Perfectly Imperfect

People do change.   Their base personality and faculties define who they are, not their behavior.  Behavior is something we do, not who we are.  The man I was in my twenties is not the man I am now, nor am I the man I hope to be ten  years from now.   What is important is not who we were, but who are now and who we are becoming.   That's what being a disciple is about.  Changing from the fallen person we have become into the person we were created as and to be, with Christ giving us the premier example of how to do that.

The twelve themselves were imperfect men.  They argued.  They fell short at times in understanding what Jesus was saying.   They had petty rivalries and jealousies.   At the foot of the cross we don't see those who jump up to say they would die with Him, save for John.  Impetuous Peter denied Him three times and went on to be the first of all the Apostles.  The thing is they were all changed, they all experienced a radical about face in their lives by encountering Christ.  All but John were martyred for their faith.  John was tortured as well and they tried to kill him, but when they failed they exiled him to a remote island to lessen his influence.  All were imperfect, but all were created for a purpose.

You see their character never changed.  You and I were created to be the person that we are.  God gave us a personality, intellectual abilities, a mind to think to with, a heart to feel with, and a memory to help us learn.  All of this he handed us with free will.  God does not ask you to become a mirror image of someone else, but rather to live the walk of Christ as you are able, in the way you are able to do it.  That doesn't mean we all don't do the same action.. but that we do it to the best of our ability as who we are.  For some that means being in the choir.  For others a Lector.   For still others helping with kids in the back.  For one a mother or father, for another a single lay man or woman on a missionary journey.   For some it means going across the world to experience new thrills... and for another staying right where they were born for their entire lives to serve those in that community.   God has a purpose for each and every one of us, and designed us unique with that purpose in mind.

We like James, John and Peter are quick when asked to drink of that cup to resound with an emphatic "Yes Lord!"   Do we truly count the cost of that? When your cup is drained to the dregs and all that is left is one drop of drink along with the dust and grime of daily life in some muddled mess that a seer might try to read for a glimpse of the future, are you ready to give that away?  Society teaches us to be selfish and to hold back that last part for ourselves... and while it's important to get away in prayer and to live our primary vocations as good parents, family, priests and servants; we are asked again by Christ are you ready to pour your life out like a libation?   To pour out every drop until you give your very life for another?  Not just the ones who are dear to you.. but the ones who challenge you?   The stranger?  The angry man at the office that gets on your nerves?  The one who breaths like Darth Vader while you're trying to listen to someone speak?  To the woman who talks bad about you?   To the widow? The orphan?   The homeless man on the street who smells of alcohol?   The refugee whose faith has been portrayed as one of a killer?  The guy who chews potato chips so loudly it sounds as if fire crackers are going off in your skull? Will you pour it out to them?   Christ did on the cross.  That is what He is asking you right now, when he says "Can you drink the cup that I shall drink?"

His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease." 

A reflection the daily Mass readings for the Feast of Saint James: July 25th, 2016.   Corinthians 4:7-15; Psalm 126; The Holy Gospel According to Matthew 20:20-28

Are yall ready for this?

As a man who is discerning a call to diaconate tomorrow’s first reading really speaks to me about that call.    The most amazing part to me is how skillfully Luke has worded the death of the first Christian Martyr, Saint Stephen, to show how it mirrored the very death of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  

They both spoke with Wisdom and no one could resist their arguments - (Acts 6:10, Matt 13:54)
Both had false witnesses testify against them - (Acts 6:11, Matt 26:59)
The Pharisees stirred up the crowd to turn against them (Acts 6:12, Matt 27:20)
Both were brought in before the council for trial - (Acts 6:12, Matt 26:59)
Both were falsely accused of Blasphemy (Acts 6:13, Matt 26:65)
Both were accused of breaking the Law of Moses (Acts 6:13, Matt 12:2)
Both were associated with high priests - (Acts 7:1, Matt 26:3)
Stephen was dealing with the same people - (Acts 7:1, Matt 26:57)
Both prayed for forgiveness of their executioners - (Acts 7:60, Luke 23:34)
Their bodies were both buried by devout men - (Acts 8:2, Matt 27:59)

