Speak Life

There are so many times that I have been given the opportunity to be an evangelist for Christ and allowed my fallen human nature to get in the way.   I was at a Cracker Barrel with some friends.   I went up to the register to pay on the way out.   A young man behind the counter commented on my necklace.  He said he had been meaning to get something to wear.   He said he just didn't know which to get because he was, and I quote here, "A Catholic and a Christian."   It was a moment to evangelize, a moment to teach and tell him that all Catholic's are Christians, but not all Christians are Catholics.   I didn't though... I just talked about the different kinds of crucifixes and crosses and encouraged him to get one.   Something inside of me kept me from going further and encountering this person on a deeper level.

Jeremiah reminds us that God encounters us on so deep a personal level that He Himself forms us in our mother's womb.   We are reminded time and again in the Sacred Scriptures that we are created in the image of God.  Like a loving artisan, God works directly and intimately with our very being.  Making us into one race, not many.   Each person created unique with a distinct personality and specific gifts.  He knows us before even our parents are aware of our existence.    How much more personal a relationship with God can we have than to be created by Him, not as some identical automaton among the many.. but as an individual, a singular diamond... a treasured possession.

We are made in the image of the God who speaks and creates.   He speaks life.   He speaks love.   He, the Father, spoke one single Word.   That Word was revealed to us in the incarnation as the "Word became flesh and dwelt among us."   Jesus is the Word of God.   In every action Jesus provides a perfect example of evangelization.     He never proselytizes, even the son of God never seeks to force conversion... He instead encounters the person.   He gets to the heart of the matter for those who are seeking to come closer, those who are trying in earnest to find God.  He never tells them to just continue sinning or misses an opportunity to reach out to a fallen child of God, but rather touches them in a way that leaves them hopeful or challenged.  That is the image of a God who never leaves a person behind unchanged.

In the Gospel parable we see the Word of God being planted like a seed.   The myriad temptations of this world seek to harden the soil of our hearts.   To create an environment internally that inhibits the growth of that seed.   The devil and evil spirits prowl about seeking to devour, to destroy any hope of that seed forming.  They want to pluck the seed out before it has a chance to change us.   Pleasure, honor, power, and wealth all seek to grow up in our hearts as false idols to choke out and destroy any image of God within us.   We must be co-workers with the Lord, laboring to prepare the soil of our hearts to not only receive the Word, but to nourish it and let it grow within us as a fertile and rich environment for Life.    That is what has been planted in us, the Word of eternal life, Life itself.

Then, we also must become planters of the Word.   Going out into the world to speak Life.   In a world hurting with racial divides, abortion on demand, rampant drug use, hatred towards the police sworn to protect us, and a million excuses that desire to create in us an environment where we justify sin... In a realm where men and women fleeing persecution by regimes of hate are turned away by 'Christian' nations.... In a society where speaking about Christ is in and of itself taboo, casual sex is on the rise, the family and marriage are being relegated to things of the past, and selfishness is even lauded in the music.... We are challenged to speak Life.. to speak Love... to speak hope.  To the poor, the broken, to the hurting... we are to be an image of the Word... one who never is complacent towards sin, but always encounters on a personal level.. and leaves every person they encounter changed in some small way.

His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease."

A Reflection on the readings for Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time: July 20th, 2016.  Jeremiah 1:1, 4-10;  Psalm 71; The Holy Gospel According to Saint Matthew 13:1-9

I'm not ready.

It's the end of Lent.  Today marks the start of the Holy Triduum.  At the Catholic Mass we relive these events that led up to the crucifixion of Christ so that we remember them always.  Tonight is the night that we spend with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, trying to stay awake as we pray with him.  It's also the night where we gather together in the Sanctuary and we watch as our Priest takes off his robes down to just his alb and begins to wash the feet of parishioners from all walks of life, both male and female. There is so much richness, so much treasure, so many pearls of great price to be learned from watching these events unfold before us and hearing the accompanying scriptures pronounced and sung.

It takes me back to my first Easter as a Catholic.  There I was trying to stay awake in the Garden.  I watched as many others walked out within just a few minutes of placing Christ in repose for adoration.  I had uncharitable thoughts.  "What you don't have time to spend more than a minute with Christ?"  "Why are you leaving so soon?" "Lord why can't they stay awake."  It was almost as if I were the Pharisee standing in the temple saying "Thank God I am not like this sinner."  Then the Eucharist caught my attention.  It was as if the Lord was speaking directly to me. "Can you not stay awake with me one hour?" My Lord reminded me that it was not they who were asleep.. but me... I was watching everyone else, but not watching Christ in the Eucharist.. not spending time in prayer with him.  I'll never forget that humbling lesson.

