Bible Study Reflection #29: Broken-Hearted Prophet

More often than not, these strange reflections of mine focus on the Gospel, and I suppose that’s good since the Gospel is the Good News of Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of God’s revelation to humanity. We should, therefore, never neglect the Gospel and the other New Testament books that offer valuable and prophetic insights into the teachings and life of Jesus revealed in the Gospel. But we must also remember that the entire Old Testament foreshadows the New Testament and provides many equally valuable insights into God’s plan, thus helping us better understand and appreciate all that He has revealed. This understanding of and appreciation for the entirety of God’s revelation will only deepen our faith and lead us along the path to the salvation He desires for us.

Today, then, I’ve decided to focus on the prophet Jeremiah and, specifically, the opening verses of the book of his prophecy. As we begin this reflection, I ask you to open your Bible to Jeremiah and read the opening verses from chapter one: Jeremiah 1:1-19.

A little background...To our knowledge Jeremiah was still a young man, probably only in his twenties, when God called him in the year 626 B.C. He was preceded by several earlier prophets – Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah – by a hundred years or so.

Only a few years after Jeremiah’s call, King Josiah (640-609 B.C.) began a major religious reform after a restoration of the Temple led to the re-discovery of the Law, especially the Book of Deuteronomy. During Josiah’s reign, the Assyrians, who had conquered the northern kingdom of Israel, began to decline and were ultimately defeated by the Babylonians (Chaldeans). King Josiah, in an attempt to reclaim lands that were once part of David’s kingdom, claimed Samaria and a number of other cities, but died in a battle with the Egyptians at Megiddo in 609 B.C. (You can read a tribute to Josiah in Sirach 49:1-4.) Two decades later, in July of 587 B.C., Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians. The city’s destruction was followed by the exile or Babylonian Captivity. Although the exile officially ended with the decree of Persian King Cyrus in 537 B.C., the Jews considered it a 70-year captivity from 586 B.C. when the Temple was destroyed until the Temple was rebuilt in 516 B.C.

The years of Jeremiah’s prophecy, then, were a time of dramatic change and upheaval. They were a time of religious reform, a time of tension and threatening storms, and a time of horrendous defeat. It was a difficult time to be a prophet of the Lord.

Many have called Jeremiah God’s broken-hearted prophet, and I can certainly join them in that. He was a man who lived what can only be described as heart-rending life and whose prophecies of dire warning went largely unheeded by the people of Judah. But God had prepared him for all that he would face:

They will fight against you, but not prevail over you, for I am with you to deliver you – oracle of the Lord [Jer 1:19].

When you speak all these words to them, they will not listen to you either. When you call to them, they will not answer you [Jer 7:27].

And, of course, God was correct. Very few, and especially none of those in power, listened to Jeremiah. Like so many of us, the people of Judah really didn’t want to hear bad news, and unfortunately for Jeremiah, most of what God revealed to him wasn’t very pleasant. But the people and their rulers had only themselves to blame. What did God tell Jeremiah in our passage?

I will pronounce my sentence against them for all their wickedness in forsaking me, in burning incense to other gods, in bowing down to the works of their hands [Jer 1:16].

Listening to this Word of God spoken by Jeremiah, once again we encounter the great sin of the Old Testament: idolatry. But perhaps, surprisingly to some, it’s also the great sin of today. Whenever I talk about this, many people respond with disbelief. Apparently, they assume idolatry requires the worship of statues or images, large and small, of pagan gods. But to engage in idolatry simply means placing something or someone above the worship of God. It’s to violate God’s first commandment:

I am the Lord your God…You shall not have other gods beside me. You shall not make for yourself an idol or a likeness of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or serve them [Dt 5:6, 7-9].

Today the world serves many idols: money, possessions, fame and celebrity, power, sex, …the list goes on. Not surprisingly the list hasn’t changed much since the time of Jeremiah. The people, and especially Judah’s leaders, didn’t want to hear God’s judgment and refused to accept it. Neither did they want to hear what God had planned for them: the invasion of Judah by the Babylonians and the destruction of Jerusalem. And so, they simply vented their anger on Jeremiah – much easier to blame the messenger than listen to the message. In fact, Jeremiah’s prophecy angered the princes so much they threw the prophet in prison. And that’s where he was when Babylon took the Holy City. Ironically, the Babylonians treated Jeremiah with more respect than his own people. They released him from prison, showed him great kindness, and allowed him to choose where he wanted to live.

But let’s focus on those opening verses of Jeremiah’s book of prophecy, a passage that describes his call by God, his call to be a prophet. The passage reveals many interesting things about this call, things that relate not only to Jeremiah, but also to each of us.

First of all, Jeremiah was set apart for God’s work from the very beginning – not just from his birth, but before he was even in the womb.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you… [Jer 1:5]

I knew you -- I loved you and chose you -- God revealed to Jeremiah. I dedicated you – I set you apart to do my work in the world. I made you a prophet. I called you. And I did all this before you existed in the world. What a wonderful revelation!

But God was speaking not only to Jeremiah, because God’s love is both infinite and universal. Yes, He loves prophets and apostles. But He loves you as well. He loves all whom He has created. And He calls each one of us to do His work in the world.

We must never forget this. God has a plan for every person He has created. This revelation by God, one repeated frequently throughout Sacred Scripture, lays the foundation for the consistent Church teaching on abortion as an intrinsic evil. To willfully destroy the life of an unborn child, a life for which God has a plan, is no different from the destruction of any innocent human life.

God’s plan for each of us is as different as the variety of the gifts he bestows. St. Paul reminds us that the Holy Spirit manifests different gifts in His people. How did he put it?

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. 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 [1 Cor 12:4-11].

