Lent - Day 3

       Sometimes when you are in the heat of an argument ( I presume everyone has had an argument with someone at some point ) you try to bolster your argument in one of several ways. You speak louder and with considerably more enthusiasm and  you may add a few expletives that you feel necessary to add emphasis to your position. In responding to an e-mail you may use all caps or add three or four exclamation points. Sadly, we now also have a ‘poop’ emoji if that seems what is needed in your argument.  We are not ones for subtlety are we?

        I like to tell people that you are so loved by God, that had you been the only human on earth, Jesus still would have taken up the mantle of humanity and still have been willing to be nailed to the cross - just for you and you alone. Powerful thought to my way of thinking. Not be outdone in that thought, someone made a movie to brutally and graphically dramatize the crucifixion, Mel Gibson’s violent and gory, The Passion of the Christ.  It is the expletive and misguided version of telling you ‘ this is how much God loves you’.  This is abusive ‘shouting’ to get your message across.

         In any argument, the sad truth is that with barriers raised and tensions high, people are far more concerned with delivering their own next verbal assault than actually listening to what the other person is screaming about. 

         There is ample scriptural evidence to suggest that our good deeds should be on the down low because it is God who sees your good intentions and actions.  People who act for show and make public acts of piety for people to see is frowned upon if not railed against by Jesus. I go back to Saint Vincent who said that we are to preach the Good News at all times but to use words only when necessary.

        The truth is our lives of faith and our Lenten journey is not to be marked by the showy gaudy glitz so often associated with this world. Our love and more importantly our love in action is called to be silent but powerful.  We do not bring attention to our lives or actions as a faux means of prostylization. We live a silent and forceful life of love. Focus on the inside, the heart, the soul and the mind and I will suggest that come Easter Sunday, you too may have a dramatic reveal

       

John 1:35-42

 The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which translated means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and see.’ They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter).