God Surprises

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Dear Folks,

As we go through Acts of the Apostles, we see that people are working but God is in charge.

In Acts 10 we see Peter getting a lesson, and at the same time, people get sent to him to use that lesson. We see Paul getting a lesson in chapter 9 and also calls Ananias to heal him. Acts 9 we see Saul of Tarsus being converted by Jesus, and then Ananias gets sent to take him the next step. I expect that neither St. Peter nor St. Paul expected God to intervene in their lives that way, nor the direction their lives would take after. We see this is often how God works. I expect when the virgin Mary woke up on the day of the annunciation, her mental to do list might have included things like “do laundry” and “go to market.” I expect it did not include “have a chat with an angel about the possibility of having a baby.”   Imagine what was going through the minds of the guys who make a hole in Jesus’ roof (Mark 2:1-12) in order to get a paralyzed friend to be healed, then Jesus responds with “Your sins are forgiven.”  Jesus had His own priorities, and it often did not match the agendas of others.  The healing of the man’s paralysis seems to happen because it served Jesus’ larger purpose. 

This is not about our personal longevity or connivence, but about the mission. We see James suddenly put to death (Acts 12:2) and God does not intervene, but we see Peter and Paul saved a number of times before they are put to death. John, according to ancient stories, was not killed at all, but died naturally on the prison island of Patmos.  Each one served the mission in different ways. 

I know in my own life, God has had a number of surprises for me. I went to Michigan Tech as a sophomore in chemical engineering, I had plans. I wanted a job that involved no human contact because I found people to be illogical and annoying.   God, however, did not have the same plans. It became obvious (in retrospect) that I was not made to be a chemical engineer, but was called to the priesthood, which made no sense. I had less than zero peoples skills.  I learned people skills bit by bit. I came to realize that my interest in science is not as a scientist but as a storyteller.  I want to see how things make sense and fit together.  I came to see science as a part of a larger story.  This took me many years to see it. 

Are there parts of your story that don’t make sense now? Are there parts of you story that didn’t make sense until years later? We remember that God is in charge, and we are walking by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthian 5:7). I suggest that there will be some things we won’t understand in this life, but we trust God is at work and is writing a story of which we are a small part.  Some day we shall see.

Blessings,

Fr. Jim

Sharing the Gospel Story

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Dear Folks,

Acts of the Apostles shows Peter and Paul sharing the Gospel message.  How are we to share the Gospel story? Like Peter and Paul, we start by being connected to Jesus, to have a relationship with Jesus. Without that, we can’t tell the story.

Clearly, how we share the Gospel story depends on our audience (compare Acts 17:22-31 with Acts 22:1-21), but what is the basic message, and how do we proclaim it to someone who doesn’t understand sin or our need for salvation? I think we should start with what this Gospel means to us. 

The essence of the Gospel is the gift of self.  The Lord gave Himself to us out of love and calls us to give ourselves to him in return. From the materialist point of view is true, love is a side effect of the mating instinct, which itself is a side effect of the passing on of the genes. He gives Himself in love and has done so for all eternity.  The Father is eternally giving Himself to the Son, who is eternally receiving and returning Himself in love, and the Holy Spirit is the love that passed between them. This is the perfect community of love, but love always seeks to produce fruit, and so this God created us, from perfect, unselfish love. 

We learn to receive that gift and give ourselves in return. We sin in refusal to give ourselves, or false giving of ourselves (more on that another time). 

It must be Christ centered: It’s about the work of Jesus. Jesus is the answer to our deepest longings. I may want chocolate ice cream, but that’s not one of my deepest longings. Connecting to Jews, the apostles talked about how Jesus was the fulfillment of the Scriptures. Talking to Greeks who followed other gods were taught that Jesus was the one they were looking for (Acts 17:22-31).  He is the one who give us rain, crops, and food (Acts 14:15-17). As much as we get annoyed by rain spoiling our plans, crops and food are such good things.

We are not loving enough to turn to actual love. We can only be drawn to it by Jesus’ perfect act of love. Jesus came so that the perfect act of love could save us from ourselves. 

Sometimes we talk about what Jesus did for us personally: we see Peter and Paul both shared something of what Jesus did with them (Acts 11, 22, and 26). They did not tell the whole story about their walk with, God, but the bit that was relevant at the moment. Still, it would not be bad to have a grip on how God has gotten us to this point. I was never taught to do that, but I’ve been working on that (again, more on that another time).