That's part of what is so amazing about being Catholic.  We don't just have a personal relationship with Christ, though we have that.   We also have a communal relationship with him, and better yet, we have a tangible, tactile relationship with him as well.  We believe that when the Priest says the words of consecration, the words that Christ himself gave us, that bread is transformed... that wine is changed... it's not just bread and wine anymore, it's substance has changed.  It is truly the body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord and savior.  Think of that for a minute!  He not only comes down to see us, to be with us, to remind us of his presence in a substantial way; but he also allows us to receive him into our bodies to change us.. to mold us.. to bring us into that divine life that he promised.  We don't have to wait for the time after time itself ends for us, but we can experience Heaven right here and right now.

The book of Revelation used to scare me.   I used to spend hour after hour trying to pick out the right people in the news, the right signs, the right 'end of time' events... I was consumed with trying to find out when Armageddon was coming.  Then I read a book called The Lamb's Supper by Scott Hahn.  That book promoted an idea that was not new, one that the early church fathers held as well, that the book of Revelation was a vision of Heavenly worship.. Oh my how that changed my view of the Church and the Eucharist.. I began to see the flaming lamp stands around the altar, the Priest standing in persona Christi, the angels and saints gathering around and offering their prayers up as incense.. the prayers of the saints on earth... Oh yes, I began to see that God truly was present.. that Revelation was a glimpse of Heaven kissing earth.. A glimpse of the Holy Mass.

So tonight, tomorrow, Sunday... whatever Mass you are attending.. and not just during Easter, but for the rest of your lives.. Lift up your eyes to the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar and say with Peter, "“Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.”  That's what this is all about.. about the Eucharist.. about Christ himself... about His perpetual sacrifice, his todah to bring us into communion with the Father again.. to bring us into a communion with God that is so amazingly beautiful, but so challenging that in John chapter 6 we see many of his disciples stop following him when offered it.  This is not easy.. Are you ready? To sit with him in the garden?  To walk with him towards Calvary?  To pick up your own cross and head to your own Easter?   Not alone I am not.  I am not ready Lord.. but thanks be to Adonai that he has sent his only son to me in the Sacraments of the Holy Catholic church to help me have to grace to take one step in front of another.

Lord give me the grace to strip myself of all my outer coverings and walls, to expose myself to those who need their feet washed.. the widow, the orphan, the alien... may I be given supernatural humility to put myself to the side and provide for what they need.  May I be a servant leader like you... you who are so humble that you will come down as the most defenseless thing ever.. a piece of bread.. to provide me with everything I need, both physically and spiritually.. May I too pour myself out, may I place myself in the hands of those who are hurting and be a sacrament of your love for them as well.

His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease."

Get ready? Be ready? Stay Ready?

Tomorrow's first reading is one of the more beautiful expressions of how important it is to realize who Christ was to the Jewish faith, the second Adam.  That's a powerful typology that we must not miss when exploring what it means to us as Children of the most high God.  To really understand this verse, we have to look at what happened in the Garden of Eden. 

If we look at Genesis starting with Chapter 2, we see that Adam was created to work and till the land.  Many scholars indicate that the wording used place Adam as it's guardian, it's protector.  He was supposed to keep bad things from happening, and to make sure good reigned supreme. Then comes the scene all of us are so familiar with.  The serpent appears. He tempts Eve.  Where was Adam during all this?  Right there by her side. He didn't stop her.  He didn't protect her.  He simply stood silently while mankind fell from the grace he had already experienced.

Think about the story here.  God was right there with him.  When the wind would blow He walked with Adam, face to face.  Adam had everything he needed.  He had all these beautiful animals, plenty of plants and seeds for food, this luscious garden filled with beautiful sights, and this gorgeous woman who he lived with and was supposed to protect.   All God asked was that they follow a simple rule.  Adam failed as the protector.  He didn't step up and say, wait.. God doesn't want that.. Eve don't listen to the serpent.  No, he simply watched her do it.. then partook of the forbidden fruit himself... then turned around and blamed God for the whole mess.  "It was the woman YOU gave me."

For just as through the disobedience of one man
the many were made sinners,
so, through the obedience of the one
the many will be made righteous.

