Kings Bishop to Knight 3....

A reflection on the daily Mass readings for Thursday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time (June 23, 2016)

2nd Kings 24:8-17
Psalm 79
The Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew 7:21-29

When I was four years old my dad was electrocuted in the coal mines.   His heart stopped for a while, longer than should have been possible.  Another man kept him going this entire time by doing CPR until they could get an ambulance there.  The road to recovery was long and hard.  I remember though, that it meant he got to spend time with us.  I also remember playing chess.  I was never very good at chess, but what I do remember is that in order to win you need to get rid of their key players.   Going after the pawns doesn't do much.  Getting rid of the queen, a bishop or a rook... now that gets you closer to check mate.

The King of Babylon in the first reading knew exactly what he was doing.  He didn't take every one away into exile, some of them he left behind.   What he did do was take those who had influence.   The politicians who knew how to run the government, the skilled foremen and laborers who knew how to plant, build, design.   Anyone who would help to rebuild society was taken away, leaving only the uneducated, the poor, those who could not stand up on their own.   He left the nation of Israel reeling with no leaders to stand up and lead the people out of bondage.   He returned them to a worse state of slavery than Egypt could ever hope to impose.  A hopelessness, a fear that left them unable to act, unable to move.

The enemy seeks to do the same to you and I every day.   He seeks to use fear to instill in us doubt, hopelessness, depression and a sense that nothing can be done to make life better.  He wants to take all of our virtues, our gifts, and drag them off into bondage.  To repress them so that we can't see the light of day.  Faith, hope and charity are the rock foundations of the society of our soul.  When we begin to falter in these he sees an opening, all he needs to do is get us to instead follow despair, doubt, and hate.  That's when our spiritual life begins to falter.. that's when all that is left of our own faculties are left reeling, unable to act, unable to move towards Heaven, toward's Christ who never left.

You see, just like the remnant of people left in Israel, Jesus never moved.  He has always been there, waiting for us to turn to Him for help.  To realize that He is the key, the Rock on which we can build our faith.   A Rock that is not just passively sitting there, but which helps us to build up and turn into a rock of our own.  Just like Simon Peter, who at one point gave into despair and hopelessness, to the point of denying he ever knew Christ; we too can be transformed into a new person.  God offers us a new name, no longer will we be Simon, but Peter, the rock who guides others to Christ.

First though, we must become the poor.  In many cases the enemy has already taken away our leaders, our craftsmen, and our laborers.  He has replaced the King in our heart with one he has appointed in it's place.  It's only when we let go of all those things we hold on to, all of those things that stand in the way of Christ being the center of our lives... relationships, desires, hatreds... when we become completely detached from the world and it's enticements and instead only trust in God... when we become the true poor, that's when the beatitude is fulfilled:

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:
“Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."

So what is standing in your way?  What has taken the place of God in your life?  He's not something you just add into your schedule when you find time... but rather, He should be put in your schedule first, and all the rest should be put around Him.  Christian, are you taking time to listen to Him today as He tries to lead you out of captivity?  Out of bondage and into the freedom of salvation?  He is offering you a Rock to build your spiritual house on.... are you taking time to set the foundations?  To receive Him so that He can mold you into a solid structure? Don't be a fool and build on the sand of the enemy.

His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease."

My Testimony From the Desert

Every time I read about Queen Esther I am struck by a particular scene from the movie One Night with the King.  It's the pivotal moment of the movie and of the history of the Jewish people.  Here this young woman is faced with a difficult and terrible dilemma.  She can remain silent and watch as her people are exiled and murdered, or she can go before the King of Persia and beg for his mercy.  Either way she is in danger of death.  To go before the king unannounced in this country was to be murdered, unless the King extended his scepter to you to forgive your intrusion.

As we read that first reading we see how she prepared for this moment.  She went down prostrate upon the ground, not just her but also all those with her, and they prayed for God's guidance and protection.  She gives us an example of prayer that I think is often over looked.  She asks God to guide her speech and her actions.  She realizes that she could very well die, but even in her fear she declares that God is her only help, her only recourse.  Let me share with you that dramatic moment from the movie that always sticks in my mind:

Esther trusts the King.   She walks up the steps even with all her fear, with her anxiousness.  She takes one step at a time never doubting that God will protect her.  That even if the earthly King doesn't extend his scepter to her the great and all powerful King will.  Often times in our lives we don't understand what God has in store for us.  While we can try to guess, the truth is that we see through a veil.   God is and always will be at the core mysterious, beyond our mortal comprehension.  Abraham had to take the steps up the mountain with Isaac at his side, trusting in the King.  Noah had to load his family in an ark and watch the world be destroyed by water, trusting in the King.  Moses had to lead his people through the towering walls of water to the other side, trusting in the King. You and I, no matter what life brings, must take one step at a time... knowing that even if we don't understand, we can trust in the King.

