No One Goes Away From Jesus Unchanged. Reflection on the fruitfulness of Sacraments and Liturgy

There is a very clear and consistent principle in the New Testament which stated simply is “No one goes away from Jesus Christ unchanged.” That is to say, no one encounters him and leaves that encounter in the same condition that they began it. The blind man came away seeing, the deaf man came away hearing, the lame left walking, lepers went away cleansed, the poor had the good news proclaimed to them, those without a shepherd gained a Shepherd, those without a teacher, were taught, the sick got well, and the dead were raised to life.

Sadly too there were some who went away changed for the worse. Yes some went away glad, but some went away sad and some went away mad. The rich young man went away sad, for his possessions were many. And though hearing the call, he could not embrace it. The Pharisees, and other unbelievers one away mad, so mad that they plotted to kill Jesus.

Thus, no one goes away from Jesus unchanged. Jesus is no neutral figure. He is one who compels a choice and brings about a change. Some had their hearts melted, some had their hearts hardened but no one was unchanged. Either they were mad, sad or glad, but never unchanged.

This scriptural principle is often under appreciated and poorly understood today. At one level there are those who think they can remain largely neutral about Jesus, appreciating certain of his ethical teachings but doubting his divinity or of worshiping him as Lord.

Sorry, no can do. There is no middle way with Jesus. Either he is the Lord he claims to be. or a lunatic and a liar who is to be shunned as a blasphemer. But if he is the Lord, then we must worship him, put faith in him and base our life on his teachings.

Tertium non datur (No third way is given), there is no third team on the field, and if you think you can play for some third team of for both teams I got news for you about what team you’re really on.

But even for believers there remains a mitigated way in which this teaching is often diminished. If it is biblically true that no one goes away from Jesus Christ unchanged, then the question becomes whether a believer really believes this when it comes to liturgy, sacraments, prayer, and the reading of Scripture.

If it is true that the liturgy and the Sacraments are an encounter with the living Lord Jesus Christ, (and it is), then what are the expectations I bring to these encounters?

In my discussions with Catholics down through the years I’ve come to realize that most do not have many high expectations of their walk with Christ. Frankly, they expect very little to happen that is dramatically different or healing. And these low expectations, possibly rooted in sloth, tend to close them off from the dramatic transformation that one ought to expect from being in a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Many people, in fact, put more faith in Tylenol than in the Eucharist. How? Because when they take Tylenol they expect something to happen, for the pain to go away, the swelling to go down. Yes, they expect healing and change. But when people come forward to receive Holy Communion do they expect anything like this, anything at all?

Frankly, it is been my experience at most don’t expect much and many see the sacraments and the liturgy more as tedious rituals than transformative realities.

I lay a lot of the blame for this low expectation at the feet of us clergy. Very few of us preach and teach people that they should expect dramatic transformation through the faithful celebration of the liturgy and sacraments, personal prayer, the reading of Scripture and walking in fellowship with the Church. For the most part, the faithful usually hear only vague reasons given, if any at all, as to why such things are important or necessary, and why and how they can change your life.

All of this has to change. For as we’ve seen, it is a biblical norm that no one goes away from Jesus Christ unchanged.

But of course the encounter with Christ must be rooted in faith. And where faith is weak, the encounter is often vague and unfruitful.

To illustrate this recall that a woman in the crowd who had a hemorrhage for 12 years, reached out in faith and touched the hem of Jesus’ garment. When Jesus asked who touched him, feeling healing power go out from him, the disciples were amazed by the question and retorted that the crowd was hemming him in and that probably hundreds of people had bumped into him! But Jesus did not ask who bumped into him, he to ask who touched him. There is a big difference, and the different Is faith. Jesus congratulations woman and with joy tells her that her faith has saved her. (cf Mk 5)

And therefore for us too a more robust faith must be the solution. We must have a lively faith in the biblical norm that no one goes away from an encounter with Jesus Christ unchanged. And good faith in this truth draws us to have high expectations, and to go to the liturgy, to the Mass, prayer, to the reading of Scripture, and the Sacrament of Confession with high expectations rooted in the lively faith that we are going to encounter the living God, and that encounter will forever change us.

This must be our faith, these must be our expectations, namely radical transformation through the Lord’s celebration of the liturgy and in the sacraments.

We priests have to do a better job of preaching it, and all the faithful with their priests must embrace this truth: No one goes away from Jesus Christ unchanged! Any faith-filled encounter with him can and will have large effects. But our faith is critical.

