Are you ready to be judged?Use Your Judgment AUDIO
If you follow professional football, you know that Jon Gruden was abruptly forced to resign his position this week as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. During an investigation of another NFL team, a series of his 2011emails was discovered and leaked to The New York Times, describing them as racist, anti-gay, and misogynist.
I was on vacation with my wife and youngest son during the Supreme Court hearings for now Justice Brett Cavanaugh during which his college drinking days became the stuff of prime time television.
Years ago I remember my wife and I decluttering our attic storage when we came across some letters we had exchanged during our college dating years. My eyes bulged as profanity on the pages startled me out of my nostalgic reminiscence. That correspondence quickly accompanied me to the home office shredder for a hasty farewell. .
Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Princess Leia, Han Solo. Batman, Superman, Cat Woman, The Joker. Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Bo Peep, Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head. Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy.
To our children, they are superheroes to emulate or gift givers extraordinaire. Their posters adorn bedroom walls. Their images on pajamas, slippers, pillowcases and bed comforters assure protection from nocturnal invaders. Lunch boxes (does anyone use lunch boxes anymore?), backpacks, and underwear with their themes warn school bullies to back off. They leave gifts unseen around trees, in baskets, and under pillows.
I’ve been reflecting recently on the foolishness of God. I know. I’m treading on thin ice. So far I haven’t fallen through and succumbed to hypothermia – but I know I’m at risk. It goes something like this.
Before the dawn of time, with no need for anyone or anything, you created a vast and beautiful cosmos; a universe filled with life; living beings both angelic and human. Was it not foolishness to begin a creation that could add nothing to your perfect happiness? Men and women with the free will to choose for you or against you? God, what foolishness to make yourself vulnerable to the puniest of mere creatures!
Every morning when I pray The Lord’s Prayer, I ask that God’s kingdom come and God’s will be done in my life for that day. On a recent occasion, I felt the Holy Spirit gently asking me to pause and add “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” and “Here am I, Lord, I come to do your will.” Maybe Samuel and Isaiah were pulling for me that morning. And so I waited.
In the silence that followed, I finally sensed the Lord saying, “Listen for my voice, and watch for what I am doing.” With those words came the image of the Good Shepherd. As part of His flock, He was asking me to stay close enough to hear Him when he speaks. The words of Psalm 123 also came to mind: “as the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters…so are our eyes on the Lord, our God.”
“And forgive us the wrong we have done, as we forgive those who have wronged us (New American Bible).” “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors (New Revised Standard Version).” “And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us (Original Revised Standard Version).”
Each translation seems to give us a view from a slightly different angle. The first one focuses on the sins we’ve committed against God, and the sins others have committed against us. Violations of God’s commandments. The second one emphasizes the repentance we owe to God, and the repentance owed to us by others. A kind of spiritual accounting. The third one highlights the boundaries we have crossed in our offenses against God, and the boundaries others have crossed in offending us. Entering places where we don’t belong.
(Continued from the prior post entitled “The Rest of the Story. “)
One thing we are surely missing is sight. Let me turn to Frank Sheed again for insight.
At least three times The New Testament uses the word in reference to life in heaven.
Jesus told his disciples that “angels in heaven constantly behold my heavenly Father’s face.” (Mt. 18: 10) “Their seeing Him is a basic fact of their life there, as breathing is of ours here.” 4
The Apostle John tells us that “We shall see Him as He is.” (1 Jn. 3:2)
St. Paul contrasts it with our sight on earth. “Now we see indistinctly, as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.” (1 Cor. 13: 12)
You can see (pun intended) why life in heaven is called the Beatific Vision – beholding the Trinitarian God in all his glory. Now that is a sight to behold!
This post first appeared on September 21, 2020, but I couldn’t resist reprinting it today. The message applies as much now as then.
Bill Murray in the 1993 film, Groundhog DayGroundhog Day Again AUDIO
“In the Lord’s eyes, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years are as a day.” (2 Peter 3:8)
COVID-19 has created a hardscrabble daily life for almost all of us. And for many those days have begun to blend together in a kind of monopoly of monotony. Some have said it’s like having the same day over and over again, as in the movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray. In that story, the main character finds himself in a kind of time warp where he wakes up every morning on February 2 and has to live that day again and again until he gets it right. In the process, he is changed from an egotistical self-serving boor to a kind and compassionate town hero. That’s not a bad analogy for living the Christian life. Each day is a chance to be transformed to more fully reflect the person of Christ.
