Month: April 2018 (Page 2 of 4)

Visio divina using AD The Bible Continues

April 20, 2018 / MSFriend / 0 Comments

Visio Divina

Visio divina is latin for “divine seeing.” It is a form of prayer using images or some form media. This past Easter Sunday, as I did on Good Friday, I decided to watch something that was going to help me encounter the day and its meaning. I decided AD The Bible Continues was just that something. Before I go into my experience, I have to give a little background about myself. I can be a bit obsessed with cleaning my house. As a result, I find it very difficult to sit still before a television and watch a movie without moving. During commercials I’m usually up and doing a load of laundry or loading the dishwasher. I may even try a little vacuuming or mopping.

Easter Sunday was a bit different. I say “a bit” because I think I may have gotten up a few times between episodes. The real difference was in how I received the material I was watching. For the first time in my life, I sat still enough to actually meditate on what I was watching. I was able to “see” a message beyond the event that was unfolding before my eyes. The miniseries was chock full – so much so that I started taking notes. Here’s what I got (and I still have 2 episodes left to watch):

Fear Paralyzes

Throughout the miniseries we see a back and forth between the Jews and the Romans. There was a constant struggle between them to maintain control of their people. I guess in their eyes, everything was going quite well until Jesus came along. He was causing a stir in the community. The Jews feared that Jesus’ actions would cause a riot in the streets and would cause the Romans to take control. The Romans feared an insurrection. In a sense, they feared a loss of control as well. As a result, they found it quite easy to kill Jesus even though they had no evidence of any “crime” he committed.

As the events of Jesus’ arrest were unfolding, the disciples feared persecution. They feared for their lives. What I realized from watching the miniseries is that fear comes from attachments. Fear causes us to become irrational. Caiaphas is a perfect example of the irrationality that comes with fear. Fear also clouds our judgment. We saw this with the Apostles as they navigate through life after Jesus’ arrest, crucifixion and resurrection.

Hope is not too far off. Then there’s Mary and the trust she possessed. Watching her helped me understand, in a concrete way, that TRUST CONQUERS ALL FEAR. She was unshakeable because she trusted everything the angel told her before Jesus’ birth. She also trusted everything Jesus said after he was born. Her steadfast trust helped her walk the road to Calvary alongside Jesus with immense grace. Her steadfast trust in her son’s word helped her encourage the Apostles after the Resurrection. She knew in her heart that what He promised would come to pass. Even while his disciples doubted, she stood watching and waiting for her son to appear on that third day. Steadfast trust! Amazing! I can only hope to get there one day.

The reality is we don’t trust enough. The disciples didn’t trust enough either. Even at the empty tomb they doubted He had risen, despite what he promised. Of course John believed he had risen. He trusted his words. No wonder he was the disciple He loved. It’s no wonder He entrusted His mother to him.

Then there’s Peter. His story helped me to see that Jesus gives us every opportunity to right our wrongs. Just look at what he did for Peter. Peter denied Jesus three times. After the resurrection Jesus gave Peter the opportunity to profess his love three times. No coincidence there. In a sense, Jesus was providing an opportunity for Peter to negate his denial. He was preparing him to go forth to preach in confidence.

For me, it was no coincidence that John and Peter were imprisoned together. The one whom Jesus loved was a symbol of faith and obedience. And the one who loved Jesus enough to be transformed into one of unwavering faith and obedience. Unwavering, even to the point of death! Death on a cross!

As I watched the scene of John and Peter escaping from prison I immediately thought of lies, deceit and truth. I realized that lies and deceit had gotten them into prison. Not their own lies, but the lies of the Jews who feared loss of control. They couldn’t handle the truth. So they attempted to maintain their control by the manipulation of others. They attempted to silence the disciples by imprisonment but the Truth, capital T, set them free!

By the end of his life, Simon, whom Jesus named His “Rock”, Peter, became a rock of the faith. He eventually became who he was created to be. He became who Jesus wanted him to be. Jesus had a hand in that. He did what He had to do to transform Peter. That’s just what He does for us.

As we struggle through life, working hard to remain faithful and live holy lives, we shouldn’t be discouraged when we stumble. Jesus is with us every step of the way and we should trust, as Mary did, that what He promised will be accomplished. Open your heart to His will. He’s going to take you places you’ve never dreamed (as Joel Osteen would say). Remember those setbacks in your life are part of the plan. Look what he did with Saul. Imagine what He will do for you!

My experience doing visio divina was incredible. I gathered so much insight by watching and truly focusing. Most of the reading you’ll find about visio divina focuses on art as a subject. My experience was somewhat different but definitely doable! I would definitely recommend it. God bless you!

Like the face of an angel!

