TRUST: A TUG OF WAR WITH GOD

About 7 years ago, I took my son Jimmy and a neighbor boy to see a play in a downtown theater in Schenectady. Now, I had taken Jimmy and various friends to events on many occasions. However, this particular event sticks and will ever stay in my mind.

jimmy and his friend were about 4 years old. They were still at the hand holding stage. Or at least Jimmy was. It would seem, though, that his little friend had a streak of independence in him. As we exited the car, the friend started to take off down the road. Luckily, I was able to catch up with him and grabbed his hand. While I stood there catching my breath, my son spoke up and told his friend to hold my hand, since “Mommy always holds my hand and I know she will keep me safe.” Jimmy might have been teaching his friend about safety, but he also taught me a lot about what it means to trust. Somehow, my son knew that no matter what the circumstances, his needs would be met.

v He didn’t need to worry about crossing the street —-Mommy would be there.

v He didn’t need to worry about how to get to the theater—Mommy would lead him.

v At this age, he need not worry about watching for traffic —-Mommy would take care of that, too. He need only hold my hand and all would be well.

In the same way, I believe that this is what Jesus was trying to teach his 12 closest followers: “Don’t worry —-God will provide. I know Him and I trust Him. You should, too.”(eg., Mk 6:7-13).

These 12 were not going on a mission of their own choosing. They were being sent off by Jesus to proclaim the Good News. This was not an easy trip and it was not a short trip. Yet, all these 12 had to perform this mission was God’s hand. God would provide.

The people were certainly not drawn to the apostles because of their appearance. They were most likely filthy and smelly. Remember, they only were to bring the clothes on their back.

v The townspeople would not be drawn to the apostles by any bells and whistles, since the Apostles had no money or means to attract the people to their mission.

v The townspeople might even have reason to be repulsed from the mission, since they would have to provide food and lodging to complete strangers. The 12 didn’t have food and couldn’t even make reservations at a hotel or shelter, since whether or not they even stayed overnight was dependent on how the townspeople responded to the message.

Can you imagine going on such a long journey with no food, luggage or money?

Personally, I wouldn’t even be able to make it to the mall with those kinds of restrictions. Yet this was going to be relatively long mission trip. The 12 were told that even their most basic needs would be met.

This, of course, was a lesson in trust.

We know the end of the story. They were very successful. They did proclaim the Word of God. Many were healed and came to repent and believe in Jesus. They stepped out in faith. They offered all that they had —themselves —and God accepted their offering and worked it to His Glory.

Trust is a timeless lesson. It is one that we are all still learning.

In the letter to the Hebrews, Paul talks about the fact that God has made Himself approachable to us. He wants us to be part of His Kingdom. We are free and encouraged to approach God Almighty with joy —not in fear and trembling. God only asks that we trust Him.

—that we hear His voice

—trust Him

—and do what He asks.

Trust is difficult. For me, it is much like a tug of war. I tell God that I trust Him. Then, I figure I can handle just this tidbit of the problem. So, I tug back on the rope a little. Then, well, I could probably handle this myself, too. Oops, there goes that rope again. And so on and so on until I take back the entire rope and remove my trust from God’s hands.

Perhaps, today, we can think about those areas of our life where God is asking us to trust Him. Let’s relax on the rope a bit and trust God to accomplish His work in our lives. Like the 12 Apostles, let’s offer our trust and our lives to God, so that He can accomplish His work in our lives— for His glory and for the good of His Kingdom.

ARE YOU LISTENING?

If Jesus had recruited his apostles the way major corporations recruit their employees today, would Peter and Paul have gotten the job?

It’s true that Simon Peter had the qualities of a natural leader. He was a man of action, self-confident and enthusiastic, daring and outgoing. On the other hand, he could be impulsive, imprudent, and erratic.

Despite all that, he was not without his shining moments. In Mt. 16:13-19, Peter had one such shining moments: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” he proclaims. But read on! Only six verses later, he expresses such opposition to God’s plans that Jesus calls him not “a rock,” but “an obstacle” and even “Satan.”

