disciple – Page 20 – deacon rudy's notes

February 10, 2019February 10, 2019

17 I Didn’t Know What I was Getting Myself Into!

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1: Is 6:1-2A, 3-8
Psalm: Ps 138:1-5, 7-8
Reading 2: 1 Cor 15:1-11
Gospel: Luke 5:1-11

“I didn’t know what I was getting myself into!”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say this in pastoral counseling. Hola! I’m Deacon Rudy Villarreal and I want to reflect on our readings today from the context of relationships, especially with Valentine’s Day around the corner.

Before we get there, let’s review a few ideas. Who made us? God. Why did God make us? To show his goodness and love and to share with us everlasting happiness in heaven. What’s our purpose then? To know, love and serve God in this world. Another way of saying that is that we are called to be in right relation with God and His creation now and for all eternity. In other words, we want to get to heaven and we want to bring somebody with us, right? This is what discipleship is all about.

Over these past two Sundays, we’ve heard about God’s call and our response. Many people are called into a relationship with someone else that either leads to marriage or maybe that they’d hope will lead to marriage. And that relationship journey can be very exciting, right? I just love when a young couple comes up to me and says, “Deacon Rudy, we want to get married because we’re in love.” I don’t mean to poke fun. It’s beautiful, right?

So, you get married and you try to be supportive of each other. For example, we might encourage our partner to get an advanced degree or maybe some other professional credential. Maybe we encourage them because they love what they’re doing or maybe it’s because it will help their career and thus help the family. Either way, part of our role in a relationship is to help the other one develop – to be the best version of themselves. And that’s totally good.

But if all we focus on is our professional selves, we end up being fairly one-dimensional. There’s more to us than the person we are at work. That was true before you got married and it remains true today. So part of our role in the relationship is to help the other develop in other ways and I’m not just talking about diet and exercise. We’re called to help the other grow in their faith.

Now I know some people might say, “Whoa! That can’t be my role. That’s the priest’s job, right?” Often what’s behind this sort of comment is a lack confidence. I think there are a lot of men in particular who are quick to say that “faith” is not their department. It’s their wives who are the spiritual ones – the ones who get us to church – the ones who teach Sunday school. You can almost hear Isaiah’s protest from today’s first reading. “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips…”, (Is 6:5). Or maybe we’re afraid of being embarrassed because of our life before marriage, so maybe our spouse will think we’re being hypocritical if we try to encourage their spiritual life. You can almost hear St. Paul in the second reading trying to justify his role in spreading the Good News. “For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God,” (1 Cor 15:9).

Our resistance and even our discomfort is totally understandable. My experience is that many of us weren’t really taught how to share our faith. We feel awkward and uncomfortable talking about Jesus. We’re very good talking about our jobs or things happening at work. But talking about our faith? Holding hands – just the two of us – and praying together? That’s different.

Ok, let’s take a step back for a minute. Life can be messy and the way things turn out may not be what we had in mind when we were young and first dating. Maybe my spouse didn’t become widely successful and independently wealthy. Maybe I thought I’d be a stay-at-home parent, but our finances required me to go work. Maybe because I can’t enjoy some of the things my friends have or go on the kinds of trips they go on. Or maybe my spouse is always traveling for work and when they’re home they’ve got to do some important work-related networking, life golf, so they’re gone a significant percentage of the time. Maybe when they’re home they’re really not home because they’re focused on their computers or their smart phones. Maybe I am start to feel alone or that all the non-financial responsibilities, like cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, all falls on me. Maybe I start to resent my spouse. Gradually, that idea, that emotion and be a wedge that creates a gap between us.

Then we find ourselves saying to our pastor or someone on the pastoral staff, “I didn’t know what I was getting myself into!”

Somewhere along the way, a couple might lose sight of their first call, the call we hear Jesus give today in the Gospel, to follow Him. They’re first call as a couple was to each other. Their call as a married couple is to help each other become what God made them to be which is first and foremost disciples. So, as we approach Valentine’s Day, I think this is a good opportunity for couples to pause and take a few minutes without any distractions and be present to each other. That means no cell phones, no TV, no smartwatches – nothing that might create a distraction. It’s important to spend time together to reconnect and stay on the path.

