Double Claim by God

The Bible in a Year podcast is a gem for me. Like most of us in some big or small ways, I have been facing with some sort of a debilitating physical condition for the past several months now. Of course, there are a number of moments wherein I would fall into hopelessness and despair.

Once again, hearing the word of God (thru the BIAY) reminds me and gives me a sense of comfort and pushes me to move forward despite and inspite of my personal circumstances. Like in chapter 43 of Isaiah. It's a long chapter but I will just give you the 1st 3 verses that I think in essence serves my point for today.

Isaiah 43:1-3
But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
    he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters I will be with you;
    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

To borrow Fr. Mike's commentary, God promised the Israelites to "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine." This is a double claim from the Lord: I have called you by name and you are mine. And this is so important for the people to hear, because the Israelites are kind of worried about the siege that is going to happen to them, probably feeling the same sense of hopelessness and despair as I do, only worse. But God is promising them this double claim even before the worse season of their lives will happen that God will be with them throughout.

This is so important for me and you to hear as well. Maybe you and I have been asking what if our lives don't get any better, what if we don't get out of this funk, what if you will about to experience the worst season of your life is coming? And yet God knows our lives, He knows our story, He is outside space and time.

God is using or allowing this suffering not to destroy his people but to bring us back to his heart. The message of the prophet like Isaiah is always this, to "Come back to the Lord with all your heart."

So maybe you might need to hear this Word and promise of God as well. Perhaps it might seem today like the Lord abandoned you too, maybe today is the worst day of your life, but God still says today and everyday, "I've called you by name and you are mine."

Let us then instead entrust to the Lord all our worries and concerns, to come back to Him with all our hearts with praise and thanksgiving, because our Almighty Father has claimed us His own, by our name, for He is the God of hope. The God of second chances. Our Redeemer. Our Savior.

Exhortation 2021-8-29

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Catholic Worship vs Protestant Worship (How are they different?)

How Catholic Worship (aka Mass) Is Different From Non-Catholic's "Worship" (aka Service) 

 

One time in a party, I introduced a family new to our town to an old friend of mine. As we were all having nice conversation of pretty much anything the family needs to expect as newbies, my old friend (a fallen-away Catholic and now an active member of a certain evangelical ecclesiastic community) brought up in the conversation that they have a new pastor in their church that is smart and charismatic, and invited the new family to come and attend their worship service sometime.

Now, as a Catholic, I always admire our Non-Catholic brethren's enthusiasm of inviting other people to their church. They always seem to make evangelizing so easy and natural than a Catholic would do the inviting. We can always learn from them, we grant them that.

However, I also wonder how come is it this way? How come for some reason inviting someone to a Catholic Mass does not seem to have the same, for lack of a better word, sentiment or ease as inviting someone to attend a Protestant worship service. I come to think that aside from praying and trusting the Holy Spirit as a given among other factors necessary to evangelize others, part of it is also because Catholics and Protestants, like a lot of other set of beliefs and practices, have a different understanding of what "worship" in church means and entails.

In today's culture and generation especially, indeed we tend to gravitate and appeal towards a more contemporary, emotionally high and loud, concert-like form of music, lively sermons, energetic speakers and a great coffee service among other amenities. Choosing what church to go to is like a form of religious or ecclesiastical consumerism. So if your church is, more or less in some ways, sounds like having these attributes, your work is almost half way done "evangelizing".

On the other hand, Catholic mass tend to get a bad rap. Commonly perceived and stereotyped to be old, boring and irrelevant. We already have a preconceived defeated notion that since there won't be anything entertaining to see attending Mass, our protestant friends surely may find it unappealing, even misconceivingly cultic. Plus the anti-Catholic one-liner rhetorics and indoctrination over the past centuries of misconstruing the Mass as idolatrous, "re-sacrificing Christ in Calvary" and the like, added insult to injury.

But to help us understand worship, the question we ask ourselves is not just why we worship, but what is worship really all about, and to look at how should one supposed to worship in the context of historical Christianity. How the prophets in the old and the apostles in the new worship God in the first place? Most of all, how our Lord Jesus intended for us to worship?

Now I won't try to go through enumerating and exegeting every bible verses of what worship really is, since I'm no bible scholar or anything but in essence, worship entails sacrifice. In the old testament (e.g. Genesis, Leviticus) we read quite a number of sacrifices and offerings that had been carried out (ie., burnt sacrifices/offerings, sin offerings, peace offerings, guilt offerings, food offerings, communion sacrifices). These were how the Old Testament people worship. God centered the worship of his Old Testament people on sacrifice because it was an essential part of His plan of salvation. These are prefigured in culmination for the ultimate and perfect sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself for the atonement of the human race. “Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God” as St. Paul said. (Eph 5:2; Hebrews 9, 10). Our Lord Jesus displayed all the dimensions of Old Testament communion sacrifice. He fulfilled a threefold role: offeror, victim and priest. In Genesis 22:7-8, Isaac asked his dad Abraham: "Hey Dad, the fire and wood are here but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" And Abraham replied “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” (ie., God's own self).

