Jesus the Teacher

As you know, for the month of September, our message series is focusing on: Who is Jesus? Today we look at Jesus the Teacher.

I bet that everyone here remembers their favorite teacher … whether it was kindergarten, because s/he was so kind to us, or grammar school, because were the teacher’s pet, or high school because we seemed to catch on to the lessons given a dynamic teaching style or college/graduate school professor because we really felt connected and finally at the threshold of being a professional. My favorite teacher was from Seton Hall law school … Kathleen Boozang … who is now the dean there. She was my favorite because she kicked my butt and really challenged me in doing research and disciplined writing. I can still hear her say, You have to think and write like a lawyer! She taught me not to be lazy … to read the next article, to write, review and then re-write. She was and is my favorite because she challenged me, and even today, continues to challenge me to be the best version of myself … and sometimes that’s just not easy. Isn’t that the same with Jesus? “Who do you say that I am?” is a much harder question than we think it is. We already know that the New Testament does not paint a uniform portrait of Jesus Christ.

• Not only do we have four very different Gospels o each remarkably unique in their individual understandings of the meaning of Jesus’ ministry. But here’s an amazing fact … of the 90 times Jesus was addressed directly in the gospels, 60 times he was called Teacher.

• There are twenty-three additional books that articulate varying views and teachings of Jesus.

• Even the thirteen letters attributed to Paul adapt the function and significance of Jesus Christ depending on the circumstances that need to be addressed in our lives.

And surely, discrepancies exist. Although he never entered a classroom as we know a classroom and he never had a degree as we understand an educational degree, yet all the world was his classroom. Today, as we think about Jesus as Teacher, we can and should spend some time thinking about how we would respond to Jesus’ inquiry, considering what our answer might be. But there’s even more that Jesus is asking in this seemingly straightforward question, and perhaps it’s this “more” that is the most challenging, the most demanding, the “more” we wish we could avoid. Because “Who do you say that I am?” is at the same time, “who will you say that you are?” That’s the rub of this question, the heart of its difficulty. If it we only had to provide an answer to Jesus’ question of his identity, that would be one thing. However, answering the question of Jesus’ identity is also having to give voice to our own. When we think about Jesus as Teacher, we can’t answer Jesus’ inquiry without revealing who we are … because it’s not about getting the answer right. It’s the moment when we come face-to-face with our own commitment, our own discipleship, our own identity. It’s the moment when we have to admit to what it is that we have learned from Jesus, and how we are putting that knowledge to work in our lives and in our world. In John’s Gospel, we read: For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. How do we emulate his example? … of listening … of responding to those in need … of healing … of telling the truth, even when its hard … of healing … of doing good works … of taking up our cross How do we, his students, his disciples, follow him … today, here and now, and forever? “Who do you say that I am?” is also a question we should ask of others, of ourselves. Who, indeed, will people say we are? Are we willing to ask the question? Or do we stay silent, afraid of what people might say, perhaps worried about what truth might get uttered? Avoiding the question altogether so as to feign a kind of confidence we don’t really have? Jesus knows it’s one of the hardest questions to ask — which is why he asks it in the first place, and why he has to ask it first. Perhaps this week, in your family, in your home, with your work colleagues, with your friends, we can ask the question, Who do you say that I am? Not only of Jesus, but of ourselves. Undoubtedly the answers will be interesting, perhaps even challenging, but they may also be life-giving! Jesus challenges us to be the best version of ourselves, are we up for the challenge?

Blessings!

RSM

Jesus the Healer

For the month of September, we begin a new message series on: Who is Jesus? Surely, each of us has our own answer to the question given our personal experiences, but today we look at Jesus the Healer.

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Ephphatha is a word that fascinates me. It means be opened and is used by Jesus when he heals the deaf man in the gospel. This man, being deaf and unable to speak, resulted in virtual isolation from the community. He was cut off from hearing others and from speaking with others too.

So, when Jesus healed him and spoke the words, be opened, he literally tore down the walls that kept this man from the fullness of a healthy life. The way to life was opened by God. Now, he could hear the laughter, the conversations, the sacred stories after having been blocked from doing so. Now, he could hear the history of God’s loving relationship with Israel, the accounts of God’s action on behalf of His people, he could hear Jesus speak of God’s love for him.

Original sin, described in the book of Genesis, has been the traditional understanding of the cause of our separation from God, the moment the human person isolated himself from the source of life, love and grace. Locked into our own wills and deaf to the voice of God, we can really become self-absorbed and can seem to be unable to break free from the bondage to the self. The result is sin – bringing sadness, fear and anger, and an emotional, spiritual and physical destructiveness inflicted on ourselves and those around us.

To get beyond that, we need the healing touch of Christ – to be healed from our physical, spiritual and emotional brokenness - and to hear the words, be opened! This is a direct command from the Lord and has the power to release us from our bondage to all those things that separate us from God’s love.

At our baptism, the priest or deacon signed our ears and mouth with the cross and announced, Ephphatha. With that sign our ears were opened to hear the word of God and our lips were opened to proclaim, under the power of the Holy Spirit, that Jesus Christ is Lord. Each day we are called to live out the truth of our baptism and nurture the graces of that sacrament.

