Made For Life

“For he fashioned all things that they might have being.

For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made him. But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world,
and they who belong to his company experience it.”

Wisdom 1:14a; 2:23-24

Death was never God’s plan for human beings. In being made in the image and likeness of God, and since God is Life, human beings were made for life, a life that does not end. However, because of sin, death entered into the world. But, in the fullness of time, God sent His Son into the world so that this Life might once again be restored.

Because life is a gift from God and because all life was fashioned by God, to be rid of it means to be rid of God. That is why the Church (in the US at least) has always emphasized the right to life — no to abortion, no to capital punishment, no to euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, and no to artificial means to conception. All of those aforementioned “no’s” deny the “gift” aspect of life. In Catholic Social Teaching we are told that the right to life is the most fundamental human right. Even the Declaration of Independence echoes this, that all persons are entitled to rights and chief among them are that of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” By our nature, we strive to live. We have to always support this striving for living. If someone says “I no longer want to live,” it is contrary to our very human nature to reply, “Well, if that is really what you want, then, you should die.” Sadly, our world has come to this with the legal “protection” for people to engage in physician-assisted suicide. Truly, as Pope St. John Paul II has said, we are living in the midst of a “culture of death.”

In the Gospel we see a very different picture. Instead of succumbing to euthanasia to alleviate his daughter’s pain and affliction, the synagogue official Jairus, pleads with Jesus to heal his daughter who was “at the point of death.” Even as his daughter was close to death, Jairus fought for her life because that is what humans were made for — life! Although we know that as they were making their way to the house, Jairus’s daughter died, Jesus continued on because He has come to give us life and life to the full. Even when all seems lost, Jesus fights for us. He comes to us. He breathes life into us once again just as He did for Jairus’s daughter, who lived.

The woman who was suffering from hemorrhaging for 12 years heard that Jesus was in town and she immediately followed, hoping to get close to Him so that she might be cured. Think about that. Bleeding for 12 years? I do not think I could even bear that for a week! Yet, she chose to fight for her life. Twelve years. She went to different doctors, but nothing, no cure at all; in fact, things got worse. But, she did not give up. When she touched the hem of Jesus’s garment, she was cured. When we come to encounter Jesus in an intimate, personal way, there will be healing, but we must desire it and at times, we must fight for it.

The one thing in common in both of these healings is the element of faith. Jairus believed that Jesus could heal his daughter and so, even as a synagogue official and perhaps ignoring the complaints and jeers of some Jewish leaders, he went to look for Jesus to heal his daughter. When his daughter’s condition worsened, Jesus encouraged Jairus, “Do not be afraid; just have faith” and he did. Jairus, knowing that the man before him could heal his daughter, believed and kept the faith. The woman who suffered tremendously in life seized the opportunity when it came, pursuing Jesus in the hopes of being healed, and it was granted unto her, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.” In the end, life prevailed. The woman and Jairus’s daughter were made for life, and as long as they were willing and desired it, the Lord of Life will always grant it to them.

Brothers and sisters, do we know and believe that we were made for life? Do we have faith that Jesus has come to give us life and life to the full? What are those areas in our lives that are dead or dying? Maybe it is resentment, a grudge, past hurt, unforgiveness, doubt, anger. Whatever it may be, we must remember that we were made for life. We must seek to live and strive for life. Let us invite Jesus into those parts of our lives that need healing and resurrection, and ask Him to give us the desire to grow deeper in faith so that like Jairus’s daughter and the woman with the hemorrhages, we too might be cured of our afflictions and can live in peace.

Re-Created in Christ

“So whoever is in Christ is a new creation:
the old things have passed away;
behold, new things have come.”

1 Corinthian 5:17

You and I were made in the image and likeness of God and were destined to be in communion with Him. However, because of Adam’s disobedience, we lost that likeness and have come to experience the effects of sin — pain, suffering, death, and concupiscence (tendency to sin). But, God did not plan to leave us in that state. So, in the fullness of time He sent His only begotten Son into the world so that by His obedience, God’s likeness in us might be restored and the hope of communion with God for eternity made possible. Jesus has come to make all things new, including you and me.