How would you tell the Gospel story? How would you do it avoiding religious language? How has Jesus gotten you where you are? Do you see Him at work in you? Hmm.

Blessings,

Fr. Jim

Looking at Acts of the Apostles This Easter

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Dear Folks,

Looking at Acts of the Apostles, we learn a lot about church and about evangelization.  I zipped through it this Easter, and looking at how the Gospel is shared:

Peter: 2:14-36; 3:12-26; 4:8-12; 9-34-43; 11:5-17 (explaining his experience in chapter 10)

Paul: 13:16-41; 14:15-17: 17:22-31; 22:1-21 (explaining his experience in Ch. 9); 24:10-21; 26:2-23 (explaining his experience in Ch. 9). 

See also Steven in chapter 7 and Philip in chapter 8. 

We see a number of things:

  1. It is very Christ centered. 
  2. It speaks to the perspective of the audience (See how St. Paul in chapter 17, talking to Greek philosophers, differs from how he talks to Jews). 
  3. Peter and Paul, the two greatest models of evangelization, both reference their own experience (See chapters 11, 22, and 26, in which we see Peter and Paul telling stories that we have already see recounted in chapters 9 and 10). I suggest it is to teach us that part of telling the story of Jesus is telling how Jesus has worked with us and brought us to where we are today. 
  4. It connects to people’s experience (Much to learn).
  5. It connects to the Scriptures (Much to learn).

As we go through Easter, consider what God is calling each of us to do.

Blessings,

Fr. Jim

Trust

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Dear Folks,

During Holy week, one can imagine the disciples not knowing what is going to happen. As we read through the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel if John, we consider that people did not know what they were participating in. 

Reflecting on the mysteries of the rosary, Mary and the disciples did not know what was going to happen, or even what things meant until the unfolding of the Glorious mysteries. 

Going through “The Screwtape Letters” imagine the reality that the “patient” wouldn’t see until the end.

As we walk along our journey, consider how little we understand of what God is doing, but are called to trust Him on the way. The more we realize what we do not see, how much we do not know, the more we must trust. 

Blessings,

Fr jim

What is it to be Poor in Spirit?

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Dear Folks,
Jesus starts the Sermon on the Mount with eight beatitudes. Let’s take a good look.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom on heaven.” How many folks have no idea what it means? I’ve learned you can get through the seminary and not be ready to answer that question. I would look for a clue in the two stories immediately after the Sermon on the Mount. First, Jesus heals a leper. This guy was poor, totally poor. He had nothing, nothing, nothing to offer Jesus. He had no contacts, no connections. Everyone shunned him. When he came to Jesus for help, he was completely dependent on His mercy and generosity. Next comes the healing of the centurion’s servant. This centurion was
probably the wealthiest, most powerful man in the area. Furthermore, he had been very good to the Israelites (Luke 7:4-5). If anyone was likely to approach Jesus with a sense of entitlement, it would be him. Instead of presuming he makes a wonderful statement of humility, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof.” We remember this at every Mass. He was poor in spirit. 
There is a text in Matthew 15:21-28 that makes a lot of people uncomfortable. A woman comes to Jesus for help, and He ignores her at first, then seems kind of mean. Many people
don’t know how to deal with this. Remember that we only get the words, and don’t see what is in their hearts. Jesus, of course could read people very well, and sometimes people need to have their intentions purified. She came through: she showed she was not taking Him for granted, and recognized she was not entitled to His help, and the story ended well.
Have we ever felt that God was ignoring us or even being harsh? Might we be undergoing some purifying of our intentions too?
Contrast this with Luke 4: 16-30, when Jesus comes to the synagogue in Nazareth, where He grew up. They had the attitude that because Jesus grew up there, they were entitled to some miracles and mighty works from Him. It didn’t go well, and they missed a most wonderful opportunity.
See also Jesus’ teaching in Luke 17:7-10, in which Jesus teaches about a servant who, after serious labor, does not get immediate reward and rest, but must first do more work. Jesus says, “When you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done only our duty.’”
A working principle is that we look to Jesus as perfectly embodying the beatitudes. St. Paul taught, “For you are well aware of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Although he
was rich, he became poor for your sake so that by his poverty you might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9).” We should be familiar with the hymn in Philippians 2, that describes
Jesus as entitled to divine glory but “emptied himself, taking the form of a slave.”
However much we have done, sacrificed, and achieved for God, we still come to Him as absolute paupers who are completely dependent on His mercy. We are beggars who do not have to beg because God is glad to be generous with us. Have we ever thought we have done enough and are entitled to a break? Have we ever thought we have had a hard enough path and resented those who seem not to have done as much and seem to be getting things easier? Jesus is calling us to a different perspective.
Blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Blessings
Fr Jim

