Salt and Light: “Your light must shine before others.” Matthew 5:16

June 10: Tuesday of Week 10 of Ordinary Time, Year A-II:

A thought for those who want to reveal the risen Jesus in their lifestyle.

1Kings 17:7-16; Psalm 4:2-3, 4-5, 7-8; Matthew 5:13-16

Salt brings out the taste in food. Christ’s New Law gives a new “taste” to human behavior beyond our imagining. It gives guidelines for living on the level of God. The New Law shows what human nature is capable of when enhanced by grace, the “gift of sharing in the divine Life of God.”

If Christians just live good human lives, not doing anything bad, and being nice to everyone, that is not news. We don’t bring out or reveal anything in human nature that wasn’t already known. The salt has “lost its taste.” But when we visibly live a divine, a “superhuman” morality as “prophets,” we are Good News to the world.

Jesus is “the light of the world.” When “the Word became flesh and lived among us,” we “saw his glory,” the glory of the Father’s only Son. Now that glory shines in us, to whom he “gave power to become children of God.” Jesus says to us today, “You are the light of the world.” But only if we live visibly by his New Law.

“The [old] law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” That is the Good News. Christian “prophets” who reveal “grace and truth” in their lives are the ”salt of the earth” and “light of the world.” (See John 1:1-18; 8:12).

PRAY: “Lord, let your face shine in me.”

PRACTICE: Think and act on the level of God.

The New Law: "...for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3

June 9: Monday of Week 10 of Ordinary Time, Year A-II:

A thought for those who want to reveal the risen Jesus in their lifestyle.

1 Kings 17:1-6; Psalm 121:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8; Matthew 5:1-12

Jesus introduces his New Law with a series of statements that contradict our basic assumptions. He calls us fortunate if some recognized inadequacy convinces us we haven’t “got it made.” This is to be “poor in spirit.” Jesus says it opens us to accept the “kingdom of heaven.”

  

Jesus says those who “mourn” are blessed, because if we are afflicted by what is wrong with the world, and frankly face our own sins and anxieties, we will be “comforted” by truth that gives solid and lasting peace. Do we believe that?

Do we really believe the most “blessed” people on earth are those whose main preoccupation in life is getting holy? More than getting educated, being successful, financially secure?

The New Law of Jesus begins where the rules for good human living leave off. It gives shocking guidelines for people whose only goal in life is to let Jesus live in them and continue his mission on earth. No one else can understand or accept the New Law. They are guidelines for thinking like Jesus; that is, like God.

To “bear witness” as a Christian is to live visibly in a way so inexplicable without the Gospel that our lifestyle raises eyebrows. This is to be a prophet. This is “pre-evangelization.” We “evangelize” by answering the questions raised by our actions.

PRAY: “Lord, let me ‘live and give’ the Good News.”

PRACTICE: Re-read the Beatitudes, open to challenge.

We are sent

June 8: Pentecost Sunday:

A thought for those who want to reveal the risen Jesus in their lifestyle.

Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34; 1Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23

We are sent

“As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” John 20:21

“They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim…” Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful…

“Tongues as of fire… came to rest on each one of them…”  “Peace be with you… Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them…” And enkindle in us the fire of your divine love.

“No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit… To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the good of all.” Lord, send forth your Spirit, and our hearts will be regenerated.

“‘As the Father has sent me, so I send you’… In one Spirit we were all baptized into one body… and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.” And you will renew the face of the earth!

PRAY: 

“Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful,

And enkindle in us the fire of your divine love.

Lord, send forth your Spirit, and our hearts will be regenerated,

And you will renew the face of the earth!”

“O God, by the light of the Holy Spirit you instruct the hearts of your faithful.

Grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may always do what is right and just,

And always rejoice in his consolation

through Christ our Lord.”

PRACTICE: Say this prayer every day. Live it.

The Spirit gives assurance

June 7: Saturday of the 7th week of Easter:

A thought for those who want to reveal the risen Jesus in their lifestyle.

Acts 28:16-20, 30-31; Psalm 11:4, 5, 7; John 21:20-25

“It is on account of the hope of Israel that I wear these chains.” Acts 28:20

Paul in prison had the assurance of a clear conscience. He knew he was suffering for what he believed, and he knew that what he believed was true. There is peace and strength in that.

