A Savior? -1
Dear Friends,
Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior?
Some evangelical Christians will often ask this question.
Maybe there is a prior question: Do you feel the need for a savior?
I had not really thought about this until two months ago.
I was listening to a homily in which the priest said that a savior implies that we need saving.
He said that some people may find this insulting or diminishing.
After all, we are strong and self-sufficient.
In a culture of individualism where we think we can and have to make it on our own, maybe the whole idea of a savior leaves us very uncomfortable.
At first, I was surprised to hear these ideas.
However, the more I thought about them, the more I realized that this priest was making an insightful point.
This has led me to reflect and pray about how I see our need of a savior.
In brief, I believe that we human beings are incomplete in and by ourselves.
There is something missing, something lacking in us when we are left alone to ourselves and our humanity.
I am not saying that we are bad or wretched or sinful in our humanity.
I simply believe that we are incomplete and because of that, we can get lost and be lost – if, if we are left alone without God.
God, taking care of this incompleteness, becomes our savior – our Savior Jesus Christ.
Therefore, salvation really says something positive about God, not something negative about us.
“’Salvation’ is something beyond ethical propriety. The word connotes a deep respect for the fundamental metaphysical reality of [humanity]. It reflects God’s own infinite concern for [humanity], God’s love and care for [humanity’s] inmost being, God’s love for all that is his own in [humanity].”
Father Michael Schleupner
February 23, 2022
A Savior? -2
Dear Friends,
In last week’s Inbox, I looked at the question: Do I feel the need for a savior?
To ask it another way: From what do I need to be saved?
I explained why these questions might be raised today and I then shared some general reflections on how I see our need for a savior.
Today I am trying to be a bit more specific and to put this in my own words.
Over the past several years, I have developed three phrases that, for me, express what we need to be saved from and how Jesus is a Savior.
For ease of my own memory, there is some alliteration in these three expressions, and together they lead us to the three theological virtues.
So, here goes:
· Jesus, as Savior, saves us from Darkness because he is pure Light, Light itself, and with that he calls us to the virtue of Faith.
· Jesus, as Savior, saves us from Dysfunction because he is unconditional Love, Love itself, and with that he moves us to the virtue of Love.
· Jesus, as Savior, saves us from Death because he is eternal Life, Life itself, and with that he leads us to the virtue of Hope.
So, there are times when we can experience Darkness. We may feel no sense of purpose in our lives. Jesus Light enables us to see meaning and direction. If we are open to seeing our lives with his Light, we have received the gift of Faith.
Also, daily life can have its share of Dysfunction. We can experience this in our own personal relationships. Jesus teaches a balance of Love of others and self. If we try to embrace this, we are also accepting his gift of Love.
And finally, we know that physical Death will come someday. We also experience everyday Deaths or dyings to self. Jesus identifies himself as the Life and teaches us the paschal mystery. Our trust in this enables us to receive his gift of Hope.
Some final words on this topic next week, in the Inbox Inspirations of March 2.
Father Michael Schleupner
Dear Friends,
In the Inbox Inspirations of the last two weeks, I have looked at the question: Do I feel the need for a savior?
To ask it another way: From what do I need to be saved?
I want to offer some concluding thoughts on this question today.
I believe that there is a fundamental, core restlessness in each of us.
We are almost always driven from within for something more.
One author puts it this way:
“Inside of us, it would seem, something is at odds with the very rhythm of things and we are forever restless, dissatisfied, frustrated, and aching….Desire is always stronger than satisfaction.
Whatever the expression, everyone is ultimately talking about the same thing – an unquenchable fire, a restlessness, a longing, a disquiet, a hunger, a loneliness, a gnawing nostalgia, a wildness that cannot be tamed, a congenital all-embracing ache that lies at the center of the human experience…”
So, we yearn for some satisfaction that is always elusive, always beyond our grasp.
We may try to find this thirst quenched in things like a larger home, a new car, more money, the newest smartphone, or in substances that are addictive.
The problem is that none of the above really satisfies.
We need, I am convinced, someone or a Someone to “save” us from our core human insufficiency.
We need the gift of a light and a love that gives completeness to us as persons.
We find that only in the transcendent, in God, in a savior, and I would say, in the Savior Jesus Christ, God-with-us who reveals God-within-us.
We need to give ourselves and our lives to this person and this relationship.
This is what salvation is all about.
Father Michael Schleupner
Quotation above from The Holy Longing by Father Ronald Rolheiser, O.M.I.
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