKE THEM TO CHURCH.
YOU WOULD THINK THAT CATHOLIC PARENTS WOULD WANT THEIR CHILDREN TO BE FAITHFUL CATHOLICS, BECAUSE THAT'S THEIR BEST SHOT TO GET TO HEAVEN AND SPEND ETERNITY WITH GOD. BUT ODDLY ENOUGH, THIS ISN'T SUFFICIENT MOTIVATION FOR ABOUT TWO THIRDS OF CATHOLIC PARENTS, WHO DESPITE CONSIDERING THEMSELVES CATHOLICS, HAVE LITTLE TO NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CHURCH. THEY DROP THEIR KIDS OFF AT FAITH FORMATION CLASS UNTIL CONFIRMATION, AND SELDOM ACTUALLY GO TO CHURCH THEMSELVES. BUT THERE ARE SEVERAL EARTHLY REASONS FOR RAISING YOUR CHILDREN IN THE FAITH. THESE INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING SCIENTIFICALLY DOCUMENTED FACTS:
MEMBERS OF FAITH COMMUNITIES ARE IN GENERAL HAPPIER THAN THOSE WHO ARE NOT MEMBERS.
RELIGIOUS PEOPLE ARE HAPPIER IN THEIR MARRIAGES THAN THOSE WHO AREN'T. AND WHEN BOTH SPOUSES ARE ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE SAME RELIGION, THEY ARE HAPPIER STILL.
PEOPLE WHO ATTEND RELIGIOUS SERVICES REGULARLY ARE TWICE AS LIKELY TO AVOID DIVORCE THAN THOSE WHO DO NOT.
SIXTY PERCENT OF MARRIED PEOPLE WHO ATTEND RELIGIOUS SERVICES REGULARLY DESCRIBE THEIR MARRIAGES AS “VERY SATISFACTORY” COMPARED WITH 40% OF THOSE WHO DO NOT.
OBJECTIVE STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT MOTHERS WHO ARE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THEIR RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY HAVE BETTER RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEIR CHILDREN THAN THOSE WHO DO NOT.
WHEN FATHERS ARE ACTIVE IN THEIR RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY, THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH THEIR CHILDREN IS SUBSTANTIALLY BETTER THAN THOSE WHERE FATHERS DON'T PARTICIPATE. AND ONE OF THE BEST PREDICTORS OF WHETHER CHILDREN WILL BE “RELIGIOUS” IS WHETHER THE FATHER WAS RELIGIOUS.
THE CHILDREN OF FAMILIES WHO ARE RELIGIOUS HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER RISK OF OUT OF WEDLOCK PREGNANCY, MENTAL ILLNESS, TOBACCO, ALCOHOL, OR DRUG ABUSE, THAN THOSE WHO COME FROM NON-RELIGOUS FAMILIES.
THE DEGREE TO WHICH THE PARENTS ARE RELIGIOUS IS RELATED TO OVERALL HAPPINESS, LESS DEPRESSION, BETTER PHYSICAL HEALTH, BETTER ABILITY TO COPE, HIGHER LEVELS OF ACADEMIC ATTAINMENT, AND LOWER FREQUENCY OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AMONG THEIR ADULT CHILDREN.
WITH ALL THESE EARTHLY BENEFITS AND THE HOPE OF ETERNAL SALVATION, IT'S OBVIOUS THAT PARENTS WHO REALLY LOVE THEIR CHILDREN ARE NOT GOING TO SIT STILL AND ALLOW THEM TO DRIFT AWAY FROM THE CHURCH. THAT GOES FOR GRANDPARENTS AS WELL. AND IF YOU WANT YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER TO MARRY A SPOUSE WHO IS ALSO RELIGIOUS, THEN IT FOLLOWS THAT YOU SHOULD BE VERY INTERESTED IN EVANGELIZING THAT GENERATION.
WHEN JESUS TOLD HIS PARENTS THAT HE HAD TO BE ABOUT HIS FATHER'S BUSINESS, JOSEPH AND MARY DIDN'T BACK OFF AND SAY, “STAY HERE IN THE TEMPLE, SON.” THEY KNEW THEY STILL HAD WORK TO DO AND THAT IT WAS WAY TOO EARLY FOR JESUS TO MAKE UP HIS OWN MIND ABOUT WHAT HE WANTED TO DO. AND THEY TOOK HIM HOME AND CONTINUED TO RAISE HIM, AND CONTINUED TO SHOW HIM BY THEIR OWN EXAMPLE HOW TO LIVE.
AND THE PEOPLE OF NAZARETH MAY HAVE REJECTED JESUS BECAUSE THEY REMEMBERED HOW ORDINARY HE SEEMED TO BE WHEN HE WAS GROWING UP; BUT THE PEOPLE IN THE REST OF PALESTINE WHO HEARD HIM PREACH AND SAW HIS MIRACLES, ALSO SAW THAT THIS JESUS WHO WORKED MIRACLES AND PREACHED THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN ACTIVELY PARTICIPATED IN HIS RELIGION, AND ENCOURAGED OTHERS TO DO SO AS WELL, AND THAT WAS THE ROOT OF THE GREATEST RELIGIOUS REVIVAL IN HISTORY, THE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIANITY. JOSEPH AND MARY RAISED HIM RIGHT. MAY CATHOLIC PARENTS EVERYWHERE LEARN FROM THE HOLY FAMILY.
