Going back in time I wonder what it was like being part of the church in Ephesus in the first century. Sounds like a strange thought, doesn’t it. I’ve heard that the churches described in the New Testament were small groups of people, maybe thirty or forty. Everyone knew each other’s names and had personal affection for one another. What attracts me about the Church of Ephesus is that Mary lived there with her “new son” John. Can we imagine going to prayer meetings with Mary and John? Can we imagine holding Mary’s hand or having her give us a hug when we’ve had a difficult day? Can we imagine looking in her eyes and having her pray for us? How many in Ephesus died with Mary sitting next to them holding their hands.
One of the great treasures we have as Christian is having Mary as our own Mother. She is always there waiting for us to come to her for consolation and advice. Some people, when they grip their rosaries, imagine that they are holding Mary’s hand—and they are! We can extend this thought to having Joseph as our new father and the saints as new sisters and brothers. What a rich church that we are part of! Does the world offer any treasures as great as these?
Jesus tells us how rich we are (Mark 10:28-31).
“Peter began to say to Jesus, ‘We have given up everything and followed you.’ Jesus said, ‘Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred time more now in this present age…”
A hundred times! Right now I own one house; is Jesus saying that I will have a hundred houses? Right now I have three children; is Jesus saying that I will have three hundred children! He is! And notice that he uses the word “now.” He is not talking about when we die and go to heaven. He emphasizes that this takes place in the “present age,” not the future age. Is Jesus exaggerating? No, not at all!
Many of us older Catholics are still impacted by the heresy of Jansenism. As I remember it, this heresy promoted being miserable in this life so that we could join God in heaven someday. After listening to the words of Jesus today, we realize why Jansen’s teachings were condemned by the Church.
Jesus elaborated:
“…houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.”
I belong to a prayer community right now—maybe thirty or forty people. At this very moment if I went to the home of any of these, they’d welcome me in, get me something to eat, comfort me if I needed it and pray for me. And if I had no place to stay, they’d put me up for the night. Right now, then I can count forty homes “that I own” and forty “refrigerators” I have access to.
To keep us grounded, Jesus included the “with persecutions” clause. Even persecutions, however, have a way of drawing closer to Jesus and one another. Suffering togethers unites us deeper in love.
Today, let’s expand our thinking. Let’s realize how rich we are with Mary as a mother, Joseph as a father and all the sisters and brothers we have both on this earth and in heaven. We are blessed!
