Doing the will of the Father

 

Jesus said many things that caused people to pause and think.  I’m thinking about the passage in Mark’s Gospel when Jesus was told that His mother and brothers were outside looking for Him.  After hearing this, instead of going to greet them, He asked those around Him, “Who are my mother and my brothers?”  Then He looked around and answered His own question with “Here are my mother and my brothers.  For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” [Mark 3:31-35]

What may have caused some people to pause and think at that time, and even now when this passage is read, is that Jesus’ comments can easily be misunderstood.  Some will conclude that He was distancing Himself from His own family and that He was even disowning them to a certain extent.  But nothing could be further from the truth.

First of all, we know that Jesus had a perfect love for His dear mother Mary and that she loved Jesus with a perfect reciprocal love.  As for His “brothers,” it was common to refer to one’s extended family (such as cousins) as brothers and sisters.  Therefore, these brothers who were coming to see Jesus were relatives to one degree or another.  And though our Blessed Mother, the mother of Jesus, was perfect in every way, Jesus’ extended family was not.  Recall that some of them thought Jesus was out of his mind and tried to prevent His public ministry [Mark 3:20-21].

Was Jesus disowning His family members in some way?  Certainly not.  Instead, He was establishing a deeper context for His new family in grace.  Though biological bonds are a gift and must be respected and cherished, the spiritual bonds established by our joint conformity to the will of God is of much greater importance.  Jesus simply pointed to this fact, elevating the spiritual family bond over the purely natural.  Of course, it’s also important to point out that Jesus’ mother was first and foremost His mother, not only because she gave physical birth to Jesus, but primarily because she was in perfect conformity to the will of God with Him and, thus, the most intimate member of His family by grace.  And the same can be true for all of us.  When we conform our wills to the will of God, we become Jesus’ “mother” in the sense that He enters our world through us.  And we become His “brothers and sisters” in that we become intimate members of His eternal family and enjoy a profound and spiritual union with Him.

We are called to be so much more than just a physical brother or sister of Christ Jesus.  We are called to the most intimate and transforming familial union imaginable.  And this union is more fully accomplished when we seek to fulfill the will of God with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength.

My dear Lord, I desire deeply to become more fully a member of Your most intimate family in grace. Help me to always dedicate myself to the complete fulfillment of the will of our Father in Heaven. And as I conform my will more fully with that of the Father’s, draw me deeper and deeper into union with You. Jesus, I trust in You.

God is the ultimate Judge

As I continue reading Mark’s Gospel today, there are some scribes, who, apparently seeing or hearing about Jesus driving out demons, say, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “By the prince of demons he drives out demons.” Then Jesus points out the fallacy of those statements: “How can Satan drive out Satan?” And then, toward the end of the episode, Jesus says, “Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the holy Spirit will never have forgiveness but is guilty of an everlasting sin.” And then we hear, “For they had said, ‘He has an unclean spirit.” [Mark 3:22-30]

Maybe I’m too caught up with the divisions among us in our day and age, but I wonder whether we are tempted, instead of thinking, “I need to watch out about blaspheming against the Holy Spirit!” to think, “What he/she/they said was a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and they should never be forgiven!”  In other words, we can be tempted to look for justification for our condemnation of others instead of avoiding condemnation ourselves.

I’m not saying that there isn’t evil being done. There is.  I’m not saying that we should not speak up for what’s right.  We’re called to work for justice.  What I am saying is that God is the ultimate judge, and the question of condemnation is solely up to God to answer.

In this Gospel, the sin against the Holy Spirit was not only the false condemnation spoken by the scribes against Jesus.  First and foremost, their sin was one of obstinacy.  They spoke falsely about our Lord, which is a grave sin, but what’s worse is that they did so in such a way that they remained firmly grounded in their error.  They refused to humble themselves and reconsider their error.  And it’s this stubbornness that leaves them with an “everlasting sin.”

Perhaps the most important lesson we can learn from this passage is that we must avoid remaining stuck in our pride in an obstinate way.  We must always be humble and be ready and willing to reexamine our actions.  Humility will help us to perpetually remember that we can easily become misled in life.  And though this will happen from time to time in various ways, if we remain humble and open to change, then we can always receive the mercy of God and find forgiveness.  But if we’re prideful and continually refuse to admit our errors, then we are also potentially guilty of a sin against the Holy Spirit.

In Hebrews [Hebrews 9:15-28], we hear that “once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages to take away sin by his sacrifice.”  That wasn’t an act of condemnation, but of salvation.  If we follow Jesus who did that for us, our lives are oriented towards love.  Instead of looking for reasons to hate, perhaps we can call on the Holy Spirit to empower us to love.

My merciful Jesus, I sin every day and will continue to fail to follow You with perfection. For this reason, I thank You for Your abundant mercy. Please help me to always be open to that mercy by regularly re-examining my decisions in life. Give me humility, dear Lord, to always repent and to turn back to You when I stray. Jesus, I trust in You. 

What should it mean to follow Jesus?

 

What should it mean to follow Jesus?  I thought about this question and others as I read Matthew’s Gospel today [Matthew 4:12-23].

In this Gospel, Jesus walked along the shore of Galilee, passing by fishing boats with crews of men working with their nets. “Come follow me”, He said, and they dropped everything and began their journeys as disciples/apostles.  Jesus called, and Peter, Andrew, James, and John responded.  Not grudgingly, not eventually, but “immediately”!  They left their fishing, they left their father, and they were on their way.  Matthew’s gospel has been called a “training manual for disciples,” and shortly after this calling, Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount, perhaps the greatest manifesto of discipleship in all of the gospels.  As Jesus began His preaching, His words were (and continue to be) challenging but also very hopeful.  By saying that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” Jesus stirred interest and holy curiosity among His first listeners.  His call to repentance was softened by His new proclamation about the Kingdom.

