Called to Freedom.. but at what cost?

A Reflection on the Readings for Sunday, June 26, 2016.

1 Kings 19:16b, 19-21
Psalm 16
Galatians 5:1, 13-18
The Holy Gospel According to Luke 9:51-62

Elijah is sent in the first reading to conscript Elisha into service.  Elisha is apparently not just a poor farmer, but rather from a very wealthy family.   The scriptures record that he had twelve oxen in the field working and he walked behind the last one.  A wealthy family could have one or two oxen, but twelve?  That requires some resources.  Here Elijah  is walking up and asking Elisha to leave the wealth and comfort of his family behind, and follow him in serving God.  Elisha asks for a moment of reprieve to go back to his family and then proceeds to destroy everything he has.   In destroying his equipment and oxen he has secured his commitment to Elijah, he has no reason to turn back now.  

The gospel reading reminds us of this incident as Jesus goes on to talk about the cost of discipleship.   He doesn't paint a picture of ease or comfort.   Many today will tell you that the blessings of God = wealth and comfort.  Jesus often paints a grimmer picture.  He paints the cost of Christianity as taking up a cross, following him, having no place to rest your head, and no time left to make a commitment.   Whereas when Elisha asks for time to go back to his family, Elijah says sure, go ahead.  When one follower asks this of Jesus, Jesus tells him anyone who looks back is not worthy of the kingdom of Heaven.

What's going on here?   Jesus is reminding us that one greater is here, and that the Kingdom is already at hand.   It's not something we have time to wait for anymore.   There is no more urgent time than the present.  While Elijah and Elisha had important things to do, the work of Christ is far more important.   There are souls at stake!  We are called to duty, not in the future, not tomorrow, but right now!  The present.  We must look to the past to keep from making mistakes, we must keep our mind examining the future to see possibilities, but we must live in the present.

The reading from St. Paul reminds us of another truth, that we are called to a freedom, a freedom from sin.  That freedom does not release us from our urgent duty but rather makes it even more important!  This freedom is not a freedom that allows you to choose to do bad things, to simply go on with your life and do whatever feels good and right.   Some will tell you that the freedom of a Christian makes it ok to live your life however you want, as long as you keep saying you belief and trust in Christ.  Trust in Christ is paramount for sure!  But even Saint Paul reminds us that our freedom means being called to love.. called to serve one another, to love another, and to avoid the unclean desires of our flesh.

Pope Francis reminds us today that we, the Church, have a lot of work to do.  We've made a lot of mistakes in the past.  We have persecuted minorities, pushed people the margins, and avoided even entering the homes of those who we felt were 'too sinful.'   This was not the way of Jesus.   He reminds us that Jesus calls us to act now, to go into the field as it were and begin to plow.   We don't have time to look back and desire those things we've left behind.. we like Elisha must burn the oxen and give away the pleasure of it, the thing we desire.   To destroy those instruments that are behind us that want to pull us back in to those habits and sinful desires we once were a part of.  To cut off even those relationships that draw us in, and then?  To serve.  To serve in love.  To serve the marginalized, those on the outskirts of the church, to reach out to those we have pushed away and remind them that we love them.   We still don't condone sin.. but all of us are sinners.    What we are offering is truth... we are offering a relationship with Christ, one in which every person is welcome.. but one which will transform them as well.. one which will call them to leave behind that which is sinful, and to draw closer to the true light of the world, Jesus Christ.

So what about it Christian?  Are you all in?  Or are you holding back anything that will keep you from serving God right here and right now?   The Kingdom of God is not just at the end of time, though it's fulfillment is indeed there.  It is also here and now.. it stood right before men in the incarnation of Christ and offers himself, right here and now in the Sacraments.   Are you ready to receive Him? Or are you looking back?

His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease."

Broken Circuits or Just Bad Batteries?

