John 15:9-17 I Still Love You

John 15:9-17  I Still Love You.

(Click here for readings)

Jesus said to his disciples, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you….No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” 

Today, I would just like to share with you some random thoughts.

It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you.  It is so hard to love someone you don’t know.  But it is even harder to love someone you do know.  After all, the more you know someone, the harder it is to turn a blind eye at their defects.  That’s what makes Christ’s love for us so admirable, so beautiful, and so loveable.  He knows us.  Every little bit of us.  And still, he loves us.

Recently, while eating lunch at a local restaurant, I saw a former student of mine who once had a vibrant and radiant love for Christ.  She loved the Lord and it was obvious that he loved her too.  She and I would often get together and talk about God, our faith and the world.  We were going to solve the world’s problems together, one soul at a time.  I have to say, I had some wonderful conversations with her.  She was on fire!  We had this little saying.  I would say, “Pray for me” and she would say, “And you pray for me.”  Then she went off to College and everything changed.  She no longer kept in touch.  She stopped calling, texting and going to Church.  I later learned from others that she no longer considered herself a Christian.  She had changed.

And then I saw her.

There was no way she could avoid me now.  Our paths had crossed and I couldn’t believe it.  Although her physical appearance had radically changed, it did not take me long to recognize her.  I came up to her and said, “I can’t believe you are standing in front of me.  I have missed you very much.  You look so different now.”  Not knowing what I knew, she said to me, “I have changed a lot, not only on the outside but also on the inside.”  I told her, “I haven’t.  I still pray for you.  And even if you don’t pray for me, I can still pray for you.  Just because you change, it doesn’t mean I have to change too.” 

It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you.  Even if you don’t love the Lord, he can still love you.  

As the Father loves me, so I love you.  This morning at Mass I heard the Celtic Alleluia.  Many people love this Alleluia rendition.  I don’t.  Every time I hear it, I imagine a group of Irish drunks, in a pub, with a Guinness in their hands, raising their warm mugs and toasting each other as they sing it.  Now you know why I don’t like it.  But does the song have a problem or do I have a problem? I think I have the problem.  And my problem is like everybody’s problem.  Our problem is that our mind is like a filter.  We love to filter the world through our mind so that we can see things the way we want to see them, and not necessarily the way they really are.

For example, take a flower.  What exactly is it?  In the mind of a scientist it’s a plant.  In the mind of a girlfriend it’s a gift.  To a store owner it is a source of income.  To a poet, it is a source of inspiration.  To a widow, it’s a reminder.  To a bee, it is a source of food.  To a weed it’s something that’s in the way. But what exactly is it?  Only God knows.  For only God sees things for what they really are. 

Who am I?  If I was forced to answer this question, I would have to say, “Whatever I am, I am not myself.”  People hardly know me and I hardly know myself.  When I finally think I know myself, I prove myself wrong.  I continue to be a mystery to others and to myself.  But God knows me.  Only God knows me.  And just because I change doesn’t mean He has to change.  He can still love me. 

It all makes sense now.  God commands us to love everyone not because we know them, but precisely because we will never know them.  God knows everyone; and although He knows, he still continues to love.  Love is the Christian's net - the catch all - for those we know and do not know, bcause love can define who we are and who we were meant to be.

Christians are the freest people in the world.  We don’t have to pick and choose who to love.  We are allowed to love everyone; those we don't know and those we think we know.  And just because people change, it doesn’t mean I have to change.  I can still love.

John 15:18-21 Love and Hate

John 15:18-21  Love and Hate

(Click here for readings)

Jesus said to his disciples:  “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.  If you belonged to this world, the world would love its own…Remember the word I spoke to you…If they persecuted me, they will persecute you.  If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.  And they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me.”

Wow!  This week’s Gospels are speaking to us loud and clear.  You would think the Lord is speaking directly to us.  He is.  You would think the Lord is speaking about today’s issues.  He is.  You would think the Lord is warning us of what’s to come.  He is.

If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.  Christ knew what he was saying.  There’s no use sugar coating vinegar.  He laid it all out for his disciples to follow or to leave.  Ladies and gentlemen, here are the facts.  They will beat you and torture you and scourge you all because of me.  You will be hunted down and executed.  You will be called bigots, homophobes, radicals, extremists all because of me.  No slave is greater than his master.  If they ruined my reputation, they will ruin yours.  If they killed me, they will kill you.