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Christmas Day, 2014
JOHN 1:1-18
SOMETIMES WE TALK ABOUT JESUS AS A GREAT TEACHER. I DON'T THINK HE ACTUALLY TAUGHT ANYTHING NEW. EVERYTHING HE TAUGHT CAN BE FOUND IN THE WRITINGS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, SOMETHING MANY EARLY JEWISH LEADERS RECOGNIZED. BUT, YOU SAY, WHAT ABOUT HIS PROCLAMATION THAT GOD WAS FATHER? WELL, GOD IS ADDRESSED AS FATHER IN THE PSALMS, IN ISAIAH AND A FEW OTHER PLACES. WHAT ABOUT HIS PROCLAMATION OF LOVE AS THE BASIS FOR HUMAN BEHAVIOR? LONG BEFORE JESUS, IN THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS, THE COMMAND IS GIVEN, “LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”.
SOMETIMES WE TALK ABOUT THE MIRACLES OF JESUS, AND SAY, THAT PROVES THAT HE SPEAKS FOR GOD. BUT JESUS WASN'T THE ONLY MIRACLE WORKER AROUND IN THOSE DAYS, OR BEFORE, OR AFTERWARD. I'M SURE YOU REMEMBER THAT PETER AND PAUL BOTH ARE DEPICTED AS WORKING MIRACLES IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. THEY BOTH EVEN RESUSCITATED DEAD PEOPLE. AND IN THE OLD TESTAMENT THERE ARE PLENTY OF HEALINGS WHICH TAKE PLACE AT THE HANDS OF PROPHETS LIKE ELIJAH. SOME OF THE NON-JEWISH HISTORIANS WHO WROTE ABOUT JESUS' TIME DESCRIBED HIM AS A “WONDER WORKER” BUT USED THE SAME TERM TO DESCRIBE OTHER PEOPLE, BOTH JEWISH AND NOT JEWISH. IN THOSE DAYS BEING ABLE TO WORK A HEALING MIRACLE WOULD NOT PROVE THINGS ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. AS THE PHARISEES SAID, “HE CASTS OUT DEMONS BY BEELZEBUB, THE PRINCE OF DEMONS.” WE MIGHT REALLY BE IMPRESSED TODAY BY A REAL MIRACLE, BUT IN THOSE TIMES, PROBABLY IT WAS NOT AS IMPRESSIVE.
SO IT ISN'T THE TEACHING, AND IT ISN'T THE MIRACLES THAT MAKE JESUS SPECIAL; WHAT IS IT? IT'S EXACTLY WHAT JOHN IS TALKING ABOUT IN TODAY'S GOSPEL, THE GOSPEL ASSIGNED BY THE CHURCH FOR THE MASS OF CHRISTMAS DAY. NO ANGELS, NO STABLE AND MANGER, NO SHEPHERDS – JUST A KIND OF A DRY BLOCK OF THEOLOGY. BUT THERE IS SOMETHING MARVELOUS HERE.
KIERKEGAARD, THE GREAT DANISH PHILOSOPHER, TOLD A STORY ONCE. THERE WAS A GREAT KING WHO FELL IN LOVE WITH A PEASANT GIRL AND WANTED TO MARRY HER. HE HAD ONLY SEEN HER FROM AFAR AND HEARD ABOUT HER THROUGH OTHER PEOPLE, BUT HAD NEVER SPOKEN TO HER HIMSELF. SO HE DECIDED TO SEND HIS SERVANTS TO BRING HER TO THE PALACE WHERE HE WOULD DECLARE HIS LOVE FOR HER AND TAKE HER AS HIS BRIDE. SURELY NO GIRL WOULD EVER SAY NO TO A GREAT KING. BUT THEN HE THOUGHT, “IF SHE SAYS YES, I'LL NEVER KNOW IF SHE LOVES ME FOR MYSELF.” SO HE DECIDED TO TAKE OFF HER ROBES AND CROWN AND DRESS UP AS A PEASANT, AND GO TO HER VILLAGE AND MEET HER. IF SHE FELL IN LOVE WITH HIM. THEN HE WOULD KNOW IT WAS REAL. THEN HE THOUGHT A LITTLE MORE AND REALIZED THAT SHE WOULD NOT BE FALLING IN LOVE WITH WHO HE WAS, BUT WITH WHO HE WAS PRETENDING TO BE. FINALLY THE KING REALIZED WHAT HE HAD TO DO. HE GAVE UP HIS KINGDOM AND BECAME A PEASANT.
THAT IS WHAT MAKES JESUS UNIQUE AMONG ALL THE HUMAN BEINGS WHO EVER LIVED. HE IS HUMAN, JUST AS HUMAN AS YOU AND I. IT ISN'T A MASK OR A DISGUISE; IT ISN'T GOD IN A MEAT SUIT. THE KING HAD TO GIVE UP HIS KINGDOM TO BECOME A PEASANT SO THAT THE GIRL MIGHT FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM. MIGHT, NOT WOULD. JESUS LIKEWISE BECOMES MAN IN THE HOPE, NOT CERTAINTY, THAT WE WOULD FALL IN LOVE WITH GOD.
THE GOSPEL SAYS THESE THINGS ABOUT JESUS:
JESUS IS THE WORD; HE IS GOD MADE UNDERSTANDABLE. JESUS SAID, “HE WHO SEES ME, SEES THE FATHER.”
JESUS IS THE LIGHT, THAT IS THERE FOR EVERYONE. IF WE FIX OUR GAZE ON JESUS, WE SEE HOW OUR LIVES MAKE SENSE, HOW OUR PLEASURES AND PAINS, EVEN OUR DEATHS, HAVE MEANING. BUT NO ONE HAS TO LOOK AT JESUS.
