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Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Meditation
Luke 7:11-17

“Before my father died, I didn’t know what it was to lose someone close. Now I feel a different kind of sadness when I hear that someone I know has lost a loved one.” Have you ever had an experience like this? If so, you know exactly what this person is talking about: You feel a lot more sympathy for someone who’s suffering if you’ve suffered the same thing. You are able to reach out more easily to that person and to relate to them better than others can. You have a bond with them that you can’t quite put into words.

Maybe that’s what happened to Jesus when he met the woman on the way to bury her son. It’s possible that he saw in the grieving widow what he knew his own mother would experience at his death. Both women were widows, both had only one son, and both had to suffer the heartbreak of a child’s untimely death. It was Jesus’ deep compassion, coming from the loving heart of his Father, that raised the widow’s son and restored her joy.

It seems that whenever Jesus touches something, he brings so much more than sympathy and understanding—he brings transformation! He wants to reach out to touch the “dead” areas in our lives, too. He knows the deepest pain in our lives. He can see when we are weeping, even if others can’t. Maybe we have lost a loved one through death, illness, or separation. Maybe we have given up on a dream, or lost the inspiration we once had to follow the Lord. Whatever we are suffering, Jesus wants to strengthen us with his gentle touch and give us new hope.

Brothers and sisters, Jesus wants to bond with us just as deeply as he did with this grieving widow! He wants to bring life where there is death, to bring light where there is darkness, and to bring love where there is emptiness. As he stretches out his hand and touches different areas in our lives, we will be led into a new way of prayer—a prayer marked by praise, worship, and thanksgiving. All because we have been made sharers in Jesus’ life and his love.

“Jesus, I trust in your compassion! Let me know your love in all the broken areas of my life. I give you glory for all the miracles that bring life to me.”

1 Corinthians 12:12-14,27-31

One Bread, One Body

<< Tuesday, September 19, 2006 >>

St. Januarius

1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27-31

Psalm 100

Luke 7:11-17

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PARISH "COUNSEL"

"Furthermore, God has set up in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracle workers, healers, assistants, administrators, and those who speak in tongues." —1 Corinthians 12:28

Does your church have what it takes? Are you working according to your spiritual gifts? First, we need apostles to establish the Church and to give it the world vision of God's kingdom. Second come the prophets, those gifted to speak God's personal "now" word to us. Third, teachers must be raised up to teach us how to live in Christ. This is no academic exercise; rather, it is practical teaching about relationships, family, work, sexuality, etc. Then the Church needs miracle workers: people who can raise the dead, multiply loaves and fish, stop the storm, and pay the bills.

We also need those gifted in healing the parts of Christ's Body. Many of these ministries need assistants. Without their help, the job won't get done. An administrator pulls it all together and manages not merely with human intelligence but with the Spirit's wisdom. We also need those who speak in tongues to praise the Lord and communicate His love to the community. We can't do all these things or have all these gifts individually, but we need all of them. We must depend on each other.

Are you exercising your spiritual gifts? Is your church merely an organization, or the gifted Body of Christ?

Prayer: Father, many in the Church are more formed by the world than by the Word. Forgive us and gift us.

Promise: Jesus "said, 'Young man, I bid you get up.' The dead man sat up and began to speak. Then Jesus gave him back to his mother." —Lk 7:14-15

Praise: St. Januarius succeeded the apostles by serving as a bishop and by giving his life for Jesus in martyrdom.