What Would Jesus be Doing Today

What would Jesus be doing today if he were to miraculously appear among us? Would he assume the Chair of Peter in Rome, he certainly would be qualified. No, given the words of the Gospel this evening, I think we might find him next door at the grade school as a kindergarten teacher. I think Jesus should be credited with coming up with what the youngest students share and that is show and tell. How many times did he show his closest disciples miracle after miracle, yet they just never caught on. I would guess 90% of the kindergarteners in his class would have not been concerned with a lack of food because if they would have witnessed Jesus miraculously feed thousands of people over and over again they would have understood the power of the Lord. Where was this faith in his closest friends, his apostles? Aren’t children truly a blessing from God?

What about us, what do we do when we come to the end of our resources, when we feel inadequate, shorthanded, or empty? Do we wring our hands, complain, fret, and give in to worry, fear, and despair? Mark tells us that the apostles set off in their boat across the Sea of Galilee only to discover that they forgot to bring enough food for their journey. What were they to do miles away from land and any place where they could buy food and supplies? They were anxious of course, and this happened right after Jesus had performed the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes where the disciples fed more than four thousand people. Jesus knew the trouble in his disciples' hearts even before they could speak. Jesus dealt with their anxiety by first warning them to not fear what can harm the body rather than what can destroy the very heart and soul of their being.

Jesus cautioned the disciples to beware of the bread that corrupts and leads to death, such as the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod, which today would be the leaven of our society. Our "daily bread" is whatever nourishes us, not just physically, but spiritually, intellectually, and morally as well. Why did Jesus tell his disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod? To the Jew leaven was a sign of evil. It was a piece of dough left-over from a previous baking. In due course it fermented and this fermented dough became leaven. Fermentation was associated with decomposing rot. Jesus warned his disciples to avoid the evil influence of the Pharisees and of Herod who sought their own wills rather than the will of God. As the apostles continued to worry about their lack of bread, Jesus reminded them of his miraculous provision of bread in the feeding of the four thousand. He then upbraided them for their lack of trust in God. Do you not yet understand? It's easy to get preoccupied with the problems and needs of the present moment and to forget the most important reality of all, God's abiding presence with us and his abundant provision for our lives as well.

The murder of innocent children is probably the greatest sin of our times, and abortion is an issue that is never going to disappear by ignoring it, and we can’t pretend like we don’t have a serious problem in a country that kills 900,000 of its citizens each year. This Lenten season presents an opportunity to speak on this horrific sin that cries out to heaven, and to speak about it in the light of God’s infinite mercy. Though we may “sit in darkness” in this culture of death, we have seen the “great light” of God’s love for us in Jesus Christ.

Abortion affects everyone, our entire society. We are one body, especially as a Church, but also as a society. And as St. Paul explains “if one part of the body is honored, all the parts share its joy,” but “if one part suffers or sins, all the parts suffer with it”. Abortion affects everyone in our society, and one obvious example is the epidemic of depression in our culture.

Think about it. A society that permits 900,000 abortions a year is proclaiming by example an anti-Gospel. And this anti-Gospel is all around us, it’s in the airwaves and the media, we breathe it in and absorb it under our skin without even knowing it. And what is the content of this anti-Gospel? Human beings have no intrinsic dignity or worth. Created in the image of God? That means nothing. We destroy thousands of those little images of God every day. According to our “pro-abortion” society, your dignity or worth depends upon whether or not someone else wants you or loves you or finds you somehow useful or productive. If not, you’re nothing but a burden; you’re expendable and disposable. That’s depressing. A society that permits 900,000 abortions a year is a depressing society. We are all affected by this anti-Gospel whether we consciously realize it or not.

However, just as the prevalence of abortion in our society contributes to the epidemic of depression, so the opposite is true – the proclamation of the Gospel of life in our society contributes to the understanding of joy, the fire of Christ’s love leaping out of His heart to shine on the entire globe, this heart on fire with love for us, truly present in the Blessed Sacrament in the Tabernacle and in the Mass. If we take some time to be with Christ during a Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration, we will, in words of John Paul II “feel the infinite love present in his heart”.

In a Christian society, or in a person with a deep Christian faith, if we fail a test or lose our job or someone rejects us in a relationship, it’s difficult, yes, but there’s no need to get depressed because our dignity and worth as a human being does not depend on any of those things. We are a child of God even from the moment of our conception, but especially from the moment of our baptism. God has loved us even before we were born. We are created in the image of God, that’s the source of our dignity and worth, and nothing on earth or under the earth can ever take that away from us.

Let us proclaim the Gospel of life in our society and contribute to the epiphany of joy. Some people assume that to be pro-life equals public demonstrations and political action. That’s only a small part of it. To be pro-life means to be a Christian in all our thoughts, words and actions, to be pro-life also means to “sing songs of joy, praise and thanksgiving for the priceless gift of life”. And don’t forget that to be pro-life also means to respect ourselves as a child of God.

Therefore, "live as children of light" advises St. Paul, "for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth". He also urges us to "live as" children of God, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world".

We will never see an end to the holocaust of abortion or witness a rebirth of a culture of life unless our society is transformed from within, one person at a time, by passing on the light of the Gospel and the flame of faith, symbolized by the baptismal candle, from one person to another – you and I must pass on this flame to our family, friends and neighbors whose baptismal faith may be a smoldering wick or may have burnt out completely.

When Jesus Christ began to preach the Gospel of life, St. Matthew announced that the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled: the people who walked in darkness had seen a great light. How does this great light shine in the world today if not through the Church? The Church which includes every single person here should proclaim the Gospel, in private and in public, through all our thoughts, words and deeds.

Being pro-life does include public demonstrations and political action. In fact, I don’t think it is possible to be a Christian in the 21st century while excluding public demonstrations and political action. I invite every single able-bodied person here to attend the 40 Days of Life celebration this Lent by showing and telling our families, neighbors, and our community about the evil of abortion right here in San Marcos. Around the world this Lent there will 165 public gatherings of peaceful prayer with one not far from this church on the corner of Twin Oaks Valley Road and Craven Road across from Cal State San Marcos.

As we heard from the first reading, “Every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of light,” and to where does the light of the Father lead us? “To the place where he dwells, to the altar of God, the God of our joy.” It is from this altar that we receive our joy, the sacred body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that we can go out as bold disciples into the darkness of this culture of death, and live as “children of light,” producing “every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth.”

-Deacon Dave Bennett - Feb. 16,2010