7 June 2014 - holy spirit spectacular
Who is Jesus and why did he come? We know that he is the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Yet only the Gospel of John makes that explicit, although it is implicit in the Last Supper narratives of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But there is a common view of the mission of Jesus that all of the Evangelists share. He is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.
I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the holy Spirit.” (cf. Mar. 1:8).
I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. (cf. Mat. 3:5).
I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. (cf. Luk. 3:16).
I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.’ (cf. Joh. 1:33).
This promise is fulfilled at Pentecost. As we prepare for Pentecost, let us heed the words of Jesus:
While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for “the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the holy Spirit (cf. Act. 1:4-5, emphasis mine).
Jesus is the one who gives the Holy Spirit.
Jesus stood up and exclaimed,
“Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink.
As Scripture says:
Rivers of living water will flow from within him who believes in me.”
He said this in reference to the Spirit
Let us bring this thirst to the Pentecost mass knowing that it will be sated.
Being the one who pours out the Spirit gives Old Testament context to the mission of Jesus. This is how the apostles understand what happens on Pentecost.
No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
It will come to pass in the last days,’ God says,
‘that I will pour out a portion of my spirit upon all flesh (cf. Act. 2:16-17).
They understand that Jesus is the one who can do this, who can give the Spirit, because he is the one who first rises from the grave. He is the first one filled with that life and becomes the source of life for us. The Spirit that raised Jesus from death will give life even to our mortal bodies (cf. Rom. 8:11).
Then you shall know that I am the LORD,
when I open your graves and have you rise from them,
O my people!
I will put my spirit in you that you may live,
We recognize that the waters of life first give new life to us as individuals in baptism. We hear in Ezekiel our own baptism foreshadowed:
I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you so that you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep them (cf. Eze. 36:26-27).
The Holy Spirit is the new spirit, the resurrection power, that fills us at baptism.
Or are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life (Rom. 6:3-4).
But the call tonight is to not stop there. There is the real risk of which Paul warns the Galatians:
Are you so stupid? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?
We did begin in the Spirit at baptism but we do often wind up mired in the flesh. We are that stupid. What do we do? Paul explains to the Galatians:
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
The Spirit has given us life, but now he must let him lead us. Those "Who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God" (cf. Rom. 8:14). We should follow the advice of Paul to Timothy.
For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands (emphasis mine).
The Holy Spirit is strengthened at confirmation when hands are laid upon us (and ordination as well, for Timothy) but we can't stop there. We have to fan this gift into flames. We have to give it air, let it breathe, even agitate the embers until they glow.
The Holy Spirit is the only way to live the Gospel in spite of our human weakness.
In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness;
for we do not know how to pray as we ought,
but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.
This is part of what Paul develops at length writing to the Corinthians.
To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.
To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom;
to another the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit;
to another faith by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit;
to another mighty deeds; to another prophecy; to another discernment of spirits;
to another varieties of tongues; to another interpretation of tongues.
But one and the same Spirit produces all of these,
distributing them individually to each person as he wishes (cf. 1 Cor 12:7-11).
These sighs and groanings are a gift of the Spirit, deeper than intelligible speech, which is why "if I pray in a tongue my spirit is at prayer but my mind is unproductive" (cf. 1 Cor. 14:14). This is why "Whoever speaks in a tongue builds himself up" (cf. 1 Cor. 14:4) but not the Church. Which is why Paul also wants us all to prophesy. That seems like a lot to ask of God. Surely a few designated prophets would be enough? But Moses had already asked the same thing long ago.
I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” (cf. Num. 11:29).
But let's not miss the point, Paul wants both for us.
Now I should like all of you to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy (cf. 1 Cor. 14:5).
It isn't greedy. We aren't talking about seeking good feelings. These gifts often happen in the complete absence of any feelings whatever. That can make discerning them a challenge. It is a challenge worth undertaking because we need all the tools we can get to build ourselves up and to build the Church up.