Jesus reminds us though in the Gospel that Esther's first step was the most important one, she consulted God.  She prayed! Jesus tells us that what we ask we will be given.  He reminds us that God is our Father.  Our relationship with him is an intimate, a personal one.  He isn't just some transcendent deity who is not involved in our mortal affairs, but rather he's our daddy, our Abba.   Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asked for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asked for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him. How often we think that way though don't we?  Our faith in God is often marred with our own fears, our own doubts.  We worry that God won't give things to us in a way that is good for us, or that he won't give it to us in a way that we will enjoy.  Yet, God always gives us that which love requires to make us grow. 

Esther was a prototype for us.  She was a glimpse of things to come.  Of another woman who stood before the King giving complete and utter trust to his plan, to his protection.  The blessed Virgin Mary.  She walked each step regardless of her fears.   She took on a role in salvation history that no other human has done, with the danger of losing her own life.  As she stood at the foot of the cross watching her only son suffer and die a horrible death, she trusted that God was giving her bread from Heaven, not a stone or snake.  Oh how we should wish to be like that!

Are you ready for this?  To march up to the doors of those doubts, those fears, those temptations and thrust them open.  To storm the castle of your life and march up the steps to the King, not in arrogance but in quiet confidence of his provision?   That's what Lent is about.  Today's readings remind us of the first pillar of Lent, prayer.  As we journey through this desert together let us pray for strength, for confidence, for trust, and maybe even more importantly: obedience.  May we through the discipline of lent grow to be more like Esther and Mary, to trust in the mysterious ways of God so fully that even threats of mortal danger will not dampen our unconditional yes to his plan.


His servant and yours, Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease."

Thus far a rather uninspiring thing

Tomorrow is the feast of Saint Agatha.  It's interesting that when we see her story we find that the Church has chosen two readings about two very different Kings, contrasting them as book ends.  What do Kings have to do with this amazing woman from the mid 3rd century? I think that in order to find that out we have to explore a bit of both her story, and theirs.

We see in the first reading King David is being lauded as the ultimate of Kings.   His Kingdom was the one where everyone had food on the table.  Israel was prosperous.  They were winning their wars.  Things were going so well in his time that he didn't even bother to go out and fight, just letting his commanders do it for him.  He was indeed the kind of King the people wanted when they demanded God give them a human one.  David, though, was far from perfect.  David was a man who had sinned terribly . He took another mans wife in adultery and then had that man killed.  David was confronted by the Prophet Nathan who used a parable to show David just how bad his sin was.  Nathan did not mince words, he told David that he was the man who had done wrong. 

Then we see in the second reading King Herod.  Herod has successfully bartered peace with the Romans, though at a great deal of cost to the freedoms of the people.  He had rebuilt the temple as well.  Was a good man? Probably not, but as far as King's go he wasn't the worst.  The Jewish people weren't starving to death by any means.  Herod too had his problems.  He had taken his brother Philip's wife as his own.  Just like David, Herod was confronted by a prophet.  John came to him in no uncertain terms and told him his sin.

Both kings had sinned.  Both kings had taken a woman to be their wife that they should not have.  Both were confronted by prophets.  They both had completely different responses.  King David repented of his sin, poured out his heart to God and begged forgiveness.  Herod?  Well he locked John up and treated him like a play thing, eventually beheading him.  One turned to God, the other to the world.   I think that is part of our first lesson. 

Through our Baptism we are consecrated as Priest, Prophet and King, right?  So if we put ourselves in the place of the Prophet in each of these pericopes we ask ourselves, are we fulfilling that role?  Are we standing up to those in charge?  Or are we simply trying to get by.   That doesn't necessarily mean to the King or the President, but there are people all over who are in positions of authority.  We as prophets are called to deliver the word of God, in season and out of season, when it's welcome and when it's not.  The challenge is to do so in love.  Pope Francis recently said that we cannot begin to speak about the justice(judgement) of God without first talking about his mercy.  Are we living that in our role of prophet?  Are we making sure to take a stand and deliver God's message to the world?

