From every tribe and tongue, people and nation

I own three Bibles (NAB, NIV, and NRSV-CE) and two New Testaments (both courtesy of the Gideons, one in KJV English and another in Russian). And, thanks to the internet, dozens of other translations and concordances and even the thoughts of the doctors and fathers of the Church about Scripture are available. (Check out Biblia Clerus if you haven't yet).

The blog, Intentional Disciples, recently alerted us to the fact that millions of people around the world don't have the same opportunity. According to the Forum of Bible Agencies:

Languages with some or all of the Bible - 2,454. Of these, 438 have an adequate Bible; 1,168 have an adequate New Testament; 848 have Scripture portions. Languages needing Bible translation work to begin - 2,251 representing 193 million people.

I'm quite simply stunned. We've put men on the moon, eradicated polio, brought down the Berlin wall and we STILL have this much translation work to do?

Intentional Disciples has a great story about how translating the Bible into a new language has changed lives. For the Kalmyk people in Republic of Kalmykia in southern Russia, the availability of the Bible in their own language has helped people see that Jesus is not the God of the Russians, but the God of all peoples.

And every time that happens, we're one step closer to:

They sang a new hymn: "Worthy are you to receive the scroll and to break open its seals, for you were slain and with your blood you purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue, people and nation.

You made them a kingdom and priests for our God, and they will reign on earth."
(Rev. 5:9-10)

Glory be to God.

"The best way to evangelize..."

Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver gave a talk June 26 at the National Catholic Bible Conference in Denver, CO on the role of Scripture in the renewal of both ourselves and the wider culture. It's a fantastic talk and I would recommend reading the whole thing, especially if you've ever wondered about the Catholic Church's thoughts on the Bible.

My favorite part is the following:

The best way to evangelize is to burn, like St. Francis did, for the love of God; and to sustain that kind of zeal you need constant contact with the fire of God's Word.

It's so true, isn't it? Few people become Christians because they are taught Christian doctrine. Millions have become Christian because they met a Christian who loved God so much that it spilled over into love for other people.

When love for God is strong, so is the desire to know Him more fully. That's where a zeal for His Word comes in. As St. Augustine put it, "Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ."

The archbishop also pointed out that if we want to see renewal and change in the world, it must begin within ourselves.

It's tempting to see the moral problems of the wider culture and want to begin there, outside ourselves, focused on others. But all authentic reform begins within our own hearts.

I know how hard it is to begin there. With all the problems we're facing right now, as a country, as a culture, as a Church, it's easy sometimes to point the finger, instead of recognizing that my own sins and failings are partly to blame. Mea culpa. I really appreciate the archbishop's reminder that if I want a holier culture, I need to cooperate with the grace God is giving me for my sanctification.

Finally, the archbishop also quoted a statement from Vatican II on the Scriptures, which bears repeating:

The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord, since, especially in the sacred liturgy, she unceasingly receives and offers to the faithful the bread of the life from the table both of God's word and of Christ's body. (Dei Verbum, 21).

Sometimes, as Catholics, I think we get so focused on the awesomeness of the Eucharist that we can forget how great the Bible is. As this excerpt shows, the Church wants us to uphold both as our "bread of the life."

Pope Benedict XVI, then Cardinal Ratzinger, also wrote about this tendency, as the archbishop noted:

The fact that God's words, something that God has said and is saying to us, are accessible in the world is truly the most exciting news I can imagine at all. [But] we are too dulled through everyday use to grasp the awesomeness of this statement. (A New Song for the Lord, 169).

May God grant us a passion for His Word and a love for the people who need to hear it.

How has the Lord spoken to you through the Scriptures lately? What are you doing to deepen your zeal for God's Word?

Let every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!

On the Day of Atonement,the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people, the high priest, carrying the blood of the sacrifice would enter the holiest part of the Temple. Once a year he would pass through the temple curtain and enter the Holy of Holies and there he would pronounce the name of God. The name consisted of four letters and was so sacred that it was never spoken at any other time or place. The Jews would substitute the name, Adonai, which means ‘Lord’, when saying the divine name. When the High Priest spoke the holy name, it made God present; and atoned for the sins of the nation of Israel.

This holy week, as Christians, we celebrate The Great Atonement (Heb.4:14;9:12) with the death of Jesus the Messiah, not only for the sins of Israel, but for ‘the sins of the whole world’(1John2:2; Romans 3:25).