Do we want this? Or have we received it in the past have neglected it? The LORD wants to fill us anew tonight. And if we don't feel him calling us to seek these particular manifestations of the Spirit tonight we must still be assured that he wants to pour out his Spirit on us in abundance. He wants to fill us with new life and power. He wants to give us the fruits of the Holy Spirit, especially love, joy, and peace.
Without him we perish, but in his Spirit tonight let us be renewed.
If you take away their breath, they perish
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Friday, June 6, 2014
6 June 2014 - affirmed
6 June 2014 - affirmed
Like Peter most of us deny Jesus at one time or another. There are times when it seems bad for us if other people know that we are followers of Jesus. If we take a stand we risk our reputation and relationships. We risk making other people uncomfortable or upset. Instead of doing so, we often choose to deny Jesus, even if by our silence.
It is great comfort, therefore, to see the rehabilitation of Peter. For every time Peter denies Jesus he is given an opportunity to affirm his love for him. Jesus doesn't ask three times because he doesn't believe Peter. He asks because he knows that Peter needs to say it once for each denial in order to move on. This is also why the sacrament of reconciliation includes doing penance.
It is interesting to see Peter's enthusiasm tempered. He was once the one who said he would follow Jesus to death (cf. Luk. 22:23) before his own weakness became painfully apparent. But now, Jesus asks him if he has agape love (selfless love) for him and Peter can only promise phileo (friendly affection). Peter now knows his own weakness. And the third time Jesus asks, he asks for phileo, something Peter believes he can give. He is willing to work with Peter's process. But even as he accepts this he tells Peter that his death will be an agape love offering to glorify God.
Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger,
you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted;
but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will dress you
and lead you where you do not want to go.”
He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.
Jesus wants to change us all from those who deny him into a people who witness to him clearly. He wants us to be like Paul. Even the Roman Procurator Festus understands exactly what Paul is all about.
Instead they had some issues with him about their own religion
and about a certain Jesus who had died
but who Paul claimed was alive.
Being clear about the basics like this is fundamental to caring for the sheep of Jesus. It is only the truth that frees, and only if we stick up for it and do not deny it. Jesus will stick with us to help our love grow from affection that still has selfish roots into something selfless, something which can even follow Jesus to the cross. Jesus empowers us to respond to Paul's plea:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God--this is your true and proper worship (cf. Rom. 12:1).
It starts "in view of God's mercy" as it does for Peter. Our sins are finally forgiven and completely removed.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
God makes this mercy so available. Let us avail ourselves of it. May we not stop there. May we bear him witness and feed his sheep.
Like Peter most of us deny Jesus at one time or another. There are times when it seems bad for us if other people know that we are followers of Jesus. If we take a stand we risk our reputation and relationships. We risk making other people uncomfortable or upset. Instead of doing so, we often choose to deny Jesus, even if by our silence.
It is great comfort, therefore, to see the rehabilitation of Peter. For every time Peter denies Jesus he is given an opportunity to affirm his love for him. Jesus doesn't ask three times because he doesn't believe Peter. He asks because he knows that Peter needs to say it once for each denial in order to move on. This is also why the sacrament of reconciliation includes doing penance.
It is interesting to see Peter's enthusiasm tempered. He was once the one who said he would follow Jesus to death (cf. Luk. 22:23) before his own weakness became painfully apparent. But now, Jesus asks him if he has agape love (selfless love) for him and Peter can only promise phileo (friendly affection). Peter now knows his own weakness. And the third time Jesus asks, he asks for phileo, something Peter believes he can give. He is willing to work with Peter's process. But even as he accepts this he tells Peter that his death will be an agape love offering to glorify God.
Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger,
you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted;
but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will dress you
and lead you where you do not want to go.”
He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.
Jesus wants to change us all from those who deny him into a people who witness to him clearly. He wants us to be like Paul. Even the Roman Procurator Festus understands exactly what Paul is all about.
