Slack Jawed Apostles!

Tomorrow we celebrate the Ascension of Our Lord.   Jesus spent 40 days spreading his message to his disciples.  40 days in which he taught them, encouraged them, and prepared them for their mission.  Then after 40 days, he was changed.  He was lifted up before them into heaven and went on to the next leg of his mission.  I imagine from the response of the two men in white garments that the Apostles were standing there with their jaws ajar gazing into sky, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.  "Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?"   Why aren't you out instead doing what he instructed you?   They were still waiting for that push, that courage that comes from receiving the Holy Spirit.

The thing is, God has left us this amazing blueprint here of what to do once we do get that courage, that joy.  He said "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  Such a simple plan, with such strong meaning to me.    Start here, where you are.   Move to where you have been, the places that are familiar to you.   Then, spread out in where you are uncomfortable, where you've never been, where no one has.    To the ends of the earth... everywhere.

Jerusalem.   The city of God.   The place where one would expect the message to take root first and foremost... but so much stands in the way.   It's the root, the center of the Jewish theological mind.  The place where God resides, the home of the temple.  God tells us that the temple, the area around it is where we must evangelize first and foremost.   Paul lets us know that we are the temple of God.   In this great scheme of things, God has charged us with changing our self and our immediate environment first.   Bloom where you are planted.   We must make the Gospel a part of our immediate lives, not just a superficial thing on the surface, but truly permeating our very existence.

Samaria and Judea.  The world in which they have traveled already.   Jesus walked with them through this areas teaching them, preparing not just them but all who would listen.   To me that speaks of the Church itself, our Christian community.   One of our greatest needs is to help evangelize and re-evangelize those who are already a part of the 'flock'.   To claim to be Christian and not be a part of the community is to distance yourself from the truth of the Gospel.   We must allow our joy to overflow to all of those people who we meet in our own church homes.   Our fire will set them on fire.   Let them see the Gospel in your participation.  "You show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works."

To the ends of the earth.  This is the challenge to go out into the world and spread that message to everyone else.  It's not a mandate to beat people over the head, there is such a huge difference in proselytizing (what we are not to do) and evangelizing (what we are to do.)  We are not so much trying to convince people, not so much trying to argue them in, as we are introducing them.   We are inviting them into a relationship with the living God, with the person who has changed our lives.. with the man/God who we have encountered in our own Jerusalem, who we have loved, worshipped, and shared with our faith community, and now who our hearts are so enamoured with that we cannot hide him... love does not hide and bury, it shouts from the rooftops.. to anyone who will listen.

So where are you?  Each of us is at a different stage on the walk, each of us has walked a different length of time, and each of us has a different distance to go... but you gotta start somewhere... It's been 40 days... in 10 more we will celebrate that moment when the Holy Spirit descended on these men who huddled in fear in the upper room, afraid of their own crosses.   At that moment these men will burst forth, and all but 1 will go to their own martyrdom.   You received that same spirit at your Baptism.   Are you ready to rise above all that is holding you back?  The Kingdom of Heaven does not have to wait until the end of time.  We ourselves can be lifted above all those fears that make us think we can't do this.  It's time for us to grasp that sanctifying grace we have received in Baptism and Confirmation.. and which pours out through the Sacraments every time we take advantage of them... to embolden us with joy, determination, and grace of our own to spread the Gospel, even to the ends of the earth.

His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease."

Happy New Year!

Be vigilant!   That is our message from today's Gospel.  As we enter the season of Advent, we see more of that Apocalyptic literature that reminds us to be ever ready and watchful for the return of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  It exhorts us to continue working towards that perfection, that holiness of life that comes with following Christ as our example.  It also evokes in our hearts the realization that we all have one thing in common.  We all eventually will die.  We all eventually will face judgement.  These readings are intense, but they are written not to scare us but to encourage.  A prompting to "conduct ourselves in a way pleasing to God."

The last few days I've been binge watching a television show that I find to be very interesting.  I wouldn't recommend it for children or anyone sensitive to harsh language, but the Man in the High Castle definitely shows us a danger of the human condition.  In this alternate reality the Nazi's created the bomb before America did.  This enabled them to not only win the war, but to take over half the country.  The other half seems to have been dominated by the Japanese which I imagine began with Pearl Harbor.  Throughout the series we see what life would truly be like if we didn't have freedom.  If you have ever complained about freedom here in the United States?  Give this show a watch.

Why do I mention this show?  When I watch it I see something about the characters that is very much vigilant.  They have their eyes open.  They are seeking the good of 'society'.  One of the characters is a Nazi commander and he very much seeks the best for the Nazi government.  He is dedicated.  He believes in what he is doing.  He keeps to his 'rule' of conduct at all costs.  In that though, he ignores one thing, his heart.  At one point he turns over his friend, because as he puts it, "There is no room for emotions" in the world.  He has left love behind. 

