Happy Christian Secrets

To act humbly means to be modest, respectful and to be deferential and submissive. It also means to make lower in condition or status.

This weekend’s theme is humility.  The first reading from Sirach ( 3:17-18, 20, 28-29) which was written 200 years before Christ, calls us to humility with a couple of proverbs:

• My child, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts.
• Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favor with God.

If you’re asking yourself, “why should I show humility?”, Jesus answers that question beautifully for us in Luke’s Gospel (14:1, 7-14).  In this scripture, Jesus is at the home of  one of the leading Pharisees and he’s watching people jockey for position at the dinner table. We’ve all seen this happen at recitals,  buffets, boarding an airplane, at weddings, funerals and parades.  We tend to push, shove and elbow so that we can have the best view, seat or food – even if it’s at the expense of our neighbors or other guests.

After observing the very common behavior, Jesus told the familiar parable where he says that whenever you’re invited by someone to attend a wedding banquet (or any other affair), don’t seat yourself in a position of honor.  Instead of trying to obtain the “best” seat Jesus instructs us to, “go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’”

It’s better to be brought from coach to first class than to be humiliated by being asked to move to the back of the plane!

“For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

When we deliberately humble ourselves by taking a seat in “the lowest place”, we’re able to meet new people and understand life from the perspective of a different group of people. It’s an invitation to accept the beautiful gift of being able to learn from every human that we come in contact with. Truly, we have something to learn from every person we’re fortunate enough to meet.

After Jesus had addressed the guests, he turned his attention to the host and gave him some unsolicited advice. He tells us that when we have a party, be sure to invite people who very likely will never be able to reciprocate – the lonely, the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind.

God gives to each of us who have nothing to give in return. We’re asked to do the same thing every day of our lives.  You and I are the hosts and hostesses who are inviting all people to God’s banquet. Not just those with the same incomes, skin color and faith.

We know that when we do this, “we will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Life is simple: act in a Christ-like fashion by loving everyone.

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Death is the one thing that most people fear. Why did I say most people and not everyone? People whose faith is strong know that although the physical body will die, their souls will live forever. In one of today’s readings (1 Corinthians 15:54b-57), Paul is taunting death with unshakable confidence:

Death is swallowed up in victory.

Where, O death, is your victory?

                                                   Where, O death, is your sting?

I can hear Paul taunting death like a child singing on a playground, “Na, na, na, na, na, you CAN’T hurt me. Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha!”  Why is Paul so confident and fearless?

Paul lives with confidence in the knowledge that Jesus overcame sin, the poison that causes death.  “When that which is mortal clothes itself with immortality….”, DEATH NO LONGER HAS ANY POWER OVER US!  Mortal Christians clothe themselves in the Word of God and are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.  .Although our physical bodies are still capable of pain and will ultimately die, no one and no thing has power over our everlasting souls  That invisible piece of our being which we treasure most – our soul – is eternally linked with the Source of all life.

Jesus confirms this in the Gospel of Luke: “Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord.

Christians have long-term goals and our ultimate goal is to join Jesus in life everlasting. “But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”, we say with confidence in the belief that the death of our body will result in the resurrection of our immortal soul.

At that point our journey will be complete and successful. We will have arrived home and will stay there – forever! 

Clothe yourself with immortality and live a fearless, faith-filled life in Christ.

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This week’s themes are faith and preparedness.  Each of the 3 readings cause us to question and affirm our belief and faith in God and use that faith as the focal point of our life.

“Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested”, is a line from one of Paul’s Letters to the Hebrews (11:1-2, 8-19).  Paul goes on to talk about the tremendous faith shown by Abraham. Abraham believed that he and Sarah would have a child even though they were very old and Sarah was sterile. Abraham believed in God. He had faith in God’s word.

Abraham’s faith was so strong that he was willing to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, upon God’s request. Abraham knew that God was so powerful that he could bring Isaac back from the dead to fulfill God’s promise that, “Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.”  Thankfully, it was only a test of Abraham’s faith.  How is God testing your faith?

Is our faith that strong? Do I have faith or do I have FAITH?

In Luke’s gospel (Luke 12: 32-48) Jesus tells us to “not be afraid” and to have faith in what really matters. If we believe Jesus, we should be afraid of nothing. We know that He is the Shepherd who loves and takes care of each of his sheep.