Why so much hatred by non-Christians?  Can they love their enemies?  Why so much persecution of Christians?  Is there any point in all of it?  Hasn’t atheism and secularism won the day?  Not yet.  In fact, not at all.  Yes, atheism and secularism have grown in the United States and elsewhere, but so have infidelity, dysfunctional families, gangs, failing scores, eating disorders, population busts, abortion, sexting, drug use, pornography, suicide and general malaise.  You could say that secularism collapses under its own weight.  You may even say it collapses under its own success. Sure, you can say secularism holds its own ground, but the ground falls from underneath it.  You can say that it attracts; as fatal attractions go.  But the truth of the matter is this:  secularism does not have a chance of succeeding because secularism does not inspire.  It knows how to complain, but it doesn’t know how to create.  We complain all the time about the world.  But we don't know how to create one.

For example the once-upon-a-time Occupy Wall Street movement attracted the young, just like the once-upon-a-time hippy movement of old.  And just like the hippy movement of old - that never really learned how to love – Occupy Wall Street movement quickly disintegrated to crime and filth.  Secularism seeks to be an alternative to religion but it just can’t seem to muster anything that compares to the universality of the Church or the teachings of Jesus Christ. And, if you want to become the center of the Universe, then you better do more than just complain.  You have to be able to create something too.  

Hatred is full of complaints.  God is full of love; and love always creates, even in death.

Check out this sobering truth.  Secularists have enormous backing and visibility; whereas Christians are attacked or ignored at every conceivable angle.  I am not exaggerating when I say there is little to no God inside the matrix (TV, computer, work, school, etc.).  Think about this:  the Media has billions of dollars and has complete access to the hearts and minds of millions and millions of people.  And there is little to no God in the Media.  Hollywood has their grip on the hearts and minds of millions and millions of people; and there is little to no God in Hollywood.  Public Schools have complete access to millions and millions of kids; and there is no God there.  The Federal Government does nothing to encourage religion, and has a lot of our money.  As you can see, secularists have billions and billions of dollars to spend every year to push out, ignore, or attack God from our midst.  And all God has are his little, itty-bitty tiny temples and private schools across the nation. 

And yet, Goliath has been unable to push God out!  GOD WON’T LEAVE!  HE WON’T BUDGE!  HE WON’T DIE!  What is secularism to do??? 

Hate and persecute.  Hate and persecute.  Hate and persecute.

It’s human nature.  Actually, it’s fallen human nature; that is, when you put so much time and money and effort into something, and you get very little out of it, of course you’re going to be upset, infuriated, mean-spirited and even deadly.  But I’m here to tell you that their vulgarities, profanities, suicide bombers, lies and deceptions are a symptom of death knocking at their door. 

So, what shall we do?  We shall overcome.  Love with a fight.  Little by little.  Step by Step.  Baby step by baby step.  Our eyes have seen the glory of the Lord.  “Do not be afraid.  I conquered the world.”

Rome was not built in a day, but it was destroyed in just a few.  Secularism will always appear to be making ground quickly, but again, it’s quick sand; whereas Christianity will always take its time, because it is always harder to create a culture of life than it is to dig a culture of death.  And Christianity is not about time, it’s about one life at a time.  

I read today that twenty-one Anglican priests will be ordained this year for the English Ordinariate.  That brings the total number to eighty.  Eighty Catholic priests!  A few years ago the Bishops in England were wondering how to solve their priestly shortage.  It would appear as though the Lord knew the solution.  Please pray for them and support them.  They are being battered on both sides of the Tiber:  from Anglicans to liberal minded Catholics. 

I also read that the SSPX (Society of Saint Pius X), a schismatic group that disavowed themselves from Vatican II, may soon be reconciled with Rome.  Its leader, Bishop Bernard Fellay, appears to be ready to come back to the fold.  If the SSPX does in fact do so, it will be a major victory for Christ and His Bride.  Please pray for the Holy Father and for Bishop Bernard.  They will be battered on both sides of the Tiber:  from members within the Society and from liberal minded Catholics on the other.  As of January, 2010, the Society had over five hundred priests and over two hundred seminarians with nearly two hundred nuns.  This reconciliation is very close to the Holy Father’s heart and he needs our prayers. 

If the Lord said his disciples would be hated because of him.  Then he also implied they would be loved because of him.  Let the prayer warriors out of their cage.

John 15:12-17 Live Just Like Me

John 15:12-17  Live Just Like Me

(Click here for readings)

Jesus said to his disciples:  “This is my commandment:  love one another as I love you.”

Recently, the president of the United States quoted the Golden Rule when he endorsed gay marriage.  What he failed to quote was what Jesus said, “This is my commandment:  love one another as I love you.”  The key word in the phrase is not only “love” but “as”.  In other words, love is modeled after someone; it has been defined by someone:  God, not men.  Love “as” I love.  When God created man he created woman.  He did not create a friend; he created a spouse, which is much more than just a partner and a friend.

To be a Christian means to be like the Lord; in my thoughts, in my words and in my actions.  Not in my wildest dreams.  Of course the Lord loves everyone.  But he didn’t agree with everyone and everything.  We can do the same thing.  It’s not difficult, especially when you see what everyone and everything can look like.

Look at the Federal Government, we seem to be spending all our time (and money) fixing problems rather than avoiding them.  We know how to operate in a deficit pretty well; we’ve been doing that now for a while.  But what we don’t know how to do well is stimulate savings.  Is the same not true with regards to our spiritual life?  We are pretty good at sinning.  And unfortunately, we will end up spending tons of money to get ourselves out of sin.  But what we don’t do well is save ourselves from sinning.  And believe me when I tell you, saving is a lot cheaper than spending.  There are two ways to be saved:  either we can pull ourselves out of a hole or we can stop ourselves from falling into the hole.  If I may speak for the Lord, I think the Lord would prefer that we not harm ourselves so much.  That way, we save time, money and people from trying to do so. 

Recently, I was waiting in the waiting room at a local hospital to give someone the anointing of the sick.  There were some small children watching a TV program on Nickelodeon Junior.  The creepy characters on TV were singing a song that had the words, “It’s important to have friends.”  I shook my head and left the room.  It appears as though the brain washing sessions are commencing at an earlier age and at a more frantic pace.  I thought to myself, “Friends?  Friends are important in Elementary school?  What about family?  What about trusting in mom and dad?”  Fine.

Before I left the room I picked up the morning issue of the DaMN (Dallas Morning News).  On the front cover of their “Arts and Life” section (Section E), was a photograph of an eleven year old girl, Caitlin Rinehart, eating an orange from a paper cup.   She is being treated for anorexia nervosa.  She was diagnosed at the age of eleven.  “At eleven!?”  I screamed to myself.  “She has anorexia nervosa at the age of eleven?”  I felt so sad for this young girl.  “Where are her friends?” I thought to myself.  Now, she is surrounded by “friends” that are actually adult therapists and counselors.  On page 12 of the section there is another picture of her.  The caption below reads, Caitlin, who takes part in yoga at Children’s, says the best thing about her ongoing recovery “is getting closer with my family.”  BRAVO!  The family!  May God bless her now and forever.  Little angel, you are in my prayers.

But who will let the others know just how important family is?  When will Hollywood, commercial ads, and TV producers open their eyes and see the damage they are doing to our kids and to our families?  When will they stop creating the dramas that cause problems?  When will they stop sending mixed signals?  When will they stop insulting motherhood, parenthood?  When will they start working on prevention?  Finally, when will they shun stars and musicians that encourage immoral (destructive) behavior? 

All kids need their family.  But not all kids spend time with their family.  They've been told to love their friends. They spend way too much time chatting, texting and spending sleepovers with their friends.  They don’t spend time with their siblings or their parents because they are constantly being told to love their friends!  And parents, who were once children, don’t know exactly what to do except wait for them to turn eighteen and kick them out of the house.  But they can’t.  Because, statistically speaking, by the time they turn eighteen, far too many will have been anorexic since 11 or bulimic by 12, brokenhearted by 13, used and abused by 14, depressed by 15, emotionally a mess by 16 and a druggy or alcoholic by 17.   These are the facts.  Millions and millions of our kids are suffering all these conditions and more, much more. 

