4th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A
February 3, 2008

Be All That You Can Be

“Be all that you can be.” Anyone ever heard that slogan before? Right – the Army! But did you know that God also wants each of us to “be all that we can be,” to reach our fullest potential? It’s because He created us. It’s because He loves us. It’s because He shaped and formed us for a purpose. We’re not mere accidents.

“Be all that you can be” – spiritually, not just intellectually, not just in your chosen career, not just at school or work or society. In our gospel today, Jesus is teaching atop a mountain. Matthew’s gospel portrays Jesus as the New Moses, the new Teacher and the new Law Giver. We hear the beginning of what is called the Sermon on the Mount, one of Jesus’ teachings, or sermons – and the first part of the Sermon on the Mount consists of the “Beatitudes,” the rules of Jesus, how we are to live as Christians, how we can “be all that we can be.” Here’s how: Live for the Lord by Living the Beatitudes.

This is Super Bowl weekend. You know that I love football. But on Super Bowl Sunday, do you know what I like best? The commercials. I brought one with me today, from a few years back, but it’s one of my favorites. [Show ad on donkey who dreams of being a Clydesdale] What’s the point of this ad? “Be all that you can be.”

How many here have ever had a dream about being something big – an astronaut, the president, a famous movie star or sports hero? Did you know that I, as your pastor, also had dreams when I was younger? Here are a few examples: [Show on screen: Frizzy haired phase in college; surfing beach boy phase; Elvis phase; Arnold Schwartzenegger phase; hippie phase; and Men-in-Black phase] God loves us so much he wants us to be the very best we can be – Clydesdales, not donkeys. Follow with me on your worship and homily handouts. Let’s read this out loud: God Chooses the Nobodies of the World.” God chooses the donkeys to be the Clydesdales.

In our 2nd reading today from 1 Corinthians, Saint Paul tells us: Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world's eyes, or powerful, or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God deliberately chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose those who are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important, so that no one can ever boast in the presence of God. God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus.
(1 Corinthians 1:26-30, NLT)

Why does God do this? Two reasons, I think. First, those who are not so rich or so popular or so beautiful or so handsome are more open to God, because they are not trying to live on their riches or their popularity or the beauty. They’re more humble. They know they need God, they can’t survive on their own. Second, God gets the credit. It’s obvious that when great accomplishments occur through average, ordinary people, God is the one behind the success, not ordinary Joe or simple Sally.

I want to tell you a story, about a guy named Callixtus. He was an embezzler, a thief. The story comes from a book I’m reading, which I am using in the Pastor’s Letter in the bulletin each week, “Saints Behaving Badly: The Cutthroats, Crooks, Trollops, Con Men and Devil Worshippers Who Became Saints.” My kind of book!

Callixtus lived in Rome around the year 190. He was a slave. His owner, Carphophorus, was a Christian and had started up a bank to help other Christians, especially poor widows. He put his slave, Callixtus, in charge of managing the bank — a big mistake! Callixtus stole from the bank, then boarded a ship and tried to run away with the money. Carpophorus caught up with him in the town of Portus, where Callixtus was aboard a ship, anchored in the middle of the harbor, anxiously awaiting a favorable wind. Carpophorus hired a boatman to ferry him out to the vessel. Calixtus saw him coming. In desperation, he dove into the sea and tried to swim to safety; but was caught and sentenced to hard labor, chained to a gristmill, turning the massive stone wheel day after day.

Callixtus was lucky, however. The investors in the bank begged Carpophorus to free Callixtus from hard labor, so that Callixtus could be ordered to work to recover at least some of their lost money. But this turned out to be another big mistake! The very next Saturday, Callixtus ran into a crowded Roman synagogue during prayer services and demanded that his Jewish creditors pay back the money they owed him. The Jews, of course, arrested Callixtus for disturbing the peace and for desecrating a holy place. Callixtus was scourged and sent off to hard labor in the mines on the island of Sardinia – a virtual death sentence!.