JESUS IS THE SOURCE OF GLORY. GLORY IS A WORD THAT MOST OF US DON'T GIVE A THOUGHT AS TO ITS MEANING. WE TALK ABOUT THE GLORY OF GOD, BUT ALSO THE GLORY OF A SPRING MORNING. BUT GLORY IS A QUALITY THAT WE PERCEIVE WITH A SUPERNATURAL SENSE, AND JOHN, WHO IS WRITING HIS GOSPEL A LONG TIME AFTER JESUS HAS DIED, HAS SEEN JESUS REFLECTED OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE JOINED THE CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT. THAT IS WHAT CONVINCES JOHN OF JESUS' DIVINITY – THE FACT THAT JESUS SO CLEARLY LIVES ON IN THE LIVES OF HIS FOLLOWERS JUST AS LONG AGO HE PROMISED THAT HE AND HIS FATHER WOULD MAKE THEIR DWELLING IN THOSE WHO BELIEVED IN HIM.
JESUS IS FULL OF GRACE. GRACE IS NOT A THING, IT IS WHEN SOMEONE GIVES YOU SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO. AND JOHN TRIES TO PUT INTO WORDS WHAT HE HAS EXPERIENCED – MERCY, PEACE, JOY, THE CERTAIN KNOWLEDGE OF BEING LOVED UNCONDITIONALLY.
JESUS IS TRUTH. A FEW YEARS AGO PEOPLE WENT AROUND WITH BRACELETS AND TEE SHIRTS AND BUMPER STICKERS THAT HAD THE INITIALS WWJD ON THEM. WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? THAT'S KIND OF TRIVIAL, BUT IT GETS AT HOW JESUS IS THE TRUTH. HE IS THE MEASURE OF ALL THINGS. WE MEASURE OURSELVES AGAINST HIM. IF WE ARE CHRISTIANS WE LIVE LIKE THIS. WE STUDY JESUS, WE IMITATE HIM, WE CONSCIOUSLY CHANGE OUR HABITS AND OUR BEHAVIOR TO BE LIKE HIM, SO THAT WE CAN SAY WITH PAUL, “NOT I, BUT CHRIST IN ME”. AND WHEN WE REACH THAT STATE, AND WE CAN, EVEN THOUGH THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR FURTHER GROWTH, THAT IS WHAT IT REALLY MEANS TO BE BORN AGAIN, THAT IS WHAT JOHN MEANS WHEN HE SAYS THAT JESUS GIVES THOSE WHO ACCEPT HIM THE POWER TO BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD.
SO THAT IS WHAT WE CELEBRATE TODAY – THAT THE GREAT KING FELL IN LOVE; NOT WITH A PEASANT GIRL, BUT HIS BELOVED WAS ABOUT AS UNLOVELY AS YOU COULD GET. BUT THE KING SAW WHAT HIS BELOVED COULD BECOME, IF SHE RESPONDED TO HIS LOVE, AND SO HE BECAME A HUMAN BEING IN THE HOPE THAT WHEN THE ONE HE LOVED COULD EXPERIENCE HIS LOVE FOR HER, SHE WOULD LOVE HIM BACK, AND HER LOVE WOULD MAKE HER BEAUTIFUL AND WORTHY OF BEING THE BRIDE OF THE GREAT KING. AND THE NAME OF HIS BRIDE IS THE CHURCH, AND SHE BECOMES MORE BEAUTIFUL THE MORE SHE LOVES HIM. AND JUST AS GOD CONCEIVED JESUS IN MARY, HE GIVES US WHO ARE MEMBERS OF HIS CHURCH THE POWER TO BECOME SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF GOD, BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF JESUS.
SOMETIMES WE TALK ABOUT JESUS AS A GREAT TEACHER. I DON'T THINK HE ACTUALLY TAUGHT ANYTHING NEW. EVERYTHING HE TAUGHT CAN BE FOUND IN THE WRITINGS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, SOMETHING MANY EARLY JEWISH LEADERS RECOGNIZED. BUT, YOU SAY, WHAT ABOUT HIS PROCLAMATION THAT GOD WAS FATHER? WELL, GOD IS ADDRESSED AS FATHER IN THE PSALMS, IN ISAIAH AND A FEW OTHER PLACES. WHAT ABOUT HIS PROCLAMATION OF LOVE AS THE BASIS FOR HUMAN BEHAVIOR? LONG BEFORE JESUS, IN THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS, THE COMMAND IS GIVEN, “LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”.
SOMETIMES WE TALK ABOUT THE MIRACLES OF JESUS, AND SAY, THAT PROVES THAT HE SPEAKS FOR GOD. BUT JESUS WASN'T THE ONLY MIRACLE WORKER AROUND IN THOSE DAYS, OR BEFORE, OR AFTERWARD. I'M SURE YOU REMEMBER THAT PETER AND PAUL BOTH ARE DEPICTED AS WORKING MIRACLES IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. THEY BOTH EVEN RESUSCITATED DEAD PEOPLE. AND IN THE OLD TESTAMENT THERE ARE PLENTY OF HEALINGS WHICH TAKE PLACE AT THE HANDS OF PROPHETS LIKE ELIJAH. SOME OF THE NON-JEWISH HISTORIANS WHO WROTE ABOUT JESUS' TIME DESCRIBED HIM AS A “WONDER WORKER” BUT USED THE SAME TERM TO DESCRIBE OTHER PEOPLE, BOTH JEWISH AND NOT JEWISH. IN THOSE DAYS BEING ABLE TO WORK A HEALING MIRACLE WOULD NOT PROVE THINGS ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. AS THE PHARISEES SAID, “HE CASTS OUT DEMONS BY BEELZEBUB, THE PRINCE OF DEMONS.” WE MIGHT REALLY BE IMPRESSED TODAY BY A REAL MIRACLE, BUT IN THOSE TIMES, PROBABLY IT WAS NOT AS IMPRESSIVE.
