Nathaniel

Gospel reflection for Sept. 29 2006

John 1:47-51

Now when I first read this passage to prepare a reflection on it, I have to admit I saw very little potential in it. So I cheated, and did research on it.

Notice when Jesus sees Nathaniel, he says “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!”

Now think about this. If I was going over to meet some stranger and he said “Oh, here comes a Canadian in whom there is no deceit.” I’d probably be like “Where?”. A person who doesn’t know me couldn’t know there was no deceit in me, and a person who does know me would know there is deceit!

But Nathaniel is like “I’m sorry, have we met? How do you know me?”

What strikes me about this passage is that Jesus doesn’t just know Nathaniel at a surface level. We kind of see a person and say “Oh, there’s Jim, a chartered accountant with a wife and 3 kids” and eventually we might begin to see past those things and get to actually know Jim, but we never really see the heart. When the bible talks about ‘deceit’ it talks about how deceit is in the heart. Jesus sees right through everything else to what JPII referred to as the ‘unrepeatable person’- the heart. There’s a poster up in the school that says “Who you are begins with what you do.” I have to admit, I disagree. Who you are is not something that can be listed as a set of qualities, or even defined by your actions, but only in the dignity that you have in Christ, which is unaltered by either sin or accomplishment. But that wouldn’t have made as catchy of a poster.

Nathaniel is taken a back that Jesus would know him at all, and further that Jesus would know the state of his heart! The “I saw you under the fig tree” explanation does not indicate the state of Nathaniel’s soul. This is perhaps why it evokes the response from Nathaniel “You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” Nathaniel said that because Jesus saw him under a fig tree? If someone seemed like they knew me, and I asked them how, and they said “I saw you when you were sitting under a tree”, this would not make me think he was the son of God. I would just think I hadn’t noticed him there.

So something more must have happened. Jesus appeared to be more than a man, more than even a wizard with psychic powers- Nathaniel felt known by Jesus in his depths, and Nathaniel knew that he was known as only God knows.

But Jesus makes this even more apparent. He says “Very Truly I tell you…” Whenever you see something translated as Jesus saying ‘Very truly’ or ‘verily verily’, or ‘I tell you solemnly’, what is being translated is not Greek, but is Aramaic, the term “Amen, amen.” So some translations will read “Amen, amen I say to you…”

Amen means, as many of you know, “So be it” or “I believe” or “this thing is true.” So if Jesus couples to amens together He’s basically saying “this thing is really true, and it’s important, so you’d better understand me and believe it, I am not speaking in Parables.”

And then he tells Nathaniel that he “will see Heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” When in the Bible did someone see the heavens opened and angels Ascending and Descending?

Genesis 28: 11-13, 16-17

11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying.

16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it." 17 He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven."

Jacob goes on to call the place Bethel, or “house of God”

So Jesus is making an amazing claim! He’s saying “I’m the gate to Heaven! I’m the house of God! I am the place where you encounter God!”

I always think it’s funny when people say that Jesus was just a good moral teacher. The claims he makes are outlandish and arrogant- unless they are true!

Here’s what I think we should take away from this passage;

God sees us as we really are with no pretense and no disguise. We encounter God most intimately in Jesus, who we encounter most intimately in the Eucharist. This afternoon, we are going to go to Mass, and probably we’re all going to be thinking about how we need to get the kids to behave and participate. But I challenge you to be aware yourself that Mass is the very place where we meet God. Jacob said “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” Even if the kids aren’t aware of what’s happening at Mass, part of our mission is to bring Christ to the kids, and the source and summit of that is in the Mass. But for yourselves too, I challenge you to open yourselves up to the grace of God at the Mass today, and let Him see you, see your heart. Give Him all those little things that maybe no one else ever sees.

Coffee and Conversation short bio

My name is Peter van Kampen, I grew up here in Calgary, mostly in the Southeast. I am second oldest of 10 kids, and have been raised as a Catholic by my parents.

However, in my early teen years I started questioning a lot- and not so much out of legitimate intellectual integrity so much as out of a desire to not have to go to Church. Some friends of mine invited me to some fundamentalist protestant youth groups, and it was there that I first began to take ownership of my faith. Unlike some people, I can't isolate a particular day that my faith became important to me. It was an ongoing journey of getting deeper into the faith and coming to know God. But the fact that I had other Christian friends who sincerely believed the faith and lived it out was probably the biggest factor in my taking ownership of it.