But it wasn’t first and foremost Christ’s teachings, but rather Christ’s personal call, that animated those first disciples to leave the shores of Galilee and embark on The Way.

One helpful insight we can take from these first words of Jesus’ public ministry is that this is the best way to share the Gospel with those who do not yet follow Christ.  Oftentimes, when we see someone living in serious sin, we want to judge and condemn.  But usually what they need the most is hope—hope that there is something much greater that comes from repentance.  Certainly we need to speak against sin.  One of the most effective ways to do so is by initially offering the listener hope of something much better than the sin with which they struggle—specifically, the hope of the Kingdom of God.

I think of my life and wonder how I can follow Jesus?  Family, work, life challenges such as health all can push to a secondary consideration my desire to see Him more clearly, love Him more dearly, follow Him more nearly day by day.     

I don’t believe He is asking me to “cast away my nets” in order to serve Him.  My way of serving Him is doing everything while walking with Him each day.  I can embrace every challenge, difficulty, problem, each day as a gift from Him to better myself.  To find all the joys of children, grandchildren, my wife, my friendships in my life as extraordinary of His Love for me.  I must begin and end each day knowing I am trying to follow Him. 

We shouldn’t forget that whatever the immediacy of their response, the disciples didn’t leave their flaws, misunderstandings, or humanity behind.  Nor did the second generation of believers.  To dispel any illusions we may have about the assumed idealism of the early Christian community, it’s a good idea to read Paul’s letters to the Corinthians. The scandals, in-fighting, and polarization in first-century Corinth could match anything we see in today’s news headlines!  In this light, St. Paul’s exhortation to that early Church [1 Corinthians 1:10-17] speaks through the ages, because division and rivalry are never markers of the Spirit.  Likewise, we Catholics should not “belong to Pope Benedict” or “belong to Pope Francis,” because we ultimately belong to Christ.  May our church communities strive to exemplify the unity in diversity that Paul labored so mightily to bring about in Corinth.

Lord, as You began Your public ministry of proclaiming the Kingdom of Heaven, You instilled hope and a holy curiosity in the minds and hearts of Your first hearers. Please continue this good work and use me as You will to be an instrument of this hope in those I encounter every day. Jesus, I trust in You.

A different form of suffering

 Jesus came with his disciples into the house.  Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat.  When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” [Mark 3:20–21]

When you consider the sufferings of Jesus, most likely your thoughts first turn to the crucifixion.  From there, you may think about His scourging at the pillar, the carrying of the Cross and the other events that took place from the time of His arrest until His death.  However, there were many other human sufferings that our Lord endured for our good and the good of all.

Though physical pain is quite undesirable, there are other sufferings that can be just as difficult to endure, if not more difficult.  One such suffering is being misunderstood and treated by your own family as if you were out of your mind.  In Jesus’ case, it appears as if many of His extended family, not including His own mother of course, were quite vocally critical of Jesus.  Maybe they were jealous of Him and had some form of envy, or perhaps they were embarrassed by all the attention He was getting.  Whatever the case may be, it’s clear that Jesus’ own relatives tried to prevent Him from ministering to the people who deeply longed to be with Him.  Some of His extended family members made up the story that Jesus was “out of his mind” and sought to put an end to His popularity.

Family life should be a community of love, but for some it becomes a source of sorrow and hurt.  Why did Jesus allow Himself to endure this form of suffering?  I think in part, it was to be able to relate with any and every suffering each and every one of us might endure as a result of our own family.  Additionally, His endurance of it also redeemed this form of suffering, making it possible for our family hurt to share in that redemption and grace.  Thus, when you turn to God in prayer with your family struggles, you will be consoled to know that the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, Jesus, the Eternal Son of God, understands your suffering from His own human experience.  He knows the pain so many family members feel from first-hand experience.  And He is able to look at every family suffering with the utmost compassion so as to give each person who asks the grace they need to not only endure that suffering but also to use it for good and for God’s glory.

My compassionate Lord, You endured much in this world, including the rejection and ridicule of those in Your own family.  I offer to You my own family and especially the hurt that has been present.  Please come and redeem all family struggles and bring healing and hope to me and to all those who need it the most.  Jesus, I trust in You.

Called and sent with authority

 He appointed Twelve, whom he also named Apostles, that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. [Mark 3:14–15]

The Twelve Apostles were first called by Jesus and then sent to preach with authority. The authority they were given was for the purpose of driving out demons.

Demons are fallen angels.  But even in their fallen state, they retain the natural powers they have, such as the power of influence and suggestion.  They seek to communicate with us to deceive us and draw us away from Christ.  The good angels, of course, also exercise this same natural power for our good.  Our guardian angels, for example, constantly seek to communicate to us the truths of God and His grace.  The angelic battle for good and evil is real, and as Christians we must be aware of this reality.

One of the greatest ways to confront Satan and his demons is to listen to the Truth and to proclaim it with the authority of Christ.  Though the Apostles were given a special authority for their preaching, every Christian, by virtue of their Baptism and Confirmation, is entrusted with the message of the Gospel to proclaim in various ways.  And with that authority, we must constantly strive to bring forth the Kingdom of God.  Doing so will have a direct impact on diminishing the kingdom of Satan.

Each of us has a duty to share the Gospel with others.  Sometimes this is done by an explicit sharing of the message of Jesus Christ, as I try to do with my simple daily reflections, and at other times the message is shared more by our actions and virtue (I fall way too short in this regard).  But every Christian is entrusted with this mission and must learn to fulfill that mission with true authority, knowing that as that authority from Christ is exercised, the Kingdom of God increases and the activity of the evil one is overcome.

