Word Up

I am feeling extra zesty for Christ tonight. The readings at church were “extra” as the teens say and I hope I just used it properly. The 2nd reading got me feeling all reflecty and stuff:

Reading 2 HEB 12:1-4

Brothers and sisters:
Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us
and persevere in running the race that lies before us
while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus,
the leader and perfecter of faith.
For the sake of the joy that lay before him
he endured the cross, despising its shame,
and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.
Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners,
in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart.
In your struggle against sin
you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.

Alleluia

The new Pastor, I assume, at Holy Family tonight made a great analogy regarding “running the race.” He compared our race as Christians to athletes. I am paraphrasing so hopefully I wont slaughter it too much:

So, as we know, the Christian path is full of obstacles from the world. It’s often a challenging path. And athletes don’t just go out to battle their opponent for no reason: they do it for the prize…to acheive victory. Christian’s run the race, fight the battle, striving for victory in eternal life: the prize of Heaven. Well, an athlete knows that he can’t win unless he trains/exercises to stay strong and increase his strength which can be grueling, and he also knows he has to practice which can get tedious, and at times must even play with an injury. Training, practice, perseverance even in pain, all are necessary to run the Christian race too.

I love Saint Paul 💜❤💜

His language is poetic: “so great a cloud of witnesses…” Had I been a Hebrew, Roman, and all the other people he sent “reminder notes” to, I so would have been instantly inspired to strive to do just what Paul is reminding us.
Wait. I guess that’s one example of the timelessness of the bible: 2000 YEARS LATER I AM INSPIRED IN JUST THAT WAY when I read his letters.

“Cloud of witnesses…” At first I thought, “pretty way to refer to the people surrounding us that we are called to live and be an example of Christ to.” But then I thought, why didn’t he say crowd?

I wonder if he chose the word cloud bc it seems to include the crowds of people but also the crowds of Angels, and God too. Might not be what he meant but it makes sense to me. ❤

And Jesus as the “leader and perfecter of faith.” ❤💜❤ LOVE THAT! He’s the leader and the perfect example for us to model, but also he perfects OUR FAITH. How many, many times I have forgotten to ASK GOD FOR HIS HELP WITH BAD HABITS AND VICES I NEED TO BREAK. My first instinct is that I know it’s a bad habit or vice so it’s up to me 100%, to practice defeating it. I forget almost all of the time that Nothing is possible without God. It is a PARTNERSHIP. God WANTS US TO trust that he will help us with our struggles. He desires so strongly that we invite him to help us.

“And then there is this:
For the sake of the joy that lay before him
he endured the cross, despising its shame
and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.”

MM. HOW MANY, MANY TIMES have I focused only on the aspect of Christ’s passion that Paul talks about AFTER this thought-provoking verse: that Jesus died for US, for our sins, to open Heaven to us.
I never once thought about Jesus ALSO sacrificing himself for his own race to run to the Father in Heaven.

It is a mystery that Jesus came as fully God and fully Man, not half God, half man. I heard a decent explanation for that from Fr. Spitzer once but even that is too confusing for me to remember, so impossible to try paraphrasing it! But the above verse to me, reminds me of the fully human Jesus who loved his father so much that he sacrificed his life for himself as well.
Wow.
I think we consider Saint Stephen the first martyr but isn’t it eye-opening to think of JESUS as not just sacrificing for us but also martyring himself for the Father that he WOULD NOT DENY and desired so, to be in heaven with? Like us? Like all the martyrs?

I’m still in my newness of my faith formation so I don’t ACTUALLY know what I’m talking but the bible is fascinating, I tell you. Perhaps my newness is what makes me ZESTY! Because when I do fix my eyes on Christ, something new and delightful is revealed: something I never thought about before. How striking. May I be forever zesty.

Jesus’ whole life was an example of how to live the way, the truth, and the life and his death redeemed us, yes, but even his death was an example of how we are to live our lives and how to die: to never abandon our love for God and that love IS NOT LOVE without SACRIFICES!

Carravagio painted this depiction of the conversion of Saint Paul. What a crazy life of crime this gifted painter lived. You should Google his bio. You will NOT be disappointed.

I am in love with the word (which is Jesus) This reminds me of one of my very favorite parts in the bible: the beginning of the Gospel According to John. I’m reading the Jerusalem bible from 1966 but I think this is the same wording as mine. It is like a truth and light poem. 💜💜💜

John, 1
New Jerusalem Bible

1 In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God.

2 He was with God in the beginning.

3 Through him all things came into being, not one thing came into being except through him.

4 What has come into being in him was life, life that was the light of men;

5 and light shines in darkness, and darkness could not overpower it.

6 A man came, sent by God. His name was John. *referring to John the Baptist*

7 He came as a witness, to bear witness to the light, so that everyone might believe through him.

8 He was not the light, he was to bear witness to the light.

9 The Word was the real light that gives light to everyone; he was coming into the world.

10 He was in the world that had come into being through him, and the world did not recognise him.

11 He came to his own and his own people did not accept him.

12 But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believed in his name

13 who were born not from human stock or human desire or human will but from God himself.

14 The Word became flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that he has from the Father as only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 John witnesses to him. He proclaims: ‘This is the one of whom I said: He who comes after me has passed ahead of me because he existed before me.’

16 Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of us, received — one gift replacing another,

17 for the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.

18 No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

19 This was the witness of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’

Too much to think about in that perfect introduction.

Aaaah. I scrolled back up and read it aloud. You should do that. Beautiful things happen.

#saltandlight #trueGodfromtrueGodbegottennotmade 💜💜💜