It is perhaps because of this that I believe so strongly in the importance of youth ministry, and in particular of challenging teens to own their faith.

After High School I attended the John Paul II Bible School in Radway, Alberta. There I got a new love for Catholicism within the greater context of Christianity. Since then I have been involved in many forms of youth ministry- I joined the Team at Our Lady of Victory Camp, a catholic summer camp near Bentley, Ab. I also worked as the Youth Minister at St Peters Church in Silversprings, and as a Core Member with Life Teen at st Mikes.

However, two years after Bible School I felt strongly led to join the seminary with the Companions of the Cross, a new community of priests in Ottawa. I studied with them for 2 years, before discerning that I should leave that community. I finished my degree in Philosophy from the College Dominicain, in Ottawa. Within these years I also spent some time traveling with the Challenge Team- a Team of young adults who went into High Schools to promote Chastity from a non-religious perspective, throughout Canada, the USA, Ireland and England.

After having received my degree, I knew that I wanted to work in some form of youth ministry- however, there were no opportunities to do so in Ottawa at that time. So I became a Youth and Child Worker, working in a grouphome for boys aged 9-14 with behaviour problems.

I went on to become the Youth Coordinator at Annunciation of the Lord Parish in Ottawa. There we ran the Life Teen program, along with several sub ministries, including the Edge (grades 7-8), Bible Studies, Apologetics, a passion play and 2 chastity groups, one for guys and another for girls. The Chastity groups met once a week for six weeks to learn about Chastity, hold each other accountable, and finally at the end to make a commitment to Chastity in front of the parish.

Eventually I decided to move back to Calgary, and for the past year have had to work several combined jobs because I could not find full time work in Youth Ministry. So I have worked as the Youth Coordinator at St Cecilia's parish, the Program Coordinator at Our Lady of Victory Camp, and as a School Bus Driver.

I am very excited now to be starting work as a Dean of Students at Clear Water Academy. I first heard about the position from Becky Bienvenue, who was a teacher here last year. The school setting is new for me, though the issues that need to be addressed are not. I am excited for the opportunity to work more closely with individual youth in their personal development.

My vision for the School is that I will be able to help with the idea of integral development- that I will not merely be enforcing exterior discipline, but actually helping the boys to develop the kind of character they need to become men of God. I hope to help inspire them to own their faith, as I was inspired to do so when I was a youth. I believe firmly in the idea of character deplopment especially in the acquisition of virtues and, in turn, the elimination of vice. I also firmly believe that any real growth in this area will be rooted in a real and personal relationship with God.

I want to be able to go even further, especially with the older guys. I believe that teenage boys in particular enjoy rising to a standard of excellence, and need to be instilled with the confidence that this is possible. We hope to create a kind of mentoring program at the school, where the older students will help the younger students to become apostles. This will benefit the younger students, who already consider teenagers to be their role models, and it will help the older students who, I believe, will find the challenge inspiring, and through helping others to grow will come to a place of greater conviction regarding their own development.

This year the boys will have a chance to develop in these areas in apostolic classes, campaignes, apostolates, clubs, the mentoring program, and retreats that I will help to facilitate throughout the year. Thank you for your support of these programs, and please pray for the boys, especially on retreat days.

I will also have contact with you the parents. If there is a serious offence or concern, I will naturally call you. I will also be calling you if there are any notable achievements that I want to make you aware of. I would also like to invite and encourage you to contact me, either by phone or by making an appointment, if there is anything you would like us to be aware of with your son. My responsibility is to work most closely with your son in areas of discipline and character development, so if you have anything you wish to make me aware of, don't hesitate to call. You can also contact me if you have any concerns about other students in the class, should there be issues like bullying or inappropriate behaviour among your sons classmates.

I look forward to working with you and your children. Thank you.

Bullying and Charity

Who can tell me what happened at Dawson college in Montreal this week? Who can tell me what happened at columbine a few years ago? Why did these things happen?

In both cases the young men acted because they hated their classmates, and, it turned out, they had been bullied.

