It All Begins Inside Us

 

Deacon David Previtali · It All Begins Inside 

Homily for the 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, August 29, 2021. Gospel of St. Mark 7:1-23. Theme: It’s All Begins Inside Us

The great scientist, Albert Einstein, was once asked what he would do if he had just one hour to solve a difficult situation. He replied: “I would need 55 minutes getting to know the problem, and then I would only need just 5 minutes to come up with the solution.”  In other words, once we have an accurate handle on what’s wrong, we can come up with an effective way to fix it.

 

As the daily news reminds us, the world is in a terribly desperate need of being fixed on both the national and international levels.  Besides violence in our city streets and abuse of human rights in Afghanistan,  there is also domestic discord due to heated disagreements over Covid policies, dirty politics and many other things that have us on edge these days.  If we want to begin to fix these things and enjoy a time of peace and civility,  then the first thing to do is to identify the root problem.

And this is precisely what Jesus does for us in today’s Gospel. He identifies the fundamental human problem as being one of an unclean (which in Bible language means sinful) heart.  Jesus is pointing out that it is from the depths of our unconverted hearts that all forms of divisive and destructive living arise in the world.  Whether we are talking about personal secret sins known just to us alone or social sins that spread their morally contaminating virus to others, it is our collective unclean choices that combine and give rise to a highly contagious spiritual pandemic of evil in the world.  Jesus is basically telling us that all of the division, destruction and conflict infecting the world are not just random things that happen around us, rather, they are more precisely predictable things that happen because of us. 

However, this worldview is not all doom and gloom. We have reason for great hope because the other side of the coin is that if the problem originates within us, then so too does the solution.  If it is true that much of the evil in the world is the sum total of all our sins and selfishness, then it is equally true that we can reverse the process by intentionally producing a sum total of peace and reconciliation, of mercy and compassion.  This means that by God’s grace, you and I can indeed change the trajectory of evil in the world by starting with the uncleanness that originates within our own hearts.  We can begin to fix the troubles we see around us by fixing the troubles that reside within ourselves. 

Now, just in case we are tempted to think that one person’s choice to change and be a leaven of goodness cannot possibly fix things and influence the world at large, let’s stop and consider a couple of real life examples.  

Almost 200 years ago, the destitute poor in the slums of Paris lived without hope of a better life. Often, just to survive they had to enter asylums for the indigent or consign their children to care of orphanages.  Then along comes a young college student named Frederic Ozanam who decides that he will personally go to the homes of the poor and see what he could do to help them.  Because of this decision of just one man, today there are over 800,000 Vincentians, ordinary everyday people like you and me, serving the needs of the poor in just about every Catholic parish in the world.  

Almost 100 years ago, people thought that alcoholism was an incurable mental disease and quite often addicts were confined to institutions. Then along came Bill WIlson, one alcoholic man who opened his heart to the power of God through a 12-Step spiritual program to freedom. Today there are over 22 million recovered addicts just in the USA alone whose sober lives have restored families and brought peace and reconciliation to once-broken lives and relationships. 

Peace, reconciliation, mercy and compassion are not just going to happen out of thin air. We must labor for them and begin to do so by working on ourselves first, on the unclean things that come from within us.  Now, as we all know this is not a simple and easy thing to do, and Christ knows this as well.  He knows that we will start off on this road to change with hearts full of good intentions.  He also knows that we will fail at times. Not a one of us can break free of sin and selfishness on our own. Not a one of us can live an unselfish life consistently without the power of God breaking into our lives and changing us from the inside out. 

And so this is why Jesus has promised to remain with us always, not just in spirit but in actuality through the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Through Holy Communion he comes to us, lives within us, giving us the power to love as he loves. He grants us pardon and the renewal of our hearts through the Sacrament of Confession which is essential to rooting out the uncleanness within us. He comes to us through his Word in the Scriptures which are always readily available to us. He pours out upon us the gift of the Holy Spirit who energizes us to do good and avoid evil if we just obey his voice speaking within us.

So you see, we each have the opportunity to help fix a very broken world by focusing on ourselves and reforming our lives according to the Gospel.  We each have the power of God within us to say “Enough is enough!” and become  instruments of peace and reconciliation within our own surroundings. So, it seems to me, that if we look at things this way, the way of Jesus, then the only thing that can stop this from happening is ourselves.

