Listening to Jesus

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Do you listen to Jesus?

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke all report on an event which has become known as the transfiguration of Jesus.  In it, Jesus takes Peter, James and John up to a high mountain where Jesus’ face begins to shine like the sun and his clothes become as white as light.  Moses and Elijah appear and begin talking with Jesus.  Then a cloud envelopes them and a voice from the cloud says, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.  Listen to him!” (Mt. 17:1-9)

What a remarkable occurrence!  God is speaking audibly and directly to the three disciples, confirming that Jesus is his son and that they should listen to him. 

We are blessed to have four different gospel writers handing down a treasure trove of Jesus’ words, teachings, and actions.  As a result, one way for us to listen to Jesus is to read what he has to say, digest the meaning of his parables and observe his actions for the example they give us in how we should conduct our lives.

But Jesus and his Holy Spirit can also speak to us as a quiet whisper to our hearts.  A few years ago, a close friend experienced a massive brain hemorrhage in the night and was taken to one of our local hospitals.  A brain scan indicated that he would likely not survive.  I went to the hospital in the morning and then again in the afternoon to support him, his wife and family.

While the prognosis was fairly certain, the timing was not.  After spending most of the day at the hospital, I decided to go home for dinner.  After dinner, I was tired and my first inclination was not to return to the hospital, but then the question started coming into my mind, “What if he dies tonight?”  The question started to nag at me.  It wouldn’t go away.  Then it dawned on me to ask, “Is that you Lord?  Do you want me to go back to the hospital?”  I grabbed my Bible and headed out the door.

When I arrived in his room, there were now more friends beside the family.  We gathered around my friend’s bed and began to pray, read psalms and other passages from the Bible.  We sang hymns that were familiar to him and his family.  Our mood went from being somber to a realization that we were assisting our good friend in his passage from this life to the next.  We began praising God for his life, and what he meant to his family and the rest of us. 

The monitor started to show an irregular heartbeat, and the intervals between breaths were growing longer.  After a few minutes the line on the monitor went flat.  My friend had passed on to the arms of Jesus.

I believe that nagging question I heard after dinner, “What if he dies tonight?” was from Jesus and his Holy Spirit, leading me back to the hospital.  What a privilege and blessing it was for me to be physically present as his soul and spirit left his body to be with God!  

I believe that Jesus wanted me to be with my friend and his family when he died.  If I had not listened to Jesus, I would have missed both the opportunity and the privilege.   

“This is my son.  Listen to him!”    

Are You a Sheep or a Goat?

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Ruth’s co-worker, Stella was diagnosed with terminal cancer.  As the illness progressed, Ruth frequently talked with Stella on the phone.  “Very soon I realized that the Lord was putting it on my heart to bring his word to Stella,” Ruth observed.  “My first reaction was apathy and denial. ‘Lord, are you sure you want me to do this?  I’m not sure I know how.’ 

“Finally, after lots of prayer and several sleepless nights, I asked if she was receiving visitors.  She said yes and also mentioned that she had been having several dreams recently and that I was in each of them.  I took this as a sign that the Holy Spirit was bringing us together.

“When I visited her the following day, she asked about the right way to pray and wondered whether her illness was the result of something bad she had done in her life.  I assured her that was not the case, and that God loved her more than she can comprehend.  All she needed to do was invite God into her life.

“Over the next few visits, we continued to talk and pray, and she invited Jesus into her life.  The last time I saw her before she died, she had an angelic peaceful quality about her, and although she could barely whisper, she assured me she was praying and would be just fine.”

After Stella’s death, the family thanked Ruth for helping Stella find the Lord.  Interestingly, they tried to do the same thing, but had been told that her friend Ruth was already providing for her spiritual needs.

What is significant about this story is that Ruth’s love for Stella moved from being passive in nature to becoming active, as evidenced by Ruth’s initial reaction not to act on the promptings she was receiving from the Holy Spirit.

The parable of the Sheep and the Goats is considered to be about the last judgment when Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead.  Notice that whether people are considered to be a sheep or a goat at the time of judgment has already been determined by their choices and conduct in life.

To the sheep, the King says, “Come, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” (Mt. 25:35-36)

The sheep asked when did they do these things for the king, and he said whatever you did for the least of people, you did it for me.  Our action toward others is our action toward God.  Unless love is acted upon, is it really love?

In recent years I have deliberately volunteered to serve in the Chaplain’s office of the local county jail, take communion to residents of a nearby nursing home, and participate  in an organization that raises money to establish special education programs in Catholic schools for the intellectually disabled.