God, then, has given each of us gifts. All are not called to be prophets like Jeremiah, but each is called to be, as St. Teresa of Calcutta liked to say, “something beautiful for God.” Our life’s work as Christians consists in allowing God to show us those gifts and then using them to further God’s work in a sinful world. One warning: God will often ask you to do what you thought impossible. He will call you to your weaknesses, and by doing so, demonstrate to you and to others His remarkable power.

We see this when Jeremiah responds to God’s call. Like most of us, Jeremiah is more focused on himself and the personal demands of this call. It’s a very human response, isn’t it? As I mentioned earlier, Jeremiah was young when God called him. The thought of being a prophet must have terrified him, so much so that he protested, telling God that he neither spoke well nor was old enough to earn the respect of the people. Isn’t it interesting how often we consider it necessary to tell God things that He already knows. But God dismissed Jeremiah’s fears:

Do not say “I am too young.” To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak [Jer 1:7].

These concerns of Jeremiah’s mirror those of Moses when he was called by the Lord in the Book of Exodus:

Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? [Ex 3:11]

…and

If you please, my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and tongue [Ex 4:10].

But it was through the weakness of Moses, Jeremiah, the Apostles, and so many others that God accomplishes His work in the world. It is through your weaknesses and mine that He will accomplish much today. But first, like Moses and Jeremiah and the Apostles, we too must respond to God’s call.

Jeremiah’s youth also offers us insights into God’s plan for the salvation of the world. Let’s recall those words that St. Peter used on the day of Pentecost when he quoted the prophet Joel:

I will pour out a portion of My Spirit on all mankind: Your sons and daughters shall prophesy; your young men shall see visions [Acts 2:17; Joel 3:1-5].

Yes, indeed, brothers and sisters, God will raise up young people in a special way to renew the face of the earth. And just as He chose Jeremiah to speak His truth to the people of Judah, He will empower new Jeremiahs to speak to the world today:

Today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and to demolish, to build and to plant [Jer 1:10].

As young as these modern-day Jeremiahs may seem to us old folks, they are not too young for God. You and I must never cease telling our young people – telling our children, our grandchildren, the youth of our parish – the same words St. Paul addressed to his spiritual son, St. Timothy:

Let no one have contempt for your youth, but set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity [1 Tim 4:12].

I am convinced this young generation today is destined to do great things. I know this because Satan has tried so hard to destroy it. He fears what the Lord can do through this new generation that he has helped kill a third of them even before their birth. And what of those who managed to escape the evil of abortion and survive until birth? Satan has tried to abuse, brainwash, and enslave them through dysfunctional families, secular humanism, substance abuse, and sexual promiscuity. But the survivors of the survivors are here; they know God's love and believe in Him. It is these, the young ones who have survived Satan's onslaught, that God will use to renew the face of the earth. Pray for them.

Since we’re unable to meet – at least for now – you might want to take some time this week and read the rest of this wonderful book of prophecy. There is so much to learn from Jeremiah, a prophet who suffered much and like so many who did God’s work in the world, opened his soul to God. As you will discover, Jeremiah didn’t hesitate to tell God what he thought, to share his troubles with the Lord and plead for help and strength. Perhaps soon we’ll take another look at this special Prophet and walk through at least some of the key portions of the book he left for us.

God’s peace be with you all.

Bible Study Reflection #28: Our Reckless, Wonderful God

I’d like to begin today’s reflection with a reading from the Gospel According to Matthew. It’s a most interesting passage in which Jesus related the Parable of the Sower and then explained its meaning to the apostles. It’s a passage that usually leads to a number of questions. As you read it, keep track of the questions that come to mind, open your heart and mind to the Holy Spirit, and pray the He will lead you to the answers you seek.

Please take a moment now to open your Bible to Chapter 13 of the Gospel According to Matthew and read verses 1 to 23 [Mt 13:1-23]. 

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One evening early last year, I came across a website that asked the question: “Is your church growing?” Apparently, this website sells software and consulting services to Christian churches that either aren’t growing or aren’t growing quickly enough. It promises to help double the numbers of a congregation so the pews will be overflowing with enthusiastic worshipers. And the financial support will grow too, with the possibility of large donations.

Wow! Who could resist this offer at a time when Church attendance in the U.S. and Europe was approaching record lows? Europe, of course, is in far worse shape spiritually than the U.S., but the U.S. isn’t far behind. Many dioceses are closing parishes and have had to face crippling financial burdens (in part because of the abuse scandal). Who wouldn’t welcome a few tips on how to make a parish grow?

From this I was reminded of the Gospel passage I’ve asked you to read. It seems as if the disciples wanted Jesus to speak more clearly, not to hide His teachings in parables the people, and even the disciples, couldn’t decipher. Surely, He’d attract more followers if He’d just speak plainly. I can hear the consultants now:

“Poor Jesus! He just didn’t understand the dynamics of church growth. First of all, He announced the presence of God's kingdom in a world dominated by the rule of Satan. And instead of making a little room for compromise, He just plowed ahead and declared war on Satan. Now, how ecumenical is that?”

Yes, I’m afraid our consultants would be aghast. Doesn’t Jesus know that his stubborn orthodoxy just makes things worse, polarizing people, making them more defensive?

Look what happened. Already the religious leaders of the time were accusing Jesus of being in league with Satan. And those teachings of His, those hard teachings that caused many of His disciples to leave Him: “Eat my Body…drink my Blood” [Jn 6:55-57] – hardly words to fill the parking lot. Even the people of Nazareth, His hometown, turned against him. Things simply weren’t going all that well for Jesus. If only He’d had access to the expert help available to us today.

