Every youngster knows what Thursday is. "Halloween" is a contraction of All Hallows' Eve. It’s an old-fashioned way of saying "the night before All Saints' Day." So, if your children or grandkids go trick or treating, be sure they have a fun and safe time, and ask them to tell you about their baptismal name saint. One of the best places for a fun and safe Halloween is here on Church grounds beginning at 5:30 pm.
The Word of God takes us back to the 6th century before Jesus. Jeremiah speaks about hope: a new beginning for a people now conquered but soon to be free, now overwhelmed by tragedies but soon to enjoy prosperity and peace. Jeremiah challenges us to hope always in God.
The letter to the Hebrews speaks of the saving work of Jesus, our high priest who re-established our relationship with God and one another. The author challenges us to see earthly life in light of our true purpose: a new heavenly reality with God and each other forever.
In the Gospel, Jesus asks a blind man: “what do you want me to do for you?” The person replies: “I want to see.” Jesus replies: “Your faith has saved you.” And the blind man saw. It’s “Amazing Grace” – “I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.”
Jesus asks each of us today what we want him to do for us. How do we answer Jesus?
I would like to speak about another person who was once blind to who Jesus was, and suddenly saw him as the living Christ: St. Paul.
Paul was well educated in Judaism and philosophy. He had also been a rabid persecutor of the early Christians.
Suddenly Paul was blinded by a light from above. The awesome visionary experience of Christ turned Paul’s life around. He became God’s chosen instrument to the non-Jews, a great evangelizer. Paul established faith communities and authored letters shaping the history of Christian thought. For this, he was persecuted and finally beheaded for his faith.
I believe Paul had a keen insight into what makes people tick. The desire for happiness is universal. We often do things that we think will make us happy, only to end up miserable. Why? Because we sometimes confuse pleasure with happiness. Etched into Paul’s vision were the words of Jesus: "I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."
For Paul, the path to the fullness of life is discipline. Think about it. When we eat well, exercise often, and sleep regularly, we feel alive physically. When we love, when we give priority to our significant relationships, when we encourage people, we feel alive emotionally. When we study the achievements and marvels of the human spirit in various cultures, our world expands and we feel alive intellectually.
And when we take time each day with God in prayer, humbly and openly, we experience more fully the transcendent dimension of our lives, the spiritual, the awesome presence of God. All of these life-giving endeavors require discipline. Discipline sets us free for our ultimate purpose: love of God and our fellow human beings.
Paul grasped this and preached that Christ came to reconcile us with the Father, and in doing so, Christ satisfies the craving for happiness that preoccupies our hearts. Our yearning is ultimately for friendship and intimacy and relationship with our Creator. Augustine’s words in the fifth century echo anew in every place, in every time: “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you, Lord.”
For St. Paul, Christ is indeed “the way, the truth, and the life.”
And who is this Jesus who captivated Paul and should captivate us? The Gospel writers give us a glimpse. They wrote to different audiences and emphasized different ways in which to follow Jesus.
In Matthew, Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, the new Moses, the teacher, the rabbi who instructs the disciples, especially in the Beatitudes; and Matthew invites us to teach as well, especially by example, by the practice of virtue.
In Mark, Jesus is the suffering Messiah—human, approachable. Mark proposes that like the early Christians, we may have to cope with suffering. We may wonder at times if God has forgotten us. But Jesus reminds us, “do not fear. I am with you always.”
In Luke, Jesus is compassionate and forgiving, and salvation is for everyone. Remember the parable of the prodigal son. Luke challenges us to be compassionate and forgiving in our relationships with one another.
In John, Jesus is noble, majestic, divine. “The Word was God.” “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” Jesus invites the first disciples to stay with him, and John invites us to stay with Jesus, especially in prayer.
Jesus is more than any one person can describe. What image of Jesus inspires each of us to become the kind of person today that Jesus was? Let that image captivate us the way it captivated so many holy men and women in Christianity.