Personal Story

When I was in grade 6, I was somewhat oblivious to the fact that I wasn't popular. It wasn't until one day a teacher was yelling at the class for lack of Charity, and he said "And why doesn't anyone like Peter? He's a nice guy! I can't figure out why no one likes him." That I realized that people didn't like me.

It got worse. In Junior High, people would make fun of me for my clothes, since I didn't have the name brands. I had a pair of jeans that were "spider" brand jeans- not a cool brand! Everyone made fun of me for them- so one day I realized that the brandnames on Jeans didn't really matter. So I took scissors, and cut off the tag that said "Spider". But underneath that tag was another one- and this one said "Alley Cat."!

You know how in most schools there are a couple of kids that nobody likes, that everyone kind of thinks is a loser? Those kids thought I was a loser! I basically had 2 friends. They were both imaginary. And they wouldn't play with me- they only played with each other.

Then one day, between the summer of grade 9 and grade 10, I went to a camp called "Our Lady of Victory Camp." At that camp there were tons of cool people- who thought I was cool too! I remember we did Jesus letters. That's where you write a letter to Jesus, and then at Camp we burn them, and they go up to God in smoke. "Holy Smoke!"

My letter was very simple. I wrote "Dear Jesus, I just want to be loved."

From camp I made a lot of good friends. And then in High School I mad lots of friends, and I actually became popular! Something changed between grade 9 and grade 10. Part of it was maybe the prayer- but more of it was that people in High School were more mature. They didn't care so much about stupid things like what brand my Jeans were. They cared more about people, and getting to know them.

At CWA there are a few bullying issues, both in this class and in other classes. We need to find a way to address it! As Christians, we can't just say we love Jesus and not let it affect our lives- our love for God has to be transforming. We have to become the kind of people who actually make a difference in others lives.

Get a scribe to write answers on the board:

What kinds of bullying are there?

- Physical
- Name calling- "Sticks and Stones"
- Ignoring
- Hiding peoples stuff.
- Just purposely being annoying
- Intimidating

Why do people bully?
- To feel better about themselves
- just to be mean
- because it's funny to watch the other persons reaction

How does someone feel if they are bullied?
- Embarrassed
- Mad
- Sad
- stupid
- hate people

What can we do to stop bullying in our school?

If you personally have the vice of being a bully, what virtue do you need to work on? Charity. Don't just try not to bully. If there is someone you have bullied in the past, ask that person for forgiveness, and purposely choose to do nice things for them!

Introduce Poster idea.

Split them into groups.

Holy Spirit Power!

Today we're talking about the power of the Holy Spirit. Who is the Holy Spirit? (3rd person of the Trinity.) What difference does the HS make?

Pentecost- all the apostles were afraid! Gethsemane. Most of the apostles ran away. In fact, one of the apostles was so scared, he backed out of his robe, and ran away naked! Peter, the big, bold fisherman, was so scared of the little servant girl who asked him if he knew Jesus, that he denied it!

But, after Jesus died and rose again, he promised something new to the apostles. Power. "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;"(Acts 1:8). He promised the apostles that they would be able to do greater things than even He did! That they would be able to drink poison and heal the sick and raise the dead, and move mountains and walk on water...


Even after seeing Jesus having risen from the dead, and all the other miracles they saw, and Jesus went up to heaven, and two angels were like "What's up".... they still didn't get it. They were still scared.

What changed?

Pentecost. One day, they were all locked in one room. Suddenly, there was a noise like a great wind, then tongues of fire came and rested on their heads. Can you imagine this? Nobodies hair caught on fire, but they all had fire on their head! And then what happened? They went out and preached! They were so excited, everyone thought they were drunk! But Peter was like "we're not drunk. What kind of person gets drunk at 9 in the morning?". And another weird thing- everyone understood what they said in their own language! It's like in the UN, how they all have translators- minus the translators!

But here's the biggest thing- 3000 people became Christian that day. Not bad for a days work!

So here we are today- Clear Water Academy. Are we filled with the Holy Spirit? Anybody here ever raise someone from the dead? Ever walk on water? (Frozen water doesn't count.)

(Once when I was a kid, I tried to walk on water, in my little swimming pool out back. It didn't work).

Why can't we do these things that Jesus promised us we would be able to do? Don't we have the Holy Spirit? How many people here have the Holy Spirit in them?