When I went to Mountain Empire Community College to get my degree in Electrical Engineering Technology, there were many classes in which we had to build circuits to do certain things.  The instructor would stand up front, give us a list of things to accomplish, and we'd have the rest of the class period to build a circuit that would perform those functions with the required components.  One day one of the less popular guys in class could not get his circuit working.  He asked each of us to come look at it.  Everything looked right.  None of us could find the problem.  All the right parts, all the right wires, all the right hook ups.   Everything looked correct as far as we could tell.   The instructor came back in and he called him back.   Less than a second later the man had figured it out.  There was no power supply.  First step in the instructions.  None of us noticed because we just assumed it had been followed.  Boy did I feel stupid for not thinking of the most simple of things.

In today's readings, Elijah confronts the false priests of Baal in this amazing stand off.  They build two altars, one to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the other to Baal.  Put offerings on each and have a competition to figure out whose deity is the one true God.  The priests of Baal do things that look right.  They dance around, they call on their god in prayer, they mortify their bodies.  All the while Elijah teases them.  "Maybe he's in the bathroom, this god of yours."  "Maybe he is taking a nap, if you shout louder maybe he'll hear you."   Eventually their time runs out.  Elijah then has water poured on his altar to even make the point that in this impossible scenario, with the offering evening wet to the point of saturation, God will provide.  Then instead of trying to force God's hand, he simply says: "Let it be known this day that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things by your command."  God listened to Elijah and rained down fire upon the offering and consumed it and the people were converted.  

Notice that Elijah did everything God commanded.  He did it exactly as God had prescribed.  He didn't do it his own way.   The priests of Baal did what they thought they should do, but they didn't consult God in the process.  They danced, they sang, they chanted, they prophesied.  They had the circuit built but just like my odd friend in college, they forgot to tap into the power supply.  Jesus reminds us in the Gospel that the commandments he has given must be obeyed completely.  Not only are we to obey (tap into the circuit) but we are to teach others.  He has just given us the beatitudes as the extreme example of doing just that.  The law is not lax, it has not been done away with, it has become something that must be a matter of the heart.  

Detachment.   I talk a lot about that.  Maybe because it's so difficult for me to do.   That's what Jesus is calling us to, again today.   To begin this day doing things God's way.  To be able to honestly say "I have done all these things by your command."  As we journey through life we must become completely dependent upon God, detached from the world.   Our life is that circuit that must be built.   It will do no good to simply build it, and never tap into the power supply.   It just doesn't work.  It's not enough to be just a 'good person.'   We need to be on fire with the Spirit, moved by Him.  That's the only way that this meager offering of our self will ever be consumed by the fire from on high.  

When we come up to receive Eucharist at Mass we are saying, "Here I am Lord, an offering to you.  I offer you my life.  Everything that I am."    Oh, how unworthy a sacrifice I am.  I still offer it.   Then he says to me, "Take this and eat, this is my body."   There is the key.    The power supply.   The Eucharist comes into me, and all of a sudden the sacrifice is worthy for God.  It's not just me being offered up, it's me being offered in union with my Savior, the only worthy offering to God.  Mass isn't about me.  I don't go for the music, though I enjoy that often.  I don't go for the comfort of the chairs, or the workout I get from the Catholic calisthenics (up, down, kneel, up, kneel, up).  No, I go to offer worship to God.   Again, Mass is not about me.  It's about Him.  Yet, He in his infinite mercy and kindness gives me something in return.  He gives me the source and summit of our faith, the power supply to begin returning this horribly broken circuit into something that begins to resemble what He designed it to be, so that I might pray with the angels and the Saints:

Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.

His servant and yours, 

Brian 

"He must increase, I must decrease." 

