Do you ever feel lonely? Do you ever feel like you are in a dark place and you are trapped? This week's readings talk about this subject and the only person who can rescue us.
Reading 1
Is 42:1-4, 6-7
Thus says the LORD:
Here is my 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,
not crying out, not shouting,
not making his voice heard in the street.
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.
I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,
I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant of the people,
a light for the nations,
to open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
What is this blindness about? What exactly is meant by "confinement", "the dungeon" and "Darkness"? In my last blog entry, I mentioned that in a dream, God told Joseph that Marys' son would "save his people from their sins".1 And, so this is one of the main reasons why Jesus came to Earth. This state of sin that we are in without repentance is the "darkness" that God is talking about in this reading. Below is the an interpretation:
Blindness and darkness- Sin makes it either difficult or impossible to see God. The story of the blind man and the Pharisees in John Chapter 9 mentions how the Pharisees are unable to recognize Jesus because of their sin. In contrast, the blind man, who acknowledged his blindness was able to see Jesus. Pride and other sins cause blindness to the truth. Truth is a person- Jesus Christ. Blindness to this truth is the worst kind of blindness.
Darkness
Prisoners, confinement, and the dungeon- Sin is a rejection of God's love. For instance, God always tells us the truth. This truth brings love to us and to our lives. And, so when we reject God by sinning, we outcast ourselves from God. Life (and death as well) are absolutely and completely lonely without God. We feel "confined" without him who loves us. The Catechism reminds us that sin "reproduce(s) itself and reinforce(s) itself. Sin cloud(s) conscience and corrupt(s) the concrete judgment of good and evil." One sin leads to another and they create even more sin.5 For example, one lie leads to another and another and before we know it, we are trapped. We become "prisoners" to sin and we find ourselves in a "dungeon" created by sin. The good news is that Jesus offers to rescue us from this poor condition.
Reading II
Acts 10:34-38
Peter proceeded to speak to those gathered
in the house of Cornelius, saying:
"In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly
is acceptable to him.
You know the word that he sent to the Israelites
as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all,
what has happened all over Judea,
beginning in Galilee after the baptism
that John preached,
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and power.
He went about doing good
and healing all those oppressed by the devil,
for God was with him."
Key points to take from here are that:
* God shows no partiality- We have all sinned and God does not pick favorites, he offers forgiveness and salvation to EVERYONE- even me and you.
* Acting "uprightly"- forgiveness and salvation require that we acknowledge our sins to God and that we ask for his help.
* "healing all those oppressed by the devil"- again the theme from the first reading continues, that God knows that we are oppressed (unjustly ruled over) by the devil and he comes to rescue us.
Gospel
Mk 1:7-11
This is what John the Baptist proclaimed:
"One mightier than I is coming after me.
I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.
I have baptized you with water;
he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee
and was baptized in the Jordan by John.
On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open
and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him.
And a voice came from the heavens,
"You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."
Why The Father Was Pleased With Jesus
When I first read that God said to Jesus "you are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased", I thought "Oh big deal, of course the Father is pleased. Jesus is God and so the Father is pleased with him." But wait a second. Jesus was a real human. He had a human will.2 That means that Jesus could say "yes" or "no" to anything the Father asked of him. Jesus' baptism was the beginning of his ministry. The purpose and completion of his ministry was to die for us. Jesus knew that his purpose was to die. "The baptism of Jesus is on his part the acceptance and inauguration of his mission as God's suffering Servant."3 In other words, by accepting baptism, Jesus was accepting a horrible death. Instead of "doing his own thing", Jesus submitted to the desire of the Father, and began his difficult mission. Jesus said "yes" to this even though he didn't have to. And so God the Father's reaction was "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."
Our Opportunity to Please God
In sin, we raise ourselves higher than God (in our hearts) at the expense of God and of ourselves. The opposite of this is Jesus. He does not exalt himself higher than the Father. He humbly submits. By his loving and perfect obedience, we are saved.4 It is an incredible grace that we have Jesus not only as our savior but as our role model. We can imitate him today and tomorrow with every decision that we make. When faced with temptation, we can either sin (raise ourselves higher than God)or we can submit to our Lord by doing the right thing. Then we can hear him say "with you I am well pleased".
In summary, let us remember that sin can put us in a dark, lonely place. Because God loves us, he comes to our rescue and is available each and every moment of every day. God picks no favorites (even though we feel like his favorite when we experience his love). He is our role model and we can and should imitate him all the days of our lives.God loves us!
Real Life
A couple of years ago, I started to think seriously about becoming a priest. So I applied to a religious order. I was very excited about becoming a priest. The application process was extremely thorough. I had to undergo a psychological evaluation, thorough background check, and IQ test, and had to write a long paper about my life, amongst other things. I was excited at the prospect of helping others and God as a priest. Then came the day that the committee, which consisted of several priests, was to decide on my application. The night before the decision, I prayed that God's will would be done by the committee. The next day, I received the very surprising news that my application was to be deferred, which means, rejected until next year. The vocations director was very surprised at the decision.
Since I had already sold my house and packed my bags to enter the seminary, I decided that it might be good for me to do mission work while I discerned God's will further. I spent the next year as a missionary. During this time, I got to see God's beautiful face many, many times. (click on one of the videos to the left here to see) He injected me with an intense love and desire for him. Even today, I am happier than I have ever been even though God has led me to a city where I have no family or history.
I will never forget that I tried to "do my own thing". God, it seems, had a different plan for me. I was put on a path I did not foresee and he gives me a joy I never imagined possible.
1-Matthew 1:21
2- Catechism of the Catholic Church 475
3- CCC 536
4- Phillipians 2:6-9 and CCC 1850
5- CCC 1865
Posts
