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We Are All In This Together

Thursday, July 3rd, 2014

St. Thomas

Eph 2: 19-22; John 20: 24-29

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

So, we are all in this together.  Paul tells us that we are:  “Fellow citizens with the holy ones and the members of the household of God”.  And also,   “You are also being built together into a dwelling place of God in the spirit.”  Yes, we are all in this together.  Pretty heavy stuff!  But are we living up to that expectation by St. Paul?   

The key, of course, is the common bond of Faith that we have; Faith that can transcend all that the world throws at us.  Because, if we have Faith, real faith, then we can work together under God’s direction to defeat any worldly influence or enemy and to solve humanity’s problems.   

Maybe that’s the point of today’s Gospel.  Thomas’ Faith was shown to be weak.  He did not see, and so, he would not believe.  And yet, Thomas profession of Faith after he saw was truly awe inspiring and moving!  He says “My Lord and my God”.  And you know what?  We hear that so often the words don’t have the proper impact on us.  Close your eyes and imagine for a moment what it must have been like for Thomas.  There, right in front of you, you see the risen Jesus, wounds and all.  And you admit that he is God.  God!  The same God that created everything; that knows everything.  It’s a mind boggling thought.  It is an expression of tremendous Faith.   

We are all like Thomas in the sense that we are challenged to believe even though we have not seen.  But if we can have the Faith that Thomas professed, then no matter what our diverse backgrounds are,  no matter how different our talents and interests, no matter what comes our way; whether it be Communism; Fanatic Islam; Secularism; Pluralism- you name it, we can and will prevail.  Because with that kind of Faith, and with that kind of Faith, meaning trust, in God, all of us will be moved by God to win this earthly battle, each in his own way, but all of us together as a united front, the body of Christ.   

Let me give you one example.  Experts have studied the number of Catholics who are eligible to vote in this country.  If every one of the Catholics would vote according to the teachings of the church, then there is no way we can lose our religious liberty.  We are too powerful.  We could come together to defeat abortion; to enable school prayer; to provide meaningful health care; to solve the immigration issue- you name it, we could do it because there are that many of us Catholics.  The problem is simply that we are not united enough in our Faith.  And so, we are not acting as one unified body of Christ.

The good news here is that we don’t have to worry about anyone else.  All we have to do is to have Faith ourselves.  Because God will do the rest, work through us to accomplish his objectives in His way.  Truly, all we have to do as individuals, is to “Go out into the world and tell the good news”! 

 

 

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On Uniting Christians

Thursday, May 22nd, 2014

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Acts 15: 7-21; John 15: 9-11

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

Today, we hear how the Gentile converts were accepted into the Church by the Apostles at the Jerusalem Council in the first decades of the Church.  The Apostles, of course were all Jewish.  They had modified their belief to accept Jesus as the Messiah, but they were still practicing all of the rules of their original Faith. 

Peter (Simeon) acknowledged that it was Jesus’ will that the Faith be spread to all mankind, including the Gentiles.  And Paul and Barnabas talked about how successful they had been in converting the Gentiles.  Finally James, the leader in Jerusalem, pleaded to accept the Gentiles who had converted to the Faith.  And so, the Gentiles, people like us, were welcomed into the Church and not forced to comply with all the old rules.   

Recently Pope Francis addressed a gathering of Evangelical Preachers via a taped video message.  His talk was introduced by Tony Palmer, a Bishop in his protestant congregation.  Palmer’s preface to the introduction was fascinating, because he said that the Protest is over that spawned Protestantism because in 1999, the Catholics and Lutherans signed a joint agreement that resolved the original issue behind Protestantism and so, there is nothing more to protest! 

Bishop Palmer stood up in front of all those Evangelicals and declared that the protest was over   And said “we are all Catholic now”- because we solved the issue!  He went on to say that “diversity of belief is divine, but division is diabolic”.  And thereby recognized that we may all be unified, or “catholic” by believing the essence of Christian Faith in our hearts; and yet, we still have significant diversity within our beliefs.  Division is what is dangerous, not diversity.   

Then came Pope Francis’ address.  The Pope greeted the assembled as Brothers in Christ, and even extended that greeting to his “brother bishop”.  The main part of the address was one of hope for unity.  What really struck me was the Pope’s acknowledgement that God had started this ecumenical outreach- the signed statement by the Lutherans and Catholics, for example- and that he never knew God to start something that he wouldn’t finish well!   