On the other hand, we have two Kings in the stories as well.  How are we responding to that word when delivered to us?  When the prophets in our lives come to us pointing out our mistakes are we turning to God in sorry and repentance?  Or do we reject them?  Are we going to be remembered like King David who constantly tried to do God's will, a man after God's own heart?  Or will we be remembered as Herod?  A man who lived a life of hedonism and pleasure, one who was supposed to be an example for the people, but rather did not point to God at all with his life.  The King of Israel in the old testament was described as the following:

he must not acquire many horses for himself, or return the people to Egypt in order to acquire more horses, since the Lord has said to you, “You must never return that way again.”   And he must not acquire many wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; also silver and gold he must not acquire in great quantity for himself.  When he has taken the throne of his kingdom, he shall have a copy of this law written for him in the presence of the Levitical priests.  It shall remain with him and he shall read in it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, diligently observing all the words of this law and these statutes,

Saint Thomas Aquinas told us there were four typical substitutes for God.  Power, wealth, pleasure, and honor.  Here in this one verse we see that God has declared that a King shall avoid all four of those.  Power - You will not get amount of horses.  Horses were a sign of military power.  Wealth - the King shall avoid gathering great quantities of silver and gold.  Pleasure - He shall not have a great deal of wives, but he is supposed to remain monogamous.  Honor - The king is required to consistently read the laws and statues, observing them in humility to remember that all glory belongs to God.

We can learn a great deal from that.  God showed us early on in Scripture that these four things were dangerous to our spiritual health.  Jesus encapsulated them in the sermon on the mount when he gave us the beatitudes.  The beatitudes are the antidote to those spheres of influence.  So much so that Father Barron says that the beatitudes point directly to Christ on the cross.. a man with no power.. no honor ... no wealth.. no pleasure.. he in his manhood is helpless and nailed to a cross.. he though the King of glory is treated as a common, unclean criminal.  The creator of the universe, he who made gold itself.. does not even have his own clothing left to boast.  The inspiration for the Song of Songs is here in pain, beaten, hungry, thirsty and in pain.  Yes, Christ on the cross teaches us that lesson... but that brings us to our last role, Priest.

Who is the Priest?  Jesus is the High Priest, our example.   Herod and his friends were asking a very powerful question... they were trying to figure out who Jesus was.  They were confused by him.  Some thought he was a reincarnated prophet, others simply a new one.  The incarnation confronted them with that question though... Who is Jesus?  What is he worth to us?  What does his existence mean to us? 

Saint Agnes believed so strongly that Jesus was worth dying for, that she went to her death after much torture to protect her virginity out of a promise to him.  She was surely tempted to give up to those spheres herself.  When they were asking her to give in and have sex?  She turned down the momentary pleasure for the Kingdom of Heaven.  When they threatened to kill her and tortured her?  When they offered her a spouse with wealth just to give in?  Oh how easy it would be to give in for the honor of being restored to our former place, not to be treated as a fugitive.  Oh how tempted might that rich man been on top of it.. if I just do this... I'll live... I'll be fine... When they berated her and made fun of her.. sent her to a brothel to be abused and raped, would she have been tempted to regain her honor by just giving in?  She chose the cross.. she chose death.

That's true power.  That's true honor.  That's true wealth!  How much more pleasure can one have than to be a part of the beatific vision? We, too, are challenged to be counter cultural.  Being so intent on Jesus on the cross that we go forward with that as our goal.  Giving up everything else.  Focusing intently on carrying our own cross, to our own Calvary.  There is no resurrection with the cross.... there is no Christianity without the cross.  We must become Christ in the world.  As priests, prophets and kings... we are to reach out into the world.. wagging our fingers in the face of those in charge and saying this is what true Justice is.  Feeding the poor, the widow, the orphan.  Helping the refugee.  Visiting the sick and those in prison.  Being a good king who avoids wealth, power, honor and pleasure to rather provide protection, hope, and love to all those we are responsible for.. and we are responsible for everyone.  Remember who asked "Am I my brothers keeper?"  Finally, leading the way by pointing to Christ.. by learning who Christ is ourselves, spending time with Him and with the inspired word, and then leading others to understand who he is.  That question, "Who is Jesus?"... the answer to that question has the power to change eternity for everyone you meet... But you've got to invite them into that world..

"You may be the only bible that someone ever reads." 

His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease."

All The Kings Men

The Saint for Today was Saint Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury.  Father Don Ahles recommended that we watch the movie Becket(1964) if we had never seen it.  That seemed like something fun to do, so I spent a few hours this afternoon downstairs laying in a comfortable warm bed watching a movie off Hulu.  It's a very interesting story indeed.  One with intrigue, suicide, murder, love, hate, politics, religion... all put together into a true tale that speaks of the problem with mixing Church and State.

The story of Becket is very interesting.  You have the English King, Henry the Second, who has invaded and taken over the Saxon lands.  He has appointed Thomas Becket, a Saxon, as his regent, the man with all the power behind the throne.  They went around carousing and painting the town red together.  King Henry was not satisfied with the power he had and craved more.  The one institution standing in his way?  The Catholic church. 