St. Paul sharing a hymn of praise of the early church that existed before he wrote his letters tell us:

Christ humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the Name which is above every name,

St Paul does not use the divine name rather he uses Adonai (in Greek Kyrios, Dominus in Latin, and Lord in English). He goes on to tell us:

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2: 8-11

By using the word Lord, St Paul means exactly the name that means God! This is the incredible truth of our faith! Jesus is the ‘I AM’. He is the everlasting almighty God. He has 'all authority and all power.' (Matt.28:18-20).

After the first Easter the proclamation, “Jesus is Lord!” took the place of the proclamation that our Lord made, “The Kingdom of God is at hand!” The early disciples were telling everyone that, ‘Jesus is risen, He is the Messiah, He is Lord!’ They were telling the most incredibly good news that Jesus, the King was at hand and, He is the Lord!

This was the heart of the good news! It is what is called the kerygma, the basic Gospel message. In these words are the power and authority of God that transforms lives as nothing else can. For those who have come to know the truth of this profound self -revelation of God it is revolutionary and imparts a confidence in what He can do through our proclamation. It elevates our faith in the Lord Jesus present among us in the Holy Spirit to save and continue his mission of redemption.

This proclamation, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ is like a buried treasure that must be uncovered and restored to the rightful place of prominence in our preaching and in our sharing with others. Yet currently it is a point of spiritual warfare and there is great resistance within the church to embrace the simplicity and humility that this proclamation calls us to. St. Paul tells us, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel!” (Rom. 1:16). We too must not be ashamed of the kerygma. For, “it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith…”(Rom 1:16b)

St Paul tells us, ‘every knee shall bow.’ That is the posture we need to have if we are to proclaim the essential gospel, that ‘Jesus Christ is Lord.’ It is a call to humility, and it is a call to obedience to God.

This Holy week, let’s seek the Lordship of Christ for our personal lives, families and friends, and reflect on his great mercy displayed at Calvary for sinners like you and me! Let us like the early Christians proclaim the joy of Easter, He is risen, Jesus is Lord!

If you have never asked Jesus to be the Lord of your life, of your everything, ask Him. Tell Him you want to surrender your entire life to his Lordship. Ask him to come as your God to lead you!

Lenten Retreat!

"The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." - Mark 6:30-31

Sometimes in ministry it's easy to become caught up in all the work that needs to be done that we don't make enough time to rest and simply be in Christ's presence. We can't give what we don't have ourselves, and even the Apostles went into solitude with Jesus to rest and regain their strength for their mission.

I am so blessed that I am working for an Apostolate that places the greatest emphasis on each person's individual relationship with Christ. From that relationship and the power of the Holy Spirit, the "work" of the ministry flows. As a ministry, ChristLife's staff begin each work day with prayer and praise to God and every year we take two retreats - for Advent and Lent. We recently had our Lenten retreat and it was such an amazing time of refocusing on the Lord and His love, and quieting our souls so that we could listen to His direction in our lives and in our ministry! We were able to use the lovely Franciscan Friary grounds for the retreat, and enjoy the beauty of the Lord in His creation!

One of the things we meditated on during the retreat was a Lenten sermon by Fr. Cantalamessa entitled, "Crucified through weakness, Christ lives through the power of God." It was great being able to reflect on that sermon and allow it to resonate in our hearts, and then discuss it as brothers and sisters in Christ. The part of the sermon that really struck me was when Fr Cantalamessa said "God's weakness is therefore caused by his love for man. What a sorrow it is [for God] to impotently stand while a loved one destroys himself with his own hands." This made me see the love and compassion of God in a whole new light. It amazed me to imagine that God would allow himself to be weak out of love for us. It is by giving us free will that He must stand helplessly and watch us fall, and this fall so greatly wounded God's heart that He allowed himself to become weak "taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearence, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:7-8). Thank you Lord for the becoming weak to show us the debth of your love for us!

Fr. Cantalamessa also comments on Jesus' cry to His Father when he says, "Father forgive them!" Fr. Cantalamessa that these are the most powerful words ever uttered! As we enter into this Holy Week I hope we can reflect on these mighty words of love from our savior that saved us from sin and death!

Passion for Jesus

ChristLife just released a podcast this week that includes a 10 minute teaching by Archbishop Collins of Toronto on listening to God through Scripture (lectio divina). I found it very inspiring - as he brings the book of Revelation to life! Listen now to this podcast!

And, by the by, it's a great inspiration to have an old (relative term:) guy like that up there passionately preaching the Gospel and inspiring the faithful to be committed disciples of Jesus.