Instead they had some issues with him about their own religion
and about a certain Jesus who had died
but who Paul claimed was alive.
Being clear about the basics like this is fundamental to caring for the sheep of Jesus. It is only the truth that frees, and only if we stick up for it and do not deny it. Jesus will stick with us to help our love grow from affection that still has selfish roots into something selfless, something which can even follow Jesus to the cross. Jesus empowers us to respond to Paul's plea:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God--this is your true and proper worship (cf. Rom. 12:1).
It starts "in view of God's mercy" as it does for Peter. Our sins are finally forgiven and completely removed.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
God makes this mercy so available. Let us avail ourselves of it. May we not stop there. May we bear him witness and feed his sheep.
Thursday, June 5, 2014
5 June 2014 - more perfect union
5 June 2014 - more perfect union
And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one,
Sometimes we hear Jesus talking about the unity he wants to have with us and the unity he wants us to have with one another and we think it sounds abstract. Or perhaps we imagine it as more of a feeling. But we don't imagine a lot of practical value to it. Jesus wants to live in us just as the Father lives in him. Is this abstract? Is it emotion?
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.
This kind of unity is definitely not a mere abstraction. It is so practical as to be visible. It is visible as something that is obviously supernatural, something which reveals the love of God. It is a unity by which we are "brought to perfection". In other words, our visible unity as Church in the world is something which the world knows is beyond its ability to produce.
Of course only a unity this real can bring us to perfection. Ideas in our heads and feelings in our hearts won't do that. Our unity is challenged constantly by the world, the flesh, and the devil but we are able to overcome all of these challenges by the grace of God. This is the glory of Jesus that we taste now as it prepares us for ever greater levels of unity with him.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
that they may see my glory that you gave me,
because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Why does he wish to have this unity with us? It is important that we understand the reason he wants this. This isn't a tyrant imposing a false and oppressive conformity.
Father, they are your gift to me.
Isn't that amazing? Jesus receives us as a precious gift. He loves us so much that he wants to share the very love that the Father gives him, the greatest love there can possibly be, with each of us. This is why we need to enter into the practical unity to which we are called!
I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
that the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them.”
This unity will strengthen us to be witnesses when we are called. Even if the LORD asks something difficult of us we will not shrink from the task. Paul is firm in the truth he knows. He says, "I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead." Standing firm in the truth he has received (cf. 2 The. 2:15) gives Paul the strength to continue to Rome even though he knows martyrdom is likely.
The LORD wants to be both the one who gives us strength and holds us together in unity. At the same time he is the ultimate goal to which that unity leads.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.”
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
Paul knows that God will not abandon his soul to the netherworld nor suffer his faithful one to undergo corruption. He is so close to the LORD that he is not disturbed even as he goes to Rome. We are all called to this proximity to Jesus!
I bless the LORD who counsels me;
even in the night my heart exhorts me.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one,
Sometimes we hear Jesus talking about the unity he wants to have with us and the unity he wants us to have with one another and we think it sounds abstract. Or perhaps we imagine it as more of a feeling. But we don't imagine a lot of practical value to it. Jesus wants to live in us just as the Father lives in him. Is this abstract? Is it emotion?
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.
This kind of unity is definitely not a mere abstraction. It is so practical as to be visible. It is visible as something that is obviously supernatural, something which reveals the love of God. It is a unity by which we are "brought to perfection". In other words, our visible unity as Church in the world is something which the world knows is beyond its ability to produce.
Of course only a unity this real can bring us to perfection. Ideas in our heads and feelings in our hearts won't do that. Our unity is challenged constantly by the world, the flesh, and the devil but we are able to overcome all of these challenges by the grace of God. This is the glory of Jesus that we taste now as it prepares us for ever greater levels of unity with him.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
that they may see my glory that you gave me,
because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Why does he wish to have this unity with us? It is important that we understand the reason he wants this. This isn't a tyrant imposing a false and oppressive conformity.