In our passage Jesus gave His disciples advice on how to spread the Word. He used a parable, relating a story of a farmer who isn’t especially careful about the sowing of seed. He just throws it all over the place. Although some actually falls on fertile soil, most of the seed appears to be wasted. It reminds me of a cartoon I once saw. One farmer asks another 'What are you growing this year?' The other farmer simply said, 'Poorer'. And that’s Jesus, wasting all that seed.

Jesus, though, went on to explain things and we discover that His Way, God’s Way, differs greatly from the ways of man, the ways of the experts. After provoking the disciples with His parable of the reckless farmer, Jesus went on to explain His own proclamation of the Good News. Since He began His public ministry, He’d been generous in all things: teaching, healing, and reaching out to all who came to Him, and even many who didn’t. Through it all He displayed a special love for public sinners and society’s misfits, not the sort who give large contributions.

Through these actions, as much as His preaching, Jesus taught. Thousands came to Him and, listening to His teaching, realized how much He demanded of them. Their righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, the religious professionals of the day. He called for more than simple obedience to the law. He called for a change of heart and mind in his hearers. He called on them to change their lives!

But then He repeated the words of Isaiah, proclaiming the prophecy is fulfilled:

You shall indeed hear but not understand,

you shall indeed look but never see [Is 6:14].

Sure enough, many resisted because their hearts were as hard as the rocky ground on which so much of that seed fell, or as tangled and suffocating as the briars that choked God’s Word before it could grow. Quite simply, in their sinfulness and self-absorption they neither heard nor understood the Good News.

They refused to accept God’s gift of faith and make a free response to Jesus' call. Only an act of faith can open their hearts and free them from Satan's grasp. Without it, they are no different from so many of today’s Christians who seem to welcome the Gospel but then crumble once they are tested. Only this understanding, this act of faith, can free us from the allure of the gross materialism of our decaying society.

Jesus knew His people's history, so He wasn’t surprised by their lack of faith. The prophets had encountered the same lack of faith, the same hardening of hearts, when they spread the seed of God’s word. And, yet, despite all these obstacles, all the resistance to the life-giving Gospel, Jesus reminds us that God is not defeated.

You see, like the farmer, God is a bit of a gambler. When someone bets everything they have, with no guaranteed outcome, they’re gambling big time. It’s an old story. The higher the stakes, the harder they work. Not just to control the weeds, but to control every single variable they can.

They strive to control the risks. Just consider the extreme and improbable risks that God takes by planting his Word in a world like ours. What are the chances the Word of God will take root and yield a good harvest?

Will God’s Word change the heart of a terrorist? Will it bring the spirit of forgiveness to the family of a murder victim? Can the truth of God’s gift of life soften the heart of a politician? Will God’s love for the poor, the oppressed, the forgotten lead the wealthy to the beatitude of spiritual poverty? Will the hardships, the struggles of employees and customers play on the mind of a CFO as he adjusts his spreadsheet parameters? Will the scientist realize she’s bowing in reverence to the Creator of the universe when she leans over the microscope to study the wonders of cellular regeneration?

What are the chances? You and I might think the chances of the Word of God germinating in our fallen world are mighty slim. But, as it turns out, God is a gambler of the most reckless sort. Just listen to the words of the prophet Isaiah, poetic words through which he reveals God’s plan:

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

      so are my ways higher than your ways,

      my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Yet, just as from the heavens

      the rain and snow come down

and do not return there

      till they have watered the earth,

      making it fertile and fruitful,

giving seed to the one who sows

      and bread to the one who eats,

so shall my word be

      that goes forth from my mouth;

any word shall not return to me void,

      but shall do my will,

      achieving the end for which I sent it [Is 55:9-11].

The Word of God, then, runs swiftly upon the earth and doesn’t return to the heavens void. What a marvelous prophecy Isaiah has given us. For Jesus Himself is the Word of God and His time on earth was certainly brief, indeed, a swift run. But He did not return to heaven empty, for He had established His Church, “giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats.” And His Church “shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.”

The Church Jesus founded gave us the canon of Sacred Scripture and its magisterial teachings on everything from prayer to living the Christian life. Whenever you and I open the Bible, or fall to our knees in prayer, or gather together at Mass, God scatters more seed and takes more risks. Day after day, in the face of incredible odds, God hurls out the seed of the Word like a gambler throwing dice.

It appears reckless, but faith takes root. Isaiah was confident in his conviction; and Jesus claimed it was a sure thing: God’s Word yields its harvest. In arid hearts that thirst for God, the understanding, the seeds of faith, all take root. His kingdom will come, Jesus promises us, a coming conditioned by both refusal and the generous response of open hearts.

What about your heart? Is it open, like “the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirty fold”? [Mt 13:8] What a return on investment! How’s that for a reckless, over-the-top response? Is such a response to His Word really possible? Well, as Jesus reminds us: “…for God all things are possible”[Mt 19:26].

And especially today, in the face of so much disappointment, of low morale among many Christians, and of the hatred that arises out of a culture of death, it’s particularly important to accept that abundant harvests will come.

Just as the Church grew from Jesus’ own faith – His willingness to face the desolation of the cross, to die as the grain of wheat dies – and the glory of the Resurrection. Just as the Holy Spirit worked in the generous hearts of apostles and, despite the persecutions they endured, spread the faith from Jerusalem to Rome and beyond.

This was all God’s doing. His Kingdom doesn’t grow bigger and better by following some human organizational model. No consultant can bring about the Kingdom. No, it will come in its fullness only as a work of God – aided by the faith of the members of the Body of Christ.

