God lets each of us set our bar for Heaven. And a lot of people seem to be raising it, but not me. I'm trying to lower that bar as much as I can, and I suggest you do the same. So the bar that I'm talking about is the mercy bar. I found it in the Our Father.
In the Our Father, Jesus drops yet another truth bomb. Jesus told us to ask God to, "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." Boom, drop the mic #OnFleek #OhNoHeDidn't. In other words, forgive me as much as I forgive others. Every time you pray this, you're telling God to be merciful only as much as you are to others. Think about it...Take a second...
If you don't forgive someone for taking the last Fruit Roll Up, you're telling God to hold you at a really high standard. Lower that bar. Forgive the Fruit Roll Up thief. Someone slaps you, hurts you, lies to you, forgive them over and over and over again. That way, when judgment day comes and you're standing at the pearly gates, St. Peter's going to be like, "Way to forgive. High five. Way to choose God."
***Disclaimers: Jesus isn't telling us to be pushovers. Forgiving a person is kind of like getting rid of the animosity. It doesn't mean you have to be bffs, or even friends. Just that when you see that person, you don't have an urge to hurt them. Nor is this a tit for tat thing. If you forgive someone for slapping you, it doesn't give you a free slap God will automatically forgive you for. This is just a creative way to help forgive the person who's really being a pain in the butt.
Let's walk through this Sunday's Gospel reading:
You're on a boat with about 8 other people. There's a few more boats around you with your friends on them. You set out into the water. As night falls, you can no longer see the shore. Then clouds begin to form. A cool wind rushes over the water and the rain starts. The wind picks up and there are sheets of water coming down. The boat is rocking over 5 foot waves. Crates and other cargo are sliding around the deck.
In all this mayhem you turn to the back of the boat and you see Jesus sleeping. You run over to him and beg him to wake up. You shout "Don't you care that we could die!" Jesus stands up, holds out his hand and the storm stops. The sea turns as smooth as glass, barely a ripple in the water.
You look up at Christ. What's going through your mind? What do you want to tell him right there? What storm are you going through? Tell Christ to calm the storm.
In the passage, the storm died down. In life, that's not always the case. You may continue to be bullied or other unfortunate things may continue to happen. But calling on Christ will calm the storm in your heart. So that even if total chaos is around you, you'll be peaceful and know what to do. In your storm, know that Christ cares so much about you; more than your friends, parents, and yourself combined. Don't just trust that God will be there for you, know that he will. God created you. He has your best interests at heart. He will protect you in the storm and calm your heart. Christ will never fail you. If you think he's not answering, pray louder, this passage says he may be a heavy sleeper ;)
You know that awkward moment before Mass when you enter the pew..."do I genuflect? My parents do it, so should I?" When I was younger, I didn't know why I should genuflect, so I didn't. But now, I know, and it's a doozie...and you're gonna learn today.
First, let's think about the other times someone would be on one knee. Two that come to mind are being knighted and proposing. Both of these represent "something greater." When knighted, you are committing to living a chivalrous and honorable life. When proposing, you are committing your life to help get your bride closer to Christ by sacrificing certain desires. The knee represents strength. When you bend a knee, you are relinquishing your strength.
A common misconception is that we genuflect to the altar; that's not true. We bow to the altar to recognize the scarce that happens on it, but we do not owe our lives to an altar. But who do we? Christ. And Christ is in the Eucharist which resides in the tabernacle. God gave us life and want's us to live it to the fullest. Not a life of mediocracy, but a life of greatness.
So when we genuflect, it is a physical sign of saying "God, everything I am, is because of you. Everything I have, you gave me. I give you control of my life. Give me the desire to be awesome."
That's why we genuflect. So next time you walk into the church and genuflect, silently say the quote above, and for the love of God (literally) please own it. Don't try to speed through genuflecting...you look like an unconfident goon #SorryNotSorry
God lets each of us set our bar for Heaven. And a lot of people seem to be raising it, but not me. I'm trying to lower that bar as much as I can, and I suggest you do the same. So the bar that I'm talking about is the mercy bar. I found it in the Our Father.
