Author: Fr. John

The podcast can be found here.

---

---

A priest speaks of his trip to Timbuktu in West Africa to visit and work with some missionaries.  The missionaries told him that in that culture the larger the women were the more beautiful they were thought to be. In fact, a young missionary who had a small, trim wife said that the nationals had told him she was a bad reflection on him—he obviously was not providing well enough for her. A proverb in that part of Africa says that if your wife sits on a camel and the camel cannot stand up, your wife is truly beautiful.

Coco Chanel said, “A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous,”  and the ladies go through quite a bit to look that way, some of the instruments closely resembling torture devices.  But we can’t say that it’s just the ladies, the men have their fair share of products as well.  I don’t just wake up looking this good, you know.  How much do we spend?  If you combine the revenue of the perfumers, skin care products, beauty shops and barber shops, cosmetologist, manicurists and pedicurists, all of them, it is an industry that generates approximately $445 billion annually in revenue.  That’s a lot of lipstick.  “Vanity, vanity, all is vanity,” and we don’t mind paying for it, but we also know the old sayings, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” and “Beauty is only skin deep.”  Beauty then is not always about external appearance.  As Dorothy Parker said, “Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone.”

Our Gospel reading from John began: Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”  For me, I hear this phrase and I think Jesus would have conveyed the point more accurately by saying, “I am the most excellent shepherd” or “the superior shepherd,” because, for me, “good” seems to fall a bit flat.  As we leave the house, we say to the dog, “Be a good boy,” and we’re hoping they don’t piddle on the floor.  When we say, “He made good grades,” it simply implies that he didn’t fail.  Or, perhaps when thinking of Jesus, when we say that he is good, we mean he is morally correct, but still… flat.  That word does not convey who he really is, but John, in writing his Gospel, chose a very specific word that we translate as “good”: kalós (καλός) however, it is far more nuanced than we generally understand, because it also translates as: “handsome, excellent, eminent, choice, surpassing, precious, useful, suitable, commendable, admirable.”  But more specifically, the word which we translate as good, most properly translates as “beautiful.”  Jesus said, “I am the beautiful shepherd. The beautiful shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”  Now we may be getting somewhere.  

The former Bishop of Durham and theologian N.T. Wright states that “beautiful” “does not refer to what Jesus looked like.  It’s about the sheer attractiveness of what, as the shepherd, he was doing.  When he calls, people want to come.  When they realize he has died for them, they want to even more.  The point of calling Jesus ‘the good shepherd’ is to emphasize the strange, compelling power of his love.”  Jesus said, “ And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (John 12:32) The strange, compelling, attractive, beauty of Jesus’ love expressed on the hard wood of the cross, draws all people to him, but it doesn’t end there.

On the night before he was crucified, Jesus prayed, “The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”  “I in them.”  “I in them.”  The same strange, compelling, attractive, beauty of Jesus’ love is in us, so that we too may draw all people to the Father.  

This beauty of Jesus is beyond the skills and talents of that $445 billion beauty industry.  It is a beauty that is free and a beauty that can be anyone’s, but it must be received before it can be shown.  But once received, this beauty of Jesus, radiating from within you, can build a Kingdom for the glory of God.

Jesus walked into the temple in Nazareth, open the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah, and began to read: 

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor.

But what if I told you that we are to make those words our own.  You are to make those words yours?

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me…

The Spirit of the Lord is upon you, 

the beauty of the Lord is upon you.

because he has anointed you

to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent you to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

He has sent you to proclaim the freedom of the oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

You are the beautiful people of God, and how beautiful you are.  We are called to present this beauty of Jesus to the world.  The alternative… 

Fred Craddock is one of the great preachers of our day and he tells of the first church he served in the tiny, rural community of Oak Ridge, Tennessee.  During his time there, the community exploded with laborers brought in to work at the newly developed nuclear plants.  Craddock wanted to attract the workers to his church, but there was just one problem: the church didn’t want them. 

