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Tag: obedience

Do you believe in the magic of Christmas?

do you believe in the magic of christmas?
The magic of Christmas!

A magical time

Do you believe in the magic of Christmas? Reading Richard Rohr’s meditation on Christmas Eve got me thinking about the magic of Christmas. There’s just something about the season. Think back on your own Christmas memories or those of your children. The idea of Santa unleashed the dreamer in all of us. As one grows older, at an age just at the cusp of learning the truth about Santa, we were encouraged or encouraged others to just BELIEVE!

I sat with the idea of the magic of Christmas for quite a while. What was it about “just believing” that seemed to manifest miracles? Suddenly it dawned on me. I had just read Hebrews 11:8-19 in preparation for this Sunday’s liturgy. Therein lies the answer!

By faith

“By faith” is repeated quite a few times in this verse. What is faith? Faith is more than just believing in something you can’t see. As a matter of fact, it is defined as “complete trust or confidence in someone or something”. In Hebrews it becomes apparent that the faith they’re talking about is way deeper than just “believing” in something you can’t see.

Obedience

First mention: a faith that’s obedient – obedient, not to a set of rules, but obedient to a point of action. Obedient in the sense that we go with God’s flow! We don’t seek to change things or have our way, but we agree to participate and cooperate with God’s will. We “let what’s happening happen,” as Father Thomas Keating used to say, knowing all will be well.

Power

Second, a faith that leads to power – not to a power we can wield but a power that comes from deeply believing! Now THAT’S magical or maybe I should say mystical. Each one of us can relate to this if we only look back on our past experiences in prayer. There’s power in faith! There’s power in prayer, if you just BELIEVE! If you believe that nothing is impossible with God, amazing things can happen! Which leads me to my next point.

Trust

“By faith, when he was tested……..” Hebrews 11:17. Abraham began to trust God wholeheartedly after practicing obedience and experiencing the power that comes from believing that the impossible is actually possible through God. Abraham’s trust came from seeing how his obedience resulted in power unmatched by anyone he knew at the time. All because he believed!

Back to the magic

What I realized through reading this scripture verse is that a deep faith develops over time. Of course, faith is more than believing in something we can’t see but believing is a start! We present our belief before God as infants – physical infants (through baptism) and spiritual infants (as adults without a clue). He does the impossible! He turns our simple belief into power and trust. How magical is that?!

I believe in the magic of Christmas! I believe in the magic of Christmas not because of a fat man in a red suit but because Jesus, the Word made flesh, was born of a Virgin and through the Incarnation, connected us to Himself in perfect love to build a relationship of trust! Therein lies the miracle! Do you believe in the magic of Christmas?

Merry and blessed Christmas!

Obedience comes with TRUST!

As the visions during the night continued, I saw one like the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven.  When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him. He received dominion, glory and kinship; nations and people of every language serve him.  His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed.  (Daniel 7:13-14 New American Bible translation)

Can I get an AMEN!  This weekend, in the Catholic calendar, we celebrated the Feast of Christ the King signifying the end of the liturgical year.  This verse from Daniel was one of the readings and it could not have come at a better time. Terrorism, refugees and the circus of politics seem to be the topic of conversation these days.  Everyone seems to be “worried”.  The passion and fervor I hear in the voices of people who claim to be followers of Christ saddens me.  I recently signed up for Facebook so that my messages and posts would be available there as well. I was originally encouraged by the way this form of media was being used to spread positive messages and then I read a comment made by a fellow Christian which read something like this:  “Yes, we have to pray!  I pray that God do away with them all!” My first thought was: That’s what they think about us, where does it end?  That’s not what Jesus preached – the Jesus I know is a model of gentleness and humility EVEN in the face of persecution.

It’s no secret that Christians have been, and continue to be, persecuted from the beginning. The apostles themselves were persecuted. Each generation has a different regime they have to work to defuse.  However, history tells us that good always triumphs over evil.  The Bible tells us the same thing – this verse is just one example of it!  Yes,  evil exists in the world and we need to be on guard for our own safety, but hating the sinner and/or wishing them harm is NOT the answer.  Want to be militant?  Be church militant!  Do what you know works to fight against evil in this world:  PRAY!  Pray without ceasing!  The Psalmist says: 7x a day I praise you.  Not only will prayer bring you peace, but it will help us overcome evil!

Are you anxious about the state of our world today? Do you worry about terrorism as you go about your daily routine?  Then I challenge you to flex your prayer muscles. Move beyond the rote and mundane and into deeper communion with our Lord and Savior.  He longs for that deeper relationship with us.  Mother Teresa said He THIRSTS for us – what an image!  It is only by truly knowing Him that we can TRUST Him always and remain in a state of peace in order to be obedient to His command:  Love your neighbor as yourself!  So you see, obedience comes with trust!  Think for a moment about the people in your life that you trust.  People you would trust with a secret or even with your life.  Are they people you just met yesterday or are they the people you have a close intimate relationship with, people you feel you know inside and out?  Trust in the Lord comes in the same manner – when we work at having a close, intimate relationship with Him.  When we take the time out of our busy schedules to just BE with Him.   If your trust in Him is not solid, then maybe you can spend more time with Him just as you would a special friend if you felt your relationship was being compromised.

I’ll end with a thought shared by my pastor in yesterday’s homily:  There is a bumper sticker that reads:  God is my co-pilot.  The Church’s response to that is a sign that reads:  If God is your co-pilot, you’re sitting in the wrong seat!

Trust in the Lord, remain in peace!  God bless you!

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