Stop social climbing. That should be the tagline for this Sunday’s gospel. Jesus is saying that, trying to gain social status, trying to reach the highest seat, which we will never truly satisfy. Jesus is saying, Your identity is in me. When we forget about our identity in Jesus, that’s when we try to gain status. That’s when we try to find love in all of the wrong places. And so Jesus says, “Stop doing that and see me.” Gandalf has no identity outside of Tolkien. Katniss Everdeen has no identity outside of the world created by Suzanne Collins. Tesla has no identity outside of its founder, Elon Musk. Musk’s baby has no identity outside of Justin Bieber. We have no identity. We don’t know who we are outside of our relationship with the Heavenly Father. Stop social climbing. Stop trying to gain status. You don’t need status. You need Jesus.
This is Spirit Juice. Peace.
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Life or Death
Let’s talk about fire and water, and I’m not talking about the Pokemon types. In the gospel for this Sunday, Saint John the Baptist says that he will baptize with water, but Christ will baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit. Fire represents life, but it also represents death. Same with water. When the Israelites went through the Red Sea, water was life-giving. The Egyptians went through the same Red Sea, and…
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Face to Face with Jesus
What happens when you come face to face with the God of the universe? You don’t want to leave.
At a recent retreat, students encountered Jesus in a powerful way and many of them said the same thing: “I don’t want to go. I just want to stay.” In His presence, everything else fades.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Peter, James, and John experience that same reality at the Transfiguration. Overwhelmed by glory, they want to pitch tents and remain there with Him.
This Lent, keep it simple: make space to sit in the presence of Jesus. Stay. Listen. Let Him meet you there.
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Ash Wednesday
Okay, it’s been a hot minute, but we are back. It is Ash Wednesday, so we may go up to receive ashes today, and we might not know what we’ll get. You might get the classics, the X marks the spot, the perfectionist, the Harry Potter, the NFL, the Picasso, or the Twinsie, or you could get the double wide. Whatever you receive, whatever is…