Eventually the Archbishop of Canterbury, being an elderly man, passes on to the next life.   King Henry thinks he has a brilliant plan, so he appoints his best friend and confidant (who just happens to be an Arch Deacon) to the post.   Thomas begs him not to, but the King is adamant.  So here this man who has been living for self pleasure is now appointed one of the most important figures in the Catholic church of England.  At first things go well until Thomas experiences a true conversion... and begins to actually work for Christ.   That brings things to a head.  Eventually thorugh much political leaning and such they become enemies, and some of the Kings men decide to kill Archbishop Becket.  They march into the sanctuary during vespers and run him through.

I could not help but be reminded of Simeon's words from Night Prayer in the divine office, which happens to be the Gospel reading for today:

“Lord, now let your servant go in peace;
your word has been fulfilled:
my own eyes have seen the salvation
which you prepared in the sight of every people,
a light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.”

Who would have thought that someone like Thomas Becket would have not only committed his life to God, but also have become a Martyr of the faith?  This man who spent his time drinking, sexing, and partying with the King, would eventually stand up to him and die for his flock.  What can we learn from this?  What lesson is there for us to learn? I think there are many indeed.  The one though that stands out is the need for a good examine, a proper look at the end of the day, to determine if we too are living the life that we need to be living.   Are we working to bring about God's will?  Or living for our own pleasures?   As a man who has lived a sordid past, I find myself sometimes reminiscing about the past.  Are we ready to let it go?  Is there anything standing in the way of Christ being born into our lives?  Are we ready to go in peace?

There is that word... it's been coming up so often lately.  Peace.  We, like Simeon, have seen Christ lifted up before our hearts.  Simeon yearned for Christ so much that at the sight of him, he felt his life was full, he had seen all he needed to see... he was ready to die.   Do we realize how great a gift the Eucharist is?  To receive Christ?  To see Him lifted up before our eyes?  Are you at peace? I pray that like Elisha's servant my eyes might be opened, that I might see the host of heaven gathered around us.  Lord I belive, help my unbelief.

His servant and yours,
Brian

Obedience Brings Liberation

There is a phrase that caught my eye when looking at the readings for tomorrow's daily Mass.  It's a strange one to my 21st century American mind.  "The scepter shall never depart from Judah, or the mace from between his legs"  In our culture a mace is either a weapon of war or a bottle of pepper spray designed to incapacitate an assailant.   I had to do some research because I was sure that neither of those accurately portrayed what this verse would have meant to the Jewish mind of the 5th century at Solomon's court.  

The Hebrew word, וּמְחֹקֵ֖ק (ū·mə·ḥō·qêq) is a word that means "ruler's staff" or "law giver."  That's an interesting connotation that scepter has but a deeper meaning.  We have this symbol of the Lion, the King of beasts.   We have the scepter of a ruler.   That symbol is easy to our minds.  What does the staff mean though?  If we look at the other parts of the bible, we see that Moses had a staff.  The "law giver" of course was Moses, he received the Law from God and gave it to the people.  Here we have this image of the King, the ruler of the people, the law giver... always being from Judah. 

That's an interesting thing to tie into the genealogy of the Gospel reading.  We could spend days unpacking all of the amazing things this teaches us.  First and foremost though it shows us something important to understand about Jesus Christ.  Jesus was a direct descendent of Judah.  This would have stood out immediately to those first century Jewish men and women who heard this genealogy.  They would have been looking for a Messiah to fit this requirement.  This prophecy of our first reading points to a coming King, one who is also a Shepherd,  and a prophet.   One to lead his people, guide them, and liberate them.  A shepherd leads with a staff.. a shepherd's crook, the guide and pull his sheep to where they need to be.

What does that mean to us?  How do we apply that to our lives?  We are approaching the octave that leads to Christmas day.   The purpose of these days is for us to take an even stronger look at our lives, at our faith, at our hearts.   Then to ask ourselves:  Is Jesus the ruler of our life?  Are our hearts completely open to our King?  Or are we holding out?  Is there anything standing in His way to come into our hearts.  We are born slaves to our sin.  Jesus comes to liberate us, to lead us as the new Moses out of the desert of sin, and into the promised land.  His kingdom will last forever.  Are you ready to stop trying to lead yourself and allow Him to lead you?  He came to be born to the world.  He came again to appear to his apostles.  He comes again every day to be born again into your heart and to be received in the Eucharist.  He will come again at the end of time to usher in an eternity of peace, love and joy.  Are you ready?