Sermon on the Mount: Key to Fullness of Life

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Dear Folks,
February 1 the Sunday readings begin the Sermon on the Mount. We only get three weeks of it before It is superseded by the early beginning of Lent. However, I suggest that a good way to strengthen one’s Lenten Journey would be ongoing reflection on this Sermon. It is too easy to hear this text read, recognize that it sounds good, or maybe a bit confusing, and then move on untouched. That is a terrible waste.
Matthew 5-7 opens Jesus’ public teaching in the Gospel of Matthew. Prior to that, it mentions he was teaching in the synagogue, and that He was saying “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand,” but this is where we start going into what the Christian is called to be. Matthew 23-25 gives us His final public teaching in Matthew, and it centers around judgment on how one has answered that call. In between, one may want to see some principles from the Sermon applied.
To understand how Matthew presents the Sermon on the Mount, it is essential to understand the giving of the Torah to Israel and the role of the Torah in the life of Israel. It is the first five books of the Bible, and is central to their relationship with God, and held in great reverence. It is usually translated “Law” though it could be better called “instruction.”
When the Bible makes reference to “statutes,” “precepts,” ”decrees,” or “the law of Moses” that refers to the Torah.
Psalm 1, and Psalm 119 for those who want to read more deeply, are hymns to the Torah. They both start with “Blessed,” living the fullness of life. Matthew’s readers would have immediately seen the connection between these psalms and Jesus’ beatitudes. Psalm 1 describes this fullness of life as being “like a tree planted beside flowing water whose leaves will never fade and all that he does shall prosper.” The Bible has repeatedly used the image of flowing water as a sign of God’s abundant life (Genesis 2:10; Jeremiah 17:5-8; Ezekiel 47:1-12; John 4:10-14; John 7:37-38; Revelation 22:1-2). I would suggest continued reflection on Psalm 1 during one’s continuing reflection on the Sermon on the Mount.
The classic presentation of the giving of the Law is Exodus 20 and following. It shows Moses going up a mountain and receiving the law, first the ten commandments (pocket sized version), and then more elaborate rules. Jesus goes up the mountain and gives the beatitudes (pocket sized version) and then more elaborate principles. This echoes the giving of the Torah, but Christians would not say that the Sermon on the Mount is the new Torah, but Jesus Himself is the new Torah (“I am the way, and the truth, and the life” [John 14:6], but this is a vision of living according to that Way. We notice that Jesus does not give us rules, a set of dos and don’ts, but a vision of what sort of person we are to be. In our union with Jesus, we become more and more able to live according to this vision. We cannot simply choose to “hunger and thirst for righteousness”, but the closer we
grow to Jesus, the more He transforms us into people who do.
I’ll be going deeper into this, if you want to come with me.
Blessings,
Fr. Jim