Radical Gratitude

I'm very excited this morning as we begin our pro-life VBS program.  I wanted to get my assignment and blog entry done first thing and get my prayers in early.  I am glad I did.  The first reading for today reminds me that in all things, it is God who is the source of our provision.  The rain, the weather, all of creation responds to His Word.   What kind of VBS teacher would I be if I did not rely on that simple truth?   It requires though that we be obedient.   Elijah has just made a statement that it will not rain or even dew without his approval, all by the power of the Lord.   He has to do his part though. Elijah has to journey into the area of the Wadi Cherith and remain there.   There the Lord will provide for him by having food brought to him morning and evening.  The Wadi is a stream that has deep hidden areas that provide a place for the persecuted to hide.   Even in God's provisional plan not only has he taken care of his need for food and drink, but provided him a place to remain with physical protection.

Jesus in the Gospel for today continues that theme of obedience and providence.  Mathew is writing to a predominately Jewish audience and theologically is portraying Jesus as the New Moses, the greater Prophet, who ascends the mountain and gives us the Law.   The disciples go up with Him and he proceeds to give them one of the most important speeches in the history of mankind, the beatitudes.  Some try to claim that Jesus did away with obedience, that we no longer have to do anything but profess and believe.  It's not either or, but both and.   Jesus didn't make things easier morally, he made them even more difficult.  He did not 'do away' with morality but required it to be internalized, to become a part of who we are.  They are in fact the road-map to obedience.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.Blessed are they who mourn,for they will be comforted.Blessed are the meek,for they will inherit the land.Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,for they will be satisfied.Blessed are the merciful,for they will be shown mercy.Blessed are the clean of heart,for they will see God.Blessed are the peacemakers,for they will be called children of God.Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute youand utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.Rejoice and be glad,for your reward will be great in heaven.

When we examine and delve into these eight simple, yet very complex statements, we find that they describe the incarnation of God himself, Christ.  His life lived them out perfectly.   Who is more poor in spirit than He who condescended from omnipotence to become a mortal man for the sake of us?  Who mourns more than the God who loves us so greatly that He would die in our steed to prevent us ever being separated from His side?  Who is meeker than the Paschal Lamb whose blood was offered as a propitiation for our sins? Who can dare thirst for righteousness or is more merciful  than He who is justice and mercy itself? Again who can claim to be more clean of heart than the spotless, unblemished sacrifice of God's only begotten Son?  Then who can claim to be more of a peacemaker than  He who tore down the wall that separated Gentile and Jew and restored mankind to the state of grace for which we were created?

Yes, the beatitudes describe Christ the man, but more powerfully Christ on the Cross.   They call us to a radical notion of detachment.   To be free of all the vices and desires of this life.   Power, wealth, pleasure, and honor.   All of which Jesus gave up on the cross.   Who is more powerless than to be nailed to a tree by your hands and feet, to die a slow and horrendous death in the stead of another?   Who has less wealth than the one whose very clothing is being gambled for and given away as you hang naked moments from death?  Who has less pleasure than to experience the pain and agony of thirst and crucifixion in the hot desert air?  Who lacks honor man than He who was King of the Universe to be mocked, spit on, and executed in the death which is reserved for the worst of the worst Criminals.

1717 The Beatitudes depict the countenance of Jesus Christ and portray his charity. They express the vocation of the faithful associated with the glory of his Passion and Resurrection; they shed light on the actions and attitudes characteristic of the Christian life; they are the paradoxical promises that sustain hope in the midst of tribulations; they proclaim the blessings and rewards already secured, however dimly, for Christ's disciples; they have begun in the lives of the Virgin Mary and all the saints.

The beatitudes indeed call us to a radical detachment from this world.   They also call us though, to a radical attachment to God himself.  This attachment comes in the form of obedience.  It starts by emulating Christ.  By being more like Christ, we become more like God.  In living a life of detachment from this world with a radical attachment to God, we rely on Him just as Elijah did at the Wadi.  We count on him for our sustenance,  for our protection, for our comforts and joys.   We cling to Him in times of sorrow.  We seek not our own, but His!  We need not wealth to be happy and joyful, but rather can become generous and loving with whatever we are blessed with.  Yes, these beatitudes are the key to living a life of peace and joy.  The key to understanding them lies in the Eucharist, in the person of Christ, in the Sacraments.  Are you ready to get radical?   I don't know if I am ready for it, but Lord I am willing!  Let's make that our prayer today.