Next comes the challenge.  We are to be like our King.  We are to live to the best of our ability in a way that emulates the life of Christ himself.  Jesus comes to liberate others from sin, form oppression.  You and I are challenged to do the same.  Are you freeing others from that which holds them down?  Are you forgiving them so that they can move on with their lives?   Are you reaching out to the one born down by poverty and helping alleviate that stress by giving of your blessings?  Are you working for justice in the world, pointing with every action towards the Shepherd?  Or trying to do it all on your own?  With all the injustice in the world, all the bigotry, sexism, racial, social and political biases... there is no small amount of work to be done.  Let's not use Christmas to forget these things.. but to call our lives back to that.. by letting Christ be born in our heart, as our Shepherd, our High Priest, our King... to bring about His Kingdom here, as it is in Heaven.

His servant and yours,

Brian

Misericordia

A friend of mine lost a family member just recently.  Her mother had just passed a way a few weeks ago.  Today I attended the funeral.  It is always interesting to listen to a Mass in another language, to see the differences of culture and temperaments.  There is something somber and grounding about seeing a funeral from that perspective.  I am far from fluent but I catch some words and phrases here and there.  I kept hearing that word today, misericordia, mercy.  Then my heart broke as I watched this man's daughter break down at the casket.   I had no problem understanding her.  She pokes in long, drawn out words... slow enough for my feeble mind to grasp them... I think even if you didn't know any Spanish the torment in her voice would have told you plainly that she was calling out to God and asking why.

I began to cry as I pulled out my rosary and began to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet for a man I had never met.  They probably thought the gringo quite silly in the back, with tears running down his face.  As I began to read the readings for tomorrow's daily Mass, it struck me that this is what it means to be like Jesus. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.  How lost one must feel to lose a parent.   I have both of mine still so I cannot understand even if I empathize.   A loved one dying is one of the hardest things to bear.

On days like this I think back to my great grandmother Viola's funeral.  I was very young then.  I remember sobbing and being wracked with sadness. I did not know how to process the fact that I could no longer stop by and sit on her porch listening to her stories.   It truly is a moment when you feel lost.  How much more so a parent?  A brother?  A sister?   An article caught my eye this morning about refugees from Syria again.   Christian refugees had just been turned away from California.  These men and women have left everything to try to find safety.. to flee from persecution and death.  Some have even been killed as people have been thrown overboard from boats to drown on the journey, because of one radical ideology or another.  Children have been found dead on the seashore.  Yet, I see people who claim to be children of God declaring that we must send them "back where they came from." 

How are we not moved with pity?  How do our hearts not go out to them?  Did we learn nothing from our past?   We are humanity.  They are part of us.  There are bad people in every nation, every tongue, every skin color.  There are good people in every nation, every tongue, every skin color.  Who are we to claim to be Christian and yet begin to deny love?  Jesus demands of his Apostles today, "Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”  Every single item you own, every dollar in your bank account, every breath you have... was given to you freely.   God has blessed us so abundantly in this country.  Yet, we charge people to share in our blessings.  "You need to be a citizen."  "You need to speak English!"   "You need to drink beer and eat meat!"  How dare we put a quantifier on who we love when God has chosen to love us without prejudice? 

Our goal as Catholics is to allow Christ to transform us through the Sacraments into images of himself.  To restore us to the communion we had with God in the garden of Eden.  That means we are to be more like God and less like the world.  The old testament reading for tomorrow says:

He will be gracious to you when you cry out,
as soon as he hears he will answer you.
The Lord will give you the  bread you need
and the water for which you thirst.

Is that the kind of person you are?  Is that the kind of nation you are helping form?  Every day someone out there cries out to you to be fed.  Whether it be a refugee from another country, a co-worker, or a member of your own family.   Saint Agustine said,  "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you."     Are you helping people find rest?  Both in this life and the next?  Are you helping them find shelter from the storms of life, both physical and spiritual?  Are you reaching out to everyone and not just those who are close to home?  Christmas is coming soon.  Christ's Mass.  Without either of those, it's just another party.   As we approach Christ's Mass through Advent ask yourself, are you helping prepare the world for the coming of the Savior?  Or are you only trying to prepare yourself? 

His servant and yours,
Brian

Who do you say that I am?

Tomorrow is the last Sunday in the liturgical year.  Soon we will begin the season of Advent, leading up to Christmas.  We will begin to think about the ways we can bring Christ into the world, and how we can celebrate his birth from day to day.  This Sunday though, we will be celebrating Jesus Christ as our King, the King of the universe.  I've spent a great deal of time thinking about these readings, and wondering.. what will I write about?  I keep being drawn to a specific phrase: "Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?"