Our Joshua Moment

 

Deacon David Previtali · Our Joshua Moment

Homily for the 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time, August 22, 2021. Joshua 24:1-18; Gospel of St. John 6:60-69. Theme: Our Joshua Moment 

In today’s first reading, Joshua puts before the Hebrew people a vitally important choice: “Decide today whom you will serve...as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” To get a bit of the backstory to this momentous question, by this point in their early history, the Hebrews had been through decades of ups and downs. Their ancestors had escaped from Egypt and wandered through unknown wilderness and desert, making their way to the land promised them by God. Most of the people Joshua was addressing had not themselves personally experienced the Exodus. They were a couple of generations away from the miracles and unbelievable spectacles that God worked to liberate Israel from Egypt. 

And so, as children and grandchildren often do...they had begun to drift away from the devotion and religious observances of their elders. They needed to be reminded of and recalled back to their roots, their identity as God’s people. Joshua saw that many of them were becoming infected by the pagan culture around them in their new homeland. Some were beginning to worship idols like their neighbors who seemed better off. And so he asks this most important question and it’s really the most important question we can ask ourselves as well. “Who is the Lord and God of your life?” 

And as Christians we must also take up this question but tweak it to ask: Is the Lord Jesus Christ who rose up from the grave, freeing us from slavery to sin and death, the God whom you serve? Is He truly the Lord of our hearts and Master of our lives or are we actually worshipping an idol in place of God? Today’s Gospel asks us the same sort of question. After hearing Jesus’ teaching on the reality of the Eucharist, many parted ways with him. And so he asks the others, “Do you also want to leave?” Staying with Jesus or leaving his company is a decision that is required of every Christian. And it is one that we must make every day. 

Some people try to live from one day to the next without making any such a definite decision. They are like boats without a rudder, confused and moved this way or that by whatever happens to catch their attention from one day to another. They have no purpose, no direction, no meaning or mission to their lives. They let choices be made for them by social media, parroting whatever happens to be the popular thought of the day, whatever happens to be the politically correct point of view in the world around them. They let others decide the important questions of life for them. They do what others do, they think what others think, and they say what others say. They make the culture around them their idol, giving it the power and influence that the Word of God should have in helping them make spiritual and moral choices in life. 

The question that Joshua put to the people is asked of us every Sunday at Mass. During the Creed, all of the assembly of God’s people in the church stand up and speak out their trust, their faith, their belief in God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Creed isn’t just a prayer we recite. We call it a declaration or profession of faith. It is our response to the question: “Who is your God? Whom do you serve?” 

• We respond that we serve God our Father who holds our lives in his hands. 
• We trust in Jesus Christ his Son, our Lord, who became man for us, who taught us the way of the Gospel that leads to Heaven, who died and rose for us so that we could live in joy forever. 
• We serve the Holy Spirit, who is the Bond of Love connecting us with God and one another, and who dwells within us as in temples.
• Furthermore, we declare that we hold all these truths as a people, the people of God, that is called his one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. 
• We believe that both as individuals and as a people we shall rise from the dead ourselves and live with both body and soul in the Kingdom of God. 

This is the Rudder of Faith that gives direction to the decisions in our lives. Every time we come to Mass we have this “Joshua Moment” when we must choose God as the Lord whom we serve. The question we need to ask ourselves today is this: when we stand to profess our faith and declare our decision, are we doing so from the heart and soul of who we are, or are we simply reciting a prayer that is to be said at that time? The honest answer to this question makes all the difference in the world in our lives!

Jesus Living in Mary...and in Us!

 

Deacon David Previtali · Jesus Living in Mary...and in Us!

Homily for the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, August 15, 2021. Readings: Revelation 11:19-12:10; 1 Corinthians 15:20-27; Gospel of St. Luke 1:39-56. Theme: Jesus Living in Mary...and Us! 