It all started when Craddock began noticing recreational vehicles, trucks, wagons, and tents dotting the landscape. Since his church was nearby, he naturally began thinking about reaching out to the workers who’d migrated to the area.

After services one Sunday, he called a meeting of the church’s leadership and presented his plans. “Oh, I don’t know. I don’t think they’d fit in here,” one church member said. “They’re just here temporarily, just construction people. They’ll be leaving pretty soon.” Rev. Craddock countered with another plea to his church, but ran out of time before convincing them of their spiritual obligation. It was decided that they would take a vote on the following Sunday.

At the outset of the meeting one week later, one of the church members said, “I move that in order to be a member of this church, you must own property in the county.” It was quickly seconded and passed.  The workers would not be allowed to join the church (along with anyone else who was too poor to own property), so there was no reason to invite them.

Years later, Craddock – now a nationally-renowned preacher – returned to the area with his wife and wanted to show her the church he’d served. The countryside had changed over the years, along with the roads, but Dr. Craddock eventually found the little white building and stopped the car.

The parking lot was full; cars, trucks, and motorcycles surrounded the old structure which now sported a new sign: “BBQ: All You Can Eat.” Unable to resist, the Craddocks walked inside and saw the old pews lining a wall, and the organ pushed into a corner. The space was filled with different sized tables which were filled with people filling themselves on pork and chicken.

Dr. Craddock leaned over to his wife and whispered, “It’s a good thing this isn’t still a church…otherwise, these people couldn’t be in here.”

Jesus is ____.  Scripture fills in that blank with many titles: Son of God, Alpha and Omega, Bright Morning Star, King of Kings, Lion of Judah, and more.  Jesus is also the Good Shepherd, the Beautiful Shepherd who laid down his life and we are his disciples, called, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to complete his work in the world.

My friend St. Josemaría Escrivá writes in The Way, “Everything that is done out of Love acquires greatness and beauty.” (#429)  You, go out into the world and be great.  Be beautiful.

Let us pray:

The Lord is my shepherd… 

The Lord is my beautiful shepherd,

I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures 

and leads me beside still waters.

He revives my soul 

and guides me along right pathways for his Name’s sake.

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I shall fear no evil; 

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; 

you have anointed my head with oil,

and my cup is running over.

Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, 

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Amen.

The podcast can be found here.

---

---

Several years back, the Episcopal Church came out with some fairly clever advertising with black and white images and short messages.  Pall bearers carrying the casket into the church: “Will it take six strong men to bring you back into church?”  Two pictures – Jesus and the Easter Bunny: “Which one rose from the dead?”  And the one that is relevant to today – a picture of Jesus: “He died to take away your sins, not your mind.”

There are those who encourage us to have faith based on how and what we feel.  Do you feel the presence of God?  Can you feel the movement of the Holy Spirit?  It is a good thing to be able to “feel” God, but when our experience of God resides only in feeling, then how can our faith sustain us when there is no feeling, no perception of God?  Through feeling only, we can “feel” abandoned by God when He does not seem to be near.  Therefore, we must also discover him in our minds and through our intellect.  St. Anselm (he was martyred in 1109 a.d.), who we celebrate today, understood this.

Anselm writes, “I want to understand something of the truth which my heart believes and loves.  I do not seek thus to understand in order to believe, but I believe in order that I may understand.”  Through faith he believes and through this same faith, he seeks to understand through his intellect the truths of God.  However, what can be said about relying solely on feeling can also be said about relying solely on the intellect.  My friend Thomas à Kempis points this out, “What good does it do to speak learnedly about the Trinity if, lacking humility, you displease the Trinity?… I would rather feel contrition than know how to define it. For what would it profit us to know the whole Bible by heart and the principles of all the philosophers if we live without grace and the love of God? Vanity of vanities and all is vanity, except to love God and serve Him alone.”  

