Fight Anxiety

4th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B

Today we see the mighty power of Christ at work.  He is spreading the gospel and he is driving out evil.  I love how the gospel writer puts it: what is this?  A new teaching with authority.  And: his fame spread everywhere.  Jesus Christ is the new Moses.  He is leading all of us to heaven, to His heavenly Father.  Jesus came to preach the Good News and be our savior.  However, I often think that we can fall into the trap of just thinking that this will happen at the end of our lives.  But, we don’t always remember that salvation starts right now.  God doesn’t want to be with us just at the end of our lives, but he sent Jesus to be with us in the midst of our daily lives.  The present moment is the place for us to meet Christ.  Notice, when Jesus drives out the unclean spirit, he doesn’t say: go out of him sometime down the road.  No, he says: come out now, and indeed he does.  So, invite Christ into your lives right now, drive out the demons that you find afflicting you.

One such demon might be anxiety.  I know that many of us face difficulties in our lives, many of these situations bring us distress, tension, and anxiety.  Well, this is not a new problem.  St. Paul was teaching his people about anxiety 2000 years ago.  He says, brothers and sisters, I should like you to be free from anxieties.  Yeah, wouldn’t that be nice!  Now, just a little context, when St. Paul wrote this letter, he had the feeling that Christ was coming back at the end of the week.  So, his recommendation might sound strange to us.  He was basically recommending that people not get married, because marriage comes with things that can cause stress: things like kids, couple communication, jobs, schools, on and on.  So, since Jesus was coming back at the end of the week, Paul said just stay single.  

Well, that is not very practical advice.  There are people who are called to be single, called to be totally dedicate to God and to service.  But, the majority of you are living the vocation to live in marriage, to live in families.  So, you can’t really get rid of all your anxieties by changing your external circumstances.  Sometimes that sounds tempting, but I find that changing externals doesn’t always get rid of anxieties.  We might think: if I just had that job, if my spouse would just agree with me more, if I just get into that good school, etc.  But, you know what?  When the externals change, we often still find anxieties that go along with the new externals.

However, just like St. Paul, I should like you to be free from anxieties.  Anxiety is really tough on us.  It can make everything seem unbearable.  It certainly can cause our joy of living to be reduced greatly.  So, I have three practical suggestions that have really helped me with anxieties over the years.

Number 1: prayer and meditation.  Prayer is so essential, of course.  It’s our time to connect with Jesus.  He truly has the power to drive out this unclean demon of anxiety.  But, without prayer, it’s almost like he doesn’t have a chance to work his miracle.  Prayer and meditation are so effective when it comes to anxiety because it helps us to change the interior, it helps to change our minds and hearts.  If we can change our internal narrative to be more filled with faith, hope, love, and joy, the external situations in our lives will cause so much less stress and anxiety.  My favorite example to use is St. Maximilian Kolbe.  He was killed in the concentration camps by the Nazis.  One thing they did to him was to lock him in a starvation bunker.  So, I can’t possibly imagine a more depressing and stressful situation to be in, being in a starvation bunker would probably cause me anxiety.  Yet, they say that he could be heard singing.  Now that is a person filled with faith.  Prayer and meditation can help all of us to have more faith, to be able to deal better with our external situations.

Now, the next two suggestions seem more practical.  So number two is exercise.  I can always tell when I’m able to exercise and be active.  Not just because my body feels better, but because my mind feels better.  You know, when I’m up here talking I’m normally talking about spiritual things, which is natural.  But, I also want to talk about our bodies.  Our bodies are intimately connected to our spirits.  We don’t have one without the other.  I think sometimes we neglect the body to the detriment of our souls.  So, try to get moving and get active.  I’m not saying everyone here should run the marathon next year, but if you find stress and anxieties are burdening you, try to get some exercise and see if it helps.

Number three is good sleep.  I’ve been reading a lot about sleep over the last year.  Studies are conclusive that sleep is really, really good for you.  Yet, for so long, I’ve always been one of those 5 hour a night people.  It used to be that we would wear this as a badge of honor: I only sleep 5 hours a night.  Now we say: congratulations, your lack of sleep is causing health problems with your body and your mind.  So, I’ve made a goal of mine to get over 7 hours of sleep every night.  Sometimes that’s tough.  I usually get up at 5:00 when I have 7:00 mass.  So that means I have to be in bed at 9:00 something.  But, it’s worth it.  I can tell you I’ve never once regretted going to bed early in my life.  But, I’ve regretted staying up to late tons of time.  I find that this commitment to sleep really helps the life of my mind.  I have less worries and less stress simply by being committed to sleep.