Father, they are your gift to me.
Isn't that amazing? Jesus receives us as a precious gift. He loves us so much that he wants to share the very love that the Father gives him, the greatest love there can possibly be, with each of us. This is why we need to enter into the practical unity to which we are called!
I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
that the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them.”
This unity will strengthen us to be witnesses when we are called. Even if the LORD asks something difficult of us we will not shrink from the task. Paul is firm in the truth he knows. He says, "I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead." Standing firm in the truth he has received (cf. 2 The. 2:15) gives Paul the strength to continue to Rome even though he knows martyrdom is likely.
The LORD wants to be both the one who gives us strength and holds us together in unity. At the same time he is the ultimate goal to which that unity leads.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.”
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
Paul knows that God will not abandon his soul to the netherworld nor suffer his faithful one to undergo corruption. He is so close to the LORD that he is not disturbed even as he goes to Rome. We are all called to this proximity to Jesus!
I bless the LORD who counsels me;
even in the night my heart exhorts me.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
4 June 2014 - seeing beyond
4 June 2014 - seeing beyond
Sometimes we think it might be better if we could be walled off in some idyllic garden of isolated Christianity. We often imagine how much better we could be if we had an unlimited amount of time to focus on things which are explicitly Christian without distraction from the world. We imagine a place where nothing ever challenges our faith. In a lot of ways it seems desirable. But it is not what Jesus wants for us.
I do not ask that you take them out of the world
but that you keep them from the Evil One.
We have a purpose in this world that trumps whatever benefits we might get from shutting walling ourselves off. Pope Francis warns, "When the church does not come out of herself to evangelize, she becomes self-referential and then gets sick".
Paul wants to be dedicated to the preaching of the gospel. Even so he does not shrink from the ordinary.
You know well that these very hands
have served my needs and my companions.
Even his mundane work, his not specifically missionary thing, is good. Making tents to sell might seem like a hassle and a distraction. Yet even this work, because he is living for the kingdom, is able to reveal something of God.
In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort
we must help the weak,
and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said,
‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
But there is a threat we face while we are in the world. It is considered an acceptable risk because of the greater good spreading the Gospel and building the kingdom. We should be weary when Jesus warns of the Evil One. We should pay attention to Paul when he tells us that "from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth to draw the disciples away after them."
We need to rely on "that gracious word of his" that can build us up. Because of that word the world hates us. And yet, at the same time, that word sustains us on mission to the very ones who hate us. We need to be consecrated in truth, as Jesus prays. If we seek to follow the truth with all our hearts the Evil One will not be a threat. We will be able to navigate the world and all it's distractions, temptations without danger. The mundane things of life are imbued with meaning when we who use them are consecrated in truth. This is deeper meaning of dealing with the world as though we have no dealings with it (cf. 1 Cor.7:31). This is what Jesus means when he says that we are in the world but that we do not belong to it. Being consecrated in truth keeps us safe from the lies the world tries to tell. Being consecrated in truth keeps us united to Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life.
Our lives in this world, consecrated in truth, are an invitation to those who are both in the world and of the world to look beyond and to recognize and higher truth.
You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God,
chant praise to the Lord
who rides on the heights of the ancient heavens.
Behold, his voice resounds, the voice of power:
“Confess the power of God!”
Sometimes we think it might be better if we could be walled off in some idyllic garden of isolated Christianity. We often imagine how much better we could be if we had an unlimited amount of time to focus on things which are explicitly Christian without distraction from the world. We imagine a place where nothing ever challenges our faith. In a lot of ways it seems desirable. But it is not what Jesus wants for us.
I do not ask that you take them out of the world
but that you keep them from the Evil One.
We have a purpose in this world that trumps whatever benefits we might get from shutting walling ourselves off. Pope Francis warns, "When the church does not come out of herself to evangelize, she becomes self-referential and then gets sick".
