"Jesus spit on the ground ... "

Back in August, I shared how my eleven year-old son helped me get back into the practice of reading Scripture each night before I went to bed.  A couple of thoughts occurred to me last night as I read an acount of one of Jesus' miracles in the Gospel of John:  

[Jesus said,] "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." Having said this, Jesus spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man [who was blind from birth]'s eyes. "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing." (Jn.9:5-7)

 It is an amazing miracle - but what's with the saliva, right? Last night my mind traveled back to the Bible's earliest chapters:  "the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being" (Gen.2:7).  When Jesus healed the man born blind, it was as if He was perfecting what had been askew in the in utero development of this man's ability to see.  In this simple action of combining His saliva - the saliva of the God-Man - with the dust of the ground, the Lord was recalling the Creation Story.  And then He took it to the next level.

By sending the man to wash in the Pool of Siloam, Jesus gave us a sign of Baptism that raises us above natural life, to supernatural!  The waters of Baptism restore us to the dignity of Children of God - the gift given to, but lost, by our first parents.  They impart the supernatural life of the God-Man to our own souls and begin the process that will ultimately lead to the healing of all of our bodily ills as well, in the Resurrection!  Jesus' saliva mixed with the dust, the waters of Siloam - it all speaks of how God uses the things of this world to impart not just natural, but supernatural life!  It's the sacramental principle.

Participating in the Obedience of Jesus

Awhile back, one of my closest friends started reading Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light. My friend, who is Lutheran, soon asked me if I could explain something to her: it seemed very strange that Mother Teresa, who God was clearly speaking to and giving a mission, would have to go and receive permission to undertake the work from her religious superiors. At first her superiors made her delay. Why would Teresa submit to that, when she knew God was speaking to her?

What a fantastic question! Looking back, my response was alright. I talked about how it was a mark of humility, and a safeguard against being deceived, to submit inspirations and private revelations to those God has allowed to assume roles of authority within a religious body. I also shared how, in private revelations to nuns and religious brothers, Jesus often instructs the recipients that they must always submit themselves to their religious superiors, even when it means delaying His requested action. These nuns and brothers took a vow of obedience when they entered their respective orders, and the Lord insists that it be adhered to. But what I failed to point out, the very heart of the matter, was what St. Anthony of Padua saw in the Gospel read a few weeks back on the Feast of the Holy Family. (My thanks to the Daily Gospel apostolate for emailing such quality commentary every day of the year.)

Jesus was twelve years old and stayed behind in Jerusalem following a family trip there, without notifying his parents. After three days of frantic searching Mary and Joseph finally found Him in the Temple:
"Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously." And he said to them, "How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" And they did not understand the saying which he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:48-52)

St. Anthony's commentary here is just gorgeous:

“He was subject to them.” With these words let all pride dissolve, all rigidness crumble, all disobedience submit. “He was subject to them.” Who? In brief, he who created all things from nothing; he who, as Isaiah says, “has cupped in his hand the waters of the sea and marked off the heavens with a span; who has held in a measure the dust of the earth, weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance” (40,12)...This is he who, great and powerful though he be, was subject. And subject to whom? To a workman and a poor young maid ... So no longer hesitate to obey or be submissive ...
There are people of wisdom within religious orders but it is by means of simple men that God brought them there. God chose the foolish and weak, the lowly and ignorant to bring together those who were wise, powerful and of noble birth through them, "so that no human being might boast in itself" (cf. 1 Cor. 1,26-29) but in him who came down, who came to Nazareth, and who was subject.

Our obedience is a participation in the very obedience of Jesus! The Father's Revelation in Person, made His plans subject to "a workman and a poor young maid." So whenever one of us submits ourselves to the decisions of our bishop or the disciplines (traditions) of the Church as opposed to our own personal "inspirations," it is Jesus' obedience that we are tapping into; and that is life's very goal! We've heard time and again that the Church is the Family of God. In truth, it is the Family of Nazareth thrown open to the entire world. And those God places in leadership may not be the smartest, or the most "charismatic," or the most plugged-in as to what He wants to accomplish in the moment; but they are to be obeyed, because doing so places us firmly in the One Who obeyed "a workman and a poor young maid." May the Lord grant us a holy and profitable Feast of the Holy Family!

Do You Have to Read the Bible to Get to Heaven?