That is the ultimate goal of Christianity isn’t it?   To have our lives so configured to Christ that when people look at us they see not us, but the image of our Lord and Savior lived out in our actions and words.  Stephen managed this in a way that led to martyrdom.  Martyrdom is the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith: it means bearing witness even unto death. The martyr bears witness to Christ who died and rose, to whom he is united by charity. He bears witness to the truth of the faith and of Christian doctrine. (CCC 2473) Not all of us are called to Martyrdom.  Many of us may live a long, productive life that ends in a quiet and peaceful death.  That doesn’t free us from not only needing to be more like Christ, but it should be our desire!  We should want to be more like Him!  To live in a way that not only honors his memory, but makes him present to those around us.  It reminds me of Philip, who we do not see being martyred but still presenting himself much like the story of Stephen.  

When we look at these two men we see clear examples of what we are being called to do.  We are being called to live our lives in a way that images the life of Christ.  A life of faith and obedience to God the Father.  One in which we go forth regardless of the danger or consequences that might be involved with preaching the Gospel of Christ, even if it means going to our own death.   Why?  What is in it for us?  What is worth all of this hubbub?  That’s where the Gospel begins to point us.  

Jesus has just performed some major miracles in the presence of these men and women on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  The people have all the evidence in their presence to say that he not only multiplied the bread, but also somehow miraculously crossed the sea in the night without a boat.   This man has done something which is not natural, something that only God should be able to do, he has command over the elements!  He forms reality around him, changing the storm into calmness, water into something which can be walked on, bread into something which multiplies and feeds beyond it’s capacity.  

Yet when they come to him, they aren’t looking for the right thing.  Their stomachs are empty again… they just want more food.  I can imagine the people seeing a new way of life in which they just follow this man around for free food and entertainment.  Jesus goes on to give them the bread of life discourse, in which we Catholics see the Eucharist.  The Old Testament is filled with examples of God providing for his people:  Thus the flood and Noah's ark prefigured salvation by Baptism, as did the cloud and the crossing of the Red Sea. Water from the rock was the figure of the spiritual gifts of Christ, and manna in the desert prefigured the Eucharist, "the true bread from heaven.”  (CCC 1094)  Unlike the manna which their fathers had eaten in the desert, which only fed them for a day, Jesus was offering them something more powerful, something more filling, something greater than that bread which must be gathered every day.  He was offering them his very self.. Body, soul and divinity… in the Eucharist.    He offers you the same today.  He is offering you eternal life.

Are you ready for that?  Each of us is called to specific vocation, to a specific way of life.  You are the only you there is.  Pope Francis reminded us of that in his simple, yet eloquent way:

You are called to journey this life in a way that leads to eternity in the presence of God.  You are called to be the best you, you can be.   That doesn’t mean you have to be like me… your calling is unique.. The way you do things is unique.. God made you to be you, but to be the real you requires living a life in conformity to the image in which you have been made.. In the image of Christ.. Are you ready for that?  It begins anew every time we step forward and receive him, responding Amen…” All that you have said, we will do.” (Exodus 24:3)

His servant and yours,

Brian

“He must increase, I must decrease.”

A Rose by Any Other Name

The last few days I've talked about what Ordinary Time is (this post) and how that it begins to order our lives toward Christ (this post.)  That's what our liturgy is about.  The liturgical year is ordered in a way to bring the Christian's prayer life into a basic rhythm, that is to bring it rhythm with Christ.  We've seen in the previous two days the story of Hannah and the birth of her son Samuel.  Today we find the continuance of that story in our first reading.   Hannah had given her child back to God, she ordered her life, every part of it, even her children toward God.  So much so that she brought him to the temple to serve God from a young age.  Today that sounds odd.   Our modern sensibilities think it strange to give a child up, so much so that there is a negative connotation even on adoption.   We need to work on that. Adoption can be a beautiful and much needed way of respecting the life that God has entrusted in our hands.  What Hannah did was not only honorable, it is commendable, as any mother or father of a child called to the vocation of Priesthood can attest to.