So, my friends, I’m not the expert, I’m not a doctor.  But, these things have worked for me.  I would like all of you to be free from anxieties, I would like to be free too.  If we all make commitments to prayer, exercise, and good sleep, I think all of us would find that we are much more able to deal with the difficulties in life, and we would have many fewer anxieties.  Let Jesus drive out that demon in your life. 

Vocation story

2^nd Sunday of Ordinary time, year B 2018:

Last Sunday we celebrated the Epiphany, where the magi came and worshiped Jesus.  And now we are back to ordinary time.  So, just like that, our Christmas season is over, and we are back to green vestments and ordinary time.  But, ordinary time doesn’t mean “bad” or “plain.”  Technically it comes from the word “ordinal” meaning numbered.  There are 34 Sundays of Ordinary time.  These Sundays fill in the gaps between the special seasons of Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter.  The focus of the gospels during Ordinary Time is the life and ministry of Jesus.  Therefore, I think the liturgical year teaches us an important lesson about our own life.  Sure, there are great high points in our lives, just like Christmas and Easter are high points in our liturgical life.  But, I think it’s ordinary time where we really grow in our faith.  In some ways, it’s easy to be a Christian on Christmas, but what about the second Sunday of ordinary time?  We should really see these “Green Sundays” as “Growth Sundays.”  If we do, Ordinary time will be anything but ordinary.

I really love today’s gospel reading.  It’s the vocation story of the apostles.  This is the story that tells us exactly how it was that the apostles heard the call to follow Jesus.  Andrew was guided by John the Baptist.  He met Jesus and spent time with him.  He was motivated to tell Peter: we have found the Christ.  There’s an interesting power in vocation stories.

I didn’t know this early on, but when you are a seminarian, a person studying to be a priest, people oftentimes want to hear your vocation story.  I remember my first Christmas as a seminarian I was at a lunch sponsored by the Serra club.  It was a lunch for all the seminarians and their parents, along with many priests and with Bishop D’Arcy.  Since I had only been a seminarian for a few months, I felt sort of intimidated by a room full of priests, seminarians, and especially Bishop D’Arcy, who I greatly respected.  So, I was definitely trying to keep my head down and just stay under the radar.  Now, at every one of these lunches, Bishop D’Arcy would always get up to “say a few words.”  So, bishop started talking about vocations and he started talking about Pope John Paul II.  He said that JP2 had a great impact on vocations throughout the world.  “In fact,” he said, “our new seminarian, Jake Runyon, was influenced by JP2.  Jake, why don’t you stand up and tell everyone all about your vocation story?”  I was so embarrassed.  Gee, thanks a lot bishop.  So, I told my vocation story.  The very first time I ever thought about being a priest was when I was in Denver in 1994 for World Youth Day.  I remember seeing priests from all over the world.  I was impressed that they came in every shape and size.  I thought: maybe that’s what I’m supposed to do.  There’s more to my vocation story of course, but we don’t want to be here all day.  I sat down after telling my story, greatly relieved to be out of the spotlight.  After lunch, one of the other seminarians said: I’m really glad you are in the seminary.  Now, Bishop won’t call on me to talk in front of everyone, he will just use you.  I learned from that day on: always be ready to tell your vocation story.

But, I want to turn it around on you: what is your vocation story.  When did you realize you were being called by Christ?  Was there a moment?  If you are married, when did you know he/she was “the one?” 

Having a handle on your vocation story is important.  If you have never really sketched it out in your own mind, you might really be missing out on the ways you could be meeting Christ.  But, faith is also meant to be shared.  What would have happened if St. Andrew had never talked to his brother about the faith?  We never would have had St. Peter.  So, that’s your homework assignment.  If bishop D’Arcy were here today and he pointed his finger at you and said: what is your vocation story, what would you say?  And, second, share that story with someone.  Could be a friend, a spouse, one of your kids.  Sometimes our vocation stories can really go a long way towards helping other people grow in their faith. 

Christmas 2017

Christmas 2017:

I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.  How cool it was yesterday to see the snow coming down, it really looks and feels like Christmas.  And, what a great feast this is: Jesus Christ is born.  He is our Lord and Savior; his birth brings joy to the whole world.

In the gospel we just read, we hear the message of the angel: do not be afraid, I bring you news of great joy: a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.  If you remember, a few hours ago we celebrated the 4^th Sunday of Advent.  The angel’s message to Mary was similar: do not be afraid, nothing is impossible for God.  And now we proclaim the impossible has happened: Jesus is born who is Christ, Lord, and Savior.  Do not be afraid.

This one sentence should live in our hearts constantly: do not be afraid.  God is with us.  Jesus is our savior.  Do not be afraid.