Everyone knows that eating disorders have less to do with food and more to do with self-image.  And so who is feeding our kids the idea of “self-image?”  If friends are more important than food and family, then what’s causing the problem?  If TV programs and shows are such a great influence, then why aren’t they a part of the therapy?  If music videos and teen magazines are so wonderful, then why aren’t they a part of the solution?  Everyone knows the answer to these questions.  And yet, when it comes to religion:  God forbid He has any role in our schools. 

Who wants to live their life worrying all day long about themselves?  No wonder why more and more kids at an earlier age keep saying, “Life is not worth living.”  Of course it’s not, if you are standing on your head all day long.  And instead of news outlets and experts taking preemptive strikes against Hollywood and kids programs, they say, “Let them enjoy life while they can.”  But let me ask you: What’s so enjoyable about an STD?  What’s so thrilling about broken heartedness?  Is a half-hour of laughter and thrills worth months and years of terror and fear?  Hardly.

Christians think in reverse.  Christ taught in the reverse.  And I know why:  we were all standing on our heads.  Christ began his ministry with the bad news first: original sin and repentance.  Americans, like ancient pagans, think the good news is sin! and so they pump it up all night long.  Only much later, lastly, do they admit to the reality of sin; that it is “bad news”:  “Oh, did I tell you kids already?  You might end up in therapy or rehab or under a surgeon’s knife, or in jail for the rest of your life?” 

For years we were brainwashed into thinking that sinners had more fun than saints.  But then something happened:  reality.  By the age of twenty, we felt spent, bankrupt and consumed.  Our young bodies felt annihilated, abused, shriveled, and corrupted.  By the age of twenty-five, after having spent years and years hardcore partying and experimenting, young men and women look old, very old. 

So what happens next?  Check your mail box. 

I got home from the Hospital and went to my mailbox and pulled out “Home Magazine” from North Dallas Park Cities.  On the front cover is a plastic surgeon, Dr. Huerta, who “can help”.  Three ladies stand behind him trying their best to put on a smile.  “Want to be 18 again?” the question is asked.  No guarantees are made, but by the time you figure that out you have read the propaganda.  I read the article and I thought of Madonna's song “Like a virgin."  Oh yes, to be young again, pure again, innocent again, and to be made clean and fresh again…like a virgin."  And now you can, at least on the outside, with the help of surgeons, make-up, dresses and oh, lots of money.  But what about the inside?

The reality of sin and the solutions to sin have been kept in the closet long enough.  It's time we all share the Good News.

“It is not you who chose me, but I who chose you to go and bear fruit that will remain.”  Ah yes, fruit that will remain - never spoil, never grow old, never shrivel up.  How?  Remain in my love.  Remain in me.  Love as I love.  Live as I live. 

Of course we did not choose the Lord.  Leave it to him to choose us.  Now that’s love!

John 15:1-8  Bearing Some Fruit

(Click here for readings)

Jesus said to his disciples:  “Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit.”

The Lord demands from his disciples that they remain in him because “without me you can do nothing.”  He was being nice.  He should have said, “Without me you will do horrible things.”  Yes, without the Lord, without being grounded, connected, attached or rooted in the Lord, we end up being some creepy crawler.  Without the Lord, we end up falling to the ground and rotting away.

An apple is an apple regardless of whether or not it is on the tree or on the ground.  While it is on the tree, it has the potential of bearing good fruit.  But while it is on the ground, it has the potential of rotting away.  What causes the fruit to fall?  The wind.  A storm.  An animal.  A disease.  Gravity.  Time.  

A baptized individual remains a Christian their entire life.  Baptism leaves an indelible mark on the soul.  It cannot be removed, washed or tossed away.  And if he fights the good fight, he will be welcomed as a Christian.  If he falls to the ground, he may be welcomed as a bad Christian. 

What causes a Christian to fall?  Pride.  Greed.  Lust.  Anger.  Gluttony.  Envy.  Sloth.   These seven deadly sins are just as brutal as the elements in nature.  They are just as powerful as gravity and disease.  They are forever near us and it is only a matter of time before we experience their powerful forces.

But like in the case of an apple, a Christian is a Christian no matter what.  But a Christian can be just as rotten as an apple off a tree.  I am the vine, you are the branches.  Remain in me. 