How many people here were baptized? If you were baptized, then you have the Holy Spirit. The question is, is the Holy Spirit making a difference?

Chocolate milk analogy.

Have you noticed, it is possible to have the Holy Spirit in you, and no one will even be able to tell! When you were baptized, you received the Holy Spirit. This is what is known as an 'indelible mark'. "Indelible" means it wont come off. If you fall asleep at a party, and someone draws a mustache on you with indelible marker, it won't come off! (Most markers, even permanent markers, wash off if you try long enough. Marker story, selling chocolate bars.)

So, if you have been baptized, then you have the Holy Spirit in you- forever. You can choose later to not love God, to commit all kinds of sins, to not even believe that God exists- but the mark of baptism will remain.

So like the chocolate milk, it should make a difference, but in order for it to make a difference, you have to keep it stirred up! This means you keep praying, keep doing examinations of conscience, etc.

So what difference will it make? Eventually, as you get holier, you might learn how to do miracles. Saints were just normal people who kept the Holy Spirit so stirred up that they could do extraordinary things. There's also a saying in Christianity "Grace builds on nature". So what is a natural gift you have?

God can make that gift supernatural! So, if you are a dynamic speaker, God can supercharge your speaking! If you are good at throwing parties, God can make you the best party thrower ever! If you're good at highland dancing, dance like crazy! Of course, God can do all these things- but you do it in God and for God. If you just want to be a good party thrower so everyone will like you better... well, maybe that won't cut it. But if you want to plan events that will bring people closer to God... now we're talkin!

However, even if you're doing all kinds of miracles, dancing like crazy, giving good talks, and throwing incredible parties... that's not why the Holy Spirit came to you!

1 Corinthians 13
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is an example of the fruits of the Spirit. God doesn't just want you to be some amazing magician- He wants to transform you into the kind of person He created you to be! What is a fruit? What is the fruit of the apple tree? Why is the apple the fruit, and not the leaves?

A fruit is the part that creatures other than the one bearing the fruit enjoy, it's like something that plant offers, and it bears seeds. Jesus said our good deeds were like fruit. If we are like a fruit tree, than what good are we if we don't have any fruit? Jesus once went to a fig tree to try to get some figs, but the tree didn't have any, so he cursed it, and it wilted! Jesus wants us to bear fruit, and He gives us the power to be able to do it- this is the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. (To this list, the Church adds generosity, modesty and chastity)

Define each. These things could all be human virtues, but God gives us the grace if we live by the Spirit to have them at an extraordinary level! This is how the Spirit sanctifies us.

The Catechism also lists the 7 gifts of the Spirit.

1830 The moral life of Christians is sustained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are permanent dispositions which make man docile in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
1831 The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.

The Gift of Wisdom gives us insight into why things are as they are and what needs to be done.
The Gift of Understanding helps us to understand complicated things about the faith, like the Trinity or maybe moral things that we don't necessarily like or agree with.
The Gift of Counsel (*Right Judgment) Helps us to make good decisions which will in turn bring us closer to God.
The Gift of Fortitude (*Courage) is more than just bravery. Courage always works in regards to doing what is right.
The Gift of Knowledge helps us to know things we couldn't otherwise know. This helps us too to know the impact of sin on our lives, and the value of good things like life.
The Gift of Piety (*Reverence) means specifically having a devotion and love for God, but it also can mean respecting the traditions handed onto you.
The Gift of Fear of the Lord (*Awe In His Presence) is not an unhealthy fear that says "No! God is going to smite me!" but a rational fear that considers how incredible and powerful God is, and respects that power. A lot of people sin and think "who cares, God will forgive me!" These people lack the gift of fear of the Lord.

So here's what I propose. I want each of you to think of one gift and one fruit that you would like God to give you more of. Then ask the Holy Spirit to give you these things!

Obedience

Every month at Clear Water we have what is called the "Virtue of the Month". We actually work on that virtue for 2 months at a time. The idea is that we will talk about and think about it, and all of us, (staff and students) will try to get better and grow in that virtue.

Can anyone tell me what a virtue is?