I don’t mean to oversimplify things. Perhaps it’s time to acknowledge the need as a couple to not only seek spiritual guidance, but professional help with a reputable Christian marriage and family therapist who values Christian marriage. We need to be open to do what we can to nurture our relationship so that we can to get our relationships back on track. Yes, that might be a little scary, especially if we’ve allowed things to really get out of hand – if we’ve convinced ourselves that divorce is the only logical option. But as Jesus tells Peter in today’s Gospel, “Do not be afraid,” (Lk 5:10). If we really believe – if we really believe that the Eucharist is the body, the blood, the soul and the divinity of Jesus, then we need to put our trust in Him. Jesus, I trust in you! That simple prayer of St. Faustina should always be on our lips.

Homework! Being nourished by the Eucharist and in the Word proclaimed, let’s work on these two points:

Think about your spouse or your significant other, whether they are alive or they’ve passed away, and pray for your them. Pray for God’s grace upon them.
Pray about the ways you can help each other be the people God made you to be.

If you find it difficult to pray for your spouse, that’s ok. I think that’s a sign that somethings wrong and that there is a need for healing and reconciliation. It’s never too late, and you are not alone. So take the opportunity to reach out to your spouse or reach out to someone on the pastoral staff or a reputable Christian marriage and family therapist who values Christian marriage to help you. Remember, answering “the call” starts in our own families. Do you got it? Good! May each of us come to know the mercy and the love of Jesus Christ. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. +Amen!

16 How Will You Respond to God’s Love

Mother Teresa holding a baby and quote not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love

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Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
First Reading: Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19
Psalm: Psalm 71:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 15,17
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13
Gospel: Luke 4:21-30

What happens when people can’t be bothered by the Truth?

In the first reading, God warns Jeremiah that the people will fight against him. Well that news can’t be easy to swallow! In the Gospel, Jesus’ own friends and neighbors run him out of town and try to throw him off the hill their town is built on!

Isn’t it interesting that when God comes into people’s lives, it can be all too easy to reject His Word? Maybe it’s because they like we don’t want to be bothered. We don’t want to mess up our comfortable lives, so we don’t really want to believe what we’re hearing. This can’t be the Truth, right? This can’t be what God is asking of me!
Maybe it’s because we think we’re living a good life – a life rooted in the Spirit. But St. Paul warns us in his letter to the Corinthians that if we exercise faith to move a mountain, but we act without love, then we have nothing! Whoa!

So what is the challenge of love? Love is not something we horde. Love is something we give away – something we share. We act on love. So Jesus gives the people two examples: the widow in Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian. In both examples they were not Jews, but they responded to God’s Word and experienced His mercy and love. In contrast, Jesus tells the people, they are like the Jews of the past who were closed off to God’s Word.

How do the people respond? They say, “isn’t this the son of Joseph?” In other words, they look for reasons to doubt both the message and the messenger. In fact, they are so angry they want to pitch Him off the hill! Why are they so angry? Because the Truth challenges them to respond. What is that response? You can’t keep the love and mercy God showers on you all to yourself. You need to share it with others. How? Remember Jesus’ message that when you love the least of these, you love me.

When you give drink to the thirsty, food to the hungry, clothes to the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned, that’s how we share the love of God with others and in turn how we truly show our love for God. The message that Jesus is giving us today is that we need to respond to God’s love and the way we respond to the Father’s love is to reach out to those around us. That makes sense, doesn’t it? Like we heard last week, we are all part of the Body of Christ. If part of the body is in pain, then we need to reach out to that part of the body and help it. This idea underscores our understanding social justice. Social justice is not just about doing good deeds. Anybody – nonbelievers – can do good deeds. But as Christians, as His disciples, social justice flows out of our belief in the Good News.

So the challenge is not to come up with excuses to avoid the Truth: isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Or, I’m too busy. I don’t have time right now. I’m too old. Or the clergy sex abuse scandal means I shouldn’t trust or help the Church! Let’s face it – all of that is bologna! It doesn’t matter how busy you think you are or how old you are. And we shouldn’t the scandal as an excuse to not live out God’s call in our lives. It’s not because we are perfect that we gather at the table of the Lord. It’s because we are broken and we are sinners that we come together. We gather for God’s mercy and love. So no more excuses!