What Anselm and Thomas are both saying to us is that there is a balance between what we feel and what we know.  A balance of head and heart.  Such a balance is attained, not through books alone or by chasing spiritual highs, but instead, by seeking God.  Anselm writes in Proslogion (Discourse on the Existence of God), “Come on now little man, get away from your worldly occupations for a while, escape from your tumultuous thoughts. Lay aside your burdensome cares and put off your laborious exertions. Give yourself over to God for a little while, and rest for a while in Him. Enter into the cell of your mind, shut out everything except God and whatever helps you to seek Him once the door is shut. Speak now, my heart, and say to God, ‘I seek your face; your face, Lord, I seek.’”  The balance is attained by seeking God in prayer, by bringing heart and mind – our entire being – into the presence of God and seeking to know him more fully.  And it is the heart and the mind working in concert that makes God accessible to all, not just spiritual or intellectual giants.  As Jesus said in our Gospel: “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things [that is, the truth of Jesus’ identity and the true nature of God] from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.”

King David said to the people, “Now set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God.” (1 Chronicles 22:19a)  That is a piece of advice that Anselm would certainly be behind.  Seek God with your entire being. 

The podcast can be found here.

---

---

The priest had been having trouble with his congregation. It seemed they could agree upon nothing, and controversy filled the air.  The Senior Warden of the vestry said, “Father, this cannot be allowed to continue. Come, there must be a meeting, and we must settle all areas of dispute once and for all.”

“Agreed,” said the priest.

At the appointed time, therefore, the priest, the senior warden and 10 vestry members met in the conference room of the church, sitting about a magnificent mahogany table. One by one the issues were dealt with and on each issue, it became more and more apparent that the priest was a lonely voice in the wilderness.

The senior warden said, “Come, Father, enough of this. Let us vote and allow the majority to rule.” He passed out slips of paper, and each person made their mark.  “You may examine them, Father.  It is 11 to one against you. We have a majority.” 

“So,” said the priest, “you now think because of the vote that you are right and I am wrong.  Well, that is not so. I call upon the Lord our God to give us a sign that I am right and you are wrong.”

And as he said so, there came a frightful crack of thunder and brilliant flash of lightning that struck the mahogany table and cracked it in two and the entire vestry was hurled to the floor.

Through the carnage, the priest remained erect and untouched, his eyes flashing and a grim smile on his face.

Slowly, the senior warden lifted himself above what was left of the table. His hair was singed, his glasses were hanging from one ear, his clothing was in disarray.

He said, “All right, 11 to two. We still have the majority.”

I suppose people have always asked for signs from God.  Whether it be in the form of thunder and lightning, dreams, or in other manner of “putting out the fleece,” an expression that comes from one of the Judges of Israel: Gideon.  

For a quick refresher: the Israelites had sinned against God, so God allowed the Midianites to oppress them; however, when the Israelites repented, the Lord called on Gideon to be the savior of the people, but Gideon wasn’t all together sure God was going to be with him and the people, so Gideon said to God, “In order to see whether you will deliver Israel by my hand, as you have said, I am going to lay a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will deliver Israel by my hand, as you have said.”  The next morning, the fleece was wet and the ground was dry, but Gideon was still not convinced, so again he spoke to the Lord, “Do not let your anger burn against me, let me speak one more time; let me, please, make trial with the fleece just once more; let it be dry only on the fleece, and on all the ground let there be dew.”  The next morning, the fleece was dry and the ground was wet.  Gideon had his sign and he gathered the army against the Midianites.  This past week, I thought of Gideon as I studied Thomas.  

You know the story: all the disciples except Thomas are present in the upper room when Jesus appears to them.  Thomas shows up after Jesus has left.  The disciples report: we have seen the Lord, but Thomas says to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”  In a sense, Thomas has “put out the fleece.”  He has asked for a sign from God, before he is willing to believe.  He is gently chastised for his unbelief, but he is also given that sign.  Jesus appeared a week later and Thomas was present.  He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.”