SO IT ISN'T THE TEACHING, AND IT ISN'T THE MIRACLES THAT MAKE JESUS SPECIAL; WHAT IS IT? IT'S EXACTLY WHAT JOHN IS TALKING ABOUT IN TODAY'S GOSPEL, THE GOSPEL ASSIGNED BY THE CHURCH FOR THE MASS OF CHRISTMAS DAY. NO ANGELS, NO STABLE AND MANGER, NO SHEPHERDS – JUST A KIND OF A DRY BLOCK OF THEOLOGY. BUT THERE IS SOMETHING MARVELOUS HERE.
KIERKEGAARD, THE GREAT DANISH PHILOSOPHER, TOLD A STORY ONCE. THERE WAS A GREAT KING WHO FELL IN LOVE WITH A PEASANT GIRL AND WANTED TO MARRY HER. HE HAD ONLY SEEN HER FROM AFAR AND HEARD ABOUT HER THROUGH OTHER PEOPLE, BUT HAD NEVER SPOKEN TO HER HIMSELF. SO HE DECIDED TO SEND HIS SERVANTS TO BRING HER TO THE PALACE WHERE HE WOULD DECLARE HIS LOVE FOR HER AND TAKE HER AS HIS BRIDE. SURELY NO GIRL WOULD EVER SAY NO TO A GREAT KING. BUT THEN HE THOUGHT, “IF SHE SAYS YES, I'LL NEVER KNOW IF SHE LOVES ME FOR MYSELF.” SO HE DECIDED TO TAKE OFF HER ROBES AND CROWN AND DRESS UP AS A PEASANT, AND GO TO HER VILLAGE AND MEET HER. IF SHE FELL IN LOVE WITH HIM. THEN HE WOULD KNOW IT WAS REAL. THEN HE THOUGHT A LITTLE MORE AND REALIZED THAT SHE WOULD NOT BE FALLING IN LOVE WITH WHO HE WAS, BUT WITH WHO HE WAS PRETENDING TO BE. FINALLY THE KING REALIZED WHAT HE HAD TO DO. HE GAVE UP HIS KINGDOM AND BECAME A PEASANT.
THAT IS WHAT MAKES JESUS UNIQUE AMONG ALL THE HUMAN BEINGS WHO EVER LIVED. HE IS HUMAN, JUST AS HUMAN AS YOU AND I. IT ISN'T A MASK OR A DISGUISE; IT ISN'T GOD IN A MEAT SUIT. THE KING HAD TO GIVE UP HIS KINGDOM TO BECOME A PEASANT SO THAT THE GIRL MIGHT FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM. MIGHT, NOT WOULD. JESUS LIKEWISE BECOMES MAN IN THE HOPE, NOT CERTAINTY, THAT WE WOULD FALL IN LOVE WITH GOD.
THE GOSPEL SAYS THESE THINGS ABOUT JESUS:
JESUS IS THE WORD; HE IS GOD MADE UNDERSTANDABLE. JESUS SAID, “HE WHO SEES ME, SEES THE FATHER.”
JESUS IS THE LIGHT, THAT IS THERE FOR EVERYONE. IF WE FIX OUR GAZE ON JESUS, WE SEE HOW OUR LIVES MAKE SENSE, HOW OUR PLEASURES AND PAINS, EVEN OUR DEATHS, HAVE MEANING. BUT NO ONE HAS TO LOOK AT JESUS.
JESUS IS THE SOURCE OF GLORY. GLORY IS A WORD THAT MOST OF US DON'T GIVE A THOUGHT AS TO ITS MEANING. WE TALK ABOUT THE GLORY OF GOD, BUT ALSO THE GLORY OF A SPRING MORNING. BUT GLORY IS A QUALITY THAT WE PERCEIVE WITH A SUPERNATURAL SENSE, AND JOHN, WHO IS WRITING HIS GOSPEL A LONG TIME AFTER JESUS HAS DIED, HAS SEEN JESUS REFLECTED OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE JOINED THE CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT. THAT IS WHAT CONVINCES JOHN OF JESUS' DIVINITY – THE FACT THAT JESUS SO CLEARLY LIVES ON IN THE LIVES OF HIS FOLLOWERS JUST AS LONG AGO HE PROMISED THAT HE AND HIS FATHER WOULD MAKE THEIR DWELLING IN THOSE WHO BELIEVED IN HIM.
JESUS IS FULL OF GRACE. GRACE IS NOT A THING, IT IS WHEN SOMEONE GIVES YOU SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO. AND JOHN TRIES TO PUT INTO WORDS WHAT HE HAS EXPERIENCED – MERCY, PEACE, JOY, THE CERTAIN KNOWLEDGE OF BEING LOVED UNCONDITIONALLY.
