Seize Every Opportunity to Do Good

Caravaggio's Sacrifice of Isaac

It’s “back-to-school time.” I’m going to give you a brief two-part quiz.
Part one: Name the last two movies to win the Oscar for best picture.
Part two: Think of a teacher who made a positive difference in your life, and a friend or mentor who helped you learn something worthwhile.

The point is simple: we often forget “headlines.” However, “heroes and heroines” like teachers and mentors, family and friends, can truly make a difference for the better.

The word of God heard today recalls the first Passover meal, when the ancient Hebrews celebrated liberation from their oppressors, and notes: That same provident God, always faithful to his promises, eventually will send the Messiah who will usher in God’s kingdom of peace and justice and truth and freedom.

In the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus says that we are to be like servants who await their master’s return, ready to welcome him. Be alert; be prepared; focus on what truly matters—eternal life with God. We will be accountable for the person we become with the time and talent God gives us.

To be a disciple of Jesus is to be fundamentally a man or woman of faith, someone who trusts completely in God throughout all the opportunities and threats and disappointments of life, someone who desires to do what God wants even though we can’t always precisely figure out what that is.

The letter to the Hebrews tells of two faith-filled people, Abraham and Sarah: trusting completely in God, in a foreign land, among strangers, in shelters, believing that Sarah would at last have a child. They are models of faith.

The story invites us to reflect upon the dimensions of our own faith: a gift from God whereby we begin a right relationship with the triune God, nurtured through prayer and especially through the Eucharist, the source and summit of Catholic life. It is the acceptance of God’s promises as true and a commitment to live accordingly. Faith includes the essential truths we profess every Sunday in our Nicene Creed, from the fourth century.

Faith is living in a right relationship with God. And there can be various stages in our faith development. We either grow into a relationship with God, or we fall out of it.

This faith compels us to be missionary disciples. Many of us share our faith even though we may not realize it, teaching the virtues of prayer, generosity, fairness, honesty, and service. Teachers develop virtues or habits of heart and skills of mind that will enable students to become good citizens. So do medical professionals. And, so do citizens when they urge their elected officials to set legislation that promotes human dignity.

We especially share our faith when we do our best to stand up for what is right and true and good. Never forget that the only “Gospel” some people may ever see is ourselves. Every day, we have so many little opportunities to be fully awake, to do good for others.

Who Is Jesus?

In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?” In other words, what does Jesus mean to us? What do we mean to Jesus?

The Gospel writers give us four different portraits or faces of Jesus because they wrote to four different audiences and emphasized four different ways to follow Jesus.

Jesus is a rabbi or teacher in Matthew; so too should we be teachers, especially by example and the practice of virtue.
In Mark, Jesus is a suffering Messiah; so too we may have to cope with illness or make sacrifices.
In Luke, Jesus is a healer or peacemaker; so should we be in our relationships with one another.
In John, Jesus calls us "friend"; so too should we seek Jesus as a friend especially in prayer.

What image of Jesus inspires us to become a faithful disciple of Jesus?

How did the early Christian community see Jesus? The more the early Christian community reflected on who Jesus was, the more they saw Jesus not only as the fulfillment of their hopes but the foundation. The eternal Word! The Gospel according to John captures this magnificently: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”

This God-human Jesus was a real historical person, flesh and blood. He experienced, as we sometimes do, fatigue, hunger, satisfaction, joy, friendship, anger, disappointment and loneliness.
He was a teacher, a prophet who preached that the kingdom of God was breaking into our lives. He worked signs and wonders, proclaiming that good ultimately would triumph over evil; he possessed authority to forgive wrongdoings; he promised eternal life.He had a unique relationship with God; he was one with God, true God and truly human. He was crucified, died and then raised up in glory to God. And he is alive in our midst today, especially in the sacramental life of the Church community.

Jesus taught not only that the kingdom of God was breaking into our lives but also that we can share in this kingdom. By living prayerfully; by recognizing that our lives have an ultimate purpose because our lives are no accident; by seeing in Jesus, the Word made flesh, the face of God; by reaching out compassionately and generously to people who touch our lives each day; by experiencing the presence of the living Christ in our sacramental life; and by being ready to let go of our earthly life, in the mystery of death, so that we can be one with God forever.

Jesus taught that God is our Father, a compassionate God, always near us. As disciples we too will experience pain and grief and disappointment, and love and friendship.

Jesus then challenges us to “take up our crosses” (Matthew 16:24), whatever they might be; and to follow Jesus’s life is to find our own. For the only Gospel some people may ever know is how we live our everyday lives.

Best Friends Forever

DaVinci's Last Supper in Milan, Italy

It’s “back-to-school time.” I’m going to give you a 2-part quiz. Part 1:
Who were the last two teams to win the Super Bowl?
Name the two wealthiest people in the world (according to Forbes Magazine).
I didn’t get 100%. Now part 2:
Think of two teachers who made a difference for the better in your life.
Name two friends who helped you through a difficult time.
I bet you named people there.

The point is simple: we quickly forget "super bowl" headlines. However, we don't forget those “heroes and heroines” who mentored or coached us through challenges, and who helped us answer the question: what on earth am I here for.  That, my friends, is precisely what Jesus does: our way, our truth and our life.

In the Gospel according to John, Jesus says he is the bread of life who can transform us into new creatures. Elsewhere Jesus works a sign/a wonder: he multiplies the loaves and fish, sharing with the hungry crowd.

As a community of disciples, Jesus satisfies our spiritual hunger at the table of the Lord with the bread of life, the Eucharist.

Jesus is our rabbi/teacher who shows us purpose in life, to live in relationship with Gode and one another forever.  He is our trustworthy friend who is always with us especially as we face challenges. And he's our mentor who graces us so that we can become the best version of ourselves.

This living Christ invites us, so says John 15:15, to be “friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.”

Now, what is a friend? I recently came across a survey of 800 so-called young millennials. The results gave a snapshot of a lonely generation. Many had a large number of “Facebook friends” but still felt a sense of loneliness. Social media, of course, is no substitute for real, face-to-face friendships.

The Bible is very realistic about friendships. We see examples of relationships at their best, and also at their worst.

For me, friendships include at least three ingredients. First, partnerships. Jesus sent his disciples out two by two. From the beginning of Christianity, we see friends working together. Paul and Barnabas, for example, “dedicated their lives ... to Jesus Christ.” We read they had a disagreement, parted company. But in the providence of God, Barnabas found a new partner in Mark, Paul partnered with Silas, and they went “through Syria and Cilicia, bringing strength to the churches.” (Acts 15:41). Yes, value partnerships, in marriage, in work, in the community.

Second, nurture friendships. Martin Luther King Jr. gave some good advice about how to do this, reminding us: “Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent attitude.” Absolutely true in nurturing friendships.

Finally, make loyalty a priority.  If we sow loyalty, we will reap loyalty. We will even become trustworthy among those who aren't our friends.

Above all, think of Jesus as our best friend, soulmate and confidant, our kindly light forever.