This faith leads us to hope, and to pray and work for a generous response to Jesus' call to discipleship. Faith also tells us that growth comes not just when the church is prosperous and triumphant, but more often when she is weak and persecuted. For it is then, in our weakness, that we allow the power of God's Word to enter our hearts. It is then that we see His power and come to believe that He alone can produce the rich harvest.

Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever.

Bible Study Reflection #27: The Power of God

Note: Once again, you will need to do a little reading in your Bible today, so I ask that you have it handy while you read this reflection. 

Today I’d like to focus on one of the more unusual events described in the Gospels: Jesus’ trip across the Sea of Galilee to visit the region of the Gadarenes on the eastern shore of the sea.

This visit by Jesus to the Gadarenes, unique in His public ministry, is a remarkable incident in so many ways. It’s always good, though, to read a passage like this, indeed every passage, in context. In other words, read that which comes before and that which follows. This will help us come to terms with what took place and its effect on those involved.

First, then, I ask you to open your Bible and turn to Chapter 8 of the Gospel According to Matthew. Take some time, all the time you need, to read all of Chapter 8, which concludes with Jesus' visit to Gadara, but also includes brief descriptions of the events preceding it.

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Note: Gadara was the region’s main city, located about five miles southeast of the sea. But Mark and Luke use the term Gerasene which might refer to the city of Gerasa (or Gergesa) located on the eastern shore. Many believe most of the eastern shore was simply called the region of the Gadarenes. See the map.

Why did Jesus make this visit? Well, as we will see, there were good reasons then. But Jesus acts for more than the present; He acts for all times, so there are reasons that apply to us today as well.

Let’s turn our attention first to the disciples. By now they had been with Jesus for a while and had grown accustomed to huge crowds of people coming to Jesus for healing and instruction and forgiveness. They had encountered so many people begging for His help, for His mercy, that it had probably become almost routine for them. That previous evening, Matthew tells us:

"...they brought Him many who were possessed by demons, and He drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick" [Mt 8:16]

Just imagine the effect of all this, not only on the disciples, but also on all those who had witnessed Jesus performing these many exorcisms and cures. Day after day, all who came to Jesus, hundreds of people, were healed. In other words, if you came to Jesus, or were taken to Him by another, this manifestation of even a small kernel of faith was enough to bring healing, a healing that led each person to the salvation God wants for him.

And then, to add to their amazement, earlier that same day a Roman centurion -- a Gentile! -- had approached Jesus, and in total humility, explained his need:

"Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully" [Mt 8:6].

And Jesus didn’t hesitate to answer the plea of this Roman soldier:

"I will come and cure him" [Mt 8:7].

What a shock that must have been to the Jews, including the disciples. For Jesus had just agreed to go to the house of a Gentile, something no Jew would ever do – and not just any Gentile, but a centurion, an officer of the despised occupying Roman Army.

Yes, indeed, Jesus was more than unpredictable; he took the old rules and tossed them aside, demonstrating to the disciples the new path they would eventually be called to follow as they worked to fulfill Jesus command to “make disciples of all nations.”

From the Gospels it’s apparent that Jesus spent the vast majority of His public ministry among the Jews, and only seldom interacted with Gentiles. This encounter with the Roman centurion was one of those rare occasions. But one senses it wasn’t particularly traumatic for the disciples. The centurion came in humility and asked Jesus for help. But in a display of deep faith, he also accepted that Jesus could work miracles at will, with no restrictions.

"Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed" [Mt 8:8].

Yes, the centurion was a “righteous Gentile” whom Jesus praised to His disciples, so they wouldn’t miss the lesson:

"I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith" [Mt 8:10].

…and that includes you, apostles.

Then, presumably the next day, Jesus boarded a boat with his disciples and there, on the Sea of Galilee, "he gave orders to cross to the other side" [Mt 8:18]. During the crossing a violent storm arose and the disciples, too, plead for Jesus’ help:

“Lord, save us, we are perishing” [Mt 8:25].

Now, afraid for their lives, the apostles begged for help. But unlike the many who came to Jesus for healing, their faith was weak. One would think that having witnessed the divine power Jesus exercised every day, their faith would tell them to set aside fear. But no, they fear nature more than they trust God.

Our Lord calms the storm and chastises the disciples for the weakness of their faith, so unlike that of the Gentile centurion. They continue on, cross the Sea of Galilee, and enter the province of Gadara, a place populated largely by pagans. But Gadara isn’t just pagan territory. It is depicted as a district especially under the sway of the Evil One: God’s name is not invoked there, His law is not obeyed, and so we shouldn’t be surprised to find demoniacs dwelling there in their natural habitat.

These are not righteous Gentiles coming out of the tombs. No, they are instead men possessed by demons who have driven them into savagery. Just imagine the effect these demoniacs had on the disciples. Indeed, we can only imagine because in their bewilderment the disciples who have accompanied Jesus say absolutely nothing during this visit to Gadara. It’s as if they’re not even present; and yet, we know they are. They are silent, fearful witnesses to this strange encounter.

The disciples had heard many cries for help from those who came to Jesus. But they’d never heard anything quite like this:

What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time? [Mt 8:29]

Two remarkable questions from these demons. How darkly urgent was their need to separate themselves from Jesus. And how did they do it? By denouncing him as the Son of God! And in spitting out their hatred, their poison, they proclaimed the truth, at least some of it. The tiny remnant of goodness in their nature was exclusively intellectual. They recognized Jesus, and knew He possessed divine power. But their souls were so totally disfigured that no moral order remained. This acknowledgment, then, of Jesus’ identity escaped from them just as everything else did, with destructive violence: What have you to do with us?