As we walked through after Christ's death and resurrection, we find the continuing theme of worshiping God that entails sacrifice. Again St Paul tells the Romans (12:1) "to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." And even advised in Corinths (1 Corinthians 14:40) that "everything should be done decently and in an orderly way," not in a loud and boisterous freestyle fashion.

And we go through down the line in history to learn the successors of the apostles (like Polycarp, Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Justin Martyr, the Early Church Fathers, all the 1st, 2nd, 3rd century Christians thru the 21st) all worship the same mode we find in the Catholic Mass.

The Mass is both a sacrifice and a sacrament, but primarily the former. The same offerer, victim and priest is present but in an unbloody manner. Nothing is as Christo-centric in worship as that in the Mass itself first instituted in the upper room by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. And this is the way Christians ought to worship, regardless of how emotionally high or low we feel about the church's ambience, or how boring someone's homily, or how outdated the songs are, or how lousy the church coffee tasted like. Going to church to worship should not be a form of religious consumerism, where we cherry pick to look for the best sermon, the best speaker, the best-tasting coffee or the best songs and musical band.

How we convey that to somebody we want to invite to go to mass to really experience true biblical worship is a different story, because it is not as simple as inviting them to a birthday party or a concert. We just trust in the Holy Spirit to do the working when we put Christ out there for them by our invitation.

***

BONUS READING:

I found this write-up that was shared in one of the Facebook groups and thought this is another great read and perspective on the difference between Catholic Worship & Non-Catholic Praise Service, author unknown. It reads as follows:

Difference Between Catholic Worship & Non-Catholic Praise Service
The commands to "praise the Lord" are too numerous to mention throughout the Bible. For example, angels and the heavenly hosts are commanded to praise the Lord in Psalm 89:5; 103:20; 148:2. All inhabitants of the earth are instructed to praise the Lord (Psalm 138:4; Romans 15:11). We can praise Him with singing (Isaiah 12:5; Psalm 9:11), with shouting (Psalm 33:1; 98:4), with the dance (Psalm 150:4), and with musical instruments (1 Chronicles 13:8; Psalm 108:2; 150:3-5).

Praise is the joyful recounting of all God has done for us. It is closely intertwined with thanksgiving as we offer back to God appreciation for His mighty works on our behalf. Praise is universal and can be applied to other relationships as well. We can praise our family, friends, boss, or paperboy. Praise does not require anything of us. It is merely the truthful acknowledgment of the righteous acts of another. Since God has done many wonderful deeds, He is worthy of praise (Psalm 18:3).

Worship, however, comes from a different place within our spirits. WORSHIP SHOULD BE RESERVED FOR GOD ALONE (Luke 4:8). Worship is the art of losing self in the adoration of another. Praise can be a part of worship, but worship goes beyond praise. Praise is easy; worship is not. Worship gets to the heart of who we are. To truly worship God, we must let go of our self-worship. We must be willing to humble ourselves before God, surrender every part of our lives to His control, and adore Him for who He is, not just what He has done. Worship is a lifestyle, not just an occasional activity. Jesus said the Father is seeking those who will worship Him "in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23).

In Scripture, praise is usually presented as boisterous, joyful, and uninhibited. God invites praise of all kinds from His creation. Jesus said that if people don't praise God, even the "stones will cry out" (Luke 19:40). When the Bible mentions worship, however, the tone changes. We read verses like, "Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness" (Psalm 96:9). And, "Come let us worship and bow down" (Psalm 95:6). Often, worship is coupled with the act of bowing or kneeling, which shows humility and contrition (2 Chronicles 29:28; Hebrews 11:21; Revelation 19:10). It is through true worship that we invite the Holy Spirit to speak to us, convict us, and comfort us. Through worship, we realign our priorities with God's and acknowledge Him once more as the rightful Lord of our lives.

Just as praise is intertwined with thanksgiving, worship is intertwined with surrender. It is impossible to worship God and anything else at the same time (Luke 4:8). The physical acts often associated with worship—bowing, kneeling, clasping hands—help to create the necessary attitude of humility required for real worship.

Worship is an attitude of the heart. A person can go through the outward motions and not be worshiping (Psalm 51:16-17; Matthew 6:5-6). God sees the heart, and He desires and deserves sincere, heartfelt praise and worship.

Understanding the difference between praise and worship can bring a new depth to the way we honor the Lord.

One Reason Why Posting "Religious Stuff" Online is Important

I like to share "stuff" about my Christian faith in social media particularly on Facebook once in a while by posting articles, memes, quotes and the like, mainly to educate or spread awareness especially to anti-Catholic, atheist, agnostic and polemical individuals (special thanks to them, they were one of the primary reasons behind why I started learning more and appreciated more my Catholic faith and tradition). I even created a page on the topic and tried my venture on selling Christian apparel online recently as well. (If it weren't for these reasons, I would have long readily departed with and deactivated my Facebook account.)