The Marriage of the Bride and the Lamb

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Dear Folks,
In our readings this Sunday, God tells Isaiah, “I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” John the Baptist says, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”
In the Gospel of John, it is emphasized that John the Baptist’s major function was to introduce Jesus. John uses two main images to describe Him: The Lamb (of sacrifice) in John 1:36 and the bridegroom in Jn 3:26-30. These two images will be brought together at the end of the story in the wedding of the bride and the Lamb (Revelation 19:6-10, 21:9). We remember these truths at every Mass as the priest says, “Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.” They teach us that Jesus gave Himself to us completely, holding nothing back, out of pure love for us.
The image of the lamb emphasizes Jesus’ suffering and dying to save us. He faced overwhelming agony- mental, physical, emotional- enduring the full brunt of the evil in the world to undo the power of evil in us. The image of bridegroom emphasizes Jesus being faithful day in and day out, during good times and bad, never wavering in His love.
We are called to be a light to the nations, drawing people to Jesus. What is our message?
Our atheist, materialist friends will tell us that core reality is matter and energy, that personhood is a blip in the unfolding of matter and energy, and that love is a byproduct of the mating instinct. In this view, we are nothing but collections of chemical reactions in temporarily self-sustaining systems. Some may object to my description, but I don’t see how they can logically escape it. I don’t find that very inspiring.
In the Christian view, Divine Personhood is the core reality, and His essence is love. The Father is eternally giving Himself in love to the Son, who is eternally receiving and returning that love, and the love that passes between them is the Holy Spirit. Love is by nature fruitful, so He created us to receive His love and love Him in return, thus knowing the fullness of Joy, and created matter and energy. The universe is the stage of salvation history. The whole universe is a love story.
The essence of the Gospel is the gift of self in love. The Lord gives Himself to us and invites and enables us to receive that love and give ourselves. God gave His people marriage and taught His people to offer sacrifice so that we could learn to become gift. This, of course means following Jesus and the path He laid out. We are to be willing to suffer and to lay down our lives when the situation calls for it (John 15:12-13). We are called to love our neighbor in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, faithfully day by day, year by year. Jesus’ gift of Himself is at work in us as we seek to give the gift of ourselves to Him and one another.
Blessings,
Fr. Jim

Baptism of the Lord: Putting Things in Order

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Dear folks,
Now we come to the Baptism of the Lord, the end of the Christmas season.
Isaiah speaks of a servant who is working quietly, “to open the eyes of the blind and bring out prisoners from confinement…”. We remember that our sins blind us and imprison us, and the grace of God enables us to see the truth and be free. Our Enemy has convinced a lot of people that to be Christian is to live a cramped, diminished life in the hopes of a reward from God. Our job is to show that living according to the Gospel is a freer, more abundant way to live.
In our Gospel John the Baptist knows something is out of place with Jesus requesting Baptism. We, of course, know that Jesus had no sin and so did not need a baptism of repentance for Himself. However, this is the beginning of His taking on the mantle of sinner that we might be freed from our sins. When Jesus says, “Allow it now, for thus is it fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” He is talking about putting everything into right relationship.
Our relationship with God, with each other, and with the earth itself were thrown into chaos by sin (See Genesis 3), and this diminished the flourishing of life. Bringing order out of chaos so that life could flourish is going to take sacrifice, and we shall see it again and again in the Gospel of Matthew.
We the baptized are united with Jesus in His mission. We will often face situations that are unfair. We shall have to help clean up messes that we didn’t make, fix things we didn’t break, and be blamed for things that are not our fault. As we go through the Gospel this year, we see how Jesus faced that. He always stood for what was true and right and often suffered unjustly for it. He never let it stop Him.
After His baptism, He would go to the desert to face temptation and then started proclaiming the Kingdom of heaven. As the Christmas season ends, we get to ordinary time, the time in which most of the work gets done.
There was an article in Wordonfire.org called “Catholic Call to be the Soul of the World” by Tim Glemkowski. He quotes the 2nd century “Letter to Diognetus”: To sum up all in
one word—what the soul is in the body, Christians are in the world. The soul is dispersed through all the members of the body, and Christians are scattered through all the cities of the world. The soul dwells in the body, yet is not of the body; and Christians dwell in the world, yet are not of the world.” This is similar to Jesus’ call to be salt of the earth and light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16).
We, the baptized Christians, are called to seek union with Jesus to be transformed so that we can transform the world. It’s a tall order but let us not underestimate the power of the Gospel. We may not see all the results but let us trust that God is at work. May we have a fruitful year.
Blessings,
Fr. Jim

Seeking Mystery

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Dear Folks,

As we continue to celebrate the Christmas season, we now come to Epiphany. The word epiphany means “appearance” or “manifestation.” The coming of the Magi tells us that Jesus is meant for the whole world, not just His family, town, or nation. The Magi were not of the nation of Israel but were seekers of mysteries. We have a natural hunger for mystery, but many lose track of it chasing after superficial things. The human exploration of mystery lead to many who explored new territory, studied natural phenomena, or asked ultimate questions. Like many hungers, it can be awakened by the right stimulus. Imagine being so focused on tasks that you don’t notice dinner time, but suddenly you smell (insert favorite food here) and then you have hunger pangs. 

