June 27, 2010  (Note to Reader – This one brought me criticism)

Spiritual Courage:

Are you ready for your brain to begin to hurt?  It’s wake up time people – are we awake?  Is your brain awake?  How about your spirit?  This week our scripture readings give us food to cause our brains to hurt!  The real reason our brains will hurt is because as we digest today’s scriptures we will be called to get off our duff and do something that requires spiritual courage.

Highest Priority = God’s Blessing

The reward for waking up will be great.  Knowing God is a blessing and life’s highest priority.  But that blessing is not automatic; it must be consciously entered into by opening oneself to a risk and embracing discipleship.

Are we ready to stretch our brains with a spirit of courage?  Some may already be brain dead.  Some have been drinking the American cultural cool aid for so long, we have become the walking dead on the way to the local cemetery.

So what is it that will make your brain hurt?  God gives each of us Freedom so we will choose slavery?  The purpose of freedom is to become a slave.  Isn’t that is un-American!  Could be that even makes your teeth grind?

Who are we?  Who do we say we are?

Let me make your brain hurt some more.  We the people of the Catholic Church are behind the power curve and need to pay attention to the Tea Party movement taking place in our midst.  (ps this got me in trouble)  The Tea Party movement originated out of people waking up and asking the most fundamental questions about our nations founding principles and belief’s.  Who are we as a people/nation?  What was our founding vision and who have we become?

The Tea Party is a kind of an awakening of the conscience of people and is generating great debate.  It is a people looking back to discern who we have become.  In that regard the Tea Party movement is very healthy!  Yet the problem with the Tea Party movement is it avoids confrontation with the real causes of our nation’s illness and failures – it avoids the battle between the spirit and the flesh.  ( years later — how come this didn’t save me)

It avoids any discussion about the message of today’s scripture.  It avoids a dialogue about what are freedom and slavery and the purpose of each.  It avoids a discussion in regard to the flesh having desires against the spirit, the spirit against the flesh – the reality they are opposed to each other.

Jesus and Paul told us so long ago the purpose of freedom is to choose slavery.  Have you wrapped your arms around this concept yet?

The Heart of Every Crises –> Selfishness

What the Tea Party and the rest of our society avoid today is that selfishness is at the heart of every crises.  Paul warned the Galatians do not use freedom as an opportunity for the flesh.  There Selfishness leads to a crises of the spirit and a loss of freedom.  Selfishness leads one into isolation, division, biting, devouring and bondage from which one cannot escape alone.

As Catholics and Christian we must begin to acknowledge we tend to go to sleep and accept world views that Jesus Christ himself came to confront.

Jesus Christ came to fulfill the law.  The fulfillment of the Law is to love one another.  Jesus said let the dead bury the dead!  In other words he is speaking of the spiritually dead — wake up – spiritually wake up and look around

Do we as Catholic know what freedom is?  Do we catholic know what acceptable slavery is.  Who are we Catholic’s as a people of this nation? Are we among the silent majority who simply laid down and became the walking dead when prayer was removed from our schools and the war against the unborn began in the sanctuary of the mother.

Love One Another as I loved you:

Love one another as I have loved you – turn away from selfishness and sin.  Love is fulfillment of the law.  Love is to freely choose to become a slave that serves others.  One must be spiritually alive to make such a choice.  One must have their eyes on the real prize.

Lastly the sons of thunder wanted to nuke the people who rejected Jesus and His message.  “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?”

Jesus did not come to judge – he came to save – Let the dead bury the dead – but you and I – that includes everyone here – is gifted to contribute to the ministry of discipleship  – go proclaim the kingdom of God.