A virtue can be defined as moral excellence, or even better, a habit of moral excellence. So for example, if someone gives money to the poor, we might say that they are "generous". But if they make a habit out of doing generous things, they foster the virtue of "generosity", which means that they become the type of person who is generous- a virtue becomes a part of who you are, rather than just being something you do sometimes.

The opposite of a virtue is a vice. Can anyone name an example of a vice? Like a virtue, vices are habits which change the kind of person you are. This is why as Christians we need to fight against vices and try to form virtues.

Who knows what the virtue of the month this month is?

Obedience.

What does obedience mean?

Most people think of obedience as doing something that someone else wants for fear of consequences. But obedience as an actual virtue is more than that. Remember that virtue is about changing the actual kind of person you are- so just being obedient, like a slave or a dog- is not virtuous in itself. You want to become the kind of person who is obedient out of love and humility.

People you should obey are "Legitimate Authority." Who can think of some examples? (Teachers, parents, Deans, coaches, police, magisterium, etc.) What would be an example of illegitimate authority? (Dictators, bullies, anyone telling you to do things that is contrary to God's will.)

What makes the difference between legitimate authority and illegitimate? (Legitimate should themselves be obedient to God!) How should Legitimate authority behave?

Have you ever resented an authority- thought they were jerks or being stupid for telling you to do something? Why?

Personal testimony- The Seminary. Rules were subjective. Changed with the whims and ideals of the priests. Health food and Kombucha.

Arbitrary rules are hard to obey. Rules should have a good reason for existing. As a student or the child of your parents, it helps to understand the reason for the rules so that you can obey it whole heartedly. But, even if you don't understand the reason for the rules, remember that obedience is a virtue founded on humility and love. If you believe that the authority is A: Legitimate and B: looking out for your best interest- then it follows then it follows that you should be able to trust them and the rules they make!

What rules do you have to obey that you think are stupid?
How can choosing to obey those stupid rules help you anyway to be a better person?

A lot of times as Christians we will have to do things that we know exactly why they are good, and why we have to do them, and we still won't want to. By choosing to obey in little things, even when we don't fully get it, we will begin to establish the virtue, the habit of always choosing to do the good.

It also teaches us humility, that we are not the final authority on what is right and wrong. God has given us authorities, and in particular the Church, who have access to knowing what is right and wrong more than we do, and who have been given the authority to make decisions in that area. In regards to obeying the Church, we need to give what is called our "assent of faith"- which means we choose to believe them even when we don't understand. (This can be compared to us believing NASA about the roundness of the Earth, even though we don't notice it to be round on our own.)

Role Playing Obedience Game

Pick volunteers, assign them roles and situations. Have them illustrate disobedience first (or obedience out of fear of punishment), followed by the virtue of obedience.

Situations:

Class room disruptive student.
At home, kids asked to do dishes.
Police tell you to stop skateboarding in a certain place.
Priest teaching about a controversial subject (this scenario should vary according to age- younger can be 'attend mass', older can be "contraception".)

These situations should be used to teach about the value of obeying joyfully and willingly, demonstrating love and humility, being willing even to make sacrifices for obedience sake, and understanding that legitimate authority has a right to be obeyed.

In all of these things, it is important to remember that "Exterior Discipline leads to Interior Conversion." In other words, even if you don't want to do a thing, if you force yourself to do it, this can transform the kind of person you are by becoming a habit, a virtue. If you lack the virtue of obedience, than just force yourself to obey anyway, and eventually you will get it.

Obedience and Freedom- Bird Analogy.

Best example of Obedience- Jesus. Jesus was God, and yet he chose to become man, and as a human even he obeyed legitimate authority! He obeyed his parents (cf Lk2:51) and John wrote in his letters that Jesus was 'obedient, even to the point of death, death on the cross.'

"Not my will, but thy will be done"

Sponge

Have you ever had a situation where someone does something that just ticks you off, and you kinda lose control- and then you are ashamed for having lost control? This happens to me sometimes. Like when I am driving, and it's hot, and traffic is taking forever to get somewhere, and someone come along and just cuts me off. I'm not one to yell things out the window, or flip them the bird, or even swear much. But I will likely express in some verbal manner my opinion of the other drivers idiocy.

For those of you who don't drive- have you ever run your but off to the bus stop, gotten there 2 minutes early- waited 15 minutes, and realized the bus was 4 minutes early?

