"Behold His Reward is Before Him"

It is not a hard task to draw connections between the Old and New Testaments for God destined that we receive His Living Word, whole and complete, devoid of fragmentation. For this reason, the Old and New Testaments often directly collate to one another. One such example is the prophecy of Isaiah 61-62 and the revelation of the Son of Man at the wedding at Cana in the Gospel of John.

“Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him’” (Isaiah 62:11). At the wedding at Cana this prophecy is limitedly fulfilled. For centuries the Lord had promised His people a savior. From the first moments of our fall into sin, God has “proclaimed to the end of the earth” that He will save us from our sin. He had promised to send us our Savior and Messiah to redeem the world. It is at the wedding at Cana that Jesus first reveals Himself to the entire people of Israel. The beauty of the miracle at Cana is that without using words Jesus reveals the miraculous power He possesses as the Savior. At the wedding at Cana, however, Jesus does not reveal His true saving power. This is saved for the moment of our salvation on the morning of the Resurrection. Rather, the wedding at Cana is a foreshadowing of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection.

In their human limitedness, the disciples at Cana (see John 2:2) believe that their messiah will be a man of great power, someone to set them free of their earthly oppressors—the Romans. They think that if Jesus is to reveal Himself in a miracle then their enemies will be terrified at the power He possesses. They fail to realize that the true reward is with him. Thus when Mary approaches Jesus and asks Him to resolve the problem of the wine run dry, the disciples must have been excited. They must have thought to themselves, “Here is our chance to show those Romans that our God is with us. Just wait until they see what he can do.” To the disciples it must have looked like the opportunity to reveal their secret weapon had at long last come. It is for this reason that Jesus responds, “O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” In addressing Mary as “woman,” He universalizes the statement and extends it to the entire crowd. In her grace, however, Mary knows that a miracle at Cana would not be a revelation of the true saving power that her son possesses. In her faith, she tells the servants to listen to what Jesus has to say and follow accordingly. In the events that follow, Jesus uses the miracle at Cana as an example to His disciples of what His true saving power will be.

In the context of the Old Testament, it is easy to make the assumption that the savior will give plenty of rewards—earthly treasures and blessings—to those who believe in Him. This is how the disciples at Cana read the Old Testament passage from Isaiah. With the New Testament, we can see that this is not what is means. The miracle at Cana shows that the true reward and recompense for our sins is before Christ always—until His death. The true reward and recompense is that through the Passion and Resurrection we reap the benefits of Christ’s suffering. Like water poured into jars of purification (John 2:6), through Christ we are transformed into new and superior wine, ready to be served to the bridegroom (see Isaiah 62:5). In this context, Isaiah 62:11 is fulfilled in its entirety, for “behold his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.”

Spiritual Direction

I find it amazing how in tune to our lives God is. He always knows what we need and sends it to us at just the right moment. While there are several examples of this in my life, one stands out above the rest. About sixteen months ago God sent me a spiritual director and a friend that has molded me into a better person. This man, Deacon Jim Pearce, put my life into perspective and, ultimately, brought me closer to God.

I met Deacon Jim when he was temporarily assigned to our parish while his wife finished her residency at a local hospital. It was the summer prior to my senior year of high school. I was at a point in my life when I was unsure about a lot of things, especially where my life was headed after high school. In this time of conflict and anxiety God sent me a much needed blessing. As we began to meet biweekly, Deacon Jim helped me come to the realization that the main cause of stress and fear in my life came from my inability to let God be God. I remember one meeting in particular that will always remain with me, especially in those times when I am afraid to consecrate myself completely to God.

This particular meeting happened to be over ice cream on a cold November day when I had recently returned home from visiting a college that I had been considering. I enthusiastically told him about my visit and how I knew that this college was where God was calling me to be. I then went into this long-winded speech about all the potential problems that lurked in the future were I to commit myself to attending this school. I complained about the distance it was from my family and friends; I fretted over the price of tuition and room and other fees; I demurred that the school was new and did not have a well established reputation, let alone that it was not yet accredited. As I listed off all my objections, he started to smile. The more I complained, the bigger his smile got. When I had finally finished he looked at me with that great big smile of his and said, “Since when do you think you get to play God, Neil?”

I had no idea what he was talking about. Never in my life had I presumed that I was God. I was definitely not assuming that I was God at that moment. The expression on my face must have told him that I was puzzled because he asked again, “Since when do you think you get to play God, Neil?” The question still boggled my mind. So, he went on to explain one of the most important lessons of my life. Deacon Jim reminded me that at the beginning of our conversation that day I had said something very essential to the point he was trying to make. More than this, though, I had believed what I had said: God was calling me to this school. It was His plan that I attend college there and nowhere else. I agreed with him and reaffirmed my belief in this.