That is a danger that many people forget.  In their conduct they are trying to be pleasing to God, but God is pleased truly with love.  Our liturgies are important, our devotions too, our prayer and worship should be first and foremost in our lives.  All of it must be tempered with love.  Humanity is bad to stick to one ideology, one way of doing things, to the point of harming others in order to stick to that one way of life.  We aren't like the Nazi's, I agree.   Most of us would blanch at killing in order to purify the human race.  Yet, how many of us stick to our democratic or republican voting points regardless of if love is involved?  How many of us would vote the party line even if it means supporting one of the five non-negotiables?  How many of us decide that one liturgy is better than another? Or one version of music is the 'right' one, even to the point of running someone down to get our way?

Jesus said if we were angry with our brother it was the same as murdering him.  If we are so set in our ways of doing things, and have not love, St. Paul says we are just a sounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  That is, we are just a loud noise with no effectiveness, pushing people away and harming them instead of soothing them and drawing them closer to Christ.  When we decide at work that our way is the only way to do things, even to the point of not being charitable to that person who wants to try something new, hurting their feelings and gossiping behind their back; aren't we killing them with our words and thoughts?  Jesus condemned empty and hollow tradition.  He said that the Pharisees were like white washed tombs.  On the outside they did all the right things.  On the inside there remained the filth of decay and the bones of dead men.  Are you the same inside as your are outside? or are you wearing a mask? We must change.  We must start with love.  Then and only then, when we do our traditions out of love.. they are a true and pleasing sacrifice to the Lord. 

As we approach Christmas through advent let us do so with love.  Let us invite others into our celebration.  Let us spread the word, declaring "Blessed Advent" or "Happy Advent" to those who wish us a "Happy Holidays."   Then when they ask what Advent is, let us explain our traditions, how that we are journeying towards Christmas to remind us of that grateful expectation that Israel felt as they waited for the long prophesied Savior and Messiah.  Let us build that palatable excitement in our lives until we can sing with the angels, the Saints, and the blessed Virgin Mary:

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,    and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

His servant and yours,
Brian

True Sickness in the House

Tomorrow's Gospel brings to light another event that happened in the life of Jesus Christ.  This amazing healing of the man with dropsy, in and of itself, is so miraculous it should bring us to faith.  What, though, is Saint Luke trying to tell us about the Pharisee and the people sitting around bearing witness to this phenomenon?  For me the clue lies in the talk that occurs after the healing.

There isn't much there about the man with dropsy for instance.  We don't know if he was a believer, standing in quiet faith waiting for Christ to heal him.   We also don't know if he was planted there by the Pharisee to try and trick Jesus into breaking the Sabbath.  Those details aren't there.  We do know this man did not ask for healing, he just stood in Jesus presence. Jesus heals him after questioning those gathered around if it were lawful.  I think by now they were wise enough not to answer at this point, knowing how Jesus had always showed them their hypocrisy.  I imagine they were scared to answer.. both in fear that they would have to face their own hypocrisy and that they might lose face in front of those gathered around.

After Jesus heals him, he sends him away.  It doesn't say if he praised God.  It doesn't say if the healed man even had faith.   Just that Jesus sent him away.  Then he addresses the real sickness in the room.  “Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?”   This was common practice, that if an animal fell into a well they would be free to help it out.  They were fine with this.  They understood it.  Because both their son and oxen were important to them.  It benefited them.  It was personal.  When it came to another one of God's children though, one that was not directly tied to them.. they were unwilling to reach out and give a helping hand.

The true sickness in the room was not the dropsy, though dropsy indeed is a horrible physical ailment.  The healing was to bring about an awakening.  A moment in which each person in the room would come face to face with both God, in Christ, and with their own hypocrisy.  The real sickness was their own inability to show love.  We don't know if they came to conversion.  In fact, Scripture records that they were dumbfounded, unable to answer his question.   He then continues to share some very beautiful parables about the need for both humility and reaching out that helping hand to those who cannot pay you back.

Saint Paul reminds us in the first reading that our conscience should be joined with the Holy Spirit to bear witness to the truth.  That is why it is so important for us to form our conscience properly, with God's help, and by studying the scriptures.  So what should this event above teach us?  That when avarice guides our actions, we can justify many things that we know to be wrong.   The men listening to Jesus would have justified not helping a stranger be well, because it did not help them materially or personally.  We ourselves often do the same.  How often have we seen a beggar and not helped them, because we were worried where the money was going to go?  We saw someone on the side of the road who needed help... but we were in a hurry, so we didn't stop.... Or something as simple as, we know someone needs something done... we could have done it.. but you know, there was a game on and we didn't want to miss part of it?  

That is what Jesus means for us to learn... to work on our conscience, to form it in light of the Church and it's teachings, to prayerfully seek Wisdom and guidance from the Holy Spirit... so that we never allow our own wants, our own needs to guide us to do or not do something that we know we should be doing, or know we should not be doing.   I know I fail at this.  Lord help me to grow.  Help me to get my own ego out of the way, and allow your Spirit to guide me in all things. 

In Christ,
His Servant and yours,
Brian