Saint Bonaventure, in his life of Saint Francis of Assisi, describes how at prayer in a lonely place one day and full of sorrow for his sins, the joy of the Holy Spirit suddenly came upon Francis and his heart was expanded and the horizons of his mind were enlarged. This was an ephphatha moment for Francis when the graces of his baptism flowered freely and abundantly in his spirit. This is the grace we seek – that the spiritual energies in our soul, given to us at baptism and confirmation may be released to flow freely and powerfully within us – and heal us from all of our different infirmities.

We all experience distress in all sorts of ways—as sadness, anxiety, addictions, unproductive obsessions, unwanted compulsions, repetitive self-sabotaging behaviors, physical ailments, boredom, and various angry, bleak, and agitated moods.

What helps relieve this distress? What helps a person to heal? For the believer it’s our faith in Jesus the Healer … a faith that encourages and supports the other resources available to us in this modern age – counseling, medication, self-help groups and the like. While there are plenty of other tips for healing, here I offer just a few:

1. Be yourself

We must be our authentic true ourselves – the person God created in God’s image and likeness. This means asking for what we need in prayer, setting boundaries, having our own beliefs and opinions, standing up for our values, and developing our adult faith life as we listen to the voice of the Lord.

2. Invent yourself

We all come with attributes, capacities and proclivities and we have been molded in a certain environment. But at some point, as well-adjusted adults we must say, Okay, this is what is original to me and this is how I have been formed, but now who do I want to be? We reduce our emotional distress and find healing by deciding to become a person who will experience less distress: a calmer person, a less critical person, a less egoistic person, a more productive person, a less self-abusive person, and so on.

3. Love and be loved

Part of our nature requires solitude, prayer, alone time, and a substantial rugged individualism. But this isn’t the whole story of our nature. We feel happier, warmer and better, live longer, and experience life as more meaningful if we love and let ourselves be loved. The man in the Gospel was unable to love and be loved until the Lord opened his ears and touched his tongue. We must ask for the same.

4. Flip the anxiety switch off

Rampant anxiety ruins our equilibrium, colors our mood, and makes all the already hard tasks of living that much harder. There are many anxiety management strategies we can try—breathing, relaxation, exercise, and so on—but what will make all the difference is if we can locate that “inner switch” that controls our anxious nature and, deciding that we prefer to live more calmly, flip it to the off position.

5. Deal with circumstances

Circumstances matter. Our economic circumstances matter; our relationships matter; our work conditions matter; our health matters; whether our nation is at peace or occupied by invaders matters. Many circumstances are completely out of our control, but many are within our control. We can change jobs or careers, we can end a relationship, we can reduce our calorie intake, we can stand up or keep quiet, we can do exactly as much as we can do to improve our circumstances. As a result of those improvements, we will feel better. Healing requires that we rely on our faith while we take real action in the real world.

Isaiah the prophet reassures us in quoting the LORD who said:

Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not!

Here is your God, he comes with vindication.

With divine recompense he comes to save you.

It’s the message to each us from Jesus the Healer – be strong, fear not, our God comes to save us.

Spiritual writer CS Lewis once said:

You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending!

Find comfort in those words … as we begin anew …

Blessings!

RSM

Before We Become a Very Sad Statistic Too

Friends:

In the Houses of Worship section of the Wall Street Journal last week, columnist Elliott Kaufman wrote an article entitled, Chabad Ministers to Jews of No Religion. I found the article interesting for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that a similar article could be written about Catholics and that really concerns me! Kaufman cites the Pew Research group with a number of frightening statistics regarding our Jewish brothers and sisters and their religious practices. The most noteworthy parts for me are: - Twice as many Jewish Americans say they derive a great deal of meaning and fulfillment from spending time with their pets as say the same about their religion; -Only 12% of American Jews attend weekly services … Jews express Judaism through culture instead and from this emanates a different kind of “involved” Jew; -Only 7% say that being Jewish is important to their lives and its unlikely that number will grow in the next generation; Citing the Pew study, the article continues, outlining how Jews who participate in Chabad activities like dinners, prayer services and more, actually seem to be more involved. (Chabad is family oriented.) What about us Catholics? Pew studies have also been conducted measuring Catholics and engagement, and the numbers are abysmally frightening. It really seems to me that we have come to the crossroads. What is the faith that we will pass on to our children? What will our parishes look like? How will they survive? Our faith tradition has been promoting the “domestic church” for centuries … in the home is actually where faith was celebrated, learned about and shared among inter- generational family members. In many homes, it still is. Supporting and promoting a life of faith in the home is more important now than ever. With parishes and Churches struggling, with our leaders causing scandal and giving bad example and causing more and more doubt daily, and with a structure that at times seems to be further and further from the Gospel message of Jesus, its time for every Catholic to think seriously about what does it mean to be a Catholic and how committed am I to learning about, living and spreading the Good News daily. By necessity parishes will change, churches will close and the numbers of those ordained will continue to fall … despite that Jesus promises that “I will be with you until the end of time.” How? Let's think about this as individuals, as families and as a community of faith. What can we do? What should we do? To continue to bring the Good News of salvation to the world. I’m interested in your thoughts … and our collective efforts … before we become a very sad statistic too! Blessings! RSM