By the “Gift of the Spirit” our religion becomes an experience of inner, personal identity. We don’t just profess what we have been taught; we know what we know. The light of the Spirit gives us conviction in our hearts. Our moral choices are based on a firmness and freedom of personal, individual conscience.

Paul had written earlier, “I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Why? Because he could say with certitude, “I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 8:38).

Those who just “conform” to the beliefs and practices of their religion will also conform to their culture. They may “draw the line” at some things, but basically they will live by the light and values of this world. Conformism doesn’t produce non-conformists.

The Spirit does.

PRAY: “Holy Spirit, make me free.”

PRACTICE: Renew the Church and the world through nonconformity.

Witness is Martyrdom

June 6: Friday of the 7th week of Easter:

A thought for those who want to reveal the risen Jesus in their lifestyle.

Acts 25:13-21; Psalm 103:1-2, 11-12, 19-20; John 21:15-19

“He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.” John 21:19

When the first Christians received the “Gift of the Spirit,” they frequently showed it by speaking in other languages, in “tongues” and “prophesying” (Acts 2:4, 19:6). To the witness of the apostles, “God added his testimony by signs and wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit” (Hebrews 2:4); for example, “gifts of healing… the discernment of spirits… the interpretation of tongues” (1Corinthians 12:9).

We still see these signs today, but they are not the normal evidence of the “Gift of the Spirit.” That gift is evident—and experienced—whenever people are empowered to act in a way that cannot be explained by just human motivation; for example the martyrs’ acceptance of death.

“Martyr” is simply the Greek word for “witness.” Over time, we began to reserve it for those who bore extraordinary witness by dying in testimony to their faith. But we are “martyrs” whenever we suffer—or consciously risk suffering—because we are living visibly by the values of Jesus. People are “martyred” by their peer groups, professional associates and employers; by any and everyone they threaten by not conforming to the culture. An authentically Christian lifestyle raises eyebrows. And it can raise hackles as well.

When God gives us courage to do this, we experience the “Gift of the Spirit.”

PRAY: “Jesus, give me courage. You have overcome the world.”

PRACTICE: Dare to be different.

Communion in the Spirit

June 5: Thursday of the 7th week of Easter:

A thought for those who want to reveal the risen Jesus in their lifestyle.

Acts 22:30, 23:6-11; Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11; John 17:20-26

“I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one.” John 17:22

The Father and Son live “in the unity of the Holy Spirit.” Although each of the Three Persons has everything the others have, we say that the Father is in some way the source of Being and Goodness, the Son, as “Word,” the source of Truth, and the Spirit, as Love, the source of Unity.

Likewise, we say God’s Church has being and goodness from the Father, truth from the Son as Word, and unity from the Spirit of love—although we know that in everything they do for us, the Three Persons always act together and are never separated.

Our communion with each other as a Christian community is a “common union” of sharing in the same divine life, acting through the gifts of faith, hope and love. Most deeply, we are united, not by professing the same human words in our “Profession of Faith,” or by conforming our human behavior to the same set of laws, but by sharing together in the invisible mystery of the same divine Life, the same divine Light, the same divine Love.

When that common sharing becomes visible in words and actions recognizable as inspired by the “Gift of the Spirit,” then we experience “communion in the Holy Spirit.”

PRAY: “Lord, make us one in spirit through your Spirit.”

PRACTICE: Look for signs of divine life in everyone.

Joy in the Spirit

June 4: Wednesday of the 7th week of Easter:

A thought for those who want to reveal the risen Jesus in their lifestyle.

Acts 20:28-38; Psalm 68:29-30, 33-35, 35-36; John 17:11-19

“…so that they may share my joy completely” John 17:13

Jesus came that we might “have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). We don’t experience “life to the full” until we have “joy in the Spirit.” What is that?

It is “the joy of salvation” (Psalm 51), which, together with “righteousness and peace” is a characteristic of the “Kingdom of God” (Romans 14:17). It is “joy and peace in believing,” when we “abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). It is a joy “inspired by the Holy Spirit” when we “receive the word” and “in spite of persecution” become “imitators of the Lord” (1Thessalonians 1:6).

Joy “in the Spirit” comes with righteousness, when we believe in God’s word, hope by a power that comes from God, and imitate the Lord in spite of what it costs us. And it is packaged with peace.