It is time is Catholics to reclaim our birthright that comes to us through faith that Jesus Christ is alive, and ministers powerfully and effectively through the liturgy, the Sacraments and his word. If we will accept this truth and faith we will go away remarkably changed and transformed by the Lord who ministers to us.

Either he is the Lord he claims to be. or a lunatic and a liar who is to be shunned as a blasphemer. But if he is the Lord, then we must worship him, put faith in him and base our life on his teachings.

In his book The Life of Christ, Archbishop Fulton Sheen begins with these words.

History is full of men who have claimed that they came from God, or that they were gods, or that they bore messages from God - Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius, Christ, Lao-tze, and thousands of others, right down to the person who founded a new religion this very day. Each of them has a right to be heard and considered. But as a yardstick external to and outside of whatever is to be measured is needed, so there must be some permanent tests available to all men, all civilizations, and all ages, by which they can decide whether any of these claimants, or all of them, are justified in their claims. These tests are of two kinds: reason and history. Reason, because everyone has it, even those without faith; history, because everyone lives in it and should know something about it.
Reason dictates that if any one of these men actually came from God, the least thing that God could do to support His claim would be to pre-announce His coming. Automobile manufacturers tell their customers when to expect a new model. If God sent anyone from Himself, or if He came Himself with a vitally important message for all men, it would seem reasonable that He would first let men know when His messenger was coming, where He would be born, where He would live, the doctrine He would teach, the enemies He would make, the program He would adopt for the future, and the manner of His death. By the extent to which the messenger conformed with these announcements, one could judge the validity of his claims.
Reason further assures us that if God did not do this, then there would be nothing to prevent any impostor from appearing in history and saying, "I come from God," or "An angel appeared to me in the desert and gave me this message." In such cases there would be no objective, historical way of testing the messenger. We would have only his word for it, and of course he could be wrong.
If a visitor came from a foreign country to Washington and said he was a diplomat, the government would ask him for his passport and other documents testifying that he represented a certain government. His papers would have to antedate his coming. If such proofs of identity are asked from delegates of other countries, reason certainly ought to do so with messengers who claim to have come from God. To each claimant reason says, "What record was there before you were born that you were coming?"
With this test one can evaluate the claimants. Socrates had no one to foretell his birth. Buddha had no one to pre-announce him and his message or tell the day when he would sit under the tree. Confucius did not have the name of his mother and his birthplace recorded, nor were they given to men centuries before he arrived so that when he did come, men would know he was a messenger from God. But, with Christ, it was different. Because of the OT prophecies, His coming was not unexpected. There were no predictions about Buddha, Confucius, Lao-tze, Mohammed , or anyone else; but there were predictions about Christ. Others just came and said, "Here I am, believe me". Christ alone stepped out of that line saying, "Search the writings of the Jewish people and the related history of the Babylonians, Persians, and Romans." Even the pagan, Tacitus, speaking for the ancient Romans, says, "People were generally persuaded in the faith of the ancient prophecies, that the East was to prevail, and that from Judea was to come the Master and Ruler of the world." China had the same expectations, as did the Greeks.
Another distinguishing fact is that once He appeared, He struck history with such impact that He split it in two, dividing it into two periods: one before His coming, the other after it. Buddha did not do this, nor any of the great Indian philosophers. Even those who deny God must date their attacks upon Him, A.D. so and so, or so many years after His coming.
The story of every human life begins with birth and ends with death. In the Person of Christ, however, it was His death that was first and His life that was last. It was not so much that His birth cast a shadow on His life and thus led to His death; it was rather that the Cross was first, and cast its shadow back to His birth. His has been the only life in the world that was ever lived backward.

Ping!

Many people, in fact, put more faith in Tylenol than in the Eucharist. How? Because when they take Tylenol they expect something to happen, for the pain to go away, the swelling to go down. Yes, they expect healing and change. But when people come forward to receive Holy Communion do they expect anything like this, anything at all?

Well no kiddin'...One is medicine, the other is, food...

Frankly, it is been my experience at most don't expect much and many see the sacraments and the liturgy more as tedious rituals than transformative realities.

That's because any real change is 'spiritual'...You can't get anything spiritual from something that goes into your stomach...

And therefore for us too a more robust faith must be the solution. We must have a lively faith in the biblical norm that no one goes away from an encounter with Jesus Christ unchanged. And good faith in this truth draws us to have high expectations, and to go to the liturgy, to the Mass, prayer, to the reading of Scripture, and the Sacrament of Confession with high expectations rooted in the lively faith that we are going to encounter the living God, and that encounter will forever change us.

It is the Holy Spirit that gives faith...It's not something that you can just do...Reminds me of the Lion speaking to Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz...

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