His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease."

Wash me and I shall be white as snow

It's two days before Christmas and the story continues with more about John the Baptist and his birth.  The Old Testament reading has some interesting imagery in it though.  It talks of sending a messenger before him, to prepare the way.  Then it says the Lord will come suddenly into the temple.  This particular book, Malachi, was probably written during the exile, several hundred years after Elijah had been taken up in the Chariot of Fire.  It talks about Elijah's return.  Later in the New Testament, hundreds of years later, we see them say that John came in the Spirit of Elijah to fulfill this prophecy. 

What I find interesting though is the two images of God we find here, the images of one who is coming to prepare us.  The first image is that of a refiner.  It talks about refining Gold and silver.  Refining of course means to take an ore with impurities, apply a great amount of heat, then to scoop off the dross from the top.  Dross means the worthless, impure parts.  You keep repeating this until you're left with pure silver.  How do you know though? How does one know when silver or gold is refined?  Someone once said, "When you can see your reflection in it."  That speaks volumes in revelation to who God is.  We will be what he wants us to be, when he sees Him in us.  Wow.

Then we see this other image.... the image of a fuller and fuller's soap. A fuller is one who works with cloth.   He spends his day stomping the cloth in his vat, stretching it out on frames, beating it with feet or a club, continuing to do this until it is clean and shapely, in many cases even bleached white.  He keeps working the fabric, until it is the shape and size it should be.  If it's not perfect?   He goes through the whole process again.  Stretching.  Beating.  Cleaning.  Purifying.   Until it is exactly what it should be.  Perfect.

In the Gospel we see the people, the very ones who were friends of the family, the ones who probably worked and lived around Zechariah... being scared of what John represented.  All of these miracles around his birth.  His father unable to speak, but then miraculously being able to talk after naming his son in agreement with his wife and God's plan.  They were scared.  They've been waiting for the Messiah, but they aren't quite ready.   They are filled with fear.  They take all of these matters into their hearts though, and acknowledge that God is at work and has his hand on John.

I think that is our lesson for tomorrow.  That as we approach Christmas we should be asking, are we ready?  Do we realize how much of a miracle Christmas is?  How much of a miracle the Eucharist is?  Are we living a Sacramental life?  Are we opening our hearts to let Christ be born in them?  It is time for us to be serious about our walk with Christ.  God is not asking you to wait till you're clean..  He's not asking you to get your life straight first..  He is asking you to invite him in.  The Church is preparing the way.  It has shown you what you need to do.  Now it's time for you to open the doors of your heart and suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek.   You and I are the temple of the Lord.  Let Him come in.

It doesn't stop there though.  The Lord loves you right now, just the way you are.  He loves you too much to leave you that way.  Let Him then transform you.   Let him refine you.  Purify you.  Mold you. Shape you.  How do we do this?  A Sacramental life.  Receive him in the Eucharist.   Confess him in Reconciliation.  Seek His grace.  You and I cannot do this alone.  With God though, all things are possible.   Christmas is in two days.  You don't have to wait two days to have Christ born in your heart.... start today... .then ... every day continue to grow in Christ. Until we can live our lives in a way that reflects the heart of the Psalmist when he wrote:

Indeed you love truth in the heart;
then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom.
O purify me, then I shall be clean;
O wash me, I shall be whiter than snow.

Make me hear rejoicing and gladness,
that the bones you have crushed may thrill.
From my sins turn away your face
and blot out all my guilt.

A pure heart create for me, O God,
put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
nor deprive me of your holy spirit.

Give me again the joy of your help;
with a spirit of fervor sustain me,
that I may teach transgressors your ways
and sinners may return to you.

O rescue me, God, my helper,
and my tongue shall ring out your goodness.

O Lord, open my lips
and my mouth shall declare your praise.

His servant and yours,
Brian