But once again, Callixtus was lucky. A woman named Marcia, mistress to the Emperor Commodus, was a Christian and felt sorry for the Christian prisoners on Sardinia. Using her political influence, she convinced the emperor to free all Christians who were working at the mines. Pope Victor I prepared a list of Christian prisoners who were to be freed from the island, but the Pope purposely left Callixtus’ name off the list. Nonetheless, when the Pope’s representative arrived at the island to free the Christian prisoners, Callixtus fell at his feet and begged to be freed, too. The Pope’s representative, feeling pity, obliged.

Carpophorus was furious to see his slave again, and Pope Victor was horrified that this scoundrel Callixtus was back in the city. Victor ordered Callixtus to live in a house far outside the city walls, where he began working for a priest named Zephyrinus and experienced a real spiritual conversion. Victor died and Father Zephyrinus became the next Pope. He ordained Callixtus as a deacon. In Rome, Callixtus became well known and popular. When Pope Zephyrinus died, Callixtus was elected as the next Pope. He became know for his great mercy in forgiving sinners.

A wonderful story of how God uses the weak, the unworthy, the downtrodden, even slaves and embezzlers for His greater purpose. St.Thérèse of Lisieux is another example. She’s better known as St.Thérèse, the Little Flower. She was a teenager in France who wanted to become a nun, but she was too young. She wrote to the Pope for special permission and was allowed to enter the convent of the Carmelites at age 15. She died just a few short years later of tuberculosis, but before her death, wrote a beautiful spiritual meditation. Here’s one of the things she wrote: Jesus deigned to teach me this mystery. He set before me the book of nature. I understood how all the flowers he has created are beautiful, how the splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not take away from the perfume of little violet or the delightful simplicity of the daisy. I understand that if all flowers wanted to be roses, nature would lose her springtime beauty…And so it is in the world of souls, Jesus’ garden. He willed to create such great souls comparable to lilies and roses, but he has created smaller ones and these must be content to be daisies or violets destined to give joy to God’s glances when He looks down at His feet. Perfection consists in doing His will, in being what He wills us to be…

Just as God chose the embezzler slave, Callixtus, to be Pope, and just as God chose a simple French teenager, Thérèse, to be a saint and eventually one of only three female doctors of the church – God also chooses each of us. In John’s gospel, Jesus tells us: You didn't choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce fruit that will last. (John 15:16, NLT)

The Beatitudes are Jesus’ roadmap to help us “bear fruit” for God’s Kingdom. They are on your handout, in three different translations of the Bible, because sometimes, different translations help us pick out different insights or different ways to understand or interpret each beatitude.

First, God wants us to allow Him to be in control of our lives.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (New American Bible)

God blesses those who realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them. (New Living Bible)

You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule. (Message Bible)

Too often in our society, we follow the world’s beatitudes, not God’s: Blessed is the man who makes a fortune; blessed I the one who earns a six figure salary; blessed are the TV and sports stars; blessed are the beautiful people, the handsome people; blessed is the mom whose sons are star athletes on the high school football team; blessed are those who can retire and play golf or swim every day, and drive around in BMWs, Mercedes and Porshes; blessed is the one who owns a palace in the city and summer homes in the mountains and on the beach.

And the second beatitude:

Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. (New American Bible)

You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you. (Message Bible)

So many people are hurting, lonely, suffering. Some here have lost a job and are struggling to make house payments or car payments. Some are single persons, who feel they are not called by God to the single life, but they are afraid that “Mr. or Mrs. Right” may never come along to marry. Maybe a married person is experiencing conflict in marriage and wishing he or she were single again. Maybe someone here has a child in Iraq. Some of us are struggling, perhaps, with an addiction or an illness, or the death of a loved one. We are called to trust in God, to let go and place our needs into His hands. Then, we will experience his strength, his comfort, his solace, his blessing.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. (New American Bible)

God blesses those who are gentle and lowly, for the whole earth will belong to them. (New Living Bible)

Lots of folks misunderstand this beatitude. In today’s society, meekness often denotes weakness, being a wimp, a doormat. That’s not what the word means in Greek. It means that we are in balance, in harmony, in sync in our lives. The Message Bible gets it right here: You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought. (Message Bible)

The Fourth Beatitude: Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
(New American Bible)

God blesses those who are hungry and thirsty for justice, for they will receive it in full. (New Living Bible)

You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat. (Message Bible)

We as Christians are called to be light in the world – to engage in fighting injustice. This is an election year. This week is Super Tuesday, the primaries. Catholics must vote. It’s not an option, it’s a duty and an obligation. And we must vote for candidates who promote a culture of life, not death – against abortion, against capital punishment, in favor of health care reform for the poor, in favor of immigration law reform to help our brothers and sisters from other countries who are here in our nation, working.

