“Love Remains”

Do our actions have lasting effect?

Our daily lives are filled with many actions. Most of them affect the current moment, some may affect the future for a certain period of time, but few remain long term or have an eternal effect.

We get up each morning, shower, brush our teeth, comb our hair, eat breakfast, go to work, break for lunch, come home in the evening, have dinner, read the paper, watch the news, help our kids with their homework, attend an evening meeting for some civic or church related purpose, watch some television and go to bed with the expectation of restarting a similar cycle the next morning. On the weekend, our actions may vary to include some household chores, taking children to sporting or school activities, going to church and engaging in some relaxing entertainment.

In the course of all of these many actions which are here today and gone tomorrow, we will have the opportunity to love and serve others.

St. Paul has a glorious insight in his first letter to the Corinthians when talking about proper worship and use of the spiritual gifts in chapters 11-13. After describing the various spiritual gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, prophesy and tongues, and how they build up the church, he declares that none of them are as important as love. He then proceeds to give a beautiful definition of love and concludes that all of these other actions will at some point pass away, but love will remain.

He says, “Love never fails.” Acts of love never die. They have a lasting quality. They are remembered and extend into eternity.

The committed love of a married man and woman that result in children being born in the image and likeness of God with eternal souls; the loving care of those children into faith-filled adults; the encouraging word to a work colleague being harassed by a boss; assisting a disabled person in crossing the street; showing generosity to a homeless person or friend in need; forgiving a loved one who has wronged you – all of these acts of love have a life beyond their occurrence. They have a ripple effect that just keep moving outward in infinite 360 degree rings, often having impact and begetting acts of love by others that we will never know about.

How ironic that God in his love and mercy forgets repented sin, but remembers acts of love forever!

We strive for meaning and purpose in our lives. We seek achievement and recognition in our work and professions. All of these actions may be worthwhile for they further God’s assignment that we “work and take care of the garden” of his creation. (Genesis 2:15) Yet, in time the fruit of that work will eventually pass.

However, the acts of love taking place in the course of those achievements and in the context of all the other actions that make up our daily lives will not pass, but will remain in the annuls of God’s kingdom.

These actions of love and our souls will last beyond the current season.

Mysteries Revealed

“Do Not Be Afraid”

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How much does fear drive your decisions?

When God called Jeremiah as a prophet, Jeremiah resisted saying that he did not know how to speak and that he was too young. The Lord responded, “Do not be afraid…for I am with you.” (Jer. 1:8)

Throughout scripture God tells people not to be afraid. In Genesis, he tells Isaac not to be afraid of King Abimelech and the Philistines. (Gen. 26:24) Moses tells Joshua and the people to be e strong and courageous and not to be afraid of the people they will encounter when they cross the Jordan River. (Deut. 31:6) As Jesus sends out his disciples to heal, cast out demons and proclaim the kingdom of God, he tells them not to be afraid. (Mt. 10:26) When angels appear to Zachariah, Mary, Joseph and the shepherds in connection with Jesus’ birth, their first words are, “Do not to be afraid.” (Luke 1 and 2) Among Jesus’ last words to the disciples were, “Do let your hearts be troubled, do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

For God to place this much emphasis on overcoming our fears suggests that fear plays a significant role in whether we live by faith and make daily decisions in accordance with God’s will and purpose.

While fear is an emotion that is part of our human nature to protect us against threats to our safety, it can negatively impact us in many ways when carried to excess. Examples include fear of rejection and what others may think; fear of being humiliated and corrected; fear of failure and defeat; fear of change and the future; and fear of physical harm and death, to name a few.

Fear can keep us from doing the things we should be doing, cause us to worry unnecessarily about outcomes, and even get us off track in fulfilling God’s will in various areas of our lives.

A couple of years ago, I felt a nudge from the Lord to volunteer with the Chaplain’s office at the local county jail. After completing the training, I must confess that I was somewhat fearful and intimidated by the structure, discipline and strict procedures of the jail environment. Even the sound of the heavy steel doors clanging behind me was intimidating.

After encountering the inmates, however, I came to realize that there was not that much difference between them and me. We are each created by God in his image and likeness, and loved by him in the same way. God has given me a love for these men.