I think that is a great message for today’s world for Christians- a message of hope for the unity of all Christians because more than anything today, we need to be united as Christians.

There are serious divisions between the people of the World that are transcending the diversity of practice among us Christians.  We would do well to unite as Christians despite our diversity to counter the divisions caused by secularism, communism, jihadist Islam, and hedonism.  Moreover it is time for us to be proactive at it, just as Pope Francis has been.   

All of us live with and interact with other Christians.  But when it comes to addressing our unity of belief in the heart, we just don’t seem to do that with them.  It’s almost as if we erect a wall between us that prevents discussion of what unifies us because we want to avoid arguing over our diversity.   

Jesus says this in today’s Gospel:  “If you keep my commandments you will remain in His love; just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in His love.”  That, it seems to me, is what is most important.  That is the key to advancing unity between us, rather than solving the diversity of expression. 

For my part, I am satisfied that the Catholic Church has the fullest benefit of God’s revelation to mankind.  If I am secure in that; then I don’t need to be defensive and react to someone who criticizes how our Church worships. Rather, we need to build on the unity that jointly keeping the commandments implies:  like Respect Life; honesty in our dealings; recognizing God and giving him honor and respect through worship and prayer;  not taking His name in vain; understanding that there are absolute moral; truths; respecting and honoring marriage between a man and a woman.  These are things we all have in common as Christians!  And how much more wonderful the world would be if we jointly pursued these goals together. 

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On Betrayal of God

Thursday, May 15th, 2014

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Acts 13: 13-25; John 13: 16-20

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

“The one who ate my food has raised his heel against me”.  This really struck me this morning because the betrayal by Judas was just such a complete surprise; and Jesus prediction of it just strikes me.   

First, just imagine how Jesus and the other Apostles must have felt.  Jesus had chosen 12 men to be around him- twelve men that he could trust and share intimately with.  For three years, these 13 people were constantly together.  They shared their lodging and their food and their souls with each other.  Jesus had sent them all out on a mission, including Judas.  They all seemed to jell well together and so, none of them suspected a thing.  And then this happens- and we hear about it at the Last Supper.  Judas betrays Jesus by handing him over to his enemies.   He does it for money- a betrayal of not only Jesus but his 11 other closest friends as well.  How absolutely depressing!   

All of us have experienced the same thing at one time or another in our lives.  Somebody betrays us and it is a real surprise.  Somebody promises to keep something you tell them a secret; but they reveal it instead.  Somebody uses information you shared in confidence for their benefit; somebody turns on you in business or in a group you belong to.  We have all experienced betrayals in our most trusted circles, even in our own families.  Betrayal is one of the most difficult things to bear as a human being.     

But what struck me was this.  Why does Jesus bring it up in this context?  He has just washed everyone’s feet- an act of service and tells them they need to do the same.  Then He tells them that this unimaginable thing is going to happen   And he is telling them about it so that they will believe, so that they will believe that “I am who am”; meaning that He is God.   

Notice that Jesus also talks about how no slave is greater than his master.  Many of the commentaries speculate about Judas’ motivation for the betrayal.  Rather than the money itself, many of them imply that Judas was impatient with Jesus.  He was expecting Jesus to do something “big” in the way of becoming the Messiah.  But by “big”, Judas meant something spectacular in a secular way.  Judas, these bible scholars say, was trying to force Jesus’ hand.  So Judas betrayed Jesus out of a sense of superiority.  He thought he was smarter than his own Lord and could bring about the restoration of Israel quicker his way, by setting up the circumstances so Jesus would have to do something spectacular.   

But Judas was not smarter than His Lord.  Judas sin, then, was one of pride and self-absorption.  Judas wanted things his way and he wanted them now.   

And so, the message for us is simply this.  Jesus is “I am who am”, God, and we should never question God’s wisdom.  When we think that our way is better than God’s, we are betraying our God because we are putting ourselves first.  Just as those who betray us are putting themselves above us. 

This Gospel is truly about learning to be humble.  We see two examples and where they lead:  the humble God-made man who acts as a servant to all; and by contrast, the disciple who thinks he knows better than his Lord, and so, is just serving himself. 