The Fifth Beatitude:

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. (New American Bible)

You're blessed when you care. (Message Bible)

We must be a loving, compassionate people. We must care about our neighbor.

The Sixth Beatitude:

Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. (New American Bible)

You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world. (Message Bible)

How can we be witnesses for Jesus and draw others to the Lord of Life, if we ourselves are living in hypocrisy and uncleanliness? Many Christians wonder why they never experience real blessings from the Lord in their lives, but they are living in such sin, which blocks the grace of God, trying to work in their lives!

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (New American Bible)

You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family. (Message Bible)

Obviously, we need to pray for peace in Iraq and in Afghanistan, in the Middle East and in Kenya, for an end to genocide in the Sudan and the violence of drug cartels in Mexico and Colombia. But also, we must become peacemakers in our homes, amongst our family, and at work and in our neighborhoods.

Finally:

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (New American Bible)

You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom. (Message Bible)

Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. (New American Bible)

God blesses you when you are mocked and persecuted and lied about because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. (New Living Bible)

Count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don't like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. (Message Bible)

It costs to be a real follower of Jesus. We too must embrace the cross, just as Jesus did.

It comes down to a simple choice: Will we follow Jesus, or will we just play at our faith? In my own daily prayer, I’ve started reading through the Book of Psalms in the Bible, and in the very first psalm, God lays out the choices with clarity. Let’s read this together: Blessed is the person who does not follow the advice of wicked people, take the path of sinners, or join the company of mockers. Rather, he delights in the teachings of the Lord and reflects on his teachings day and night. He is like a tree planted beside streams— a tree that produces fruit in season and whose leaves do not wither. He succeeds in everything he does. Wicked people are not like that. Instead, they are like husks that the wind blows away. (Psalm 1:1-4, GW)

Lots of people play religion like they cook: A pinch of salt here, a dash of pepper there, a bit of God here, but not too much to affect my routine… We wouldn’t want to go overboard and become religious fanatics. Leave me with my comfortable existence, and just enough of this going to church to make sure God doesn’t send any lightning bolts down on my head.

This week, we start Lent. This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday. Lent is an opportunity for us to turn back to God if we’ve drifted. But for so many Catholics, it’s just a tradition, just a custom. We come to get ashes out of habit more than out of a real desire to change our lives. On Ash Wednesday every year, it’s the same – thousands, even tens of thousands, line up for ashes, but most don’t even bother to return on the following Sunday.

I was shopping recently at Smart and Final. A couple was in line in front of me. They looked at me for a while, trying to figure out who I was. Finally, one of them said, “Are you a teacher here in town?” “No,” I said, “I’m the priest at Our Lady of Soledad.” “Oh,” they said, “now we remember you! We have a child there now in Confirmation classes!” Too many of our Catholics are so disconnected to God and church, and attend so seldom, that they don’t even recognize the pastor!

God gives us a choice of three ways we can live our lives:

1. Out of control – destructively, sinfully.
2. Under our own control – we make up the rules, we maybe just give God a little sliver of our life, but not much, just a pinch of salt to make us feel good and to comfort our guilty consciences;
3. or: Under God’s control, with the Lord really at the center of our lives.

Which way do you think is most pleasing to the Lord?

God wants us to live as Beatitude People…Loving Him…Loving Others…

God wants to use us so that our lives bear fruit, and are not arid and barren.

God wants us to be the very best that we can be.

And remember: Even if we’re just a donkey, we’re all Clydesdales in God’s eyes!

2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A
January 20, 2008

“Behold, the Lamb of God!”

How many here think words are important? That it’s easy to miscommunicate? That sometimes, miscommunication can lead to misunderstandings, even fights and arguments?

