Five Truths: Truth 5 - Solidarity

 

Solidarity

With the knowledge that we are all called to unity in Christ, we must reflect on our lives and see if
we are living up to the ideals of unity and following what Jesus taught us; he is the perfect leader.
What did he do? What did he say? How did he treat people? How did he call people to be their true
selves for the sake of his Kingdom? We have the keys to our Father's heavenly Kingdom. Do we use
them? With knowledge of God, we are called to follow Jesus who is the Way, the Truth, and the
Life.

Solidarity is our oneness with each other. We know we have dignity and identity, and we are called
to unity. True faith is transformative. Once we know and experience the love and mercy of God,
our hearts are transformed, and a faithful person lives a faithful life. We are called to be loving,
forgiving, and compassionate like Jesus.

In Jesus' time people who were sick or looked down upon in society were seen as sinners outside of
God's love and friendship. Holiness was thought to be achieved by adherence to church law. Those
who were outcasts were seen as being punished by God for their sin or the sin of their relatives.
The people of God wrongly kept the outcasts "in their place." Jesus showed us the right way to treat
others by always reaching out in compassion.

God is all good and all loving. People who are suffering are not being punished by God, as people
once thought and some may still to this day. God wants us to bring his message to all people so they
can know their real identity as his children and experience his love. Jesus went out and ministered
to the sick. He forgave sinners. He broke down the walls of rejection and brought everyone into
his love. He showed us that we need to expand our idea of kinship. We need to have solidarity with
those who suffer.

Who are those in our lives and in our world who are the persecuted, the suffering, the lost, the
lonely, the forgotten, and the judged? This is exactly who we are called to stand with in solidarity.
We need to open our hearts to the compassionate love of Christ and let it flow through us by the
Holy Spirit in thought, word, and deed.

Fr. Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit minister and author, recently wrote, "Jesus Christ jostled the purity code
of the shot callers of his day. He recognized that it was this code that kept us from kinship. The
desire for purity is the enemy of the Gospel.”

God's love is within us and in the good things around us. Let us live with open minds and open
hearts, ready to receive God's healing love and letting it pass through us to others. He calls us to be
his hands; he instructs us with the Word so we can share it with others. Lord, make us instruments
of your peace.

God, help us to seek Truth, and let your Truth transform our lives.

May you feel the love and mercy of God. May you know how dear you are to him and that you are
called to life in him. May you trust in his great love for you. May you be open to his call and the
wisdom of his love.

Grace be with you.

Five Truths: Truth 4 - Unity

Unity

Our diversity is how we build God's Kingdom and glorify the Lord, but we are called to unity in Christ.

We are a world of diverse people. Many have faith in Christian and non-Christian religions and some have no faith or reject faith. No matter who we are and where we come from, we are called to know God. We find him if we seek the Truth that stirs in our hearts. He is always calling us there and speaking to us through all things in our lives, calling us to know him and accept his love and mercy.

When God created the world, he called all of his creation “good” and it existed in perfect harmony. He gave humans stewardship over the earth, and invited them into an intimate relationship with himself. When the first people committed the first sin, which the Bible teaches with the story of Adam and Eve, it was a sin of disobedience; they chose their own will instead of God’s will. God gave his children everything and he instructed them to follow one rule, a rule that would help them be happy: do not eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam and Eve were tempted and tricked by the evil one, and they chose to eat the fruit of that tree. They sinned.

This sin caused a separation from God and human beings, the children he loved. Life would have to change as a consequence of that sin. Harmony was lost and life would have hardships. But God was not without a plan. From the beginning of time, The Blessed Trinity made a plan that would save God's people. God the Son would become man, come to earth, and live a perfectly obedient life, following the will of God the Father. Adam and Eve's sin of disobedience, as well as our sin, could be redeemed through Jesus' life of perfect obedience. Sin would be defeated and humanity restored to God.