In the prior two posts, we’ve reflected on The Greatest Story Ever Told – salvation history. The story of God’s rescue operation for humankind. But we stopped at the Prologue, i.e., life on this earth and the transition towards an entirely different dimension of living. As Paul Harvey famously said on his syndicated ABC radio show: “And now, the rest of the story”.
Every time we recite the Apostles Creed, we say that we believe “in life everlasting”. Well, do you really? In the Nicene Creed we profess to “look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.” Are you truly looking forward to that?
“I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.”
John 13:16 New International Version
Lord, you humbled yourself in taking on human form, even to the point of being born as a helpless baby. How can I seek anything other than the last place in all things?
Lord, you studied and learned and grew in wisdom and understanding as a young man. How can I ignore the study of Scripture and the teachings of the Church or the pursuit of knowledge and Truth?
Lord, you were obedient to the Father in everything, and prayed that His will be done, not yours. How can I be disobedient in any measure, and prefer my will to yours?
Lord, you chose to live in poverty. How can I seek wealth and possessions or be attached to anything of this world?
Lord, you spent your life in obscurity and simplicity, earning a living by the work of your hands. How can I pursue a path in life and career that can increase my visibility in the eyes of the world and promise recognition for my achievements?
Lord, you preferred to associate with the poor, the sick, the widow, the blind, the lame, the outcasts of society. How can I seek to associate with the strong, the wealthy, the popular, the esteemed of society?
Lord, you prayed and fasted for 40 days in the desert; many times you prayed through the night. How can I pray sparingly, go through the motions of prayer, or neglect prayer altogether, and resist the need to fast?
Lord, you chose celibacy and lived a perfectly chaste life. How can I indulge in wrongful sexual desires in my thoughts, words, or actions?
Lord, you were tempted by the devil repeatedly but never sinned. How can I so easily give in to the temptations of the Evil One?
Lord, you chose homelessness during your years of mission and ministry and had nowhere to lay your head? How can I seek the comforts and privacy of a home, and be unwilling to open it to others in hospitality and generosity?
Lord, you embraced the role of an itinerant rabbi with no title or position of honor. How can I seek positions of influence and esteem in order to be well regarded by others?
Lord, you came to spread the Good News of the Kingdom of God on earth. How can I value any other mission more highly?
Lord, you healed those who came to you and delivered those in bondage. How can I deny those who come to me for help in any form?
Lord, you suffered silently when falsely accused, publicly mocked, and physically tortured. How can I complain about any treatment of injustice?
Lord, you gave your life for us. How can I hold back any aspect of mine? You poured out your life’s blood for us. How can I retain anything in my cup?
Lord, you forgave even your persecutors, those who reviled you, condemned you and executed you. How can I continue to bear grudges, harbor vengeance, hold on to anger, or demand conditions for my mercy.
Lord, you forgave your disciples who abandoned you, betrayed you, and denied you. How can I hold on to resentments and withhold my love from those who have wronged me, or refuse forgiveness to those who have hurt me?
Lord, you are the Master, and I am your servant. Grant that I may more fully follow in your footsteps as I seek to be your disciple, your brother, and your friend.
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father, I have made known to you.
Where’s the competition?The Race To Last Place audio
The infectious disease experts around the world are currently racing to be the first to find a vaccine for COVID-19. When I was growing up in the sixties, the primary players in the Eastern and Western blocs of the Cold War were racing to be the first to land a man on the moon. Every two years athletes from around the globe compete in the Olympic Games to bring home a coveted gold medal. We seem to be a planet populated by people with an innate drive to be numero uno.
From the earliest age, we even urge our children to approach education as a competition. To be at the top of the class in order to get into the best university, in order to be offered the best job, in order to make the most money, in order to have the best possessions, in order to achieve the highest social status.
One can’t help but notice that there’s very little traffic headed in the opposite direction in any walk of life – a race for last place. Yet that is precisely the thrust of the teachings and actions of Jesus of Nazareth.