I read these two accounts, and know many other examples of signs in the Bible, and I’m thinking that I might want to go out and buy myself some fleece.  It would have come in handy several years back when a nice lady that I had been dating came to me and said that God told her that she was supposed to marry me.  I could have said, “Well, come see me in the morning and I’ll let you know if my fleece is wet.” 

We all ask for signs of sorts, but when the Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus looking for a sign from heaven, he said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.”  (This being a reference to the resurrection.  Jonah was in the belly of the beast for three days and Jesus was in the belly of the earth for three.)  But Jesus’ answer doesn’t quite seem fair.  Gideon received a sign and so did Thomas, so where is ours?

I’ll answer my own question with a question to you: do you want to run out and check your fleece every morning or would you rather have God dwelling within you?  Earlier in John’s Gospel, we read, “Judas (not Iscariot) said to [Jesus], Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them…. the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.’”  We have what Gideon and Thomas did not have.  We have God, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, dwelling in us.  We don’t need a soggy piece of fleece to speak to us about the truths of God… and everybody says, “Yeah, well, it would come in handy every now and then.”  Maybe, but let me ask you this: what if you got an answer you didn’t like?  If that fleece came back and told me to marry that girl, to this day, I would still be putting it out every night, and like Gideon, asking God, “Are you sure about that?”  However, the bigger problem of putting out the fleece, asking God for a sign, is that the sign really has nothing to do with faith, with believing.

Jesus said to Thomas, “Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Blessed are you who believe in me.  Blessed are you who trust that through the Holy Spirit I will guide you.  The Apostle James writes in his epistle: “If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you.  But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.”

We are to seek God and his Wisdom and through faith, believe that He truly does hear the prayers of the righteous.

Does it mean we’ll get it right every time?  No.  We still see in a mirror dimly.  We still don’t know as we would like to, but in seeking God’s Wisdom through the Holy Spirit, we will receive what a soggy piece of fleece will never give: peace.  We will know that God is with us, for even in the most difficult of times and even when things seem to be against us, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”

“Do not doubt but believe.”  Do not put out your fleece but believe.  Our God who overcame death and the grave is faithful to us, his beloved children.

Let us pray: Everliving God, who strengthened your apostle Thomas with firm and certain faith in your Son’s resurrection: Grant us so perfectly and without doubt to believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God, that our faith may never be found wanting in your sight; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The podcast can be found here.

---

---

How much will you love? How far does it extend? At what point do you say of a person, “I will love them no more.” According to Scripture, “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude” and so on. And according to the same passage, we also read, “Love never ends,” but we all know, that’s just a figure of speech. Right? Love does end. We’ve all experienced it and probably more than once. However, just because it ends, doesn’t mean it should.

Our Gospel reading does not tell us about all the events surrounding the Last Supper, only the foot washing and then Jesus speaking about how the Father would glorify him. However, a closer examination of the reading tells us that we skipped a few verses. We read 13:1-17 and 31-35. Question: what happened in verses 18-30?

In these verses, Jesus says, “The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.” He says, “Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.” Scripture says that Jesus gave the bread to Judas Iscariot and he ate it. Scripture says that Satan entered Judas. Jesus said to him, “Do quickly what you are going to do.” Go about your business of betrayal and Judas did.

This sequence of events tells us that Judas received the Lord’s body and blood at the Last Supper and then sat in the chair before Jesus, who was kneeling before him, and allowed Jesus to wash his feet. Knowing what he was about to do, that took a lot of nerve on Judas’ part, but knowing what Judas was about to do, Jesus allowed it. Jesus knew that Judas was about to betray him, but he still gave Judas the gift of his life. Jesus still humbled himself and washed Judas’ feet.