I heard a joke a few weeks ago about a guy named Leroy, who attended a church tent revival. He asked the preacher, “Pastor, please pray for my hearing.” The preacher laid hands on Leroy’s head, he placed his fingers on Leroy’s ears, he invoked the Lord in a loud voice to heal Leroy’s hearing. Then he asked Leroy, “How’s your hearing now?” Leroy replied, “I don’t know yet. My hearing isn’t until Wednesday.”

In our gospel today, John the Baptist cries out in a loud voice as he sees Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” Every Sunday, at every Mass, we hear and say those words: “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God…” But do we understand what the words “Lamb of God” really mean? Wouldn’t it have made more sense, if John the Baptist was trying to show that Jesus was the Son of God, to have cried out, “Behold, the lion of God,” or “Behold, the Tiger if God”? Why a lamb?

Today, in the 21st century, we really don’t understand the words “lamb of God” in the same sense as John the Baptist’s 1st century Jewish listeners. Today, the word “lamb” conjures up the image of an innocent, cuddly, cute, somewhat stupid little white animal covered with fleece. But that is not the image that would have come to mind for John’s audience.

Today, I want to look at three words that conjure up what a 1st century Jew in the time of Jesus and in the time of John the Baptist might have thought when they heard Jesus referred to as the “Lamb of God.” And I want to look at the way these three words teach us today about Jesus, and how we might apply these three words today in our own lives.

The first word is FREEDOM. For a 1st century Jew, the words “Lamb of God” conjure up thoughts of the Passover and the Exodus, the greatest moment in Jewish history. The people of Israel were living in slavery in Egypt. God tells Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, he Egyptian king, and tell him that the Lord God demands that he free my chosen people.” We know the rest of the story: How God hardened Pharaoh’s heart; how God sent plagues upon the Egyptian people to punish Pharaoh’s stubbornness; how in the final plague, God told the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb and to celebrate a Passover meal and to smear the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their homes, because that night, the angel of the Lord would pass over and protect the homes with blood, the homes of the Israelites, but if there was no blood, the angel would slay the firstborn male child in the homes of all the Egyptians. Freedom. You’ve seen the movie, Charlton Heston as Moses in “The Ten Commandments,” raising his hands to part the waters of the Red Sea as the Israelites escape the clutches of Pharaoh. Today, 3,500 years later, faithful Jews the world over still celebrate the Feast of Passover every spring, sacrificing a lamb to recall God giving them freedom.

“Behold, the Lamb of God.” The Message Translation of the Bible captures this sense of Passover and freedom, quoting John the Baptist as crying out: “Here he is, God's Passover Lamb!” (John 1:29, Message Bible) And Jesus himself, as Lamb of God, as the new Moses, speaks of freeing us from slavery, when he begins his public ministry by entering the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth and reading from the scroll of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19, New American Bible)

Word One is FREEDOM. Word Two is SACRIFICE. In the first century, Jews traveled to Jerusalem at least once a year, where they offered the blood of lambs, goats and doves as sacrifices in the Temple for atonement of their sins. “Lamb of God” would have conjured up images of bloody offerings to appease God, and of bloody covenant-signing ceremonies where an animal was offered in sacrifice as a way to seal the agreement and to make it sacred and binding. The Old Testament of the Bible talks about how the Israelites would cut an animal in two, then walk between the two halves of the animal as a ritualized way of finalizing an agreement or a covenant, because, in so doing, they were saying to the other party in the agreement, “If I break this covenant, may what has happened to this animal also happen to me.”