I hurt for them. I desire for them to come into relationship with Jesus and be blessed by his presence in their lives. This love for them has overcome my fear. “There is no fear in love. But perfect love casts out fear.” (1 John 4:18)

Trusting in God and his love for us is the antidote to fear. “The Lord is my light and salvation – whom shall I fear?” (Psalm 27:1)

Paradise for a Thief and Us

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“Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise,” declared Jesus to the good thief. (Luke 23: 43) Quite a remarkable promise to the thief, and quite an extraordinary implied promise to us!

While nearly all who stood by and watched the crucifixion of Jesus were ridiculing, mocking and challenging him, only the good thief acknowledged who Jesus was, came to his defense and asked to be remembered in his kingdom. Church tradition tells us his name was Dismas.

The passers-by hurled abuse at Jesus. The rulers and soldiers sneered at him saying, “He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one.” Even the other thief said, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.” (vs. 35, 39)

Out of this harangue and overcoming the difficulty of speaking while hanging from a cross, Dismas chastises the other thief, “Have you no fear of God? We have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” (vs. 40-41) Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Bishop Fulton J. Sheen in his book, Life of Christ, observes that this was the only word spoken to the cross that was not a reproach. “The conduct of everyone around the Cross was the negation of the very faith the good thief manifested; yet he believed when others disbelieved.”

If a thief, who right before he dies repents of his sins, acknowledges Jesus as Lord, comes to his defense and asks to be remembered in Jesus’ kingdom, is promised paradise that very day, how much more should we rejoice in this same promise if we are daily repenting of our sins and acknowledging Jesus as Lord in our words and actions!

Jesus’ promise is that we will be with him when we die. This is our destiny.

As a child, I always remembered a story shared by my mother who was in serious auto accident when she was 24. Her skull was fractured in several places. She said that while she laid unconscious on the gurney in the emergency room, she had an out-of-body experience. She was looking down on her body as the doctors were discussing her condition. She heard them say that they did not expect her to live, and if she did, she would be blind. She then saw herself walking up a stairway to a very bright light. As she proceeded up the stairway, she realized that she was alone and that my dad was not with her. She said, “Where is Larry (my dad)? I can’t go without him.” Days later she regained consciousness and later recovered from her injuries. While she didn’t become blind, her vision was impaired for the rest of her life.

Like many near death experiences that have been written about in recent years, she was approaching the light of Christ. Fifty-three years later she reached her destination.

“Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise!”

Humility Trumps Good Works

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Did Jesus have a heart for tax collectors?

You might think so. He called Levi (Matthew) from his tax collector’s booth to be one of his disciples. Later he had dinner with a number of Matthew’s tax collector friends to the consternation of the Jewish religious leaders. As he was entering Jericho, he saw Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector for the area, and invited himself to stay at Zacchaeus’ house that day, which led to Zacchaeus finding salvation and giving half his wealth to the poor.

The Jews despised tax collectors for they were considered traitors, serving as agents for the Romans in collecting their taxes. Jesus used this antipathy by the Jews to drive home a point in a parable with message that humility was more important than sacrifice.

It’s a great parable – about prayer, self-righteousness, humility, and justification. Two men go up to the temple to pray: a Pharisee and a tax collector. The Pharisee talks about himself, thanking God that he is not like other sinful men and the tax collector. The tax collector simply bows his head, beats his breast and says, “God have mercy on me a sinner.”

Jesus said that in contrast to the Pharisee, the tax collector went home justified before God. “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:14)

This parable challenges we Christians who attend church every Sunday, generally follow the rules, don’t regularly commit significant sins and lead a fairly decent life. Like the Pharisee, it is so easy to let our pride sneak in and become self-righteous, justifying ourselves by comparing our actions to the apparent sinful ways of others.

I say to myself that I don’t steal from others nor do them physical harm. I don’t commit sexual sins. But yet, right below the surface is my tendency to be critical and judgmental of others, get angry over some personal slight, and seek recognition for my self-perceived accomplishments.

Jesus asks us, “Where is your heart?” When we lose sight of our dependence on God and grow proud of our accomplishments, we become like the Pharisee. We stumble in our journey toward God and open ourselves to the very conduct we proudly claim we are avoiding.