“Then why are you trying to play God and figure out all the details?” I finally began to catch on to what Deacon Jim was getting at. With the help of my spiritual director, I came to the realization that my only worry in life should be conforming my will to the will of my Heavenly Father. Through prayer and careful consideration I had already discerned my vocation to go to this university. However, rather than surrender to God and let Him make it a reality I was intent on staying in control. In the process of retaining freedom in my life I became a slave to my worries and fear. Only in finally giving God control of the anxieties and daunting challenges that lay ahead did I gain the greatest freedom—full conformation to God’s will.

Had Deacon Jim not asked that question, I would never have made it here to JP Catholic. The days leading up to my departure for college would have overwhelmed me. In the end, my doubts and uncertainties would have left me hopeless and in despair. However, God placed Deacon Jim in my life. Because of him, I have had the courage to wake up every morning and surrender myself to the will of God. Because of him, I have gained the greatest freedom of all.

God Himself as a Lamb for the Burnt Offering

From the moment of our creation God has destined us for salvation through His Son and, consequently, through Himself. God has thus shaped and formed every moment of history to cultivate in our minds the climax of His Salvation. In this manner, every chapter, verse, word, and letter of the Old Testament is essential to our understanding of Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary. As Saint Augustine once said, “The New Testament is concealed in the Old Testament and the Old Testament is revealed in the New Testament.” While the entire Old Testament is vital to our understanding of the New Testament, one particular parallel of Christ’s sacrifice is Genesis 22.

The story of Genesis 22 is one familiar to most Christians as a parallel for Christ’s passion. From the second verse we see phrases that are found in the New Testament. The parallels continue to develop as the passage moves along. Isaac wanders with his father and two other men for three days before reaching the place destined for his sacrifice (Genesis 22:4). Then, his father lays on him the wood upon which he will be sacrificed once the mountain in the land of Moriah has been climbed (Genesis 22:6). Upon reaching the mountain, Isaac allows himself to be bound as he freely submits to his father's will (Genesis 22:9). However, the real story of Genesis 22 more than just parallels the passion of Christ. Rather, it foretells of it in a very real manner.

In this entire passage, one verse in particular, Genesis 22:8, must be given special attention. In the Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition the verse is translated as “Abraham said. ‘God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.’ So they went both of them together.” This verse is the climax of the passage, especially in the structure and diction of the statement.

It is very important that this verse reads the way it does. Abraham does not say “God will give us a sacrifice,” nor does he say “God will find us a sacrifice when the time is right.” Abraham says very explicitly “God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” Abraham foreshadows that God will give Himself for the sacrifice. It is not that God will give someone else in His stead for the sacrifice. It is not that God will search through history and find someone suitable enough to be given up for the salvation of the world. Even forty-two generations prior to Christ, God, through Abraham, tells us that it will be Him that saves us.

The other essential foreshadow of this verse is the fact that God will sacrifice Himself as a “lamb for the burnt offering.” This foreshadow speaks of the severity of the sacrifice that God will have to endure for us; a lamb will endure the fire to save us. In fact, Christ did this for us. As a pure, innocent, and unblemished lamb He endured the fires of hell in our place. In addition to bearing the pain of the cross, He took upon Himself every sin of every man and suffered the punishment that should rightfully be ours. God provided Himself as the Lamb to be our burnt offering.

It is not surprising that Genesis 22 correlates so well to the passion of Christ. It is in reading the Old Testament in light of the New Testament that passages such as Genesis 22 are revealed in their full glory. It is in reading the Old Testament in light of the New Testament that we see God’s divine plan for our salvation stretch throughout all time and all history.

Much More to Modesto

In early 2005 America invaded my hometown. Every major news corporation had a full news crew reporting live from my downtown around the clock, competing to be the first to broadcast every new development in the mysterious disappearance of a woman I had met once as a substitute teacher. America, especially my hometown of Modesto, CA, was riveted by the Laci Peterson case. Sadly, this was not the first time in my life that I had experienced the presence of America in my hometown. In fact, the Laci Peterson case was the third time in my life time that America was reporting from my hometown on a high profile disappearance turned murder.

After reading and affirming the truth of the above statements one might expect me to go on about how terrible and dangerous Modesto, CA is. After all, it can only be logical to assume that any hometown with a track record of three high profile murder cases in the course of seven years is infested with crime. I have to disagree, however. There is much more to Modesto than serial murders and high profile missing persons cases. Modesto was a great place to grow up. I was surrounded by family that loved me, friends that shaped my childhood, and a community that worked to change things for the better.

Modesto has always meant family to me. In fact, my family was “born” in Modesto when my mother and father met at St. Joseph’s Parish in 1986 just after my father had moved to town. Their love for each other quickly grew and in the fall of 1987 they were married in the very place that they had met. In the following few years, my siblings and I were all born and raised in the city. The majority of my childhood years were spent around the corner from my grandmother. While some children see their grandparents only rarely, I have cherished memories of walking with my grandmother to the store where she would buy us ice cream cones or bologna sandwiches. I never took for granted the blessing it was to be so close to her. In addition to my grandmother, Modesto was centrally located in regards to the rest of my extended family. As a result, most family reunions and holidays were hosted at our house. Modesto will always hold the memories of the Christmases, Easters, and Thanksgivings of my childhood.