My hope is to counter the inherent self-focused busyness in my life, and to let my faith and love move from being passive to being active. 

“There is no substitute for active love.” (Jerome Biblical Commentary)

 

The Singularity of the Kingdom of God

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e05a5527e0b416c53c47620c731f931cWhen considering kingdoms, we tend to think of nations, or groups of people in a collective sense.  Yet, when the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:21) 

The kingdom of God is not visible in the same way a worldly kingdom is with a king and his subjects located in a defined geographic area.  The kingdom of God is also different in that membership is determined by individual choice instead of residence or citizenship.  The Individual chooses whether he or she wants to be a part of God’s kingdom.  God gives individuals complete freedom to choose or reject his kingdom.

Jesus had a lot to say about the kingdom of God and used the parables to explain what the kingdom is like.  He tells us the kingdom has great value, like a fine pearl or treasure, and we should be willing to give everything we have to attain it.  He says it can grow from the tiniest desire similar to a mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds into the largest of plants.  It can coexist with evil like good seed planted in a field where weeds also grow.  God’s kingdom, whether one individual or many, can impact the world around it like a small amount of yeast impacts a large amount of dough. (Mt. 13:1-36)

Jesus tells Nicodemus that no one can see or enter the kingdom of God unless he is born again of water and spirit.  A spiritual rebirth is necessary.

So, the kingdom of God is wherever there are individuals who accept God’s offer to dwell in them through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.  The Church, the successor to Jesus and the apostles, facilitates the growth of the kingdom of God through the sacraments and its many forms of outreach.

Yet, like all of creation and physical matter that is made up of countless single parts called atoms, the kingdom of God starts with individuals making a decision to accept God’s offer to dwell within them.

Thus, the kingdom can be present through an individual or a collection of individuals.  The Church, of course, reflects the collective kingdom of God, but more often the kingdom is quietly reflected in the actions of individual Christians showing their love of God through their love and service to others in countless ways.

A few months ago I visited a friend of more than forty years who has always reflected the kingdom of God.  Her love of God and her constant joy played a part in my own spiritual rebirth many years ago.  Though her body is now incapacitated by a stroke and confined to a wheel chair, her beautiful smile still reflects the joy and amazing grace of the Lord and the kingdom of God.

Angels — Reality or Myth?

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jp-dress1-popupHave you ever experienced the presence of an angel? 

A number of years ago, after being with some business colleagues at a dinner on the upper west side of Manhattan, I started back to my hotel.  Because of the lateness of the hour, there were no cabs readily available so I started walking on Central Park West toward my hotel.  There was hardly anybody on the street and after walking a couple of blocks, I noticed a gang of five young men following about a block behind me.

As I picked up my pace, so did they.  I began to get concerned.  If I started to run, there was no place to run to.  All the shops and restaurants in the area were closed.  They got closer and closer, obviously intent on catching up with me.  Just then out of nowhere, a taxi came roaring up with the driver yelling at me to get in, which I did as he sped away.  On the way to the hotel, he hardly said a thing.  Upon arrival, I thanked him profusely and watched him drive away.

Was he just a benevolent New York City taxi driver who happened along on Central Park West late that evening and came to my rescue?  Given the circumstances and the quickness with which he appeared, I have always believed he was one of God’s angels assigned to look after believers.

The Bible is full of references to angels in both the Old and New Testaments.  Psalm 91 says, “He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in your ways.”  Psalm 34 says, “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.”  An Angel held the arm of Abraham preventing the sacrifice of Isaac, wrestled with Jacob, and appeared to Moses in the burning bush.  An angel protected Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the flames of the furnace.

Angels appeared to Zachariah, Mary, Joseph and the shepherds in connection with the coming and birth of Jesus.  Angels told all who came to Jesus’ tomb that he had been raised from the dead.  An angel freed Peter from prison, and assured Paul that he and all those on board his ship would be saved from a shipwreck the next day.  Finally, an angel described to John what the new heaven and new earth would look like at the end of the Book of Revelations.

Paul describes angels as “ministering spirits, sent to serve, for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation.” (Heb. 1:14)  In describing the preeminence of Christ, Paul declares, “For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible.” (Col. 1:16)  Angels are part of the invisible.   

The soul or inner person of an individual cannot be seen.  Yet, the actions of an individual reflect the nature of the soul.  So too, with angels.  Though they cannot be seen, their actions can be manifested in the results of their protection and the messages they convey.  