Jesus goes on to say, “For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” That one line causes us to ponder, “who or what do I treasure?”

Clothing wears out. Cars get old and rusty. We get laid-off and fired from jobs. Real Estate values fluctuate.  High technology becomes obsolete within a few years. People frequently disappoint.  Jesus says, “Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.”  He’s clearly telling us who and what to treasure – God.  What is the ultimate long-term goal?  Heaven.  Our security lies in the goodness of God.  We can not find security anywhere else or in anyone else. The investment that we make in God can be stolen by no one and only appreciates in value!

Jesus is also reminding us this week to be prepared.  As humans, do we tend to be proactive or reactive?  When do we decide to exercise?  After the heart attack. When do we decide to repair a marriage? For too many of us, it’s when the other person leaves or threatens to do so. When do we decide to step-up our performance at work?  After we’ve been let-go. Too many of us tend to be reactive in almost every aspect of our life.

When are we going to make God a priority in our life?  When will we be 100% prepared to welcome our guest?

You know that excited feeling of preparedness when a child is returning from college or a loved family member or close friend is coming to visit?  We prepare their guest rooms.  We buy special foods. We spend lots of time cooking and cleaning. Why?  We’re looking forward to the return of someone we love.

Someone else that we know and love is coming to visit, but has chosen not to be real specific on the arrival date or time. Can you think of a better guest?  If that guest were coming tonight, what would you be doing today?  Are you prepared?

Jesus has told us that he’s coming back and he’s giving us notice that he’ll be in our neighborhood soon so, please prepare a room in your mind, heart and soul.

Many of us are waiting to become better people – better Christians. 

I’ll be more loving tomorrow.

I’ll begin serving others soon.

I’ll talk to, listen to and give God attention in the very near future.

I’ll begin treating people in a Christ-like manner starting next week.

Many of us are surprised and unprepared by the announcement of an organizational change that results in the elimination of our job, or the word from a doctor that our lifestyle has to change, or the notice from a spouse that the relationship is damaged. With Jesus there are no surprises. He’s told us that He’s  coming back and asked us to be prepared.   It’s hard for us to say, “I was unaware that you were coming!” 

Today is the day to love, to be patient, to pray, to serve.

Today is the day to be excited and  prepared to welcome the invited guest who is the focal point of our life.

Have faith, love each other and be ready for His return.  Life is simple.

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Each of this week’s readings is a reminder to each of us to focus on the the things that matter – Godly things. In Ecclesiastes (1:2, 2:21-23), Colossians (3:1-5, 9-11) and Luke’s Gospel (12:13-21), we’re reminded that everything to which we put our trust – other than God – is temporary and cannot provide us with the security we seek.

In Ecclesiastes, we’re shown what life is like if we don’t believe in life after death – eternal life with God.  Without the hope of everlasting life with God, we will frequently ask ourselves questions like, “Is this all there is?”, “Why am I working so hard to accumulate earthly possessions just to leave an inheritance to my unappreciative family?”, or “What’s the point in living a loving, ethical life when it seems that very few others are trying to do the same?”   When we separate ourselves from God, life does feel meaningless and pointless. When united with God, we feel connected, whole and our lives have purpose and direction.

In Paul’s letter to the Colossians he reminds us that because we were raised with Christ, we are to “Put to death the parts of us that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and the greed that is idolatry.” We’re reminded to “seek what is above.”  When living our lives in imitation of our creator, we’re reminded that “Christ is all and in all.”  Jesus came to earth to tell us of God’s love for us and to show us how to live. Jesus is the living example of how we’re to treat each other.

You and I are called to live lives of love, compassion, kindness, forgiveness and service just like Jesus did. We can do this in our current jobs with our current families.  We’re asked to change on the inside first – what’s in our hearts and minds.

With the knowledge that our life came from God and that our main objective is to return to God upon our death, each second of our life has significance. We can ask ourselves during every moment of our day, “Am I living in a Christlike manner at this instant?”

in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that we do not have security if we place our trust in anything other than God.  Money, cars, homes, 401Ks, jewelry and other possessions may give us the illusion of security, but we can’t take them with us.  When we have all of the worldly good imaginable, but do not have God in our life we’ll always feel insecure.  The only true security that we can possess cannot be purchased with money. By changing our focus from attachment to worldly possessions to attachment to God, we begin living lives in alignment with God.

“Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God.”

