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."

The Irony of it All.

A man named Pilate posed the question "What is truth?" nearly 2000 years ago.    The irony of asking that question while standing before Truth itself is still echoing in our society today.  Mankind tends to think of himself as the source of truth instead of seeing it as a static and concrete reality that exists outside of ourselves.  Isn't it just like us to think of ourselves as the center of the universe?  I think we often use that concept to allow our egos to justify our own actions.   The youth of today have this saying, "I'll do me, and you do you."   That is, if your truth does on impinge upon my truth, we can get along.   Truth is more than that though.   Truth cannot just be generated by current societal norms and practices.  If it did, then if whatever we believe to be true is "true".   That means that Stalin was right in what he did, so was Hitler.  That makes rape OK, as long as you think it's OK.    No, all of us understand on some level that truth has to exist outside of ourselves, that some things are evil no matter who thinks they are OK.

In the first reading today we see St. James continuing his exhortation on morality.  He gives us this statement: But above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath, but let your “Yes” mean “Yes” and your “No” mean “No,” that you may not incur condemnation.  Some see this as a simple statement that means don't make promises you can't keep, and that's there in a small way, after all James was just writing previously about not making plans for tomorrow without realizing that it's only if God wills it that you do so.   It's more than that though.   It's not a lowering of our promises, as with most of the Gospel it isn't setting the bar even lower than the Law of Moses did, it's raising it.  It all revolves around that ironic image of Jesus as the incarnation of Truth.

By virtue of our Baptism we are infused with the Holy Spirit who guides us to all truth.  We are made in the image of the living God, even more so after He condescended to become man.  That makes Jesus the image which we strive to emulate.  When James says make your Yes, yes, and your no, no.. it means that every single word we speak must be taken as seriously as any oath.   We as Christians are expected to speak Truth, to live Truth, making every action, every idle word count.  No, this is not a leeway to never worry about keeping your word, or to never take anything you say seriously.. but rather a challenge to take every single yes or no we say as seriously as if God were saying them.   When we break our word, when we lie, we sully that image... We are the temple of God, His Spirit has come to rest in us.   Lying, speaking a non-Truth, is profaning that Temple.

This is not a new problem. While our society is on a rampage at the moment trying to redefine truth as fluid, ignoring reality itself to define everything from marriage to DNA as circumspect, even in the time of Moses they could not live out the reality of what God had planned for us.   Jesus reminds the men asking him questions that it was not because God wanted it that way, but because of the hardness of our own hearts that concessions were made in the Dueteronomistic laws. It's funny though, these men sat in front of Jesus asking questions, and yet they did not want answers.  Here they were questioning God himself but rather than seeking Truth, they were seeking to trap him.  Herod had already put John to death for daring to question his marriage.  Jesus answer was just as harsh for Herod as Johns had been, in that both Herod and his wife had rejected their spouses, divorced them, that they might enter into an incestuous relationship together.

With all of that in mind, what Jesus had to say about marriage is one of the most important things for us to remember in society today.  The family is the building block of any society.   Without it, society cannot continue.   People have to come together and raise children or society itself will of course die out.   Even more so, marriage is an image of the trinity itself.   The Father (parent), the Son (child), and the Holy Spirit (the love between them.)  For those of us called to live out the vocation of marriage, we are called to do so in emulation of God.   We of course will always do so imperfectly.   Man alone is incapable of living out the pure love of God, to be infinitely compassionate and merciful.  That's why we need the Holy Spirit in our lives.   Jesus quoted Genesis when he said that a man shall leave his father and mother and cling to his wife and the two shall become one.  Two shall become one.  Mathematically that's impossible right?  1+1=2. 1-1=0.   The only way for two to become one is by adding a third.  3-2=1.   Only when we add God to our relationship and make Him first can we ever hope to live out the Sacramental marriage.

One of my favorite sayings is "A person's heart should be so lost in God that anyone seeking a relationship with them must first find one with Him."   Another saying I heard recently is "If Catholics lived out a sacramental marriage, the world would change."   I think our challenge today is similar to that.  "If Catholics lived out the truth, making their yes, yes and their no, no in all things, the world will change."  Are you ready for that challenge?  Just like 2000 years ago as Pilot and the Pharisees stood before Truth itself, we today encounter the same Divine Person in the Sacraments.   When you prepare yourself to stand before Jesus in the Eucharist ask yourself, "Is there anything in my life that I am still holding on to because of the hardness of my own heart? Lord, help me let that go and cling only to you." 


His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease."