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Be Amazed

We all wonder what God is like: is He some old white guy on a cloud? Is He a He? Does He have arms to hug me? Where is God and what’s He like? Today’s readings are bursting with information about God.

The readings begin with Isaiah. He’s telling the Jews that God is faithful: He is keeping the covenant He made so long ago with Abraham. God will be the God of Israel and they will be His people. Forever. No additions or subtractions, no fast-talking sales man pitch: forever. Isaiah even tells the people of Israel to rejoice, sing out! (And Isaiah is not really known for his light-heartedness.)

Psalm 145 is the responsorial psalm today. In just a few short lines we learn that God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and kind. The Lord is compassionate, faithful, holy. Those that have fallen are gently lifted up by God. He is just and truthful, and He calls out the name of those near to Him.

Wow. This is our God. What an amazing and hopeful faith we have!

Finally, in the Gospel of John, Jesus speaks to the Jews. These are the same people Isaiah spoke to. They know about God’s covenant; it’s in the marrow of their bones. Their life centers on God and His laws and His plans for them. Jesus makes it clear that He is doing the work of God the Father. If the Jews want to know more about God, they need to look at Jesus.

For the Father loves the Son
and shows him everything that he himself does,
and he will show him greater works than these,
so that you may be amazed. (Jn 5:20)

“Amazed.” The Jews that Jesus were speaking to had no idea what “works” the Father was going to show. We do. Are we amazed? Are we astounded? Astonished? Do we wake up every morning rather dumbfounded at the blessings God has provided with us? Do we look upon our family and friends and are almost blown away by the love?

More importantly, do we enter into prayer and liturgy with amazement? Do we worship knowing that the unbelievable is believable – that God so loved us He sent His only Son to come among us, teach us, be a model for us, feed us His very Body and Blood, and ultimately take our sins upon Himself so as to destroy death?

Are we amazed?

Today, be amazed at God. Be amazed at Christ, Be amazed at the Holy Spirit. He is our God and He is amazing.

 

EH headshotElise Hilton is an author, blogger and speaker. Her role at Diocesan Publications is Editor & Writer with the Marketing Team. She has worked in parish faith formation and Catholic education for over 25 years. A passionate student of theology, Elise enjoys sharing her thoughts on parish communication, the role of social media in the Church, Franciscan spirituality and Catholic parenting. To enquire about booking her as a speaker, please contact her at ehilton@diocesan.com.

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Advent: Keeping the Sabbath

TODAY’S ADVENT REFLECTION FOR THE 3RD FRIDAY OF ADVENT, 2016

Here we are in the third week of Advent.  I like the focus of the Isaiah reading on “keep the Sabbath free from profanation” – what does that mean in 2016?  I recall growing up at a time when the civil “encouragement” of respecting Sunday as the Lord’s Day was the norm rather than the exception.  So-called blue laws (which found their inception in colonial and earlier times) prevented commercial activity on Sundays, regardless of the merchant’s faith tradition (or absence thereof).  I think I might have been 8 – 10 years old before we could regularly buy groceries on Sundays, or cars, or even clothing.

What I also remember from those years was a strong sense of family-ness on Sundays.  We would always go to 9:00 a.m. morning mass, almost always have a large early afternoon roast beef meal, and then visit grandparents (and aunts and uncles and cousins) on the other side of town.  When we returned home we ate leftover hot roast beef sandwiches and watched Walt Disney or Bonanza on television.  As society changed and those blue laws were repealed, as the Church created the option to “anticipate” our Sunday mass time, as we aged, much of the weekly family time on Sundays and its “specialness” diminished.  But I do miss my hot roast beef sandwiches and the warmth and safety of those times!

A good friend of mine is a very conservative Jewish man who scrupulously keeps kosher and observes the Sabbath.  Ed’s preparations amaze me.  He travels internationally a great deal for his job and on vacations, and has children and grandchildren living in Israel that he frequently visits.  He seems to effortlessly meet his Sabbath and kosher obligations regardless of the other demands on his life.  I know that he will not be available for a phone conversation, or an email response, from sundown to sundown on Friday/Saturday.  I know that if we share a meal he will have a more difficult time than I in selecting food choices.  Ed patiently explains some of the kosher and Sabbath restrictions as we discuss his faithfulness, and I am always impressed by his quiet commitments.  He clearly is someone who “keeps the Sabbath free from profanation.”

What is the difference between how Ed observes the Sabbath and our Sunday sabbaths from my youth in the fifties?  I think when Ed keeps kosher and observes the Sabbath, he is connecting the actions of his sacrifices with his core faith and spirituality.  His choices make sense to him because they are consistent with what he believes.  He “holds to the covenant” by how he lives his daily life.  His Sabbath is a special day, not just one of relaxing for its own sake, but one that is not like the other days of the week, one where he can relax in and with the Lord.  He is not merely fulfilling an obligation, but is acting on his commitment.

And what of us?  Do our sabbaths, however we characterize them, connect to our core beliefs?  Do we follow the spirit of “Sabbath” by retreating for a brief period from the distractions of the world to be restfully quiet in God’s presence?  Do we consciously deny ourselves of some legitimate good so we can feel more clearly detachment from worldly concerns and connection to the divine within us?

Keeping the Sabbath free from profanation, and keeping the covenant of the Lord, is hard, intentional work.  There is preparation, and action, and reflection, and then changes in how we act in the future.  It is a way of life, not merely a weekend day.  It is a sacred manifestation of gratitude to the Lord from whom all comes to us.

And so my prayer today is for the grace to keep and nourish the gift of the Sabbath and the covenant of the Lord.

[Throughout the 2016 Advent season, we will be bringing you posts from a variety of writers. Our hope is that each of these will be a meaningful way for you to slow down, pray well, and prepare for the coming of our Lord. Today’s blogger is . She teaches writing at Grand Valley State University. Today’s blogger is Tom Purcell, professor of accounting at Creighton University. Purcell has taught at Creighton since 1967, and says the school’s Jesuit history has had a deep influence on his own faith. Today’s reflection is based on the readings for Friday, December 16, 2016.]

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5 Reasons Catholics Should Read The Bible

Today is the feast day of St. Jerome, who lived during the first century of the Church. A man of brilliant mind, he lived as a hermit for years, in order to deal with his many sins. However, God needed his intellect and gift of language; thus St. Jerome is credited with translating Scripture into Latin under direction of Pope Damascus.

St. Jerome famously said, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” That thought alone should send us all scurrying for our Bibles! So, why should Catholics make regular Scripture reading and study part of their daily lives?

  1. It is the living Word of God. There are many ancient texts in the history of the world. Many of us, in high school and college, read The Iliad, I Ching, and the Tao de Ching. They are all worthy of study, but what sets the Bible apart? It is the living Word of God. It has no equal, and it is as relevant today as it was when Jerome labored over its translation. Further, the Word of God is Christ: In the beginning was the Word,and the Word was with God and the Word was God. (Jn. 1:1 ) Thus, every encounter with Scripture is an encounter with Christ.
  2. Sunday isn’t enough. Indeed, the Mass is full of Scripture. We hear the Word proclaimed from the Old and New Testaments, the Psalms, and the Gospel. We hear the Word sung in our hymns. The prayers at Mass are full of Scriptural quotes and references. And yet … it’s not enough. It’s easy to miss parts of the Word as it’s proclaimed as Mass: we get distracted, the Word is not proclaimed well, we don’t quite hear it. In order to prepare well for Mass, we should “read ahead:” find the readings for Mass and read them prior to Mass. How are they connected? What is God’s message for His people today?
  3. God’s Word keeps us grounded. It is very easy, in the midst of our sloppy, busy, stress-filled days, to lose touch with who we are: God’s children. Taking time to read Scripture every day keeps us grounded, reminds us of who we are. Reading Scripture helps us to recall, every day, that Christ is with us – even in the sloppiness, the busy-ness, the stress.
  4. Scripture reminds us of God’s covenant. God made a promise to our forefathers in faith, the Jews. He told them, “I will be your God, and you will be my people.” Even though the Jews (like us!) did many things that should have destroyed that covenant, God’s promise is eternal. A covenant is unbreakable, because it is God’s truth. Then, with the coming of Christ, we received a new covenant: “This is My Body and this is My Blood. Whoever eats and drinks of it shall have eternal life.” The Bible, from start to finish, is the story of God’s unbreakable promise to us. That’s pretty important.
  5. Reading Scripture helps us to pray better. Every one of us needs to pray better. Prayer is our lifeline to God. Scripture can help us to pray better. We see ourselves reflected in the sorrow, pain and faithfulness of Job. We understand Jonah’s reluctance to do the job God has set before him. We rejoice, laugh, cry and challenge God with the psalmist. We understand the shame of the woman about to be stoned. We tremble with fear, abandoning Christ, just as most of the Apostles did when He most needed them. To enter into God’s word helps us to see, hear, feel and understand basic human responses … and then do better. We rise above our fears, our sorrows, our shame, because we know God is with us. Always. He never abandons us. Scripture is the story of God’s eternal love and faithfulness.

