Reaching for Heaven

What an honor to know the full story of Good News! If you think back to the time when the Psalms were written, people were holding out in hope that the promise of God would soon be fulfilled. We live in a time where we know that fulfillment in Christ Jesus. We know that not only did God "look down" to see our misery, but that he came down in the flesh, took on a human nature, to not only share in our despondency, but to shatter our hopelessness by throwing open the gates of eternal life to us.

How is it, then, that over two thousand years later, there are still people who have not heard this great news?!? Worse yet, how is it we have come to this place where instead of marvel and awe, the story is met with disbelief, doubt and even worse, apathy - at least doubt and disbelief take some effort. It is easy to lay blame on "imperfect Christians" - to judge the Lord by the actions of his people would certainly cast a dark shadow many days. It is even more tempting to say that the divisions in the Church, the skepticism of its teachings, provide ground for doubt and disbelief. I personally believe that is the devil at work. All that does is throw a veil over the heart of the message of Good News. Jesus Christ, God become man, came down from heaven, he lived at a point in history, he died for our sins, and was resurrected, opening for us the doors to eternal life with the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

Christ is not to be judged by human standards - we are sinful, we fail. That's why he came for goodness sake (literally!)! I think the greater question is, in our own humanity, do we let our failings and faults hold us back from sharing this great news of our faith? Are we too scared to "rock the boat" or "offend" others? Do we ourselves really believe? If we do, how can we not share this message, which two thousand years later, has not been equaled in magnitude (and never will)? How do we pass on this faith to our neighbors and to future generations, that they may know and praise the Lord of all goodness and hope, the promise of God fulfilled?

I have strolled past the Catholic Mass at the airport in Orlando. I've even seen the chapels at others. What I've never heard of is the Church at the mall. Now, I personally think it's relatively brilliant! Take the Gospel and proclaim it in places where people are - there is the evangelization of the 21st century! Bravo to the Capuchin Franciscans in Colorado Springs for such a concept, and bravo to those who are financially supporting it. You can rest assured you're getting a call from me to pick your brains and get the details!

Interesting to note that there are many parishes who don't offer as much, mostly because they do not have the resources to do so. What a great way to complement what already exists! Hey Church out there, are you paying attention? It's time to take notice of innovation within faith and find out if it is working. If the answer is yes, maybe we should all consider it a lesson learned about taking risks in union with the Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ. Playing it safe never brought a soul to Jesus. If that were the ticket, he wouldn't have reminded us so often to "be not afraid!"