Scripture Notes: Death and Life (Romans 6)

St. Paul doesn’t mince words in his Letter to the Romans. In chapter 6, verse 23, he says right out, “For the wages of sin is death.” There is no getting around it. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve sinned. They did the one thing God told them not to do, and they received the very punishment that God imposed for that disobedience: death. No, they did not drop dead immediately, but they did die physically. Even worse, though, they experienced spiritual death, separation from God.

For years upon years, centuries upon centuries, millennia upon millennia, the gates of Heaven were closed to human beings. Sin broke the relationship with God. Sin closed those gates. Sin separated us from our Father Who loves us.

But because our Father loves us, He spent years upon years, centuries upon centuries, millennia upon millennia preparing for the solution to the problem of sin and death. And that solution was something no one could have imagined. Love Himself, Life Himself, Truth Himself, the Word of God Himself, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Son of God became incarnate. He came to take sin and death upon Himself and open the gates of Heaven.

That’s why St. Paul can add that “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God’s grace pours out upon us, forgiving our sins and canceling their punishment. Jesus gives us life. We still die physically (and who would want to live forever in this fallen world?), but we no longer have to die spiritually. We no longer have to be separated from God. We can enter into eternal life through Christ, for when we are baptized and in a state of grace, God’s very divine life indwells in our souls, drawing us up to eternal life in Heaven.

Scripture Notes: A Mustard Seed Beginning (Matthew 13)

Jesus likes to use the image of a mustard seed. It is so very tiny, so seemingly insignificant, but when properly planted and cared for, it can lead to massive, momentous results.

In Matthew 13, Jesus tells us that “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

Who would ever think a mustard seed could come to anything at all? It’s only one to two millimeters, just a little round thing that could be easily lost and overlooked. But when someone takes the time and effort to plant it and water it, it grows to enormous proportions. Such is the kingdom of heaven. It started small with Jesus’ twelve apostles, his mother and a few other women, and a collection of relatively few disciples in a backwater region of the Roman Empire. Who would have thought the little movement would come to anything?  Who but God?

The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed in each of us, too. Sometimes our faith feels very tiny, or we think we aren’t really doing much for God. We feel insignificant, unimportant, weak, and small. But if God has planted the seed of the kingdom in us, then it will grow, as long as we care for it.  

The mustard seed is a suitable symbol for what we can do for others as well. Sometimes our smallest actions mean the most and have the greatest results. A simple smile and a kind word can make another person’s day. A little act of service, a show of care even in the most minor things can affect another person forever.

Therefore, we should not neglect the mustard seeds in our lives. God will make them grow in His time and according to His will.

Scripture Notes: Faith Like a Mustard Seed (Matthew 17)

When Jesus, Peter, James, and John descend from the Mount of Transfiguration, they come upon a rather chaotic scene.  A desperate father has brought his seizure-plagued son to Jesus for healing. But since Jesus is up on the mountain, His disciples try to heal the boy themselves. They fail. Miserably.

Jesus seems to sigh when He hears this. “O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?” Jesus is not out of patience with His disciples, but He is letting them know, quite clearly, that they haven’t been listening. They haven’t developed their faith in Him. They haven’t learned their lesson. They haven’t gone deep enough.

The father also doubts. He has faith enough to bring his son to Jesus, but he isn’t completely sure. In Mark’s account, the father asks Jesus to heal the boy “if You are able to do anything.” Jesus responds with “All things can be done for the one who believes,” to which the father replies with a sincere prayer, straight from his heart: “I believe; help my unbelief!” His faith probably receives a divine boost right at that very moment.

After Jesus heals the boy, rebuking the demon possessing him and driving it away, the disciples ask why they couldn’t do it.  The problem, Jesus tells, is unbelief.  Then He says something rather shocking: “if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”

Is Jesus exaggerating? No. He has already revealed how faith can and does work miracles according to God’s will. The problem is with us. Our faith is so small. It isn’t even the size of a mustard seed. Even if we were to tell the mountain to move, deep down, we probably wouldn’t believe that it would or even could. We would doubt, and that doubt would block a miracle. God is the one who performs the miracles in us in His way and at His time, of course, but we must not block the channel of His grace with our unbelief.

So what do we do to increase our faith? We ask our Lord to help us. We ask Him to infuse the gift of faith into us. And we open our hearts to receive it through prayer, the sacraments, Scripture reading, study, and fellowship with other Christians. We tear down the mountains of unbelief and allow rivers of faith and grace to flow. Then we can expect miracles.

Scripture Notes: In the Presence of the Wicked (Psalm 39)

The psalmist, likely David, is faced with a dilemma in Psalm 39. He is in the presence of the wicked, apparently of the wicked who have no intention to repent of their evil ways or even to listen to truth and goodness. David seems to know that no matter what he says, it will make no difference, and he is angry and distressed. He knows he is close to saying things he should not, things that are sinful.  

So the psalmist decides firmly that he will keep his mouth shut. Speaking will do no good and might even lead him to sin, so he will “bridle” his mouth. Yet the more he stands there “dumb and silent,” trying to hold his peace, the more upset he becomes. He feels like his heart is on fire.  Finally, he breaks out into speech.

But David doesn’t talk to the wicked. Instead, he prays, asking God for perspective. He wants to understand the reality of life and of human beings, how fleeting everything is from God’s perspective. This might be rather depressing in itself, but the psalmist uses it only as a reality check before turning his attention to something much more important.