Photo by David Ball

A good friend that I am blessed to share conversations with on many a morning raised an interesting question in connection with yesterday's post, where I challenged readers to put themselves into deeper contact with Jesus by, among other suggestions, reading the four gospels.  My friend had recently heard someone pose the question on talk radio whether it would be better to a) live a virtuous life but never read the gospels, or b) to have read the gospels but go through life acting like a jerk.  

The priest to whom this question was put responded that for Catholics reading Scripture and being virtuous  are not meant to be mutually exclusive.  He continued by saying that Christians were not simply called to be good, but to be godly; and that to be godly you needed to know the God you were called to imitate ... and He speaks to us and we read of how he lived as a man in the pages of Scripture.  Now, let me flesh that out a bit more, because he makes a point that is important but too little understood among Catholics - that we are not called to be good, but supernaturally good.  After that I'd like to bullet some thoughts as to why it is so important for Catholics to read and study Scripture.

The general cultural impression - and due to poor instruction over the past 40 years,  too many Catholics and other Christians share it - is that the way a person enters heaven is for God to simply place the good and bad he or she has done on the scale; and if the good outweighs the bad, then they stroll through the pearly gates.  Common idea, but absolutely not the belief of Christianity.

Heaven means sharing God's own divine life.  That is something completely above human nature, something to which we creatures have no right.  On the natural level, it is impossible to earn, no matter how virtuous our actions might be.  God's life is simply on a completely different plane of being.  He can only stoop down to offer it to us and, if accepted, draw us up into it.  That is what the priest was trying to point on when he said that we were not just called to be good, but godly.

This comes to the heart of the Gospel message. Our first parents were given the gift of divine life in their souls at their creation.  At some point however, they rejected it.  Instead of wanting to live as God's children, learning right and wrong from a heavenly Father, they wanted to determine right and wrong for themselves.  They reverted to the life of creatures - and broken creatures at that.  God the Son entered the human race for the purpose of regenerating it from within.  He lived as a human child of God, filled with the divine life, from cradle to grave.  He is the breakthrough.  And if we will accept His invitation (of Baptism) He fuses us to Himself and raises us up into His own life and relationship with the Father.

The good actions that we perform after that point have a supernatural value because they are the actions of children of God - performed through the power of the only Son.  But we have to cooperate with Jesus' desire to reproduce His life and actions in us.  Heaven is the name we give to the family life that God and His children will share for eternity.   Again, apart from Him we are merely God's creatures; but united to Jesus we become children.    

I know, now you're asking yourself, "But what about all of the people in the world who are not Christians?  Is there no hope for them?"  Yes, there is.  (But if you want the details you're going to need to click here and check out paragraphs 839-848.  I want people falling in love with not just Scripture, but the Catechism!)

Now, if we Christians are supposed to be living the life of Jesus, a divine life, it stands to reason that we want to be as closely united to Him (present and acting in the Sacraments) and to His mind (manifested to us in the pages of Scripture and the Tradition and teachings of the Church) as absolutely possible.  God became a human being to speak to us and show us what are lives are meant to be.  It is a Divine Revelation!  You wish God would speak to you?  Open the Bible!  Why expect Him to manifest Himself with a booming voice if you won't pay any attention to the 73 whole books He's already written to you?!

Why start reading the Bible?

• It is "inspired." In Greek, the term literally means "God-breathed."   God Himself produced this work, through the human authors.

• He took over a millenia crafting it, for the purpose of speaking to you today. 

• You are able to study the words and actions of Jesus, Whose life you are supposed to be living.

• You might discover that the image of God you hold in your mind is just that, your image of God - it does not match the Reality.

• We discover God's vision of what is right and wrong.  And that's important, because serious sin can drain His divine life from our souls.  "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death" (Prov.14:12).  Translation - "Be in the know."

• The Church never grows tired of quoting St. Jerome (from back in the 400's), "Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ," or as I like to paraphrase him, "To whatever degree we do not know Scripture, it is to that same degree that we do not know Christ."

• We - literate people, with Bibles in our homes - are the envy of almost every century of Christians to have come before us.

Can a person enter Heaven without having ever physically read one of the gospels?  Yes.  But do you have any excuse for not reading the Bible?  An excuse that will hold up with God? "Everyone to whom much is given, of him will much be required" (Lk.12:48).
 