And was Saul any more promising when the risen Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus? The young man surely stood out for his fervor, learning, and single-minded commitment. But he was using all his talents to destroy the church, even though his former teacher, the respected Rabbi Gamaliel, had urged a wait-and-see approach. But Saul was too zealous to follow such prudent advice. He was dedicated and effective, all right. But the “achievements” on Saul’s resume fit the job description of a persecutor, not an apostle.

But Jesus never needed a personnel advisor to inform him about which workers to pick. He understood human nature. Jesus could see the capacity for heroic holiness that lies hidden—-sometimes very hidden —-beneath a person’s exterior strengths and weaknesses. Jesus saw that potential in Peter and Paul and he took a risk: Peter wavered and denied him. And as for Paul, who would have guessed that someone who was so unswervingly headed in one direction could do a complete turnaround? Yet in the end, both men accepted the grace of conversion and became the dedicated apostles Jesus knew they could be.

Jesus sees the potential in each of us as well. Every minute of every day, Jesus is inviting us: Come a little closer. Open yourself to my love and my grace. Let me help you become who you really are?

Are you listening?

 

 

 

MAY I HAVE A WITNESS?

How important is the need to give witness? In Acts (20:17-27), Paul asserts that he will have no guilt with respect to the people of Ephesus, since he gave witness. He told the people all he knew about Jesus. He fulfilled his mission. Jesus, in his last prayer with his apostles (Jn 17:1-11a), talks about the witness that he has given to his followers and to the world. He prays that they will be strengthened in their future ministry to witness to his message and deeds.

The power and duty of witness.

I know of a dog. Her name is Mindy. Mindy resides in a parish. She sits and listens to Christian radio all day long. She listens as the lay and ordained ministers discuss the readings for the upcoming Sundays. She is present when different issues of faith are discussed. She has heard it all. Mindy has certainly been exposed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But, Mindy will never be a witness to that gospel. She will never lead one person to Jesus through her discussions of the Gospel. She never will. She can’t. She just doesn’t have the proper equipment.

But we do. And we have to do it. It is our Christian duty. In fact, we will be found guilty for our failure to witness to our faith if we fail in that duty. Paul recognized that. We need to recognize it as well. We also need to know how significant our witness is.

Consider, for example, the story of Dr. Boris Kornfeld.

Dr. Boris Kornfeld was a Jew who lived in Russia. And for some reason (maybe a slip of the tongue where he referred to Stalin as finite), he was dumped into the Gulag and was destined to live there for the rest of his life.

Since he was a medical doctor, he was to keep practicing medicine and keep the slaves alive, so that they could die with all the right things said on their records. Dr. Kornfeld was to rewrite the records to say, “This person is healthy,” whether that person was or not. The slave was then put back into the slave block and expected to do the work. If slaves died out there of starvation, that was fine—but they were not to die in the hospital.

Slowly, the physician began to see through all of his misapplied politics and philosophy of life. He finally decided there must be another way. And through the influence of a fellow inmate, he heard of Jesus Christ and ultimately came to know the Messiah. Dr. Boris Kornfeld became a true believer of Jesus Christ.

The transformation was slow but steady. On one occasion, he worked on the very guard who had beaten slaves. He had a chance to tie an artery loosely so that the man could bleed to death and no one would know it. But now Christ lived in his life and he found himself unable to kill. He even mumbled to himself on occasions, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

Strange words to come from the lips of a Jew in a Russian prison camp! I’m sure he didn’t realize what a model he was and I’m sure he didn’t think much about the cycle. But on one occasion he was working with another inmate who had cancer of the intestines. The man looked like he wouldn’t live.

Boris Kornfeld was so concerned for that man’s faith that he leaned over and spoke quietly to him as the patient drifted in and out of anesthesia. He told the man about Christ and explained God’s love which was demonstrated in the Savior’s death and resurrection. When the man would come to, he would tell him more. At one point, the patient awoke, and in his groggy state, he heard a noise down the hall. His surgeon, Dr. Kornfeld, was being brutally murdered.