Paul wants to be dedicated to the preaching of the gospel. Even so he does not shrink from the ordinary.
You know well that these very hands
have served my needs and my companions.
Even his mundane work, his not specifically missionary thing, is good. Making tents to sell might seem like a hassle and a distraction. Yet even this work, because he is living for the kingdom, is able to reveal something of God.
In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort
we must help the weak,
and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said,
‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
But there is a threat we face while we are in the world. It is considered an acceptable risk because of the greater good spreading the Gospel and building the kingdom. We should be weary when Jesus warns of the Evil One. We should pay attention to Paul when he tells us that "from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth to draw the disciples away after them."
We need to rely on "that gracious word of his" that can build us up. Because of that word the world hates us. And yet, at the same time, that word sustains us on mission to the very ones who hate us. We need to be consecrated in truth, as Jesus prays. If we seek to follow the truth with all our hearts the Evil One will not be a threat. We will be able to navigate the world and all it's distractions, temptations without danger. The mundane things of life are imbued with meaning when we who use them are consecrated in truth. This is deeper meaning of dealing with the world as though we have no dealings with it (cf. 1 Cor.7:31). This is what Jesus means when he says that we are in the world but that we do not belong to it. Being consecrated in truth keeps us safe from the lies the world tries to tell. Being consecrated in truth keeps us united to Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life.
Our lives in this world, consecrated in truth, are an invitation to those who are both in the world and of the world to look beyond and to recognize and higher truth.
You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God,
chant praise to the Lord
who rides on the heights of the ancient heavens.
Behold, his voice resounds, the voice of power:
“Confess the power of God!”
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
3 June 2014 - success and failure
3 June 2014 - success and failure
Now this is eternal life,
that they should know you, the only true God,
and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
This is the goal every Christian should have. Eternal life is what ultimately matters. The world imagines success as money, power, and pleasure. It imagines a life of comfort apart from pain. But such things cannot last. If we live for these things we set ourselves up to fail. A successful life is one which leads day by day to eternal life. To that end we need to grow in knowledge of the one true God and Jesus Christ because this knowledge is eternal life.
Jesus wants to share the revelation of this knowledge with us. He wants to share the words of the Father with us so that we can know that they are one and keep their word. The Father gives us to Jesus (if we let him), just as he gives his words to Jesus. Jesus in turn offers us with himself to the Father, most especially when he commends his Spirit into his hands. We become very much like the words which the Father gives to Jesus and, by which, Jesus glorifies the Father in turn. Something supernatural about these words can draw us up into the life of the Trinity and teach us that Jesus is indeed sent by the Father.
The life and words of Jesus show us that our worldly definitions of success are not true, if not diabolical lies. Suffering, pain, and death do not mean failure. Pleasure, power, and wealth do not mean success. Jesus is the definition of a successful life because he offers it to the Father. The ridicule, the shame, the torture, the rejection, the suffering, and ultimately death do not make it less successful but more so. The silver pieces Judas receives do not make his ultimate end more successful but less so. "It would be better for that man if he had never been born” (cf. Mar. 14:21). This is the only true failure.
If someone asks us who is the most successful person we know our answer should be Jesus. If they ask about the second and third we should start listing the martyrs. But what about us? Which definition of success do we buy into? Even if we theoretically know that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the light, do our lives say something different?
Even Paul doesn't want the tears and the trials, the imprisonment and the hardships, but that doesn't stop him from pursuing kingdom success rather than his own. Even though he feels all of that suffering he prioritizes it differently. He says, "I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course." He means that he is going to pursue true success even if it costs him everything that the world regards as success. How does he do it?
But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem.
He does it because the Holy Spirit empowers him to do it. On his own Paul pursues worldly success as much as anyone. He attains a fair amount of it by the standards of his own time.
I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today (cf. Act. 22:3).
There is more.
