Spiritual Revolving

Astronomy is one of my most active hobbies. People close to me have the “privilege” of being informed of various astronomical events like when a plant is in a unique location or when a certain star formation will be most visible, etc. (whether they want to hear it nor not!). You’ve most likely herd of Nicolas Copernicus, the father of modern astronomy. It was Copernicus who disproved the conception that the sun revolves around the earth, proving the exact opposite: it is the earth that revolves around the sun.

On his deathbed, friends brought his famous writing to him, “The Revolution of the Heavenly Bodies.” He pushed it aside and asked his aide to write the following for him:
O Lord, the faith thou didst give to St. Paul, I cannot ask; the mercy thou didst show to St. Peter; I dare not ask; but Lord, the grace thou didst show unto the dying robber, that, Lord, show to me.

He was able to resolve the great mystery of the universe because he had first resolved the great mystery of life: knowing it is not Christ that should revolve around our desires, but it is us who should revolve around Christ. He understood, Jesus Christ must be the center of our life if we are to find life’s meaning.

How could you be happy being eaten by a lion? Or being crucified upside down? Or being beheaded? Or being stoned to death? The Apostles and early Church Fathers were. Think about it. I mean, really, really think about it. These weren’t stupid people. They also were humans just like you and me with the same human feelings and fears.

“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.’” John 6:35

“I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh." John 6:51

Why should anyone believe Jesus Christ is God in the flesh? Initially, because He is the only person in all time who promised His resurrection from the grave and also precisely predicted the exact timing (“For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” RSV Matthew 12:40). As St. Paul bluntly puts it, “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:14. Once one accepts that logic and accepts Christ as an active part of his/her life, everyday produces more and more and more evidence to base further belief upon.

Blessings Always In All Ways,
Steve

And the Winner is!...

A few years ago at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically mentally disabled, assembled at the Start Line for the 100 yard dash. At the gun they all started, not exactly in a dash, but with an obvious relish to run the race and win! All…that is…except for one boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple times, and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy. They slowed down and looked back. They all turned around and went back. Every one of them went back. One girl with Down’s Syndrome bent over and kissed him and said, “This will make it better.” All nine linked arms and walked across the finish line together. Everyone in the stadium stood, and the cheering went on for several minutes. People who were there are still telling the story. Why? Because deep down we know that what matters in this life is more than winning for ourselves. What truly matters in this life is helping others win, even if it means slowing down and changing our own course.

This was Jesus’ point when he answered the lawyer who asked, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.

And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” RSV Matthew 22:36-39

It means helping in small matters and large. It means helping when it’s easy, but also when it’s difficult. It means helping, even when our human nature is to take revenge: when someone commits a wrong doing, Jesus reminds us although we do not condone the wrong, at the same time we do not turn our back on the wrong doer, but we help. Consider when the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him the woman caught in the act of adultery: ”Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?” …Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, ‘Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.’… But when they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the eldest, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus looked up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again.’ " RSV John 8:3-11

“BRETHREN, IF a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Look to yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” RSV Galatians 6:1-2

When someone falls in the rat race of this life, do you stop and help? It makes the difference, for you and for them.

Blessings Always In All Ways,
Steve

Inside Out

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day. “ 2 Corinthians 4:16

Our daughter and I were considering purchasing a glass blown pair of items for my wife for Christmas. We couldn’t find any two that complemented each other enough to convince us to make the purchase. In good salesperson form, the saleswoman who was showing us the items commented, “You realize if this were artificially blown by machine they could not only be very similar but identical: because they were handcrafted they cannot be identical.” She’s right, a human being cannot apply the exact amount of pressure at the exact same point both externally and internally twice, and it’s the pressure applied externally in relation to the responding pressure internally which gives the form.

Our lives are formed like that. Everyday pressure is applied from the outside by finances, harried schedules, relationships, work pressure, etc. What we have on the inside to counteract it defines what shape our day takes on any given day, and what shape our life takes overall. If we choose to feed ourselves with knowledge of the Scripture, communion in prayer with the Holy Spirit, and, love from caring relationships…then we’ll find our day, our days, molded into a very appealing form.

Blessings Always In All Ways,
Steve

Romans 12:6

“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them….“ RSV Romans 12:6

Who among us hasn’t given a gift to a child to see it become old hat shortly? It can be so frustrating. We pay attention to the ads. We inquire what the hottest toy is this year. And when the child opens it, s/he is elated! They’re ecstatic! But before the day is over we notice that same toy is off to the side as the child is honed-in on something else. How soon we get bored when self-pleasure is the goal. Our Father has given gifts to each of us. You are not without a gift, even if you feel you are. As Billy Graham stated, “None of us have every gift, but all of us has at least one gift.” When we choose not to tap into the gift(s) we’re on the road to emptiness, unhappiness. But, just identifying and using the gift(s) given us isn’t the answer, either.

“And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,…” RSV Ephesians 4:11-12. There are two key points to feeling good about ourselves, to feeling we have a purpose:

• The 1st is, identifying the gift(s) God has blessed us with
• The 2nd is, using the gift(s) for building the Body of Christ

If we try to pretend we have a gift we do not have, we’ll frustrate ourselves and have no sense of purpose or fulfillment. If we try to use the gift(s) for selfish gain or self-centered fulfillment, we’ll be equally empty and feel useless.

When we are honest about the gift(s) God have bestowed upon us, and we choose to use the gift(s) with Christ as the center, we will find the sense of purpose, the fulfillment we all long for. And, we will receive the greatest gift of all: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” RSV Romans 6:23

Blessings Always In All Ways,
Steve