Reflecting on this episode, Thomas à Kempis writes, “I praise and glorify you for your patient sufferance of that disloyal disciple, for though you foresaw that he was hastening to betray you, nevertheless, you did not manifest any anger toward him, nor did you speak any harsh words to him. You did not make his evil intentions known to others, nor after so villainous a deed did you remove him from his office or refuse him Holy Communion.” But then, Thomas, always aware of his own shortcomings continues, “How great is your patience, most gentle Jesus, and how great my impatience. Alas! How poorly I tolerate a brother when he has said or done something against me. But you, for so long a time and without complaint, have endured your disciple Judas, who would soon sell and betray you, while I, for a paltry insult, quickly yield to anger and think of various ways of vindicating myself or of offering excuses. Where then is my patience, where is my meekness?”

For the betrayal of Son of God, Dante Alighieri, in Inferno, concludes that Judas is in the 9th level – the lowest and most tortuous level of hell. Somebody has the audacity, the unmitigated gaul to disagree with some point I’ve posted on Facebook and I want to send them to the same place. What’s wrong with this picture?

How much will I love? How far will the love I have in my heart extend to other people? Apparently not very far.

Jesus told Peter that he was going to wash his feet. Peter responded, “Not in this lifetime.” Jesus answered him, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” I’m with Peter on both his points. “I’m not worthy to untie the lace of your sandals and you want to wash my feet? No, my Lord.” I’m no better than Judas. How can I sit before you and allow you to wash my feet. I don’t have enough love in here to be worthy of such kindness. And Jesus responds: “You don’t, but I do.” Jesus says, “Allow me to love you and I will make you a part of me so that you can learn to love others. So in horror of my own sin, I cry out, “Yes, my Lord. Wash me. Wash all of me.” And my Lord, responds, “I will wash you, whiter than snow.”

To sit in the chair and have your feet washed is to be loved by God. We will never be worthy, but his desire to wash us never ends, because His love never ends.

 

 

 

 

The podcast can be found here.

---

---

We are told in Luke’s Gospel: As [Jesus] came near and saw [Jerusalem], he wept over it saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.” He saw the city and cried. That city was to have been the City of Peace, the City of God on earth, but instead, it was a place of bondage, corruption, suffering, and in just forty years from that point, it would also be a place of destruction. Jesus saw what His Father had intended and he saw what it had become and he wept.

I believe that this sight would have been enough to bring Jesus to tears, but the tears were not just for the city, but were mostly for the inhabitants. For the soul of the individual was to be the true dwelling place of God, but like the city, instead of seeing this dwelling place of God, Jesus looked within the souls of the people and saw bondage, corruption, suffering, and ultimately destruction. He saw what His Father had intended and he saw what it had become and he wept.

The tears over the city and the tears over the people were not tears of anger, but of sadness, brought on because God had such great love for his people, but through their corruption, they had become separated from him. We know, “For God so loved the world…”… a love so great that we lack the capacity to even comprehend it, but God’s love was not enough to turn us to him. So Jesus wept, but God did not turn his back on us. Jesus wept, but God did not give up.

Thomas à Kempis writes: “Jesus… often wept over man’s miseries, and when he had no more tears to shed, he shed his blood with even greater love.” St. John tells us, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Jesus wept, because God loved, and when that wasn’t enough, God loved even more.

Beloved of God, you have been shown the Father’s greatest love.

Let us pray:
God, our Father,
may we love You in all things and above all things.
May we reach the joy which You have prepared for us in Heaven.
Nothing is good that is against Your Will,
and all that is good comes from Your Hand.
Place in our hearts a desire to please You
and fill our minds with thoughts of Your Love,
so that we may grow in Your Wisdom and enjoy Your Peace.
Amen.

The podcast can be found here.

---

---

Boudreaux was stopped by a game warden in South Louisiana recently with two ice chests of fish, leaving a bayou well known for its fishing. The game warden asked Boudreax, “Do you have a license to catch those fish?” “Naw, ma fren, I ain’t got none of dem, no. Dese here are my pet fish.” “Pet fish?” “Ya. Avery night I take dese here fish down to de bayou and let dem swim around for a while. Den I whistle and dey jump rat back inta dis here ice chest and I take dem home.”

“That’s a bunch of hooey! Fish can’t do that!” Boudreaux looked at the game warden for a moment and then said, “It’s de truth ma’ fren. I’ll show you. It really works.” “Okay, I’ve GOT to see this!” Boudreaux poured the fish into the bayou and stood and waited. After several minutes, the game warden turned to him and said, “Well?” “Well, what?” Said Boudreaux. “When are you going to call them back?” “Call who back?” “The FISH!” “What fish?”

The Bible has several very good fishing stories in it. It begins with the creation chronology when on the fifth day God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures” and the fish were created. Then we have such wonderful stories as the miraculous catch of fish with the disciples and the time that Peter caught a fish with a coin in its mouth, but the biggest fish story in scripture is the one of Jonah and the whale. It’s a story that you hear as a kid in Sunday school, but after that it gets pushed to the side for what some would probably consider to be more intellectual teachings, but seeing as how I’m still 12 at heart, let’s review it.

Jonah had been called on by the Lord to go to Nineveh and to preach against the people for their wickedness, but Jonah did not want to go. He was very well aware of the wickedness of Nineveh and he would rather see the Lord destroy them as opposed to saving them. So, instead of going to Nineveh, he fled. Finally coming to the coast, he caught a boat in hopes of sailing away. However, due to his disobedience the Lord caused a great storm. All aboard were afraid for their lives and when they discovered that Jonah’s disobedience was the cause of the storm, they threw him overboard. Enter the big fish who swallowed him up. Scripture says that Jonah remained in the belly of the beast for three days, after which it vomited him up onto dry land.

Jonah got the point and went to Nineveh. The city was large: 120,000 people lived there and it is reported that it took three days to walk from one edge to the other. His message from God to the people was simple, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” What happened next was exactly what Jonah feared – the people repented of their wickedness and God relented. The people were saved, but Jonah went away angry and pouting. He wanted all 120,000 of them to get their due, but as the Sovereign Lord declares to the Prophet Ezekiel, “I take no pleasure in the death of anyone… Repent and live!”

What is interesting is that God did not ask Jonah for his opinion of Nineveh nor did he ask Jonah to go to the great city. The Lord didn’t say, “Jonah – buddy – if it’s not asking too much and if you feel like it, and by the way I’ll really make it worth your while, would you go to Nineveh.. and you know.. tell them to get their act together.” No. The Lord said in the first verse of Jonah, “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it.” The Lord had a divine purpose for Jonah and the Lord was not concerned with whether or not Jonah wanted to participate in it or endure it or like it or even be happy about it. Why? Because that divine purpose was not about what Jonah wanted. It was about what God wanted. Jonah’s responsibility was limited to the submitting to and fulfillment of that purpose.

I was reminded of this story of Jonah after reading our Gospel. Jesus has made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and there are some Greeks who have heard about this Jesus and want to meet him, so they say to Philip, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip tells Andrew and then the two of them tell Jesus, “Hey, Jesus, there’s a couple of fellas here to see you.” However, for Jesus, the days of meeting and teaching are over, his hour has come. Instead of saying, “Bring them to me,” he replies, “Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say— `Father, save me from this hour’?—“Heck yeah! Let’s catch the next boat out of this two bit town and go to Hawaii.” No. Jesus said, “It is for this reason that I have come to this hour.”

Like Jonah, Jesus had a divine purpose and that purpose was the salvation of souls. But unlike Jonah, Jesus immediately submitted to his Father’s will without complaint. The suffering that Jesus was to endure was not anything to be happy about, it was going to be painful: spiritually, emotionally, and physically, but there was no anger in Jesus, no pouting, no running away. He was being obedient to the suffering to come, so that the world would be saved and so that his Father would be glorified.