Yes, indeed, what can the spirit of evil have in common with the Son of God? In a sense, this question -- What have we in common? – is not unlike what the centurion said to Jesus when he uttered,

“Lord I am not worthy…” [Mt 8:8]

Inspired by the Holy Spirit – for the Spirit certainly brought him to Jesus – the centurion recognized the great gulf that separated the reality of who he was and Who Jesus is. He was, indeed, unworthy. But for the demons it’s not a matter of unworthiness; it’s rather a question filled with hollow pride. It’s as if they challenge Jesus: “How dare you come to us. Don’t you, Son of God, have better things to do? Leave us alone.”

Other differences become evident. The centurion saw his servant’s illness, the paralysis, as an evil from which he should seek divine help. But for the demons, the evil of possession was at the very heart of their existence, and they, therefore, hated Jesus and the healing He brought.

The centurion also understood that, for Jesus, time and space are not obstacles. Jesus acts in fulfillment of the Father’s will, whenever and wherever that may be. The demons realize time is not one their side, that their “time” to plague humanity is only temporary. In their hatred, they scream at Jesus, reproaching him for coming before the kairos, before the appointed season of definitive judgment and the expulsion of the forces of evil:

“Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?” [Mt 8:29]

How odd. While they clearly know who Jesus is, and hate him for it, they are truly misinformed about the extent of their authority. No “appointed time” limits the work of God in the world. He desires the salvation of all and to save is what He does. He acts in a constant “now” and is certainly not constrained by the false desires of either demons or any of His creatures.

Demons are also great liars. After all, their boss is Satan, “a murderer…a liar and the father of lies” [Jn 8:44]. But demons are unable to lie to God. In the presence of Jesus, the Son of God, they must reveal all, even their ignorance. Yes, the demons, along with so many people in our world today, are woefully ignorant of the authority of God. Like the demons of Gadara, too many have embraced evil and worked to establish a culture of death, filled with places of anti-life from which they think they have evicted God, places where they believe the Truth cannot be proclaimed.

But God will have none of it. Jesus didn’t just happen to stop by Gadara on His way to somewhere else. As Moses led God’s people across the sea to claim a Promised Land inhabited by pagans, Jesus made this trip across the sea to do the same. He left the Galilee of the Jews, His people, and went intentionally to pagan Gadara to claim this land for His Father, just as He will send His disciples to “go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations” [Mt 28:19]. Jesus’ redeeming work knows no boundaries. The Word of God must spread throughout the earth, and no place is exempt.

The demons, of course, couldn’t accept this. Confused, they couldn’t understand why or how Jesus entered this place where evil believed itself safe from God’s Word. They had thrived there among the tombs of the dead, with the rotting flesh and bones and the unclean animals, and they resented this invasion of what they believe to be their sanctuary of evil.

In the Presence of Jesus, they resign themselves to being cast out, and accept that Jesus will free the men they have possessed. Interestingly, they ask to be sent into a herd of pigs, and Jesus grants their request. But “the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea where they drowned” [Mt 8:32].

Once again, we encounter that which separates Jesus from the powers of evil that roam throughout the world. Jesus offers humanity healing and life – “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly” [Jn 10:10]. – but there remains only one other choice: death.

A humiliated Satan, who was once Lucifer, the angel of light, is cast into a doomed herd of pigs by the mere Presence of the Son of God, who has embraced the nature and material body of these lowly humans. We see, then, that Satan is powerless in the Presence of Jesus. He can do nothing. When we accept Jesus Christ as the Lord of our lives, when we receive Him worthily in the Eucharist, when we accept His gifts of grace and forgiveness, He will “deliver us from evil.”

Our God, a Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Creator of all, is omnipotent, but His power is always exercised for good. It is a power manifested in mercy, and forgiveness, and love beyond our imagining.

But when people and nations turn away from God, when a people decides that the presence of God is an embarrassment, that the name of God is an insult to their intelligence and freedom, they then create a vacuum that Satan is only too happy to fill. And we can be certain the forces of evil would love to turn us into a latter-day Gadara.

For most of its history, despite their sinfulness, the people of our nation openly and willingly turned to God for help and guidance. Much of our history is that of a people struggling to overcome their faults, and yet filled with hope for a better, more virtuous future. “In God we trust” is still embossed on our currency. And as we salute our flag, we still pledge ourselves as “one nation, under God.” I would hope that most Americans still embrace a culture of life and believe that our loving God is the Lord of History who continues to act in our sinful world, just as He did when He walked on the earth in Galilee, Judah, and, yes, even in Gadara.

Let us pray, especially today, that as a people, as a nation of free men and women, we will turn always to Jesus Christ as our sole guide, as our Lord and Savior.

 

Bible Study Reflection #25: Welcome the Holy Spirit

I've been a bit slow posting these COVID-driven Bible Study Reflections, so I'll post the two most recent today. I hope they strike a needed chord with at least a few of my regular readers. Stay healthy, folks; but even more important, stay faithful and trust in our loving, merciful God.

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Many years ago, I read an article in which the writer ranked historical events and people, identifying those he believed were most influential. Einstein or Edison? Henry Ford or Henry Aaron? Hitler, Stalin, Roosevelt, or Churchill? Moses, Buddha, Jesus, or Mohammed? Or which events were more important? World War II or the Napoleonic Wars? The invention of the digital computer or the invention of indoor plumbing?

An interesting article, although the writer’s biases were fairly evident. But I suppose, like most of us, he too carries his biases to work. Ironically, perhaps the most biased among us are the secular pundits who claim to have rid themselves of religious bias and therefore belittle the importance of religion in the lives of others. Because they lack religious faith, they dismiss it as an important motivation. The irony is even greater because religious faith, when viewed objectively, has had more impact on human history — for both good and bad — than any other factor.