St. Jerome knew all this. He spent his life carefully and faithfully translating God’s word. He did it not because it was yet another text that smart people wanted to read in their own language. No, he understood that Scripture is the living word of God, as relevant to us as it was to the Jews in their many triumphs and struggles, as it was to the earliest Christians during St. Jerome’s life, and now, in a world where we have so much information at our fingertips it would make St. Jerome’s head spin. But there is no website, no book, no podcast, no Facebook post that equals God’s word. Do not be ignorant of this word, lest you be ignorant of Christ.

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Covenant: God’s Forever Promise

The word “covenant” is familiar to Catholics. It is part of the Eucharistic Prayer at every Mass. But what exactly is a covenant?

First, let’s look at a similar word and idea: “contract.” That’s a common enough concept. We sign and enter into contracts all the time. A contract is basically an exchange of goods and services. You make widgets. I call you and order 3,000 widgets to be delivered. You fax over a contract. The contract says you will make and deliver those widgets to me by a certain date. My part of the contract is that I will pay you for making and delivering the widgets. I sign the contract and fax it back. Deal done.

A lot of people confuse “contract” with “covenant.” Yet, they are vastly different. For instance, there are such things as “cohabitation agreements”. (You can see a sample here.) It states that a couple is willing to live together, but only under certain circumstances. Kevin will pay X amount for rent and Ashley will pay X amount. They decide legally who is responsible for what. They may even decide to note that Kevin will take care of the garage and any maintenance, while Ashley is responsible for cooking meals and cleaning up the kitchen.

Not very…romantic, huh? It sounds like a business arrangement. Well, it is. It’s a contract. It’s the exchange of goods and services between two people. And it’s not at all what God has in mind for a man and a woman who join together.

Now, let’s look at “covenant.” The word gets used quite a bit in Scripture. For instance, God establishes a covenant with Noah in Genesis 6. God commanded Noah to build an ark, and to bring aboard that ark every kind of animal and Noah’s family. Noah agreed, and did what God asked. God’s promise to Noah was:

I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you: the birds, the tame animals, and all the wild animals that were with you—all that came out of the ark.

I will establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood; there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth.

God said: This is the sign of the covenant that I am making between me and you and every living creature with you for all ages to come:

I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. (Gen. 9:13)

Another important covenant is the one God makes with Abram. Abram (to whom God gave the Abraham.) Abraham was a great leader of his people, but more importantly he was faithful to God. And God made a promise to Abraham:

For my part, here is my covenant with you: you are to become the father of a multitude of nations.

No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham,for I am making you the father of a multitude of nations.

I will make you exceedingly fertile; I will make nations of you; kings will stem from you.

I will maintain my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout the ages as an everlasting covenant, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land in which you are now residing as aliens, the whole land of Canaan, as a permanent possession; and I will be their God.

God said to Abraham: For your part, you and your descendants after you must keep my covenant throughout the ages.

Thus were born the Jewish people, from whom would descend the 12 tribes of Israel and from whom our Saviour would be born.

You see, a covenant is not a business agreement. It’s not an exchange of goods and services. A covenant is a promise that lasts forever, has an enduring sign (like the rainbow for Noah), and always includes God. Amazing, isn’t it? God has made promises to humanity since we’ve been trudging around this Earth and He has kept every one.

As Catholics, our ears hear that word “covenant” during the Eucharistic Prayer: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you. Jesus IS the new covenant: He gives us eternal life, and we pick up our crosses and follow him. The bread and the wine which become Christ: Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity are the sign of this covenant.

Now let’s go back to that cohabitation agreement. God does not want a man and woman to enter into a contract. He wants a covenant for them. That’s why Christ established marriage as a sacrament. A man and a woman promise (not who will mow the lawn or who will pay what amount for rent) to honor each other, to accept children from God, to be true during good and challenging times and to love as long as both shall live. And we do this in God’s name. The rings exchanged and blessed are the sign of this covenant.

The idea of covenant, an everlasting promise that includes God, is really the love story God has written for us. It’s an important part of Scripture and therefore our Catholic faith. Catholic theologian Scott Hahn has spent much of his life studying and exploring this, and you can learn a lot from his books and writings.

For today, though, pray about the wonder of God’s promise to you, to each of us as Catholics: we do our very best to follow Him and we will have eternal life with Him. Amen!