Even St. Paul had to acknowledge the sinful nature that hovers right outside our daily lives when he said, “For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” (Rom. 7:19)

Only by acknowledging our tendency toward our sinful nature, are we able to maintain a humility that recognizes our dependency on staying close to God and receiving his grace.

The Alpha and the Omega

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How do we come to know God? jesus-dsc_0461-2

In John 6:43 Jesus says, “No one comes to me unless the Father draws him.” And then later he says, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

It all sounds a bit circular, but Jesus is saying that our salvation begins and ends with the Father, and Jesus is but the means to assist us in completing the journey. What a perfectly obedient son he is to the Father, showing us the way, the truth and the life in returning us to the one who created each of us in the first place.

Whether we return to God, our creator depends not only on God’s grace, but also on our choice to accept the means he has provided, mainly Jesus.

The Father is the alpha and the omega. Everything starts with him and everything ends with him. He is the source of our creation. He is the point from which we begin our journey of existence and life, and he is the intended destination of our journey. He created our inner being before our physical being was born. He gives us a life to live and a free will to choose whether our destination will involve returning to him for eternity or being separated from him for eternity.

Gospel singer Andre Crouch recorded a song many years ago with a chorus that reads:

“Jesus is the answer,

For the world today.

Above him there’s no other.

He’s the only way.”

Jesus says: “Learn from me.” (Mt. 11:29) “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” (John 13:15) “Don’t be afraid.” (Mt. 17:7) “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (Mt. 5:8) “Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Mt. 4 :19) “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. Apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4, 5) “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23) “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Mt. 28: 20)

The Father is the source for all that exists, including we who are made in his image and likeness. Jesus is the way to the source, which is our intended destiny. So simple, but yet so profound!

Needed: Workers for the Harvest

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Are you a worker for the harvest?

After describing how Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness, Matthew quotes Jesus as saying, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

What happens to a crop that is not harvested? It lies in the field to rot or be eaten by birds and animals. Its intended purpose is not fulfilled. If a grain of wheat, for example, is not gathered and ground into flour to make bread, its purpose and destiny are never realized.

The same thing can happen with people if their hearts and souls do not embrace their creator and his purpose and destiny for their lives. God said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jer. 1:5)

Like Jeremiah, God has created each of us as a unique human being, distinct from one another, with unique gifts and talents designed for us to carry out his specific will. His destiny for each of us is that we would come to know him as our creator and choose to embrace him and follow his will. If our heart and soul are not harvested for him, we will likely stray from our purpose and destiny.

Fortunately, there have been many harvesters in my life including my parents, a priest who guided me in my Catholic faith when I was a teenager, my wife whose example and words prompted me to go deeper in my relationship with God, and various Christian friends who have called me on to be more faithful and fervent in my walk.

The more important question is whether I have served as a harvester for others. Hopefully, I have had an impact on my wife as she has on me and on my children as well. Hopefully, I have acted on opportunities to talk or pray with friends or work colleagues as they have occurred over the years.

I am reminded of one incident many years ago when my secretary suggested that a women in our legal department talk to me about her intention to have an abortion. I listened at length to all of the difficult circumstances she was facing. I didn’t tell her what she should do, but commented that the baby she was carrying was a real person with little arms and legs to whom God had already assigned a soul. I offered to pray with her, and we prayed that God would give her wisdom and courage in making her decision. A couple of weeks later she came by to say that she was going to have the baby, and later she decided to raise the baby as a single mother.

While I don’t know if she was or became Christian, I do know she chose life for her son, and perhaps two souls were harvested for God.

Friendship with Jesus

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Do you have a friendship with Jesus?

St. Paul considered his friendship with Jesus the most important thing in his life. It exceeded his ministry, preaching, miracles, prophesies and every aspect of his life. He said, “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ.” (Phil. 3:8)

Jesus seemed to confirm this priority in his final words to the disciples when he prayed, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3) The knowledge that Jesus was referring to was not just knowing about God and himself, but knowing the Father and the Son as a person and friend.

Is it possible to have a real friendship with God who we can’t see, or Jesus who died as a human person 2000 years ago?

