Sunday, December 6, 2015

My Conversation with Jesus on the Mountain

A vision popped into my mind at Mass this weekend. 

I imagined sitting on a mountain with Jesus, looking down at the town and busyness below.  

We were talking, mostly about how hard it is to keep God a priority in this day in age, and especially at Christmastime.  We read all the right passages in the Gospels, and hear all the right perspectives from our priests and religious men and women.  

But for the other 90% of the time, I told Him, it gets really hard to not get caught up in society.  From jobs to politics to buying presents, we are focused on many, many other things.  

I asked Him for a thought ... a reminder ... anything that could help me feel the right perspective.  

He motioned to the crucifix I wear around my neck, and looked at me with eyes that said "What else could you possibly need?"  

I nodded bashfully in acknowledgement.  

Then He said, "Ok, how about this ... if I were to tell you I could take you to Heaven right now, to be with me forever ... what else down there (motioning back to society) would you worry about?  What else would you care about?"

I soaked that in. 

The answer, of course, was nothing.  In fact, other than my family and friends, every other thing in my life shrunk smaller than a spec of sand.  And I actually felt it in that moment*.  I did not have another care in the world.

Just then, the gift basket at Mass arrived at my lap, and I returned to reality.  But I did not forget the example Jesus gave me, and will definitely remind myself of it often.

God Bless you.


*  I must admit, after re-reading this post, much of the feeling is lost in putting the words on paper screen.  In order to recreate the feeling, I find I need to not read it, but imagine the scenario again, and try to feel what it would be like to be in that situation.  Just reading the words is a poor substitute.  (Probably because there is a poor writer behind them!)

4 comments:

Victor S E Moubarak said...

Michael this is brilliant. You captured the moment all right. One of your best posts ever. Thank you.

It is frightening how often we worry about the here down below - we worry about family, friends, and the many things we have grown to hold dear in life. Yet, our focus and vision should be on Him above; to be with Him.

I shall put this post on my Google+ site and my Twitter so that more may read it.

Happy Advent. God bless.

Shirley said...

Interesting- I had much the same thoughts yesterday. I was thinking about what in the world would hold me back when my time comes, and came to the conclusion that there is nothing I want more than heaven, that I would gladly let go of everything just to spend eternity listening to the glorious sound of the angels praising God.
What a beautiful Advent moment for you.

Mary N. said...

Oddly enough I was just thinking about this today and how hard it is to "keep my eyes on Jesus". Your post made me really think, Michael. What a great perspective to have! Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the sinful craziness of the world today. It's so easy to focus on the world and not on heaven. Thank you so much for your post!

Michael said...

Victor, thank you for the very kind words and for sharing this post!

Shirley and Mary - how interesting that God spoke to all three of us about this topic! Thank you for your comments!

God Bless all of you!