I wonder what I would say if Jesus had said this to me?  Our parents taught us about Jesus first in most cases.  For some though, it was a teacher, a friend, a catechist, a priest.  In every case our faith has been handed on by someone else.  Someone told us about Jesus.  They told us he was the King of the universe.  They told us that we needed him in our lives.  That's a beautiful thing.  That is how the Church has operated since it's foundation in the first century. It can't end there though.

"Do you say this on your own?"  It is so important that we don't just know Jesus intellectually.  We must know him intimately.   He is indeed the King of the Universe.  He is indeed our Master and our Teacher.  He's also our brother and our friend.  We need to learn to know who he is.  Unlike the Blue's Brothers, we don't just want the facts.  We want a relationship.  We need to spend time with Jesus.  In the Sacraments.   In our friends and family.  In the poor. Jesus reminds us in the last part of tomorrow's gospel: "For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.  Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." 

How can we hear God's voice if we don't listen for it?  Society encourages us to fill everything with sound, everything with self.  Portable music devices, internet coverage from seashore to seashore, if you want something there is an app for that.  We can hear the top songs.  Watch the top shows.  Videos from the top Youtubers are that touch of a button. What we need though is to spend some time just listening to Christ.   If we are constantly talking or listening, we never give him room to speak.  That I think is our challenge this day as we wonder if we truly have accepted, honored and realized the truth of what it means for Christ to be our King.

My wife and I just watched the movie Bruce Almighty together, again. Toward the end of the movie Jim Carey drops to his knees in the middle of a highway in a rain storm.   He realizes that he doesn't know how to take care of things.  That even with unlimited power he is just making a mess of things.  He cries out to God and says "I surrender to your will."  Of course, in typical comedic fashion, he is then hit by a truck.  That leads us though to this amazing scene where he finally realizes how much he loves the lady of his life.  So much so that he doesn't pray to get her back, but rather that she will be happy, no matter what that means.

Are you ready for that kind of prayer?  "Lord, I want other people to be happy, no matter what it costs me."  That's what making Jesus the King of our lives is about.  Jesus showed us by example with his Disciples.   He washed their feet.  Then he said, this is what you must do for one another.  Jesus, the King of the entire Universe... humbled himself to serve others.  We as His adopted brothers, as co-heirs to the Kingdom, as Disciples of Christ... we must do the same.

Find some time today to listen to God's voice.  Then, as Mary would tell you, "Do whatever he tells you."  Serve him.  Serve one another.  If every Christian began to do this, we could truly fulfill that first reading in which all peoples, nations, and languages serve him.

The Noble Heading to Another Country

In today's Gospel there is this interesting parable.  Last night when reflecting on the Gospel, I was drawn to the gold coins and what they represent.  Today though it struck me, that this was a very important key to that whole exchange.

While people were listening to Jesus speak, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the Kingdom of God would appear there immediately. So he said, “A nobleman went off to a distant country to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return.

Why is this important to understanding the truth of the parable? I think it is in the key of who Jesus is, and not who they thought he was going to be.  As in the first reading, the Jewish people were well aware of the fact they were still under oppression from Roman rule.  They had been beaten down for many, many years.  Here they were expecting deliverance.  They wanted to see God fulfill that promise he made to David when he said, "And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever." 

How confusing it must have been for the people who thought that Israel would have a king forever.  Then not only did they lose their king, but they also lost Jerusalem itself.  It was destroyed completely and they were carted off into captivity.  Trying to make sense of that they began to develop the theology of the Messiah.  It was he they were waiting for.  It was he they thought Jesus to be, and they were right in thinking so.  The problem was they expected him to be a military leader.  Just like David of old, like the judges, someone to rise up against their enemies, and rebuild the kingdom.  King David's kingdom was a time of unrivaled prosperity.  Everyone had everything they needed, food, wealth, etc.   It was what they longed to be returned to. 

Here was Jesus approaching Jerusalem and the people around him thought the Kingdom of God was about to be manifest.  Even though Jesus had been telling them over and over that he would have to go into Jerusalem and die, they thought he was going to rise up as King and overthrow Israel's political enemies.  So Jesus tells us this parable.  What does it mean though?  Well, Jesus is the nobleman in the story.  Jesus is warning them that what they think is going to happen, is not exactly what is going to occur.  He has to go to another country, he has to journey back to where he came from, that is to Heaven, in order to become King.  

This parable is all about his crucifixion.   He is also telling us what we must do while he is gone.  That's where the gold coins come in, and that's where my blog from last night starts off.  (Are you ready to give an account?)   Are we ready to show Him when he returns as king what we have done with his gifts?   As we approach the end of the liturgical season we are reminded through our readings that one day will come the end of time.  That at that end of time we will be called forward to give an account of what we have done with the things God has given us.  As we approach this weekends Mass, let us prepare ourselves for an encounter with Christ the King. 