My all-powerful Lord, I thank You for the grace You have given me to proclaim the truth of Your saving message to those whom I encounter every day. Help me to fulfill my mission to preach in both word and deed and to do so with the gentle yet powerful authority given me by You. I offer myself to Your service, dear Lord. Do with me as You will. Jesus, I trust in You.

What happened to all those people?

 

As I read the Gospels, it’s fascinating to ponder the enthusiasm that so many people had toward Jesus.

St. Mark goes out of his way to tell us that there were an awful lot of people who wanted to be with Jesus.  He tells us that “a large number of people” from Galilee came, as did a large number from Judea, as did a large number from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan River, from Tyre and Sidon.  People were traveling from north, south, east and west, streaming to hear Jesus, to be with Jesus to touch Jesus [Mark 3:7-12].

In my imagination I can see the constant stream of people gathering from all directions to be with Jesus.   And Jesus was a bit intimidated by the huge numbers because He asked His friends to have a boat ready to give Him an escape route so “they would not crush him.”   And this wasn’t the only time great crowds came to Jesus.  There were the 5000 fed on the hillside [Luke 9:10-17, John 6:1-15], the 4000 (not including women and children) fed with 7 loaves and 2 fish [Matthew 15:32-39], and don’t forget the crowds lining the road into Jerusalem who were singing hosanna and laying palms down in front to Jesus as He rode into Jerusalem [John 12:12-13].  Great popularity and adulation!  But, whatever happened to all those people?

We know they receded back into the countryside when the religious and political leaders began to demonize Jesus.  They were nowhere to be seen when Jesus went through His Passion and Death.  But when everything settled down again and the disciples continued to talk about Jesus and witness to His resurrection did many of these people return to their initial interest and become followers of Jesus once again?  It wouldn’t be a surprise to find out that some (many?) of them did.  From Pentecost on the number of followers of Jesus grew rapidly [Acts of the Apostles].  No doubt some of the people who were frightened off came back.

Being a Catholic follower of Jesus can be a difficult thing even today.  Sometimes we’re very fervent but there are other times when our hearts can grow distant.  The disapproval of our neighbors or our society, the scandals that happen in our Church, the experiences of personal disappointment, disillusionment, hurt or anger can all cause us to pull back from our faith, to recede back into the countryside.  The beautiful truth about Jesus is that though crowds of people came and went, Jesus stayed faithful to all of them.  Jesus stays faithful to us as well.

My saving God, I turn to You, this day, and seek to be single-minded in my love and devotion to You. Help me, first and foremost, to listen to Your transforming Word and to allow that Word to become the central focus of my life. Jesus, I trust in You.

“This ‘Wait’ has almost always meant ‘Never.’”--MLK, Jr.

 

Then he said to the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” But they remained silent. Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored. [Mark 3:1–5]

Sin damages our relationship with God. But hardness of heart is even more damaging because it perpetuates the damage done by sin.  And the harder one’s heart, the more permanent the damage.

In the passage above, Jesus was angry with the Pharisees.  Oftentimes the passion of anger is sinful, resulting from impatience and a lack of charity.  But at other times, the passion of anger can be good when it’s motivated by love of others and hatred for their sin.  In this case, Jesus was grieved by the hardness of heart of the Pharisees, and that grief motivated His holy anger.  His “holy” anger didn’t cause irrational criticism; rather, it drove Jesus to cure this man in the presence of the Pharisees so that they would soften their hearts and believe in Jesus.  Sadly, it didn’t work.  The very next line of the Gospel says, “The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death” [Mark 3:6].

Hardness of heart should be greatly avoided.  The problem is that those who are hard of heart are usually not open to the fact that they are hard of heart.  They are obstinate and stubborn, and oftentimes self-righteous. Therefore, when people suffer from this spiritual ailment, it is difficult for them to change, especially when confronted.

I wonder if Jesus is telling us to always grasp the opportunity to do good, even if it comes across as unseemly or untimely.  I’m reminded of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham City Jail,” in which he tries to explain to the religious leaders who asked him to refrain from the direct action he was leading, why the work for civil rights could not wait: “This ‘Wait’ has almost always meant ‘Never.’”

There are many opportunities, both great and small, for us to do good and to save life.  There are many people of good faith, even if their faith is not ours, with whom we can work to achieve good and promote life.  And there is no need to wait.

My loving Lord, this day I open myself to an examination of my own heart and pray that You will help me to always be open to change when necessary. Help me, especially, to see any hardness I may have within my heart. Help me to overcome any obstinacy, stubbornness and self-righteousness. Give me the gift of humility, dear Lord, so that my heart can become more like Yours. Jesus, I trust in You.

Hope keeps us on the right path

 

The Letter to the Hebrews exhorts us “to hold fast to the hope that lies before us.” [Hebrews 6:10-20]  Christianity is unabashedly a religion of hope, and Christians are called to be shining and resilient witnesses of hope, because Christians believe that the God who first blessed us with life wants us to share fully in the joy and love and beauty and goodness that is God.  Our life is an unfolding journey to God—an itinerary to beatitude that culminates in joyous communion with God and the saints—and hope keeps us on the right path.  But the very nature of hope reminds us that we are pilgrims on a journey toward a fulfillment that we can anticipate (and, in some way, already experience), but cannot yet completely enjoy.  Hope orients our lives to a future good that utterly transcends anything we could ever give ourselves, but which, precisely because we do not yet possess it fully, can begin to doubt.