There’s always a way we can contribute – at minimum through our prayers and financial support, of course, but perhaps there’s other things you can do. Can you help make baby blankets, knit beanies for the homeless, share your professional experience with the Church or a nonprofit organization who needs your help? As the sainted Mother Teresa said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

Homework! Nourished by Christ in the Word proclaimed and in the Eucharist, let’s reflect on the following two questions:

First, what is God calling you to do?
Second, how are you going to respond to God’s love?

We need to draw courage from what Jeremiah says to us today: God will be with us as our strength and ally. Do you get it? Good! May each of us come to know the mercy and the love of Jesus Christ. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. +Amen!

15 We Are One Body

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Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 – Nehemiah 8:2-4A, 5-6, 8-10
Psalm – Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 15
Reading 2 – 1 Corinthians 12:12-30
Gospel – Luke 1:1-4

China 2008. A mother gives birth to baby girl. The baby has a severe cleft lip and palate. She’s so little and so fragile. She can’t create a suction because of her cleft, so feeding her is almost impossible. What is she supposed to do? We’ll get back to that in a minute.

The great challenge of today’s readings is about “fresh starts.” Why are the people crying in the first reading from Nehemiah? Well, the Jews had rebuilt the Temple and restored Jerusalem after the end of the Babylonian captivity. Ezra, the spiritual leader of the people, and before Nehemiah, the Governor appointed by Persia, read and interpreted God’s Law to the people. The people were crying tears of joy at this fresh start – this new beginning – for their people.

Back to China. Mom decides to leave the baby on the doorstep of a Buddhist convent. The Buddhist nuns find her on their doorstep with no information, no note, not even a date of birth. The nuns had the baby over to the Chinese authorities who approximate and assign her date of birth. They then place her with an orphanage. Now, there are many orphanages in China that range from just collecting a paycheck to extraordinary. By the grace of God, the baby finds her way to an extraordinary orphanage. The orphanage has a relationship with a U.S. nonprofit agency called Love Without Boundaries. They commit to helping this baby with lip surgery, but first she needs to get her weight up as she is severely malnourished. Let’s leave this story here for a now.

In the Gospel today, Jesus announces the beginning of his mission and ministry as he participates in the Sabbath Liturgy of the Word in the Synagogue in his native home in Nazareth. Then he says, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21). We’ll see how that story turns out next week, but Jesus is saying that his mission, which is similar to the mission given to Moses in Exodus, is to: 1) Bring glad tidings to the poor; 2) To proclaim liberty to captives; 3) To give recovery of sight to the blind; 4) To free the oppressed; and 5) to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord, which means the Jubilee Year, a time for forgiveness and restoration.
So Jesus sums up the sources of His: 1) power and authority; and 2) the nature of His freeing and saving ministry. What does that mean for us?

Back to China. The U.S. nonprofit organization places the baby with a foster family, especially trained to provide care to fragile children. The goal is to get her weight up so that her chances of a successful surgery improve. Her cleft prevents her from creating suction, so she cannot take a bottle. Her foster mother must hold and slowly feed her with a small spoon. Each feeding takes well over two hours. But will it work? Ok, getting back to today’s readings.

St. Paul tells us that as disciples of Jesus, we make up the body of Christ. He says, “If one part suffers, all the parts suffer…”, (1 Cor 12:26). So we can’t ignore those around us. We are called to share in the freeing and saving mission of Jesus that we heard proclaimed in the Gospel according to Luke. This idea is rooted in our understanding of the creation story; of being created in the image and likeness of God. This is the key of Catholic Social Teaching.

Back to China. The foster mother is successful and the baby is able to her cleft lip repaired. Her cleft palate will have to wait until she is adopted. Will she find her forever family? Stay tuned…

We can’t turn a blind eye to those around us. Like St. Paul says, a foot cannot say I don’t belong to the body because I’m not like the hand or whatever, (1 Cor 12:15). If one part of the body of Christ suffers, we all suffer. And there is great suffering among us today. New York just passed new legislation that greatly expands abortion, removes protections for the unborn child even if injured while the mother is robbed or assaulted, and permits abortion through birth.

