St. Mary Minooka
Mission
March 17, 2014
WHO AM I?
BASED ON THE BOOK
“Made for
More”
by Curtis Martin
Irish Prayer
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May the strength of God pilot me, the power of God uphold me,
the wisdom of God guide me.
May the eye of God look before me,
the ear of God hear me, the word of God speak for me.
May the hand of God protect me, the way of God lie before me,
the shield of God defend me, the host of God save me.
May Christ shield me today. Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me,
Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit, Christ when I stand,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.
Amen
Review
 What
motivates us? Why do we do what
we do? We are looking for ___________
 Why was Jesus crucified?
 What is some evidence that Jesus is more
than a moral teacher or nice prophet?
 Read in the book about why the Bible is
one of the most reliable books in history…
Foundation of our Faith
 Jesus
rose from the dead!
 Very specific place (Jerusalem), point in
history (Pontius Pilate)
 Heart of Christianity is not a set of rules or
ideas
 It is the person of Jesus Christ, raised from
the death to glory at the right hand of the
Father
 Relationship with Him
St. Paul
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“If Christ has not been raised, then our
preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.”
(1 Corinthians 15:14)
This is the Good News (Gospel)
Story of a man whose wife died in Jerusalem
All who believe in Jesus will also rise from the
dead
But being a Christian is not easy; it demands a
radical response to the most radically
dramatic event in history
Jesus and the Resurrection
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John 2:19 – “Destroy this temple, and in three
days I will raise it up.” (not explicit)
More explicit - after giving the keys of the
kingdom to Peter, Jesus says, “I must go to
Jerusalem and suffer many things…and be
killed, and on the third day, raised.” (Matthew
16:21)
It was JESUS and not His apostles who
believed in and predicted the resurrection
Apostles
 Did
not comprehend what was going on
 Scandalized by the cross
 Brokenhearted by Jesus’ death
 Flee and hide, except John
 After they see Him alive they begin to
understand
 Acts 2:32 – “this Jesus God raised up, and
of that we are all witnesses” – became
the central focus of their preaching
Theories trying to refute the
resurrection
 Jesus’
body was thrown in a shallow
grave and eaten by wild dogs
 Apostles went to the wrong tomb and
made up a story about the resurrection
 Jesus was raised spiritually but not bodily
 Jesus didn’t die; He just passed out
 Jesus had an evil twin
 Someone stole Jesus’ body
Why we believe…
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6 historical facts that support the resurrection
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1) Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate
2) The tomb was empty
3) The once fearful disciples soon proclaimed
the bodily resurrection
4) Other eyewitnesses saw Jesus alive after
resurrection (over 500)
5) All apostles (except John) were martyred
6) Millions accepted the faith quickly and it still
spreads today
Who do YOU say that I am?
 We
have a choice – accept Jesus or
reject Him
 If we choose to accept Christ, we choose
to follow Him as the Lord of our life.
 Since Jesus is a King, he must have a
kingdom…
Kingdom of God
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How do we come in contact with the power
and truth of Jesus today, 2000 years later?
Jesus established a kingdom here ON EARTH:
the Kingdom of God.
What does it look like to accept Jesus as the
King of the Universe and the King of my life?
We obey (listen) Jesus and reject the
“kingdoms of this world”
God desires to change the way we think
about everything
Pope Francis – funeral faces
How do we know what God
wants for me?
 Bible
– irrefutable evidence that the texts
have not been distorted (early Christian
writings support this)
 In the same way, Church Fathers share a
common understanding of the meaning
of the Bible
 These Church Fathers were taught by the
Apostles themselves or by their
companions
What does this mean for me?
 Asking
Jesus to be the Lord of my life
changes every aspect of our lives
 Wants us to enter into relationship with
Him – the key to everything
 Our world has turned its back on God and
the effects are devastating
 How many times have I rejected God by
my selfish decisions?
Made for More
 Sin
makes us slaves to our passions –
importance of fasting
 We were made for greatness and
everlasting joy
 Jesus calls us, “Repent, for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17)
Jesus preached the Kingdom
 His
entire life was spent preaching about
the Kingdom
 The kingdom of God is like
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Mustard seed (Matthew 13:31)
Buried treasure & pearl (Matthew 13:44)
Net (Matthew 13:47)
Vineyard & hired workers (Matthew 20:1)
King
 Jesus
was crucified as “the King of the
Jews”
 After His resurrection and ascension He is
known as the “King of kings”
 Jesus is king of heaven and has
established an “outpost” here on this
earth
 We can join Him or we can follow this
world that is passing away
Groundwork for the Kingdom
 God
liberated His chosen people Israel
from slavery in Egypt and made them into
a kingdom in the Promised Land
 1000 years before Jesus, God established
David in Jerusalem as king of his people
 Jesus is referred to as the “Son of David”
Jesus Christ, Son of David
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Jesus was born at a time when the Jews were
longing for a great king; they had fallen on
bad times
David was the golden age
God told David that He would “establish the
throne of his kingdom forever (2 Samuel 7:1316)
Israel was beaten, deported, returned,
trampled upon and occupied by the
Romans, but they clung to this promise of
God
Messiah = anointed one
 When
Jesus answers to the title “Son of
David”, He is accepting the title of the
Messianic King, the Christ
 King Solomon, son of David, entered his
reign on a donkey (1 Kings 1:38-40)
 When Jesus enters Jerusalem on a
donkey, the Jewish people connected
this to David – “hosanna to the Son of
David”
What does this Kingdom look
like?