JESUS IS TRUTH. A FEW YEARS AGO PEOPLE WENT AROUND WITH BRACELETS AND TEE SHIRTS AND BUMPER STICKERS THAT HAD THE INITIALS WWJD ON THEM. WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? THAT'S KIND OF TRIVIAL, BUT IT GETS AT HOW JESUS IS THE TRUTH. HE IS THE MEASURE OF ALL THINGS. WE MEASURE OURSELVES AGAINST HIM. IF WE ARE CHRISTIANS WE LIVE LIKE THIS. WE STUDY JESUS, WE IMITATE HIM, WE CONSCIOUSLY CHANGE OUR HABITS AND OUR BEHAVIOR TO BE LIKE HIM, SO THAT WE CAN SAY WITH PAUL, “NOT I, BUT CHRIST IN ME”. AND WHEN WE REACH THAT STATE, AND WE CAN, EVEN THOUGH THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR FURTHER GROWTH, THAT IS WHAT IT REALLY MEANS TO BE BORN AGAIN, THAT IS WHAT JOHN MEANS WHEN HE SAYS THAT JESUS GIVES THOSE WHO ACCEPT HIM THE POWER TO BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD.
SO THAT IS WHAT WE CELEBRATE TODAY – THAT THE GREAT KING FELL IN LOVE; NOT WITH A PEASANT GIRL, BUT HIS BELOVED WAS ABOUT AS UNLOVELY AS YOU COULD GET. BUT THE KING SAW WHAT HIS BELOVED COULD BECOME, IF SHE RESPONDED TO HIS LOVE, AND SO HE BECAME A HUMAN BEING IN THE HOPE THAT WHEN THE ONE HE LOVED COULD EXPERIENCE HIS LOVE FOR HER, SHE WOULD LOVE HIM BACK, AND HER LOVE WOULD MAKE HER BEAUTIFUL AND WORTHY OF BEING THE BRIDE OF THE GREAT KING. AND THE NAME OF HIS BRIDE IS THE CHURCH, AND SHE BECOMES MORE BEAUTIFUL THE MORE SHE LOVES HIM. AND JUST AS GOD CONCEIVED JESUS IN MARY, HE GIVES US WHO ARE MEMBERS OF HIS CHURCH THE POWER TO BECOME SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF GOD, BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF JESUS.
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Fourth Sunday of Advent, cycle B
FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT, CYCLE B
LUKE 1:26-38
WE'VE REACHED THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT, AND THE GOSPEL READING IS THE FAMILIAR STORY OF THE ANNUNCIATION. I THINK IF WE COULD LOOK IN EACH OTHER'S MINDS, THE SCENE WOULD BE AS IT IS DEPICTED IN SO MANY PAINTINGS; MARY IN HER ROOM, PRAYING, THE ANGEL WITH A WHITE ROBE AND WINGS STANDING BEFORE HER; MAYBE A BIRD IN THE AIR REPRESENTING THE HOLY SPIRIT. THE ANNUNCIATION HAS BEEN PORTRAYED OVER AND OVER AGAIN BY ARTISTS DOWN THROUGH THE AGES. BUT THINK OF THIS; MARY DIDN'T HAVE HER OWN ROOM; IN THOSE DAYS MOST HOMES FOR THE LOWER CLASSES CONSISTED OF A SINGLE ROOM, AND THERE WAS NO LIGHT STREAMING INTO THE ROOM. AT NIGHT THE FAMILY ALL SLEPT IN THE ROOM, BUT DURING THE DAY EXCEPT IN REALLY AWFUL WEATHER, MOST OF LIFE TOOK PLACE OUTSIDE, IN THE COURTYARD. I DON'T THINK MARY WAS PRAYING WHEN THE ANGEL APPEARED TO HER. I THINK SHE WAS PROBABLY WORKING – DOING WHAT A TEENAGE GIRL WAS SUPPOSED TO DO, WHICH MEANT “WOMEN'S WORK.”
MARY WAS A CHILD OF HER TIME. HER PARENTS HAD ARRANGED WITH JOSEPH OR JOSEPH'S PARENTS THAT MARY WOULD BE MARRIED TO JOSEPH AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE, USUALLY WHEN JOSEPH HAD BUILT A HOME AND DEMONSTRATED THAT HE COULD MAKE A LIVING. WHAT CONTACT THERE WAS BETWEEN JOSEPH AND MARY TOOK PLACE UNDER THE WATCHFUL EYES OF THE PARENTS; AND MARY FULLY EXPECTED, PERHAPS EVEN LOOKED FORWARD TO, TAKING ON THE ROLE OF A WIFE AND MOTHER. FOR A DAUGHTER OF ISRAEL, THAT WAS THE HIGHEST ASPIRATION, AND IT WAS CONSIDERED A CURSE NOT TO HAVE BORNE CHILDREN. MARY WAS GRATEFUL THAT HER OWN MOTHER WAS THERE TO TEACH HER HOW TO CARRY OUT THE DUTIES THAT WOULD BE EXPECTED OF HER WHEN SHE BECAME THE MATRON OF A HOUSEHOLD.
IT'S IN THIS CONTEXT THAT MARY LEARNS THAT GOD HAS OTHER PLANS, AND IT IS WHY SHE WAS GREATLY TROUBLED. THE ANGEL GIVES HER A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE GOD HAS PLANNED FOR HER, A FUTURE THAT SHE CANNOT SEE HAPPENING. HOW CAN SHE, A PEASANT GIRL, EVER GIVE BIRTH TO A KING WHO WILL BE GOD'S FAVORITE, AND RULE FOREVER? CERTAINLY NOT IF SHE MARRIES JOSEPH. MARY, WHO IS NO DUMMY, CAN'T CONCEIVE OF ANY WAY WHAT THE ANGEL IS SAYING COULD EVER HAPPEN, AND AT THIS POINT IN HER LIFE SHE IS STILL A VIRGIN. A WEDDING DATE HAS NOT BEEN SET, AND PROBABLY SEEMED FAR OFF; AND THE ANGEL SPEAKS WITH SOME URGENCY, THAT THE MOMENT OF HER DECISION IS RIGHT NOW.