The passage from Hebrews warns us not to become “sluggish” regarding the object of our hope, but instead to keep our attention firmly fixed on it.  It’s a perceptive and timely reminder that affirms not only how easy it is to turn away from the good that God has in store for us, but also to begin to doubt its very possibility.  Or, perhaps more likely, we fill our lives with so many distractions and attach our hearts to so many lesser goods that we gradually forget there is something greater, something far lovelier, and something infinitely more hopeful to which God calls us.

In order to avoid these woeful possibilities, I think there are two things we can do.  First, as Hebrews reminds us, we must remember that we are heirs to the love, goodness, and mercy of God.  God wants to bless every one of us in unimaginable ways by sharing with us everything that God is and God, as the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus testify, is faithful to His promises.  Second, hope will anchor and steady us, keeping us on the right path, if instead of imitating the gloomy legalists in Mark’s Gospel [Mark 2:23-28] who live to find fault with others, we seek, like Jesus, to do good in whatever way we can whenever we can.

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we may know what is the hope that belongs to our call.

Do something new

 

In St. Mark’s Gospel people come to Jesus and ask Him: “why do your disciples not fast?”  Everyone knew that the Pharisees fasted, as did the disciples of John.  They are curious about the fact that Jesus and His disciples do not fast.  Jesus doesn’t respond as they may have hoped He would.  Rather, Jesus uses the example of a wedding feast.

Jesus tells His listeners that as long as the bridegroom is at the reception, the guests will continue to celebrate this joyous occasion.  The time to fast will be when the bridegroom is no longer with them.

Jesus then uses the image of a cloak that is torn and needs to be patched.  He tells His listeners that anyone with sense would not use a new piece of material to patch the cloak.  Given the difference in the age of the cloths, it would simply make the tear worse.  Jesus then uses the image of wineskins.  He says that one should never put new wine into previously used wineskins because the skins would burst [Mark 2:18-22].

Fasting is a wonderful spiritual practice.  It helps to strengthen the will against disordered fleshly temptations and helps to bring purity to one’s soul.  But it needs to be pointed out that fasting is not an eternal reality.  One day, when we’re face-to-face with God in Heaven, there will no longer be any need to fast or do any form of penance.  But while on earth, we will struggle and fall and lose our way, and one of the best spiritual practices to help us return to Christ is prayer and fasting combined. 

Fasting becomes necessary “when the bridegroom is taken away.”  In other words, fasting is necessary when we sin and our union with Christ begins to fade.  It is then that the personal sacrifice of fasting helps open our hearts once again to our Lord.  This is especially true when habits of sin form and become deeply ingrained.  Fasting adds much power to our prayer and stretches our souls so as to be able to receive the “new wine” of God’s grace where we need it the most.

Maybe Jesus is inviting us to “do something new” rather than simply continuing to live out our old (and perhaps unhealthy) patterns.  I assume that all of us have at least one pattern in our life that we would like to change.  Take a moment and ask yourself: what is one small change I would like to make in my life?  How serious am I about making this change?  I’ll confess right here and now that I have always been woefully inadequate when it comes to fasting, even during Lent and Advent.  I usually fall back on the ”rule” of the Church that “for members of the Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal.”  I can’t even manage that!   It is one of my New Year’s resolutions for 2023—to observe the norm of the Church this Lent.

Change is not easy. It’s easy to make a New Year’s resolution.  However, it’s  much more difficult to keep that resolution.  We’ll see how it goes.

Lord, I open my heart to the new wine of grace that You wish to pour forth upon me. Help me to be properly disposed to this grace and to use every means necessary to become more open to You. Help me, especially, to commit to the wonderful spiritual practice of fasting. May this act of mortification in my life bear abundant fruit for Your Kingdom. Jesus, I trust in You.

Trust in the Spirit

 

Called.  Beckoned.  Invited.  Encouraged.  Challenged.  Directed.  Pushed.  Pulled.  What incentivizes me, us, to move forward?  Some of these verbs have positive, others negative, personal associations.  For me, the earliest calling I remember is my mother calling my four brothers and me to come home for dinner from wherever she knew we’d be.  We five brothers responded immediately and enthusiastically!  We trusted our past experiences – most days dinner was to our liking.  Not always.  Still, I trusted my mother – always.  I trusted what she offered was good for me, even if hard to swallow.

In the gospel, we hear John the Baptist referring to Jesus say, “Behold the Lamb of God” [John 1:29-34].  Twice in this reading we also hear John the Baptist say in reference to Jesus, “I did not know him”.  However, John trusted “the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, “On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one…””.  John trusted the one and same Spirit, who had called him to “…baptize with water…”  John the Baptist trusted the Spirit.

What am I to do?  I desire to listen more closely for the Spirit and to trust.  To respond clearly and honestly, “I am here Lord” [Psalms 40:2-10].  To act in faith.  I desire not to be who I once was, but to recognize the presence of the Spirit in me, with me, in others, in nature and in all expressions of life – even if it is hard to swallow.

Glorious Lamb of God, You have come and taken away the sins of the world through the sacrifice of Your sacred life on the Cross. Please help me to understand Who You are and all that You have done for me, especially every time I come to behold You and receive You in Holy Communion. Jesus, I trust in You.

Words are a two-edge sword

 

The word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account. [Hebrews, 4:12-13]

Words matter.  What we say matters.

If you’re like me, you can remember words and phrases from your past, even from your earliest moments of awareness.  They came to be in our awareness and now live on forever in our memory.

I remember words that made me smile and words that made me cry.  I remember encouraging words and humiliating ones.  I remember words that made me angry, that offended me, words that left me confused and speechless.  I remember words that invited me to go beyond my personal best and prodded me to go beyond my comfort zone.  I remember words of love and how these words made me feel.  Yes, words are a two-edge sword.

