Corpus Christi Blog

Encountering Jesus

02-01-2015HomiliesFr. Chad King

Sometimes it is really helpful in our Spiritual lives to reflect on the Scriptures in a little different way than perhaps we usually do. So instead of reading and reflecting on what was said in the Scriptures, sometimes it is helpful to use our imaginations and place ourselves in the story being told, and allow the Holy Spirit to inspire us just as the people in the stories might have been inspired.  Today, I encourage you to use your imaginations and place yourself as one of the people in our readings.  You may close your eyes if you’d like, as long as you don’t fall asleep.  And together, let us take a moment now to ask the Holy Spirit to help us understand what the people were thinking and feeling, and ask that the Holy Spirit to foster conversion in us just as the people in our readings. 

In our 1st reading Moses is reminding the Israelites about how they were afraid to talk to God directly, but instead wanted Moses to be the prophet to tell them what God said.  In order to enter into our first reading with our imaginations, we need to know the context.  This scripture we are going to meditate on is Exodus 19 and 20 where Moses is reminding the people what God has said.   As I summarize what happened in those chapters, I encourage you to use your imagination and imagine that you are one of the Israelites.  Imagine yourself feeling what the Israelites felt, doing what they do…Now let me set the context.  In Exodus 19 and 20, God told Moses to tell the people to sanctify themselves for 3 days.  On the 3rd day they were to come to the base of Mount Sinai, but not to go up or even touch it, for only Moses could go up the mountain where God dwelled.  And God would come down to His people and reveal himself to them. 

Imagine how you would feel when you heard Moses say that you must sanctify and prepare yourself for God was going to come down to you. It would be amazing, and you would be filled with anticipation, an encounter directly with God.   No more second hand stories about God, but now He will come down to you.  If God was going to reveal himself to you, you would want to sanctify and prepare yourself.  Certainly you would refrain from all sin and anything unclean in great anticipation, just as the Lord had commanded.  How do you feel that God desires to reveal himself to you- are you feeling a little nervous, afraid, excited? 

On the morning of the 3rd day there were sounds of loud thunder and bright lighting and a heavy cloud covered the mountain.  And Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke from a fire but the fire wasn’t burning anything.  Remember that God led the Israelites by a cloud by day and fire by night, so that wasn’t really uncommon. You are comfortable seeing the bright flame and the billowy cloud.   But then you begin wonder if that was all there was- how could a cloud and fire actually be God. Is the almighty God really in a cloud?  And then there is the question how could there be a cloud and fire at the same time…that is certainly uncommon.   Suddenly, in the midst of the thunder and smoke from the fire, there was a loud trumpet blast.  You look around but don’t know where the trumpet sound is coming from.  You look into the faces of others and they are wondering the same thing you are…. What does the sound mean?  And you realize, it is a trumpet blast announcing that God had arrived, probably blown by the Angels.  How are you be feeling- was it what you were expecting?   A trumpet blast…. do you believe that has announced your Savior?  Is he here?  Can you see him?   Do you believe that the invisible God revealed himself to you in nature?  But it is true, the God of creation has used creation to reveal himself, and it is confirmed by the trumpet blast which came from the Heavens.  You look around, again and notice that everyone else heard it too.  And you realize God is real, there is another dimension that we cannot see with our eyes, but now you have heard it with our ears beyond a doubt.  What is your reaction to God being real and even choosing to reveal Himself to you?  (Pause)

But my brothers and sisters, listen to what the people did in their reaction to God revealing himself to them.   Verse 18 of Exodus 20 says, “When the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the trumpet blast and the mountain smoking, they all feared and trembled.  So they took up a position much farther away and said to Moses’ You speak to us, and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we shall die’”.  Think about that.  Aren’t we all like the Israelites at times?  Are we keeping our distance from God…. We all believe in God, and we are all excited that God might reveal himself to us.  And yet we do want to know for sure if our faith is true, we desire to know for sure if God is real.  But yet we are afraid too.  Maybe we are afraid at what he will say to us, or afraid of what he will ask from us.  Maybe you believe in God, but yet we so often want to keep God at a distance; that we want to see God on our terms.  We know God calls us closer, but we are afraid to come any closer beyond what is comfortable for us.  If that is you, then I ask you to reflect in prayer what is the fear, what is prohibiting you from being as close to Him as He wants to be with you.

Thank you for meditating with me on our 1st reading.  Stay in the same meditative mode as we look at the Gospel.  Now with that in the back of our mind, we fast forward a couple thousand years.  Imagine this time you are an Israelite in the synagogue in Capernaum, where our Gospel takes place.  You are accustomed to going to the synagogue every Sabbath to listen to the Rabbi’s teaching, perhaps much like you come to Mass every Sunday.  You are amazed when Jesus walks in, wondering if He will sit next to you.  You have heard about this man named Jesus, that some people have been saying that he is the Messiah.  Though you are a little skeptical, you aren’t ready to jump to that conclusion; after all there have been many who have claimed to be the Messiah, only to be revealed as a fraud.  As Jesus walks in, he doesn’t sit among the other people, but he goes up to the chair in front and begins talking.  At first you are a little taken back that he is taking the place of the Rabbi, he is such a young man.  But you are excited that now you can see for yourself if Jesus really is the Messiah or not, you open your mind and perk up your ears so you can hear and understand everything Jesus says; so that you can judge for yourself once and for all.  As you listen to Jesus, you, along with all the others, you are amazed not only in what he is teaching, but the way he is teaching.  For he is teaching as one having authority not as the scribes teach.  You are used to other Rabbi’s referring to the teachers from whom they learned from, so that the authority they taught with came from those who taught them.  But Jesus’ teaching is as if he has the authority in himself; that his authority isn’t from another.  You have never heard any sermon so powerful, as you are listening to Jesus talk, you notice that you are enthralled in what He is saying, much more than any of the other Rabbi’s, and you start to think maybe he really is the Promised One. 

Then suddenly a man speaks up and interrupts Jesus, you recognize that he must be possessed with an evil spirit.  The evil spirit is scared, afraid that Jesus will cast him out; and you realize that even the evil spirits recognize Jesus is the Holy One of God.  You wonder if you have been missing out, you look around and wonder what the others are thinking, are they too believing that this Jesus is the One you had been waiting for?  Then Jesus says to the evil spirit, “Quiet, Come out of him!”  And immediately the evil spirit shook the man and a loud cry came out of him.  And just like that, he was normal, he looked like anyone else, and the evil spirit was gone.  Amazing!  Just at the sound of Jesus’ voice.  Now there is no denying it, there is no other explanation except that indeed this man in front of you is God!  Your jaw drops…. Your throat gets dry… You realize you are in awe.  You begin to understand the amazing fact that God has finally come just as he promised, and you are even more shocked that he has come to you.  God has made himself known, and known to you… right there in front of you- there is God himself.   

My brothers and sisters, maybe you do not believe that God himself will come down on this altar right here in front of you.  Maybe you do not fully believe that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist.  Maybe you don’t fully believe in God, maybe you doubt if your faith is real because you have not encountered him like the Israelites did at Mount Sinai or in our Gospel.  Will you ask Jesus now to reveal Himself to you, so that you will know that without any doubt, God is real? 

Or maybe you believe in God, but for one reason or another you still keep him at a comfortable distance, maybe only according to your terms.  Either way, will you ask God to come all the way in, to take away whatever is in the way, and to come as close to you as He wants to be?  There is nothing to be afraid of, God is real, he is personal, and an intimate relationship with Him is better than we can ever imagine.

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