When our lives on earth are over, what good will it do us to be rich in earthly possessions that we must leave behind if we are not rich in God’s currency?  It won’t.

We live in the hope and expectation of everlasting life with God.

We live each day loving God and each other.

Security comes from faith in God.  True riches are the result of God’s grace in our life.

Being rich in what matters to God is the only currency which will allow us to accomplish the ultimate long-term goal. This is the currency which always increases in value!

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In this week’s Gospel from Luke (10:38-42), it’s easy to apply words from 2000 year old scripture to our life in 2010.

In this very short reading, Jesus was invited to Martha’s home.  Martha’s sister, Mary, sits at Jesus’ feet listening to his every word while Martha (who invited him there in the first place!) is busy – probably preparing food and drink for her guest.

Martha is a little bit irritated because her sister is just sitting around while she’s doing all the work. So what does Martha say to Jesus?  She says, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” 

Haven’t you ever felt exactly like Martha?  I have.  I’ve been running around my home trying to prepare food and drinks for my guests while other family members have been leisurely enjoying themselves.

How does Jesus respond to Martha’s unsolicited advice?  He says, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.  There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

Jesus loves Martha and Mary and wants to remind Martha why and for whom she is laboring so hard.  He’s asking her to either listen to him while she’s working or to sit down with Mary and pay attention to what he has to say. True disciples eagerly listen to the word of the Lord.

Who are you rushing around trying to serve?  Are you also feeling worried and anxious quite often? Are you so busy with your every day life that there is no time for God?

Jesus is reminding Martha and each and everyone of us to remember who it is that we’re serving.  He’s asking us to put away our anxiety and fear and to put our faith in him.

If Martha had a hard time paying attention to Jesus when she was physically with him, how much harder is it for us today in a world of non-stop noise – TV, radio, computers, cell phones and piped-in music? It’s much more challenging for us to find silent time to simply be still and listen. Although it’s more challenging, it’s very possible.

Each of us has plenty of time for what we value. Jesus told Martha, “There is need of only one thing.”

We get to hear God’s Word not only in scripture but when we slow down long enough to listen.

Read his word.

Contemplate on what he’s asking of you.

Put his words into your mind and heart and most importantly, into your every day actions.

 You and I are the Body of Christ on earth.

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This weekend’s theme is love.  In my opinion, if we boil down Christianity into one word that word would be love.

In the reading from Deuteronomy (30:10-14) Moses lets us know that within the human heart is a divine law that commands us to love. It’s something that we already possess within us.  Moses says, “No, it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out.” 

We possess love within.  We are love. When we act like ourselves, we love God, others and ourselves.  Love is our natural state. It’s when we’re not loving that we’re acting contrary to our nature.

It today’s gospel from Luke (10: 25-37), a Jewish scholar of the law asks Jesus, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus responds to his question with two questions, “What is written in the law?” and “How do you read it?”

The scholar says, “ You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”  He gave Jesus the correct answer: Love, love, love, love, love.

The scholar needed further clarification so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Was he expecting a response from Jesus like, “Only your fellow Jews”  or “Only people within 2 kilometers of your home”? 

In typical Jesus fashion, he responds to this question with a parable – The Good Samaritan.

As we know from hearing this parable numerous times, it’s not the priest or the Levite who stopped to help the man who was robbed and beaten, it was a Samaritan (Samaritans were hated enemy of the Jews).  The priest and Levite crossed the street and kept on walking ignoring the man.

When Jesus asked the scholar, “Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”, his response was, “The one who treated him with mercy.”  The scholar didn’t say the Samaritan. Maybe he didn’t say the Samaritan because it was the enemy of the Jews who helped the man – not the priest, not the Levite. He was probably embarrassed that a brother of the same faith didn’t help a fellow brother.

How often do Christians argue and fight with fellow Christians?

Which of our neighbors is Jesus telling us to love? Every one of them.  It’s a big world. There are lots of people who need our love.  Many of them are within our own families.

Are we really supposed to love our enemies?  Our family members who’ve hurt us?  Terrorists who’ve killed our brothers and sisters and changed our way of life?

You know the answer.  It’s in your heart.  Jesus is just reminding us because it’s very easy to forget when we’re surrounded by so much fear and hatred.

You and I are the body of Christ in the world. We are love. Go forth and love. Remind others of the love that they too possess.