A very interesting scientific study released in 2012 can help us approach the great event of the Assumption of Mary, body and soul into heaven, from a very amazing point of view. In addition to pondering this mystery from the Bible or theology or spirituality, we now also have science adding its “two cents” as to why the Assumption of the Mother of God can make sense. We all know that a unique bond unites a mother and child like no other type of relationship. And this is what we have always used as our starting point when dealing with the Assumption of Mary. She is Mother of God. Immaculate. All-holy. She carried the Lord of the universe within her womb. Thus, we reason, it makes sense that she should be raised body and soul into heaven ahead of the rest of us. 

And now science also offers us the opportunity to reaffirm this maternal reason for Mary’s Assumption. Did you know that recent scientific studies have shown that mother and child share each other’s cells from the first days of life in the womb? As early as the second week of pregnancy, before a woman even knows she is certainly pregnant, there is a two-way flow of cells and DNA between the child and the mother. Cells containing DNA from the baby enter the mother’s blood circulation, while cells from the mother cross in the opposite direction and transfer into the child. 

And here’s the newly discovered amazing part: a good number of the baby’s cells persist, thrive, and actually become a part of the mother. This throws a whole new light upon the maternal relationship and shows us that a woman is so much more than simply a carrier or vehicle for a baby. Even if she is not the natural biological mother, but simply a surrogate for another, she becomes physically, genetically, forever one with the baby in her womb. So it is fair to say that in this sense, a mother carries her children within her for a lifetime and not just for 9 months! 

Now, let’s apply that scientific finding to Mary and Jesus. It means that the Blessed Mother didn’t just carry Jesus within her womb for 9 months, but she continued to carry and have Jesus truly physically present within her by means of the cells of his Divine Humanity for her entire life! Mary was literally a walking, breathing, Tabernacle of the Lord’s Body and Blood. Now, it seems to me that if we hold that Jesus’ crucified body could not remain in the grave and undergo corruption, but was raised up in Resurrection and glorified at his Ascension, it makes sense that Mary, having within her the very Presence of her Divine Son, should also be raised up from the tomb body and soul and experience her Assumption. 

And as I see it, this leads to an awesome conclusion for each one of us. Through our faithful, devout and regular reception of the Eucharist we, too, become one with the Risen Lord Jesus. By means of this holy sacrament, his Body and Blood enter into us and become part of us. And like Mary, this will lead us to our own resurrection from the dead and reunification with glorified bodies as we profess in the Creed each Sunday. Jesus himself told us this when he spoke the words we have been hearing from the 6th chapter of St John’s Gospel these past few Sundays: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.” (Jn 6:53-54) 

So you see, the Assumption of Mary tells us the rest of our own story on planet Earth. It’s a truth about Mary and about ourselves that is so much more than just a liturgical celebration in August. It’s a truth for dark times and for cold times; a truth for times when we feel defeated and for times when we wonder if things will ever get better. The Assumption of our Blessed Mother shows us that there is a seed of immortality growing within us, planted by the Eucharist and waiting to blossom at the right time. The Assumption assures us that the immortality we are hoping for is not a ghostly life, where we exist as spirits floating around for eternity, but it’s an actual glorious physical life in a real place called the Kingdom of Heaven where we will live forever, body and soul, with Jesus, Mary and all the saints.

Soul Food

 

Deacon David Previtali · Soul Food

Homily for the 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, August 8, 2021. The Gospel of St. John 6:41-51. Theme: Soul Food 

As I was reflecting on today’s gospel, in which Jesus says he will satisfy our deepest hunger, I thought of what St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said when asked to compare her charitable works in the USA to those in India. She said: “Hunger in America is so much deeper and so much worse than in India because it is a hunger of the soul, a hunger for God and for love. There is so much wealth in the USA but also so much more spiritual poverty, so much more spiritual hunger.” Was Mother Teresa spot-on in saying that we who are satisfied materially are in reality starving and dying spiritually? I think so and I also think facts bear it out in what we see happening all across our nation. Well-fed but spiritually-hungry America, with all we have at our disposal to satisfy our physical needs, has among the highest rates of addiction and emotional disorders in the world. Is there a connection? 

Bill Wilson, one of the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous in 1935 said that AA had success where other programs failed because AA was the first to see that addiction is a spiritual disease that requires a spiritual remedy. Addiction happens because for some reason, real or perceived, people come to believe they are not loved, not valuable, not worthwhile. The pain of this spiritual hunger is too great and so they reach out for whatever will promise to satisfy, to fill that space within us that God and love are meant to occupy. I think that this is very much like when we are really physically hungry and we’ll grab whatever food is quickly at hand. 

