Was Jesus Pro-Life? The Incarnation

For my pro-choice Christian brothers and sisters. Meditations on why the Gospels reveal that Christ was and is pro-life. I’ve had a friend say to me, “But He never spoke about that issue.” Well…true, but the whole Gospel encompasses this issue, the issue of Life. Let us explore, if you will please hear me out. I know that there are many who feel they are doing good by making abortion available, that it is the compassionate thing to do. I am addressing these people with meditations from the Gospel. I hope to do a series of posts, and this is the first.

I’d like to start with the belief in the Incarnation. The Incarnation refers to the mystery and teaching that God took on human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. The Incarnation distinguishes Christians from every other major world religion; there is no other faith that teaches that God took on human flesh. According to Scripture, the angel Gabriel appeared to the virgin, Mary, and told her that she was to conceive and bear a son, and she would name Him Emmanuel (God with us). Mary was troubled and had questions, but she said yes, in fact, what she said was, “I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done unto me according to your word.” (Lk 1:38)
This moment, which we call the Annunciation (“announce” is the root and it refers to Gabriel announcing God’s plans to Mary), is not only a real, historical event, but also a paradigm for our interior, spiritual life with God.

Understood this way, the Incarnation is not just something that happened to Mary some two thousand years ago…it is also something that we are called to live here and now, in each day and moment. When we strive to live with Christ, we go about our day living this mystery of the Incarnation. In each moment, we see and experience what God is presenting to us, and—whether it is perceived as “good” or “bad,” whether we have questions and anxieties, or whether the whole, clear path is laid out before us (it’s usually not)—we are called, like Mary, to accept what He offers with joy and in faith. In each moment, Jesus comes to us as a helpless, vulnerable, unborn infant, who needs to be accepted, nurtured, and allowed to grow within our hearts. We can say “yes” or “no.” We often say “no,” and when we do, this is called sin. This is not accepting or being open to spiritually conceiving Him, perhaps not even recognizing it. Buddhism teaches the practice of mindfulness, which simply is living in the moment, being open to what it will bring and accepting all peacefully and with attentiveness. In Christianity, we do this but we also have the joy of doing this with and for Christ, walking with Him and accepting all as if it were Him or coming from His hand. Whenever we say “yes,” we have a part in bearing Christ to the world, just as Mary did.

Evelyn Underhill wrote in her book, Mysticism: “The Incarnation, which is for traditional Christianity synonymous with the historical birth and earthly life of Christ, is…not only this but also a perpetual cosmic and personal process. It is an everlasting bringing forth, in the universe and also in the individual…soul, of the divine and perfect Life.” The Incarnation, then, is of utmost relevance and importance, both in the individual Christian’s life, and in that of the world.
If we extrapolate that and consider the concept of abortion in such a paradigm…where does that leave us? We understand that our external acts most certainly have an effect on our interior life with God. One who lives with Him, and who wants to teach others to do so, does not—cannot—accept abortion as it is a complete cutting off of the life that God wants to live in us. It is a “no” to God, and this “no” is both a grave internal act and an irreversible, external act that results in the loss of precious, human life. It completely cuts off at the source the life of who we are as Christians—the mystery of the Incarnation.

Thoughtful and respectful comments welcome; abusive comments are useless and will not be accepted.

You are a Sacrament

Is 55:10-11

Thus says the LORD:
Just as from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
and do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
giving seed to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
so shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
my word shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.

This was the first reading at today’s Mass, Sunday, July 10, 2011.  I love this proclamation, that God’s word does not return to Him void.  It is as such in the Sacraments where, for example, the words of absolution effect a forgiveness of all of our sins and the words of Consecration cause the bread and wine to become the body and blood of Christ.  ”You are a Sacrament” was on my heart during today’s Mass.   Think about God’s act of creation.  He said, “Let there be…” and it came into being.  His thought and His love caused there to be something, where there previously was nothing!  Every particle of material, all things seen and unseen of this earth and of all of His creation, is in some way a part of His word that effects what it says.

Further, God enabled us to partake in His act of creation.  When a man and woman come together, this union holds such power that it can cause, with God, another human–endowed with God’s dignity, His inscription on the heart, and in His image–to come into being.  Each of us was created in this manner.  Each of us is a thought of God, each of us is God’s word, that does not return to Him void. And Christ, our Light, is this Word par excellence–though not part of the Father’s creation.

