Deacon Greg 1-19-20
We were well represented at the March for Life in Birmingham by our Knights of Columbus and other parishioners, and we will be well represented at this week’s March for Life in Washington DC, as our High School Youth will walk for each of us, as we all seek to protect the precious lives of the unborn. Tomorrow we begin the International Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, and Monday is Martin Luther King Day. I invite you to keep all that these represent close to your heart as we reflect on today’s Word… There’s a quote on the Montgomery Civil Rights Memorial that quotes the Prophet Amos saying, “Until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” As Christian communities we gather to become aware of our unity, joining our common concerns, making a common response, all as evidence of our faith. This, our U.S. Bishops say, "is the spirit of unity, faith and patience of a people who long for God’s promise."
Our gathering as Church, our listening to the Word, and our partaking in this Eucharist, sends us forth into the next week to DO what we need to do, and to BE what we need to be, to make known the ways of the Lord! Some of our own will march for us this coming week, while others in churches up and down Hughes Road will pray with us, and citizens of our own nation, like Dr. King, will continue to promote and defend the promises of our nation, and even give of themselves so that we can all be free!
A quick observation on the movement out of the Christmas Season and back into Ordinary Time. The Visit of the Magi at Epiphany (two weeks ago) represents the nations coming to recognize the promise of salvation. The Baptism of the Lord (last weekend), when God's voice echoed above the waters of the Jordan, recognizes and reveals Jesus as God's Son. And like our patron St. John the Baptist in today's Gospel, we are called to Live out Our Lives, always pointing to the Lord, recognizing and sharing the real presence of the Lord in our midst. After all, the sign on the center wall down on Hughes Road quotes today's Gospel for every passer by to see... "Behold the Lamb of God!"
Our first reading from Isaiah, paraphrased to include us all, gives us the charge that we need to act, for “now the LORD has spoken, who formed us from the womb, We are made glorious in the sight of the LORD, and our God is our strength!”
The Lord has spoken…
We hear God’s voice in the whispers of those who need his love.
We hear God’s voice in the shouting of debates.
In the Sight of the Lord…
We see the face of Christ in the poor, and those victimized by injustice.
We see the face of Christ in the lonely and afraid.
I enjoyed being with the Catholic Campus Ministry last week, where we watched a video of an awesome presentation given by Jonathan Reyes, National Evangelization Director for the Knights of Columbus. A very key and good point to share is his reminder on sharing our faith is understanding the “The First Step Principle.” This principle, when applied to evangelization and communicating a message, is a crucial factor in the beginning of truly understanding one another. Our “First Step” in the Faith is illustrated in today’s reading from Isaiah. We are created by God and are called to live with our God as we seek to know, love and serve our God, for, as the Prophet says, “our God is our strength!” This is a basic starting point for many of us here. But for many, when we attempt to “point them to Christ in our midst,” the world’s first step is not the same. For “the world” tends to start the same process of life as an evolving scientific hypothesis, a random freak of nature, an unexplained combination of just the right particles, in just the right environment, making life an exceptional accident of sorts! The only one we have to speak to is ourselves… I think, therefore I am, making Christ totally unrecognizable. Making life that much less sacred, and that much easier to dismiss.
This is why I believe that today’s Gospel, Monday’s MLK Holiday, next week’s Prayer for Christian Unity, and the March for Life commemorating Wednesday’s Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children, are all crucial in our attempt to meet one another at that “first step,” for we can’t expect to journey together, until we can agree on that first step, that all are created by God, and meant to live, and live freely!
So we are called today to share our faith, even at the most basic level, as this will help convey the basic foundation of the Good News of the Gospel, as illustrated by John the Baptist:
Therefore, with the Gospel in mind, we are prepared to enter into this short run of Ordinary Time ready to recognize our promise fulfilled, revealing the grace bestowed on us, as we live our lives and act on our faith, always pointing to Jesus Christ! Notice that I did not say, "Are we prepared," posing this as a question for reflection. No. I deliberately, and on your behalf, conjugated the verb "to be," placing it in the present tense, applying it to us all, saying... WE ARE PREPARED! Isaiah promised it, St. Paul invited it, St. John the Baptist showed us what to do, and that same Holy Spirit that descended on our Lord, also echoes through our midst, empowering each of us here today to do and to be the Catholic Christians we're called to be!