However, I'm pretty sure some friends on Facebook do not share the same sentiment, passion or interest I do and probably find my religious musings quite annoying or overbearing by now. I might be wrong but it's just a sense. So I wish to share one point why I am sharing "religious stuff" fairly "religiously", why go through all the trouble, sometimes not making myself look good, instead of just doing common things people do on Facebook: Self-promotion (e.g., taking selfies, food and travel photos, brand new cars, bags, shoes, etc., all the fun stuff)

I was inspired to write this blog piece to share a point made by a Catholic apologist Patrick Madrid from his audio talk "Right here right now" in particular when he ended his talk with a short story and its take-away lesson on why it's important that we need to engage and share our faith to others. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Pope St. John Paul II even affirmed that we should make use and take advantage of social media and online technology to communicate and evangelize in this new millennium. I may add that we need not worry if we think of ourselves unworthy or others think of us as hypocrites. We are all sinful creatures. If you wait until you look yourself perfect in the mirror before you start sharing your faith and posting online, it will never ever going to happen.

"The world is a dangerous place to live;

Not because of the people who are evil,

But because of the people

who don't do anything about it."

(Quote attributed to Albert Einstein)

For me, sharing our faith is like a double-edge sword. I noticed when I share, it also edifies and challenges me to be a better version of myself (i.e. walk the talk), putting myself accountable in the public eye, in my friends' eyes, while at the same time attempting to evangelize or educate online in the hope there are people willing to take the time and effort to read and reflect what I shared with the same time and effort they put watching entertaining videos or politics or sports online, and with the same docility, seriousness and attentiveness they take reading and believing secular articles and news media with ease against Christianity, clerics and the Church without second thoughts or without worrying about fact-checking or deceitful historical story-telling or reporting. Of course we should approach evangelizing with caution making sure we do not become hubristic, arrogant and proselytizing (e.g., calling Atheists and other Christian harsh names and accusing others as idolaters, anti-Christ, perverting Christianity, etc., as I had heard and encountered quite a few, unfortunately in the Fundamentalist, fallen-away Catholic camp. Catholics are of no exception into this trap, either.) Keeping in my mind that evangelizing is not the highest goal of our Christian life as Contemplative life is. Of course, there are a lot of ways to share your faith that are more effective than the impersonal social media, I get that. I am writing just within the context of why posting relevant informative stuff about your Christian faith online is also of value, especially in a fast-paced, technologically driven world we are in nowadays.

"Do not be afraid, speak out, and refuse to be silenced; I am with thee, and none shall come near to do thee harm; I have a great following in this city."

(Acts 18:9-10)

Anyway, the story Patrick Madrid told and his closing remark goes this way. This was a true story.

"I was walking down a dimly lit street late one evening when I heard muffled screams coming from behind a clump of bushes. Alarmed, I slowed down to listen and panicked when I realized that what I was hearing was the unmistakable sounds of a struggle: heavy grunting, frantic scuffling and tearing of fabric.

Only yards from where I stood, a woman was being attacked. Should I get involved? I was frightened for my own safety and cursed myself for having suddenly decided to take a new route home that night. What if I became another statistic? Shouldn’t I just run to the nearest phone and call the police?

Although it seemed an eternity, the deliberations in my head had taken only seconds, but already the cries were growing weaker. I knew I had to act fast.

How could I walk away from this? No, I finally resolved, I could not turn my back on the fate of this unknown woman, even if it meant risking my own life.

I am not a brave man, nor am I athletic. I don’t know where I found the moral courage and physical strength — but once I had finally resolved to help the girl, I became strangely transformed. I ran behind the bushes and pulled the assailant off the woman.

Grappling, we fell to the ground, where we wrestled for a few minutes until the attacker jumped up and escaped.

Panting hard, I scrambled upright and approached the girl, who was crouched behind a tree, sobbing.

In the darkness, could barely see her outline, but I could certainly sense her trembling shock.

Not wanting to frighten her further, I at first spoke to her from a distance.

“It’s OK,” I said soothingly, “The man ran away. You’re safe now.”

There was a long pause and then I heard the words, uttered in wonder, in amazement.

“Dad, is that you?” And then, from behind the tree, stepped my youngest daughter, Judy. 

Just imagine what would have happen if that Father had taken the easy way out, if he had not taken the risk, if he had not been willing to put his life on the line. Imagine if he had found out later that it was his own daughter. This story reminds us poignantly of our own need to step forward and not just know what we believe, not just know why we believe it, but be willing to share it.

Just when I was about to wrap up this blog, it was time to attend mass with my family, so I saved the draft. In our church, every week there is a challenge question posted on the projector screen for congregation to reflect upon. Today that question they posted affirmed the blog I am currently writing:

And in that same church, few years ago, I had read I guess a fairly popular quote in a hand-made poster in the wall that is a stark reminder to all of us Christians (whether you are cultural, nominal, lukewarm, practicing, active, indifferent) about the value of knowing and sharing our Christian faith:

“If we don’t teach our children to follow Christ,

the world will teach them not to.”

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