You see, Adam's greatest sin, mankinds greatest sin, was really disobedience.  Jesus came into this world to restore us, through obedience.  Through that obedience we receive the righteousness we don't deserve.   That sets the stage for this interesting gospel:

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Gird your loins and light your lamps
and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding,
ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.
Blessed are those servants
whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.
Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself,
have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.
And should he come in the second or third watch
and find them prepared in this way,
blessed are those servants.”

What does Jesus mean?  For me he is talking about obedience.  He is talking about stewardship.  He is talking about living our lives in a way that says we believe what we profess to believe.  Stewardship is not just about tithing or giving a donation in the basket.  It's about every aspect of your life.  What you eat.  What you drink.  What you wear.   Where you go.  What you watch.  What you say.   In every action, we should show through what we do what we believe.  If we believe that this world belongs to God.. our actions should show that.   Do we?   Would all of us be environmentalists if we did?   Would we leave the lights on at night if we truly believed it all belonged to God?  Would we buy food based on taste alone? Or on both taste and sustainability?   Would we take our kids to see a movie that doesn't help them spiritually just because everyone else had seen it? 

What about you?  Are you prepared for him at any moment? Too many are out there looking for signs in the heavens, trying to predict the day he comes back... they want us to believe in a rapture that we need to be watching for.  They live in a panic, watching the news for this or that, stocking up to provide for those days they'll have to hide from governments etc... all of this belies what we should believe.  Rather we should get ready.  That is try to live a holy life, with frequent reception of the sacraments.  We should be ready.  Study to show ourselves approved.  Pray constantly, without ceasing.   Again, frequent reception of the sacraments!  Stay ready.  When we fall, and we will.. all of us fail at some point or another.. when we fail, we go back to Christ and start over.. we go to confession... did I mention frequent reception of the Sacraments? 

Just remember, not a single sparrow falls from the sky without God being aware of it... and you.. you are worth more than many sparrows.. you are worth dying for.  You are worth God coming down every single day to allow you to place him in your hands, receive him in your body, and be transformed through the Sacraments into the people he created us to be.   We have our chance to stand up to that tricky snake in the garden and say "hey back away from my spouse... I am a child of God and we won't let you trick us!"  Are you ready?

Get ready.  Be ready.  Stay ready.

In Christ, His servant, and yours,
Brian

Seeds? Words? Gardens?

Bear with me as I try to convey to you something that I do not know if I can put into words. Today as I was reading Sacred Scripture, a line of thought began to form in my mind. It begins with the concept of the logos, the Christ, the messiah. Jesus is the Word of God. That is something that almost all Christians agree on. It's also key in understanding the power of the tongue. First I want to talk about what the logos means to us, and what that means about Jesus.

We as Christians believe that when God spoke before time ever began, that the Word he spoke was Jesus himself. That the word that came out of his mouth, the word through which all things were created, was Christ. First off we see that when God speaks, he speaks a Word, and that Word is the messiah. It shows us how powerful that word is. All of creation, the universe, people, soul, spirit... all were created by a Word.

Next we see the concept that the Word is a seed. Jesus talked many times about the Word of God being a seed which is planted in the heart, in the garden of the World, which grows or not according to the condition of the soil. Here we see that the Word spoken by God has the power to multiply and grow, to create and uplift. The power of life and death, the power of all of God's creation is in a Word. The Word IS a seed.

Then I began to ponder the fact that we are made in the image of God. Being made in the image of God means that we should be aware that we also have power, spiritual power given to us by God's Holy Spirit. That means that when we speak, we also speak words. Now that seems very obvious on the surface. But let's look at what we said above, not only do the words we speak have power.. but they are seeds. When we speak we sow spiritual seeds in the garden of life. We have the power to plant spiritual food, or to grow weeds.

What does that mean for us? When we edify and uplift, when we build up and encourage... we are planting spiritual food, we are giving spiritual fruit... we are planting seeds of God's Kingdom. We are sharing the Word, through our word. We are spreading the Kingdom of God one seed at a time. At the same time, when we speak words that tear down or demean, words that harm and destroy, we plant weeds that choke and destroy the fruit we have planted. You see Jesus told us that the soil is very important to the growth of the seed. Did you know that God put man in charge of tilling and caring for the soil? Adam was given the job of protecting the garden of Eden, and we as descendents of Adam also have a duty to protect, till, and prepare the garden of our Spiritual world.. the Kingdom of God.

Are you building up God's kingdom? Are you spreading it one word at a time? Or are you planting weeds in your relationships? In your marriage? Is your home a garden of lovely flowers, tantalizing fruits, and gorgeous flowing rivers of kindness? Or is it filled with briars, burning sands, and empty river beds in decay?

His servant and yours;



Brian