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There are two major themes in this week’s readings. The first theme calls us to ask the question, “Am I making God the number one priority in my life?” In the first reading (1 Kings 19:16b, 19-21) God asks the prophet Elijah to anoint a successor – Elisha – for himself. When Elijah called Elisha to serve as his apprentice or attendant, the response from Elisha was “Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and I will follow you.”

In the Gospel reading from Luke  (Luke 9:51-62) Jesus is also reaching out to a man and says to him, “Follow me.” The man responds to Jesus by saying, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” 

Although the responses from Elisha and the man whom Jesus called seem fairly reasonable, especially by today’s standards, their response was not, “I will happily follow you. Here I am, Lord!”  They responded with, “I will God, but first I need to……” 

How often are you and I called by God or presented with an opportunity to be Christ to another and we think to ourselves, “That would be a great thing to do….if I had more time” or “As soon as I make a little more money or get that job or go for a run or (insert the excuse of choice).  Don’t we always seem to have really good excuses to put-off love and service in the present?

Jesus is asking us to make God first in our lives – every day.  In each conversation and in every action we can ask ourselves, “How would Jesus respond?” or “What would Jesus do in this instance?”  That’s how we make God first in our lives.

The second major theme for us this week is Love  and comes from Paul’s Letter to the Galatians (Galatians 5:1, 13-18).  In this letter, Paul is reminding the Galatians to focus on the Spirit of Christ within them and to not be enslaved by the flesh.  I really like the definition of flesh because in the past, I thought that Paul was talking about sexual temptations.  This definition of flesh means any form of selfishness.  L-O-V-E is the opposite of selfishness.  Flesh and selfishness are the exact opposite of God who is love.

By focusing on God’s Spirit which lives within us, we have the strength to overcome our flesh’s temptations – overconsumption of alcohol and food, lust, pride, greed, envy,  etc.

Love is the opposite of selfishness. We best express our love as Jesus did – in service to others.  “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

In summary, let’s make God first in our lives. We do this best when we’re actively serving and loving others!

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Enlightenment comes at us on a daily basis when we’re aware and seeking it.  This weekend’s readings caused high wattage light bulbs to go off several times for me.

In the first reading from the book of Samuel (2 Samuel 12: 7-10, 13), Nathan the prophet is chosen to deliver a message from God to King David.  God says, “I anointed you king of  Israel, I rescued you from the hand of Saul, I gave you your lord’s house and your lord’s wives.”   God is trying to tell David that he’s been given so much, yet he still found it necessary to be greedy and selfish and go and take what belonged to someone else.

What God is saying to David is, “how could you?”  He sounds like a parent speaking to a child (I could hear myself speaking to one of my kids). After gladly receiving everything that David was given by God, he still wanted more.  David became infatuated with Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, and conceived a child with her while Uriah, one of David’s most loyal soldiers was off at battle.  As if this is not bad enough, David then had Uriah arranged to be killed “in the line of battle” to cover up his less-than-worthy actions.

God is saying to David, “how could you commit adultery and murder after all that I’ve given you?”

God is asking the same question to us today, “how could you?”  When are you and I selfish and greedy? When do we ignore God’s love and generosity and go off desiring more without considering the impact of our actions on others?  That was light bulb number one for me.

In the second reading from Paul to the Galatians (Galatians 2:16, 19-21), Paul is reminding the mostly Jewish converts to Christianity at that time that salvation comes about through faith in Jesus – not by holding on to a promise of salvation as the result of clinging to the old laws of diet and circumcision.  Paul tells them that if the laws were good enough to bring about salvation then, Christ’s death was in vain.  In short, Paul is advising them (and us) to  love Jesus, have faith in him and keep his commandments.

God sent his only son to live with us, teach us and die for our sins.  He is the way to salvation. It’s not that there was anything wrong with the dietary laws or circumcision, but they should not be the focus of our life and our faith.  Our eyes and ears should be paying attention to Jesus.

Paul also says something amazing in this same reading. He says, “I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me.”   Light bulb #2 for me.  It is the life of Jesus who is alive and present in Paul!   It is the same life that exists inside of you and me when we welcome Jesus into our life and have faith in him and his word.

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With our very busy lives, regular attendance at church can sometimes takes a back seat to other activities.

