THOU SHALL NOT FEAR

As I reflect on this week’s readings, I think about my childhood and my Catholic upbringing. I have vivid memories of the church bell chiming its 10 minute warning as I race through the house to prepare for mass. I reminisce about the whole family kneeling around my parent’s bed reciting the rosary. I remember leaning against the cold cinder block wall of the church near the confessional curtain, once a week, nervously waiting for my turn to confess my sins. I would mentally recite the Ten Commandments and fret over what I would confess to the good Father, for I knew with certainty that I had not broken any of God’s Commandments!

As children we are taught to always “follow the rules” and that indeed there will be consequences if we do not! In today’s first reading, Moses speaks to the Israelites of God’s commandments and encourages them to commit to God’s word. He sternly warns them that if they choose NOT to follow these “rules” there will surely be severe consequences. Through this reading, Moses is expressing to us that, in establishing a covenant, God will continue to care for us, while we in turn obey God. As long as we remain faithful to God and his commandments He will remain faithful to us. It seems like an easy enough trade-off, so why shouldn’t we all just look at this as a “blessing” and not a “curse”? Why? Probably because none of us are perfect; none of us are without sin. So at times we all walk that fine line between the “blessing” and the “curse”. We don’t commit “mortal” sins, but we may occasionally commit a “venial” sin. We ask for forgiveness for this pardonable sin, but have we fallen from grace with God? This brings me to the second reading of Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans.

In the second reading it seems as though Paul is contradicting Moses’ warning, however, I believe that he is simply shoring up Moses’ words with yet another challenge for us. Paul speaks to us as sinners. He points out that we are all sinners, but that these sins will be “justified” or forgiven as long as we believe that there is redemption through Christ’s death and resurrection. Paul realizes that we are human and cannot possibly be perfect; therefore we must have “faith” as well as “laws” to carry us through this journey with God. Paul is not dismissing God’s “laws”, he is merely pointing out that having faith and abiding by the commandments must go hand-in-hand. God loves us and he will not take that gift of love away as long as we have faith, and that faith is what will guide us along the true path to God’s grace. This brings me to today’s gospel reading.

The gospel reading today expresses to us that we must be faithful to God and his commandments as he has presented them to us. We can’t just go off all “willy-nilly” and change these “rules” to meet our needs. We must continue to nurture our relationship with Jesus in order to keep our “house” strong. When we stray from God and choose not to listen to Jesus’ words we are putting our “house” in grave danger of sliding down that slippery slope of sand! We must listen to God and follow His directions. God is our ultimate judge, and as faithful followers we must remain sound and true to the way of God’s Word.

So the next time you are prayerfully waiting for your turn at the confessional, don’t be that nervous little child thinking about the Commandments in a fearful way. Think of them as God’s gift to us to be used, along with faith, as our guide to build a “stronger house” here on earth, so that one day we, too, can be at God’s side in heaven.

Erin Arthurs is an RTI Interventionist at North Elementary and a long time St. John parishioner.

Question of the Week:
Lent starts this week! How will you use this season to build a stronger house?

God or the Money?

For most Christians, it would seem like the choice between God and money is an easy one. The quick response would be God. However, our actions most times do not reflect this Christian choice. When money rather than God is the driving force of our lives, we are choosing money over God. In the gospel this week, Jesus says you cannot serve both God and mammon (riches, or material wealth.) Christians must always choose God over material things because all material things come from God and they belong to him. While God lasts forever, material wealth does not.

The choice for God over wealth brings about a more just society. The social problems we face in the world are not as a result of lack of abundant resources, they result from greed. God has blessed this world with abundant resources but a majority of the stewards of these resources are selfish with them. St. Augustine teaches us that the extras we have do not belong to us but we hold in custody for the poor. If we refuse to share them with the poor, we are stealing from them. If we choose God over wealth, we will recognize that it is wrong to take salaries and bonuses of thousands and millions of dollars while our employees do not have a living wage. As Christians, we do not strive to be wealthy at all cost because wealth is not the primary purpose of our lives. The purpose of our lives is to know God, to love him, to serve him and to be happy with him in this world and in the next. Every other thing is a footnote. Thus, we cannot dehumanize others in order to gain wealth.