He has gone to prepare a place for us.  Are you ready?  Get ready.   Be ready.  Stay ready.

His servant and yours,

In Christ,

Brian

Carrying the cross?

As I was walking back from the bus stop this morning, instead of praying the office of readings I decided I would do the Rosary.  This mornings mysteries were the Sorrowful Mysteries.  I began to walk along watching the squirrels running around preparing for winter, watching the parents running to school, the workers to work, the buses to their stops.  I watched as the geese flew over honking and as the leaves fell from the trees.

I began to meditate on the Carrying of the Cross.   Such a long walk it must have been to carry that cross.  As I began the mystery I did as always and said a prayer, one for the particular intent of my heart but in some way related to the mystery itself.  Then I began to pray.  As I did I began to think about the different ways we carry our crosses. But there was this notion that struck me, the cross wasn't carried in private.. it was a very public event.  So public indeed that even Simon of Cyrene was compelled into helping Jesus carry the cross.

All too often we tell people who have serious sins in their lives, oh that's your cross to bear.  We treat it as if those sins, performed in the dark away from us are not our concern, but something that they must learn to live with.  Yet, sin is not a private affair.  If you're hiding a sin from others, then it compounds the problem.  When you commit those sins in private willingly, you aren't carrying your cross.. no.. you're laying it down and walking away from it.


I'm not suggesting that every person out there should come out and begin to say to every person they meet "this is my sin."   I am suggesting though that we as Christians need other men (or women) to talk to. We need a support group to hold us accountable, and with that group we need to be 100% honest.  We need to let someone, a trusted friend, who isn't just going to be complacent and say "that's ok," know what we are struggling with.   We need to carry our cross together, and even at other times to get someone to help us bear that load, because sometimes we can't do it on our own. (I firmly believe that is the true power of the Cursillo movement, in the grouping.)

The Sacred Scriptures tell us that we are one body.  Now a body could function decently without one kidney.. but it isn't working at 100%.  Even more so, if it loses both one might still live, but how difficult does life become?  When one organ has cancer, it often doesn't stay just there.. no it spreads. We are less without you.  Period.  When you are sick? Infected with sin as it were... it makes the rest of the body suffer.  Together though, we can heal.

What's with the Attitude?

The Bible talks many times about the attitude we should have when we approach God in supplication. From the list in Malachi chapter one to the 'Our Father', each of them shows the proper way to come to God in prayer. Although it is addressed so often, many still are praying in a manner that does not reflect their Christian nature. Our attitude towards God should reflect the fact that God is the most important thing in our life, and that we love our neighbor as ourselves. These two statements, directly from Jesus, show us all we really need to know to be Christian.

Mathew 22: 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38T his is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Following these two commands, we find that all of the ten commandments fall into place. One cannot murder another and pretend to have loved them. One cannot be jealous of another's things and pretend to love them. One cannot lie to another, steal, or dishonor his father and mother; all the while pretending it is out of love for them. It, once again, is all about attitude towards God! When God truly comes first in your life you will take your commandments seriously. It is true that Christ died on the cross for us, and that he has washed us clean of sin. It is also true that faith in Christ is enough. Jesus however said, those who love me will keep my commands. (John 14:15) When we come to the cross and give our hearts to Jesus it should be completely! We should do it out of love, out of desperation, out of hope! It should not be a moment where we simply say, 'I believe in Christ' and then forget what he did the moment we go out of the building.

How does this apply to our lives? Our attitudes? You should be reflecting that love in every action, every day. Each time you interact with another person it should be out of love. Think carefully what this means. It means that our needs are not first. It means that we offer ourselves as servants to the world. What? As servants? Jesus, the king of the universe, came down and presented himself not as a king, but as a servant. Is he not our example? Should we not present ourselves as living images of him? When we come to the cross our old selves die. We are no longer a creature of this world, but spiritual beings, Children of God! We should act as such!

It also applies to our prayer life. When we come to God we should praise and worship him! How many times do we begin our prayers with 'Lord why me? What did I do?' Think of the 'Our Father'. This was the example that Jesus gave his disciples in how to pray.

Mathew 6:9 Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, asit isin heaven.

Jesus tells his disciples to start off their prayers with a praising of God. That God's will be done in earth, just as it is in heaven.

Hallow -To make holy; to set apart for holy or religious use; to
consecrate; to treat or keep as sacred; to reverence.