April 17, 2018 / MSFriend / 0 Comments

St. Stephen

His face was like the face of an angel! This is the last sentence we read in Acts 6:8-15:

Stephen, filled with grace and power was working great wonders and signs among the people. Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen, Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and people from Celicia and Asia, came forward and debated with Stephen, but they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. Then they instigated some men to say, “we have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.” They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, accosted him, seized him, and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They presented false witnesses who testified, “This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law: For we have heard him claim that this Jesus, the Nazarean will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.” All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

So many things struck me about this reading. First was the POWER, GRACE and WISDOM Stephen possessed through his openness to the Holy Spirit. Second was the pride, anger, envy, jealousy, fear and ego of those who opposed him. Good versus evil, if you will. I recognized through this reading that these negative feelings led to Stephen’s death and they can lead to our spiritual death if we allow them to take hold. I also realized that while we may not experience persecution as Stephen did we do experience, what I’d like to call, mini persecutions on a daily basis.

Let’s unwrap this verse. First, we see Stephen, who is a righteous man speaking Truth and making Jesus known in his community. The “members of the Synagogue” who understood themselves to be the authority on “the law” were intimidated by Stephen’s power, grace and wisdom. We are told that they couldn’t withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. Basically, they couldn’t compete with him. He was too knowledgeable and, I would guess, on fire with the peace and love of Christ.

I’m going to assume Stephen’s wisdom and Spirit was a blow to their egos. They were too proud to acknowledge the Truth of what he spoke. The “members” feared conversion and change. They didn’t want anyone to upset their apple cart. Their anger served to divert attention from this holy and righteous man of wisdom. The envy and jealousy of the knowledge and peace Stephen possessed led them to break the commandments God imposed through Moses. They seem so concerned about maintaining what Moses had handed down, yet they broke several commandments in the process. How committed were they? Committed to vices, maybe. Committed to God, not so much!

There’s a clue in the reading that leads me to believe that the Sanhedrin knew Stephen wasn’t a real threat to them and that he was not blaspheming. It’s the last sentence “…..looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” There was that light we so often hear about. The light we are supposed to be in this world. Stephen was that light for his time. He offered God the sacrifice of praise we hear about in the Psalms. His praise of Jesus was indeed a sacrifice because it lead to his persecution.

I’m guessing the sight of Stephen’s face made the Sanhedrin’s intuition perk up. Despite the charges against Stephen, at that moment the Sanhedrin must have realized that what they were taking part in was a farce. It was all wrong and based on lies. How could they NOT be moved by the face of an angel? They were making a huge mistake but they couldn’t turn back for fear….

Isn’t that what happens to us? When we engage in gossip, we know it’s wrong but still engage. Isn’t that what happens to us when pride hold us back from admitting we’re wrong? We convince ourselves that we can just ignore the situation and it will go away. Isn’t it so easy to allow our anger to lead us to desire revenge? We contemplate ways of getting back at someone for hurting or disappointing us. How about our commitment to relationships? Do we find it easy to walk away instead of attempting to rebuild?

You make think these things are no big deal but look what happened in Jesus’ time when these vices/feelings were left unchecked. It’s so important to take stock of what triggers our behaviors and feelings. To really understand what causes us to react and why. I believe it’s the first step toward healing our sinful souls. Think about the last time you were angry? What triggered it? I would venture to guess it was fear. If we’re not careful, we can become completely irrational in our thinking. Irrationality often leads to more sin. As a result, we become the persecutors. We are then no better than the Sanhedrin.

On the flip side, have you ever experienced a relationship where it seemed liked someone was constantly in competition with you. Did you ever feel like someone was working extra hard to outdo you? Have you ever felt left out of a group because you refuse to compromise your values and morals or because you’re not interested in participating in what society pegs as “fun” or “the norm?” Do you ever get the sense that people make judgments about you without even knowing who you really are? I’m sure we all have. We have either been on the giving or receiving end of all this. In a sense, these are all persecutions, are they not?

Those who persecuted Stephen let their egos get the best of them. When they couldn’t compete with his Spirit, they worked extra hard to kill it. They became so irrational that they disregarded and broke all the rules and laws they claimed they were working so hard to protect. Think about that – who do you identify with? I think we all have a bit of persecutor and persecuted in us. Unfortunately, I can identify with both. So I have some work to do, do you?

Oftentimes, we can feel sad or lonely as a result of experiencing those “mini-persecutions” I mentioned. In those moments, we should think of Stephen and how he was able to reflect the face of an angel despite the persecution. God bless you!

(In my next post I hope to continue this theme and discuss what the Apostles experienced after the resurrection based on my viewing of the series AD on Easter Sunday. If you haven’t seen it, check it out on Netflix.com)