What is this?

 "What is this?" That was the immediate response of the good people of Capernaum when they caught just a small glimpse of Jesus' glorious nature as God and man. (See this Sunday's gospel reading)   "A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” It seems as though they were not sure what to make of what they were witnessing. Perhaps they were open to accept what they saw and heard, perhaps they were a little afraid of what it all can mean or perhaps after the moment passed some of them didn't give much more thought to it and went back to their everyday tasks. Whatever they thought, we know that His fame spread everywhere throughout the region of Galilee. We know in some places such as Nazareth, they became indignant and chased Him out of town. Elsewhere in scripture it is clear that the Scribes and the Pharisees saw Jesus as a threat that must be eliminated to "protect" Israel. 

But I think it all starts with a "what is this?" moment. I think quite often in our lives, God reveals Himself in a moment that inspires awe, so that we say those words to ourselves; "what is this?"  It has been said that there are no coincidences; and so the term "God-incident" was coined. Maybe you were thinking of an old friend and then suddenly you "bumped" into them. Maybe you were dwelling on a troublesome issue in your life and the reading at mass or perhaps the Priest's homily addressed that topic in a way that causes you to pause a moment in wonder.

Have you ever had a moment when you said to yourself "what is this?"  How did you respond?

+Theo

Gone Fishin'

 

I am humbled by the fact that the first Gospel reading I am called to reflect on for this blog includes the words of Jesus; the words of which this blog is named.  As he calls the fishermen, he says, “I will make you fishers of men.”  It seems that it was so easy for these men to drop their nets and abandon their livelihoods and follow him.  Maybe it was as simple as the fish were not just biting!  Perhaps they said, ‘Well, this isn’t working, let’s give following this guy a shot!’

I have very little experience with fishing.  I tried it only a coup of times – for recreational purposes only.  I have to say I never really liked it.  I think what always frustrated me about fishing was its unpredictability.  It seemed, at least in my amateur view, that no matter how prepared you are, no matter what equipment you have, it is always dependent on whether or not the fish are biting.  Now, it is easy for me to say fishing frustrated me, because I only did it for fun, but these guys that would become disciples fished to make a living.  It was vital that they come to a way to be successful, but at the end of the day, it all depended on whether the fish were biting.

I wonder as they abandoned their work to accept Jesus’ invitation to become a fisher of men, if they thought that going with him might be easier than what they were doing.  Perhaps they were facing a period of downturn in the fishing business.  Maybe the fish were just not biting.  So maybe they were ready to try something new.  Did they just throw their nets down and say, ‘I’ve had enough’?

Or maybe everything was going great.  Maybe the fishing was a big success.  Maybe the fish were biting.  Maybe they were just excellent fishermen that always brought in a huge haul of fish and Jesus said, ‘I’ve got to have them on my team!’

The reality is we do not know why they followed him, or for that matter, why they were even called at all.  One thing for sure is they were called, and they went.  Each of us are called as well.  Those who are Baptized Christians can point to our Baptisms as the origin of our being called.  But all of us are called because we are loved by our creator.  The challenge each day is to respond to the call.

Just like fishing for fish, fishing for men can be very challenging.  There are many times when the fish will be biting and everything we do for the sake of the Lord will seem easy and effortless.  Other times the fish may not be biting, and we can feel desolation.  There will be times when we find ourselves in waters full of fish.  Other times we will be in seemingly empty waters. 

I wonder about those fishermen.  When they returned each late afternoon after a day fishing on the water, they were probably asked how it went.  Of course, how their day went would be judged on how many fish were in the net.  Good days would mean the nets were full.  Not so good days were days with empty nets.  The reality is that on both good days and bad days, the fishermen still spent the day fishing.  They spent the day doing what they were called to do.

And so, as fishers of men and women, we will have good days and bad days.  But we will not be judged on how full our nets are.  We will simply be judged on whether or not we answered the Lord’s call, on whether or not we went fishing.

- Your Servant

 

 

 

THE THREE DIMENSIONS OF JESUS' LIFE

The great civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday we commemorate on Monday, was, first and foremost a minister and a preacher.  One of his most notable sermons was delivered at the New Covenant Baptist Church in Chicago on April 9, 1967 and was entitled "The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life."  His sermon was based upon the Book of Revelations, Book 21, which speaks, in part, of the holy city, Jerusalem. "...coming down from God out of heaven."  Revelations describes the city as follows: "The length and breadth and height of it are equal."  Dr. King concludes from this that the city was balanced, and, therefore, complete.  Dr. King then draws the analogy to our own lives, holding that our lives are not complete or balanced unless our length, our breadth and our height are equal.  Our length, he says, is our inward concern for our own welfare; our ability to fully develop our God-given gifts and talents and abilities.  Our breadth is our outward concern, he says, for the welfare of others.  And our height is the upward reach for God. When these three dimensions of our lives are equal, we are then complete.

Coincidentally, the gospel for the Sunday immediately before Dr. King's holiday shows us these three dimensions in Jesus' life.  In the mere eight lines of this brief gospel we hear Jesus referred to by three different titles:  Rabbi/Teacher, Lamb of God, and the Messiah.  His length, his breath, and his height.   LENGTH:  Rabbi/Teacher.  That is what he was called to do in his earthly life; this is how he took care of his own well being and how he used the gifts and talents the God instilled in him.  BREADTH:  Lamb of God.  That shows Jesus' concerns for others by giving of himself, making sacrifices, even unto death.  For us.  HEIGHT:  The Messiah.  Jesus came from God, giving glory to God, and brings us into relationship with God, making Him Our Father.