When the patient finally did regain consciousness, he realized what it meant for Dr. Kornfeld to have given his life for a cause, and the patient himself personally came to believe in Christ as well.

Because Boris Kornfeld had a vision of Christ’s kingdom, he used his influence to shape a life that did not die, but lived on to challenge and exhort the thinking of prosperous and materialistic societies. His patient’s name—-Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

Now, most of us will not die as a result of witnessing to our faith in Christ. But each of us will have an impact on those to whom we do communicate it. A prisoner told Boris Kornfeld about Jesus. Boris Kornfeld told a patient —Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Who can tell how many people were subsequently impacted by the testimony of Alexksandr Solzhenitsyn?

Who can tell how many will be impacted by you?

 You are not Mindy. You are Boris. You are equipped to witness. You have a duty to witness. And you have the Son of God himself praying for your witness.

How can you possibly go wrong?

GOD’S FAVORITE HOBBY: Move Over Martha Stewart

The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”
But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant. (Jer 1:4-10)

God tells Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” Psalm 139 includes a similar affirmation of God’s loving omniscience and foreknowledge. It states: “For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” These verses are certainly quite similar. The word “formed” implies that the work is completed: that God has completed the project. The word “knit,” however, implies that the work is a continuing process that occurs over time and, through shaping and usage, changes over the course of that time. I prefer the use of the word “knit,” since it brings out a stronger meaning of these readings.

Knitting takes time. Sure, you can knit booties or even a scarf in a single day. But even then, you have to set aside a large portion of that day to complete your project.

Most knitters, however, are more interested in larger projects that can take many days. This means:

•             You have to remember the tension of the yarn from day to day so that one sleeve of your sweater isn’t 3 feet, while the other is 6 feet long;

•             You have to remember where you left off and even plan for the next day’s project ahead of time. There is a past and a future to your project as you work on it; and

•             You need to direct your concentration to the project at hand. Knitting involves a lot of counting and patterning. It’s impossible to be a successful knitter and permit constant distractions to keep you from your work.

If then, God knit each one of us, God has invested a lot of time on us. God has considered not only our present, during the course of our creation, but also how we fit in the past and how we will move into the future. God’s consideration is concentrated. God was totally and wholly with us – not permitting distractions to interfere with our careful and loving development.

Knitting takes planning. I would hope that none of us would knit an orange sweater to go with a maroon skirt. Any knitter knows that the projects must coordinate with each other. Each piece must enhance the beauty of the other.

This speaks, too, to how God considered our past and our future. I was not the only person God knit. Neither was any one of you. No, — we are meant to live in community. God’s projects, too, were and are coordinated.

Indeed, 1 Peter 1:8-12 speaks directly to this issue. Peter recognizes that we are each individually crafted. Certainly, God gives each of us individual gifts and talents. We have our own purpose and our own obligation to live out God’s plan in our lives. However, our lives necessarily impact and affect the lives of those around us. It is this interplay that creates the color and pattern of God’s handiwork.

God is a very talented knitter. God doesn’t only make sweaters. The Lord is equally capable of knitting skirts, jackets and hats.

Each item is designed for its own purpose. You would not wear a sweater on your head or a scarf as a blanket. Instead, each garment serves its own purpose so long as it is used in the way in which it is fashioned.

This is very similar to one of Paul’s letters in which he describes the various parts of the body and how each part is important in its own right, so long as it is used for the intended purpose.

Another one of Paul’s readings, (Corinthians 12:31-13:13), also ties in with Jeremiah and our discovery of God’s favorite hobby.

In Corinthians, Paul recognizes the need for growth in our faith: “When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child: when I became a man, I put aside childish things.”

We must grow, stretch and develop.

God gives us the talents and raw material when God knits us.

However, knits are stretchy. They take on their own form as they are worn.

God gives us the gift of free will to determine how we will shape what has been provided to us: the raw materials and talents underlying our lives.

Our life in God is not static. It is ever changing, always growing; until the purpose of the provided garment is no more.