THE ANGEL TELLS HER THAT THIS WILL COME ABOUT THROUGH A MIRACLE. THE ANGEL SPEAKS OF THE POWER OF THE MOST HIGH OVERSHADOWING HER; MARY MUST HAVE REMEMBERED HOW GOD MADE HIS PRESENCE KNOWN TO THE ISRAELITES BY “OVERSHADOWING” THE ARK OF THE COVENANT; THE ISRAELITES KNEW THAT GOD WAS PRESENT WHEN A CLOUD DESCENDED ON THE ARK. MARY REMEMBERS THAT GOD HAS KEPT HIS PROMISES IN THE PAST. THE ANGEL SHOWS HER THAT GOD IS STILL AT WORK IN THE WORLD, THAT HER COUSIN, WHO WAS THOUGHT TO BE BARREN, IS NOW PREGNANT AND IN HER SIXTH MONTH.
MARY AT THIS POINT HAS TO MAKE A DECISION. SHE IS FREE TO REJECT WHAT THE ANGEL PROPOSES AND CONTINUE ON WITH THE LIFE SHE HAD PLANNED, THE LIFE SHE HAD ALWAYS EXPECTED TO LIVE. OR SHE CAN ACCEPT THE ANGEL'S OFFER WITH ALL ITS UNCERTAINTY AND ALL THE QUESTIONS THAT MUST HAVE BEEN GOING ON IN HER MIND. DOES SHE TRUST GOD? CAN SHE STEP OUT IN FAITH?
AND SHE DOES.
DO YOU SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE? YOU AND I GO THROUGH OUR OWN ANNUNCIATIONS. GOD HAS GIVEN US CERTAIN GIFTS, SOME SMALL, SOME LARGE; AND GOD CHOOSES US TO TAKE PART IN HIS PLAN. HE COMES TO US, WE DON'T GO TO HIM. I MAY THINK I COULD SERVE GOD REALLY WELL BY USING A PARTICULAR TALENT THAT I HAVE BEEN GIVEN, BUT GOD COMES TO ME AND ASKS ME TO DO SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, MAYBE EVEN SOMETHING THAT I WOULD RATHER NOT DO. AND WHEN I HEAR GOD ASKING ME TO DO SOMETHING, MY NATURAL REACTION IS TO BECOME GREATLY TROUBLED; BECAUSE HE IS ASKING ME SOMETHING THAT IS VERY HARD; TO GIVE UP WHAT I HAVE PLANNED AND DO WHAT HE HAS PLANNED FOR ME. IT IS NO WONDER THAT MOST OF THE TIME GOD GETS A “NO” FROM US. NONE OF US LIKES HAVING OUR LIVES DISRUPTED AND OUR PLANS TRASHED.
AT THAT POINT GOD INVITES US TO LOOK BACK IN OUR PAST. IT'S VERY HARD TO SEE GOD'S HAND IN OUR PRESENT MOMENT; BUT WHEN WE LOOK BACK, WE SEE, AS MARY SAW, THAT GOD DOES WORK IN OUR LIVES, AND IN OUR HISTORY. AND SEEING THAT HE IS THERE, THAT HE IS TRUSTWORTHY, THAT THERE IS NO REASON FOR FEAR, EVEN IF WHAT HE IS ASKING US TO DO IS SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE, MAYBE THEN WE CAN SAY, WITH MARY: “BE IT DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD.”
I'VE HAD LITTLE ANNUNCIATIONS IN MY OWN LIFE, WHEN I'M PRETTY SURE GOD WAS INVITING ME TO STEP OUT OF MY LIFE INTO THE UNKNOWN – WHEN I GOT MARRIED; WHEN I GAVE UP A SAFE AND SECURE JOB IN BUFFALO TO COME HERE AND TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE OF BUILDING A NEW PROGRAM FROM THE GROUND UP; AND WHEN IN THE MIDDLE OF MY MEDICAL CAREER I FELT CALLED TO BE A DEACON. IN THESE DECISIONS, I SAID, “BE IT DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD.” BUT THERE HAVE BEEN MANY OTHER TIMES WHEN I'VE SAID, “NO, I'LL PASS, THANKS ANYWAY.” THANK HEAVEN GOD IS MERCIFUL AND DOESN'T GIVE UP ON ME OR ON YOU..
THINK OF YOUR OWN LIFE AN TRY TO SEE WHERE YOU'VE HAD AN ANNUNCIATION. AND WHAT DID YOU DO ABOUT IT? IF YOU SAID YES, WONDERFUL. WAS GOD FAITHFUL WHEN YOU TOOK ON THE TASK HE GAVE YOU? BUT IF YOU SAID NO, EVEN THEN GOD DID NOT DESERT YOU, AND GOD PROBABLY CAME BACK AND ASKED YOU FOR SOMETHING ELSE.
