Reflection by Jeff Koch
Scripture: Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14; Psalm 24; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12a
“Let us all rejoice in the Lord, as we celebrated the feast day in honor of all the Saints, at whose festival the Angels rejoice and praise the Son of God.”
This Sunday we celebrate “all saints day.” A time when we remember the lives of those who have demonstrated the life of Jesus in a way that impacts our lives. What is a saint? I have heard that a saint is just a normal person, that God fills with His life, to the point that as we look at this person, we can see Jesus. This person shines with the light of God. I hope we can all say I want to be that kind of person.
Thomas Merton was asked by his college friend, Robert Lax, “Thomas, what do you want to be?” Merton responded by saying he wanted “to be a good Catholic.” Lax, seeking to clarify said, “what you should say, is that you want to be a saint.” When Merton protested even the idea of him being a saint, Lax continued, “all that is necessary to be a saint is to want to be one.” Many different ideas of what a saint is, but in reality we are all born to be a saint. Maybe not like St. Francis or St. Dominic, but still to be a living reflection of Jesus. And to be one you have to want to be one.
Grace and life is a gift of God, that we all can receive and live in; but, there is a matter of conforming to the image of Jesus. We are called to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. If we want to be a living reflection of Jesus, there are some things we need to do on our part to be holy, to be pure. I love that the Beatitudes are also in our reading. A while back I had someone show me the ladder of the beatitudes. That if you can progressively develop these attitudes that we should incorporate into our lives, we are actually growing in the way of the Kingdom. Let’s walk through them quickly. I encourage you to take some time to contemplate on these verses.
We start by developing an attitude of being poor in spirit. This is when I realize that I need God and I am not sufficient in myself and my abilities, I need him. So I seek to rid myself of my way and in humility seek the way of Jesus and the kingdom, for it is available. Once I realize this I mourn those things in my life that hinder me from being humble and trusting in Jesus for what I need and with that admission, I am forgiven and comforted. When I realize where my life and power come from, not self, but Jesus and the Spirit of life God has given me I allow the way the life the truth of God to fill me and what I have I have only because of God and so I rest in his ability rather than mine, I will be meek, trusting in the Lord, which opens up my inheritance.
When I begin to see God’s life filling me as I participate in the kingdom reality, I want more of God. I want to see Gods truth and justice, the way of making things right in my life and in the world, so I hunger and thirst for more of God and his way to be shown, and in faith I also know that I shall be satisfied with all of God’s righteousness. Resting in the reality that God has got this and God has got me, I can be a vessel of God’s mercy. He has given me mercy and I an offer mercy to those around me. As I begin to think of others and show mercy and love those things in my heart are removed; anger, hate, vengeance, etc and my heart begins to be cleansed.
When I have a clean heart I can begin to see the things that God is doing, how he is showing up in my life and in the lives of others. I can see God working in ways that others can see, because my heart is being cleaned and purified made one with God. As I begin to see God I am filled with peace and can begin to see where God’s peace needs to come and I can become a peacemaker. A child of God!
Now when I being to promote justice and truth and become more merciful; as my clean heart begins to see God working in areas others can’t see. And as I become a peacemaker; others may not like that, they will see that as a threat to their way of life and they begin to persecute me because I am different, my way, God’s way of life; is seemingly a threat to them and their selfish ways. My way of life, will at times, ‘call them out’ and expose their way of life, my light will shine and darkness will try to extinguish the light in me. But remember they persecuted Jesus for those reasons and they insult me and persecute me and say all kinds of things against me falsely, for His names sake.
As that happens I begin to feel like I need to rise up and combat them and their lies, but then I realize that I need to not trust in myself and I need to be poor in spirit for in that is the kingdom of heaven. And I mourn for those things in me that . . . Well, you get the picture. It all grows through another cycle . . . again and again. Until one day I will, as John tells us, see Him face to face. There is a day when we shall see him face to face and when we see him we shall be like him. Those who have this hope makes himself pure, or in other words, “seeks to be a saint!”
Almighty ever-living God, by whose gift we venerated in one celebration the merits of all the Saints, bestow on us, we pray, though the prayers of so many intercessors, an abundance of the reconciliation with you for which we earnestly long. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns wth you in the unity of the Holy Spirit. God, for ever and ever. Amen!”