Fast food and junk food provide instant gratification but not much real nutrition at all. They satisfy the hunger for a time, but do nothing to truly nourish us, to promote our growth and health for the long-term. They actually end up making us worse off in the long run. And the same is true about the things we do and chase after in life that are futile attempts to satisfy our spiritual hunger. When we are starving spiritually we’ll grab for anything that promises to give meaning and love to our lives; we will reach out for anything that seems to be able to satisfy the hunger. 

Fortunately for those who have the ears to hear and hearts open to receive the message, today’s Gospel is full of real hope, it offers genuine dependable promises. It reminds us that God our Father draws us to Jesus, to the Bread of Life who truly satisfies our deepest spiritual hunger. Through our mindful and attentive worship at Mass, Jesus offers us spiritual nourishment in the Word He speaks to us. He provides spiritual nourishment in the Eucharistic Bread He gives to us. It is by encountering and becoming one with the Risen Lord Jesus in the Mass that we can truly satisfy our deepest spiritual hunger. 

When it comes to feeding our bodies, we take great care to learn what is good for us, as well we should: we shop for food with mindful awareness of proper nutrition; we prepare it thoughtfully and eat it gratefully. And it seems to me that the same should be true about our approach to spiritual nourishment. We should do all we can to prepare ourselves interiorly, spiritually, to partake of the Living Heavenly Bread, which is the very Body and Blood of Christ. And then we should approach the altar thoughtfully and hold out our hands gratefully to receive the Lord with faith and devotion. 

The gift of receiving the Eucharist should bring hope to weary hearts, uplift drooping spirits and dispel any gloom or darkness that threatens us, especially as we recall and repeat within ourselves the closing words of Jesus in today’s Gospel: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."

Jesus Said It. I Believe It. That Settles It!

 

Deacon David Previtali · Jesus Said It. I Believe It. That Settles it!

Homily for the 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time, July 25, 2021. 2 Kings 4:42-44; Psalm 145; Gospel of John 6:1-15. Theme: Jesus Said It. I Believe It. That Settles It!

 The multiplication of the loaves and fish is one of the most popular of Jesus’ miracles. It held so much importance among the first Christians that it has the honor of being the only miracle to be recorded in all 4 gospels. To understand why this is, we have to know a bit of the backstory which we find in today’s other readings. 

 In our first reading we hear how the prophet Elisha fed 100 people with 20 barley loaves. And then in our responsorial psalm praise given to God, who fed his people through the prophet Moses with manna, which was a miracle-bread falling from the sky when they were wandering and hungry after having escaped from Egypt. These two important events from Israel’s history come together in Jesus’ miracle and their significant convergence is not lost on the people. They were able to put 2+2 together and realize that this holy man, Jesus of Nazareth, was a prophet much greater than either Moses or Elisha because his miracle, the sign of God’s powerful presence among them, was so much greater than either of theirs. 

 But God does not send prophets just to work miracles, he sends them with a message that is illustrated by the miracle. And so, the early Christians also remembered the message that Jesus spoke after he multiplied the loaves. We didn’t hear the words of this message in today’s Gospel, but you will hear them in the Sundays to come as we continue reading from the Gospel of St. John. However, I have to mention them now because both the miracle and the message are all intimately connected. 

 After multiplying the loaves, Jesus promised to give God’s people an even more miraculous bread, a bread that would give them eternal life. Even more astounding was the fact that he said this Miracle-Food to come would be his life-giving, soul-saving Body and Blood. This was not simply a figurative way of speaking nor was it something merely symbolic. The Eucharist does not just symbolize Jesus, nor is it only a holy reminder of who he was and what he has done for us. Many of these first disciples accepted Jesus at his word, as impossible as it seemed, for they knew that just as he was able to multiply the five loaves to feed thousands, so was he able to transform bread and wine into his flesh and blood at every celebration of the Mass. 