I recall watching a news show back at the turn of the millennium. The host asked a historian to name the most important people in human history. I don’t remember the historian’s name, but he made a point of calling himself an agnostic. And then he said something surprising, which I've paraphrased here:

As an historian, I’d have to say the most influential person in human history is Jesus Christ. The problem is, I can't understand how he came to be so influential. He was really a nobody, tucked away in a little corner of the world. He didn't write anything. He didn't go anywhere or do anything very important. He was executed for treason. And his followers? Just a handful of simple peasants. He should have been forgotten in a matter of days or weeks. It's truly inexplicable. But that's history.

Yes, Mr. Historian, that is history. And this history, viewed from the perspective of the Church's teachings, becomes very explainable. You see, the three most influential events in the history of humanity all centered on the person of Jesus Christ, and these events all took place within eight weeks of each other. Another thing they have in common: they were actions, taken not by men, but by God Himself. These events are true history — perhaps we should say, His Story — the story of the Creator of all doing the most remarkable things in an almost unbelievable, inexplicable way.

The Incarnation is the story of a loving Father sending His Son to suffer and die at the hands of those He created as a perfect offering for their sins. Our historian was at least partially right: Jesus Christ is inexplicable, until we plumb the depths of God's Love for us. His Story doesn't end on the cross at Calvary, which is the first of those three events. If it had, our historian's instincts would have been correct, and Jesus would have been, at most, a mere footnote.

But the Father wasn’t content to let it end there. He wanted us to know and to accept the truth. And so, three days later, the second event occurred. Jesus rose from the dead to prove His Divinity and to give a foretaste of what awaits those who love Him and keep His commandments.

But even the Resurrection, this momentous event, was insufficient. For the Father wants His Truth, and the knowledge of His infinite Love, to spread to the ends of the earth. His Son’s sacrificial death wasn’t just for a handful of followers, and not just for the Jewish people, His Chosen Ones, who for centuries preserved His Law. No, this act of redemption was for all of humanity, for every person is a child of God.

We, therefore, celebrate this third event, a relatively brief event in the history of salvation, but an event of such impact that it altered the very history of the world, permanently and profoundly. For what took place in Jerusalem on a Sunday morning almost 2,000 years ago is God's lasting gift to His children.

In his Gospel, St. John offers a glimpse of the effects of this special day:

On the last and greatest day of the feast, 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 that those who came to believe in him were to receive. There was, of course, no Spirit yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified [Jn 7:37-39].

The Father had sent His Son to suffer and die as a redemptive sacrifice, to free us from the slavery of sin and death and to give us the hope of eternal life. Now He sends His Holy Spirit, the giver of life, the personification of the Divine Love between Father and Son. And what power the Spirit has! Suddenly, 120 men and women, this fearful little band of followers, are transformed.

If someone’s never been afraid – really afraid, afraid he might suffer a violent death at any moment -- the fear that those who’ve survived combat know all too well -- then he probably doesn’t know how the disciples felt that day. They’d witnessed what had happened to Jesus, and they feared it might well happen to them. But as they gathered in prayer around our Blessed Mother in the upper room, the mighty breath of God and the fire of the Spirit’s presence engulfed them, changing them forever.

The Holy Spirit manifested within them the new, eternal covenant with God, the covenant Jesus instituted at the Last Supper. In doing so the Spirit formed them into the Church through which they would bring God's message of salvation to the world. How had Jesus put it just ten days earlier?

"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 lo, I am with you always until the close of the age" [Mt 28:19-20].

Now, for the first time, they began to understand what this mission entailed. And just as suddenly, all of Jesus' teachings, all of His promises, the words of the Word of God that had seemed so cryptic, became perfectly clear. Inspired by the Spirit with this new understanding and overflowing with enthusiasm for the mission He’d given them, they poured into the crowded streets of Jerusalem to share the Good News.

But the Holy Spirit had only just begun, and from those 120 disciples, He called one in particular to lead the way, one already chosen by Jesus. For in the second chapter of Acts, it’s Peter, the fisherman – full of bluster and human weakness, the man who’d betrayed his Lord in those final hours -- who now leads the way. Peter, then, the Rock upon whom Jesus promised to build His Church, is confirmed by the Spirit as the first Vicar of Christ on earth.

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it [Mt 16:18].

On that first Pentecost Sunday, the Church is born.

What happened that first day? Turn to the Acts of the Apostles and once again read chapters two through five and relive the wondrous events of those first exhilarating days of the Church founded by Jesus Christ. Listen again to the words of a now-inspired Peter who called all who heard him to repentance, Baptism, and salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Miracle followed miracle, and as St. Luke tells us:

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day...And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved [Acts 2,41,47].

Yes, indeed, the work of the Spirit can’t be stopped. Peter, the street-preacher, tells his impromptu audience of Jews, a gathering from every corner of the Roman Empire and beyond, that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. He recalls the words of the prophets Isaiah and Joel [See Is:2:2,44:3 and Jl 3:1-5]:

It will come to pass in the last days that I will pour out a portion of my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams [Acts 2:17].

Peter was preaching to a congregation of Jews, pilgrims who had come to Jerusalem from a dozen different lands to celebrate the Jewish feast of Pentecost. And as Pope Benedict XVI, in his wonderful, little book, Called to Communion, explains, on that first day, the truly Catholic Church was born:

“What first exists in one Church, the Church that speaks in all tongues – the ecclesia universalis [the catholic church]; she then generates Church in the most diverse locales, which nevertheless are all embodiments of the one and only Church” [Called to Communion, p 44].