This tragedy is based on language that sounds very reasonable, but really is not logical. An example of this language is a woman should have the right to do what she wants with her body. I understand why this idea resonates with so many Americans. It has all the hallmarks of freedom and liberty. But of course, this argument is based on a gross error in logic. No one – no man and no woman – has the absolute right to do what they want with their bodies. That’s not how modern societies are structured

When I was in college, my philosophy 101 professor put it this way. She said too often we confuse ability for rights. She said, I have the ability to take a gun load it, point it at someone and pull the trigger. But, just because I have the ability to do that doesn’t mean that I have the right to do it. Society has the right to promote the common good and thus has the ability to restrict what a person can do with their body.

Here’s another example. Years ago a friend forwarded to me a video of a Dallas-area Southern Baptist preacher by the name of Matt Chandler. He put it this way. If you think you have the absolute right to do whatever you want with your body, get in your and drive naked down the highway at 95 miles an hour and let’s see what happens.

This idea about unrestricted abortion as a right focuses more on the individual at the expense of those around them, including the unborn. It pushes the “me first” mentality which is at the heart of our consumerist-drive lifestyles – a mentality that reaches far beyond the topic of abortion.

Back to China. The baby is brought to the conference room of a huge hotel. As she sits on the enormous conference room table, she plays catch with the director of her orphanage. She doesn’t know it, but part of her forever family walks into the room. Her new mother catches her toy and they both look at each other for a second and then they both burst out laughing. She climbs into her new mother’s lap and will hardly let go of her the rest of the trip. She found her forever family! Of course the baby I’m talking about is my daughter, Sofia. While official abortion statistics are considered by the Chinese as state secrets, in 2008, the year Sofia was born, there were an estimated 13 million abortions performed and approximately 10 million abortion pills sold in China. Thank God her biological mother didn’t abort her. With what we know of Chinese abortions, yes, it probably would have been no problem. But abortion would have robed our family and everyone Sofia has touched with her beautiful smile and her huge heart. She graces the world with every bounding step she takes. Some might consider Sofia a choice. But to us, she is a brilliant gift that has totally and completely changed our family!

The challenge of our readings today is a fresh start – a new beginning. So now, in light of New York’s abortion law, we have the opportunity to begin again. Some people are so blind. Some people are held hostage – are oppressed – by a misguided philosophy based on absolute freedoms. Make no mistake, there are probably people all around us among our families and friends who support the New York law. We have a duty to reach out to them. How? We need to follow the example of Jesus. Look at the Gospel stories of the woman at the well and the woman caught in adultery. Jesus did not yell at them. He didn’t demand their excommunication. He didn’t thump the sacred scrolls. He talked to them directly, but he treated them with respect. He challenged them embrace the Truth of the God who loves them.

We must remember that we cannot force anyone to change their lives or their opinions. All we can do is share the Truth in a loving way that affirms their dignity. And we can pray that the Holy Spirit will nurture the seeds of Truth we plant so that they might have a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ; an encounter that leads to transformation; transformation that leads to their salvation.

Homework! Nourished by the Jesus Christ present in the Word proclaimed and in the Eucharist, I encourage you to reflect and try these exercises:

What does it mean and what are the implications of the statement that we are all created in the image and likeness of God?
This one might take the entire week to do, but reach out to your family and friends starting with those in close proximity to you. Hug them and as you do, say a prayer of Thanksgiving for the life of that person. You can also try this with family and friends who don’t live near you. You can reach out through various face-to-face apps on your cell phone or your computer. Call them up and as you briefly visit with them, say a prayer of Thanksgiving for the life of that person.

I think by doing our homework, we will be reminded not just about the dignity of the other person, but also about the great gifts God has blessed us with in the form of our family, friends, and neighbors. Do you got it? Good! May each of us come to know the mercy and love of Jesus Christ. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. +Amen!

Further reading
Catechism of the Catholic Church:
356-384: In the Image of God
789-91: union in the body of Christ
805: The Church is the Body of Christ
1140: It is the whole community, the Body of Christ united with its Head, that celebrates.
2270-2275: Abortion
2322: The Fifth Commandment

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