In order to justify our actions, we start to ask questions like, “Do I really need to go to church every week?”  After missing several weeks in a row, we might start saying, “I’m a really good person and my relationship is between me and God, so it’s not necessary for me to go to a physical building.”

This weekend was the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.  In the first reading from Genesis (14:18-20), the priest Melchizedek blesses Abram (who will later be called Abraham) over a meal of bread and wine.  Within the Christian church, we see  this ancient rite as a prefigurement to Jesus’ Eucharistic meal.

In the second reading from 1Corinthians (11:23-26), Paul tells us exactly what the risen Jesus told him directly.  Paul says, “I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.’” Jesus did the same thing with the cup and goes on to say, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.”

Jesus is very clear when speaking to Paul and to us when he said, “Do this in remembrance of me.”  It sounds to me like this is something that Jesus is asking us to do on a regular basis.

Is Jesus attempting to bring us together as a community?  Yes.

Is he asking us to remember that he literally sacrificed his body and blood because of his love for us?  Yes. This was a choice freely made because of his love for us.

In the reading from Luke’s Gospel (9:11b-17), we hear the very familiar story of Jesus and the 5 loaves and 2 fish that Jesus turns into enough food to feed about five thousand people and still has enough left over to fill 12 wicker baskets. Jesus not only wanted to nourish the crowd with his Words, but he desired to nourish their bodies too.

We’re called to  worship together for many reasons:

• We come to church on a weekly basis to be nourished with the Word of God.
• We come to be physically and spiritually nourished with the bread and wine – the body and blood of Jesus.
• We come together to be united within a small community of believers who are a part of the universal Body of Christ.  Unity.

When we’re together, we’re complete.  When isolated from others and from God, we’re incomplete.  Like the physical body has many members, the universal Body of Christ has many members too.  Each of us is an extremely valuable member of this body!

The opening line from today’s reading from Luke says, “Jesus spoke to the crowds about the kingdom of God, and he healed those who needed to be cured.”  We provided the bread and fish, but it is God who creates the abundance to feed the crowd and still has more left to give.  In every aspect of our lives, we must contribute something, but it is God who gives what we lack.  God will provide us with what we need when we admit that we need help and want to be healed.

As humans we’re hungry for something that many of us are not satisfying with regular food (regardless of how much we eat) and regular words (regardless of how much we read).  We’re  hungry for spiritual food and spiritual words -  the Word of God. It is only through God that we are satisfied and complete.

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.  This is the food and Word that satisfies.

Come together to be nourished. Come together to nourish others.

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This weekend we’re celebrating the Most Holy Trinity.  This week Paul tells the Romans that we have reasons to boast.  Boasting is good when our pride is the result of our faith in God.

God the Father sent us his son Jesus to show us how to live and how to love.  He showed us that we love each other when we serve each other.  Jesus showed us that through the power of faith, people were healed on a daily basis. Through faith, Jesus was resurrected from the dead.  We learn over and over again about the healing power of faith.

 After Jesus spent time on earth loving us and before he went to heaven, he told us that he would never leave us alone  and that his Father would send an advocate to be with us always – the Holy Spirit.  God is with us every day through the power of the Holy Spirit. Our role is to invite God into every aspect of our lives.

In Paul’s Letter to the Romans (5:1-5), he talks about God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. As usual, Paul is logical and upbeat as he tells us that we always have reasons to boast (to take pride in or be enhanced by the possession of) – in good times and in times of suffering or pain.

Paul reminds us that our faith leads us to peace with God through Jesus. This same faith gives us access to the gift of grace that is with us always. As Christians, our grace allows us to boast in hope of the glory of God.  We are enhanced by the possession of our faith, hope, love and trust in God.

Paul tells us to not only boast in hope, but to also boast of our afflictions.  Really? Why? 

 We know that we’re enhanced because we’re confident that:

• Our afflictions produce endurance
• Endurance builds and creates our character
• Proven character sustains our hope
• Hope does not disappoint

Why does hope not disappoint?  Because God’s love has filled our hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit who is with us always.

With each cell of our being filled with God’s love, there is no room for hatred, anxiety or fear.

Through prayer and conversation with God, we’re able to continually replenish and rejuvenate our faith.  Our communion with God provides us with a never ending supply of love and hope to sustain us  through every obstacle that is placed before us.

There is no problem that it so large that it can’t be solved by God as the result of our  faith.

Christians really do have reasons to boast!

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