“He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began, but now made manifest through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus, who destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed preacher and apostle and teacher.” 2 Timothy 1:9-11

God prepared people to recognize Jesus the Savior when Jesus came to earth. God's inspired Word spoke through the prophets, and through the prophets he instructed people in his holy ways and promised them that the Messiah would come.

At the appointed time, Jesus, both human and divine, came to earth as The Living Word and he taught people how to live a life that was pleasing to God. He had perfect obedience to the Father, and he trusted God the Father even to the point of death. Jesus was wrongly accused and convicted by powerful people who felt threatened by Jesus' message of radical compassion and inclusion. It challenged the status quo of his day. Facing death, he persevered in prayer. Jesus cried out to God asking him to spare his life and the suffering that was sure to come, if that was God’s will. God the Father did not intervene. Jesus submitted to the Father and followed God's will, the path that was laid out before him.

Imagine – It was the darkest of situations, seemingly the unjust end of Jesus’ life by those who
hated him, and yet he trusted in God's will. Jesus had said, “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again” John 10:18. Jesus walked the hardest path and did not resist. He laid down his life for us. He had perfect obedience; he trusted in God’s will.

Three days later Jesus rose from the dead in fulfillment of the Scriptures. Jesus resurrected! From the darkest situation, when evil seemed to have won, God was triumphant! Jesus defeated death. Jesus conquered sin. Through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, light has prevailed! God offers himself as salvation to all. He has set us free from sin and death and given us new life in him.

Sin and evil run rampant on this earth. We see evil in the world and our hearts break. But, we have great hope! We know the ending of this story: Good wins! Jesus already defeated sin, evil, and death. He is our Savior! Sin and death no longer have a hold on us because Jesus lived a perfectly obedient life, he took all the sin of the world upon himself, he defeated death by death, and Jesus conquered death for us. We do not have to be strong on our own. We have Jesus. Call on him in your life. Ask him to drive out the darkness, protect you, and guide you to God. Follow him.

Do you want to find Jesus? Get to know him by reading the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Read about his years of ministry and see what he says. What is he telling you in your life today? Pray. Listen to the call God places in your heart and begin responding. God is actively pursuing you. Say back to him, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” 1 Samuel 3:10.

God knew you before all time began. He willed you into being for his joy and love. He called you to be his child. When he was on the cross, he endured it all so that you could be in heaven with him forever. He did it for you, for me, and for all people.

And so we are made by God, for God, in his image and likeness, called to be his children and live eternal life in his love. Our diversity is unique and special, and the gifts he gives to us are for his glory and our enjoyment, to have a glimpse of his love for us. And no matter who we are, where we come from, what our life stories are or how many times we have failed or succeeded in living on this earth, God calls us to unity through Christ. Let us be his children in one family with Jesus as the head.

"So then, remember that at one time you (people who never knew about God) were without Christ, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made us both groups (people who never knew God but now believe and those who knew God because their family passed on the faith) into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. ...That he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross... So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father." Ephesians 2:11-18

We are one humanity, united in Christ who is all things. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, Amen.

Five Truths: Truth 3 - Diversity

Photo by Maur

 

Diversity

Our God loves diversity. Think of all the different people around the world, our races and nationalities, customs, cultures, and languages. Think of the diversity of plants and animals, think of the diversity in seasons, and the topography of the earth. God truly loves diversity and he uses it to show the beauty of his Truth, which is love and life in him.

God finds pleasure in our diversity as individuals. Each one of us is given unique gifts and talents that we are called to use for good in the world. Our diversity brings about a multitude of
ways to come to know him, live by his Word, and give him thanks and praise. Our diversity, and the
diversity of all creation, is something to be celebrated.

God also enjoys diversity in the way he calls people to himself. Everything is an entry-point to
come to knowledge of him. He uses books, nature, music, people, art, encounters with mystery –
everything! God loves diversity but he calls all people to unity in Jesus Christ.