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We Are All Taught By God

Thursday, May 8th, 2014

Thursday of the Third Week of Easter

Acts 8: 26-40; John 6: 44-51

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

So, “They shall all be taught by God”.  That’s the scripture that Jesus quotes today.  That means that God is teaching you and I and everybody else all the time!  Yes, it is God who is our primary teacher because God loves and cares for all of us.   

And you know what?  There are many ways that God teaches us constantly: through His creation; through the people He places in our lives; through inspiration when we pray; through the scriptures and the catechism; through wonderful experiences in our families and lives; in books and other media; through the lessons we learn in life; and even, and I would say especially, through the mistakes we make.  The question is not whether God is teaching us all the time, but whether we are hearing His teaching and responding to Him.   

What does it take to listen and respond to the Lord?  First, we need to hunger for the teaching.  We can’t just expect to absorb God’s lessons for us by going about our lives in an ordinary way committed to the duties and activities of the world; oblivious to the cues God is placing in our lives.  Rather, we need to be constantly searching for God and his will for us as we live our lives. 

Second, we have to be open to change when we hear the message.  Sometimes we hear a message, and begin to think about it, but then we get caught up in the humdrum of our world, and our opportunity to change and respond to God is lost.   

The story of Philip and the Eunuch is a great example of how someone listened to God and responded.  The Eunuch, a foreigner who was a Jewish sympathizer, was reading Isaiah while riding his chariot.  This man was going about his business, important business for the Empress Candace of Ethiopia.  But he was also seeking God as he went along, that’s why he was reading Isaiah.  Second, he was open to change.  After having heard Philip explain how Jesus fulfilled Isaiah’s scripture, the Eunuch doesn’t just thank him and continue on with his business.  Rather, he stops his chariot, and asks Philip to baptize him.   

The Eunuch is a symbol for all of the Gentiles.  The Jews were the first to be offered Salvation by Jesus.  Most of them rejected it at the time because they weren’t listening or didn’t believe.  But this foreigner hungered for God, so much so that he was feeding off the scriptures as he went about his business.  And so, God opened the way through Philip for him to learn what the word was really all about.  Then, rather than pass by his opportunity to change; he stopped in his tracks and asked to be Baptized right then and there.
  Jesus goes on to talk about how each of us can be nourished with the bread of life.  Yes, the Eucharist gives us access to the Lord and His graces, so that we are in the right frame of mind for God’s lessons.  The Eucharist is a great way to hunger for God’s teaching and be ready for it.   

So believe, receive the Eucharist, and hunger for God’s teaching, however it comes and whenever it comes for to you. 

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Listen to the Prophets!

Thursday, March 27th, 2014

Thursday of the Third Week of Lent

Jer 7: 23-26; Luke 11: 14-23

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

Isn’t it frustrating?  Whenever we look at History, we see the same mistakes made over and over again.  Governments arise with power hungry tyrant leaders.  They suppress the people, sometimes killing those who don’t agree with them.  They cause war and suffering for Millions of people.  Ultimately, they are defeated and some order is reestablished.  But then the pattern starts all over again.  If it’s not Nazis, it’s Communists; and If it’s not Communists, it’s Islamic Jihad.  Mankind just doesn‘t seem to learn from our past mistakes.  How frustrating!

The Israeli nation was like that as well.  They had prophets for over a thousand years, prophets like Elijah and Elias and Isaiah and Ezekiel and Jeremiah, who foretold of the doom that was to befall them if they didn’t repent and change their ways.  And yet, as Jeremiah tells us in the first reading, they didn’t listen to the prophets, and so, they suffered the humiliation of the exile.   

It was no different in Jesus time.  Here was a person who preached a new Gospel, or “The Good News”, a new way of living life to please God, a way to attain the kingdom of heaven that transcended the nit-picking laws of the Torah, all 651 of them.  He even worked mighty miracles for them, like casting out demons.  But, the leaders of the time didn’t want to listen to Jesus any more than they wanted to listen to the prophets.  Jesus message was not a political solution to the troubles at the time; it was a spiritual message- how to get in touch with God’s will.  But the leaders of Jesus time only wanted to hear of political salvation, salvation from the harsh Roman rule.  They were not focused on spiritual salvation.  So, they spoke harshly of Him, accusing him of casting out devils by Beelzebul, the prince of devils. They said and did anything, even the illogical, to discredit Him and get him out of the way.   