Our lives can easily become unbalanced if any one of these dimensions becomes greater or lesser than the others.  This is most easily understood with the dimension of length.  If we focus too much on ourselves, we can too easily become less concerned for the welfare of others and less concerned with our relationship with God.  Breadth?  Yes, that too.  Perhaps we try too hard to always be there for others, to do more for others., to be everything for everybody. That might seem like a good thing, but it may not always be so.  It can lead to burnout - which throws our length (our concern for our own well being) out of whack.  Perhaps we seek to do (or overdo) for others out of a sense of piety or guilt.  If we do so because we feel we have to then, again, we are thrown off balance.  Remember what St. Paul told us.  We can do great things - even move mountains - but if it is done out of a sense of obligation, not love, then it is empty.  Height?  It is difficult to think that we can concentrate too much on our relationship with God.  There can never be enough effort expended in that regard, right?  Well, I think of the song "If I Were a Rich Man" from the Broadway musical, "Fiddler on The Roof," where Tevye fantasizes about being so rich he can spend all his day in the synagogue praying and reading and learning.  Sounds nice.  But if we focus so much on our relationship with God that we neglect the needs of those around us (and our own needs) then what kind of faith is that?  As our Holy Father Pope Francis so eloquently says, "You pray for the hungry.  Then you feed them.  This is how prayer works."  

Now all this may sound like it's just a simple intellectual exercise, but each one of us knows the truth of this from experience.  How often do we say that we just don't feel right?  That something is off; something is wrong.  That is a sign that one of our dimensions may be unbalanced.  Have you ever been dealing with a very difficult and trying situation, yet experienced a sense of peace and joy - a completeness?  Now that  is a sign of balance.  But when we are experiencing a sense of unrest, maybe too much anger,  too much confusion, or if we seem lost, out of place., then maybe that's a sign that one of our dimensions has become unequal to the others.  But if we surrender ourselves to Jesus, he will restore that balance, in accordance with our needs. If we are confused, the Teacher may restore us through His teachings.  If we feel unloved, the Lamb of God may restore us through His sacrificial and loving sacrifice.  If we feel alone or abandoned, The Messiah might strengthen our relationship with God and God's family.  Let each one of us pay attention to what is going on inside, give ourselves over to the Lord, and regain the balance in our lives that the Lord wants so much for us.

"Call Me Ishmael"

 

Get a little closer.

 This weeks gospel Mark 1:7-11 John the Baptist is performing Baptism when he announces that Jesus is coming.  He says “'After me is coming someone who is more powerful than me” Soon after that, Jesus was baptized by John and as Jesus came out of the water a voice from heaven   says “'You are my Son, the Beloved; my favor rests on you.” Today I want you to think about what it means to have God’s favor rest on you. What does God’s favor mean to you? Does it mean always getting what you want? Does God’s favor mean that you don’t have hard times in life? I’d like to consider that God’s favor means nothing more than a close relationship that only you can have with God.  A direct link to your God that only you can understand.  I say this because in my opinion there is no greater gift  or favor that God can offer than a personal relationship with the him. Nothing on this earth can compare to what you get when you’re in relationship with the lord. A relationship that isn’t just about praying for things.  I’m talking about a relationship that involves learning and understanding  that God has a plan for your life and it is up to him how it unfolds. The beauty of this kind of favor is that God simply gives it to you.  You don’t need to to be perfect, or the worlds best Christian. You  just need to accept Christ in your life. 

I know of this young man that always seems to land on his feet.  Early last year before the pandemic kicked in,  he was let go from his job.   He had recently purchased a home. He had a wife and a young child to support and his job seemed secure. Well, all of that changed in instant.  All of his friends and family were in shock to hear that he was let go but   and they all offered to help him out if he needed. He refused to get help from anyone. This young  man was so confident that God wasn’t going to give him more than he was able to handle.  He never complained about losing his job. Not once did I hear him say that he was worried about his finances.  He had something special that kept him in good spirits. He had relationship with the lord. Most to this young mans life is devoted to having God at the center of his life.  He speaks to his friends, family and co workers about all of the wonderful things that the lord has done for him all the time.   He always speaks of the relationship that he has with the lord. Recently, I found out that is young man is doing better than ever. A little while ago a company called him in for  an interview shortly after  they hired him. He is now in a job that he wanted before he was let go from his previous job.  I won’t say that God magically got this young man his job.  What I will say is that when most people would have panicked  he maintained his relationship with the lord.  He never once doubted  (at least to me) that the lord was going to be there for him. 

I truly don’t believe that you can live a fulfilled Christian life if you don’t make time to get close to God.  A relationship with the lord brings you through life challenges with the right perspective. You  get to see that Gods’s work isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always exactly what you want but it is what you need. In the Gospel God reminded Jesus that Gods favor rested on him.  Some people say that God was  really speaking to Jesus’s onlookers. Maybe that was the case.  Maybe God does  displays what his  favor looks like to other people so they  can want the same for themselves. I can tell you that after seeing how this young man maintained faith in a dark time. I’d like to get a little closer to the lord myself.  How about you? How much better can your relationship with the lord get?