Five Truths: Truth 2 - Identity

 

Identity

We receive our dignity from God. We also receive our identity from God. Our identity is not our
earthly lineage. We do not receive our personal value from worldly things. We have been created
by the God that was in the beginning is now and will be forever. We were created for eternal life
with God. We are first and foremost a member of God's family and Kingdom.

"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ...you have received a spirit of
adoption. When we cry, 'Abba, Father!' it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we
are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ..." Romans
8:14-17

We are children of God and we are created to inherit his heavenly Kingdom. When God created
man and woman, he called them "good." When he created you, he called you good, too. We have
his goodness in our hearts and we have a heart that knows and cries out for the Lord. We are his
children, and if we are God's children, then we are heirs to the King. That's our identity!

Too often we seek to create our own identity because we do not know our value and purpose.
We seek to create our value through worldly things such as success, achievements, wealth, and
reputation. We are not these things! Our value, our entire identity is in God as his children. We
can do nothing to enhance our identity before God because we are his children and he loves us all
equally. He gives different gifts to different people to be used for building his Kingdom, and he calls
some to greatness for him and others to lives of simplicity, but we are all equal.

Therefore, do not chase worldly things that inflate your ego and false image of your own self worth.
That is not who you are. You are the good that God created you to be as his child for his Kingdom.
Seek your identity in Christ. That is who you are.  “It is not wrong to desire greatness, but our
greatness must reside in our passion for the gospel of Jesus Christ and our desire to share it with
others” (The Catholic Faith & Family Bible page 1367).

Five Truths: Truth 1 - Dignity

We live in a time that is in need of compassion and kinship. Everywhere in society we see the deadly
consequences of violence, greed, and injustice. But our souls have been created by God and made
to desire the good. I have seen and experienced acts of generosity and love that we show one
another, our children, our families, our neighbors, and strangers. I have seen actions that build the
Kingdom of God on earth: a society of equality, justice, compassion, forgiveness, generosity, and
love.

God desires us to know and love him, and to trust that his way is the way to happiness. He is always
pursuing each one of us in everything, beckoning us to choose and follow him. I have great hope in
the goodness placed in us by him and encourage you to listen to that voice inside your heart and
find the Lord calling you to something more.

"The word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe." Deuteronomy 30:14

"[the Lord says] I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts..." Jeremiah 31:33

I am one who also seeks, questions, wonders, and desires the good. Our lives are journeys with ups
and downs, clarity and obscurity, faith and doubt, hopefulness and desperation. I wish to encourage
you and lift you up as you journey. First, let us reflect on some of the truths: our God-given
dignity and identity, goodness in diversity, purpose of unity, and call to solidarity.

I once read that we are not judged as a summation of our good versus bad actions, as if it were
a tally of pluses and minuses to see which comes out ahead. Instead, what matters is the direction
of our lives. Do we repent? Do we forgive? Do we change our lives for the better and keep moving
forward? Let us pray that we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit, grow towards the good, and seek
the Truth that leads to complete and eternal love. Let us pray that our lives are transformed by
God.

Dignity

 

Each person is made in the image and likeness of God, made for a relationship with the Blessed
Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, to grow in knowledge and love of the
Lord. We were created by God, and known and loved by God long before we were born.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you..." Jeremiah 1:5

We are the result of his loving and holy vision. God so overflows with love, the complete essence
of who he is, that he cannot help but do something with that love, and so he creates. And joyfully!
He wants us to have the smallest glimpse of his immense joy and love that he invites us to be cocreators with him. Parents bring live into the world, cooperating with God and his plan for creation
and life in him.

He chose to create you. He desires to make you complete by the love in which he wants to surround
you. In heaven, we join in the perfect love of the Blessed Trinity, and we are made whole. Our
purpose is in God. Our destiny is in God.

Every person is made by God and for God. Since we are all created by God, we are all equal, no
matter our lot in life. We all have equal dignity. Our souls are designed to know God's goodness and
receive his love. Praise you, Lord!

"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord..." Luke 1:46

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name." Psalm 103:1