All of this leads us to our own times.  We, like our predecessors, are a stiff necked people as well.  These cycles of secular destruction have continued even in our own day.  There are modern day prophets prophesying secular doom.  But the root problem is not really the budget deficit or the mess created by the health care bill or massive unemployment.  The root problem is a lack of our attention to the Word of God and the Law that God has written in our hearts.  That law demands that we love one another and seek first the Kingdom of God.    Only when we become a nation and a world that puts God-centered values first, will the harmony that God intends for all of us be established.

So, are you listening to the Word of the Lord?  Are you focused on a spiritual journey to the Kingdom of God; or are you part of the secular world that seeks only self-gratification.    Remember this-, “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” 

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Finding the Lazaruses in Your Life

Thursday, March 20th, 2014

Thursday of Second Week of Lent

Jer 17: 5-10; Luke 16: 19-31

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

Doesn’t he get under your skin and irk you, this prophet Jeremiah?   

Listen again to that first sentence:  “Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who seeks strength in the flesh”.  “Cursed” he says- pretty strong language.  And as you listened to that, didn’t you bristle just a little bit because all of us, no matter who we are, listen to human beings and seek strength in the flesh?.  We listen to doctors and lawyers and all kinds of worldly experts; and we surround ourselves with trusted family members and friends.  And don’t we seek strength in the flesh?  How many of us work out or watch carefully over our diets?  And don’t we look up to certain people in this world who either physically look good or have some special talent or personality trait which attract us?  We all trust people and seek strength in the flesh.  In fact most of life is interaction with people and this world.  And so Jeremiah’s words make us uncomfortable, just as they did the Jewish people long ago.   

But notice that Jeremiah adds the phrase:  “Whose heart turns away from the Lord”.  And that is the key point.  We all depend on each other and we quite naturally seek certain people out.  There are people we want in our lives and others we don’t.  And we all, quite naturally avoid things and people that we don’t like and that make us uncomfortable.  It’s just we have to do that kind of living in this world without turning our hearts from the Lord.  It’s a matter of focus and emphasis and balance.   

The Rich man in the Gospel is an example of the kind of person Jeremiah is talking about.  He doesn’t have the proper focus, the right emphasis, nor balance in his life.  For whatever reason, God blessed the Rich man and his family of 5 brothers in this world.  We don’t know exactly what that blessing was- talent, charm, inheritance, luck, or whatever.  But the upshot of it is that he is rich and comfortable.  And based on this Gospel vignette about Lazarus, the Rich man appears to be clueless on the plight of Lazarus.  He recognizes him alright, or else he wouldn’t have asked for Lazarus to bring him a drop of water.  But that is all; he apparently ignored Lazarus in his lifetime.  Lazarus was an annoyance to be looked beyond.   

The Rich man lived life comfortably because that’s just the way it was for him, comfortable.  He didn’t have to think about the suffering of others; he didn’t think about his own salvation.  He didn’t focus on the reality of what life was all about and where he fit in.  He didn’t emphasize the right things as he lived life; and he didn’t balance his own wants and needs with those of others.  It isn’t that he was a bad man; he was just clueless.   

Jesus and Jeremiah are both warning us of the same thing:  Life is about more than comfort and meeting our own daily wants and needs.  Each of us needs to focus on more than that.  We need to listen for God constantly and what he tells us in the depths of our hearts.  And then trust God in our lives.  That is harder to do when things are going well for us, as they were for the Rich man.  And so, we have to make it happen.   

Lent is the perfect time of year to do that, to put aside some time to find the Lazaruses in our lives that we look beyond.  Who or what is it that God has put into our lives that needs our attention; and yet, we keep looking beyond like they it wasn’t there?  It will be something that is inconvenient for us and interrupts our comfort zone.  But God is calling us to refocus our lives; pay attention to that call; and focus on somebody or something else.   

The trust part is very important.  Because when we trust the Lord, then even these uncomfortable situations, the Lazaruses in our lives, can be managed because our roots will reach out to the stream, the inspiration of the Spirit of God.    It’s important for us all to find Lazarus in our lives because God rewards us according to our ways.  He finds what’s in our hearts. 

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Learn How to Pray From Esther

Thursday, March 13th, 2014

Thursday of First Week of Lent

Esth C: 12, 14-16, 23-25; Mt 7: 7-12

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

It seemed like a hopeless situation.  The entire exiled Jewish nation was doomed by a decree of the Persian King Cyrus, Esther’s husband, after he had been tricked into signing that decree by an unscrupulous leader.  But Esther had Faith and her prayers were answered, as you will find if you read the rest of the book of Esther.   