In order to properly shape the garment – so that we use it as God willed—requires that each person must be open to that faith on a personal level

Let’s consider how well John the Baptist epitomizes this openness to God’s will.

John lived the life of a recluse – acting only to further God’s purpose in his own life. The strings of John’s yarn were strong and true.

He impacted so many people of his time—bringing them to repentance and being the first to introduce God’s Son to the people of their time.

As a result of the pliability and strength of John’s particular yarn, a pattern was formed—allowing the yarns of those who came to know Christ through John’s witness to be weaved into God’s cloth.

It is that same cloth to which we are weaved.  God was aware of our talents and the need for our yarns to complete the pattern God devised from the beginning of time.

So, lets sum up—God took the time and interest to knit and create each one of us. We are not an example of mass production. We are uniquely and lovingly created by God.

With love and faith, we respond to God in shaping our lives in accordance with His will and taking steps to mature in our faith.

We are weaved individually but brought together as part of God’s intended pattern.

Let us always recognize God’s love. May God feed us and strengthen us on our journey to become God’s dream of who we are.

GOD HAS NO GRANDKIDS

On first impression, Chapter 8 of Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews  would seem to indicate that I as a Director of Faith Formation, should be out of a job. After all Paul quotes none other than the Lord, as saying:

“I will be their God,

And they shall be my people,

And they shall not teach, each one his fellow citizen and

kin, saying:

“Know the Lord,”

For all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.”

If no one need teach another about God, then what is my purpose? For that matter, why are any of us here, since we all, through Baptism, have an obligation to preach the Gospel to those around us?

Certainly, God does want us to tell those around us about His love and mercy. Paul himself, who wrote the Letter to the Hebrews, was and remains one of the most prominent and well-known teachers of the Good News. In all likelihood, Paul may well have been referring to the end of the world when all will know God in eternity.

Even in Mark 3, often read with this particular verse from Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews, Jesus names His own primary teachers: the twelve disciples. No one can question that these individuals brought the Good News to many people and, in the process, taught them about God as revealed through His Son Jesus.

Okay, so I still have a job and you still have an obligation to teach. So what is the meaning of today’s readings?

Perhaps God is trying to tell us that while we have a duty to teach, each individual has their own responsibility to seek that teaching. Each individual has a direct and very personal relationship to God. There is no intermediary. In other words, as I grew up and matured, I learned that I don’t base my belief in God on my parent’s faith. I have a one on one relationship with God. The same is true with you. You don’t only believe in God because someone close to you told you about Him. You have a one on one relationship with Him, because you acted on this person’s teaching and therefore developed a love for Him in your own heart.

There is another example of this in the Gospels. I know that each of you is aware of the story concerning the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus sat at a well in Samaria while his disciples ran off to find food. While Jesus was sitting there, a Samaritan woman came to get water. Jesus asked the woman for a cup of water. As a result, the two had a conversation. The Samaritan woman came to believe that Jesus was the Messiah and ran off to tell her neighbors. Her neighbors came to see Jesus as a result of her witness. However, there is a very important part of the story at the end. One of those neighbors told the woman that they initially came to see Jesus because of her witness. But, now this neighbor said that He believed in Jesus because of what he himself witnessed. His faith was no longer dependent upon the witness and faith of another. His faith was personal and based upon his own relationship with Jesus.

God has no grandkids. Each and every person is His own child. God wants and desires a parent/child relationship with all He calls His own. Today’s obligation is to go out and nurture that wonderful relationship you have with your all powerful and loving parent.

JAILHOUSE ROCK: Shaking the Rafters with Faith

                Elvis Presley once wrote a hit song called “Jailhouse Rock.” But it’s not too far-fetched to say that Paul wrote the original version, along with Silas! They sang to God until their jailhouse shook from a miraculous earthquake, freeing them from their chains. Not only that, but their jailer was so moved by what happened, that he converted to Christ on the spot and had his entire family baptized that same night. Now that is some powerful praise. God really brought down the house!

