Spiritual Kindling

Bearing witness

Bible verse:
"Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1: 29-34)

Inspiration:
Jesus’ public ministry didn’t begin until He was 30 years old, well past what people in His era would have considered the prime of His life. By that point, those who knew Him best, simply thought of Him as the son of Joseph, the local carpenter. A devout and pious man, who knew His Bible well, Jesus occasionally spoke in the nearby synagogues but it was his charismatic cousin, John, who electrified the crowds.

John spoke with great force and authority about the baptism of repentance, always making clear that someone greater than he would soon come. But it wasn’t until that grace-filled day on the banks of the Jordan River, when the Holy Spirit inspired John, that he got his first inkling of Jesus’ true identity. It must have been difficult initially for John to accept that his younger cousin was also the long-awaited Messiah. But soon John was calling Jesus the Son of God.

There were plenty of naysayers, including some in Jesus’ extended family. But John straightened them out; he spoke loud and clear and in so doing prepared the way for Jesus. 

Like Jesus Himself, many of us took our spiritual path in life with the encouragement and support of someone we respected, a person who saw something special in us and brought it to our attention. The exhorter may have been a parent, teacher, coach, priest or friend, but whoever it was and whatever was said, it brought out the best in us. For the first time, we envisioned the path our lives would take.

There is no way we can ever thank those people enough for what they did for us. The best we can do is follow the example of John the Baptist and point others toward the path that leads to Christ.

Verse of the Day is available as a free web service from BibleGateway.com Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Gifts of the Magi

Bible verse:
"And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them" (Matthew 2: 1-12)

Inspiration:
One of the most popular gift items this Christmas season was the branded gift cards on display at department stores, bookstores, supermarkets, drug stores and, yes, Starbucks. The cards are a multi-billion dollar a year business growing at a double-digit rate. There are even Web sites where you can trade a gift card you don’t want for one you can use at a store where you shop.

Faced with the frustrating task of trying to buy presents for people who have everything, shoppers simply opt to give a gift card and let the others choose their own presents. The cards have become a trendy symbol of purchasing power, but 10% to 15% of them are never fully redeemed.

This weekend, we are reminded of symbolic gifts that were fully redeemed as we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany or “the light of the world.” Following a bright star, three wise men have come to pay homage to the King of Kings and Lord of lords. In paying tribute to the infant Jesus, they present Him with three symbolic gifts that He will one day fully redeem.

Gold is given in anticipation of the day when Jesus will mount His throne in the heavenly kingdom. Frankincense is given as a symbol of Jesus’ priesthood, a role He will fulfill when He offers up the ultimate sacrifice. Myrrh is given because it is used in embalming, a sign that Jesus will one day conquer death on the cross.

Tradition has it that the wise men were Magi from Persia, which would mean that they had traveled more than 1,200 miles bearing their gifts. This weekend, each of us might pause to consider how far we are prepared to go in paying homage to the One who gave 100% for us.

Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

 

A man without guile

Bible verse:
"Nathanael said to him, 'Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, 'Come and see.'" (John 1: 43-51)  

Inspiration:
On greeting Nathaniel for the first time, Jesus said that he was a man in whom there was no guile; or to put it more bluntly, he was honest to a fault, even scornful of Jesus initially. But Nathaniel was also quick to admit he was wrong – he had misjudged Jesus. And he didn’t hesitate to set the record straight.

The combination of honesty and humility that earned Nathaniel a place in Jesus’ inner circle is exceedingly rare today. The surest sign that someone is being less than candid is when he or she starts by saying, “Let me be perfectly honest…or, “To tell the truth…”

It’s not the truth that is in short supply but rather the courage to speak the truth. For example, after examining more than 40 congressional debates, researchers concluded that "the truth" was spoken only 25% of the time. In 43 debates, only 11 key claims were primarily fact-based, another 16 were "unsubstantiated" and 16 blended fact with fiction.* The legislators routinely used half-truths, omissions and outright deception in order to make their point when debating welfare reform, estate taxes and telecommunications deregulation.

Of course, politicians aren’t the only ones who struggle with the truth. A 1997 article in “Psychology Today” magazine reported the results of a study, which found most people lie once or twice a day. Another study showed that 80% of job applicants lie on their resumes. And the Internal Revenue Service estimates that 10,000,000 of us fudge on our income tax returns.

But the most stunning statistic is the one cited by Dr. Charles Ford in his book,  "Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!" According to Ford, the average person lies seven times an hour – if you count all the times people lie to themselves. Self-deception may be the biggest stumbling block on our spiritual path.

Discerning the truth takes wisdom. For Christians, the repository of that wisdom is the Bible wherein Jesus said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6).

*Gary Mucciaroni of Temple University and Paul J. Quirk of the University of British Columbia in their new book, Deliberative Choices: Debating Public Policy in Congress.

Verse of the Day is available as a free web service from BibleGateway.com Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.