If anyone else thinks he can be confident in flesh, all the more can I. Circumcised on the eighth day, of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrew parentage, in observance of the law a Pharisee, in zeal I persecuted the church, in righteousness based on the law I was blameless (cf. Phi. 3:4-5).
It is the Holy Spirit that allows him to consider worldly success as rubbish.
More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ (cf. Phi. 3:8).
This is success. In it we Saint Charles Lwanga and his companions share. In it we too are called to share. Even if we aren't called to die for the kingdom we all must live for it. And in these times we ought not to be unprepared to die if we are called.
The Spirit empowers this in us because the LORD "controls the passageways of death". No threat the world can make is of concern to us any longer. There is nothing to hold us back.
Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
Now this is eternal life,
that they should know you, the only true God,
and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
This is the goal every Christian should have. Eternal life is what ultimately matters. The world imagines success as money, power, and pleasure. It imagines a life of comfort apart from pain. But such things cannot last. If we live for these things we set ourselves up to fail. A successful life is one which leads day by day to eternal life. To that end we need to grow in knowledge of the one true God and Jesus Christ because this knowledge is eternal life.
Jesus wants to share the revelation of this knowledge with us. He wants to share the words of the Father with us so that we can know that they are one and keep their word. The Father gives us to Jesus (if we let him), just as he gives his words to Jesus. Jesus in turn offers us with himself to the Father, most especially when he commends his Spirit into his hands. We become very much like the words which the Father gives to Jesus and, by which, Jesus glorifies the Father in turn. Something supernatural about these words can draw us up into the life of the Trinity and teach us that Jesus is indeed sent by the Father.
The life and words of Jesus show us that our worldly definitions of success are not true, if not diabolical lies. Suffering, pain, and death do not mean failure. Pleasure, power, and wealth do not mean success. Jesus is the definition of a successful life because he offers it to the Father. The ridicule, the shame, the torture, the rejection, the suffering, and ultimately death do not make it less successful but more so. The silver pieces Judas receives do not make his ultimate end more successful but less so. "It would be better for that man if he had never been born” (cf. Mar. 14:21). This is the only true failure.
If someone asks us who is the most successful person we know our answer should be Jesus. If they ask about the second and third we should start listing the martyrs. But what about us? Which definition of success do we buy into? Even if we theoretically know that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the light, do our lives say something different?
Even Paul doesn't want the tears and the trials, the imprisonment and the hardships, but that doesn't stop him from pursuing kingdom success rather than his own. Even though he feels all of that suffering he prioritizes it differently. He says, "I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course." He means that he is going to pursue true success even if it costs him everything that the world regards as success. How does he do it?
But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem.
He does it because the Holy Spirit empowers him to do it. On his own Paul pursues worldly success as much as anyone. He attains a fair amount of it by the standards of his own time.
I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today (cf. Act. 22:3).
There is more.
If anyone else thinks he can be confident in flesh, all the more can I. Circumcised on the eighth day, of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrew parentage, in observance of the law a Pharisee, in zeal I persecuted the church, in righteousness based on the law I was blameless (cf. Phi. 3:4-5).
It is the Holy Spirit that allows him to consider worldly success as rubbish.
More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ (cf. Phi. 3:8).
This is success. In it we Saint Charles Lwanga and his companions share. In it we too are called to share. Even if we aren't called to die for the kingdom we all must live for it. And in these times we ought not to be unprepared to die if we are called.
The Spirit empowers this in us because the LORD "controls the passageways of death". No threat the world can make is of concern to us any longer. There is nothing to hold us back.
Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
Monday, June 2, 2014
2 June 2014 - victory over the world
2 June 2014 - victory over the world
Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived
when each of you will be scattered to his own home
and you will leave me alone.
But I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
I have told you this so that you might have peace in me.
Jesus is telling us something so that we might have peace in him. Do we know what it is? Or are we on Scripture auto-pilot? Jesus speaks about his peace now and then so we take it for granted. But he is saying something specific here so that we may have peace in him.