Remain in me.  What exactly does it mean to remain in the Lord?  It means to follow his commandments; to live his life every day of your life.  It also means to reach out and to proclaim the Good News and the bad news to all who will listen.  Is it possible?  Of course!  And we must do it. 

We are all sinners.  You hear this very often.  It’s depressing.  But the good news is that it is not true.  We are not all sinners.  Some of us have been redeemed.  When we were baptized, we no longer were sinners.  When we do a perfect act of Contrition we are no longer sinners.  When we go to Confession we are no longer sinners.  So why do we insist on calling ourselves sinners?  Because it is an excuse for acting like a sinner!  Stop making excuses for yourself.  St. Paul referred to Christians as Saints.  If he can do it, so can we.  We were all born sinners.  We don’t have to live like one.  We don’t have to die like one.

We shouldn’t judge.   That’s correct.  But what exactly does that mean?  Does it mean we have to keep our opinions, our Good News, or the Lord's Commandments to ourselves?  Does it mean we cannot say to someone, "Hey, you're breaking a commandment?"  Does it mean that we cannot speak boldly about sin or grace?  Does it mean that we must turn a blind eye and turn the other cheek when it comes to teaching the faith of the Church?  Does it mean we cannot criticize anyone?  Of course not!  The Lord, who was God and man, called Pharisees hypocrites.  He told prostitutes to sin no more.  He called a Syrophoenician woman a dog.  He said of those who harm children, “that it would be better that they had never been born.”    What the Lord does not want us to do is take over his job; specifically, to judge someone unworthy of salvation.  He did not want us to become Pharisees and right people off.  The Church has never sent anyone to Hell.  The Church has never claimed that Judas, Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Mao-tse-tung, Truman, Mohammad, or Buddha were in Hell.  It doesn’t mean that some or all are not there, it means it’s not us to decide.  That’s why the Lord says, “Do not judge AND do not condemn.”    Does it mean the Church has no authority to tell men to be faithful to their wives?  Does it mean the Pope has no authority to tell Melinda Gates that her four billion dollar contraceptive campaign is misguided and will kill unborn children?  Of course not!  The problem isn’t that we are saying these things.  The problem is that we are not saying it enough.  And for this reason, we are not bearing much fruit lately.

“[Go throughout the world and] proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations” (Ps 96).  Alleluia!

John 15:8-11 Remain in Love

John 15:8-11  Remain in Love

(Click here for readings)

Jesus said to his disciples:  “As the Father loves me, so I also love you.  Remain in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.”

I don’t know about you, but I tend to think best right after I wake up in the morning.  This morning was no exception.  I have always wondered why the Lord never revealed himself to the entire world, and why he insisted on having his disciples do it for him.  The answer is shocking.  The Lord did not come into the world to reveal himself.  He came into the world to reveal the Father:  His Word, His Will and most importantly, His Love.  Jesus is the revelation of the Father’s love.

We are the manifestation of Christ’s love.

We, Christians, empowered by the Holy Spirit, reveal the Son to the world.  And the world will see the Son through us and come to believe in Him through us.  This is how we came to believe in the only Son of God.  Conversion goes hand in hand with revelation.  The conversion of the sinner is what gives God’s Revelation, God’s Love, authority.  The martyr is what seals the deal. 

In a certain way, I see some storms coming over the horizon for the Roman Catholic Church in America.  Soon enough, I see the big bad wolf and the lamb in a struggle over religious liberty.  I see bishops and priests being sent to jail for upholding religious liberty.  I see Catholics going to jail.  I also see Catholics cheering the government on.  I hope I am wrong but if I am not, then I hope the faithful will have their chance to show their love for the Lord; a love that goes beyond all other loves and a belief that goes beyond all imagination.   We can do it.  We can show the world who we love just like the early Christians in the arena showed the world who they truly loved.

Love is a virtue not well taught.  What exactly does it mean “to love someone?”  Love is much more than being nice to someone; much more than being thoughtful of someone; much more than being kind to someone.  Love means to imitate someone:  Jesus Christ.  Love means to give what is good to someone, regardless of whom that someone is and regardless of how much it hurts.  Love is not limited to time and place.  Love is not limited to friends or family.  Love is not limited by blood or guts.  Christian love, like Christ's love, goes beyond time, place, friends, family, life, death, blood and guts.  Christian Love, like God, is unlimited in its depth, height and reach, for it is freely given, without reservations and without conditions, to friend and foe alike.  As difficult as this may seem, it is what changes the world towards good; it is what creates a spark in the world; it is what sets the world ablaze. It is what gives Revelation credibility.