Modesto will also hold the memories of summers and school days spent with my friends. Though Modesto is a small city, when we were together there was never a lack of adventure. We found ways of turning our dining rooms into treasure troves and battlefields while playing D&D. We transformed our living rooms into theaters and stages, performing monologues, dialogues, and songs to our heart’s content. Our coffeehouses, smoothie stores, and creameries were more than just workplaces and weekend hot spots—they were havens of fellowship and companionship. We boldly took all that Modesto had to offer and molded it into a refuge we will always be able to escape back to in our memories.

Growing up there, one of the qualities that impressed me the most about Modesto was that it was a place where community was so much more than an ambiguous word. The community of Modesto always strived to improve the status quo. In my service to several community organizations, I found that the community leaders of Modesto were willing to lend an open mind to new ideas, especially regarding the youth. More than this though, the community as a whole was willing to take those ideas and develop them into realities. For instance, what was the dream of a state-of-the-art theater a decade ago was recently realized in the grand opening of the Gallo Center for the Performing Arts. For residents of Modesto, it is not enough to be merely content with today. We always strived for a better tomorrow.

Although to the world Modesto may seem a place plagued by serial killers and high profile murderers, it is not. Rather, Modesto is a place where family, friends, and community are intrinsic values that bond us to one another. I do not—nor will I ever—regret growing up in Modesto. Had it not been for the family, friends, and community that embraced me there for all those years, I would not be who I am today. I am eternally thankful to each and every one of them for the positive difference they have made in my life.

Passion for Family (Second Edition)

What are you willing to die for? What are you willing to live for? Though these questions are seemingly opposite, the answers should be exactly the same: your passion. In life, our passions serve to motivate us. They push us beyond our expected limits as we seek to fill our lives with the joy and satisfaction they bring. Simultaneously, if we are truly passionate about something, then we are always willing to sacrifice for it, stripping ourselves of all that we posses—even life—for its sake.

For me, there are but a few things in life that I am this passionate about. Actually, most of these things are not even things, but people. Particularly, there is one group of people, about 450 miles north of where I currently sit in San Diego, that I am most passionate about—my family. My family is the driving force behind me, pushing me past the limits I set for myself. Without question, they are my incentive to live; without question, I would surrender that life for them.

In comparison with most families of modern society, my family is…well, crazy. We, however, do not live according to the standards of modern society and thus prefer the term “uniquely blessed.” For example, last year my family came to be known as the “Kennedys of Beyer High School.” This nickname was bestowed upon us when one of my teachers observed that seven of the eight people living in our house went to Beyer High School on a daily basis. While the world might have viewed our circumstance as crazy, maybe even maddening, we saw it as a unique blessing from God to be perpetually surrounded by those we love most.

However, it is not merely enough to be continually surrounded by those you love to be passionate about them. While passion for something or someone may come about with prolonged periods of time, it does not come as the result of it. Rather, passion is the result of the pleasure we feel in selflessly dedicating ourselves to something or someone. In my family, there is never a lack of opportunities to show our dedication to one another. For instance, since all of us were involved in performing arts, it is a given fact that if one of us has a concert or show than everyone will be present in the audience showing their unwavering support.

Although this might sound easy enough to do, it was not always. I vividly remember a weekend this past November when my dad and I were visiting a college that I was heavily considering. It was the only weekend that we both had the time to take off and make the long drive south from our home in Modesto, CA to San Diego, CA. The weekend also happened to be the Western Band Association Championships in Fresno, CA, in which my youngest brother and sister were to march. In planning our trip to San Diego, my dad and I had to find a way to be back in Fresno by Saturday evening. We left Modesto on Thursday evening and drove most of the way to San Diego. We finished the drive Friday morning and spent a wonderful day at John Paul the Great Catholic University. The university was kind enough to let us stay the night in the apartments. First thing the next morning, my dad and I were on the road up to Fresno. After ten hours in the car, my dad and I walked into the stands and cheered with all the energy we had left as my brother and sister competed. After watching them march (and win) we drove another two hours until we were finally home.

It would have been much easier to stay in San Diego and sleep in then get up and start driving. It would have been very simple to admit defeat in traffic, pull off of the freeway and find a place for the night. It would have been more comfortable to drive right past Fresno and keep going until we arrived home. Had my father and I chosen any one of these options, my siblings would have been very understanding and accepting. Had my father and I chosen any of these options, however, we would not have shown the passion we have for our family.

For me, passion was enduring that 10 hour car trip with a smile on my face, excitedly anticipating sitting on those frozen steel bleachers in the icy night air, knowing that it would make all the difference to my siblings that I was there for them. Without hesitation, I would do it all over again just to catch a mere glimpse of the joy that was in their eyes when they were announced as champions. Though it was trying and difficult, I was motivated and driven on by my passion for them. In my passion for them, the “death” required in sacrifice was overcome by their motivation to make me live.