As the star drew the Magi, so we are meant to be stars to other people. That means we are to draw people to the mystery of Jesus. While we are called to be good examples so that seeing what we do people will praise God (Matthew 5:16), our central message is not that we are such wonderful people. It is about a mystery infinitely greater than we are.

Many have learned about church in a way that loses the great sense of mystery. Some think that Christianity is basically a collection of belief statements to repeat and commandments to follow. Some people have said that Christianity is basically about being a good person. This breaks my heart. They have been robbed. They have been cheated. They have been deprived of an enormous treasure and given a superficial substitute. Then the Mass would be seen as just a community gathering that gives us a good experience and a good feeling. It is a doorway to the Infinite and the ultimate. The celebrant is a failure if he is about drawing attention to himself. Liturgical musicians fail if they draw attention to the music for its own sake. The celebrant, the music and all the ritual are to draw people into the mystery that is beyond what we see. Our faith is an infinite mystery into which we enter. We encounter the central truths of reality and of life, and they can transform us to the core of our being. Imagine someone having a nuclear power plant and only using it to reheat their coffee. 

When I was a young priest, an older priest told me he was “bored” with the Gospel of John. When I looked shocked, he said, “When you’ve been a priest for 35 years, you might be bored with it too.” Well, now I’ve been a priest for thirty-eight years, and have never gotten bored with the Gospel of John. In fact, the more I learn, the deeper I go, the more I study it the more amazing, the more fascinating it is. Of course, the reading that was available at that time was more about deconstructing the text than seeing deep connections. We didn’t have authors like Brant Pitre, Scott Hahn, John Bergsma and Jeff Cavins. I learned a lot of wonderful stuff in the seminary, and I will be forever grateful for my teachers and what they taught me, but there is so much more. 

We are called to be seekers of mystery, and the more deeply we seek, the more we can make sense out of life, the universe, and everything. 

The star beckons. If we follow, we can be a beacon to others.

Blessings,

Fr. Jim

Getting Along

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Dear Folks,

As we continue the Christmas season, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family.

This year, we will be doing Cycle A readings, which means lots of the Gospel of Mat-

thew. I’m challenging everyone to look at the Gospel stories through the lens of God

bringing order out of chaos that life may flourish. The Gospel warns us that if we seek to

follow, there are some things we can expect:

It will cost us; there will be sacrifice. We will face opposition, sometimes from

those we most expected support. Sin will bring chaos. God will let bad things hap-

pen. Notice how often family is the way the plan happens, even though these fami-

lies are not perfect, often very messed up. If we trust in God, He will do great things

in their proper time.

Genesis chapter one shows our story beginning with God bringing order out of chaos that life may flourish.

The Gospel of Matthew begins with the genealogy. It shows generations of families, each with their own stories. Some we know the stories, and others are just names. What we do

know of the stories tells us there was a lot of chaos going on. Looking at the overall sto-

ry, however, we notice there are three sets of fourteen (twice the divinely perfect number

seven). This is a hint that God is carrying out a well-ordered plan, though it would not

have seemed like it at the time.

Many have observed that families can have a lot of chaos in their daily lives, but also that great things can happen in families. People learn basic things about how to function,

what is right and wrong, what is of value and what is worthless. It also gives us connec-

tion to something bigger than ourselves that is still there even when it’s really difficult.

This is a fuller way to live than dedicating ourselves to material possessions and pleas-

ures.

In “A Christmas Carol” Scrooge disconnected from relationships, likely because they

had caused him pain and that he feared poverty. He saw his wealth as a security against

the pain he had suffered when he was younger, and, as vices do, his greed consumed

him. During his ghostly wakeup call, he reconnected with that neglected aspect of him-

self. He was able to see life greater than the pain of his past. He no longer let his grief

over losing his little sister Fan stop him from connecting with his nephew Fred. He even

saw his employee, Bob Cratchet, as not simply an instrument for conducting business,

but saw him and his family as human beings, and formed a more human relationship with him. He would, short term, see his profits decrease, but he would see that in perspective.

Besides, perhaps this more fully expressed self would enable him to connect to people

better in business, and he might find his profits increasing.

Our families are all flawed, and they can give us wounds as well as treasures. If we re-

spond in faith, in hope and in love, maybe we can unlearn bad habits, do some healing,

build on what we were given, and do a bit better than the last generation, leaving the

world a little better.

God Bless us everyone, and God bless our families,

Fr. Jim