Just as we embrace on faith the words and events of Jesus’ life, including his resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, so too, should we embrace on faith the action of angels in our lives.

No Law against the Fruit of the Spirit

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f2227291104b8a23ab29fdc0bfbb3102Is it possible to live out our faith fully today without running afoul of some law or regulation?

Our culture seems to be keenly sensitive to whether Christians are imposing their religion on others.  This appears to be particularly true in the public square where nativity scenes are barred, and in the workplace where sharing your faith with a co-worker can provoke a harassment lawsuit.

St. Paul describes a way to avoid these conflicts.  In his letter to the Galatians he talks about the importance of living by the Spirit.  He says that if we do, we will experience the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

He then declares, “Against such things there is no law.” (Gal. 5:23)

Our society is swamped with rules and regulations at every level of government.  We seem to measure the performance of our legislators by how many laws they can adopt.  According to the Competitive Enterprise Institute, 81,611 new pages of regulations were added to the Federal Register in 2015, covering all manner of conduct of businesses, professions, schools, churches, individual citizens, etc.

Yet, in the workplace, for example, there is no law or employee handbook that is going to prohibit supporting a co-worker in Christian love; being joyful in our countenance; promoting peace where there is conflict; being patient, gentle and kind in our relationships with co-workers, customers or suppliers; and being loyal and faithful to our employer and beliefs.

I have a friend who owns a freight forwarding business with warehouses in Chicago and Minneapolis.  He makes it a point to meet regularly with all his employees.  He tells the following story of employees in Chicago working overtime to help employees in Minneapolis.

Late one Friday night in Chicago, a truck arrived, carrying products to be delivered to customers in both Chicago and Minneapolis.  The truck had been loaded in a very random way with individual orders mixed up and paperwork not matching the orders.  An employee in Chicago, who had already put in a full day, could have just offloaded the items to be delivered in Chicago and sent the truck on its way.  Instead, he said, “Why don’t we unload the whole truck and reload it correctly for the guys in Minneapolis?”

It took two employees four hours, working into the wee hours of Saturday morning to identify, sort and reload a multitude of orders destined for Minneapolis.  As my friend observed, “This is a small story that could have gone unnoticed, but it is really huge because it reflects an attitude of the employees in Chicago who wanted to support the employees in Minneapolis who had just gone through a difficult time of changing warehouse locations.”

The Chicago employees were exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit in showing love, kindness, goodness and faithfulness to the employees in Minneapolis.  My friend, their employer, was pleased that they did.  

By exhibiting the fruit of the spirit, Christians demonstrate a clear contrast to much of today’s culture, and will evangelize more powerfully with their conduct than they ever could with their words.

 

Our Jewish Heritage

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As Christians, do we fully appreciate our Jewish heritage?

In Luke’s narrative of two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus, Jesus comes up along-side of them and asks what they are talking about.  Not recognizing him, they describe the astonishing events of Jesus’ arrest, crucifixion and supposed resurrection. They wonder what it all means.  Jesus gently chastises them for being slow of heart to believe all that the prophets had said about him, and that he had to suffer these things to enter into his glory.  “And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the scriptures about him.” (Luke 24:13-35)

As Christians, it is tempting for us to focus primarily on the New Testament. Yet even the gospels in describing the life and words of Jesus, make numerous references to Old Testament events and prophesies.

In Genesis, God tells Abraham before he is circumcised and the Jewish covenant is established, that he will be the father of many nations. (Genesis 17:6)  He tells Moses that he will raise up a prophet like him who will teach people everything God commands. (Deut. 18:18)  There are of course numerous references in Isaiah to the birth and coming of Jesus, along with a description of his character and purpose. (Is. 7:14; 9:6; 40:10-11; Chapter 53 and more)

In Isaiah 53, the writer speaks of the suffering servant, Israel, which later becomes a description of Jesus, bringing redemption and salvation to a sinful world.  “Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord causes his life to be a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hands.” (Isaiah 53:10)

Jesus connects us with the Jewish people and their heritage whether we realize it or not.

This heritage, which enriches the understanding of our Christian faith, is not unlike the Christian heritage provided by our parents and grandparents who leave us a legacy of teaching and example. 

Since my mother was Catholic and my father Baptist, growing up in the 1940’s and 50’s, I had the benefit of an ecumenical Christian heritage.  From my father and grandparents, I saw a steady faith with a focus on scripture.  From my mother I saw a special reverence and piety in her prayer and sacramental life.  From them flowed a conscience of right and wrong that carried me until the day I had my own personal encounter with Jesus and the power of his Holy Spirit in the context of my Catholic faith.