God is the fullness of all that is good.  He doesn’t just love, He is love.  He isn’t just beautiful, He is beauty itself.  He isn’t just merciful, He is mercy.  This is so hard for us to understand.  And, further, what do we do with it?  How do we incorporate this knowledge and experience of God into our daily lives?

For me, it simply means that He must increase; I must decrease.  I need to spend time with the Scriptures and live a deeply Sacramental life.  Then, His divine action–His word–will be able to take place in my life.  Lord, let me follow, and try not to lead.  Let your Word find fertile soil in my heart, and then I know that it will bear good fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirty fold!

I never knew you!

Mt 7:21-23

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day,
‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?
Did we not drive out demons in your name?
Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’
Then I will declare to them solemnly,
‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’

The words that struck me when I listened to the Gospel at Mass (above is an excerpt) today were, “I never knew you.”  Why would these be the words said to those who don’t follow the Father’s will, “I never knew you.”  How could Jesus, who knows all, say that He never knew us?  To me, this is an echo of God the Father in the Garden of Eden, calling, “Where are you?”  to Adam and Eve after they had sinned, feared, and then hidden themselves.  How could God not know where they are?

What Jesus is saying is if we don’t do His will, i.e., act on His word and allow Him to work in our lives, moment by moment, to transform us, the person that presents him/herself to Our Lord “on that day” will not be one that our Lord knows.  Jesus can only know the beautiful person that His father created you (and I) to be.  He does not know the person who is hiding, the person with the hangups, the one with the walls built around him/herself which keeps our Lord at a distance.  He cannot know that person, because that person doesn’t let Him get close, and I would even say that person actually doesn’t exist.  That person is the false self, and much work is needed to conquer the false person, to remove the mask, to become the beautiful person that God created.

What is Our Lord calling you to do, today?  What wall is He trying to remove from your sense of self, so that He can better see and know you?  Sit with Him in His word, ask Him, let Him move your heart, and then act on what He tells you!

Encountering Christ in Thankfulness

Luke 17:11-19

As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem,
he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voice, saying,
“Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!”
And when he saw them, he said,
“Go show yourselves to the priests.”
As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.
He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply,
“Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?”
Then he said to him, “Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you.”

The lepers stood at a distance from Jesus.  Their illness prevented them from truly being able to approach Him and get close to Him.  They were only able to say to Him, from a distance , “Have pity on us!”  They did not know Jesus, they were not followers of His.  They obviously had heard of Him and knew that Jesus may be able to help them.  Amazingly, Jesus tells them to go show themselves to the priest, and they go, before there are any signs of healing.  This act of faith and obedience gave way to their being cleansed.  However, only one of them returns to thank Jesus and give Him praise.  What was the mindset of the other nine?  I believe that they were amazed and extremely glad of their healing.  They could now join re-join their families and society.  They could now work again and be productive citizens.  Their physical ailment was healed, but they remained self centered and self concerned.  Because of this, they missed a key opportunity to go back to Jesus out of gratitude, to thank Him and learn more from Him and about Him.  To the one who did go back and threw himself at Christ’s feet, He says, “Stand up, your faith has saved you.”  This man was not just healed of his physical illness, he truly encountered Jesus, was noticed by Our Lord for His gratitude, and He came to know Jesus as a Savior who could heal him completely, and give him strength to stand and be on his way, with the knowledge that he has been saved.  And it is important that this man was a Samaritan, one who most Jews at the time of Jesus would have written off as unholy, as sinful.  This man had the humility and gratitude to return to thank Our Lord.

They rose up and drove him out of the town (Luke 4:29)

I was reading a meditation about this verse, just after I had said a silent prayer to Our Lord to give me courage, to lead me, with regards to something I knew I should do, but was scared to do, afraid that He would not provide what I needed.

Jesus had just told the people that a prophet was never accepted in his own hometown. He pointed out Naaman the Syrian, whom Elisha healed of leprosy. Let’s look at Naaman. Like the people here, Naaman heard from a prophet, but didn’t like what he heard as far as what he needed to do to be healed. Why can’t he just lay his hands on me and heal me instantly, he wondered. Why do I  have to go to all the way to Israel when Syria had its own, cleaner rivers?

I know this line of thought. This is what I do when I’m confronted with something that I know the Spirit is calling me to do, but I’m scared to do or I don’t want to because it is hard. I try to list all the reasons why I shouldn’t do it. If this was God’s will, why didn’t He just make it so, why do I have to take this leap of faith? This is what I was confronted with the other night when I uttered my prayer for God to show me His way. I opened my little meditation book, and found a meditation on just that. It was all I needed; the  next morning I immediately did what I was being called to do. It was scary, but I know that God is with me.