And some times someone will politely point out the error in my ways, that I shouldn't be so mean to this person I do not know. I will feel a little ashamed, but mostly I will think it was the other persons fault anyway.

Sometimes, however, a person I really care about will just get on my nerves. They will criticize me, or demand something of me, or sometimes they just chew with their mouths open or comment on my flatulence- and I find myself suddenly saying something mean to them out of anger. Often I will actually go into a bit of a rant, naming all the faults related to the one in question, and throwing in a few extras to justify the extent of my anger.

This is not charitable! And it is not virtuous to lose my temper. However, how many of you, when told you shouldn't get so mad about a thing, are like "It's not my fault! If they wouldn't ...."

You know what? Jesus said that it was from the heart that man sins. In other words, you can't blame other people. I am ashamed of my lack of ability to control my emotions, because it means that I am not the well composed holy man that I like to pretend I am. I sincerely want to be holy, and I regret the times that I behave in ways that are not holy. But whatever exterior forces are working on me, whatever 'crunch' I'm under, it is in fact me who is behaving in an unholy manner, and it is in fact my own fault.

Jesus used to get so frustrated with the Pharisees. He called them "White washed tombs". What is a tomb? What is white wash? To a religious person in Jesus' day, if you touched a dead person or a tomb, than you would be decared to be "Unclean", and would not be allowed in the temple, amongst other things. It was like you were a leper.

So if Jesus called the Pharisees "White Washed Tombs"- that's a pretty harsh diss! That means that even though the Pharisees looked all good, they weren't, they were unclean death on the inside.

What was Jesus' problem? I mean, the Pharisees did all the right stuff. They didn't do drugs or drink or smoke or sleep around. They prayed all the time, gave money to the poor, or at least gave it to the Temple. Isn't this exactly the kind of people God wants us Christians to be?

But Jesus said they were like dishes that were washed on the outside, but not on the inside. They didn't believe it- they thought that they were so holy that they didn't need Jesus. And so they hated him, and had him crucified.

But after all, that was Jesus' fault, right? I mean, he pretty much goaded them on, calling them 'brood of vipers' and 'white washed tombs.' They can't be held responsible for their actions under those circumstances, can they?

This is the whole point about Jesus. He doesn't care nearly so much about what you look like on the outside as he does what you are like on the inside. Jesus said "You have heard it said, do not commit adultery, but surely I tell you, if you so much as look at a woman with lust in your heart, you have already committed adultery with her in your heart." Do you think he's just trying to be tough? Come out with a good catch phrase? Like let's think about this! What is in your heart? Do you sit there thinking about what jerks people are? Do you think about how anoying they are, or awkward, or geeky, or stupid? Or how over strict and unreasonable your parents are? Or how funny looking your youth minister is? Then you think "yeah, but I treat them nice!"

It is your heart that needs to change. Your actions might be Ok, but what happens to you under pressure? It's like a sponge. You could have 2 sponges, one filled with nice clean water, and the other filled with dirty, putrid water. They could look exactly the same! You might even look like a saint! You might be like the Pharisees- do all the right stuff, give money to the poor, say nice things, pray lots.... you look good, but are you?

Life starts to squeeze you- and it will! Your parents get mad at you for something that wasn't even your fault. your teacher gives you a bad grade on an essay that you were proud of. Your friends ditch you at the mall. You miss a bus, and get splashed by a passing car... life squeezes you. What comes out of your heart when it is squeezed? Is it pure, happy goodness? Or is it rotting, disgusting putrid mucus?

What is the theme song for transformers? More than meets the eye. God has called us to be transformers, to make a difference in the world. But how are we supposed to do that if we are no different from the world? Before we can become transformers, we need to be transformed. We need to be "more than meets the eye"- more than just the outward illusion of holiness. We need to get holy deep down inside where no one usually sees us.

And in order to do that, we need to go to the source of all holiness- God. In a few minutes, we are going to go to adoration. In Adoration, take the time to let God see your heart. I don't mean that you have to rip open your chest and take out your still beating heart and be like "See God?". I mean, go as deep inside of you as you can, where you are angry and hurt and lustful and putrid and stinky and impure and say "God, this is me. I want to be cleaned from the inside out."