We must never forget, as so many have, that the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, brought into being that day so long ago, remains with us today, still guided by the Holy Spirit, still led by Christ's Vicar, still committed to the Apostolic mission of bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world. Just ten days earlier, Jesus had given His “Great Commission” to his nascent Church:

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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 lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age [Mt 28:19-20].

But this mission isn’t something reserved solely to the successors of the Apostles, to the Holy Father and the bishops. No, this mission, this command of Jesus, is universal and intended for each one of us. This is our challenge as Catholic Christians. Jesus didn’t place limitations on His commissioning of the Church. We are all called to carry out the Church’s primary mission, that of evangelization.

Why this mission? Just look around you. It’s in all our lives: the sadness and hopelessness and sinfulness that plague so many today. These are God's children. They don’t need our condemnation or pity; they need evangelization, for the Father wants to bring them to Himself, and He calls each of us to take part in His work.

Does this call, this mission, frighten you? Do you resist because, deep down you are terrified of the idea of evangelizing others? You shouldn’t be. Just like Peter and the disciples on that first Pentecost, you won’t be alone. You see, we can’t do God’s work without the Spirit. St. Paul put it beautifully

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 itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings [Rom 8:26].

And as Paul reminded the Corinthians sometime later

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit [1 Cor 12:4-7].

Do you see what Paul is telling us? We have the same mission, even though we carry it out in different ways. And it’s the Holy Spirit who inspires and guides each of us.

This first Pentecost reminds us that we need to be roused from the comfort and safety and solitude of our own upper rooms. It reminds us that we need to be amazed — that our faith should be accompanied by the sound of wind, the heat of flames, the cacophony of different voices, and the presence of the Holy Spirit, proclaiming the mighty acts of God.

Peter and the Holy Spirit remind us that we all have a mission in and to the world, a world that waits just beyond our parish walls:

a world plagued by sinfulness;

a world often confused, divided, and afraid;

a world calling us to look outward as well as inward;

a world waiting to be astounded by the mighty acts of God and by a message of hope, the Good News of Jesus Christ, a message He proclaims through us, just as He did through the Apostles.

Brothers and sisters, this mission isn’t an option, something we’re simply encouraged to do. It’s a command from God Himself, an essential element of our lives as Catholic Christians.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with finding comfort in the midst of our family or parish community. Just don’t get too comfortable, for on Pentecost God took the disciples by the hand and turned their little circle inside out. Suddenly they faced not each other, but a world waiting to hear the Good News.

Yes, this can be a frightening thing. But remember, when we carry God’s love and truth to others, we will never be alone. For that’s God’s promise: the Holy Spirit will be with us, guiding us, his wisdom flowing through us. We need only invite Him into our lives.

How did Jesus put it in today’s Gospel?

“Rivers of living water will flow from within him who believes in me” [Jn 7:38 – See also Is:12:3; Ez 47:1].

Welcome the Spirit into your life, and through you He will renew the face of the earth. Do it today and see the wonders He will bring about.

Bible Study Reflection #24: Healing

Years ago, when I was an altar boy, perhaps 11 or 12 years old, I witnessed a remarkable incident. Weekday morning Mass had just ended, and the church emptied quickly as people rushed off to work. I was in the sanctuary extinguishing the candles when I noticed a man walking up the center aisle carrying a young boy in his arms. The boy looked to be about five years old and his legs draped loosely over the man’s arms. When they arrived at the altar rail, the man lowered the boy to the floor and knelt facing the altar. I stood there, maybe 20 feet away, ignored by both man and boy. I still remember their faces, the faint smile on the boy’s and the look of determination on the man’s. After a moment he said, loud enough for me to hear, “Lord, Jesus Christ, he’s yours. Heal my son. Save my son.” He then picked up the boy, turned, and walked back down the aisle and out the front door.

At the time I wasn’t exactly sure what I’d just witnessed, but I knew it was something special. I wish I could tell you the story had a miraculous ending, but I can’t. I never saw either the man or the boy again. But this incident from 65 years ago always comes to mind when I read this passage from Matthew, chapter 15:

And Jesus went on from there and passed along the Sea of Galilee. And He went upon the mountain, and sat down there. And great crowds came to Him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others, and they put them at His feet and He healed them, so that the throng wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel [Mt 15:29-31].

Usually, when we read or hear this passage, we focus on the multiplication of loaves and fishes that immediately follows. But today, at least at first, I’d like to focus just on these three brief verses. It’s really a remarkable little passage.

To me, this passage highlights, among other things, the difference between the common people of Galilee – with the obvious exception of the envious hometown folks of Nazareth – and the urban sophisticates of Jerusalem. The former, having witnessed firsthand the miraculous works of Jesus, “glorified the God of Israel.” The latter, apparently hoping for an earthly liberator, cry out as Jesus enters the city:

Hosanna! Blessed is he who  comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel! [Jn 12:13].

…and then, only days later, call for His crucifixion.

We also notice that the events described by Matthew mirror the Old Testament story of the Exodus. Once again… “Jesus went on from there and passed along the Sea of Galilee. And He went up on the mountain, and sat down there” [Mt 15:29]. Just as God led His chosen people across the sea and then to the mountain in Sinai where he sat in glory, Jesus passes by the sea, and then takes his place on the mountain top.

It’s only fitting that Jesus, the King of Creation, should use the earth as His very throne. And there He sits, on that mountain between heaven and earth, resting, saying nothing, full of God’s expectant silence. Yes, there he sits, in Paul’s words, “the one Mediator between God and men” [1 Tim 2:5], waiting to dispense to anyone who comes to Him truth and healing, life and breath, and everything good.