He instructs them to indicate that God's name is special and holy, to be treated with reverence. Many religious Jews will not even say God's name, even to the point of writing the English word as G-d. How much respect should we be showing knowing that God's name is hallowed? When was the last time we prayed and said God, your name alone is special and holy, how much more so are you? We should pray with God's will in mind. First and foremost! What is God's will? Romans 12:2 tells us “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.” God's will is good, pleasing and perfect. His will is that all of his Children will come to Him. His will is that we worship him, and love him, as he first loved us. His will is that we love one another. So when you pray, pray in God's will. We should pray for things that help others, out of love.

God wants us to have everything we need. He doesn't always give us everything we want. Sometimes that is because what we want, will either hurt us or hurt someone else. Yet we spend a great deal of time worrying and being anxious. Jesus told us that we should stop worrying, if God clothes the flowers in the field in more beauty than even a great King, how much more so would he provide us with clothes? If God provides food for the birds in the air, how much more so will he provide food for us? (Mathew 6:25-32) God knows what we need, and he will provide! The world will make it seem to you that you are suffering and that God is not listening, but He is! Not only is he listening he is answering! We need to be still and quiet and listen to God! (Psalm 46:10)

I will close for now with words directly from our savior, words more perfect than anything I could come up with on my own. Mathew 6:33-34 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day [is] the evil thereof.”

In Christ,
Brian

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I wrote about this verse of scripture a few years ago on Myspace, and I was disappointed to find out I missed a sermon on it the other day when I stayed home to watch one of the children who did not want to attend church. She is too young to be quiet when she doesn't want to be there, and too young to leave at home. That being out of the way I just wanted to share some thoughts on it because it is a beautiful set of verses (aren't all of them?)

John 21:15-17
15When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."

16 Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."

17 The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.

It seems odd in the English translation to keep asking Simon over and over, do you love me? Mostly because we only have one word for love. However, in the original language there were four different words for love. Two of them were used here. They were:

Agape - the love of God or Christ for mankind, unconditional love
phileo - brotherly love

So to paraphrase the conversation above, Jesus who had just risen from the dead and had dined on some fish said, to his friend and disciple.

"Do you love me unconditionally as I love the world?" Remember Jesus loved the world so much he died on the cross for all of our sins.

Simon peter replied, "Of course, I love you like a brother."

Quite a bit of difference in brotherly love, and the love of God for the world. Though some brothers would die for each other, would a brother die for everyone? I know some brothers who would not even lift a finger for each other as well.

He asks him again, "Simon Peter, do you agape me?"

Peter replies, "Yes Lord, I phileo you!"

Once again the Lord wants to know if he loves him as much as God loves us! Peter says I love you like a brother, he still isn't getting it!

Then a third time Jesus asks, and when he look at it, he asks "Simon, do you phileo me?" Simon is hurt, because he asks a third time. I also think he is hurt because he realizes what Jesus is asking of him, asking if he loves him that much and Simon isn't ready for that. He wants to be, but he's not sure that he has the love in him that Jesus, the living God has! He says, "You know all things! You know that I love you like a brother!" Jesus commands him one more time "Feed my sheep!"

This is a lesson for all of us today. Do you agape Jesus? Do you love him enough to die on the cross with him and rise again the third day? That's what we as Christians do when we are baptized. "I am crucified with Christ: neverthless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Gal 2:20 We are dunked under the water 3 times, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; symbolizing our three days in the tomb. When we rise out of that water we are a new creature. "Not I, but Christ liveth in me!" We are to live by the faith in the son of God!! Walking in obedience to his commandments. We are no longer part of this world, but children of the Living God! The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! Covered by the Blood of Jesus Christ! Our sins are washed clean! We are to agape one another forgiving each other our sins and sinning no more! Amen, Hallelujah!

It also means that some of us aren't ready for agape. Some of us are still at the phileo stage. Some of us haven't gotten there yet, but that doesn't mean we don't have to strive for more! We have to keep trying. Just like my mother used to tell me when I fell off a horse, get back on it right now! Dust yourself off and start riding again. You might get angry at someone, or not like someone, work to love them no matter how hard it is. Know that Jesus loves them, and that God loves them. It doesn't mean you have to have them over for coffee every day, but you don't have to give them a cold shoulder and not wave when they pass you in the hall. If you see them with a flat, don't pretend you don't see them flagging you down. Work towards agape. Work towards being Christ. So that when people look at you, they don't even see you anymore, they see the Christ that has risen in you.

One last thing, I agape you. No matter who you are, where you are, you are beautiful, each and everyone of you. God loves you, and so do I. God bless you, and may he pour out all of his love on you. If you haven't accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior please do so today. If you don't know how just ask him in your words to come into your heart, and pick up a bible and start at Mathew and start reading a little at a time. If that seems like to much, or you just want someone to help or guide you, feel free to send me a message. I'd be happy to pray with you, or even suggest some reading. May God bless you in your journey.

In Christ,
Brian