Tag: Easter

CCCX – More Reflections From Luke 22

21 But yet behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. 22 And the Son of man indeed goeth, according to that which is determined: but yet, woe to that man by whom he shall be betrayed.

23 And they began to inquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing. 24 And there was also a strife amongst them, which of them should seem to be the greater.

This is an interesting scene, to me. I can imagine how the conversation goes: Christ says his betrayer is among them, and they turn to one another and say “It couldn’t be me, I was with Christ from the very beginning!” “Yeah but I was there with the multiplication of the loaves!” “That’s nothing, Christ called me first!” “But I have done more!” The desire to identify the betrayer quickly becomes a holiness spiral. It stops being about Christ and begins to be about themselves.

I can also imagine Judas throughout this conversation, sweating bullets, tactfully trying to avoid getting entangled in this discussion. I can imagine Jesus staring him down, and Judas being very focused on the crumbs on his plate and how they are arranged.

25 And he said to them: The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and they that have power over them, are called beneficent. 26 But you not so: but he that is the greater among you, let him become as the younger; and he that is the leader, as he that serveth. 27 For which is greater, he that sitteth at table, or he that serveth? Is it not he that sitteth at table? But I am in the midst of you, as he that serveth:

Christ rebukes the holiness spiral by calling them to servant leadership. “If you want to be great, serve your neighbor!” I especially like how Christ discusses who is greater: “Is it he that sitteth at table, or he that serveth? The guy sitting, right? I am here as he that serves.”–to me, there is an implied threat there. “When I come back, it will be as he that sitteth at table.” Christ does not say that he that serves is greater, but affirms that he that sits is greater. But none of us, in this life, can be greater than the Lord, and the Lord came first to us as he that serves, so we must imitate him in service. When He comes again to judge the living and the dead, our service will very tangibly be service to the King who sitteth at table, but who first came to us to teach us how to serve.

28 And you are they who have continued with me in my temptations: 29 And I dispose to you, as my Father hath disposed to me, a kingdom; 30 That you may eat and drink at my table, in my kingdom: and may sit upon thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Christ affirms that their work and effort is not for nothing. “Guys, guys, relax. You all have been with me through hard times.”–he reminds them that their reward is eternal. Not in this life, will they sit on thrones, but in the next. “Lay up your treasure in heaven” but quite tangibly Christ tells them what their heavenly treasure will be. This also could be construed as the founding of the Church on Earth, essentially: The Kingdom of God, under the chair of Peter. Because of Peter’s pivotal role in the Kingdom to come, Christ continues:

31 And the Lord said: Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethren.

33 Who said to him: Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.

34 And he said: I say to thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, till thou thrice deniest that thou knowest me. (…)

I didn’t realize this was in scripture–it’s either often overlooked or it is a unique feature of the Douay-Rheims translation: that Satan desired to have Simon Peter. Essentially, Christ is saying that he saved Peter then and there, perhaps in a negotiation similar to Job. The price negotiated perhaps was that Satan would be allowed to tempt Peter but not to destroy him. Peter’s peacetime faith is strong, but when the moment of trial came he was weak and abandoned the Lord. Christ’s prayers perhaps protected him from Satan but did not protect him from stumbling. Christ admonishes Peter to, once he repents and converts–once he turns around–to get back to work and reinforce the faith of everyone else.

These are my thoughts.

O Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me, a sinner.

AMDG

CCXCVI – Somewhere Between Dust and Dust

A blessed Ash Wednesday to you all!

Here begins 40 days of Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving. With all that is going on in the world, this is a perfectly timed reminder of the last things: Death, Judgement, Heaven, and hell.

A certain amount of memento mori is healthy and encouraged by our faith, but it is worth reflecting on the first things too. Specifically–we were formed out of clay. God made us out of nothing. I don’t know why that is striking me as profound today. It makes me think of the whole idea that “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”–we started as dust and can’t do much more than become dust bunnies in between our beginning and end. You can learn a lot about someone by learning where they come from or what their background is, and the common background to all of us is dust.

I hope this Lenten season is fruitful for you. As we look towards another Easter, and remember the hope in the resurrection–where miraculously our end-dust is perfected–may we first remember where we came from before we contemplate where we are going.

God bless you all.

AMDG

CCXIV – Excellence Demands Excellence

There’s an idea I’ve been trying to synthesize for a while but can’t quite find the best way to describe it, so I may as well think out loud here.

The thesis is this: Faith demands something from you. A faith that makes no demands requires nothing.

Here’s another way of putting it: It is perfectly unobjectionable to live according to the world. Living according to God is hard work.

A Faith that demands nothing from you gets nothing, and offers nothing. A Faith that demands everything from you and receives everything, can offer you everything.

Living unobjectionably according to the world. In Communion with the world, one might say. It’s comfortable. You have plenty of people who agree with and support you. Your opinions can always be spoken out loud, to popular acclaim. Communion with the world demands something of you, but it’s not difficult to give: give over your mind. Let the world do the thinking for you. Bask in the warmth of universal approval.

Living according to God, in communion with God. It’s uncomfortable. You are weak, and are called to acknowledge that by your power alone you cannot become strong. Your opinions are hated by the world. Some actions are bad? What? An objective measure of morality? Obedience to a King? These are unfathomable to the world. These will always be rejected by the world–they will never be the majority opinion. Communion with God demands something of you–but it’s hard to give: Give over your life. Abandon yourself to Divine Providence. Bask in the warmth of God’s tender love just for you.

On this Good Friday, the commemoration of the murder of our God by the world, these are things I was thinking about.

God bless you all.

AMDG