 This hard truth about the Eucharist can indeed be a difficult teaching to accept for some today, just as it was for some of those who first heard it. As a matter of fact, John’s Gospel tells us that there were disciples who parted ways with Jesus after hearing it. But it all boils down to faith, which means, trust in Jesus and his word. When those confused disciples who could not accept his message walked away, Christ didn’t stop them. He didn’t say, “Hey wait, you misunderstood me. I was only talking figuratively. It’s not really going to be my Body and Blood. It will only represent these things.” Instead, he responded to their leaving with even stronger and clearer words about the literal truth about the Eucharist. He said, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. (John 6:53-56) 

 And of course, as we know, Jesus kept his word and fulfilled his promise of giving us heavenly food at the Last Supper, which was the very first Mass to ever be celebrated. He took bread into his hands and said, “This is my body given for you.” Then he took a cup of wine and proclaimed, “This is my blood poured out for you, for the forgiveness of sins.” Notice that he did not say, “This is a symbol of my body given for you” or “This chalice will represent my blood poured out for you.” No, he meant what he said and he said it quite clearly. 

 And then, Jesus did even more than working this Eucharistic miracle by himself. He gave his apostles the command and the supernatural power to do this very same thing, to take bread and wine and by his authority change them into his very Body and Blood. And they passed on this Eucharistic ministry to others who have come after them. And so ever since the Last Supper, this on-going miracle of heavenly bread has been happening on planet Earth for 2,000 years. 

 I don’t know about you, but when it comes to the ways of God and such mysterious things as the on-going miracle of the Eucharist, I’m just a simple kind of guy. And so for me, as far as I’m concerned, I respond to it in this way: “Jesus said it. I believe it. That settles it.”

Like Sheep Without A Shepherd

 

Deacon David Previtali · Like Sheep Without a Shepherd

Homily for the 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time, July 18, 2021. Gospel of St. Mark 6:30-34. Theme: Like Sheep Without a Shepherd

It’s a pretty common fact that sheep are among the most vulnerable of livestock. They are quite lost and confused without a shepherd and become easy prey for their enemies such as wolves and thieves. It’s an interesting thing that sheep are trained to recognize only the voice of their own shepherd, so when other strange voices call after them they can become bewildered and wander aimlessly.

 

This Sunday’s Gospel describes the crowds of people who thronged to Jesus as being like those vulnerable sheep, of being “shepherdless”. They were without leadership in many ways, political and religious.   An oppressive Roman governor and a treacherous half-Jew named Herod were their political rulers.  Their religious leaders were corrupt and more interested in maintaining their own social status than in leading the people to God.  Those who did give religious instruction were so strict and demanding that the people found it oppressive and overwhelming to try and live up to their standards.

St. Mark lets us in on how Jesus felt about this situation when he writes that “…his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.”  Actually, our translation’s  use of the word “pity” is a bit lacking. What the Gospel literally says in Greek is that Jesus was “moved deeply within his gut.” And so his gut-response to their vulnerability and need was to teach them. You see, unlike the self-promoters, the words of Jesus were simple and to the point; demanding, yes, but not oppressive. They brought freedom to the heart and joy to the spirit. This is why everyday ordinary people flocked to him like crazy!  And it is what eventually led his envious enemies - jealous of their position, power and prestige- to have him arrested and crucified. 

In today’s world, we also have social and political leaders who are hell-bent on silencing truth and freedom just like those corrupt rulers in ancient Israel. Determined to separate the sheep from the shepherd. They are motivated by preserving and promoting their own status and power. By manipulating our media and monopolizing our technology, they promote fake news, redefine words to mean utter nonsense and promote social confusion. They parrot their carefully crafted politically correct propaganda without any concern or regard for our well-being as individuals, our dignity as human beings, and our destiny as God’s children. 

We might think people are smart enough to recognize the fake voices of these false shepherds, but that’s not the case.  These leaders have such control over so much of the media that their message is pumped all day every day into our homes, our cars and our schools, into our ears and our heads. Sadly there are so many who listen to these voices without discretion and end up becoming like sheep without a shepherd, wandering aimlessly.We who have been gifted with faith cannot just stand by and be silent. To be silent is to be complicit. We must take up responsible ownership of the name of Christian.  We must have within us the gut-response of Jesus, and be moved like he was by compassion and fueled by zeal for truth.  How can this happen? 