Our gathering as Church, our listening to the Word, and our partaking in this Eucharist, sends us forth into the next week to DO what we need to do, and to BE what we need to be, to make known the ways of the Lord! Some of our own will march for us this coming week, while others in churches up and down Hughes Road will pray with us, and citizens of our own nation, like Dr. King, will continue to promote and defend the promises of our nation, and even give of themselves so that we can all be free!
A quick observation on the movement out of the Christmas Season and back into Ordinary Time. The Visit of the Magi at Epiphany (two weeks ago) represents the nations coming to recognize the promise of salvation. The Baptism of the Lord (last weekend), when God's voice echoed above the waters of the Jordan, recognizes and reveals Jesus as God's Son. And like our patron St. John the Baptist in today's Gospel, we are called to Live out Our Lives, always pointing to the Lord, recognizing and sharing the real presence of the Lord in our midst. After all, the sign on the center wall down on Hughes Road quotes today's Gospel for every passer by to see... "Behold the Lamb of God!"
Our first reading from Isaiah, paraphrased to include us all, gives us the charge that we need to act, for “now the LORD has spoken, who formed us from the womb, We are made glorious in the sight of the LORD, and our God is our strength!”
The Lord has spoken…
We hear God’s voice in the whispers of those who need his love.
We hear God’s voice in the shouting of debates.
In the Sight of the Lord…
We see the face of Christ in the poor, and those victimized by injustice.
We see the face of Christ in the lonely and afraid.
I enjoyed being with the Catholic Campus Ministry last week, where we watched a video of an awesome presentation given by Jonathan Reyes, National Evangelization Director for the Knights of Columbus. A very key and good point to share is his reminder on sharing our faith is understanding the “The First Step Principle.” This principle, when applied to evangelization and communicating a message, is a crucial factor in the beginning of truly understanding one another. Our “First Step” in the Faith is illustrated in today’s reading from Isaiah. We are created by God and are called to live with our God as we seek to know, love and serve our God, for, as the Prophet says, “our God is our strength!” This is a basic starting point for many of us here. But for many, when we attempt to “point them to Christ in our midst,” the world’s first step is not the same. For “the world” tends to start the same process of life as an evolving scientific hypothesis, a random freak of nature, an unexplained combination of just the right particles, in just the right environment, making life an exceptional accident of sorts! The only one we have to speak to is ourselves… I think, therefore I am, making Christ totally unrecognizable. Making life that much less sacred, and that much easier to dismiss.
This is why I believe that today’s Gospel, Monday’s MLK Holiday, next week’s Prayer for Christian Unity, and the March for Life commemorating Wednesday’s Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children, are all crucial in our attempt to meet one another at that “first step,” for we can’t expect to journey together, until we can agree on that first step, that all are created by God, and meant to live, and live freely!
So we are called today to share our faith, even at the most basic level, as this will help convey the basic foundation of the Good News of the Gospel, as illustrated by John the Baptist:
- Behold the Lamb of God! (Point to Him)
- A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me. (Recognize that its Him, Not Me — He Must Increase, and I Must Decrease!)
- I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and remain upon him… Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God. (Point to Him Again, and do so with Conviction!)
Therefore, with the Gospel in mind, we are prepared to enter into this short run of Ordinary Time ready to recognize our promise fulfilled, revealing the grace bestowed on us, as we live our lives and act on our faith, always pointing to Jesus Christ! Notice that I did not say, "Are we prepared," posing this as a question for reflection. No. I deliberately, and on your behalf, conjugated the verb "to be," placing it in the present tense, applying it to us all, saying... WE ARE PREPARED! Isaiah promised it, St. Paul invited it, St. John the Baptist showed us what to do, and that same Holy Spirit that descended on our Lord, also echoes through our midst, empowering each of us here today to do and to be the Catholic Christians we're called to be!
Comments
Post a Comment