Sandals at Christmas-time

As stylish as those sandals are, if you receive them a s a Christmas gift, then you will have to wait a few months to start showing them off.  It's just too cold outside.  So why do I bring them up?  Because they captured my attention in this morning's Gospel reading.  John the Baptist, when asked if he was the expected Messiah, responded, "I baptize you with water; but He Who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of Whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Lk.3:16).

Listen to the way John speaks of Jesus, the esteem in which He holds the Lord.  It's so different from the stance many of us take toward God - the "me and my main man, Jesus" mentality.  But John is 100%, absolutely, completely and totally right!  It's the only stance we can assume before Jesus, Who is "the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation; for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible ... He is before all things and in Him all things hold together ... For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell"! (Col.1:15-19)  When the Baptist later encountered Jesus, Who was seeking baptism, we are told how "John would have prevented Him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by You!'" (Mt.3:14).

But the gospels give us another scene involving sandals and baptism.  It comes during the Last Supper when Jesus took it upon Himself to remove the sandals from the Apostles' feet and begin to wash them.  Peter didn't want to see Jesus performing the job of a servant, saying "You shall never wash my feet;" and Jesus answered, "If I do not wash you, you have no part in me."  After that all Peter could say was "Lord, then not my feet only but also my hands and head!" (Jn.13:8-11).  It's a beautiful allusion to the Sacrament of Baptism where Jesus not only washes away all of our sins, but brings us into His own relationship with the Father!  (See 2 Pet. 2:14, Jn.1:13).  In the Eucharist He feeds us His own Flesh and Blood, and in Confirmation makes us participate in His anointing with the gifts of the Spirit (Is.11:2-3)! He becomes our divine Lover, the Groom of our souls (Eph.5:25-26, 32).

This isn't meant to make us so "familiar" with Jesus that ever cease kneeling in awe before Him, and praying, "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me, a sinner!"  Our nearness to Him increases our awe!
Who are we that God would love us enough to take on all the misery of the human condition? To put on sandals and trod the dusty roads of Palestine?  Who am I that the Creator of the Universe, Who stands above space and time, would want to dwell in my soul?  Who am I that He would die upon a Cross to save?  I am no one ... and yet I have been made a son in the Son.  In the mind of God I am one - and you are one - worth dying for.  Oh the Love and Mercy of God!  Listen to St. Paul, "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Phil.2:12-13).

My Advent prayer this morning?  It comes from the Mass, "Come and save us O Savior of the world."

Ah, the Possibilities!

I was speaking to a group of people studying to enter the Catholic Church this past Sunday. I had been asked to speak about the Incarnation, God the Son becoming human. I love focusing upon the Lord's humanity. He's not a Hercules (a half god, half man), but a Person who is simultaneously 100% God, and 100% man. The two aren't melded together. His divinity doesn't swallow up His humanity, or allow Him to take any shortcuts. He grew and passed through all of the same stages as you and I. The ONLY, and I mean single, solitary difference between Him and every other one of us, is that His soul didn't know the brokeness of sin. John Paul II was fond of saying that Jesus shows us what it means to be human.

Consider what that means: His heart, soul, mind, and will were only human - filled with the Holy Spirit, but human - like yours and mine. So when we see Jesus loving and expending Himself in the Gospels, those are human actions that we are witnessing! Oh, they are elevated by Grace and enflamed by the Holy Spirit to be sure, and there's no deformity or tainting from sin - but they're performed in His human nature.

Salvation is to be caught up into the HUMANITY of Jesus Christ - for our brokeness to find healing in His wholeness. The Holy Spirit is meant to flow through our souls, breaking forth in actions and words, just as they did in Jesus. In Jesus, through Baptism and the other Sacraments, our human souls "partake in the divine nature."

I was struck this past weekend by the beauty of devotion to Jesus' Sacred Heart. It is His human heart that we are reverencing. His human heart - the perfect conduit of the fiery, Divine Love. And we are called to share in, to participate in, His Sacred Heart! This is what we see in the saints - Maximilian Kolbe giving his life in exchange for another prisoner's, Mother Teresa working away in the slums of Calcutta, and Gianna Molla's love for her patients and children. Those words Jesus spoke at the Last Supper are just waiting to be lived out, "Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father" (John 14:12).