If everything human fades away, what is there to wait for? Inspired by God, David has an answer. “My hope is in Thee,” he tells God. He asks God to deliver him from his transgressions, admitting that he is far from perfect. He knows that God has rebuked him many times and that this punishment is difficult to cope with yet remedial, meant for correction. As he reflects, the psalmist implies that God will punish the wicked in His own way and at His own time.

The psalm ends with a plea for God to hear David’s prayers and respond to his tears of repentance and of distress at the evil of the wicked.  David knows he is just passing through this world, and while he isn’t sure what comes after, he longs for gladness and for the joy of forgiveness, and he will continue to wait for and hope in God no matter what he faces in the presence of the wicked.

Scripture Notes: Who Do You Say That I Am? (Matthew 16)

As Jesus and His disciples enter the region of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks them a critical question. He actually works up to it a bit, just to get them thinking. He begins with “Who do men say that the Son of Man is?” To this question, He receives a variety of replies: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, another prophet.

Then Jesus gets to the heart of the matter: “But who do you say that I am?” This question is not just directed toward the disciples on the road with Jesus that day. It is meant just as much for us. Jesus speaks this question to each of us, and it is up to us to examine our hearts and minds and come up with an honest answer.

But we can’t get it right on our own. When St. Peter responds with “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” Jesus tells Him that “flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in Heaven.” God reveals to us Who He is. He tells us through the Scriptures, through the sacraments, through the Church, through our prayers. He whispers into our hearts. But we have to be open and listen.

So who do you say that Jesus is?

Scripture Notes: I Am Too Young! (Jeremiah 1)

Jeremiah was a young man, perhaps still in his teens, when God called him to a prophetic mission. Imagine Jeremiah’s surprise when he heard God’s voice for the first time, the voice saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

To Jeremiah’s credit, he believed the message. He understood what God was asking. But he certainly didn’t think he was the right person for the job. “I do not know how to speak,” Jeremiah protested, “for I am only a youth.” I’m too young to be a prophet!

God didn’t scold Jeremiah for this. But He knew Jeremiah far better than the young man knew himself. God simply told His reluctant prophet not to say that he is too young, for God will be the One in control of this mission. God will do the sending. God will tell the young prophet what to say. So Jeremiah should not be afraid, for, as God assured him, “I am with you to deliver you.”

So Jeremiah said yes. God touched the young man’s mouth, giving Jeremiah His words and telling him that He has set him “over nations and over kings, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” In other words, Jeremiah would be God’s agent of sorts, bringing God’s message to Judah and to the whole world, and that message would entail both discipline and restoration.  

The call of Jeremiah reminds us of some critical truths. First, God has a plan for us, and He has had that plan for all eternity. Second, He calls each and every one of us personally. Third, when God wants us to do something, He gives us the grace and the strength to do it, guiding and protecting us always. We, however, must be open to His gifts. Fourth, God has always been, is now, and will always be with us because He loves us.

Scripture Notes: A Message to Pergamum (Revelation 2:12-17)

Pergamum, a city in Asia Minor, was a center of pagan worship at the time John received the prophetic vision he recorded in the Book of Revelation. And Jesus had a very forceful message for the Church at Pergamum, a message with good news and bad news.

The Christians in Pergamum lived in the city “where Satan’s throne” was. Pergamum was home to a massive temple of Zeus (the “father” of the Greco-Roman “gods) and the cult of a snake-god, and it took an active role in promoting emperor worship. Yet, Jesus said, many of the city’s Christians remained faithful, all the way to death if necessary. That’s the good news.

However, there was a bit of bad news, too, more than a bit. Some Christians were compromising their faith. It was a struggle to be a Christian in a pagan world. Pagan worship dominated social life, and those who refused to participate were treated as outcasts or worse. Families turned their backs on Jesus’ faithful. Christian artisans lost business because they could not participate in the rites of the pagan guilds that regulated trade. Even Christians’ lives were at risk if someone denounced them to the government officials and they were commanded to worship the emperor or else.

So it became easy to backslide, especially when some people in the Church (probably the Nicolaitans mentioned in the text) were telling their fellow Christians that it was okay to participate in some level pagan worship, particularly to eat food sacrificed to idols. This would have allowed Christians to participate in guild rituals and family gatherings.

But there was a problem with it. It was backsliding. It was compromising. It was disobeying Jesus’ words. And therefore, Jesus told the Christians who were doing it and teaching it to repent, literally to go beyond their minds, to let go of their own thoughts and embrace His will. Otherwise, there would be consequences, possibly eternal consequences.

Jesus, however, held out a beautiful promise, an amazing promise, to those Christians who were victorious in Him, holding fast to their faith and refusing to compromise. He would give them some of the hidden manna. What is this hidden manna? The Eucharist. Jesus’ very self, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. The Eucharist is our ultimate intimacy with Jesus in this life and a foretaste of Heaven, when we will see Him face to face.

Jesus did not end there, though. He also said that He would give of the faithful a white stone with a new name on it. In pagan culture, people needed an admission ticket of sorts to enter into the festivals and rites. Often it was a small stone. Jesus would one-up that. He would give a white stone, a pure stone, as an admission ticket, not to a pagan feast but to the Heavenly feast, the eternal banquet of divine love. And that stone would have a new name written on it, a name known only to the Giver and the recipient, a name symbolizing a new life and a new, even greater intimacy with God, eternally.