Minimum Christianity - The Art of Getting By

The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus.
Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from my Father.
For which of these are you trying to stone me?"
The Jews answered him,
"We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy.
You, a man, are making yourself God."
Jesus answered them,
"Is it not written in your law, 'I said, 'You are gods"'? 
If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came,
and Scripture cannot be set aside,
can you say that the one
whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world
blasphemes because I said, 'I am the Son of God'? 
If I do not perform my Father's works, do not believe me;
but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me,
believe the works, so that you may realize and understand
that the Father is in me and I am in the Father."
Then they tried again to arrest him;
but he escaped from their power.

He went back across the Jordan
to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained. 
Many came to him and said,
"John performed no sign,
but everything John said about this man was true."
And many there began to believe in him.

Jesus has done it now.  He has called Himself the Son of God and this in the eyes of the Pharisees is blasphemy.  Jesus does not retreat, He explains and His explanation gets Him in deeper in trouble as the temple gangs see it.  They try to arrest Him but he escapes from their grasp. He left the temple and went back over the Jordan River where the ordinary people saw and many believed. 

In this modern age, we try to get by with the minimum.  We try to minimize the amount of taxes we pay, the effort we need to make to get the job done and sometimes we even apply the getting by rules to our Christian obligations.  Now, Please keep in mind, I am not judging anyone here, I am just making an observation.  Every week, I notice some people arrive at the church after mass has started and it seems that the very same people are the ones that leave right after communion.  Perhaps there is a good reason for this to happen once in a while and yes, at least they are at church but I have to wonder where their heart is.  Are they coming to mass because they have to?  Are they leaving early to get a better booth at the IHOP? 

Some of us have lost the meaning of why we go to church every week.  We are one vast family consisting of all the Christians that have ever been that have attained heaven, those awaiting purification in Purgatory, and those of us still slugging it out here on earth.  All of us together for the Body of Christ, the Communion of Saints, we are all one body and one spirit in Christ.  The Church is the Bride of Christ!  We come together because staying apart is too painful.  We have to be with one another and to bolster each other's faith. A timid, half-hearted spiritual life, while better than nothing, is just so sad because of what you miss by being so luke-warm.  Next time you are in Church, look around you.  These are the people you will see and be with in heaven.  We are not temporary friends and neighbors, not at all.  We are going to be together in the joy of heaven together.  The old rabbi counseled his congregation and told them, "When you come to temple walk with joy and vigor and happiness because you are coming to God's house.  When you leave, walk slowly as if sad to depart." 

So, come on, next Sunday, be there on time, get the kids ready a few minutes earlier if you have to.  When you are there look at the front of the Church, see that lamp over the Tabernacle?  That's a reminder that you are not in a train or bus station but that you are in the House of God and Jesus Himself is with us.  When you receive communion, remember, it is not just "Jesus and Me"  it is "Jesus and Me and the Communion of Saints" that are all together.  And for heaven's sake, (no pun intended) come back to your place after communion and recognize who it is you have received into your body.  It is not just bread and wine, it is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ in you when you receive.  How can an IHOP pancake compare with this?  Five minutes with Christ will not make your breakfast that much later.  Spend a few moments speaking with Jesus.  My gosh, you cannot get any closer to God this side of heaven. 

Okay, so I am done preaching for today.  I remind myself that when I go to Mass this week that I will bring with me a new spiritual way of thinking.  I will remember that I am connected to every person in the church, the wider, worldwide church, and with those that have left this world and who either reside with God in heaven or in Purgatory.  I will remember that all of these are my brothers and sisters and that we all have one Father, and that Father is God. 

(Insert commercial for the poor souls in purgatory here...remember to ask people to pray for them and to remember that one day they might be in purgatory themselves. )