Prepare yourself for battle.  Prepare yourself to love.  How?  Take an inventory of your recent actions.  Write them down.  Separate the wheat from the weeds, the good from the bad.  With regards to the bad, can any of them be grouped together under any of the seven vices?  If so, then do it.  Which vice has the most sins under it?  Start your battle there.  The best way to destroy any sinful habits is to replace them with concrete positive acts. 

The point is this:  Love is written in our DNA.  But like a genetic disorder may be caused by environmental conditions, so sin has mutated love and turned it inward; towards itself.  Instead of love being selfless, it ends up being selfish.  Instead of love being creative, it quickly becomes destructive. Instead of love being explosive as the Big Bang, it is smothered in mud.  The meaning of love was once taken for granted; now, it must be rehabilitated.    

Thank God love does not require an advanced degree.  Thank God! Otherwise we would have colleges making money handing out Love Degrees.  I find it remarkable that we have not yet gone down that route.  After all, we seem to give degrees for just about every conceivable thing.  And yet, when it comes to love, we tend to understand that studies are not how love is learned.  Rather, love is learned by example.  Christ provides the greatest example of love.

A man who has been married for over twenty-five years came to me and told me that his wife is bored of him.  I asked him, “How can she be bored with you?  You are a multi-millionaire.  You have all the means at your disposal to do something great for your wife.  Surprise her.  Buy two tickets and fly to Europe.”  He looked at me, nodded and said, “You’re right.  I will.  I will take her to Ireland.”    I said to him in disbelief, “Ireland?  Ireland??  She’ll catch pneumonia there!  Take her to Paris.  Take her to Rome.  Don’t take her to Ireland!!!”  I thought to myself, “How sad it is when a priest is more romantic than a married man!” 

Let us follow the example of the King of Love.  Let us follow Him all the way!  “As the Father loves me, so I also love you.  Remain in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.”

Go out of your way to be a Catholic, the Lord will provide many ways to show yourself.  Go out of your way to be a Father/Mother, to be a husband/wife, to be a son/daughter, to be a friend to friends and a surprise to foes.  Go out of your way in the way of the Lord.  It will not be disappointing.  It will be refreshing.  Remain in love.  Whose love is greater than yours?  Be a soldier for Christ.  Pick a fight. 

The Lord knows how to start a romance!

John 14:27-31a  Let There Be Peace

(Click here for readings)

Jesus said to his disciples:  “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give it to you.  Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid…I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world is coming.  He has no power over me, but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me.” 

The Son revealed the Father and all that he commanded.  Now, it is up to us to reveal the Son and all that he commanded.  “Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom” (cf. Ps 145:12).   

Peace is something we all long for.  But how shall it be accomplished?  The secret is revealed every time we come to the end of our day and experience a peaceful rest.  Peace comes to us when we do the right thing, make a good decision and live a holy day.   We know that peace requires an end to wars, which requires an end to divisions, which requires an end to sins; which requires grace.  There can be no peace without grace.  There can be no peace without courage, honesty, truth, righteousness and God.    

Just yesterday I heard of the tragic hazing death of a Florida A&M student; a drummer who was beaten to death.  The article I read stated that this type of hazing had been going on for years and that the Administration did nothing about it.  Give me a break!  Of course the Administration did something about it.  They chose the wrong thing.  They chose “tradition” over life; they chose “hazing” over “dignity”.  And to the best of my knowledge, so did all the past and present students that have been hazed before. They chose to keep this tradition alive because no one had died.  Doing the right thing would have been unthinkable… that is, until someone died.  Now, everyone is up in arms over it.  As I have mentioned before, we Americans are very good at acknowledging the horror of death.  What we are not very good at is paying tribute to life. 