At first glance it seems that he is saying that even though we are going to betray him we can eventually let it go because he is still perfectly united with the Father. And, yes, he is preparing us for the eventuality of our sinful treachery. He is showing us that the Father sends him to save us while we are still his enemies. But he is doing more than that. He is showing us the strategy we will need to survive trouble and hardship in the world.
In the world you will have trouble,
but take courage, I have conquered the world.”
Jesus is able to rely on his unity with the Father to carry him through any trouble. He is able to rely on him on even amidst the anguish of the cross. At the very moment when the world thinks it is conquering him Jesus reveals that the very opposite is true. He commends his Spirit into the hands of his Father. His perfect obedience to the Father's will in spite of the world insisting that he turn aside at every opportunity manifests his victory over the world. That is why John tells us that the victory which overcomes the world is our faith (cf. 1 Joh. 5:4).
We can share in his victory by sharing in his proximity to the Father. The way we share this proximity is by the Holy Spirit. Because this is so we need to stop living like the disciples in Ephesus.
“We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
They need sacramental baptism and confirmation. But most of us have already received these. We have the power from on high which Jesus promises. We therefore have the a profound proximity to the Father such that we can sometimes even speak his very words, just as these disciples experience:
the Holy Spirit came upon them,
and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
The point is that if we want victory over the world, if we want to be close to the Father, we can't neglect the Holy Spirit. He is the source of the dynamic power that we need. Without him we are going to resemble the rest of the world more than we resemble Jesus. And the rest of the world, with misguided intention, is heading toward defeat, failure, and death. Let's get off that path. Let's embrace his gift of the Spirit so that we can rejoice in his victory.
God arises; his enemies are scattered,
and those who hate him flee before him.
As smoke is driven away, so are they driven;
as wax melts before the fire.
Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived
when each of you will be scattered to his own home
and you will leave me alone.
But I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
I have told you this so that you might have peace in me.
Jesus is telling us something so that we might have peace in him. Do we know what it is? Or are we on Scripture auto-pilot? Jesus speaks about his peace now and then so we take it for granted. But he is saying something specific here so that we may have peace in him.
At first glance it seems that he is saying that even though we are going to betray him we can eventually let it go because he is still perfectly united with the Father. And, yes, he is preparing us for the eventuality of our sinful treachery. He is showing us that the Father sends him to save us while we are still his enemies. But he is doing more than that. He is showing us the strategy we will need to survive trouble and hardship in the world.
In the world you will have trouble,
but take courage, I have conquered the world.”
Jesus is able to rely on his unity with the Father to carry him through any trouble. He is able to rely on him on even amidst the anguish of the cross. At the very moment when the world thinks it is conquering him Jesus reveals that the very opposite is true. He commends his Spirit into the hands of his Father. His perfect obedience to the Father's will in spite of the world insisting that he turn aside at every opportunity manifests his victory over the world. That is why John tells us that the victory which overcomes the world is our faith (cf. 1 Joh. 5:4).
We can share in his victory by sharing in his proximity to the Father. The way we share this proximity is by the Holy Spirit. Because this is so we need to stop living like the disciples in Ephesus.
“We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
They need sacramental baptism and confirmation. But most of us have already received these. We have the power from on high which Jesus promises. We therefore have the a profound proximity to the Father such that we can sometimes even speak his very words, just as these disciples experience:
the Holy Spirit came upon them,
and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
The point is that if we want victory over the world, if we want to be close to the Father, we can't neglect the Holy Spirit. He is the source of the dynamic power that we need. Without him we are going to resemble the rest of the world more than we resemble Jesus. And the rest of the world, with misguided intention, is heading toward defeat, failure, and death. Let's get off that path. Let's embrace his gift of the Spirit so that we can rejoice in his victory.
God arises; his enemies are scattered,
and those who hate him flee before him.
