(For part 1, click here)
This is a bit delayed, although not quite as delayed as my posts on the Eucharistic-themed stained glass windows at St. Mary's in Mt. Angel. heh heh...
5) The Book of Revelation chronicles disasters, wars, and terrifying supernatural events. Here on earth, we have only a limited perspective... we tend to get locked into fear when bad things happen. Regardless of what happens, we need to have the faith to have a long perspective. That is: Jesus won. Evil was conquered, death was destroyed. The victory is ours! The catch? Faith such as that has to be developed. We can't ignore the spiritual life and expect to waltz through life's difficult times.
6) God's judgment on us will be an assessment of how we've lived and the choices we've made. From a certain point of view, we have a lot more to do with our judgment than we might think.
7) The imagery in Revelation is fantastical, to say the least. You're not alone if you find it tough to picture a beast with seven heads and seven diadems... or should I ask if I'm alone? :) Still, we can't dismiss the contents of Revelation as a alternating good & bad dream. Real truths are expressed through the symbolism.
8) Let us not forget that redemption isn't something that happens at the end of the world. It's not something that's exclusively reserved to the distant future. God has been and is giving us grace. Jesus comes to us here and now. Let us open our souls to Him!
Reflections of a Catholic layman on the Mass, spirituality, books, and the occasional tangent
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Signs and Wonders, Where for Art Thou?
This morning's first reading, the healing of Naaman the Syrian, raised a question in my mind. In this story, the prophet Elijah heals Naaman of leprosy; Naaman was understandably ecstatic and vowed to worship no other god than the Lord. (readings here)
Healing/miracle/mighty deed of God = human conversion.
Where are the healings? Mighty deeds? Lord, You know how they can call people's attention to You. In ages past, great saints did wonderful things; prophets proclaimed your Word and did great deeds through Your grace. An entire city turned away from sin when You sent Jonah to Ninevah. Jesus Himself worked miracles as evidence of the veracity of His words. So many that can't be bothered to turn their eyes toward heaven are the ones that could use a good miracle!
That was my first reaction, at least. As I pondered the question, a few thoughts came to mind...
1) Also in the readings for Mass today was the story of the ten lepers made clean, and only one returning thank Jesus (Luke 17). That's a pretty poor rate of return, 10%. It's a lesson, I think, that miracles don't carry a guarantee that a soul would turn to God. Why did Jesus heal those lepers? For their own salvation! Any and all acts of God, from great to small, are still subject to the free will of mankind. We can recognize God at work and believe, or we can ignore God.
2) I don't feel any guilt in asking the above question, or feeling that reaction. I do need to be careful not to turn into a "what have you done for me lately" kind of believer. Rather than appreciate the long history of God's marvelous works, there's the temptation to turn into a Veruca Salt. I want a miracle and I want it now!!!
One of the interesting features of Judaism and Christianity is what theologians call the "event character" of the Word. Remembering in the theological & liturgical sense takes on a greater meaning than the remembrance of a past birthday or a wedding day. The stories of the Bible, because they come from He Who IS the Word of God, are made present when they're proclaimed in liturgical worship. This also applies to the Jewish celebration of Passover. It's not an event from the past; it stretches to the present and the future. That is, God is constantly working to save His people, just as much now as He did in the days of Moses.
We can't be short-sighted with God. It's a very human way to think, yes, but God's ways are not our ways Thank goodness!
3) This sort of question boils down to a bigger picture question, in my mind: how do we fix the Church? Seems like this comes up a lot, especially among those that want the Church to change Her teachings.
Applied to this matter of miracles, I have the thought that obviously the Church would be in awesome shape if we had more miracles. That would take care of so many things! If we just ____ .... if only ____ .... (etc.)
That's a dangerous way to think. The only solid way to "fix" the Church is to start in our hearts. This is straight from Fr. Z, not to mention the long tradition of the Church. Go to confession. Be holy. Eradicate sin in your life. Believe and obey the teachings of the Church. In other words, the problem isn't out there; it's in here. Goodness, what would the Church be like if...
4) But hey, there's no harm in asking for miracles if we pray for them in the correct way. We can't pin our faith on a miracle happening; if we put our faith in anything other than God, we'll inevitably be disappointed. If we're party to or a witness of any miracles, the two most important things are: giving praise where it's due (=to God) and for the salvation of ourselves and others.
Healing/miracle/mighty deed of God = human conversion.
Where are the healings? Mighty deeds? Lord, You know how they can call people's attention to You. In ages past, great saints did wonderful things; prophets proclaimed your Word and did great deeds through Your grace. An entire city turned away from sin when You sent Jonah to Ninevah. Jesus Himself worked miracles as evidence of the veracity of His words. So many that can't be bothered to turn their eyes toward heaven are the ones that could use a good miracle!
That was my first reaction, at least. As I pondered the question, a few thoughts came to mind...
1) Also in the readings for Mass today was the story of the ten lepers made clean, and only one returning thank Jesus (Luke 17). That's a pretty poor rate of return, 10%. It's a lesson, I think, that miracles don't carry a guarantee that a soul would turn to God. Why did Jesus heal those lepers? For their own salvation! Any and all acts of God, from great to small, are still subject to the free will of mankind. We can recognize God at work and believe, or we can ignore God.
2) I don't feel any guilt in asking the above question, or feeling that reaction. I do need to be careful not to turn into a "what have you done for me lately" kind of believer. Rather than appreciate the long history of God's marvelous works, there's the temptation to turn into a Veruca Salt. I want a miracle and I want it now!!!
One of the interesting features of Judaism and Christianity is what theologians call the "event character" of the Word. Remembering in the theological & liturgical sense takes on a greater meaning than the remembrance of a past birthday or a wedding day. The stories of the Bible, because they come from He Who IS the Word of God, are made present when they're proclaimed in liturgical worship. This also applies to the Jewish celebration of Passover. It's not an event from the past; it stretches to the present and the future. That is, God is constantly working to save His people, just as much now as He did in the days of Moses.
We can't be short-sighted with God. It's a very human way to think, yes, but God's ways are not our ways Thank goodness!
3) This sort of question boils down to a bigger picture question, in my mind: how do we fix the Church? Seems like this comes up a lot, especially among those that want the Church to change Her teachings.
Applied to this matter of miracles, I have the thought that obviously the Church would be in awesome shape if we had more miracles. That would take care of so many things! If we just ____ .... if only ____ .... (etc.)
That's a dangerous way to think. The only solid way to "fix" the Church is to start in our hearts. This is straight from Fr. Z, not to mention the long tradition of the Church. Go to confession. Be holy. Eradicate sin in your life. Believe and obey the teachings of the Church. In other words, the problem isn't out there; it's in here. Goodness, what would the Church be like if...
4) But hey, there's no harm in asking for miracles if we pray for them in the correct way. We can't pin our faith on a miracle happening; if we put our faith in anything other than God, we'll inevitably be disappointed. If we're party to or a witness of any miracles, the two most important things are: giving praise where it's due (=to God) and for the salvation of ourselves and others.
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