Purposeful living!

In today's Gospel, Mark 1: 29-39, Jesus, with James and John,  visited Simon and his brother Andrew.  When Jesus entered their house, Simon and Andrew immediately told Him that Simon's mother-in-law was ill. Jesus approaches her, grasps her hand, and helps her up. Immediately "the fever left her" and she proceeded to wait on her guests.  Toward evening the entire town brought the ill and possessed to him and he healed them. Early in the morning he found a deserted place to communicate with His Father. He wasn't there very long when those who were with him found him to tell him that "[e]veryone is looking for you."  Jesus does not get hooked into pleasing those who were awed by his miracles. He says to his disciples, "Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose I have come."  Jesus knows what His mission is and is not into being gloated over, into being popular, seeking prestige or honors! He says "no" to those things and moves on!  He is clear about His purpose for being here on earth!

What motivates me in the choices I make? What motivates you in the choices you make?  Am I, are you,  seeking honor, glory, prestige or power? Or am I, are you, following the Spirit's lead to help others in need and then moving on to the next mission? Are we clear about why we are here on earth for a short time?

Jesus' Mission Statement

In today's Gospel, Luke 4: 14-221, Jesus goes to the synagogue in his home town. He opens the scroll and reads the following passage from Isaiah:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. 
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year 
acceptable to the Lord.

This is Jesus' mission statement! What is yours?

       For what has God anointed you at your baptism?
       For what have you been sent here on earth to do?

If, today, Jesus' mission is your mission, and mine:

• To whom did you, did I, bring glad tidings?
• To whom did you, did I,  proclaim liberty?  In other words, who is freer today because of their interaction with us?
• Who, today, sees more clearly who Jesus is, what their mission is, or how much they are loved because of us?
• Who has been set free of oppression today because of our intervention or engagement with them? Or have we, instead, been an oppressor?

May Jesus truly live through us more and more each day and may His mission be accomplished through us!

Faith Tested in the Fires of Purification

In today's first and second readings we encounter two men:  Eleazar, who is willing to give his very life in order to remain faithful to Yahweh and Zaccheaus, a chief tax collector,  who is willing to risk ridicule and the resentment of the crowd in his desire to see Jesus. Eleazar suffers martyrdom at the hands of the king who orders that he submit to a sacrifice ordered by the king's decree that violates the Law of Moses.  Zacchaeus, who climbs a sycamore tree to see Jesus as He passes by, is spotted  by Jesus and asked to "come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house."  The crowd grumbles about Jesus, saying: "He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner." Zaccheaus repents of his wrongdoing, as he cheated the people in his collection of taxes and says to Jesus: "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over."  Jesus assures Zacchaeus, saying: "Today salvation has gone to this house...For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost."

A couple of questions to consider: Would I be willing to sacrifice my life and refuse to violate the law of God, to break the ten Commandments, in the face of being scourged to death by not following a crowd taunting me to do so, as Eleazar was taunted to give in to the king's decree?  Would I, like Zaccheas, risk being ridiculed by a crowd of people, by my family and friends, who know how I have violated other people's rights, or even ridiculed the faith,  and here I am seeking Jesus, even going to extremes to see Him?  Am I willing to do anything it takes to right restore my relationship with Jesus and seek Him above all, no matter what people say of me?  Am willing to reconcile with "an enemy" even when others are taunting me to remain hostile with another person who may have hurt me in some way?  May we have the courage of Eleazar and Zaccheaus in living our faith!

The Baptism and Mission of Jesus and Ours

Today we celebrate the baptism of our Lord. Jesus arrives at the place where John is baptizing, as told to us in today’s Gospel, Matthew 3: 13-17.  He approaches John and asks for baptism.  John resists, saying to Jesus: I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?”  Jesus says to him: “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”  So John allows the baptism. As Jesus exits the Jordan, “the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending, like a dove and coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
 

The first reading of today’s liturgy, Isaiah 42: 1-4, 6-7,  presents the prophesy concerning Jesus’ mission. God says to us through the prophet Isaiah that Jesus is God’s “servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, …A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching….”  Jesus, Isaiah tells us,  is “a covenant of the people, a light for the nations.” He is “to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.”

That prophesy holds  true in 2017 as it did 2,017 years ago.  To this very day, Jesus continues the work for which He was sent until “justice” has been brought forth to the nations,” until “the blind” see, until “prisoners” of Satan’s snares are set free, and until “those who live in darkness” are brought into, and live by, the Light!

As disciples of Jesus, you and I are either among those who, with Jesus set prisoners free, radiate the light of justice, truth, humility, love, reconciliation, and forgiveness, thus being a light in the darkness of our world; or we are among those needing to be set free and brought into the light of living justly, humbly, lovingly, mercifully, and compassionately. As human beings, we can easily vacillate between being true to our baptismal vows or violating them to a lesser or greater degree, repenting and coming back into good graces!

What will I choose today?