As smoke is driven away, so are they driven;
as wax melts before the fire.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
1 June 2014 - mission
1 June 2014 - mission
The eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Isn't this us as well? We see the risen LORD. We worship him. But we can't shake these nagging doubts. We see our hopes fulfilled and yet begin to question whether our hopes were enough. This world that surrounds us still appears much as it did before Jesus rose. If we just look around us we might despair. We share the sentiments of the apostles who ask, "Lord are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" We have seen death defeated in you, they imply, can the world stay the same? It looks the same still. Did we misunderstand?
“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
We did not misunderstand. Jesus has indeed been filled with power. The prophecy is now fulfilled where the "One like a son of man" is presented before the ancient of days.
He received dominion, splendor, and kingship;
all nations, peoples and tongues will serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not pass away,
his kingship, one that shall not be destroyed (cf. Dan. 7:13-14).
He is leaving, but he "mounts his throne to shouts of joy". Filled with resurrection power he takes his seat to reign over all of creation. The Father is "seating him at his right hand in the heavens, far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come."
But the question remains. Why does the world look the same? It is because the world is now entering into the age of the Church. No one saw this coming. The Jews expected the messiah to wrap things up the first time through. They didn't know that the LORD would want to use them to spread his victory to the world. But it Jesus wants it to be not just through him but also through his people that all the nations of the earth be blessed. Just as our first parents were called to be fruitful and multiple, so now his Church is called to birth children for him, brothers and sisters of Jesus.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
And so the age of the Church must also be the age of the Spirit. Through the Spirit the resurrected life and victory of Jesus reigning in heaven is made available to us here and now and even "until the end of the age."
While meeting with the them,
he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem,
but to wait for “the promise of the Father
about which you have heard me speak;
for John baptized with water,
but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
So let's not stand here "looking at the sky." Jesus is coming back. But before that, we have work to do. We need to proclaim him to the whole world.
For king of all the earth is God;
sing hymns of praise.
God reigns over the nations,
God sits upon his holy throne.
The eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Isn't this us as well? We see the risen LORD. We worship him. But we can't shake these nagging doubts. We see our hopes fulfilled and yet begin to question whether our hopes were enough. This world that surrounds us still appears much as it did before Jesus rose. If we just look around us we might despair. We share the sentiments of the apostles who ask, "Lord are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" We have seen death defeated in you, they imply, can the world stay the same? It looks the same still. Did we misunderstand?
“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
We did not misunderstand. Jesus has indeed been filled with power. The prophecy is now fulfilled where the "One like a son of man" is presented before the ancient of days.
He received dominion, splendor, and kingship;
all nations, peoples and tongues will serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not pass away,
his kingship, one that shall not be destroyed (cf. Dan. 7:13-14).
He is leaving, but he "mounts his throne to shouts of joy". Filled with resurrection power he takes his seat to reign over all of creation. The Father is "seating him at his right hand in the heavens, far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come."
But the question remains. Why does the world look the same? It is because the world is now entering into the age of the Church. No one saw this coming. The Jews expected the messiah to wrap things up the first time through. They didn't know that the LORD would want to use them to spread his victory to the world. But it Jesus wants it to be not just through him but also through his people that all the nations of the earth be blessed. Just as our first parents were called to be fruitful and multiple, so now his Church is called to birth children for him, brothers and sisters of Jesus.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
And so the age of the Church must also be the age of the Spirit. Through the Spirit the resurrected life and victory of Jesus reigning in heaven is made available to us here and now and even "until the end of the age."
While meeting with the them,
he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem,
but to wait for “the promise of the Father
about which you have heard me speak;
for John baptized with water,
but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
So let's not stand here "looking at the sky." Jesus is coming back. But before that, we have work to do. We need to proclaim him to the whole world.
For king of all the earth is God;
sing hymns of praise.
God reigns over the nations,
God sits upon his holy throne.
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