Old

Old is a bad word.

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April 22nd Sunday Readings.

A week after Christmas (and 4 or so days after the birth of my son), I dropped my smart john-paul-joseph-henry-245902-unsplashphone into the toilet. To save you from unpleasant and unnecessary detail, I’ll just say this – it didn’t make it. We had an old flip phone in the junk draw and so I transferred my number to ol’ reliable and fired it up. The battery lasted for days. It was so small and fit so well in my pocket. I wasn’t chained to it’s screen expecting a constant drip of dopamine from likes, retweets, or texts. Of course it wasn’t all good, and when I finally broke down and got a new smart phone, I was relieved. 

There is nothing wrong with the latest and greatest. Often the reason the new replaces the old is because it’s better in some manner or degree. Innovation and improvement are good in so many ways. However, far too often, I think our predilection for “the new” is absolute. We are quick to flush the old anything in favor of the new for no other reason than it is new. Honestly, it feels like “old” is a bad word in our culture. 

Sometimes we desire new because of the shortcomings of the old, which is good. However, by the time we recognize the shortcomings of the new, the old is long gone. 

Is it possible to hold onto the old and embrace the new? I’m not sure yet, to be honest.

What I do know is that in the gospel this Sunday, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” This way of thinking about Jesus, as good shepherd, feels old. My grandparents had a painting of Jesus carrying a lamb on his shoulders, in their home. Now, we hear about Jesus as bridegroom or Lord or Hurricane or Good Father, but rarely, shepherd. There is some simple beauty in this scripture even as it isn’t stylish or current to think about Jesus as shepherd.

zoltan-tasi-308658-unsplashJesus the shepherd cares for us. Jesus directs us. Jesus chases us down when we are lost. Jesus sometimes uses a stick to get us back on track. Jesus works out fights when we run into other sheep. Jesus picks us up when we are too small to walk. Jesus leads us to clean water and lush, verdant pastures. Jesus provides exactly what we need. 

Jesus is my shepherd. 

Live It:
Take some time with this piece of scripture. Pray through it. What would it look like if Jesus was shepherding you?

A Terrifying God.

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February 25th Sunday Readings.

How do you picture God? Most of us have some image of God that we keep in our heads. ghost_of_christmas_presentMany people have either Gandalf or the ghost of Christmas present from The Muppet Christmas Carol as their base image for God.  Old.  Beard.  God.

Some people focus on Jesus, which, for many, is basically just a younger version of the old God image.  Young.   Beard.   Jesus.

Still others focus on the Holy Spirit and have a cloud or fire or maybe the wind, which is like blue lines that represent a more mystical version of God.   Mystical.    No Beard.    God.

In our Gospel this Sunday, Peter, James, and John get to see God. They witness Jesus transfigured before them. In other words, they see Jesus as he really is – God made man. What does God look like? Dazzling white. (no mention of beard).

But there is one other thing they say about the moment. When they see God they can barely speak because they are terrified. Terrified is a pretty strong response. This piece of scripture doesn’t say they were upset or amazed or found God interesting. No, their response to seeing God in his glory was to be terrified. No one is terrified of jovial old-man-beard God or blue-line-wind-spirit God.

No matter what we hold in our mind’s eye as our image of God, I bet he is a nice God. Because God is love and generous and good, we tend to also make him tame. Unfortunately this also makes God simple and maybe even strips him of some of his power.

As we read this Sunday, that image of a nice, tame, weak God is wrong. No, God is terrifying. God is scary like a good rollercoaster or like falling in love. God is the kind of terrifying that is terrific, not horrifying. To meet God face to face is thrilling.

If this is God, then the question for us is – Have you ever been terrified, thrilled, or overwhelmed in God’s presence? If meeting God is the kind of experience that leaves us speechless and trembling, have we ever experienced God in this way?

This Lent and Easter is an opportunity to experience this God, the God that thrills us and terrifies us. All we must do is follow the example of the disciples and say yes to walking up the mountain with Jesus. Our faith lives will change for good when we meet God face to face.

LIVE IT:

Make a plan to visit an Eucharistic Adoration Chapel. If you’ve never done that before, there is no wrong way. Just go and focus on Jesus. Tell him you want to see his face.

More info on the Adoration Chapel at HNOJ.