THERE IS ONE OTHER THING ABOUT AN ANNUNCIATION – MARY'S, YOURS, MINE. AFTER MARY SAID “YES” THE ANGEL LEFT HER. ONE OF THE WAYS WE KNOW CHRIST IS BEING CONCEIVED IN US IS THAT WE EXPERIENCE A CERTAIN KIND OF LONELINESS, A BIT OF PAIN, JUST AS MARY DID WHEN JOSEPH AND HER OWN FAMILY LEARNED OF HER PREGNANCY. BECAUSE WHEN GOD ASKS US TO BECOME DISCIPLES, TO FOLLOW HIS PLAN INSTEAD OF OUR OWN, OTHER PEOPLE ARE OFTEN AFFECTED AND THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO CHANGE, AND OFTEN PUT UP BARRIERS. WHEN THE ANGEL LEFT MARY, THAT MAY HAVE BEEN THE ONE TIME IN HER LIFE WHEN SHE TRULY FELT SHE WAS “BLESSED AMONG WOMEN” BECAUSE FROM THEN ON THERE ARE FEW CONSOLATIONS AND MANY SAD DAYS, UNTIL THE RESURRECTION; AND EVEN THEN THE CHILD THAT SHE LOVED FROM THE BEGINNING IS TAKEN FROM HER. FAITHFUL DISCIPLES MIGHT NEVER SEE THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR SAYING YES TO GOD UNTIL THE NEXT LIFE. BUT THEN, THAT'S WHAT FAITH MEANS.
LUKE 1:26-38
WE'VE REACHED THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT, AND THE GOSPEL READING IS THE FAMILIAR STORY OF THE ANNUNCIATION. I THINK IF WE COULD LOOK IN EACH OTHER'S MINDS, THE SCENE WOULD BE AS IT IS DEPICTED IN SO MANY PAINTINGS; MARY IN HER ROOM, PRAYING, THE ANGEL WITH A WHITE ROBE AND WINGS STANDING BEFORE HER; MAYBE A BIRD IN THE AIR REPRESENTING THE HOLY SPIRIT. THE ANNUNCIATION HAS BEEN PORTRAYED OVER AND OVER AGAIN BY ARTISTS DOWN THROUGH THE AGES. BUT THINK OF THIS; MARY DIDN'T HAVE HER OWN ROOM; IN THOSE DAYS MOST HOMES FOR THE LOWER CLASSES CONSISTED OF A SINGLE ROOM, AND THERE WAS NO LIGHT STREAMING INTO THE ROOM. AT NIGHT THE FAMILY ALL SLEPT IN THE ROOM, BUT DURING THE DAY EXCEPT IN REALLY AWFUL WEATHER, MOST OF LIFE TOOK PLACE OUTSIDE, IN THE COURTYARD. I DON'T THINK MARY WAS PRAYING WHEN THE ANGEL APPEARED TO HER. I THINK SHE WAS PROBABLY WORKING – DOING WHAT A TEENAGE GIRL WAS SUPPOSED TO DO, WHICH MEANT “WOMEN'S WORK.”
MARY WAS A CHILD OF HER TIME. HER PARENTS HAD ARRANGED WITH JOSEPH OR JOSEPH'S PARENTS THAT MARY WOULD BE MARRIED TO JOSEPH AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE, USUALLY WHEN JOSEPH HAD BUILT A HOME AND DEMONSTRATED THAT HE COULD MAKE A LIVING. WHAT CONTACT THERE WAS BETWEEN JOSEPH AND MARY TOOK PLACE UNDER THE WATCHFUL EYES OF THE PARENTS; AND MARY FULLY EXPECTED, PERHAPS EVEN LOOKED FORWARD TO, TAKING ON THE ROLE OF A WIFE AND MOTHER. FOR A DAUGHTER OF ISRAEL, THAT WAS THE HIGHEST ASPIRATION, AND IT WAS CONSIDERED A CURSE NOT TO HAVE BORNE CHILDREN. MARY WAS GRATEFUL THAT HER OWN MOTHER WAS THERE TO TEACH HER HOW TO CARRY OUT THE DUTIES THAT WOULD BE EXPECTED OF HER WHEN SHE BECAME THE MATRON OF A HOUSEHOLD.
IT'S IN THIS CONTEXT THAT MARY LEARNS THAT GOD HAS OTHER PLANS, AND IT IS WHY SHE WAS GREATLY TROUBLED. THE ANGEL GIVES HER A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE GOD HAS PLANNED FOR HER, A FUTURE THAT SHE CANNOT SEE HAPPENING. HOW CAN SHE, A PEASANT GIRL, EVER GIVE BIRTH TO A KING WHO WILL BE GOD'S FAVORITE, AND RULE FOREVER? CERTAINLY NOT IF SHE MARRIES JOSEPH. MARY, WHO IS NO DUMMY, CAN'T CONCEIVE OF ANY WAY WHAT THE ANGEL IS SAYING COULD EVER HAPPEN, AND AT THIS POINT IN HER LIFE SHE IS STILL A VIRGIN. A WEDDING DATE HAS NOT BEEN SET, AND PROBABLY SEEMED FAR OFF; AND THE ANGEL SPEAKS WITH SOME URGENCY, THAT THE MOMENT OF HER DECISION IS RIGHT NOW.
THE ANGEL TELLS HER THAT THIS WILL COME ABOUT THROUGH A MIRACLE. THE ANGEL SPEAKS OF THE POWER OF THE MOST HIGH OVERSHADOWING HER; MARY MUST HAVE REMEMBERED HOW GOD MADE HIS PRESENCE KNOWN TO THE ISRAELITES BY “OVERSHADOWING” THE ARK OF THE COVENANT; THE ISRAELITES KNEW THAT GOD WAS PRESENT WHEN A CLOUD DESCENDED ON THE ARK. MARY REMEMBERS THAT GOD HAS KEPT HIS PROMISES IN THE PAST. THE ANGEL SHOWS HER THAT GOD IS STILL AT WORK IN THE WORLD, THAT HER COUSIN, WHO WAS THOUGHT TO BE BARREN, IS NOW PREGNANT AND IN HER SIXTH MONTH.