This incident at A&M is a reflection of a wider problem in society.  We know how to be reactive, especially when death is knocking on someone’s door.  But when it comes to being proactive, we tend to be inactive.  We’re good at sending people to jail or rehab.  But we are not very good at keeping them away from jail or addictions.  We’re good at saying “Yes” and “No.”  But what we don’t do well is say “Yes” when we should and “No” when we should.  We consider ourselves virtuous when we tell people “Do whatever you want”; “It’s a free country”; “It’s your body”; “I’m not going to tell you what to do”, but we are not very good at telling people what we should.  We are good at keeping our nose clean.  But we are not good at getting our hands dirty. 

We know how to take a stand, but we don’t know how to get between someone and hell.  So in the meantime, organizations like Planned Parenthood continue to freely operate between heaven and hell; promising heaven to our teens and delivering hell when they act their age.  When their opponents try to do the opposite, they tell them to stay out of their client’s body, their client’s choice and their billion dollar business.  How schizophrenic!  How inconsistent and incoherent! 

As society becomes less and less Christian and more and more secular, the new and superficial virtues get more and more attention.  For example, the recent virtue of “tolerance” is fast replacing “justice”.  The virtue of “acceptance” has become more common than “charity”.  And of course, the meaningless virtue of “choice” has replaced “temperance”.  What happened at A&M is a reflection of a growing trend among friends, and that is:  stay out of their life, and how dare you try to help someone save a life.  

But of all the new virtues to hit the streets, the so-called virtue of “choice” takes the prize.

Have you ever heard of a school that motivates its students to be pro choice?  I don’t mean “pro-choice” as “pro-abortion”.  I mean, simply, “pro-choice” as more choice-ful?  What exactly does that mean?  I don’t know of a single school that has a virtue campaign to encourage children to be more choice-ful.  I know schools that encourage children to be more resourceful, respectful, peaceful and spiritual.  I know teachers that pride themselves in teaching their kids to be more patriotic and more civil.  But I don’t know a single teacher that awards their students for being more choice-ful.  Do you hear officials encouraging children to be more “pro-food”?  No.  What everyone tells kids these days is to eat “healthy”, to be “pro-healthy”.  We don’t tell people to breathe in the air.  We tell people to breathe in “fresh” air.  Teachers don’t teach their students to make more choices; they teach their students to make the “right” choices.    And so the term “pro-choice” can only refer to “pro-abortion” since it is the only way it could ever make any sense.  It is also the reason why the pro-choice movement is so incoherent, inconsistent and yet highly effective; because it is very dishonest.

All this nonsense originates from the concerted effort by secularists to avoid, at all cost, any semblance of right or wrong, good or evil, holy or unholy.  It is our effort to avoid any resemblance to God.  And because of it, we all look ridiculous.  We make no sense.  We cannot solve any of our problems; not at the national level and not even at the family level.  We cannot resolve any issues, we leave them for later.  We are polarized, divided, and at war within ourselves and with each other.  And because of this, we can’t sleep at night.  We find little peace.    

The Lord doesn’t need to stay with us for there to be peace in the world.  All we need to do is stay with Christ and there will be peace in the world.

John 14:21-26 Fight The Good Fight

John 14:21-26  Fight The Good Fight

(Click here for readings)

Jesus said to his disciples:  “Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me.  Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” 

Saturday night I had a hard time sleeping.  So at around midnight, I went to the living room and turned on the television.  I flipped through the channels and came across a television program I believe was called “Investigation”; real life stories of murder.   

If you are ever having a hard time falling asleep I do not recommend watching this program, especially around midnight.  I was scared out of my mind.  But I couldn’t help myself.  I was shocked at what I was watching.  In one episode a man went to great lengths to kill his wife.  He even shot himself four times to make it look like an intruder had done the deadly deed.  In another episode, a man killed his neighbor and then called 9-1-1 to make it appear as though a stranger had done it.  How could they do such things?  After watching over an hour of this program, it dawned on me that these individuals were driven not so much by selfish motives but by self-confidence.  All of them really believed that they could do it and get away with it.  They were all wrong.

In my twenty years as a religious, I have heard a lot of stories.  Some of them unique, but most are the same.  The names change, but the sad stories are always the same.  Too often from teenagers they speak of their young love gone surprisingly bad.  “I thought he loved me.  I thought I was the only one.  I thought I was special.  I thought he was different.”  From adults who are married, they use century old excuses to mask/justify their infidelities. “Gradually, we grew apart.  I never loved her/him.  She/he worked too much.  It really started off innocently…”  Infidelity never starts off innocently.  Never!  That’s as old as an old wives tale.  Broken vows, like broken commandments, are a symptom of over-confidence.

Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”   The truth of the matter is this.  I must ground, root, connect and attach myself to the Lord at all times.  The moment I break one of His commandments I dig up the ground, I tear a root, I disconnect, I detach.  And now, I am completely on my own.  This is what confidence does to us:  it gives us a false sense of security.  And that is dangerous.  It is dangerous because of an overlooked truth:  I will never know anyone very well in my lifetime.  I will never know someone as well as I know myself.  And I don’t even know myself that well.  The only person I will ever know very well in my life is the Lord.  In fact, I know everything about him.  What he said and what he did because what he said he did.  If someone were to ask me who Jesus is, I would say: “He is the one who never breaks his promises.”  That says it all.  What else is there to know?

Whoever loves me keeps my word.  I hate to bring this up, again, but I am reminded of Dan Savage, the homosexual activist and Christian bully.  I am still reflecting on his anti-Christian tantrum of a week ago.  What I find most disturbing about the whole affair is something that no one seems to have noticed or even thought about.  As you know, it was reported that many young Christians had the courage to get up and leave.  But apparently no atheist got up and walked out of his talk.  To the best of my knowledge, no homosexual group or atheist lobby was disturbed at what he said and how he said it.  Why?  Because the truth of the matter is far too many secularists and atheists are religious bullies.  When they talk, they can’t seem to talk about who they love but rather who they hate.  When Christians speak, they speak about who they love and what they hate.  A-theists, by definition, are not for someone.  Actually, they are against someone, and in this case, they are against God.  Christians, on the other hand, by definition, are for someone, they are for Christ, for God and man.  In fact, Christ is God and man.  No wonder why a follower of Jesus will never use foul language or slurs to describe someone, not even their enemy.  If they attack, then they attack an issue, not a person.  If they need to defend themselves or someone else then they will do so, even forcefully.  But if they need not to, then they will walk away. 

Again, I am saddened to think that not a single atheist or homosexual walked out on Savage’s talk.  I am saddened to know that only Christians are truly against bullying.  How disappointing.  Of course, I would not expect an atheist to walk out on an anti-Christian speaker, but I would have hoped they would have walked out on a bully!  After all, he wasn’t speaking against Christians as much as he was speaking like a bully. 

I know for a fact, that if a “Christian” speaker got up on the platform and spewed out vulgarities and slurs against homosexuals or atheists, then not a few atheists and homosexuals would have thrown slurs right back at him, or thrown chairs right at his back, or, at best, walked out of the room.  But what would most of the Christians, sitting in the audience, have done?  I know.  They would have gladly joined forces and walked out of the room, just like they have done for centuries.

Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give glory (Ps 115: 1).  Paul was scandalized and tore his garments when the pagans wanted to worship him as a god.  Bullies just can’t seem to leave people alone.  They seek attention and get it by making others feel stupid or ignorant.  I guess if you don’t have someone to love, then you have to look for someone to hate.  That explains the anti-Christmas campaigns and posters during the Christmas season by some well known atheist organizations.  That may explain the year-round antagonism by a few atheists against Christians in the workplace.  Atheists, like bullies, just can’t seem to direct their energy towards what they believe and how they can love.  Love requires humility.  Far too many atheists exude confidence in themselves.  Christians exude confidence in Jesus Christ.  They do not seek to make a name for themselves; they seek to make disciples in the name of the Lord.  Their motto is simple: “It is no longer I who live in me, but Christ who lives in me.”  A Christian has the ability to love others and hate himself.  A bully seems to do the opposite.  A Christian does not have an obligation to agree with everyone, but he does have an obligation to love everyone.  I’m not sure what obligation an atheist has, but it would appear as though it is to ruin someone’s day. 

Christians do a pretty good job reminding each other that we need to forgive.  It’s a good way to keep us from shifting to the other side.  To end bullying requires a shift in confidence; a shift from confidence in oneself to confidence in the Lord.  To end bullying requires a shift in love; a shift from love for oneself to love for others.  To end bullying requires a shift in tactics; a shift from attacking people to attacking ideas.