Choosing wealth over God is a cardinal sin. It is an affirmation of a lack of trust in God. When we trust God, we can be assured that he would provide our material needs. The miracles of both the Old Testament and the New Testament (manner in the desert, the widow of Zeraphath, the feeding of the five thousand, etc.) bear witness to God’s faithfulness to his promise.

-Fr. Bekeh Utietiang

Reflection Questions:
How much does a ticket to heaven cost? What is the cost of salvation stocks? What is the monetary exchange rate in heaven? Why money and not God? Can we choose both?

Caring for every temple of God

There is much currently being said of The Affordable Health Care Act. In the last few weeks the House of Representatives voted to repeal the Act. Later the Senate rejected that act of the House. Currently several states have challenged the constitutionality of the Act in regard to requiring all US citizens to purchase health insurance.

In the second reading, St. Paul tells us that our bodies “are the temple of God,” and “God dwells within” (us). What does that mean? For one thing, we have a responsibility to take care of “our temple”; our physical health is important to God. Thus, we have an obligation to live a healthy lifestyle, and we need adequate health care.

In today’s first reading, God tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Loving our neighbors includes making sure they are adequately provided for. Think of all of us as the knots in a fishing net. The net is only as strong as its weakest knot. If there are missing knots, the net will not work. So is health care a right or a privilege? I believe it is a right, which is recognized by every other industrialized country in the world, except the United States.

Why is health care such an important issue? Depending on the source, Americans on average pay $1.00 out of every $7.00 per person for heath care. That is 16-17% of all the money we spend. By 2020 it will rise to $1.00 out of every $5.00. At this rate, we will pay 100% of our income for health care by 2050!! How do other countries afford universal care? They generally spend about $1.00 out of $10.00 for complete health care. Why do we pay so much more? It is alleged that we have the best care in the world, BUT only if you can afford it. To make matters worse, by every measurement, we do not live as long; we have a higher infant mortality rate, and epidemics of Type II diabetes and obesity.

Over my many years as a physician, I’ve observed firsthand the many reasons for our expensive health care. I wish I had more space to list them! One example might help. We have less than 5% of the world’s population and collectively spend 47% of the world’s outlay on prescription drugs. In West Virginia the average person takes 18 prescription drugs – the most in the nation. We are one out of two countries allowing TV advertising of drugs. Worse yet, that issue hasn’t even been addressed in the new law, although other issues to rein in costs are being addressed. It’s at least a start.

Bishop Bransfield recognizes the problem of health care in West Virginia and has instituted a diocesan wide program to respond to this need. Taking care of each other is what Christ told us to do.

Richard M. Iammarino, MD is a member of St. John’s.

Question of the Week:
Do you agree that health care should be provided for all by the government? If not, what model would you propose, based on the Biblical commands to love our neighbors as ourselves and provide for orphans and widows?

Stubborn as a....

The wisdom spoken about in Corinthians is a wisdom that comes from God, and dwelled in the hearts of Adam and Eve when God created them; and ironically, a wisdom they forfeited when they chose to eat from the tree of knowledge. After they ate the fruit they grew in world knowledge; they now knew sin. This worldly knowledge led them-and later, us- to rationalize our sinful behavior.

I look back a few years ago to a time in which by my own standards of right and wrong I saw myself as wise, but now see as foolish when measured by the Wisdom of God. One of my best friends and I got into an argument, it was a foolish argument about directions to a house (stupid and futile right?). I saw myself as right, and I saw this argument as justified because I saw my perspective as correct, while he was wrong. (Keep in mind we are talking about directions to a house here!)

Our argument-which shouldn’t have lasted longer than a day-spread to weeks; weeks turned into months, and months into years. During this time, I couldn’t tell how much of a downward spiral my life was taking; I was like a frog in water slowly boiling. Then my best friend took me to his church, where the preacher happened to be talking about Matthew 5:23-24, when Jesus says:

“Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother
has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar,
go first and be reconciled with your brother,
and then come and offer your gift.”

I knew God was speaking directly to me. God was telling me to suck up my pride and forgive my friend-and ask for forgiveness.

