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Unto Life

This is my final project for our fundamentals of film production class at JP Catholic.

One Man's Wierd is Another Man's Jewel

From Proverbs

“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” Proverbs 30:31

My friend was excited because he was going to have lunch with a girl he was interested in. This evening he was telling me how it went. He said he couldn’t believe how beautiful she was. So I asked him if she was cool (easy to talk to), and he said, “she’s cool.” So far so good. But then he says, “it’s a shame I’m going to have to cut her loose (not pursue her anymore).” “Why?” I asked. “Because when I asked her about Church and stuff she said ‘I go every now and then when I have time.’” He’s like me, looking for the kind of girl that is so religious that people think she’s weird.

“Who can find a good wife?” Proverbs 31:10

Hearts

From 1 Kings

Then Eli'jah said to all the people, "Come near to me"; and all the people came
near to him. 1 Kings 18:30

The lesson begins…

And he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been thrown down [by taking]
twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to
whom the word of the LORD came, saying, "Israel shall be your name." And
he put the wood in order, and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood.
And he said, "Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering, and
on the wood." And he said, "Do it a second time"; and they did it a second time.
And he said, "Do it a third time"; and they did it a third time. And the water
ran round about the altar, and filled the trench also with water. 1 Kings 18:30-35

I am repairing you, Israel, who has been thrown down away from God. Despite the 12 jars of water you have thrown on your stone hearts, the Lord shall enflame them again.

Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that thou, O LORD,
art God, and that thou hast turned their hearts back." Then the fire of the LORD
fell, and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the
dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people
saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The LORD, he is God; the LORD,
he is God." 1 Kings 18:37-39

But Who Am I?

From 1 Chronicles

David speaking of provisions for building the temple:

“Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself today to the LORD?" 1
Chronicles 29:5

The respond by offering their service and money:

“And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the
LORD” 1 Chronicles 29:8

And then they rejoiced:

“because these had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered
freely to the LORD; David the king also rejoiced greatly.” 1 Chronicles 29:9

David blesses and praises the Lord and then says these beautiful words:

"But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer
willingly? For all things come from thee, and of thy own have we given thee.
For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as all our fathers were;
our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding. O LORD our
God, all this abundance that we have provided for building thee a house for thy
holy name comes from thy hand and is all thy own. I know, my God, that thou
triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness; in the uprightness of my
heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen thy people,
who are present here, offering freely and joyously to thee. O LORD, the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep for ever such purposes and
thoughts in the hearts of thy people, and direct their hearts toward thee. 1
Chronicles 29:14-18

After freely giving their prized earthly possessions up to the Lord, they find joy in their hearts. This joy must have cleared the smog out of their hearts because it is followed by a heartfelt realization, “but who am I, who are we?” This whole time I cling to my earthly possessions and marvel in their beauty while, as Saint Augustine says, “if they had not been in you they would have not been at all.” Life is a shadow and will not last. Such simple and profound realizations, but even the realization is a gift from God. David thus says, “keep for ever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of thy people, and direct their hearts toward thee.”

Behold Your Gods

From Judges

In Judges chapter 2 we read of Israel’s unfaithfulness, repeatedly forsaking the God of their fathers and bowing down to the gods of the people around them. But when we read of people bowing down and worshipping pagan gods, we sometimes fail to observe that it isn’t just a mindless act of falling to ones knees in front of a pagan god alone that is so alarming. Every worship of a pagan god involved the accompanying rituals. Often these rituals involved revolting sexual perversions, twisted moral dispositions and even human sacrifices.

Not much has changed today. We have our gods of lust and greed to mention a couple. We still make our human sacrifices while we go about our day distracted by TV, radio, a toothache. If every Christian spent one more hour a day in prayer abortion would slow to a hault. If every Catholic worthily received communion just once a week they would change the world momentously. What gods are we worshipping that consume the other part of us that should too be living the Christian life.

Reflections on Exodus

"Preach always, when neccessary use words."
~St Francis of Assisi

Call me crazy, but I don't think this quote implys that there is a scarcity of moments necessitating the use of words. It means there is a plethora of moments when we do not act out our words. Our lukewarmth leaves us mute. So then, what flame ignited the saints? What cold woke them up?

Manna, this spirit that moves us to act? What is it? In the dark of our human hearts we sometimes wander, as if in a desert, thirsting to find meaning or that thing they call love. Despair can grow like fungus, claiming victory in its blotting out of the son. It weeps gnashing echoes, "Meaning? Love? Being? Absurd!"

But in every human heart, even amongst the darkness, there is a whisper, "I AM." A serene sound, milk and honey, nourishment for the soul. "I am here to save you." A hope that flashes and shines through the blinding grime of sin, dispelling the blindness of the proud. Philosophers murmur, "why is there something, rather than nothing?" The Christian finds his sublime answer in I AM.

Jesus is the manna, the bread of life, perfect being who sustains all that is. Only He can nourish and heal. Hot and cold facilitate, cooperate in that healing. Lukewarmth breads disease. So be hot, be cold, and when neccessary use words.