I will never know how much the prayers of my parents and grandparents influenced the course of my life, and its protection, but now having the vantage point of parent and grandparent myself, I suspect there was a considerable impact.  My wife would similarly testify to the influence of her parents and grandparents on her Christian faith today.

Heritage is part of God’s plan for his creation — each generation passing on how they have experienced God and what they have learned from the time of Abraham to the present day.  We Christians share so much with the Jewish people – the same God and father, the Ten Commandments, the Old Testament prophets, the wisdom literature, and the sacredness of life.  May we one day share the same Messiah!

Joy in God’s Will

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gettyimages-632848772Where does joy come from?

In St. Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians he says, “You became imitators of us and the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with joy given by the Holy Spirit.”  (1Th. 1:6)

Joy comes from the Holy Spirit.  In Galatians, Paul includes joy in a list of attributes which he says is the fruit of the Spirit.  It takes the Spirit of God to give us real and lasting joy – not just the emotion of momentary happiness, but the kind of joy that comes from the confidence of knowing we are loved by God and serve his purpose even though we may be suffering trials in the present moment.

Peace is a close cousin of joy.  It, too, is part of the fruit that comes from the Holy Spirit. The same pre-conditions are necessary – love of God, faith in his love of us, and having purpose that fulfills God’s will.

In John’s Gospel, Jesus says our joy will be complete if we obey his commands. “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s command and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:10)

In recent weeks my wife, through her daily prayer, believed that she was sensing a nudge by the Lord to attend the March for Life that took place on the National Mall last Friday.  She signed up to join a group of people from our local church who had chartered a bus to attend the March.

What impressed her most about the march was the joy of the people and how peaceful it was.  Here you had up to a half million people, shoulder to shoulder, jammed into a fenced-in area on the mall and then the confines of Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, proceeding from the Mall to the Supreme Court.  The mood was joyful, and people were considerate and willing to help one another.  They were unified in their desire to uphold the dignity and sanctity of life.  Many had traveled thousands of miles to be there, a number on bus trips of more than 20 hours.

Like my wife, most people were there because they sensed that it was God’s will for them.  They were blessed by hearing inspiring speakers, and by being in solidarity with tens of thousands of others in a cause larger than themselves.  Equally important, they experienced the joy and satisfaction of knowing that their presence and sacrifice was pleasing to God.

Jesus said, “I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. I always do what pleases him.” (John 8: 28, 29)

“What is Truth?”

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How ironic that Pilate would ask this question of Jesus, the embodiment of all truth standing right in front of him. 

The Jewish religious leaders wanted Pilate to execute Jesus for blaspheme and for claiming to be king of the Jews.  In examining Jesus, Pilate asked him if he was the King of the Jews.  Jesus responded, “You are right in saying that I am a king.  In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.  Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” To which Pilate responded, “What is truth?” (John 18:37)

This was not the first time that Jesus spoke of testifying to the truth.  Earlier, he told his disciples, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6)  At the beginning of his gospel, John describes Jesus as, the word becoming flesh and dwelling among us, and then adding, “We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

From the beginning of human existence, people have been seeking the truth about the reason and purpose for their lives.  It is part of our created nature put there by God to facilitate our search for him.  Our souls are restless, but instead of seeking God, we seek peace in running after greater wealth, or position, or recognition, or pleasure, or knowledge separated from the context of God and his creation.

St. Augustine captured the issue well when he said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests with you.” 

God became one of us in the person of Jesus, to help us better understand the truth from his words and example in order to free us from our sins.  Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching…you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

Conventional wisdom in today’s culture often runs counter to the truth and the ways of God.  We see the denigration of life through state funded abortion and legalized euthanasia. We see the elimination of nearly all restraints on sexual mores, and a Supreme Court overturning thousands of years of tradition and natural law in redefining marriage.

We see people confusing tolerance for mercy.  We see increasing relativism on issues of integrity based on personal choice and societal whim instead of God’s revealed truths as set out by Jesus.

Like Jesus, we have opportunities to testify to the truth in our words and actions with the people and circumstances in our daily lives.  The more we regularly read and study God’s Word the better equipped we are to live the truth ourselves and gently represent the truth with others when the opportunity arises. 

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Your statutes are my heritage forever.”  (Psalm 119: 105, 111)

God’s Extravagance

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water-features4How much wine is needed for a wedding? 