My God, grant me courage to “listen to Him” as you have called me to do. Blessed Mother, take my by the hand and help me to do whatever He tells me.

***

March 15, 2010

The Spirit drove Him into the desert.

In the first Sunday of Lent, we have the Gospel reading of the temptation of Christ in the desert by Satan.  The Gospels tell us that the Spirit drove Him, or led him, into the desert where He fasted for 40 days and nights.  The words, “The Spirit led Him into the desert” caught my attention. 

One of my doubts constantly is that I’m not actually following the Lord, that I’m following my own path.  Especially considering all the trials and sufferings I’ve experienced since I really began to walk with Him some 9 years ago.  I often think that I must have gotten off the straight and narrow path somewhere along the way because He certainly would not let me suffer so for so long.  And then, I see here that the Spirit led Our Lord into the wilderness.  In the wilderness, He suffered and was assailed by doubts and temptations and whisperings of His inadequacy as a Son of God…”If you are the Son of God, then…”  Two out of the three temptations begin that way.  I often hear that doubt myself, “If you were truly God’s daughter, you would…”  The Gospels clearly tell us who is behind that voice.  That is the voice that sneers, “You would do this better, you would be successful, you would do amazing things…” and on and on it goes.  And when it’s not those temptations, then it’s the “God is not good” temptations.   “He would not let you suffer, He would not have led you into a mess and abandoned you, if you weren’t so sinful He would not have to punish you so much…”  The temptation of Christ on the cross was the temptation to despair. “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me!”  But then, He as God’s Son immediately follows up that thought, that agony, with the trustful abandonment of His whole being to Our loving Father, “Father, into Your hands, I commend my Spirit.” 

Lord, let me also recognize that voice of the deceiver.  Let me also recognize when he tries to twist Your Word to serve his own destructive purposes, and let me counter him with the appropriate application of Your Word,  as you did.  And let me follow up each moment of doubt and temptation with abandonment to Our Father, “Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit.”

This is your sign!

Today’s Gospel: Mark 8:11-13

The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus,
seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.

Do you ever argue with Jesus? Do you ever seek signs from Him? Do you ever seek gifts from Him? I know that I do and I have. Usually it’s when I’m scared, or when I really don’t want to do what I know I’m being called to do. Then the Pharisee in me comes forward and begins bargaining, arguing, and yes–seeking a sign. The Lord, generally, does not give me signs, though. I have found that even when He does, I am not satisfied. It is not enough for me to believe. About a year ago, I asked Him for a sign regarding a very important matter. He did not give it. In fact, when I was at Mass the next morning, when the priest held up the consecrated Host, I heard Him at that moment, and what He said was, “This is your sign.” I was rebuked, but what joy it brought me! I realized this was exactly what He told the Pharisees in the Gospels: no sign will be given except the sign of Jonah. But, I also realized that yes, this was my sign. This, the fact that Christ gave His body and Blood, soul and divinity to me and for me. And that all I need is encompassed within Him. The answer to every prayer, to every longing, the fulfillment of every desire is within His heart. There truly is need of only one thing! And we, in our blindness and misery, we ask for so little. Here I am asking for a sign, when Our Lord wants to give me His very self!

I try to remember this now when I’m tempted to “argue” with Our Lord. Don’t argue, just pray. Don’t worry, just pray. Don’t bargain, just pray. And all will be well and is well. This is indeed great news!

+++

Today’s Gospel is Mark 6:1-6

Jesus said to them,  “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.”

When I hear this, I hear Jesus once again–this comes up often–talking about the spiritual danger of complacency and comfort.  There is a great need for us to break away from those things in our life that keep us comfortable, that maintain the status quo.  That is part of the message of conversion, of repentance.  Once we have been on the road of conversion for a while, we realize that it is not even necessarily just sin that we need to turn away from, but it is rather from the ways in which we go almost without thinking, those worn paths that do not lead us to God alone. 

I think a good illustration of this is the rich young man, who asked Jesus what He needed to do to inherit eternal life.  Jesus replied to follow all the commandments and to do what is right, to which the man said that he was already doing these things.  But, listen what Jesus says next…He called him to a completely new life with Him.  He said, “Go, sell all you have and give to the poor.  Then come, follow me.”  Jesus was calling this man in a radical way!  We know that, sadly, this man did not (at least at this time) answer Christ’s call to leave behind all his riches for the sake of the kingdom.  If he had, he would have traveled with and relied on Christ and His apostles, he would have experienced the astonishment and disbelief of his friends and family, he would have experienced doubt as to whether he had made the right choice, and eventually would have experienced the pain, anguish and disillusionment of the cross.  This would have given way to the glory of the Resurrection and all that followed.