Today, why don’t we bring sheep and goats and doves to church for sacrifices? Didn’t anyone here bring any animals to Mass? Why not? You see, Jesus, as “Lamb of God,” was the definitive and final sacrifice for our sin. The Bible tells us that God now desires us to offer ourselves – our love, our fidelity, our trust in Him, our very selves – as a living sacrifice, pleasing to the Lord, rather than the offering of animals. The prophet Hosea in the Old Testament puts it this way: “I want your constant love, not your animal sacrifices. I would rather have my people know me than burn offerings to me.” – (Hosea 6:6, Today’s English Version)

There is an interesting and significant event in the Temple as Jesus is dying on the cross. Luke’s gospel tells us: “It was noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock. The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the thick veil hanging in the Temple was torn apart.” (Luke 23:44-45, New Living Bible) The tearing of the Temple curtain is of great symbolic importance, you see, because up until the time of Jesus, the Jews believed that God lived inside the Temple of Jerusalem, behind that curtain in a special room called the Holy of Holies. That’s also where they kept the Ark of the Covenant and the tablets of the Ten Commandments. Only the High Priest, and only once a year, was allowed into the Holy of Holies to offer the sacrifice of a lamb to atone for the sins of the people of Israel. But now, Jesus, the Lamb of God, becomes the final and definitive sacrifice for sin, so the curtain of the Temple is torn in two, and God comes out of the Temple to live in a new temple, in the temple of our hearts. That’s why we no longer offer bloody animal sacrifices to the Lord, because now, the Lord wants us to sacrifice our hearts and our lives to him. Jesus, the Lamb of God, feeds us each week here at Mass spiritually, with the Eucharist, with his very Body and Blood, sacrificed for us on the cross.

Before continuing, one quick but important warning: Sometimes, this sacrifice, or atonement, for our sin by Jesus on the cross is misunderstood. Some Christians mistakenly teach that God the Father is a wrathful, vengeful, all-just God who demands blood punishment for our sins. Imagine that God is judge and one of us (pick a teen from the congregation) has committed a crime deserving the death penalty. So (teen) is about to be executed. He deserves death. But in comes Jesus, who offers to die in (teen’s) place. The problem with this notion of atonement is that it makes God into a kind of blood-thirsty monster who insists on death instead of forgiveness and mercy, who insists even on sacrificing his innocent son in order to safeguard his righteousness as a just judge. This God is inflexible, unbending, without compassion or love or kindness. Someone has to die, no matter what, to pay for our sin.

Instead of this notion, I like what Jesus says in John’s gospel: “I am the good shepherd… I lay down my life for the sheep… No one can take my life from me. I lay down my life voluntarily.” (John 10:14-15, 18, New Living Translation) You see, Jesus always mirrors and reflects his Father, who – quite the opposite of being a God of wrath and anger and punishment -- loves us deeply. Jesus chooses to sacrifice, chooses to give his life on the cross for us, voluntarily, but not because he must die as part of a twisted way to appease the wrath of an angry Father. How many here are parents? How many make sacrifices for your children? How many make those sacrifices out of love for your children? God is like an all loving parent who loves us so much he was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, by becoming human, taking on our very flesh, living with us always (Emmanuel), and even making the ultimate love sacrifice by giving himself into the hands of evil leaders and dying on a cross as a sacrifice for us.

And so… that leads us to our third and final word: SALVATION. For 1st century Jews, listening the John the Baptist proclaim Jesus as the Lamb of God, they would have thought of the Lamb as the fulfillment of the promises and prophesies of the Old Testament, the promises and prophesies that God would send a Messiah, a savior. The prophet Isaiah said it this way: “All of us were like sheep that were lost, each of us going his own way. But the Lord made the punishment fall on him, the punishment all of us deserved. He was treated harshly, but endured it humbly; he never said a word. Like a lamb about to be slaughtered, like a sheep about to be sheared, he never said a word. He was arrested and sentenced and led off to die, and no one cared about his fate. He was put to death for the sins of our people… His death was a sacrifice to bring forgiveness. (Isaiah 53:6-8, 10, Today’s English Version) In our gospel today, it is clear that John the Baptist also saw Jesus in this way, for he testified, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him…Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.” (John 1:32, 34, NAB)

Now, let’s apply what we’ve learned in our own lives. First, I’ve brought with me today a flashlight. Flashlights shine in the darkness and show us the way so we don’t stumble or fall or get lost. In many ways, John the Baptist is a spiritual flashlight, pointing not to himself but to Jesus, who is the true Light of the World. John the Baptist tell us, “Soon a man is coming who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before I did…I have been baptizing with water in order to point him out to Israel.” – John 1:30-31 (New Living Translation) We would do well to imitate John’s humility, not focusing on ourselves, but allowing the Lord to use us so that we, too, become flashlights who point others to God. Jesus tells us: “You are the light of the world—like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see.” (Matthew 5:14, New Living Translation)