Notice a couple of things about Esther’s prayer.  First, she is humble.  Esther prostrates herself and her entire court and she begins with a humble plea to the God of her ancestors.  Second, she talks about how God always listens to those who abide by the law.  Esther’s obedience was well established earlier in the book.  Next, her pray is not so much for herself, but rather for her people.  In other words it is for a very worthy cause.  And lastly, she was praying for God’s help to inspire her in what to do, rather than an outright miracle.  She was willing to do her part, whatever was required as long as it was God’s will.   

Jesus tells us in the Gospel that God will always hear our prayers and give us what we truly need.  But we need to ask Him in the proper way.  In that regard, we would do well to pray as Esther did: with a humble and contrite heart; while in a state of grace from our obedience to God’s commandments and will; asking for something that we truly need rather than just want; and prepared to play an active role in making the answer to the prayer happen.   

Then, after we pray, we need to trust that God will answer our prayer.  We need to recognize that what He gave us was a fish, not a snake.  Sometimes that can seem hard because our prayers are not always answered the way we want them.  But consider that if this is the summary of the law and the prophets:  “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you”.  Then certainly God will do for us what is right for us. 

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How to Choose Jesus

Thursday, March 6th, 2014

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

Dt 30: 15-20; Luke 9: 22-25

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

Will you choose to go after Jesus?  Because if you do, you need to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus.  That is the choice- to follow him or not to follow him.  It’s really our only choice.   

It was like the choice that Moses passed on to the Israelis thousands of years earlier.  They could choose life and prosperity; or death and gloom. Life and prosperity meant loving and obeying God, by following His commandments, statutes, and decrees.  The other choice was automatically made if they abandoned the one true God, because it meant following after false gods.  And Moses words were quite sobering on the consequences of that: namely, that they most certainly would perish.   

Many of us can’t relate to the idea of following false gods.  It just seems like something the uneducated ancients did- worshiping some golden calf or superstitious force in nature.  But I beg to differ; it is not all that different today in our educated society because we have a whole set of false gods in our society.  And many people choose these false gods by default.  Sex, money, facebook, video games, work, football, gossip, alcohol, drugs, following and emulating pop culture and secular fads, and a host of other things that we can become addicted to are the false gods in our society today.   When people spend their time totally consumed in these things, they have chosen the false gods by default.  Why? Because their preoccupation is on self, the ultimate false God.  We heard that point over and over when Father Gallagher gave his mission here last month.   

And it is easy to see if we are headed in that direction.  Because when God asks for our time,  As He is doing during this season of Lent,  Then if all the other things in your life are too important; and you just can’t find any time for God,  It is then that you know that there’s a false god or two in your life.   

Jesus’ message today was particularly pointed, wasn’t it?  First, he tells the story of what the consequences will be when he follows the will of God.  It will mean suffering, ridicule, and death on a cross.  Those were really heavy and sobering words.  And then he tells us that if we want to go after him, we will have to deny ourselves.  Yes, deny ourselves, deny ourselves the preoccupation with the other things of life that are too important; and rather, take up our cross instead.   

But just what is your cross?  Maybe it is that nagging thing in the back of your mind that you know you should be doing when you are spending all your time on yourself.  It could be the right thing to do that is harder than just following after the popular thing in society.  It could also be that thing that needs to be said or done, but you don’t want to buck everybody else.  In other words, it is loving and obeying God by following God’s commandments rather than following the ways of the world.  It is avoiding evil and sin.   

God has something wonderful in mind for each and every one of us.  But we put roadblocks in the way of His will for us.  We don’t give God the time and attention He needs. Jesus was different.  He made the time to examine his life and get it in harmony with the Father’s plan for him.  He went into the desert for 40 days, and found out who he was and what God’s mission was for him.  After he sorted it all out, then this Gospel passage presents the result in a nutshell.    We have 40 days to do the same.  To deny ourselves, find our cross, take it up, and go after Jesus. 

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On Being Salted by Fire

Thursday, February 27th, 2014

Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

James 5: 1-6; Mark 9: 41-50

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

The message is pretty strong today, isn’t it? First, James comes down pretty hard on those who are preoccupied with themselves. Then, Jesus comes down hard on those who lead others astray. Both of these readings should give us pause.

Are we preoccupied with ourselves, and are we leading others astray?