Early on in our lives, we learn to use words to protect ourselves.  We learn to use facile words, careless words.  We may have even become accustomed to speaking falsehoods, thinking that our misstatements and lies can save us from the exposure of our true selves and innermost being.  Falsehoods only lead to false security.  Many of us have learned this lesson painfully.

How does the Word of God touch my life?  How does God’s Word challenge me and call me to conversion?  At what point will I become truly convinced that God’s Word is Truth, the kind of truth that will set me free? [John 8:31-32]  God’s Word is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Most of us will agree that being true to our word can come at an awful price.  To live a virtuous life will demand integrity, honesty and courage.  We need courage to live trustworthy lives, for our yes to be yes and our no to be no [Matthew 5:33-37].  When we give our word, we give our very selves, a child of God.

And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us! [John 1:14]  Today, at this moment, we are the Word of God in our world.

My dear Lord, thank You for calling us all to follow You without hesitation. Thank You for the joy of being Your disciple. Give me the grace to always know Your will for my life and help me to respond to You with total abandonment and trust.  Jesus, I trust in You.

Faith demands positive action

 

Reflecting on my reading of the Scriptures today, there’s one major theme of "faith" - the absence of it or the presence of it in our lives.

Hebrews 4:1 – “Let us be on our guard while the promise of entering into his rest remains, that none of you seem to have failed.”

Hebrews 4:11 - "...Let us, then, do our best to receive that rest, so that no one of us will fail as they did because of their lack of faith."

St. Paul urges us to be “on guard” in order that we might enter into “his rest,” presumably eternal life.

At one time, being “on guard” entailed scrupulously following every church rule: for Catholics, no meat on Fridays, fasting during Lent, never missing Mass on holy days, and paying attention to the three principal parts of Mass so your attendance “counted” etc.

People of other faiths surely had their own versions of such regulations like Mormons who never drank coffee.  But is the admonition to be “on guard” still just about avoiding sin and following rules or does it demand positive action?

Psalm 78:6-8 - "...so that the next generation might learn them and in turn should tell their children.  In this way, they also will put their trust in God and not forget what he has done, but always obey his commandments.  They will not be like their ancestors, a rebellious and disobedient people whose trust in God was never firm and who did not remain faithful to him.”

This speaks to me about the necessity of having faith at the core of one's life so that life is fulfilled and not a failure.

Mark 2:4-6 – “Because of the crowd, however, they could not get the man to him.  So they made a hole in the roof right above the place where Jesus was.  When they had made an opening, they let the man down, lying on his mat.  Seeing how much faith they had, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, 'My son, your sins are forgiven."

Some stories from the life of Christ lend themselves well to the imagination.  In my opinion this one is close to the top.  I think my imagery is heightened because of all the home improvement shows I tend to watch on TV.

There are several different groups in the scene.  First of all, there’s the crowd that is listening to the words of Jesus.  I see surprise and wonderment on their faces as the paralytic on his mat appears above them.  This was certainly an unexpected interruption, and I’m sure those in the crowd were amazed.

Then there are the four stubbornly determined men who carried the paralytic.  They were so determined to bring the paralytic to the attention of Jesus that they devised an ingenious scheme and went through the roof.  In most homes we’re familiar with today, such an escapade would be nearly impossible without tools and heavy equipment.  But in the Israel where Jesus lived, the homes were adapted to the warm climate of the area.  So it probably wasn’t too difficult for the four men to make the hole in the roof.  The whole scene appears to have happened spontaneously.  The men made the hole in the roof of the house, most probably without asking the permission of the owner of the house.  We know nothing of the owner of the house, but it seems probable that he was not pleased with the unauthorized damage to his roof.

Next there’s the paralytic.  He wanted very much to see Jesus and beg for a cure for his illness.  But he had to really trust the four men who were carrying him.  After they made the hole in the roof, they lowered the mat on which the man was lying into the room where Jesus was speaking.  This must have been a tricky business.  The four men had to lower in concert so that the mat on which the paralytic lay would remain flat and he wouldn’t fall off.  Being paralyzed, he would not have been able to prevent falling, and might have fallen upon and injured others.  Certainly he must have been had some anxiety as this risky procedure unfolded.

But as this scene unfolds, our attention is drawn to Jesus.  And what is Jesus’ reaction to what was happening above Him?  Jesus admires the faith of the paralytic and the other four men.  He sees that the man believes that Jesus can help him.  And so the first response of Jesus is to reward the faith of the paralytic by forgiving his sins.  In doing so, Jesus shows us the importance of the virtue of faith.  I think that Jesus is showing us here the importance of recognizing and knowing and believing in and following Him.  The rest of this Gospel story emphasizes the importance of faith.  Jesus cures the paralytic of his paralysis so that the scribes  and the others in the crowd who didn’t have the faith of the paralytic, could come to know that He is really and truly the Son of God.  In this way He hoped that they could understand how important it was to listen to Him and His teaching.

Throughout the Gospels it seems as though Jesus is always looking for people with an openness to a Presence outside themselves.  He is looking for people who acknowledge they are not the center of the world and that the universe is intended to be lived in harmony with faith in God and loving relationships with others.

Jesus teaches that we need faith to live life fully.  He showers approval, blessings, gifts on those who truly have faith in God.  

On Monday, we’ll commemorate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., a man of great faith in God.  Martin Luther King, Jr. had faith and a dream.  He and others are role models for us to see what can be accomplished because of a strong faith that seeks justice.

Lord, today, we ask for a faith in you that does justice - even when the world is against us. Give us the courage to live faithful lives that do justice in our everyday lives - at home, at work, in our neighborhoods, communities, cities, states, and nation.  Support us with the courage to do your will. Jesus, I trust in you!