Our first word is FREEDOM. In a world filled with so much tension and stress, Jesus, the Lamb of God, promises us inner, spiritual freedom and peace. But we must trust in him, putting our faith in God and not in the things of this world. Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Orange County, puts it this way: We must choose either to worry or to worship. When we worship and pray, we turn over our anxieties and stresses and preoccupations to the Lord. The Bible tells us: “Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7, New Living Translation)

As Christians, God also expects us to bring freedom to others. Like our Master, Jesus, the Lamb of God, we are called to free the captives, comfort the sick, feed the hungry, clothe the naked. Jesus commands us: “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.” (Mark 16:15, New Living Translation) The world is so hungry for this freedom!

Today, we celebrate Pro-Life Sunday in our church; and tomorrow, we honor Martin Luther King, Jr., who fought for life, for racial harmony and justice in our country; and later this year, we will elect new leaders in our nation. As Christians, are given an opportunity to engage society and our world in a positive way, to promote a culture of life in our country and in our society, and to oppose a culture of death.

There are many, many important life issues on the table that require our prayers and our attention: Defending the unborn, who are the most vulnerable in our society, by fighting for an end to abortion; helping young women with an unwanted pregnancy find love and support so that they will choose options other than abortion; working hard to end the death penalty – New Jersey just abolished it, some other states are thinking about it, yet we are one of the few nations on earth that still execute criminals; reforming our nation’s ugly and unjust immigration system; fighting bigotry and prejudice and an ugly spirit of hate, which so often is directed against the most vulnerable, like immigrants, or against the poor and homeless, or against those who are not like ourselves – foreigners, or persons of a different skin color or ethnic background or sexual orientation. As Christians, we must fight for affordable health care for the elderly and children and the poor; we must oppose torture and human rights abuses, even by our own CIA against our enemies; we must promote peace and international cooperation; we must battle hunger and starvation and AIDS in Africa and throughout the world.

Our second word is SACRIFICE. The Christian life is not easy. It requires dedication, perseverance, faith, trust in God. As Jesus sacrificed his life because of his love for us, we too are asked to sacrifice our very lives because of our love for Him and because of our love for others. We are called to grow a “shepherd’s heart” of love and compassion for others, a heart that imitates the heart of Jesus, the Lamb of God and our Good Shepherd.

And our third word, SALVATION, is the most important one of all, because Jesus, the Lamb of God, is our savior, our rock, our strength, our salvation. Without that living, vibrant, alive relationship with Him, nothing else really matters. Our love for Him is the reason we sacrifice and fight for the world’s freedom and for life in abundance for all peoples.

Alexander Men, a famous reformist Russian Orthodox priest who advised Soviet dissident Alexander Solsenitsyn and who opposed Soviet communism, was gunned down and killed under very mysterious circumstances in Russia in 1990. In an interview shortly before his assassination, he was asked why he risked his life for his Christian faith, why he continued for fight so fervently and to sacrifice so diligently for justice and freedom in the world. He replied that, for him, Christianity was unique among all the other religions of the world, for one reason only, but that one reason made all the difference in the world. Christianity, of noted, had the Bible, but other religions also had their sacred scriptures. Christianity had the Ten Commandments and other moral codes, but so, too, most other religions followed similar moral codes. The difference, he said, was that Christianity was more than a religion. It was, first and foremost, a relationship, a personal friendship, with the God of the universe – a God of love and mercy who was not far off, but who loved us so much that He came into the world and offered himself as a living sacrifice on our behalf.

Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God: It is he, and he alone, whom we are called to serve. He is our Passover, our Freedom. He is the final sacrifice that takes away our sin. He is our salvation, offering us friendship through a personal relationship with Him. And he commissions us to take His light of freedom and salvation to others, so that they, too, might come to know Him, and have life in His name.

“Glory to God in the highest, Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. To Him be the glory, forever and ever. Amen.”