Tim Speer's Blog - Posts Tagged "jesus"
The Beautification Of Jesus
I often see pictures and posts on Facebook that show glowing pictures of the Eucharist, or a priest holding the Eucharist up for consecration in a glowing light. Yet my experience at mass is that the priest, and the Eucharist, often look very plain, and nowhere near as dazzling as the pictures I've seen. Oh, to be sure, the priest is dressed in his fancy vestments, but his overall appearance is quite ordinary. And the appearance of the Eucharist itself is fairly ordinary.
Now before those of you who post these jump on my case, let me just say that I do believe in the Eucharist. And I have a great reverence for it. And I know that while the Eucharist may appear ordinary, it is in fact very extraordinary. And although the priest may appear ordinary, he is performing a very extraordinary task.
But we have a tendancy to make the physical appearance more spectacular than it really is. And it's not just with the Eucharist. Take most any picture you see of Jesus. He's basically made out to be the biblical age equivalent of tall, dark and handsome. Is this the way he really was?
The Reality
For our reality check, let's go back to when Jesus first came to earth. That angelic manger scene with Mary and Joseph looking so heavenly, looking down adoringly at the baby Jesus. The only problem is, it wasn't anything like that. The "manger" was most likely a small cave. And as for Mary and Joseph, they had been traveling on a dusty road all day. Joseph on foot, and Mary on a donkey. And they hadn't even had a bath! Later in his life, when Jesus was traveling and teaching, there were probably many times when he would have appeared a little dirty and grubby. A far cry from the beautiful pictures we see.
Underneath the Cover
Yet, with the manger scene, we know that despite outward appearances something very wonderful was happening. In that manger was a baby who would save the world. And beside him was the woman who would be crowned Queen of Heaven. And the sometimes dirty and grubby man going around teaching, was no less than the direct presence of God here on earth.
So if you go to mass and the Priest appears a little less than glowing, and you find the Eucharist to be somewhat plain looking, you shouldn't be deceived. Rest assured, it is far from ordinary, it is the very presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. And when you leave Church and go out into the world, it might not hurt to keep in mind that if Jesus comes to you, he probably won't be suave and well dressed.
Now before those of you who post these jump on my case, let me just say that I do believe in the Eucharist. And I have a great reverence for it. And I know that while the Eucharist may appear ordinary, it is in fact very extraordinary. And although the priest may appear ordinary, he is performing a very extraordinary task.
But we have a tendancy to make the physical appearance more spectacular than it really is. And it's not just with the Eucharist. Take most any picture you see of Jesus. He's basically made out to be the biblical age equivalent of tall, dark and handsome. Is this the way he really was?
The Reality
For our reality check, let's go back to when Jesus first came to earth. That angelic manger scene with Mary and Joseph looking so heavenly, looking down adoringly at the baby Jesus. The only problem is, it wasn't anything like that. The "manger" was most likely a small cave. And as for Mary and Joseph, they had been traveling on a dusty road all day. Joseph on foot, and Mary on a donkey. And they hadn't even had a bath! Later in his life, when Jesus was traveling and teaching, there were probably many times when he would have appeared a little dirty and grubby. A far cry from the beautiful pictures we see.
Underneath the Cover
Yet, with the manger scene, we know that despite outward appearances something very wonderful was happening. In that manger was a baby who would save the world. And beside him was the woman who would be crowned Queen of Heaven. And the sometimes dirty and grubby man going around teaching, was no less than the direct presence of God here on earth.
So if you go to mass and the Priest appears a little less than glowing, and you find the Eucharist to be somewhat plain looking, you shouldn't be deceived. Rest assured, it is far from ordinary, it is the very presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. And when you leave Church and go out into the world, it might not hurt to keep in mind that if Jesus comes to you, he probably won't be suave and well dressed.
Loving Jesus
Like a lot of women, my wife loves inspirational love stories. You know, those movies us guys call "chick flicks". Not always, but quite often, these movies have a man who ignores either his wife, or his children, or both. We all sit there thinking "what a heel this guy is".
Hopefully we aren't like that. I personally tell my wife I love her, not just every day, but multiple times a day. And I don't just tell her, I try to show her. I try to make her understand that she Is the most important thing on this side of heaven to me. And I have also tried to do the same with my children. Granted, I'm not always perfect, but I do try.
But do we do the same when it comes to Jesus? Sure we say we love Jesus, but do we show that love? Or do we think to ourselves "an hour a week should be enough". And I'll be there (for that game, that recital etc.). But then often, when the time comes, something else comes up. Or we're just too busy, or too tired, or too whatever.
But wait, you say. We do talk to God. We say A prayer every day. And many of us do. We ask him to do this for us (wash the car, take out the trash, iron my shirt etc.), or to help us with that (help me with the dishes, help me with the kids etc.), and just maybe, we say thanks every now and then. And all too often, our prayers come out not like a conversation, but a short text message. If this is all we do, we really aren't any different than the "heel" in that chick flick we just watched.
We are called to love God with all our heart, all of our mind, and all of our soul. That's a lot. And if we really love God, we should want to be with him. And not for just an hour a week, but every day, as much as we can. We should want to talk to him as often as possible. And not to just to ask him for things, but to thank him, and maybe even ask him what he would like us to be doing. That, of course, means we should also listen to him. And spending time with Christ should be our number one priority.
Hopefully we aren't like that. I personally tell my wife I love her, not just every day, but multiple times a day. And I don't just tell her, I try to show her. I try to make her understand that she Is the most important thing on this side of heaven to me. And I have also tried to do the same with my children. Granted, I'm not always perfect, but I do try.
But do we do the same when it comes to Jesus? Sure we say we love Jesus, but do we show that love? Or do we think to ourselves "an hour a week should be enough". And I'll be there (for that game, that recital etc.). But then often, when the time comes, something else comes up. Or we're just too busy, or too tired, or too whatever.
But wait, you say. We do talk to God. We say A prayer every day. And many of us do. We ask him to do this for us (wash the car, take out the trash, iron my shirt etc.), or to help us with that (help me with the dishes, help me with the kids etc.), and just maybe, we say thanks every now and then. And all too often, our prayers come out not like a conversation, but a short text message. If this is all we do, we really aren't any different than the "heel" in that chick flick we just watched.
We are called to love God with all our heart, all of our mind, and all of our soul. That's a lot. And if we really love God, we should want to be with him. And not for just an hour a week, but every day, as much as we can. We should want to talk to him as often as possible. And not to just to ask him for things, but to thank him, and maybe even ask him what he would like us to be doing. That, of course, means we should also listen to him. And spending time with Christ should be our number one priority.
Christmas
Like many, I have found the past couple of weeks to be extremely busy. With all of today's hustle and bustle, it's easy to get sidetracked, and to forget what the true meaning of the season is. So I'd like to take this time to wish all of you a Happy Holy Days and a very Merry Christ Mass.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.
John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.
John 1:14
