Competing for the Faith

In today's first reading, 1 Tim : 2c-11, St. Paul reminds us that "the love of money is the root of evil."  Note that he says "the love of money,"  not money itself.  How does the love of money become the root of all evil in the life of some people? Because in their desire for money some individuals "have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains."  What pains? The pains of being unjust, promiscuous, corrupt, deceptive, narcissistic, hate-filled, envious, conceited, arrogant, divisive, contentious, to name a few of the traps Satan sets for men and women enslaved to money.  Persons whose idol is money will do anything , it seems,  to increase their bank account: engage in human trafficking, slave labor, the sale of  illegal drugs; aborting or killing a child in the womb, cheating the poor of a just wage or not paying employees at all by declaring bankruptcy, engaging in unfair price setting and on and on and on!  Yes, when money becomes an idol, sin abounds and eventually the money lover becomes a slave and slavery eventually becomes extremely painful!

St. Paul says to Timothy and to all men and women of God, to you and to me: "Avoid all this. Instead, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called when you made the noble confession in the presence of witnesses."  You and I were called to be men and women of God when we were baptized and confirmed in the faith.

What are you, am I, pursuing: Righteousness? Devotion? Faith? Love? Patience? Gentleness?  In what are we competing?

God's Peace Enabling Us to Walk as Jesus Walked

Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family of Mary, Joseph and Jesus, persons highly favored by God and playing a significant role in our salvation.  The first reading, Sirocco 3: 26, 12-14, speaks to us of the importance of how one relates to one's parents and how parents relate to their children! Paul asks us, in the second reading, Colossians 3: 12-21, to "[p]ut on, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another; if one has a grievance against  another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so much you also do. And over all these put on love, that is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful."

There is no better counsel for the New Year! We do not need to look for any other New Year's Resolutions. If we read this passage from Colossians every evening and examine our behaviors that day in light of this passage, we are well on our way to experiencing the peace that only God can give!  In that peace is the strength we need to begin anew the next day as "God's chosen ones, holy and beloved," putting on "heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another."  It is in peace that we are given the wisdom to forgive others as God has forgiven us. It is the peace of Christ that opens our hearts to God's love within us, "the bond of perfection."

Let us pray for this peace that God wants to give us each day and each night.

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?

Full Maturity in Christ Jesus

Today we celebrate the Ascension of our Lord into heaven.  St. Paul says to us in Ephesians 4: 9-13: "When it says, 'he ascended', what can it mean if not that he descended right down to the lower regions of the earth? The one who rose higher than all the heavens to fill all things is none other than the one who descended. And to some, his gift was that they should be apostles; to some, prophets; to some, evangelists; to some, pastors and teachers; so that the saints together make a unity in the work of service, building up the body of Christ. In this way we are all to come to unity in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God, until we become the perfect ...[person], fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself" (emphasis mine).

Jesus descends to our level, except for sin, and returns to heaven, as He is above all corruption. He takes our humanity with Him. He takes all of life with Him to be transfigured by Him, transformed by grace. He awaits for all of creation to "fully mature with the fullness" of Himself. He awaits for us to "come to unity in our faith and in our knowledge of Jesus as the Son of God. Yes, He awaits for us to become the perfect person that He intends us to be. For that end, St. Paul, in Eph. 4: 1-4, exhorts us to "lead a life worthy of your vocation. Bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience. Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together."

In what ways am I heeding Paul's words? How selflessly do I live? How gentle  and patient am I with others and myself? Do I, in fact, "preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds" me with others, with the Church, with my family or community members, with my coworkers, with persons of color, of other nationalities, other cultures, other religious; in short with my brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world? In what ways is it evident that I am growing "fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself?

A Wardrobe of Virtue

All of us know the experience of getting dressed in the morning, putting on our very best, clothing ourselves in a way that we felt absolutely  great.  We felt so good and looked so good that we danced down the stairs for all to see. We were thrilled at how we looked. What we wear truly does make a difference.  In today’s first reading, Colossians 3: 12-17, St. Paul encourages us,  as “God’s chosen ones,”  as God’s “holy and beloved” sons/daughters, to put on “heartfelt compassion,”  to clothe ourselves with “kindness”, to  array ourselves with “humility”,  to don “gentleness” and to slip into “patience.”  Sit back an image yourself  pulling those “outfits” out of your closet!  Then, Paul says, “over all these put on love.”

The Lord modeled this wardrobe for us as He walked the face of this earth, died on Calvary after being stripped of his earthly wardrobe, nailed to the cross, left to die and rose again.  Every day of our lives, from birth to this very day, the Lord wants to clothe us with patience, gentleness, humility, kindness, mercy and compassion. And over all of these virtues, God wills to give us love, a love poured out for us on Calvary and bequeathed to us in each of the sacraments and in our love for others and  other’s love for us, especially that of our parents and/or significant other. Is my heart receptive of the “clothing” given from above, the only clothing that will matter when I stand before the gate of heaven at the end of my life?