MARY AT THIS POINT HAS TO MAKE A DECISION. SHE IS FREE TO REJECT WHAT THE ANGEL PROPOSES AND CONTINUE ON WITH THE LIFE SHE HAD PLANNED, THE LIFE SHE HAD ALWAYS EXPECTED TO LIVE. OR SHE CAN ACCEPT THE ANGEL'S OFFER WITH ALL ITS UNCERTAINTY AND ALL THE QUESTIONS THAT MUST HAVE BEEN GOING ON IN HER MIND. DOES SHE TRUST GOD? CAN SHE STEP OUT IN FAITH?
AND SHE DOES.
DO YOU SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE? YOU AND I GO THROUGH OUR OWN ANNUNCIATIONS. GOD HAS GIVEN US CERTAIN GIFTS, SOME SMALL, SOME LARGE; AND GOD CHOOSES US TO TAKE PART IN HIS PLAN. HE COMES TO US, WE DON'T GO TO HIM. I MAY THINK I COULD SERVE GOD REALLY WELL BY USING A PARTICULAR TALENT THAT I HAVE BEEN GIVEN, BUT GOD COMES TO ME AND ASKS ME TO DO SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, MAYBE EVEN SOMETHING THAT I WOULD RATHER NOT DO. AND WHEN I HEAR GOD ASKING ME TO DO SOMETHING, MY NATURAL REACTION IS TO BECOME GREATLY TROUBLED; BECAUSE HE IS ASKING ME SOMETHING THAT IS VERY HARD; TO GIVE UP WHAT I HAVE PLANNED AND DO WHAT HE HAS PLANNED FOR ME. IT IS NO WONDER THAT MOST OF THE TIME GOD GETS A “NO” FROM US. NONE OF US LIKES HAVING OUR LIVES DISRUPTED AND OUR PLANS TRASHED.
AT THAT POINT GOD INVITES US TO LOOK BACK IN OUR PAST. IT'S VERY HARD TO SEE GOD'S HAND IN OUR PRESENT MOMENT; BUT WHEN WE LOOK BACK, WE SEE, AS MARY SAW, THAT GOD DOES WORK IN OUR LIVES, AND IN OUR HISTORY. AND SEEING THAT HE IS THERE, THAT HE IS TRUSTWORTHY, THAT THERE IS NO REASON FOR FEAR, EVEN IF WHAT HE IS ASKING US TO DO IS SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE, MAYBE THEN WE CAN SAY, WITH MARY: “BE IT DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD.”
I'VE HAD LITTLE ANNUNCIATIONS IN MY OWN LIFE, WHEN I'M PRETTY SURE GOD WAS INVITING ME TO STEP OUT OF MY LIFE INTO THE UNKNOWN – WHEN I GOT MARRIED; WHEN I GAVE UP A SAFE AND SECURE JOB IN BUFFALO TO COME HERE AND TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE OF BUILDING A NEW PROGRAM FROM THE GROUND UP; AND WHEN IN THE MIDDLE OF MY MEDICAL CAREER I FELT CALLED TO BE A DEACON. IN THESE DECISIONS, I SAID, “BE IT DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD.” BUT THERE HAVE BEEN MANY OTHER TIMES WHEN I'VE SAID, “NO, I'LL PASS, THANKS ANYWAY.” THANK HEAVEN GOD IS MERCIFUL AND DOESN'T GIVE UP ON ME OR ON YOU..
THINK OF YOUR OWN LIFE AN TRY TO SEE WHERE YOU'VE HAD AN ANNUNCIATION. AND WHAT DID YOU DO ABOUT IT? IF YOU SAID YES, WONDERFUL. WAS GOD FAITHFUL WHEN YOU TOOK ON THE TASK HE GAVE YOU? BUT IF YOU SAID NO, EVEN THEN GOD DID NOT DESERT YOU, AND GOD PROBABLY CAME BACK AND ASKED YOU FOR SOMETHING ELSE.
THERE IS ONE OTHER THING ABOUT AN ANNUNCIATION – MARY'S, YOURS, MINE. AFTER MARY SAID “YES” THE ANGEL LEFT HER. ONE OF THE WAYS WE KNOW CHRIST IS BEING CONCEIVED IN US IS THAT WE EXPERIENCE A CERTAIN KIND OF LONELINESS, A BIT OF PAIN, JUST AS MARY DID WHEN JOSEPH AND HER OWN FAMILY LEARNED OF HER PREGNANCY. BECAUSE WHEN GOD ASKS US TO BECOME DISCIPLES, TO FOLLOW HIS PLAN INSTEAD OF OUR OWN, OTHER PEOPLE ARE OFTEN AFFECTED AND THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO CHANGE, AND OFTEN PUT UP BARRIERS. WHEN THE ANGEL LEFT MARY, THAT MAY HAVE BEEN THE ONE TIME IN HER LIFE WHEN SHE TRULY FELT SHE WAS “BLESSED AMONG WOMEN” BECAUSE FROM THEN ON THERE ARE FEW CONSOLATIONS AND MANY SAD DAYS, UNTIL THE RESURRECTION; AND EVEN THEN THE CHILD THAT SHE LOVED FROM THE BEGINNING IS TAKEN FROM HER. FAITHFUL DISCIPLES MIGHT NEVER SEE THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR SAYING YES TO GOD UNTIL THE NEXT LIFE. BUT THEN, THAT'S WHAT FAITH MEANS.
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