The disciples and the 500 other people who saw Jesus after his resurrection (1 Co.15:6) would likely say yes. Paul, who had been persecuting Christians met Jesus in a vision on his way to Damascus and was given specific instructions about what he was to do next. Paul later describes how he was taken up into heaven to hear indescribable things. Various saints throughout history have had similar experiences.

Many years ago I was at a Christian gathering in which a priest asked us to engage our imagination to experience Jesus. You may think this sounds phony, but Jesuit author, William A. Barry in his book, A Friendship Like No Other, says that the principal way in which God communicates with us is through our imagination, memories, insights and thoughts. Whether they are from God is a question of discernment, which is often determined by the fruit of what follows.

At that gathering, I imagined that I met Jesus on a lonely country road, south of Kansas City, Missouri on the way to my wife’s grandmother’s farm. I asked Jesus to take a particular burden from me. He did. And my life has never been the same since. I can describe every detail of that encounter – the gravel road, the farm house nearby, where the mailbox was, and what Jesus looked like and said. It was so real!

For almost 40 years I have been meeting with Jesus nearly every morning for coffee. We are friends like my best friend who is my wife; like a few Christian brothers who know me inside and out. The change and fruit in my life following that encounter would indicate that it was authentic, though I am still capable of messing up.

Jesus told the disciples, “I have called you friends because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.” (John 15:15) We have the benefit of scripture to learn about the Father and the Son, and their offer to dwell within us. (John 14:23) We also have our God-created ability to think, imagine and receive insights. This, in combination with the anointing of the Holy Spirit, enables us to establish a friendship with the Father and the Son.

Friends share knowledge and experiences. A husband and wife share intimate details about their lives. Good friends share joys, sorrows, and the mundane.

God the Father and God the Son invite us to do the same.

Separation Now, Separation Later

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In Jesus’ story about Lazarus and the rich man, what was the rich man’s sin?

To recap, there was a rich man who lived in luxury and a beggar named Lazarus who lay at his gate, covered with sores, longing to eat the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. They both died. Lazarus was taken by angels to Abraham’s side, while the rich man ended up in hell. In torment, the rich man asked Abraham to let Lazarus come and dip his finger in water to cool the rich man’s tongue. Abraham reminded the rich man that in life he had received good things and Lazarus only bad things, but now Lazarus was being comforted, and the rich man was in torment. Furthermore, there was a great chasm, separating them that neither could cross. (Luke 16:15-31)

It did not appear that the rich man had violated any of the Ten Commandments as originally set out in Exodus 20 or Jewish law. But he may have violated Jesus’ restatement of the commandment to love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself.

The rich man’s sin was not the fact that he was rich. It was his indifference. Though Lazarus lay at the rich man’s gate (his neighbor), the rich man never noticed him. The rich man had let his wealth and way of life separate him from the people in need of his day.

By historical standards, many of us in America today would likely be considered rich. We do not want for food, shelter or clothing. We have employment that enables us to live in a home we have bought and provide for our families.

Our circumstances may have the effect of separating us from people like Lazarus. They still exist, but we don’t see them. We do not see them in our neighborhoods. We don’t see them at work or in our churches. There may be the occasional homeless person begging at an intersection or Metro stop. But for the most part, unless we take some affirmative action to step outside of our circumstances, our default response tends to separate us the very poor of our world.

When I read this story or the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31-46), I struggle with how much my life is separated from those in need, and the serious consequences that can result if I do not seek to remedy that separation.

So, we write checks and give used clothes to various organizations assisting the poor. I keep some dollars handy in the console of my car for the homeless soliciting at an intersection. I volunteer in the Chaplain’s office at the county jail. But do these things fulfill the spirit of the King in the above parable?

“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.”

The tragic irony for the rich man and perhaps for us is that letting our circumstances separate us from those in need at this time can also lead to separation from God later.

Christ In Life And Work

by Bill Dalgetty

“Love Remains”

Mysteries Revealed

“Do Not Be Afraid”

Paradise for a Thief and Us

Humility Trumps Good Works

The Alpha and the Omega

Needed: Workers for the Harvest

Friendship with Jesus

Separation Now, Separation Later

The Yoke of Jesus