                Nevertheless, we might wonder how Paul was able to turn his prison cell into a place of worship. If you had just been falsely accused, beaten, and imprisoned on account of doing God’s work, would you stay up all night singing his praises? You might be more likely to give God or the jailer a piece of your mind, protest your unfair treatment, and then withdraw to sulk. When our lives take a turn for the worse, it can be difficult to even understand God, let alone praise him!

                But, Paul responded the way he did because his life had been steeped in prayer. His primary desire was to please the Lord. A few years after this incident, from yet another prison cell, Paul would write: “For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” (Phil 3:8). He had learned how to be content in any circumstance. It was Christ who gave him the strength to endure any situation (4:12-13), and, not only to endure it, but to rejoice and glorify God in the midst of it.

                Did Paul’s story take place too long ago in the past? Well then, let’s consider some more contemporary saints.

                I recall reading the book “The Hiding Place.” This is the book about the Ten Boom family. This Dutch family took its Christian faith seriously and they lived out this faith by hiding some of their Jewish neighbors during the days of Nazi Germany. The family was caught. Ultimately, Corrie and her sister Betsie were taken to Ravensbrook prison camp. The book is fascinating and very good reading. I strongly recommend it. However, one scene, in particular, has always stayed in my mind and I believe it is worth mentioning since it is a perfect illustration of God’s mercy and our need to praise Him even in our bad times.

                At one point in the story, Corrie becomes very upset since she and her sister are placed in a particular barracks. This particular barracks has a terrible lice infestation problem. The other barracks do not have this problem. Corrie is understandably quite upset by these horrible living conditions. Personally, I can’t say that I blame her.

                Corrie is taken aback by her sister, Betsie, who reminds her to praise God and to thank God for the lice. Corrie has a very difficult time understanding why she should even consider thanking God for these horrible little critters; let alone be thankful or joyful about the situation. Over a period of time, though, she becomes so impressed with the faith and joy of her sister that she surrenders. She thanks God each day for the lice that are infesting her barracks. She even tries to smile about it.

                Over time, Corrie realizes that these lice actually are a gift of God. You see, it was a crime to proclaim your Christian faith in these barracks. It was a crime, punishable by death, if a Bible or any Christian literature was found in your barracks. While all of the other barracks were searched on a daily basis, Corrie’s barracks was never searched. The guards were as afraid of the lice as she was.

                If Corrie and Betsie had been placed in any other barracks, their evangelical worship and the contraband of their Bibles, would have been detected and they would have been killed. Many people would not have come to know Christ. The lice saved their lives and, ultimately, saved the lives of those around them. They did praise God even in these horrible conditions and with joy, knowing that God was working for their good and for the good of His kingdom.

                Would you like a more contemporary example? Then read this book about Immaculee Ilibagiza. It is titled “Left to Tell.” Immaculee kept to her faith and spent all of her time in prayer to and study of God while she and seven other women stayed hidden in a small bathroom in steaming hot Rawanda for 91 days.

                These three are all saints. They praised God in the hard times. They recognized God in their pain. They trusted God despite their circumstances.

                What was the common factor?

                They all had faith first. Faith was the center of their lives. They were not new to God.

                -They took the time to learn about God

                -They took the time to pray to God

                -They took the time to serve God.

They knew and trusted God in the past and this permitted them to trust and praise God in the future.

                Now, you may or may not be in jail right now. However, each of us has had some situation in our lives where we may have felt bound. Illness, unemployment and unresolved family issues are just a few of the things that can lock us in prisons of anger or frustration.

                Don’t give up!

                If you do anything, try your best to praise God for his goodness and his mercy! He can lift you up above your immediate circumstances if you try to release them to him. Remember his promise: “They that hope in the Lord will….soar as with eagles’ wings.” (Isaiah 40:31).

                Let us always lift our hearts to God in praise and thanksgiving. We can trust and rejoice in all circumstances – good or bad, since we have the gift of faith to strengthen and assure us of God’s love. You, like Paul, Corrie, Betsie, and Immaculee know God now. He stands by you now. He will not fail you in the future.