Jesus had a divine purpose. Jonah had a divine purpose. So let me ask you this? Do you think you are going to escape without being called into God’s purposes? No. Like Jesus and like Jonah and like so many others, you have a divine purpose. Do you want to know what it is? I’ll tell you. It is the same as Jesus’ and Jonah’s. Your divine purpose is to be obedient to God and to glorify His Name. Like Jesus and Jonah the fulfillment of that purpose might not be easy. It might not be something you enjoy or even want to do. It may involve suffering, but we must remember that the divine purpose we have been given is not about us, it’s about God. For to God, there is a world out there that is crying out, “We would see Jesus.” We would see our salvation. And we are his instruments, the tools of his hands, that would make His Son known.

In the fulfillment of our purpose we may find ourselves repeating the words of Jesus, “Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—`Father, save me from this hour’?” And, like everyone – including Jesus – how you answer is up to you. It truly is your choice. You can say, “Yes.” You can submit and be obedient to God’s will and bring glory to His Name. Or you can say, “No.” You can run away, complain, pout, cry out, “O woe is me!” But I’ll tell you a little secret, like Jonah, in the end, you will fulfill God’s purpose. As the Lord says through the Prophet Isaiah:

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

There are times when our lives seem to be spinning out of control… are spinning out of control. Like Jonah, the world may seem to be nothing but a storm and we are in the belly of the beast, but instead of becoming bitter and angry with God, take into consideration that the endurance of this storm might just be your divine purpose. Through that trial, by enduring, being obedient and submitting to God, your life becomes a testament to the work of God and you, through this strength bring glory to Our Father’s Name and show Jesus to the world, so that all people may be drawn to Him.

If, in the midst of that storm and your obedient submission you find yourself afraid, that’s OK. Even Jesus was distressed to the point of sweating blood and crying out to his Father. But instead of running, say with Jesus, “Father, glorify your name,” and know that not only will his name be glorified, but you will be as well, for as St. Paul teaches us, “When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.”

Fulfill you divine purpose. Glorify the Father.

Let us pray:
O God Father, may everything we do begin with Your inspiration,
continue with Your Help,
and reach perfection under Your Guidance.
With Your loving care guide us in our daily actions.
Help us to persevere with love and sincerity.
Teach us to judge wisely the things of earth
and to love the things of Heaven.
Keep us in Your presence
and never let us be separated from You.
Your Spirit made us Your children,
confident to call You Father.
Make Your Love the foundation of our lives.
Teach us to long for Heaven.
May its promise and hope guide our ways on earth
until we reach eternal life with You.
Amen.

The podcast can be found here.

---

---

Some rather interesting news came out of Alabama in 1992: The article says that the Rev. Glenn Summerford, the former pastor at the Church of Jesus with Signs Following is “currently a guest of the state correctional authorities. Pastor Summerford was convicted in the 1991 attempted murder of his wife, Darlene.” What did he do to his beloved? Records indicate, “he forced [her to hold] her hand in a box full of rattlesnakes until she was bitten.” Rev. Glenn Summerford contended that he was innocent and that the only reason his wife was bitten was because “her faith wavered.”

Another rather interesting article came out in 1998: The Rev. John Wayne “Punkin” Brown Jr., 34, of Parrottsville, Tennessee, died after being bitten by a four-foot timber rattlesnake that he had been handling while preaching. The article stated, “On Saturday, “Punkin” was clutching the snake in his right hand when it bit him on the middle finger of his left, between the knuckle and first joint. The Rev. Gene Sherbert, of Temple, Georgia, was next to Brown when this happened and reported that, “He looked at me and I knowed he was bit and I put it (the snake) back in the box.” The Rev. “Punkin” died a few minutes later. He might have made it, but he kept on preaching another quarter hour after being bitten. FYI: the Rev. “Punkin” is cousin to the Rev. Summerford who tried to kill his wife.