What does it mean to be “re-created” or “being made new?” Well, we first have to accept and acknowledge that we need this re-creation or renewal. To be re-created does not simply mean we had a malfunction in our system and Jesus came to re-code it. Re-creation is not simply to fix or make clean. To be re-created means to be made into a new creation. By our baptism we have been made new, we have died with Christ and trust that we will share in His Resurrection. Our old selves did not have that hope. Our old selves were destined for hell. But because Jesus came into this world, suffered, died, and rose from the dead we can share in the divine life of God — if we choose to accept it.

By choosing to accept this gift, we are saying we want to be made new in Christ, washed in the waters of baptism, and to conform our hearts and lives to Christ. This is not a once and done event. In being re-created in Christ, we must accept our need for ongoing conversion, meaning that we need to want to reorient our lives to Christ every moment of everyday. We will fail, and sometimes everyday, and even very badly, but we must get back up and walk towards Jesus again — this is ongoing conversion. We need to be honest with ourselves and our weaknesses and bring all that to Jesus, asking Him for the grace to desire to do better and to walk in the path that will lead us to the Father.

Conversion is never easy, but it is worth it. Heaven is worth it. Jesus is worth it. And, we do not go on this journey alone. Jesus walks with us and He helps us up when we fall. He encourages us and affirms us. Since we have been re-created in Christ, He will give us all that we need, and above all else, He gives us Himself.

Brothers and sisters, we have been made new in Christ, let us cast off our old selves and choose to live no longer for ourselves, but for Christ.

Watch this week’s reflection below.

Journey of Faith

“We are always courageous,
although we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.”

2 Corinthians 5:6-7

Sometimes we may encounter people who seem so “full of faith,” those who always talk about Jesus, live out lives that try to realize the teachings of God. There are also some people who may be “full of faith” who are a bit more quiet or reserved. The approach to their faith may be different, but their commitment to God and His teachings, not one more than the other. It is quite useless to compare our faith with others because each person’s journey of faith is unique. At the end of the day, there is no prize for the most “faith-filled” Christian, for Jesus won salvation for us all. But the question is will we accept it?

Faith is one’s personal relationship with God and the free “yes” we give to Him. Faith is also a journey. It is not a measure of accumulated lessons learned or degrees earned. Faith is one’s personal encounter with the Living God, the One who fashioned us and calls us by name. Faith is a relationship that needs to be nurtured. In the Gospels we hear Jesus say if one has faith even as small as a mustard seed, they could tell the mountain to move and it will, but in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed, saying that, like the mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows to be one of the biggest of plants, allowing birds to dwell in it, the Kingdom of God will likewise grow for God wills that all be saved. Like the mustard seed and the Kingdom of God, our faith is not something that is planted today and grows to its full stature tomorrow. It takes time to grow and mature. The Kingdom is constantly being built up and our faith is constantly being challenged and strengthened. No matter where we are in our journey of faith, no time spent on it is ever wasted.

We must always remember that our faith is a journey. There will be times when it’s smooth sailing and other times when there will be jams and detours. Sometimes we will even get into accidents and need to pull off to the side of the road to assess the situation. These moments are not failures. They are each a part of the story of our journey of faith. These moments invite us to reflect on our journey — where am I now and can I see how far I have come and how far God has brought me? Where have I felt God’s Presence strongly and where have I felt His absence? How did I respond? Did I turn to God or did I turn to my own devices?

God allows us to experience these moments on our journey of faith for a reason, never as a punishment, but always a grace and a gift. There is something God wants us to see and learn about ourselves, about others, or about God Himself. So, no matter where we are today, at this very moment — whether on a quiet, moving part of the interstate where the sun is shining brightly (when we feel at a good place with God; when we feel His presence and love in our lives) or stuck behind a car in the middle of a traffic jam in the pouring rain (when we feel stuck or even lost, questioning God’s presence and His love for us), we are moving towards God. Whether our faith is still a seed planted in the ground or a towering plant with leaves and branches, God is at work within us and as long as we desire it, God will continue to draw us closer to Himself, so that the Kingdom might be realized, and we, who are His sons and daughters, might come to dwell in the shade of His loving embrace.

Watch this week’s reflection here.