Sunday, June 04, 2006
DEAR PARISHIONERS AND VISITORS,

In his book, The Jesus I Never Knew, Philip Yancey describes how the Jesus he was taught about in Sunday school didn’t match the image he was to meet later in the Gospels. Describing this change, he writes “In physical appearance, Jesus favored those who would have been kicked out of Bible college and rejected by most churches. Among his contemporaries he somehow gained a reputation as ‘a wine-bibber and a glutton.’ Those in authority, whether religious or political, regarded him as a troublemaker, a disturber of the peace…. Who was this Christ, after all?”

Our relationship with Christ takes on different nuances as we mature in faith. As children, we accept the images of traditional pious art. Often, young adults are drawn to an image of Jesus rejecting the “status quo.” At some point, through prayer, or attentiveness to the sacraments, or a relationship with the gospels, or a powerful personal experience, we develop an understanding of Jesus that is uniquely our own—one that is worthy of our most heroic efforts to be faithful.

Jesus indeed speaks to each of us in a language only we can understand, the language of our own hearts, and invites us to the life of faith only we can live. Pentecost was an occasion of many miracles. The one that stands out in my heart is that the disciples are freed to proclaim out loud what is in their hearts: their relationship and love of the one true God and of Jesus Christ whom God has sent.

The birth of the church was not merely an ancient historical event, much less an accident or a coincidence. The church continues to be re-born when through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we proclaim what is in our hearts.

Peace and all Good,
Fr. Richard Juzix, O.F.M., Pastor