mass, year end reflection with the RMI2 - dec 29
In
the bible there are two kinds of knowing.
In fact the Greek bible has two words for knowing. One emphasizes knowing which means to gather
information – what do I know about this person, where he lives, who are his
parents, what he does, what did he do, and so on. The other Greek word for knowing emphasizes
personal knowledge. This is because this
kind of knowing is dependent on one’s experience of who Jesus is, it is
primarily relational, it refers to one’s intimacy with Jesus. It refers to how much impact is Jesus making
in our lives. How is he affecting our
moral choices? How is this faith in
Jesus changing my outlook, my priorities, my principles. This is the knowing that is referred to here
in John’s letter. It is not merely
intellectual – it is not just memorizing the content of our catholic faith and
getting a high grade in catechism Class.
It is experiencing Jesus and allowing him to create an impact in every
aspect of my lfe..
So
do you know Jesus? How well do you know
Jesus? Do you have a way of verifying
that we really know Jesus? Do we have a
way of measuring how well do we know Jesus?
St. John says, yes there is a way of verifying. And he presents to us three things that would
verify how much have we come to know Jesus.
The
first mark is keeping the commandments.
I would like us to focus on the word keeping – keeping the
commandments. What is keeping? Keeping means a watchful, observant
obedience. It is not just an act of
obeying. It is a desire to obey because
you love him. “Keeping” means you are
guarding your obedience as something precious to you because you love him. John says that the measure that one has a
personal relationship with Jesus, the measure that one knows Jesus, is when he
or she guards her obedience to him like some precious thing.
We
religious are obedient, we can be obedient, but where is this obedience coming
from. Is there a desire to obey? It the desire to obey coming from my love for
Jesus, my love for the church, my love for the people I am sent to?
Obedience
is the most difficult of the vows because in obedience we have to surrender our
will. It can only be tempered by
love. Is there therefore a struggle to
form a kind obedience, a kind of obeying that comes from love? Are there efforts in our formation to make and
establish this important connection between loving and obeying?
This
is the first mark – keeping the commandments – keeping, which means guarding
our obedience as something precious.
The
second mark is walking as he walked. St Prosper comments: “Walk as he walked: does that not mean
giving up the comforts he gave up, not being afraid of the kind of trials he
bore, teaching what he taught, persevering in helping even those who show no appreciation,
praying for one’s enemies, being kind to evildoers, serenely tolerating the
proud?”
In other words we must become more and more like Jesus in
everything that we do. This is precisely
why the word was made flesh, so that he can teach us a way of life, not a set
of teachings, not a lot of Godly saying, but a way of life. And he is going to teach us this way of life not
by force but by example in ministering to the poor, in refusing to be king, in
submitting to every kind of injury (St. Augustine). In the words of St. Cyprian to walk as he
walked means to exhibit a resemblance to Christ.
This is another mark, the second mark that we have come to know
the Lord more deeply, when in our day to day life, in our work, in our
patience, in our silence, in our humility, in our love for the poor, in our
sacrifices, in our joys, in our preferences, we resemble Christ. This is the second mark.
There are many things that Christ did which I can never do – I
cannot raise the dead, I cannot heal the sick, I cannot walk on water. But this I can do, I can comfort those who
grieve for their dead, I can care for the sick and alleviate their pain, I can
walk to a person in need.
Do we resemble Christ? In
what way do we resemble Christ? How
closely do I resemble Christ? What
virtues do I have that in some ways resemble Christ? What do I consider the opposites of Christ in
me which I need to work on?
The third mark that speaks of how well do we know Jesus is the
love we show our brothers and sisters.
Loving others is not new. It has
been there before Jesus came to be man.
But why did John refer Jesus’ commandment to love as something new. It is new because it is not just loving but
to loved others as Jesus loved. Love one
another as I have loved you. I can
always love people in the comfort of my own preferences and choices. I can love people who are more kind to me for
example, others I can ignore or at least love from a distance. I can love people who do not make me angry
but I can love or at least act good in front of people who are of no use to
me. This is what makes Christ
commandment to love new - it is no
longer us who determine how we love this person, and how we love that
person. Now it is Christ who determines
how I should love this particular person.
It is no longer up to me. It is now
up to Christ.
Do we listen to the little voice telling us to love a little bit
more than the usual? It may be Christ
telling us to love as he loves. Do we
turn away our sight from things we consider irritable and despicable? Do we sometimes feel an inkling to look
again? It may be Christ telling us to
love as he loves.
And so these are the three points for the day – the criteria to
verify whether we have come to know Jesus:
First – keeping the commandments – is there an eager desire to
obey, are we guarding our vows of obedience like a precious jewel, are we
making connections between loving and obeying.
Second – walk as he walked – do we make efforts to become more and
more like Christ, to resemble Jesus in my patience, in my preferences, in the
comforts that I am willing to forego. Do
I resemble Christ in my choices, in my manner of serving.
Third - do I love others as
Jesus loves. Do we allow Jesus to
determine whom to love first, whom to love more, how to love? Is my kind of loving still up to me or up to
Christ?
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