By mindfully taking time every day to be with Jesus.  He is present in his Word that we can read at home and so be taught by him what we need to do and how we need to live. We must come before Jesus truly present in the Eucharist so that He can live and love and act from within us. He invites us to draw near to his Sacred Heart, which is moved to the very depths of His gut with love for the sheep.  It is from this well-spring of the Heart of Christ that we will receive the love and the grace we need to cooperate with him in leading the shepherdless sheep back home into the arms of their Good Shepherd.

Called & Chosen

 

Deacon David Previtali · Called & Chosen

Homily for the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time, July 11, 2021. Amos 7:12-15, Ephesians 1:3-14, Gospel of St. Mark 6:7-13. Theme: Called & Chosen 

Have you ever wondered why it is that out of the billions of people who inhabit planet Earth, you and I have been gifted with the Christian Faith? How is it that we are among the 30% of the world’s population that has received the grace and faith of baptism? It’s not as if any one of us has done anything spectacular to grab God’s attention, so to speak, and be chosen. It’s a great mystery to be called by God, to become part of a people uniquely His own, and it is what today’s readings are all about. 

In the first reading we encounter Amos, who lived about 700 years before Christ. He was ordinary like us; just a shepherd and gardener, but God called him to become a chosen prophet. In the second reading, we hear from St. Paul who was also ordinary like us; a professional tent-maker and a fierce persecutor of Christians before God called and chose him. He reminds us in today’s lesson from his Letter to the Ephesians that we have been called and chosen in Christ, to become God’s holy people destined for the glory of Heaven. Lastly, the Gospel shows us the twelve apostles who were called and chosen to carry on Jesus’ powerful ministry of preaching, healing the sick and expelling demons. They were just ordinary guys with ordinary jobs mostly as fishermen, although one had been a greedy tax collector. They had wives and families and were living pretty much just like us. There seems to be a pattern in Sacred Scripture of God calling and choosing those who are usual and ordinary. 

This mystery of God’s calling and choosing brings to mind a powerful experience from my childhood. If you were like me, growing up in a small town, then you might recall how the neighborhood kids (and there were tons of us back then) would gather in a local field for a game of ball. The older guys, the jocks of the neighborhood, were of course always the captains. The rest of us wannabes lined up for the ritual of choosing up sides where your talents and abilities (or lack thereof) were publicly acknowledged. I could hit the ball pretty well but man I just couldn’t run to save my life. While my typical at bat could send the ball far into outfield, I’d be lucky to pull a single out of what most guys could turn into a double. And so, I dreaded those line-ups before my peers. But there was this one guy, a jock named Charles, who even at our young age stood head and shoulders above the rest of us. No one dared to question his choices or doubt his selections. 

Whenever I saw Charles take up a captain’s spot I got a huge smile on my face. Because you see, I knew that whenever Charles was captain I was safe from total humiliation. No, he wouldn’t pick me in the first couple rounds (the guy was after all a jock and he wanted to win!) but I knew that I wouldn’t be standing there as the last pick of the day either. Why did he do it? Why did he risk the game at least somewhat? The only answer I could come up with is that he was just that kind of guy, with a heart as big as his muscles. As I got older I outgrew the field games, but I never outgrew the memory of Charles and his mysterious kindness in calling and choosing. 

And I think that is something we can also say about why God calls and choses each one of us. Simply put: it’s because He’s that kind of God, who has a big heart, an infinite Sacred Heart. Scripture tells us that He chooses those whom the world often considers to be nobodies to become somebodies in the Kingdom of Heaven. We all know that it’s not because we are better than others that we’ve been called and chosen. We have our own sins and shortcomings to remind us about that fact! Rather, we are very much like those kids standing around out in the field, and God looks us over like the captains choosing up teams… He sees our whole lives from beginning to end and everything in between; He sees the ups and the downs, the pluses and the minuses. And in all this I think He sees that most of all, we just need to know that we are personally loved and called and chosen by Him. 

Just as Charles’ inexplicable kindness helped me to think that just maybe there was something inside me that was good and worthy, so this calling and choosing by God informs us that we are lovable and worthwhile. It transforms us spiritually, from the inside out, making us His adopted sons and daughters, heirs to the Kingdom of Heaven, and anointed temples of the Holy Spirit. 

This is what it means to be called and chosen. This is what it means to be a Christian.