Friday, December 1. 2006
A biography that greatly influenced me as a younger man, was the life of Charles de Foucauld. He is commemorated in the Church Calendar today. (A few weeks ago it was the story of another one of my heroes, Father Damien, Pastor of the leper colony on Molokai. Rose Hawthorne, daughter of the famous author, who ran a hospice for the poor dying from cancer in NYC, was another hero to me). Charles de Foucault was born into a wealthy French family and was well into a career in the Military when he was converted to Christ. He believed he was called to imitate Christ by living in poverty and ministering to the most poor people he could find. He renounced his family wealth and military career and eventually lived among the Tauregs, a nomadic tribe in the Sahara Desert near Algeria. He devoted his life to sharing Christ with them. He was a "Hermit" only because he could not persuade anyone to join him in this ministry. He was killed in his hut during a tribal war, by one of the nomads. His work is continued by "The Little Brothers of Jesus", a monastic type order of men, inspired by de Foucauld's example, who live among the poor in cities around the world.
Friday, December 1. 2006
Heart disease and stroke will remain the top causes of death world wide, but AIDS will join them within the next 25 years, according to the latest projections published this week. Almost 3 million people die from AIDS annually, which is a horrible and needless tragedy. I was surprised to read the prayer in today's Oremus that says, in part, God, … Inspire us to challenge the forces that allow the needless spread of AIDS to continue -- prejudice, unjust laws, repression, prudery, stigma and fear. My understanding is that most people contract the virus through intravenous drug use ("dirty needles") or from sexual intercourse with an infected partner. Increasingly, the victims are women and their children. In other words, the primary cause is behavioral and that means the primary solution is behavioral, meaning abstinence from using infected needles or from having sexual intercourse with infected partners. Very, very difficult, but simple. That change in behavior is possible through Christ and with relevant education and community support. That is what we should be praying for. It is significant that the prayer used today in Oremus was submitted by the Metropolitan Community Church, which is a "gay" denomination.
Friday, December 1. 2006
Isaiah 42 [adapted]
Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him
With these words, at his baptism in Jordan, God anointed Jesus as His chosen Prophet, Priest and King [“the anointed one” is the meaning of the word “Christ” or “Messiah”] see Matt.3:17, 12:17-18, etc. Having the Spirit poured out upon him empowered Jesus for his mission that began at that moment and which is described by God, as follows-
He will bring forth justice to the nations. He will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
Justice: Jesus is all about Justice. The Baby, whose birthday we are about to celebrate, had come into the world on this mission to establish Justice on the earth. Here is a Promise from God that is the real hope of the world. All the Nations, all Peoples, shall one day hear and submit to the Law of God and obey it. It is crucial that we define “Justice” Biblically. God has declared His will. Simply put, Justice is conformity or obedience to that will [pray-“Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth…”]
Thus says God, the Lord,… I have given you [Jesus] as … a light to the nations This is a call to world-wide Missions: we, the Body of Christ, exist to hold up that Light for all the Nations to see. One day they will. Let us hasten that day today! It is the only hope for the Middle East, Darfur, the victims of AIDS and all the peoples of the world.
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