Been there; Done that; Got the T-shirt

I love Colorado.  I remember my first trip when I couldn’t take my eyes off the mountains.  They filled me with wonder and awe.  Camping, cooking out, hiking, friendships… all of these things are indelibly printed on my mind.  THIS experience changed my life… Colorado became part of ‘who I am’.  Several times, I’ve bought T-shirts to commemorate the trip to my beloved mountains – announcing to the world my New Identity:  I’m a Colorado-freak.

Don’t we all do that?  We go somewhere or have a powerful experience which feels so awesome that it impacts our very identity, so impactful that we buy a T-shirt to tell the world about it.  Like maybe a concert – where the music and special effects are awe-inspiring, and we get caught up in the crowd’s frenzy.  We think, ‘Life should ALWAYS be like this!’… and we buy a T-shirt to tell the world that this band/concert/whatever is now part of ‘who we are’;  part of our identity:  I’m a (fill in the blank)-freak.

But not every T-shirt really tells our identity. 

My brother went to London.  I stayed home and worked.  He enjoyed the culture, the food, the beverages… I stayed home and worked.  He brought me a really nice T-Shirt from London…one that many people would be jealous to have.  Thing is… I’ve never been to London.  That shirt, as awesome as it is, is nothing more than a sentimental reminder that my brother loves me.  Yeah, I appreciate it, but I’ve never experienced London.  London is part of the United Kingdom… but it’s not MY kingdom.  My only connection to that kingdom is a now-faded T-shirt. 

Unfortunately, for many of us, that happens to our Faith life.  Our parents or grandparents had faith.  They enjoyed the Catholic culture, the Eucharist, and the cup of salvation.  For them, this was more than a T-shirt; it was their very life.  They passed it on to us, but unless we personally experience a relationship with Jesus, our Faith is nothing more than a sentimental reminder that our parents/grandparents love us.  They are members of the Kingdom of God… but it’s not MY kingdom.  My only connection to that kingdom is like my now-faded T-shirt.

Some of us may LOOK like we’re in the kingdom.  You know, we go to church once in a while – maybe even regularly.  We throw something in the collection basket to appease our need to feel charitable.   We might even go so far as to wear a Christian T-shirt, announcing to the world that Jesus is King!  But if we don’t know Jesus, he’s not really OUR king… and we’re not really in the kingdom.

How can we turn this around?  I propose that we all need an experience which fills us with awe and wonder;  an experience that immerses us into the culture, the joy, and the lifestyle of Catholicism.  We need to surround ourselves with others whose enthusiasm is infectious.  We need an experience which makes us realize ‘this is how life should be!’; an experience so intense, we want to buy a T-shirt to commemorate the event and tell the world that this is now part of who we are.

The best way I’ve seen is a Retreat or a Conference centered on an experience of the Holy Spirit – showing us that this Faith our parents gave us really IS the source of joy: like Cursillo, Welcome, Steubenville conferences, Renew Ministries, Encounter Ministries, Seek.  These events and many others give us a taste of the culture of Catholicism which we don’t always see in our daily lives nor, unfortunately, in our home parishes.  Caught up in the emotion, we might even buy a T-shirt, telling the world we’re now a Jesus-freak.

Even so, a one-time event doesn’t change our identity.  To keep that new-found Joy, something’s gotta change.  To build and maintain a relationship with Jesus, we need to develop a lifestyle of prayer and study – putting it on our daily schedules.  If we don’t know the King, If we don’t immerse ourselves in the lifestyle of Catholicism, then our connection to the Faith is nothing more than a faded, hand-me-down T-shirt.

 

 

2023/02/19 - Order into Chaos

When I was on the Fire Dept, we’d be called when things… were not going well.  Arriving on the scene of a working structure fire, emotions were high, people wer crying or even screaming, they might even be frantic trying to get your attention to save their loved ones.  In a word:  It was ‘chaos’.

But we were trained to bring order into the chaos.  Immediately we’d talk to bystanders to find out if anyone is inside – then we’d search the perimeter, looking for safety issues like overhead power lines or gas meters or other structures that might be in jeopardy.  Taking command of the scene, one person would be the Commander and would quickly layout a plan in his mind and call in additional resources if needed.

As units arrived, each would receive their orders – catch the hydrant and lay in a 5” line – deploy an attack line to the rear entrance – ladder the south side of the structure and prepare to ventilate.  As commander of the scene, he would give orders – knowing that each person would fulfill the role they’d been given.  Each of us had trained for this moment.  The adrenaline was rushing – because … THIS is what we were made for, and we gladly fulfilled the role we’d been assigned.

As a firefighter, we were called to bring order to the chaos…. By following orders.

Notice that word ‘order’ – used two different ways:  we were called into the chaos to restore order, by following orders.  To do that, each individual played their part.  We didn’t question orders.  We WANTED to fulfill the role we’d been given.  It’s what we were made for.

Today’s readings give us some orders:  be Holy, be Perfect, Love your neighbor, don’t take revenge, turn the other cheek, pray for your enemies, go the extra mile… it may come across as a bunch of rules to follow.  A lot of people think that’s all that religion is about – a bunch of rules … but there’s a different way to look at this.