To experience “life to the full,” and “share Christ’s joy completely,” all we need to do is let the Holy Spirit empower us to believe God’s words, hope in his promises, and love others as Jesus loves us. We can have “joy in the Spirit”—in spite of any pain, suffering or loss—if we respond to everything with faith, hope and love.

When we have that joy, we are witnesses to Christ’s life within us.

PRAY: “Lord, send us your Spirit. May we always rejoice in his consolation.”

PRACTICE: Believe. Hope. Love. In action.

Boldness in Witness

June 3: Tuesday of the 7th week of Easter

A thought for those who want to reveal the risen Jesus in their lifestyle.

Acts 20:17-27; Psalm 68:10-11, 20-21; John 17:1-11

“I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may… bear witness to the Gospel of God’s grace.” Acts 20:24

The Gift of the Spirit gave Paul “boldness” to “bear witness” to the Good News of Jesus Christ. We experience the Gift of the Spirit when we speak in a way that expresses, or act in a way that embodies, the attitudes and values of Jesus; especially when we are afraid of the reaction we may provoke.

We shouldn't be simplistic. If we sense people will misunderstand what we say or do, or that they are just too closed-up to hear the message, we might be less direct. Jesus said not to “cast pearls” uselessly in front of people who will just “trample them under foot and turn and maul you” (Matthew 7:6). It is love not to lay on people things they aren't prepared for. But we should be motivated by love, not fear. The “Gift of the Spirit” helps us overcome fear, and we experience the gift when we do.

This might be something as ordinary as making the Sign of the Cross in public. Who says it’s not “politically correct”? If people are free to express their disrespect in front of us by saying “Jesus Christ!” as a swearword, we are free to respond by expressing our respect in front of them. Freedom is a two-way street.

PRAY: “Lord, let your Spirit speak in me and through me.”

PRACTICE: Act against fear.

The Gift of the Spirit

June 2: Monday of the 7th week of Easter:

A thought for those who want to reveal the risen Jesus in their lifestyle.

Acts 19:1-8; Psalm 68:2-3, 4-5, 6-7; John 16:29-33

“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” Acts 19:2

If you were asked, “Have you received the Holy Spirit?” how would you answer? With a “catechism yes”? Or could you speak from experience?

Paul obviously thought it was important. And so should we. If we did not learn about the “Gift of the Holy Spirit” in the teaching and preaching we have heard, and if we have not experienced that gift, our experience of Christianity is incomplete.

Perhaps we have experienced the “Gift of the Spirit” without recognizing it.

As a preview of things to come, notice these key words the New Testament uses to describe the work of the Holy Spirit. See if you resonate to any of them:

Power...  witness… boldness...  other languages… tongues… prophesy...  hope...  love… conscience… joy… peace...  communion...  conviction… renewal… signs… wonders...  miracles…

Add the “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:22: “love, joy, peace, patient endurance, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”

Isaiah 11:2 says of the Messiah: “The Spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and fear of the LORD. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (no. 1831) calls these “gifts of the Spirit” and adds “piety.”

Have you experienced all of these?

PRAY: “Lord, send forth your Spirit and our hearts will be regenerated.”

PRACTICE: Mull over the texts above, just to “get in the spirit” of what the Spirit does. More explanation follows.

“This mystery”

June 1: Feast of the Ascension instead of Seventh Sunday of Easter: 

A thought for those who want to reveal the risen Jesus in their lifestyle.

Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47:2-3,6-7,8-9; Ephesians 1:17-23; Matthew 28:16-20.

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses.” Acts 1:8

In Acts Jesus promises the “power” (dynamis) of the Holy Spirit so his apostles can be witnesses. In his letter to the Ephesians Paul speaks of “the surpassing greatness of Christ’s power (dynamis) for us who believe.” In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus says “All authority (exousia) in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.”

The power to bear witness comes from “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,” and from Jesus himself, through the Holy Spirit, and depends on faith. The authority to make disciples and incorporate them into the body of Christ by Baptism comes from Jesus “seated at the right hand of the Father.” As Christians we act “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” We act as God, with the power of God, in the name of God.

Yes, that is awesome.

We have to accept our lives as a mystery and live them as a mystery: as “this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). This is what it means to bear witness as a prophet.

We are witnesses when the way we live is inexplicable without the power of the Holy Spirit.

PRAY: “Lord, empower me by your Spirit.”

PRACTICE: Dream the impossible dream.