Then Jesus ends today’s Gospel with some interesting statements: First, he says “Everyone will be salted with fire”, and then he says: “Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another”. Just what does all of that mean?

 First, consider that fire is a method of purification.  So perhaps he is saying that all of us will be purified from our tendency to sin.  We can wait for God to purify us with fire or we can purify ourselves.  And certainly, we have been given tools for such self-purification.  We will be entering the season of Lent in less than a week.  Lent involves three classical devices for purification- Prayer, Almsgiving, and Fasting.  Much can be said about each of them; but the emphasis in Fasting is on self-mortification, meaning discipline of self to avoid preoccupation with self-absorption.  Almsgiving means going out of our way to do something for others, and it isn’t just money either, but other forms of self-sacrifice for the sake of others. These devices sound very much like an anecdote for the preoccupation with self that James talks about. And Prayer is a way for us to reflect on our lives and talk to God about what we should change to avoid sin in the future.  Such a change completes the purification process.

 A self-imposed 40 day period of Lenten purification involving Prayer, Almsgiving, and Fasting seems so much more desirable than the literal purification by fire implied in the Gospel.  But that literal “salting by fire” is something Jesus says will happen to all of us.  And indeed, suffering is a part of life for all of us- none of us is exempt.  But some of the suffering is consequences of our actions.  And so, if we have an opportunity to avoid adverse consequences by repenting and changing our lives as we do during Lent, why not take advantage of it?

 That brings us to the second interesting statement.  “Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another”.  Salt has classically been considered a preservative.

So, we should purify ourselves first, and then do what is required to preserve our newfound state of Grace, and so, this means maintaining our purified state is important.  We can do that by availing ourselves of the Sacraments- Confession and Communion, and by living up to the changes we commit to in our lives.

Let us all make a commitment to purify and salt ourselves this Lent.  Then we will live in peace with one another.

 

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Who Are You?

Thursday, February 20th, 2014

Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

James 2: 1-9; Mark 8: 27-33

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

Just who are you?  Are you who you appear to be?  Or are you are wearing a mask and a disguise?  The real “you” is probably someone other than the image you try to project for yourself.  The real you is who God wants you to be; and that is usually not the person you want to be.  And so, we all wear disguises that show us in the light that we want to be shown rather than who we really are.   

This morning’s First reading speaks to how we see others rather than how we see ourselves.  But the masks and disguises we all wear complicate the matter.  Because not only do we hide who we are; we also help others to hide themselves.  We find it easier to welcome people who wear a mask that fits them into the world’s accepted categories than it is to encourage people who are God centered.   

James hits the nail on the head.  He says that the rich are the ones who oppress us!  And yet these are the same people we honor over the folks who are just being themselves, living God’s will for them and not putting on airs.  How ironic, and foolish that is.   

And you know what, things haven’t changed.  Today’s most popular masks are worn by sports figures, entertainment personalities, and politicians.  We give them top billing; and we seem to honor them above the common folk.  But you know what? These roles they play are not who they really are.  For, as gifted as they may be as athletes or politicians or actors;  God’s view of who they really should be is probably very different.  Drugs and suicide demonstrate just how unhappy these people can be when they mask who they really are.

Jesus shows us just how different God’s plan for who we are really is from the worldly image of who we want to be.  Jesus was the Messiah.  In the world’s view, the Messiah would be popular, having great power; but he would also be rich, well dressed, and the image of the top of Society.  That’s what the Jews were looking for – a worldly “leader” with wealth, power, and a dazzling image.   

But Jesus was poor, a simple carpenter, dressed as a peasant.  He had no power in the worldly sense; and his popularity waned quickly when the authorities arrested him.  Not only that, he suffered greatly and was put to a humiliating death.  Yet Jesus knew who he was because he knew God’s mission for him.  That was who he really was- a slave to the will of God, dedicated to spreading a way of life based on living God’s way in our hearts.  The Gospel shows us just how that life should be led- loving people, putting others first, and keeping the commandments.     

In this morning’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples exactly what that means in worldly terms for him.  It is something they didn’t want to hear, as Peter demonstrates.  But Jesus was telling the truth; he was being real.  All of us face the same challenge.  God is calling us for something; but we are disguised as something else.   We are just a few weeks away from Lent.  Do yourself a favor.  Take off your mask.  And take the time this Lent to find out who you really are. 

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