Eric Girten
The Catholic Kitchen
Last month, I suggested getting to know Jesus of Nazareth a bit better as a way to strengthen our spirituality in the New Year. One obvious way to do this is by reading the Gospels and visualizing the scenes through the senses. What was the climate like? What was the geography? How far was it from A to B, and how long did it take Jesus and the apostles to travel that distance? Why did Jesus react in certain ways in certain situations?
As odd as it might seem, sometimes we forget that Jesus, Mary the apostles, and the rest of the characters we read about in the Gospels were real people living in their part of the world and in their period of history – the same as us. There is a danger in this because we start losing the understanding of Emmanuel…God is with us.
It is one thing to say there is a god out there in the great beyond that moves and creates and destroys. It is quite another to bring that idea into full relief by acknowledging the God who came to us and remains with us; walks with us; eats with us; breathes with us; delights with us; cries with us.
It is easy for us to walk away from an idea in the mist somewhere in the universe; but how could we ever turn our head from the gaze of the One who sits across from us and waits intently for our response?
Once we come to this awareness of the ‘historical’ Jesus (one might also say Jesus in the flesh or God within my grasp), we can place Him in every aspect of our lives. Our prayer becomes not for what we want but for what He wants for us because we become so enamored of the One who is so enamored of us. Our vision (of ourselves, our marriage, our work, our families, relationships, life) is forever altered because we begin to see all of these things, in some small way, through the eyes of the One who looks back at us.
So, my brothers and sisters, if you are in the tempest, get to know Jesus. If your seas are calm, get to know Jesus. No matter where you are in your lives, get to know Jesus in such a way that you could close your eyes, reach out and touch His face…because someday in the near or far you will be able to do so.