Chris' Corner
There is a wonderful scripture reading that states, “no one person has all the gifts, but when we are joined together to praise the Lord, everything is present for the good of the body.” I believe that this clearly states that when we come together in the Lord, each of us brings the unique part of God that each of us has.
This became very clear the other day when I met with a high school boy, who was preparing for Confirmation, and his sponsor. As part of his program, he had additional hours of preparation that he had to make so he and his sponsor asked if I would prepare a period of “Spiritual Meditation” for him.
As I prayed about what I was going to do during our time together, Luke 6:40 came to mind. It states, “No disciple is superior to the teacher, but when well trained will be like the teacher.” This seemed to be a good theme for a young person who was going to make his adult commitment to the Lord.
When we met, we discussed this reading in regard to his Confirmation commitment. His response was that Christ was the teacher and that the more he learned about Him, the more he would become like Him.
I explained to him that Christ taught by how he lived and by parables—in which he told stories and the listener had to discover the many truths buried within the story.
The first parable we read was the story of the prodigal son. When we finished, I asked him to walk the Labyrinth and think of the meaning of the story and about the different characters.
Upon his return, I mentioned he really took his time, which was good. He answered that he got into thinking about the parable and the characters. At first, he thought the young son was the most important character because so much centered on him and his desire to have it all and do it all. Through his losses and because he pursued this life style, he had the courage to turn from it and return home to his father. But the forgiveness of the father and the welcoming back he showed, really made the scripture reading, “Nothing can separate us from the love of God” come alive and filled me with great peace. When the other son came to mind, his attitude reminded me of myself. I’ve always been a part of the church, but never thought of how much it blessed me. There have been times when I’ve been judgmental of people who are different in their religious beliefs and I cut myself off from them. The parable really touched me when I examined all the characters and let them show me more of Christ’s teaching.
As I listened to him, I couldn’t help but think how much he was blessing me with his insights, and how true it is that the Lord God is present to us when we gather together....