But, I want to dwell on that word for a moment: savior.  What does it mean to be a savior?  What does it mean to say that Jesus is our Savior?  You know this is something we say so often: Our Savior Jesus Christ the Lord.   It sounds like just another name to add onto the name of Jesus.  But, “Savior” is an amazing title.  Savior is the one who saves, that makes sense.  Saves from what?  If you are drowning, a savior jumps in and brings you to safety.  If you are in a car accident, a savior might pull you from the wreckage.  If there’s a fire, a savior may risk himself/herself to go in and find you.  A savior recognizes your plight, risks himself/herself, and overcomes danger to bring you to safety.  But, if you don’t know you are in danger, you might not even be looking for a Savior?

So, are you looking for a savior?  Have you every recognized that you are in danger?  Have you ever felt the plight of being a human being?  We are limited by our weaknesses, our imperfections.  And worst of all, we are all mortal.  These bodies will give up one day.  Each and every one of us is in grave danger.  But, are we even looking for a savior?

One of my favorite movies is Forrest Gump.  One year, for Christmas, Forrest stays with his old army lieutenant, Lieutenant Dan.  After losing his legs, Lieutenant Dan had gone to some pretty low places in his life.  In a moment of emotional turmoil, Lieutenant Dan says to Forrest, “Have you found Jesus Gump?”  Forrest replies, “I didn’t know I was supposed to be looking for him.”  This is one of my favorite movie lines, maybe ever.  I didn’t know I was supposed to be looking for him.  Not only is it a great line, but I also think it is a problem that we all face at some point in our lives: I didn’t know I was supposed to be looking for him.

The angels tell us news of great joy: our savior is born for us.  But, if we don’t realize we need a savior, we won’t find him.  If we aren’t looking for him, we won’t find him.  Jesus Christ is the son of God, but he comes to us as a small child, lying in his mother’s arms.  Jesus is still our Lord and Savior, but he still comes in quiet moments.  He comes as savior, to those who recognize that he is needed.  He comes to those who are looking for him.

So, my friends, my encouragement for you this year is to take full stock of all the ways you need a savior.  Do not be afraid.  Where do you need to grow and change?  I know I have my list of weaknesses, anxieties, stresses, and difficulties.  I recognize that I need a savior.  So, I’m turning to Christ: come Lord Jesus.  Let’s keep our eyes open.  Let’s keep looking for Jesus.  Today we celebrate the day he was found in the manger.  At this Mass, we celebrate the Holy Eucharist where he comes to us under the appearances of bread and wine.  And as we go forth from this mass, we will keep looking for him.  The more we look for Christ the more we will experience that great message: do not be afraid, I bring you news of Great Joy.  Jesus Christ is born for us, he is our Lord and Savior.  Merry Christmas. 

Do not be afraid!

4^th Sunday of Advent year B 2017:

I know that it is almost Christmas.  This is the shortest 4^th week of Advent possible.  But, at this Mass we still take a moment to prepare for Christmas.  We hear the encounter between Mary and the angel.  Last week I was at St. Charles for a penance service.  Fr. Dennis read this passage, then called attention to 2 lines from Gabriel.  These two lines are spoken to Mary.  But, since Mary is a representative for all of us, they are spoken to us as well. 

The first one: do not be afraid.  Put yourself in Mary’s shoes for a minute.  I’m sure she was going about her day, minding her own business, when an angel from heaven just shows up in her life.  I think any one of us would be afraid.  Not to mention his message: you will conceive the Son of God.  Yikes.  Talk about anxiety.  Who could say yes to something like that without being afraid.  So the angel addresses her fears: do not be afraid, have faith.

What about us?  There are many things that can cause us fear and anxiety and worry.  The angel tells us: do not be afraid.  The little baby of Nazareth is God’s proclamation: do not be afraid, I have not forgotten you.  God is immanently close to us.  No matter what may cause us fear, do not be afraid, for God is truly with us.

The second line to which Fr. Dennis called our attention was: nothing is impossible for God.  Gabriel pointed to the example of Elizabeth to reassure Mary that God can do the impossible.  God fulfills his promises.  God can and does do amazing things.

This is a powerful message to us too.  How many times do we feel lost or hopeless.  Maybe it’s an illness, maybe it’s a struggle against addiction, depression.  Maybe it just feels like life is beating us down and it’s hard to put one foot in front of the other.  Let this message from the angel fill you with hope: do not be afraid, for nothing is impossible for God.  Again, the little baby of Nazareth shows us that God can do the unthinkable, the unimaginable, the impossible.  Nothing is impossible for God.

My friends Christmas is right around the corner.  God is coming to us.  Let the message of the angel live in your hearts.  Do not be afraid, nothing is impossible for God.  Open your hearts to Christ, he is coming soon.