A hardened heart is dangerous

 

At the Christmas Mass a couple of weeks ago, Father Mark gifted all of us parishioners with a book that just came out written by Matthew Kelly titled, “Holy Moments (a Handbook for the Rest of Your Life)”.  I finally picked it up today to start reading it. 

The Prologue ties in so well with my reflection today on Hebrews 3:7-14.  I don’t think it’s a coincidence.  When I woke up this morning, I had no clue what the focus of my reflection was going to be today.  Usually, I can tie the first Scripture reading to the Psalms and/or the Gospel, but I was having a tough time today.  After reading the passage from Hebrew in conjunction with the prologue of Mr. Kelly’s book, it was clear.  The next paragraph is the result of my reflection on Hebrews. 

A hardened heart is a dangerous spiritual predicament because when our hearts are hardened nothing can touch them, nothing can enter into them; hardened hearts are closed to God’s spirit and life, closed to any possibility of healing and hope. Our hearts harden over time—sometimes so gradually that we have no idea what is happening to us—when we shut our lives to others, when we settle into self-serving routines that suck life from us and those around us, or when we become so comfortable with who we are and what we believe that we're no longer willing to grow and to change. With erring hearts, we slip slowly away from God by letting other things (other persons, our own pleasures, money and possessions) take the place of God. With erring hearts, it is not that we suddenly begin to love the wrong things, but that we love them in the wrong ways, giving lesser goods far more attention than they deserve. And with evil and unfaithful hearts we act as if we ourselves are gods, doing whatever we want and getting whatever we want no matter how much hurt and harm it brings to others.

Here is Mr. Kelly’s prologue story so that you can see how closely my reflection and his are aligned.  Kelly, of course, wrote an entire chapter with the same theme, so his reflection is much longer.

Once upon a time, there was a monastery deep in the forest.  It was full of monks, they were full of joy, that joy was contagious, and people traveled from far and wide to visit.

One day a young man asked the Abbot why people came to the monastery.  “Most come looking for answers to their questions,” the old monk explained.  The young man was curious what type of questions people asked.  The Abbot continued, “They come seeking answers to the same questions all men and women ponder.  What should I do with my life?  Am I wasting my one short life?   Where do I find meaning?  How do I get the most out of life?”

The young man had traveled a long distance to visit the monastery, and as he walked away the old monk wondered what question the young man’s heart was wrestling with.

Time passed and life at the monastery changed.  It was ever so gradual at first.  A couple of the monks became cranky.  They had slowly closed their hearts to God and each other.  Other monks became jealous.  A younger monk was more handsome and popular with the visitors.  Some of the monks began to argue about things of no consequence, and the poison of gossip crept into the monastery.

Visitors noticed that little by little life at the monastery was deteriorating.  They perceived the monks were losing their joy, they noticed the monks were not as kind to each other, and over time they observed the monks growing impatient with their visitors.

The seasons came and went, and fewer visitors came to the monastery, until one day, the people stopped coming altogether.

The Abbot rose each morning an hour before his brother monks and sat in the chapel asking God to give him the wisdom necessary to revitalize the monastery.  But another summer came and went, and in the depths of the coldest winter ever, a profound sadness gripped the old Abbot’s heart.  He thought he had tried everything.

For hundreds of years people had come here longing for a glimpse of God and the monastery had thrived.  What had he done wrong?  He was wrapped with guilt and shame.  The gap between his faith and his life had widened, and he didn’t know how to close it.

On the first day of spring, the Abbot announced at breakfast that he was leaving the monastery to make a journey.

“Where are you going?” Brother Killian asked.

“I will visit the Hermit in the mountains to seek his counsel on our situation here at the monastery.”

There was a wise Hermit who lived in the mountains thirty miles to the north.  People traveled into the mountains to seek his wisdom.  The Hermit and the Abbot had been childhood friends, but this the other monks did not know.

“When will you return?” Brother Owen asked.

“Three days,” the Abbot replied.

“Who is in charge while you are gone?” Brother Fabian asked.

“I will let you decide that among yourselves,” the Abbot said.  His words were still hanging in the air when the arguing broke out.

There was a time when the other monks would have been concerned about him making such a journey.  But they were no longer concerned for each other, only for themselves.  There was a time when one of the others would have offered to accompany him, but those days were gone.

The Abbot slipped quietly out of the monastery and began his journey toward the mountains.  Walking through the forest, in those first miles of his journey, he observed that his heart was anxious.  But with each passing mile he became aware of a rising hope in his heart.

As dusk was falling, he came upon a small clearing in the foothills and decided to sleep there for the night.  The old monk gathered some wood, made a fire, ate a little bread and cheese, and settled down to sleep.

He was startled in the night by the howling of wolves and screeching of wild parrots.  He noticed his heart was racing, but he was not afraid.  He did not fear death, he feared the torture of a life without meaning.

Late the following morning he arrived at the Hermit’s cave.  The Hermit was standing just outside the cave.  As the Abbot approached, he said joyfully, “I have been waiting for you!” and the two men embraced like long-lost brothers.

“I’ve something to ask you,” the Abbot said.

“I know, but that can wait,” the Hermit replied.  “First I want to show you something.”  The Abbot was possessed by an impatience that surprised him, but he followed his old friend.

The two men walked peacefully through the trees and after about fifteen minutes a fine lake was before them.  It was breathtaking.

The Hermit sat on a large boulder at the side of the lake and the Abbot sat on a smaller boulder next to him.  They sat in silence for over an hour and the Abbot felt a deep peace rising in his soul.

The lake was clear and still.  The surface was like glass and the sun was reflecting perfectly on the water like a golden disc.  The Abbot was mesmerized.