“Why?” do you ask would they be handling snakes? Simple: the Bible says so, Mark 16:17-18: “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.” I think the one thing these good folks forgot was that Scripture also says, “Thou shall not put the Lord thy God to the test.”

I believe that it was in John Grisham’s novel, The Last Juror, that one of the characters recommends, if attending a snake handling church, it’s best to sit on the front row. It seems that the snakes are kept on ice in a box, and those on the first row handle them while they’re still in a state of hibernation; however, by the time the snake reaches the back of the church – wide awake!

This is one we discussed a few weeks ago: the folks in the day of Moses had a healthy understanding of the issue of snakes. It was best to stay away from them because the ones wandering in the desert were killers. It happened on one particular day that the Israelites began to complain once more against God, so God sent them a plague of snakes and many people perished. This drove them to repent of their murmurings, but the snakes were still there, so they asked Moses to help and God told Moses to make the snake out of bronze, Nahushtan, and then to place it on a pole. When the people were bitten, if they would look at the bronze snake, they would be saved.

The people had spoken against God, so God sent the snakes as a judgment. In order to be spared the death that came from the snakes, the people were told to look upon the bronze snake. The people were called to look upon their judgment. Because you disobeyed God, because you spoke against Him, you must look upon the consequence of your disobedience, in order to be saved.

Leading up to our Gospel reading, Nicodemus, who is a Pharisee, comes to Jesus at night. He comes at night because he is afraid to be seen by others visiting with this rabble-rouser, Jesus. Even so, Nicodemus believes the signs that Jesus has been performing. Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born from above in order to be saved. Nicodemus fails to understand what Jesus is saying, so Jesus responds by saying to him, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”

The Israelites in the wilderness were required to look upon their judgment – the bronze serpent – in order to be saved. Jesus is saying, in a similar manner, Nicodemus must also look upon his judgment and believe, in order to be saved. Nicodemus must look upon the judgment for his disobedience to God. And what is the judgment for disobedience toward God, for sin? Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin – the consequence of sin – the judgment of sin is death.” Nicodemus must look upon death in order to be saved, but not just anybody’s death. He must look upon the death, the judgment of the Son of God, of Jesus in order to be saved. He must look upon Christ crucified and believe that it is through Jesus’ death that he will receive his salvation.

The message to us is no different. We too must look upon the judgment of our sins – death – and believe that it is through that judgment – in the person of Christ Jesus crucified – that we are saved. We must recognize that our sins lead to eternal death yet, God so loved the world – so loved us – that he gave his only Son to suffer death for us, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.

Believe and have eternal life. Sounds like foolishness to many and to many others it is too simple. God wouldn’t simply give salvation away so freely. We must earn that right to get into heaven. We must follow the rules. Sit, stand, kneel, bow when we are supposed to. We must live the perfect boring Christian life. We must be able to handle snakes without our faith failing for even a moment. Put one toe out of line and you will be bitten, you will be hell bound. We apply this way of thinking to others and to ourselves, and we end up echoing Paul’s question, “Who then can be saved?” In our logic we answer, “No one… not even ourselves.” To any who think in such a way, I would remind them of the day that Jesus was crucified between the two thieves:

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Did the thief follow all the rules? Did he get all the answers right? Did he lead a perfect life in the eyes of God? Was he able to handle the snakes without getting bitten? Or… did he simply look upon his own judgment and see his salvation?

St. Paul writes to the Philippians: work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. With fear and trembling, look upon Christ Jesus and him crucified and see in him your own crucifixion, your own death, and then look again and see your salvation, and then… believe.

Let us pray: O Jesus, it is not the heavenly reward You have promised which impels us to love You; neither is it the threat of hell that keeps us from offending You. It is You O Lord, it is the sight of You affixed to the Cross and suffering insults; it is the sight of Your broken body, as well as Your pains and Your death. There is nothing You can give us to make us love You. For even if there were no heaven and no hell we would still love you as we do! Amen.