Once we had reconciled, our friendship was renewed and almost immediately I felt God’s graces coming back to me. He had never left me; I had just felt further and further away from God while I was feuding with my friend. But that simple “I am sorry” and “I forgive you” were the open door God was looking for to step back into my life and bless me.

Mathieu Gascon is a WVU student and member of St. John’s.
Question of the Week:
When has my stubbornness prevented me from doing God’s will? Is there something God is calling me to now that I am resisting?

Let Go and Let God

As I reflect on this weekend’s readings, it brings to mind the lyrics of Catholic singer/songwriter Audrey Assad: “If everything is Yours, I’m letting it go. No, it was never mine to hold.” Let’s be honest. When it comes down to “Can I do this particular task better, or can God do it better?” the answer is “God can do this better.” Every time. And not just better, better than we can possibly imagine. It’s ridiculously prideful of us to think that we should hold on to our own lives, especially our past grievances, present trials, and future worries. Having that power and control over our lives is overrated, in my opinion. It’s only when we let go that we get to see amazing things happen; only then can we truly start to live the abundant life Christ promised us (John 10:10).

Just look at Paul in today’s second reading. He tells the Corinthians that he didn’t try to win them over using human wisdom, and that’s not because Paul was a stupid guy. Paul was afraid to speak to the Jews because he had previously been trying to kill those of them associated with the New Way, but he knew that neither his wisdom nor his fear was comparable to the Power of God that worked through him when he humbled himself before the Lord. Paul originally set out to convert the Jews, but God wanted to use him for bigger and better purposes. Just think of all those Gentiles—perhaps us today—who wouldn’t have experienced Christ and a conversion of heart had Paul not let go of himself and allowed the Spirit to work through him to accomplish things he never would have thought possible.

When we truly release ourselves to Christ, it gives Him room to fill us completely with His love. And love is fascinating in the fact that the more you have, the more you can’t help but give away. What other kind of Power could have caused throngs of people to be converted to this Faith? It must have been the message of love—the message of Christ’s outpouring on the Cross—that the early Christians preached, as well as the love they practiced, because they were overflowing with the love of Jesus Christ. This love is manifested in what the first reading calls an acceptable offering to the LORD: feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, and fighting against oppression in all its forms.

So, finally relating this to the Gospel, how are we supposed to be God’s salt, especially if we’ve already lost our flavor? And how are we supposed to be the light of the world if we ourselves are only broken lamps? The answer is that we can’t be. But God can be. We are the Body of Christ, so we need to let Him be…in and through us. Only in God, the Master Chef, can the true, best flavor be brought forth in the world. He needs us to allow Him to season the earth—with us. Only after we give ourselves to Him will He use us to light up a darkened world. And He so desperately wants the world to see Him and His love. How will God use you in life? That depends on you. Let go and let God!

Emily Pino is a WVU student and member of St. John’s.

Recommended Reading:
The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren

Question of the Week:
When have you been amazed at how God has worked in your life when you’ve “let go and let God”?

Soul Brothers

When Jesus went up the mountain, He sat down, and His disciples sat at His feet, and He began to teach, saying:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven". In the Old Testament, the poor are those without material possessions and whose confidence is in God. In Matthew, "in spirit" was added either to only include the devout poor or to extend the beatitude to all social ranks. Be that as it may, I'd like to personally share some experiences that exemplify what I think the Lord is saying to me.

While walking on the dirt streets in Pignon, Haiti at 4:00 am one morning, I encountered a group of shaggily dressed people heading toward church for mass. Inquiring, I learned that the 4:00 am mass was for the poor who had no acceptable clothing to wear in the daylight. People, poor and embarrassed, but not too proud to enter His House of Worship.

I noted an elderly lady, with no legs, begging in front of the San Francisco Cathedral in Quito, Ecuador. After a period of time, I followed her as she scooted along the floor into the vestibule of the church and observed her depositing the coins she had just received into the collection box for the poor.

As I placed a gift into the deformed hands of a fourteen-year-old beggar in Kathmandu, Nepal, I inquired about the grotesque, totally burned face she wore. The family was so poor; they turned her into a beggar by pouring hot oil over her.

