Authentic Disciples Only

In Matthew 5, Jesus gives us the Beatitudes and the examples of Salt and Light, and then He says, "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill it." 

He's just spoken in a revolutionary way, contrary to the worldly view of poverty, peace, and persecution in the Beatitudes, and then he says, 'I'm not abolishing the law." How can this be? He then drops another bombshell when he says, almost casually, "'You've heard it said, but I say...'" Robert Barron explains that Jesus refers to the Torah here. He seems to be saying that what is written in the Torah, the most holy scripture to the Jewish people, is not as important as what I'm about to tell you. Now that's confidence, audacity, boldness, and even dangerous. What Jesus is doing here is enforcing the law and making it so clear, no one can misunderstand the demands of God. The pharisees had gotten good at following the law but doing evil to others. We can't just look good to the people we see at church each weekend. We have to be holy inside and out; authentic and genuine. 

Jesus says that being angry with your brother is murder and loving your neighbor isn't good enough. You must love your enemies too. He says adultery is not just doing something with the body, it's doing something with the eyes and the mind too. He teaches us not to calculate or be overly conscious of our tithing; in other words, be overly generous and expect nothing in return. We should deny and discipline ourselves often, stop worrying about the details, stop trying to control our own lives, pray as if everything depended on it (it does), and refrain from retaliating when attacked or insulted. We need to love; freely, completely, faithfully, always, and we need to forgive because we have been forgiven. Not even a pharisee could miss the teaching from Matthew 5.

House Building

If you are like me and have been on this Christian journey for a while, it is easy to feel 'accomplished' or 'finished.' You do not resemble the person you were years or even months ago. Christ has conquered some of the bad habits and character flaws and you look and feel like a "good person." When this happens, I feel like it would be natural for things to now go smoothly. When troubles come along, like sickness, car repairs, people conflicts, money shortages, or new temptations, I am disappointed. These things were necessary to help me become a better person in my bad-old-days, but why do I have them now? The answer is that God is forcing each of us on. He's putting us in situations where we will have to be more patient, braver, careful, and more faithful than we ever dreamed of being before. It seems unnecessary, but that is because we have no idea of the person he is planning for us to be.

C.S. Lewis quotes George McDonald in Mere Christianity when he tells this parable: "Imagine yourself a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first you can understand what he is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof. You knew those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But then He starts knocking the house about that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house than you thought of. He's throwing out a new wing here, putting in an extra floor there, putting up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."

We may say, "I never expected to be a saint. I just wanted to be a decent, ordinary person," but this is a fatal mistake. Although it sounds humble, it's actually laziness and cowardice. Of course we never wanted and never asked to be made into the perfect person He is going to make us into, but the question is not what we intended ourselves to be but what He intended us to be when he made us. He is the inventor. We are only the machine. He is the painter. We are only the picture. His goal is to make us saints. We are the only obstacle to this process.

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

The Purpose of the Rear View Mirror

When my oldest son took driver's education he learned that he knew less about operating a car than he thought. One of his biggest 'ah, ha' moments was when he learned the true purpose of the rear view mirror. He learned that it was indeed not for monitoring what's going on in the back seat and catching a child doing something he shouldn't! A rear view mirror allows the driver to clearly see what's going on outside and around the car, to gauge where the car is in relation to other obstacles, to help anticipate dangerous situations, and to take advantage of safe opportunities on the road.

Likewise, when my second son took driver's education, he learned the true purpose of the hazard lights button. It was not, in fact, a button to be pushed just before the car exploded to signal a warning to other driver's who might be caught in the blast radius! Hazard lights indicate to other drivers to use care in approaching, overtaking, or passing. They signal that there is an emergency, such as, a mechanical breakdown or car accident.

I believe that if we all had a better understanding of the true purpose of the Catholic Mass, we would never, EVER miss another Sunday or Holy Day of Obligation!

The Mass is not about God catching us doing something wrong and His opportunity to punish us. The Mass is not something we seek out when all else fails and we are in imminent danger. The Mass is a Love Story. It's about a groom seeking His bride. It's a wedding feast. It's a free gift of sanctifying grace. The Mass is about our selfless offering, His selfless sacrifice, His VERY PRESENCE. The Mass is about community and family. Its about support, guidance, encouragement, and instruction. The Mass is about contrition, forgiveness, and mercy. It's about boosting morale, summoning His strength and courage, and sending us out to bring Christ to the world!

If you've been away from the Mass or you don't recognize anything in the above paragraph as relating to the Mass you've been to lately, I encourage you first to pray for God's free gift of Faith; one of the Theological Virtues. Secondly, educate yourself about what's really and truly happening at every Mass. I recommend Behold The Mystery: A Deeper Understanding of the Catholic Mass by Mark Hart (2014). The best thing about the Mass is that even if you don't understand or even recognize the miracle happening there, you still receive all the grace (Christ's Very Life) when you give your full, active, and conscious participation!

Don't miss Mass this weekend!