All the celebrating of St. John the Baptist this weekend got me thinking ...
What if he acted like us?
What if, instead of shouting the famous "Behold, the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!", he said:
"Psst ... see that Guy? He might be the Christ, but I'm not sure. Let's wait and see if He gives us any proof."
or
"Hey guys ... huddle up for a minute ... see that Guy over there? He is the Savior. Now, don't say anything because we don't want to offend anyone, okay?"
or
"Wow, look, it's the Son of God! I have to go do a couple of things, but hopefully He is still here when I'm done."
or
"Jesus! You have finally come to us! Here is a list of all the things I would like ..."
Thank goodness Jesus had St. John, instead of us, as His original herald.
But the truth is, the Lord still needs us to proclaim to the world that He is here. Just better than we are doing now ...
I sat pondering what I could post about the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.
I mean, what could I write that hasn't been written? What else could I say about the most holy of Sacraments?
The only thought that kept popping in my head was ... what if no one wrote about it?
At first I laughed at myself, questioning how one of the most important events in history would go unrecorded.
But the more I thought about it, the more I decided it wasn't that improbable.
After all, there is evidence that the early disciples did not understand everything Jesus did to the fullest. (Heck, who is to say we even do!)
What if they just second guessed what Jesus really meant? It wasn't the easiest event to decipher in retrospect. What if they just glossed over it during the mayhem that ensued shortly thereafter, forgetting the command to repeat that meal in memory of our Lord?
And even if they didn't forget it, surely they thought twice about trying to explain to folks that normal bread and wine miraculously changed into the actual Body and Blood of a Carpenter, right?
How about convincing people that eating the Body of their Teacher was not cannibalism?
Of course, I'm sure the Holy Spirit would have inspired them had they taken a different course.
But as our priest held up the Blessed Host and uttered "Take this, all of you and eat it", I not only thanked our Savior as I always do, but I also thanked the Evangelists for passing on this most Blessed Sacrament through their writings.
If you asked me in a religious setting who I was, I would probably stumble a bit and mumble some version of "a devoted Catholic who loves God and tries his best to stay in his Grace and make him happy."
But the other day You Love Me Anyway by Sidewalk Prophets came on the radio, and the lyrics made me think twice about that answer ...
I am the thorn in Your crown but You love me anyway I am the sweat from Your brow but You love me anyway I am the nail in Your wrist but You love me anyway I am Judas' kiss but You love me anyway
See now I am the man that yelled out from the crowd For Your blood to be spilled on this earth shaking ground
Yes, then I turned around away with this smile on my face With this sin in my heart tried to bury Your grace
And then alone in the night, I still called out for You So ashamed of my life, my life, my life but you love me anyway