 When
we say yes to Him, it will involve not
only a personal conversion; it will involve
uniting ourselves with all others who
acknowledge Him as King
 We cannot embrace the King without
embracing His Kingdom
The King
 God
promised David that one of His
descendants would arise and be greater
than he. (2 Samuel 7:12-14) “I will
establish the throne of his kingdom
forever. I will be his father, and he shall be
my son.”
 Read Isaiah 9:5-6
 David’s kingdom would extend to the
ends of the earth and to the end of time
When David became King
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He chose Jerusalem
Retrieved the Ark of the Covenant (fragments
of the Ten Commandments – holiest object in
Israel)
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David danced in a special robe called an
ephod
To renew the covenant he offered the people
gifts of bread and wine (2 Samuel 6)
David was dressing and acting like a priest
Combined the royal palace of the king with the
sacred temple of the priest in a new way
Prime Minister
 Since
antiquity, kings often had prime
ministers to govern temporal affairs
 2nd to the king, possess the king’s authority
 Isaiah 22:20-23 – Eliakim – given the “key”
to the house of David
 David was a father to his people
 Now he shares this fatherly role with his
prime minister, who has authority (keys)
and honor (symbolized by the throne)
Queen Mother
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Davidic kings had a queen, but it wasn’t his wife – it
was his mother
primary role of bringing petitions before the king
1 Kings 2:19 – King Solomon bowed to his mother
Bathsheba; she sat on his right
Kings bowed to no one, but his mother (4th
Commandment)
Queen Mother used her influence to intercede for
others
All members of the kingdom can bring their petitions
to the king, but when the Queen Mother intercedes,
their petitions are elevated
Story of the cardinal
The King and His Kingdom
 Matthew
1:1 – Jesus Christ, Son of David –
1st verse in New Testament
 As Jesus establishes His kingdom by His
death and resurrection, we see his queen
mother and prime minister taking their
places
 Bestows upon Peter the keys to the
kingdom, giving him authority and honor
to act in the person of Jesus
Mother of my Lord
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When Elizabeth greets Mary during the
Visitation she says: “How is it that the mother
of my Lord should come to me?” (1 Luke 3956)
Mother of my Lord was an ancient greeting
for the Queen Mother
By declaring Mary to be Queen, she is
acknowledging the baby in her womb to be
the Messiah, the King
Honor given to the queen mother is always
honor given to her son, the king
What does this mean for us?
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You and I are royalty!
Jesus brought the kingdom of the New
Covenant (a sacred bond of relationship)
Classic forms of covenants are adoption and
marriage
Difference between slavery and sonship,
prostitution and marriage
Slavery and prostitution – people use another for
a selfish end
Sonship and marriage – people belong to one
another in a life-giving union
Marriage
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father and mother become my father
and mother; her sisters become my sisters
 Covenants make a family out of people
who had not been family
 Similarly – New Covenant unites us with
God AND with one another
 Question from 8th grade girl – “Father how
do you see the world differently as a
priest?”
Covenants
 Formed
by sacred oaths and a ritual act
 Marriage – oath of fidelity, act of sharing
of vows, rings
 Christian tradition – God is not a witness;
He is a participant in the rituals
 Hebrew word for oath (shevua) is the root
for the word meaning seven (sheva)
 Latin word for oath is sacramentum
New Covenant
 Founded
upon 7 oaths or Sacraments
 Calling us to a covenantal relationship
 Enter the kingdom by adoption – in
baptism; we become sons and daughters
of the King
 Jesus imparts His life to us in the
Sacraments; we are part of His family,
royalty
What does this mean?
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God is not just our King but our Father
We are loved, not just governed
Relationship is the essence of this Kingdom (what
my mother taught me is most important)
We are called to loyalty to the Prime Minister, the
Holy Father, who has been given the keys to the
kingdom
Prime minister is called Pope (“papa”) – fatherly
role to all of Christ’s followers on earth
Family trait – loyalty to prime minister, maintaining
unity in the Church, the Kingdom of God on earth
Other relationships
 Jesus
gives us His Father as our Father
 His Mother is our Mother
 “John, behold your Mother. Woman,
behold your son” (John 19:26-27)
 We are not merely saved orphans; we are
full members of the royal family
Reconciliation
 Sin
breaks relationships
 Re-con-cilia-tion = to see eye to eye
again
 Power of the Sacrament, renewing the
covenantal relationship
 My experience of this Sacrament
 Four altars, 450 priests of Baal (Elijah – 1
Kings 18) – power, pleasure, wealth, honor
 Don’t
just confess the symptoms; go to the
root of the sin
 Allow the Lord’s grace and mercy enter
into the depths of your soul so that
healing can begin
Irish Blessing
 May
the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
And the rain fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of his
hand. Amen.
What can I do?
 Attend
a daily Mass each week along
with Sunday
 Confession every two months (or more
often)
 Forgive someone