Samuel is being trained by Eli in the temple.  Eli has gotten is now old, frail, and blind.  Samuel hears someone calling his name and runs to Eli.  Three times this happen, each time with Eli telling him it was not he who was calling him.  Through discernment, Eli is able to help Samuel realize that God is calling him.  So Samuel goes back to his room and waits for God to call him.  He does, and it begins a relationship with God that changed history. 

What do we learn from this encounter?  We learn first and foremost that God calls us by an individual name.  He knows us personally.  He is not a distant, transcendent God that is not involved in our lives.  Isaiah says it like this, "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine." (Isaiah 43:1)  You and I are unique.  No one else can ever replace us.  The catechism says it in such a beautiful way:

God calls each one by name. Everyone's name is sacred. The name is the icon of the person. It demands respect as a sign of the dignity of the one who bears it. (CCC 2158)

Let that sink in for a moment.  Each of us is made in God's image.  Each of us has a name, a label.  Everyone's name is sacred.  Wow.  As a man who was raised in the South, I remember growing up how important a name was.  Even to this day I get furious when someone lies about me.  There are a lot of things that I can handle with grace and humility... but lying?  Dragging someone's name through the mud is a horrible thing.  You are taking that unique individual and attempting to turn them into something they are not.  Taking their label, the one God called them by.. the name He chose through their parents. A sacred icon of the individual... could you imagine how politics would change if we actually lived this teaching of our Church?

Then we come to the Gospel reading.  What does this event here seem to do with Eli and Samuel? Remember, Ordinary time is all about ordering our life toward Christ.  That means when we read the gospel we should be thinking: Ok God you called me by name.  You love me for who I am.  I am unique and made in your image.  I have a dignity and should be respected by all.  How can I draw closer to you? The answer is in the life of Christ. 

A friend and I were just talking about what it means to be human.  For some, human existence is only here.  Only now.  For the Christian existence extends beyond the mere temporal realm and into eternity.  Well, how then can we know what a human is like if we only experience the now?  Through the one human who has experienced both.   In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  That Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  That Word is Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ is the fullness of revelation, because he is the fullness of humanity.  Not just the humanity we know and experience, but the way humanity should be.   The way it was before the fall in the Garden of Eden.  It is through Jesus that we see what our potential truly is, and in being more like Him that we become the fully unique individual that God has created us to be.

You see, concupiscence keeps us from being that person whom God is calling to. Grace allows us to grow into this person.  God loves us just as we are, that is true.  He loves us too much to leave us there.  In Jesus we see a man who heals.  A man who lifts up.  A man who gives of himself in serving the poor and the sick.  In the Gospel he is busy on a Saturday, when most people are sitting around and relaxing, He is going into the homes and making the world a better place.  That is our first example, and a profound one.  It's not enough to just go to Church.   It's not enough to just go and preach or listen.  It requires taking that Sacramental Presence of Christ out into the world and giving of your self to those in need.

Then we see another example.  Jesus goes out alone in the middle of the night hours and begins to pray.  He takes time off to spend time with the Father.  Silence.  One on one time.  Our soul needs and craves this time with God.  We need to take time throughout the day to pray.   Time to reorient, to order our day toward Christ.  That's what is so beautiful about the Liturgy of the Hours.. it reminds us to stop at Morning, Midmorning, Midday, Midafternoon, Evening, and Nighttime to spend time with the Scriptures.  These rhythms are intended to nourish continual prayer(CCC 2698).  To lead the Christian to pray at all times without ceasing.  Just like a habit takes time to form, by praying every day at regular intervals  we draw our soul into singing praise to God continually. 

That's the goal isn't it?  To become so much like Christ that we can receive the grace he pleaded for us when he prayed:

And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. ¹² While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. . (John 17:11-12)

That brings me to my final point for this post.  You and I have a unique name, a beautiful and dignified name.  We also bear the name of Christian.  Our actions, our words, our sins.... they all show the world who we are.  The name Christian shows who we should be.  Are you living up to it?  It is a Sacred Name.   A name that demands respect as a sign of the dignity of the one who bears it.  Are you dragging it through the mud?  Or are you trying to display that dignity for others to see?  Not out of any sort of false piety or egotism.. but rather out of the humility of knowing that you are not worthy of that name.. but God loved you enough to bestow it on you through His son.

His servant and yours,
Brian

"I must decrease, He must increase."