When the sun had reached its pinnacle, the Hermit began to speak, “A still pond reflects the sun perfectly.  God is the sun.  You are the lake.  When your soul is still and clear you reflect the truth, beauty, and goodness of God to everyone you encounter.  As the day goes on, the wind will pick up, the lake will be full of ripples, and you will barely be able to see the sun’s reflection in the water.”

After a few minutes the two men walked back through the cypress trees to the cave.  As they sat drinking tea the Abbot described what had happened at the monastery over the past several years.  The Hermit listened closely and when the Abbot had finished asked a handful of clarifying questions. “What have you come here to ask?” was the Hermit’s last question.

“What wisdom do you have for us?  How do we rejuvenate the monastery?  How can we best serve the people who come to visit?” the Abbot asked.

“That’s three questions,” the Hermit said with a smile so radiant that the Abbot had to look away.  “I will answer your three questions with one answer,” the Hermit continued.  “Go back and tell the brothers…the Messiah is among you.”  And with that the Hermit closed his eyes and slipped into a deep meditation.

“The Messiah is among us, what can that possibly mean?” the Abbot mumbled to himself.  But as he walked slowly down the mountains the full meaning of the Hermit’s words took root deep in his soul.

Back at the monastery the monks were growing concerned.  The Abbot had said he would be gone three days and he had already been gone five days.  The next evening when there was still no sign of him, they began discussing what fate might have befallen him.  The following morning Brother Fabian callously suggested he was not coming back either because he had died in the mountains or because he had abandoned them for some other life.

Just as the sun was setting that afternoon Brother Bartholomew saw a figure approaching the monastery and cried out, “We have a visitor.”  It was not a visitor.  It was the Abbot.

He whispered softly to Bartholomew, “Gather everyone in the chapel.”  The Abbot was radiant as he sat before the whole community on a small wooden stool.  He looked 10 years younger.  The monks could not remember a time when he seemed so fully alive.

He told the other monks of his journey and shared with them the message he had received, “This is what I asked the Hermit. ‘What wisdom do you have for us?  How do we rejuvenate the monastery?  How can we best serve the people who come to visit?’  The Hermit replied, ‘That’s three questions.  I will answer your three questions with one answer.  Go back and tell the brothers…the Messiah is among you.’”

The monks were astonished and gasped.

From that moment on they looked at each other differently, they thought of each other differently, and they began to treat each other differently.

The monks wondered day and night who the Messiah among them was.  Was it Adrian, Bartholomew, Killian, Owen, Fabian, or was it the Abbot himself? And as the brothers wondered they began to treat each other with renewed kindness and a profound respect.

As time passed the Abbot noticed little things.  There was a new spirit of cooperation.  The brothers praised and encouraged each other, compassion and forgiveness returned to their hearts, and they were kind to each other.

These little things, these Holy Moments, breathed new life into the community.  The monks were flourishing.  The monastery was flourishing.  Even the flowers in the fields and the cows in the barn seemed happier.

And then one day it happened.  The visitors returned.  At first it was just one or two visitors like it had been in the past.  But then they brought their friends, and their friends brought their friends.

Those that came to visit the monastery noticed that the monks were overflowing with joy.  They perceived the monks had a profound reverence for each other.  And they observed the monks’ unquenchable patience with their visitors.

In a few short years the monastery had been transformed from the brink of collapse and was thriving like never before.  A village sprung up around the monastery, and the monastery became the center of life for the people of the village.  The monks loved the people, the people loved the monks, and they all lived together in harmony and happiness.

 One Saturday afternoon the old Abbot was sitting on a bench in the courtyard looking gratefully toward the mountains, when a woman approached.  Sitting down next to him she asked, “What happened here?”

The old monk beamed his warm, knowing smile and asked, “What do you mean?”

“This place has been completely transformed," the woman explained.

“No,” the Abbot disagreed gently, “the place is exactly the same.  It’s the monks who have changed.”

“How did it happen?” she asked.

“We started living as if the Messiah were among us,” the Abbot replied.

The woman pondered that for a moment and then began to weep.  The old monk put his arm around her to comfort her.  She told him about her life and troubles.  The woman shared with him the question that was tormenting her soul, the question that had urged her to visit the monastery.  And they sat in silence for a long time.

“What advice do you have for me?” the woman asked, breaking the silence.

The two sat quietly for another long moment before the old man spoke, and then he said, “Treat every person you ever meet like the second coming of Jesus in disguise.”

[Excerpt from “Holy Moments A Handbook for the Rest of Your Life”, by Matthew Kelly published by Blue Sparrow]

My divine Lord, help me to see that which is within me that most harms my relationships with others. Help me to see that which causes isolation and hurt. Give me the humility to see this and the trust I need to turn to You to confess it and seek Your healing. You and You alone can free me from my sin, so I turn to You in confidence and surrender. With faith, I also await Your healing words, “I do will it. Be made clean.” [Mark 1:40–41] Jesus, I trust in You.

If you ever need a punch line.......

 

If you ever need a punch line, there's one you always can depend on: "...my mother-in-law!" Guaranteed laugh.  As long as it’s told in good fun.

Fact is I loved my mother-in-law very much and still think of her often.  But mothers-in-law are just about the only group of people you still can pick on (besides maybe Nazis) without having anyone make a peep.  There's nothing politically incorrect about ragging on the mom of your spouse — or all moms of all spouses.  

This attitude has seeped so thoroughly into our culture that one of the ways people do get happy, it seems, is by hearing jokes in which the mother-in-law is not alive.  Henny Youngman who was known as the King of the One-Liners had several that he used in his act that always got roars from the audience:

"Out of the blue, my mother-in-law told me she'd like to be cremated. I said, 'Great. Go get your coat.'"