This decision by Jesus to sit down does not simply indicate His need to rest, but perhaps more importantly, reflects the posture of the rabbi, the teacher, who is always seated when He teaches. But no sooner does Jesus sit down than the needy flock to Him in great numbers, as if drawn by some irresistible force. Who are they? Matthew tells us: “…the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others.” Ah, yes, you might think, the usual suspects – the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute -- those same unfortunates we encounter throughout the Gospels.

But Matthew adds something else, doesn’t he? “…and many others.” What others? Why, all of us, for the healing power of Jesus is universal and we are all in need of it.

In this remarkable event we see the fulfillment of the Psalmists’ prophecies:

Serve the LORD with fear, with trembling kiss his feet…Blessed are all who take refuge in him [Ps 2:11-12].

Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved [Ps 55:22].

Because he cleaves to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name [Ps 91:14].

Your people will offer themselves freely on the day you lead your host upon the holy mountains [Ps 110:3]. 

In the Old Testament we find frequent close encounters with God’s power, a power He must wield frequently enough to keep His chosen people together and holy. But now, under the New Covenant, mercy and power come together; Jesus judges only to save:

I have come as light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If anyone hears my sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world [Jn 12:46-47].

So, the next time you see one of those roadside signs that shouts out to the passing world, “Jesus Saves!”, you should loudly exclaim, “Amen!”

Sometimes, I think, as we hear the Gospel proclaimed, we pay too little attention to what it reveals. For example, Matthew tells us “great crowds came to Him,” all looking for healing. The word had spread throughout Galilee, hadn’t it? This Jesus of Nazareth cures everyone who comes to Him. Yes, indeed, the WORD gets around, and draws all to Him.

Following our brief passage, “Jesus summoned His disciples and said” to them:

My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way [Mt 15:32].

We see, then, that these folks didn’t just come and go; no, these “great crowds” stayed with Jesus…for three days. The people knew, instinctively, that they needed more than physical healing, for wherever Jesus went, He not only healed, He also preached and taught. They needed to hear the Word of God, the Word of mercy and forgiveness that leads to the salvation God wants for all of us.

Jesus did “not want to send them away hungry.” They also needed food. And what better food to nourish them on their journey home as they follow “the way” than the Bread of Life itself? The feeding of the 4,000 that follows is a foreshadowing of the Eucharistic feast Jesus will introduce at the Last Supper. We are called back to His words proclaimed in the synagogue at Capernaum, words that shocked those who heard them:

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever [Jn 6:52-58].

Many, indeed many of His disciples, were shocked by these words, so shocked they no longer followed Him, leaving only the twelve and perhaps a few others. It’s then John shares with us this brief yet wonderful dialog between Jesus and Peter:

Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God" [Jn 6:67-69].

Today, we thank Peter for his decision to remain with Jesus, a decision that likely influenced the other Apostles to stay as well. And we thank, too, the Holy Spirit who inspired Peter, leading his heart and mind to follow the will of the Father. Yes, God inspires us and offers us His grace, but He doesn’t force Himself on us. He allows us to accept or reject His saving grace. But had Peter made the wrong decision, had he rejected the Lord as so many others had, had he led the other Apostles to turn away from Jesus at this critical time, would we have had the Last Supper? Would we have the Eucharist, the “bread which came down from heaven” and gives us eternal life? Fortunately, it’s a question we don’t have to answer, for Peter accepted the inspiration and the grace he received that day in Capernaum.

Let’s return now to our initial verses and those who came to Jesus in need of healing. Notice that those whom Jesus cured were prevented by their very afflictions from going to our Lord on their own. They found themselves at Jesus’ feet only because their friends, relatives, neighbors – perhaps even a stranger or two – carried them there.

The people in need are placed at Jesus’ feet – actually a better translation of the Greek is that they are cast at Jesus’ feet -- in a sense, thrown down, at the feet of the King, almost as a sacrifice. They are placed there in an act of submission to Jesus’ person and power, so that they may be freed from their brokenness and become whole. For it is only through the saving power of Jesus Christ that we become truly whole in both body and soul.

What seems at first to be simply the start of a rather ordinary scene in which Jesus makes His way up the mountain and sits down, in just a few verses, is magnified into a universal event of salvation that creates new life. It’s all of a piece isn’t it, all blended together in this remarkable series of events? The physical healing, the spiritual healing, the Eucharistic teaching, the promise of eternal life, and so much more, all become one as all are bound together by our Lord.

I’m reminded once again of that event I witnessed in my parish church so many years ago. The man who carried his son to the altar of the Lord took hm there out of love, knowing the boy could not make the pilgrimage on his own. He needed another, just as so many of us need others as we struggle along the path to salvation, as we make our broken way along The Way. Yes, we need physical healing often enough, but we are always in need of spiritual healing.

That father spoke aloud his short prayer as he knelt before the altar of the Lord, but perhaps in its brevity, we encounter the abundance of the perfect prayer.

“Lord, Jesus Christ, he’s yours. Heal my son. Save my son.”

He accepts that his son belongs to God, and by expressing this, he tells the Lord to care for this child, to what he, his earthly father, has been unable to do. He calls on God to heal this son of theirs, to heal him physically. But then he concludes his prayer by asking God to grant this boy, their son, salvation.

I’ve always believed that this father’s act of humility and perfect prayer brought the answer he sought from the Divine Healer, our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Do you see our responsibility? Your responsibility? Yes, brothers and sisters, each of us has a part in each other’s story of salvation. And for what end? Why the same end that Matthew reveals in our Gospel passage: “and they glorified the God of Israel.”

For this is what human life is all about. We are to make a gift of ourselves to God, so that, as Paul reminds us,

…having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints” [Eph 1:18]. 

…that our lives may glorify our God.