One Christmas, while working as a Santa Claus helper at Murphy’s Department Store, a small child sat on my lap with eyes as wide as half dollars and when asked what he wanted for Christmas, he shared that his mother informed him that he could only have one gift this year. The gift he wanted was a coat for his mother. Later that afternoon, another poverty stricken child told me his mother forgot to unlock the door last year so he received nothing. This year she promised him the door would be unlocked.

When Juan's name was called, his father, who had carried him twenty miles and who had slept on the ground with him in front of the hospital in Mexicali, Mexico, rushed forward. The two-year-old child never made it off the operating room table (underlying congenital heart problem), however, had his cleft lip repaired. As we carried the small, homemade, white casket up the hill toward the mud hut, the whole family wept. After the burial, his mother thanked us and was happy that now Juan would "look like the other children in heaven".

While working in the Emergency Room at Mission Hospital in San Francisco, California, I noticed a broken-down, decrepit 78-year-old man wearing broken glasses. He was sitting on the floor clinging to a bag which contained all his earthly possessions. He had just been evicted from his one room flophouse apartment. He looked up at me and, as tears rolled down his cheeks, said, "I'm trying Doc. I pray God will take care of me."

AND WE COMPLAIN THE MICROWAVE DOESN'T WORK!!! The Old Boy on the mount was right on: "Theirs is the kingdom of heaven" who follow His Path, no matter their plight in life.

Dave Fogarty is a parishioner at St. John’s.

Question of the Week:
When have I seen Jesus in the poor? What is one thing I can do to live more in solidarity with the materially poor?

Doubting Thomas

My training as an historian has always made me appreciate the account of Thomas and his unwillingness to accept the risen Christ until he had personally inspected the wounds of the crucifixion. We have been endowed by our creator with intelligence and the capacity to learn. We learn by doubting, asking questions, evaluating evidence, analyzing problems, and trying to make sense out of the dilemmas that we face as human beings. Thus the title “Doubting Thomas” is very appropriate for our discussion.

Matthew helps to securely ground the foundations of Christianity in the Jewish tradition and to give it historical legitimacy. He specifically refers to the prophecy of Isaiah, and the territory of Zabulon and Nephthalim where those who sat in the shadow of death will find light. Isaiah said that a child will be born who will become the prince of peace and transform the world. According to Matthew, Christ, the foretold Messiah, began his public ministry in the exact location mentioned by Isaiah. His cry was to “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” As the reading makes clear, it was not just a metaphorical kingdom, where darkness would become light, but one where there was the “healing of every disease and every sickness among the people.”

I wonder at the power and magnificence of this first stage of the public ministry of Christ. I think about the good fortune of those who were touched by him, but more often I think about those were not. What circumstances brought some within his reach, and not others. To be directly healed by Christ, then as now, makes it easy to believe. To stand on the sidelines and only hear about the healing of others makes it harder to believe, but the strength of the unseeing belief has its own merits. Remember the slight rebuke that Christ directed toward Thomas: “Blessed are those who have not seen, yet believed.”

The reading by Paul makes this both harder and easier to understand. Paul criticizes the bickering taking place among the faithful, begging them to stop arguing about who baptized whom, and whether one is more important than another. The war of words among the faithful (think of the careers of so many theologians throughout the ages) was foolish and criticized by Paul and by Christ. It was the cross of Christ, not wisdom, prudence, evidence, or skill at argument that fulfilled the word of God. Does this mean that we should not doubt and argue about what is true and not true, what is right and wrong? After all, I began by saying that we only learn through doubting and asking questions. I believe that the meaning here is deeper and goes to who we are as spiritual beings. We can argue about politics, love, religion, art and all sorts of things, but we still know that beneath (or better said above) it all we share the commonality of soul, and as Christians it is the sanctification of our souls that is truly important.

What we have in these readings (and in many others in the Bible) is a type of megahistory, an unfolding of a great story that has many connections through the centuries. These connections offer further evidence of the legitimacy of the story, and might help to ease some of the doubts of a doubting Thomas.

Joe Super is a member of St. John’s

Question of the Week:
Am I a doubting Thomas; do I need to see to believe? In what ways have I seen God at work?