***FIRST, there was enlightenment… Isaiah 55:6-9, Seek the LORD while he may be found, call him while he is near. Let the scoundrel forsake his way, and the wicked his thoughts; let him turn to the LORD for mercy; to our God, who is generous in forgiving. ***And then the surrender… For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.
**As an active participant in my faith, during the child-rearing and career years I was not as ‘dedicated’ as I am now. My wife & I made sure we, our family, went to Mass on Sundays. My bride dutifully took our children on the Sundays that I had to work. My children were all in youth ministry and made all of their Sacraments. A feather for our ‘parental caps’ that has tragically lost its meaning over the years. I was a blue-collar butcher in a crude and ruthless environment. This isn’t an excuse, just background. I was a Pharisee. Do, do, do, without meaning or understanding.
But this ‘toe in the water’ approach wasn’t all for nothing. It DID after all keep my toe in! So, my midlife crisis wasn’t about sports cars, luxury vacations or dreams of a younger wife. MY crisis ‘was’ similar in as much as the thought that there had to be more.
What, I didn’t know, the ‘more’ is the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. That light is GOD. That light is Salvation! Ahh, the Enlightenment.!! The next step actually moves very smoothly into the surrender. God is the center of the universe, “His ways above our ways, His thoughts above our thoughts.” I am left wrestling with the common adage, “If I knew then what I know now, things would’ve been different.”
This reflective tone on my own behalf fuels my current desire to mentor young men into more fruitful spirituality.
Philippians 1:20-24 & 27, Brothers and sisters: Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me life is Christ, and death is gain. If I go on living in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. And I do not know which I shall choose. I am caught between the two. I long to depart this life and be with Christ, for that is far better. Yet, that I remain in the flesh is more necessary for your benefit.
My first reading reflection segues forward and is applicable with, once a person has achieved that ‘surrender’, pleasing God becomes premiere. We value our human life enough to do God’s wishes, all the while continually, increasingly realizing ‘Salvation’, Jesus, is the prize! The things of this world WILL pass away, but the Word of God shall not pass away. Neither will the individual graces and treasures stored up in Heaven pass away. God said so! Truth is truth!
OH, these poor souls, expecting righteousness to be fair. Matthew 20:1-16, Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o’clock, the landowner saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.’ So they went off. **The owner went out again around noon, around three o’clock, and did likewise about five o’clock….(abbreviated)… So, when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’ The landowner said to one of them in reply, ‘My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?’ **Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
I once heard, but can’t prove it, that the Medieval Kings and aristocracy would intentionally wait until their deathbed, to get baptized. This way, they could sin as much as they wanted, intentionally not pay attention and still get into heaven. Hmmm! Personally, one angry nite, I was at church no less, grousing about a co-worker of mine who I considered pure evil. The spiritual liaison I was unloading on said, “You do realize that they will end up in heaven, probably standing right next to you?” I was stunned. My heart sunk into my feet I was so stunned.
I responded, “There is no way that evil so-and-so is going to heaven, much less next to me!” The gal reminded me of the scripture of the lost sheep and the other 99. “Jesus left the 99 to reclaim the one” she said. “I have not come for the righteous but the sinner.’ If this coworker repents, even at the last minute, God will have mercy!” she continued.
I tensely retorted, “Then why in the world am I holding back when I’m attacked? I should defend myself and put up a fight!” My friend said, “First of all, Mark, you are trying to live Christlike, because that’s what Jesus has called you to do, You!” “Secondly” she paused, “You don’t want to have sin on your soul when you get struck by lightning! There’s NO chance for repentance there.”
After many days of agonizing spiritually and deeply contemplating, the Holy Spirit convicted me… Then my Lady Wisdom gently, albeit irritatingly, pulled me out of the stinking pit that I had dug for myself. Yes, God had rescued me, saved me, yet again. Lady Wisdom had brought Joy to me again! JOY- JOY- JOY. Thank you for your time, Bro BLU… aka Mark Gates.
Brother BLU is a servant of God. He currently lives with his wife in Peosta, Iowa, and is retired. He was a blue-collar meat industry laborer for fifty years. He has spent his whole life as a God-fearing Christian, Mass lector, and cradle Catholic. In 1996, after a Charismatic conference, his spirituality “exploded.”
He had begun feeling anxious about wanting to be one of God’s more positive influences on lives beyond his immediate family. He yearned to be more of an example, the way that teachers or camp counselors can be.
The Holy Spirit has since rocked his world. She has blessed him with personal revelations (Dreams) and events (Visions) in times of needed admonishment, teaching, or encouragement. Having a personal belief and true affection for the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and a very sweet, tender, and intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit, he believes that the world is in dire need of ‘good news’. He wants his spirituality to create conversations and prays that these musings will start meaningful conversations in your lives.