For the Wedding at Cana described in John’s gospel, the wedding party had run out of wine and the mother of Jesus asked him to remedy the problem.   John reports that Jesus instructed the servants to fill six stone jars with water holding 20 to 30 gallons.  He tells them to draw some out and take it to the headwaiter who tells the bridegroom that he has “saved the best [wine] till now.” (John 2:10)

This is Jesus’ first miracle, and how extravagant it is!  If we take an average of 25 gallons times six jars, we have 150 gallons of wine.  This would be equivalent to 757 bottles or approximately 63 cases.

This story reflects the extravagant love of God in many ways.  We begin with Mary, the mother of Jesus, interceding with her son for the first time on behalf of a likely friend to save the friend’s family from the embarrassment of running out of wine at their wedding.  My wife and I have hosted weddings for three daughters, and I can certainly relate to how embarrassing it would be to run out of wine or food at a wedding celebration.

God’s response to this need was far more generous than required, both in the quality of the wine and its quantity.  This is emblematic of what God has in mind for people who respond to him through his son.   

Jesus is the new wine, quite distinct in quality to the old wine offered by the prophets that preceded him.  This new wine allows people to experience God in the flesh, up close and in person.  This new wine gives new meaning to the Jewish law, teaching and writings.  This new wine reveals the power of God over demons, illness, and the physical elements of wind, storm and sea.  This new wine demonstrates the love of God for all people by becoming one of us and then enduring torture and death to free us from sin and leading us to a righteous life through the power of the Holy Spirit.

My wife and I have been blessed to experience the extravagance of God’s love and this new wine through the Christian heritage of parents and grandparents, through respective personal encounters with Jesus within a day of each other, and through the presence of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit in the daily action of our lives.

This extravagant love has been manifested through five children, four of whom are now raising Christian families themselves, meaningful work in the care of God’s creation, opportunities in ministry, Christian friends who support us in life and work, and a disabled adult child who teaches us each day about God’s love and ways.

God’s extravagant love and new wine are available to all who are willing to shed the old wine skin – the old way of life accompanied by sin and self-focus. (Mt. 9:17)  “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)

We will never be able to match the extravagance of God’s love.  We cannot out-give him, out-sacrifice him, or out-love him, but we can return his love and generosity by opening the door of our hearts to his gentle invitation. “Here I am,” he says.  “I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come and eat with him and he with me.”  (Rev. 3:20)

He Came for All People

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Who did Jesus come for? 

The first visitors of Jesus covered a broad spectrum of people.  We have the shepherds, who were poor, uneducated and likely represented the lowest end of the economic spectrum of that time.  Then we have Magi, who seemed to represent a kingly class, educated and wealthy.

The shepherds appeared to have nothing to offer the newly born Messiah other than themselves and their faith in believing that what the angels had told them was true.  The Magi, on the other hand, were learned astrologers who studied ancient writings and the heavens to discover the rising of a new star. Some scripture scholars believe that they were of a Persian priestly class.

The angel told the shepherds that Jesus had come for all people.  “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people.” (Luke 2:10)

The “good news” was not just for the shepherds or the Jewish people, but for all people.  All people included the unbelieving and pagan world of the Roman and Greek cultures; it includes people who are Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu.  It includes the atheists of our day.

Whether they know it or not, Jesus is everyone’s savior. 

The prophet Isaiah says that Jesus came for the poor, the brokenhearted, the captives, those who mourn and grieve, and those who are in despair and darkness.  He says that Jesus wants to give them a crown of beauty and a garment of praise so that they may become oaks of righteousness. (Is. 61:1-3)

While Jesus walked this earth he did exactly what Isaiah said.  Today, he expects to continue to do this, but through us by the power of his Holy Spirit.

For us, “everyone” includes the check-out clerk in the grocery store, the telephone solicitor who we hang up on, the person at work who is difficult to get along with, the person asking for money outside the metro station, the person who talks during church services or the children who can’t sit still.  “Everyone” includes those who think different politically than we do and even the terrorists who wish to do us harm.

Lord, when I see people you put in my life, let me look upon them with the understanding that you came for them just as you came for me.  It doesn’t matter who they are, what their religion, race, position or financial status is.  Your offer of salvation and new life is available to them.  Let me use the opportunity to introduce them to you first through my conduct and second by my words as you give me the opportunity.

John’s Gospel tells us that all who accept you, Lord Jesus, and believe on your name will become sons of God. (John 1:12)