“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.” (John 14:23)

Jesus makes this promise to the disciples in his last conversation with them before his arrest.  This is not like the promise of heaven that we cannot experience until we die.  This is a promise for today!    

If we love Jesus and live by his teaching, he and the Father, the God of all creation, will take up residence in us through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus says this promise is not just his but the Father’s as well.  “The word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.” (John 14:24) If Jesus and the Father make their home in us, they take up residence in us and we become, as St. Paul says, “the is temple of the Holy Spirit.” (1 Co. 6:19)

Think of it!

Jesus and the Father are in us, present to us, available to us at every moment.  Wherever we are, whatever we are doing, they are available to guide our conduct and help us make the daily choices in our lives.  St. Paul eloquently captures the essence of this when he declares, “The mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations is now disclosed to the saints…which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col. 1:26-27 NIV) Our hope is in Christ and Christ in us!

Why is it that so many of us do not always experience the reality of Christ residing in us?  The answer may be found in the individual choices we make that determine whether we bury God’s presence in us, or let him be seen, heard, and experienced? 

In my early adult years I lived my life in a way that mostly buried God’s presence in me rather than allowing that presence to be manifested.  I believed in God and attended church regularly.  Yet my Christian faith had become secondary to other priorities, namely career.  I hardly thought about God’s presence in me, and so that presence seldom impacted others.  

Fortunately, through God’s grace that changed one October evening when I experienced the opportunity to turn over my mixed priorities to Jesus.  It was a watershed moment.  I am still capable of messing up, but the good news is that we can repent of these times and bring our selves back into God’s presence.  We can then call on his gifts of wisdom, discernment, and courage to make daily choices consistent with Jesus’ teaching and partner with him in building his kingdom on earth in our time. 

Do you bury God’s presence in you or allow him to be seen in your actions and words each day?

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”  (Luke 12:48)

Jesus is talking to his disciples about the importance of a servant being watchful and found doing what is expected of him when his master returns.  He says the more responsibility that is given to you, the more that will be expected of you.

This is about our accountability to God for the life, time, talents, responsibilities, resources, and people he has given to us.  As in the Parable of the Talents, the master’s servants were expected to multiply the money that was entrusted to their care, not simply preserve it. (Matthew 25:14-30)

God creates each of us in unique and infinite ways.  No two of us are the same.  He creates each of us with unique physical, intellectual, and spiritual abilities and gifts “to work and take care” of the garden of his creation, and to love and serve him and one another in doing so. (Genesis 2:15)

As a father of five adult children, it is a blessing to see each of them use gifts that God has given them in addition to caring for their respective spouses and children.  To one has been given the gift of serving young people as a campus minister at a major state university.  To another has been given a way to teach history and make it come alive for her students.  To another has been given the compassion and understanding to oversee a special education program in a Catholic high school for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

To another, along with his wife, have been given their special gift to capture unique images of marriage in a wedding photography business.  To our youngest daughter born with Down syndrome, God has given the gifts of purity of heart and love, which she shares in giving hugs to people she greets.   

What’s important is not what gifts God has given to each of us, but that we are fully using the gifts he has entrusted to us for his purpose.  Our goal should be to hear the words of the Father at the end of our time on this earth, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Mt. 25:21) 

How are using the gifts God has given to you? 

Fear and insecurity can be a terribly destructive force in our lives.  This is illustrated by the visit of the Magi with King Herod who told him of their search of the “newborn king of the Jews.”  Matthew reports, “When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all of Jerusalem with him.” (Mt. 2:3) Herod consulted with the chief priests and scribes who told him that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. 

When Herod learned that the Magi had ignored his instruction to inform him of the location of the Baby Jesus, he was furious and ordered all baby boys two years and younger in Bethlehem be killed. (Mt. 2:1-18)

This horrific act was precipitated by Herod’s fear and insecurity of losing his position as King of Judea.  The Jewish historian, Josephus, “depicts Herod as being pathologically jealous of his power – a number of his family were murdered by him because he suspected them trying to supplant him.” (Jerome Biblical Commentary)

The potential list of fears for many of us can run long and deep.  We fear for our safety, the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job or position, the loss of our money and possessions.  We fear how we will look or be judged by others. We fear underperforming or not doing our best.  We fear illness, disability, and loss of independence.  In the workplace, we may be tempted to tell the boss what he or she wants to hear rather than the truth, out of fear of incurring their disfavor.    

We may even fear getting too close to God and what he may ask of us.  When Peter saw the miraculous catch of fish as a result of Jesus’ presence, he said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” He and the others were seized with fear, but Jesus said, “Do not be afraid, from now on you will be catching men.” (Luke 5:8-10)

God does not want us to live our lives in fear.  His angels told Zachariah, Mary, and Joseph, “Do not be afraid.”  St. John Paul II began his papacy with the words, “Do not be afraid!.” Jesus wants us to trust in him – in his love and provision.  How ironic that out of fear Herod sought to destroy the one true antidote to fear – Jesus, the Messiah and son of God. 

Do you share your fears with Jesus and ask him to take them? 

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) 

We have just celebrated God becoming one of us in the birth of Jesus, one of the greatest acts of humility and love in all of history. 

Yet in the world around us one year comes to a close and a new one begins full of conflict and strife, much like they have for centuries.  Wars continue in Ukraine and Israel.  Incidents of terror and mass shootings take place in our own country and abroad.  The church is plagued with disagreement. Identity politics and political agendas are tearing apart the very fabric of our nation’s traditions and moral values.   

The first chapter of John’s Gospel offers both a realistic context for what we have just celebrated and a hope that can carry us through the new year.  We will not read about it in the news media.  Speaking of Jesus, John says, “He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him.” (John 1:10) Not a single governmental or spiritual leader in Israel took note of Jesus’ birth.  Only a few lowly shepherds were his herald.  In fact, Israel’s king actually wanted to kill Jesus, not unlike some authoritarian regimes in our day. 

“He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him.” (John 1:11) Even before Jesus was born, he was rejected by the innkeeper who had no room for him.  As Jesus later revealed his presence and identity, the religious leaders of his day also rejected him and even sought his death. 

“But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God.” (John 1:12)   

This is our hope for the coming year!  When we open the door of our heart to Jesus and invite him in, he says, “Remain in me, as I remain in you.”  “I am the way and the truth and the life.”  “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.” (John 15: 4; John 14:6, 23)

When we let Jesus and the Father make their home in us, we experience the world around us with a different perspective.  An inner peace is possible even though there is a lack of peace externally.  Jesus says:

• “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you.” (John 14:27)
• “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for yourselves.”  (Mt. 11:28-29)
• “In the world you will have trouble, but take courage,! have conquered the world.” (John 16:33) 

A blessed New Year to all!