God himself saw the world was in chaos, so he stepped in PERSONALLY to bring order to it.  We can take comfort in the fact that HE HAS A PLAN.  He’s like the commander at a fire scene – He has the plan, and each of us has a part to play.  Each of us has been given our orders… not as rules to follow – not moral checkboxes we have to check to get into heaven  - but as our part in helping God to bring order to the chaos of the world!  

Think about that – what would happened if you and I, as Christians would take those orders seriously?  Loving everyone – including our enemies – we would seriously change the world.  Let me give you a brief example:  

Immaculée Ilibagiza was a survivor of the Rwandan genocide in 1994 – yes – just 29 years ago fell into chaos.  One tribe took over power and tried to annihilate the other tribe.  Immaculee survived by hiding in a 3x4 foot bathroom – that’s smaller than the bathrooms here.  She hid in there for 91 days – with 7 other women.  They had to take turns sitting down it was so crowed.  Outside, they could hear the chaos as the other tribe went house to house systematically killing everyone from her tribe.  Her father and brother were shot – her mother and sister were hacked to death with machetes.

Finally, after 91 days, it was over…she was free.  What should she do?  She had EVERY right to demand revenge on those who killed her family and a million other people from her tribe… yes a MILLION!  But she was a Catholic – with a strong devotion to the Blessed Mother – and somehow she found it in herself to forgive those who did this heinous act… even forgiving the man who killed her family to his face.  She now is an international speaker sharing the message of Divine Mercy.  Her example is an inspiration to each of us to turn the other cheek.  Because of her efforts, Rwanda is much further down the path of healing that it otherwise would be.

How is that possible?  Immaculee took seriously the orders she’d been given by Jesus – to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.  See – she didn’t see those as rules to follow or as an infringement on her freedoms… no – she saw this basic instruction as THE way that God wanted to restore Order to the chaos.  

God put all of us Christians on this earth so that WE could share HIS love with the world.  It’s what we were made for.  Can you imagine if every Christian in the world LIVED this way?  We’d be in heaven… which is the point.  YOU AND I have the ability to establish the Kingdom of God right here – right now – every time we choose to love instead of hate – to forgive instead of seeking revenge.

How do you and I put that into practice?  I think it starts at home.  The first reading tells us not to bear hatred or harbor a grudge against our brother or sister.  We all, by nature, tend to take our family members for granted and we get into little fights which can escalate into hate – constantly seeking revenge against our own brothers and sisters or even our spouse.  How many of us sitting here today have a brother or sister or spouse we no longer talk to?  Imagine how we can change the world just by loving them instead of seeking revenge.  That may sound radical – but that’s exactly what it means to be Holy; to be set-apart – different – not like the rest of the culture.  To the rest of the world, when we love our enemies, they’ll think we’re out of our minds…. But The second reading reminds us that the wisdom of God is foolishness to the world.  

Love our neighbor as our self.  We’re told in the 2nd reading that we – you and I – are the temple of God – which means you and I are holy.  But that also means that everyone around us is holy too!  Co-workers, classmates, the lady at the checkout… We must treat them like they’re holy too… because they are. 

When somebody does something stupid in traffic, instead of flipping the bird – flip a few beads of the rosary to pray for them.

When someone does something unforgiveable, be the first to forgive.  Unforgiveness is one of the greatest weapons that Satan uses against us… to divide us… but when we forgive rather than holding a grudge, we disarm Satan!!  Don’t you think THAT changes the world?!

Last thing: Jesus said be Perfect as your heavenly father is Perfect.  I’ve always thought ‘perfect’ meant to do everything exactly right – like – follow all the rules perfectly.  But that’s what the Pharisees tried to do and Jesus didn’t have very nice things to say about them!  So, what’s He meaning?

Remember – Jesus wasn’t speaking English… he was speaking in Aramaic – and the Gospel was written in Greek, so right away we may lose some of the meaning that Jesus intended.  The word used by the Gospel writer was ‘telios’ in Greek.  It’s translated into English by most bibles as ‘perfect’. Now – who am I to question the folks who know their Greek… but consider this:

‘Telios’ comes from the root word ‘Telos’, which has to do with the purpose or end for which something was made.  For example, if I have a chair – it’s telos is for sitting.  Make sense?  A chair is made for sitting on.  While You could use it for other purposes, like standing on it to change a lightbulb, it’s purpose – its telos – is for sitting.  

So a chair reaches it’s telios, when someone sits on it – you could say a chair fulfills the purpose for which it was made when someone sits in it… it is now complete – which was translated to be ‘perfect’.  

So – instead of Jesus commanding us to be ‘perfect’ - perhaps a better translation might be:  fulfill the purpose for which we were made!  What were we made for?  What’s our telos?  To be Holy – set apart.  To be different.  To Love our enemies.  We’re sorta like firefighters – made to bring Order into Chaos.  But the best summary actually comes from the Holy Moments book which we gave out at Christmas:  “You are made in the image of God – act accordingly”.