A Journey

    Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.  They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.  As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.  
    He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
    They stood still, their faces downcast.  One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
    “What things?” he asked.
    “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.  “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.  The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.  And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.  In addition, some of our women amazed us.  They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body.  They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive.  Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”
    He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets had spoken!  Did the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”  And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scripture concerning himself.
    As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther.  But they urged him strongly.  “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.”  So he went in to stay with them. 
    When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.  Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.  They asked each other, “Were nor our hearts burning with us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scripture to us?” 
    They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem…
 - Luke 24:13-33a

Oh, what it would be like to walk beside the risen Lord, listening to him teach about the things you have just witnessed with your own eyes.  There is that fear that you lost everything that you held onto for the years that you followed this Jesus of Nazareth when he died on the cross.  Then to find out the tomb in which he had been laid was empty. 

One has to wonder where these disciples were headed and why.  Were they returning back to their homes and families?  Were they going to tell those that couldn’t make it to Jerusalem the news of His death and mysterious disappearance?  Were they fleeing from the Jewish leaders and rulers? 

A stranger on the road opened their eyes to the things unseen.  For years they had listened and watched their teacher, learning how to live, but they were not living.  They studied the scriptures, the prophets and kings, but they didn’t see it being fulfilled right in front of their eyes. 

Their eyes were open as their Savior started walking along side them and explaining everything that they had experienced.  And yet, it wasn’t until they shared a meal that they realized who this stranger was, their savior. 

And it is in this day we celebrate with our unseeing eyes opened through our faith.  We have not seen, but we believe. 

Then Jesus told him [Thomas], “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
 - John 20:29

God Bless and PEACE

The Christmas season is upon us.  We can see it in all the lights that adorn houses, trees decorated with ornaments standing in living rooms, gift wrapped presents and images of a big a big fat man with a white beard and a red suit.  We associate all this with Christmas, but when we look at it, none of it seems to fit in with the reason why we celebrate.  We all like to open stockings and presents in the morning, but we are still missing the greatest gift given to us on that day we celebrate. 

I’ve had enough of people telling me that it is politically incorrect to say “Merry Christmas” but insist that I say “Happy Holidays” instead.  I know that the tradition of the Yule Log originally has nothing to do with Christianity, but was a celebration of the Winter Equinox, the shortest day of the year.  I understand that the long night is a significant event, but I’m not out yelling that people shouldn’t be celebrating it. 

Many different faiths celebrate important days of their specific traditions during the holiday season.  It’s not just Christmas, but Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, New Years and hundreds of “Pagan” holidays that center around the shortest day of the year.  And yet, the outrage is against the Christian holiday of Christmas because the huge focus our society places on the different traditions we have adopted into this celebration. 

That’s the problem with the holidays.  Our society has blown it out of proportion.  We mix the traditions and celebrations of different faiths and make them American.  Our society has caused us to lose focus on what we celebrate.  As Christians, it is important to regain that focus on what Christmas is truly about. 

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
 - John 3:16-18

 As Christians, we find that the true meaning of Christmas is one of hope.  It is the hope that the prophecies of the Jewish people would be fulfilled.  That this child would be the sacrificial lamb that would save us all.  That this small child born in a manger would grow up to be the same man who would die on the cross for our sins.  That in this birth would give us hope through his death we would be saved from eternal damnation.  And through this death, he would rise again on the third day to return to his rightful place in heaven. 

We celebrate the birth of Jesus looking forwards to how he saved us through his death on the cross and resurrection from the grave. 

We give and receive gifts on Christmas day, sharing what we have with family and friends.  But in reality, we have already been given the greatest gift we could ever receive.  “For God so loved the world…”  We have already been given the gift of salvation through our faith, wrapped in swaddling and found in a manger all those nights ago in Bethlehem. 

God Bless and PEACE

Several years ago I engaged in a discussion with a group of guys at school.  For several days, and possibly weeks, we discussed various topics on faith.  When the discussion came around to Baptism, we found a glaring separation in beliefs.  Like all passionate individuals, we discussed our individual views, beliefs and the different traditions of the Church (and the different divisions of the Body). 

I was born and raised in the Roman Catholic Church.  As an infant, I was Baptized by a priest, parents and God-parents. 

Many of my friends at school were raised under different traditions and soon asked me if I believed my baptism as an infant, then later Confirmation into the Catholic Church, was the same as the tradition of baptism under the early Church and followers of Christ. 

Being baptized as an infant, you have no say in your beliefs.  With this commitment, the parents and God-parents take on the responsibility of raising the child in the Body of Christ.  They teach their children (and God-children) all they know about God, Christ and His sacrifice, raising them in the knowledge of faith. 

This is Baptism by water.  A symbol.  A commitment by the parents. 

As the child grows into who God has called them to be, the choice eventually becomes theirs to make.  In the Catholic Church, this is the act of Confirmation.  When the child confirms their faith and becomes an adult in the church.  At this time, the Spirit of God comes down and the individual is baptized in the Spirit. 

This weekend, I joined family and friends as I received the honor of being a God-father for my niece (Zoey) and being present for the baptism of both my niece and nephew (each just 6 months old).  I gladly take on the responsibility of teaching and showing them how to live out the faith, to be a part of the Body of Christ. 

In my personal journey of faith, in the years following my confirmation, I struggled to discover God.  I searched and wandered down paths of darkness.  I discovered the difference between the Religion that I was brought up in and the Faith that I seeked and found in the blood of Christ. 

Baptism is a rebirth into the creation of God.  As we are taken under the waters, we die and everything we were is stripped away.  We emerge reborn, washed clean in the blood of Christ.  It is in that moment that we invite the Spirit of God into our lives and we are forever changed. 

It is more than a symbol of faith, an outward expression of our beliefs.  It is a powerful commitment between us and God that changes us. 

As I discovered what it meant to live by faith, I asked a good friend to Baptize me in the lake near Anderson.  For me, it was more than a simple act, but it set me free to live how God was calling me to live.  This act was not saying that my baptism at birth and confirmation into the Catholic Church did not make a difference, but through this, I was reinforcing my dedication to live by Faith. 

I baptize you with water for repentance.  But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the Hold Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his thrashing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
 - Matthew 3:11-12

God Bless and PEACE