Jesus says in the Gospel passage that a prophet is not honored in his own house.  What is our “house?”  It is the structure in which we dwell, where we have built walls that shelter us, that keep us comfortable and safe.  It is good and necessary.  If we think of our house figuratively as an interior structure, we realize it is also the harbor of unhealthy attitudes, habits and presumptions/judgments–of the false self.  When we come to a certain point in our relationship with Christ, this is when we are then called to come forth from the safety of this house to be led to the House of the Lord.  Think of Abraham who was called from his home to go to a strange land.  And the Israelites who were led out of the slavery of Egypt to the promised land.  It is, of course, never an easy journey.  It is tiring and full of darkness, wandering, and fatigue.  But the important thing is to answer the call, to set out, to keep Jesus in our sight, to follow the Light that is Him.  If we do so, He will bring us safely to a new house, the house of the Father. 

+++  “Arise, let us be on our Way.”  +++

The Presentation of Our Lord

He [Simeon] came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God…“Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace…”

Today is the great feast of the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple.  I read recently that Bishop Fulton Sheen said that “first comes the spiritual, then action.”  He explained further that we all need to first answer Our Lord’s call to “Come.”  We rest in Him, refresh ourselves, are encouraged and receive all that we need from Him.  And then is the sending out, then we must “Go.”  So, we “Come” then “Go” constantly in the spiritual life.  I think the Feast of the Presentation and this passage describe this wonderfully.  We must retreat often to the Temple, driven by the Spirit, to encounter Joseph, Mary and all the saints, to embrace Our Lord Himself, to thank the Father and to trust in Him.  We then can go “in peace” because our eyes have seen Him, we have embraced Him, and we have received all that we need.  We can carry all that we have received to the world.

Isn’t this the son of Joseph?

January 31, 2010

Luke 4:21-30

Jesus began speaking in the synagogue, saying:
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”
He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb,
‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say,
‘Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’”
And he said, “Amen, I say to you,
no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built,
to hurl him down headlong.

 But Jesus passed through the midst of them and went away. Jesus began speaking in the synagogue, saying:
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”
He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb,
‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say,
‘Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’”
And he said, “Amen, I say to you,
no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built,
to hurl him down headlong.

But Jesus passed through the midst of them and went away. +++

“Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”  Isn’t this just a man? Luke says that the people “rose up in fury” at Christ’s words.  Why?

We cannot accept the message, we are blind to the familiar, the everyday.  That’s why we are called to live the Gospel radically; there has to be a radical leaving behind of all that is familiar and comfortable.  We repeatedly hear in the Gospels cryptic phrases such as, “You must hate your father and mother and “Sell all you have, give to the poor, then come, and follow Me.” Also, the kingdom of God is likened to a “pearl of great price;” the man who found it sold all he had to purchase this pearl; or a “treasure in a field;” again the man who found this treasure sold everything in order to purchase this field.    And there are many more examples of this message of turning away from everything that we formerly prized and counted on–to follow and seek Him, who is hidden.

What does this mean? When we embark upon the process of conversion, we often have a radical upheaval of our lives–either interiorly or outwardly, or both–which then gives us no chance of turning back or choosing something other than Christ.  We experience anguish and pain in leaving beind all the “wisdom” of the world, but it is precisely in that anguish that we come to be more open to Christ, to hope in Him alone, to choose Him alone.  It is the adventure of a lifetime, and it is terrifying!  But have no fear, the Master knows just how much we can bear.  “I have more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.”

Do not seek to literally “give up everything for Christ,” but rather to seek His will alone.  He has a different plan for each of us; some of us are called to “leave everything,” but many (most?) are not called in this literal way, but rather in an interior way.  Sanctity consists of seeking and doing His will alone.  It’s very simple, but it is not easy.  Pray, frequent the Sacraments, get a good Confessor and/or spiritual director, and be docile to the promptings of the Spirit.  The one who prays has all his or her questions answered and has nothing to fear.

I am starting this blog simply to share my interior inspirations and the small bit of wisdom that Christ imparts to me from my relationship with Him.  It will serve as sort of a prayer journal for me.  I have no idea if anyone will ever read it, comment on my posts, or even come across it.  It does not matter, I simply wish to “speak” in this way.

Praise be to Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior! +++