Speaking
Jesus
I have
a childhood friend whose father met his mother while stationed in South Korea. He
lived in Korea until he was seven. In the Air Force, his father was sent all
over the world, eventually retiring at England Air Force Base at Alexandria.
As a
child all my friend knew was Korean. His family, friends, and even his father spoke
Korean. His mind functioned in Korean.
Moving
to the US, he was bullied, mocked, and ostracized. He looked, spoke, thought,
and lived different than others. Teachers thought him slow, because it took a
while to answer questions. They would ask a question: he would translate into
Korean, think about it in Korean, translate his answer to English, and give it.
He was seven
One day,
a teacher asked him a question and he understood it, in English. The answer
came to him, in English. From that point
on, his thoughts were English. He was an American. He was the same person on
the outside, still the same face; but, changed on the inside, where his heart
was, the way he thought. He was no longer homesick for Korea.
He said
his “WHO” had changed.
Forty
years later I understand that, it’s like the Gospel. Two people changed. Their “WHO”
became Christian before there were Christians.
First,
what does it mean to be a Christian? Being a Christian means that you change on
the inside—no longer controlled from the outside. It means your heart has been
changed by the presence of God. Christ
is our Lord and Savior. We turn to him in our needs. Christ is the center of our
faith.
The
woman who had been bleeding for 12 years knew she had to find Jesus. She had
heard the rumors. She knew the prophesy and the teachings. She had to touch his
clothes. In an instant, she was changed. Changed from the inside, no longer
controlled by the outside, no longer controlled by what people saw. The power
that came from Jesus healed her and changed all that.
Jesus
called her. She ran to him. She fell down before him and confessed. This is someone
who believes Jesus Christ is their savior
Jarius,
the synagogue official, left what he knew to find Jesus. He put all his faith
in this rabbi that people were talking about. The one peopled whisper may be
the messiah.
On the
outside people saw Jarius the synagogue official who upheld the law of Moses. What
they didn’t see was the change on the inside. The faith to know that Jesus was
the messiah. It was all made evident in his pleading, “Please Come.”
“Please
come” despite the disbelief of others. “Please come“ despite the ridicule. “Please
come” even though others say there is nothing you can do. “Please come” words
of faith prayed by someone who believes.
Two people
came to this man Jesus, the one who overcomes suffering and death. This man is
the messiah, the savior, the son of God. This man is Jesus Christ is our Lord
and our God.
From
the Book of Wisdom we read “God did not make death” and suffering. These came
from “the envy of the devil.” St. Paul
says the relief from this envy, “...is by the gracious act of our Lord Jesus
Christ…”
Too
many of us still think in in ways that come from “… the envy of the devil.” Thoughts
that can bring suffering and death. Maybe we can learn from my friend; better
yet, learn from the two people in the Gospel. Stop trying to understand God in human thinking, think Jesus, speak Jesus Christ.
We need
to change on the inside, where our hearts are, change so everything we think and
speak is in Christ Jesus. Then we are really Christians.
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