"'My mother-in-law's an angel,' said Fred. 'You're lucky,' I told him. 'Mine's still alive.'"

"I wanted to do something nice, so I bought my mother-in-law a chair. Now they won't let me plug it in."

Yep, the jokes are out there and, as we know from Mark’s Gospel, even Simon Peter had one…a mother-in-law that is, not a joke!  And the Lord loved her very much and cured her from a debilitating fever, even as He cured many others in the same town.  Naturally, the people flocked to the front door of Peter’s home searching and hoping for something miraculous to happen.  Yet, Jesus’ response was most revealing as He later said very quietly, "Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also.  For this purpose have I come."  [Mark 1:29-39]

Jesus "had to become like his brothers and sisters in every way" but sin, so that He could live His human life for us by being "tested through what he suffered" and thus "be able to help those who are being tested." [Hebrews 2:14-18]  This message from Hebrews expresses in words what Mark’s Gospel illustrates in actions as we see Jesus reaching out, praying and caring for, curing, driving out demons from, and preaching the Good News of God’s kingdom to God’s people.  Both of these passages are supplemented by Psalm 105, which reminds us that "the Lord remembers his covenant forever," the covenant He made with "the descendants of Abraham" and all the peoples who thank "the Lord, invoke his name, [and] make known among the nations his deeds." [Psalms 105:1-9]

I can’t help reflecting on some quotes from Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who used to say that, "unless a life is lived for others, it is not worthwhile."  We know that, like Jesus, Mother Teresa’s missionary work of charity speaks stronger than her words.   She lived a life that has become a life-giving legacy of love for others.   Just as Jesus did, she put into practice whatever she preached to the world.   She used to say: "If we pray, we will believe; if we believe, we will love; if we love, we will serve."  This is exactly what goes on in Mark’s Gospel today, for we see God’s healing and liberating power being manifested in and through Jesus’ praying for, believing in, loving, and serving God’s people.

The above actions are humanly and spiritually required to give a strong and valid witness to Jesus’ gospel of love, because the Gospel is all about being faithful to Jesus’ teachings on prayer, faith, hope, love, and service.  Like Jesus, Mother Teresa, and many other genuine Christian witnesses, we’re called to make known among others God’s love, justice, and mercy by being inclusive and nonjudgmental, as we go about proclaiming and enculturating the Gospel throughout the many places we find ourselves in.

My precious and all-powerful Lord, I turn to You and You alone as the source of all Truth and the fullness of Truth. May I listen to Your voice alone and reject the many deceptions of the evil one and his demons. In Your precious name, Jesus, I rebuke Satan and all evil spirits, their lies and their temptations. I send these spirits to the foot of Your Cross, dear Lord, and open my mind and heart only to You.  Jesus, I trust in You.

Trust in the power of God

 As a general societal rule, we aren’t taught to accept compliments, even if well-deserved.  We’re taught to deflect or minimize them.  Although we crave affirmation for ourselves and our work, we don’t know what to do with it when it’s given.

I wonder if even Jesus, human that He was, struggled with that.  When the demon named Him as the Holy One of God, Jesus quickly silenced it before He freed the man from possession [Mark 1:21-28].  At that point in His ministry, was Jesus uncomfortable with the title bestowed on Him?

Or maybe He was uncomfortable with other people’s perception.  Maybe Jesus didn’t need affirmation of His worth or His special relationship with God, plus He knew that having His “fame” spread throughout Galilee was not necessarily a good thing.  He didn’t want to be idolized; He wanted to be imitated.  He didn’t want to be a celebrity; He wanted to be a model of what we all can be.  Living out His mission could be impeded by such recognition.

I suspect there was a bit of both at play in this interaction.  So, how do I balance that in my own life?  I believe the first step is to unlearn my well-practiced tendency to base my self-worth on what others think.  I too often use praise and affirmation to assure myself of my value and lovability.  And of course, when I get the opposite, I feel demeaned and unlovable.

Instead, I need to center my worth as Jesus did – in my core identity and status as a precious, beloved child of God whom no one can demean or destroy.  Human admiration, loyalty, and love can be so fickle.  Only God’s love is unwavering, ever-present, and has nothing but my best interests at heart, even when the demons of past hurts and suffering arise and even with all my scars and imperfections.  So, despite how insignificant and unworthy I can feel, I need to sit in prayer and simply let God love me.

Then I need to respond to that undeserved outpouring of love.  I must keep God at the center of all I do and live out my own mission, trusting that I will indeed make a difference when my open heart allows the Spirit to touch others through me.

Finally, when I am praised, I can be grateful and accepting.  It’s not boastful to sincerely appreciate the confirmation that I am serving as an instrument of God.

That all is much harder in practice than it is in writing.  I may even have to start backwards – learning to graciously accept compliments that I can then take into prayer.  Regardless, perhaps we can all work to believe in our core identity and value in God, and then help free others from the demons that prevent their recognition of the same in themselves.  We’re all in this together with Jesus – lovable, precious, and sent to the world.

It's a fact that the evil one is constantly at work all around us.  Consider the people and circumstances in your life where the pure and holy Truth of God is attacked and rejected.  It’s in those situations, more than any other, that Jesus wants to bestow upon you His divine authority to confront evil, rebuke it and take authority over it.  This is primarily done through prayer and deep trust in the power of God.  Don’t be afraid to allow God to use you to confront the activity of the evil one in this world.

Lord, give me courage and wisdom when I face the activity of the evil one in this world. Give me wisdom to discern his hand at work and give me courage to confront and rebuke him with Your love and authority. May Your authority be alive in my life, Lord Jesus, and may I daily become a better instrument of the coming of Your Kingdom as I confront the evil present in this world. Jesus, I trust in You.