Go Tell Jesus

And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.
Mt.14:12

John's disciples would have been overwhelmed with grief at their rabbi's brutal murder. Their first response is to give John's body the dignity of a burial. Their second response is to go tell Jesus.

When calamity strikes my first response is that of an autotron... I robotically clean up the mess. When I can lift my head above the panic, the grief, the shock... I go tell Jesus. 

The response of John's disciples to his beheading always takes me back to the nightmare of the suicide of a son of close friends. I was his confirmation sponsor and, as is the way with suicide, I felt guilty. We and other friends went to the parents' home. All we could first do was weep with them. 

Then someone suggested we pray. We went and told Jesus. The boy wasn't brought back to life. He remained tragically dead, but... a corner had been turned. We were now facing the right direction, away from despair and towards hope, a hope that does not disappoint. 

Thank you Jesus for being especially close when I grieve. I place my trust in you.

Faith Fuels Miracles

‘A prophet is only despised in his own country and in his own house’, and he did not work many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
Mt.13:57,58

Perception determines expectation. You receive what you perceive. Jesus' townsfolk perceived the carpenter's son. They expected only woodwork. 

Jesus gives the key to miracles here. Expectant faith fuels miracles. If I perceive the Eucharist as merely a symbol of bread and wine, that's all I receive. When I perceive it as his body and blood, I receive the miracle of his full divinity. As Flannery O'Connor famously said, "If it's just a symbol, to hell with it!"

When I perceive Jesus as the living, loving God who walks beside me today, well... today anything could happen!

Holy Spirit, fan into flame the gift of faith I have received. Let miracles work through me to the glory of Jesus.