St. Mary Minooka Mission March 16, 2014

1. St. Mary Minooka MissionMarch 16, 2014 “Made for More” by Curtis Martin

2. Welcome! • Prayer – John 8:52-58 • Introduction • Sunday – Who is Jesus? Chapters 1-2 of Made for More by Curtis Martin • Monday – Who am I? Chapters 3-4, followed by Confessions • Tuesday – Why be Catholic? Chapter 5-6

3. Introduction • Example – Is it ethical to buy a term paper online? • What motivates me to do anything? • We are all looking for happiness? • Where do we find happiness? • baseball – roller coaster • God wants us to be happy. • Pope Emeritus Benedict – “We were not made for comfort; we were made for greatness.” • We were MADE FOR MORE

4. Ethics • Will cheating lead to happiness? • Ethics is all about doing what is right so that we can cultivate authentic happiness • Ethics and morality are not just rules; they are guides to lead us toward happiness • Coffee pot story • Have you ever done something wrong and found true happiness?

5. Search for God • Every act, even sinful, is ultimately a search for God (true happiness) • We cannot will our own happiness • We can only make the right or wrong choices to gain happiness • Am I making the right choices in life?

6. Everlasting Happiness • Many of our choices lead to a temporary happiness, often at the cost of our ultimate happiness • Good choices lead to lasting happiness • Only thing better – everlasting happiness • If we were made for more (everlasting happiness), it explains why we often long for so much more in this world. • Archbishop Sartain – “loneliness is God’s invitation to intimacy with Him.”

7. Ultimate Questions • What would you do if you found out there was a heaven and you could not enter? • If there is a heaven, what earthly good would you be willing to sacrifice in order to gain heaven?

8. Imagine Heaven • Take time to imagine the day you die and you are invited into heaven • You take in the beauty, the joy, every fiber of your being of completely satisfied… • You meet the saints, some of whom actually knew Jesus personally. • “Wow! If someone had only told me about heaven when I was young, I would have lived my life differently.” • Story of Mom

9. C.S. Lewis • “If heaven and hell exist, nothing else matters. If heaven and hell don’t exist, then nothing matters.” • Albert Camus, “I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out there isn’t than live my life as if there isn’t and die to find out there is.” • This book is dedicated to examine the compelling evidence that God and heaven do exist. • Our souls were MADE FOR MORE – we were made for God!

10. Who do YOU say that I am? • Forget what you know about Jesus for a moment… • There is not a figure in history that has had a greater impact than Jesus of Nazareth. • Historian Non-Christian H.G. Wells – “…this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.”

11. Memorable? • Jesus lived 2000 years ago • Never held public office • Never wrote a book • Never invented or discovered anything • Wasn’t rich or wealthy • We know nothing about 90% of his 33 years on this earth • Even His public ministry was often done in villages and He asked people not to talk about Him or spread the news • Died a spectacular failure on the cross • Placed in a tomb belonging to someone else

12. And yet… • Billions of Christians have followed Him and call Him savior • A.D. means in anno Domini or “in the year of our Lord” – time is measured by Him • Kairos story (personal God)

13. Paradox • It is precisely in the moment of seeming failure – His death on the cross – that we start to unlock the mystery. • Why would a peaceful man who “went about doing good works and healing all that were in the grip of the devil” (Acts 10:38), be rejected, tortured and killed? • Many religious figures encouraged others to turn toward God and love their neighbor.

14. Jesus is the Answer • Other religious leaders (Moses, Buddha, Mohammed and Confucius) had a message about God. • Jesus is different in that He claims not to be a messenger but to be the Message. • His identity is the issue • “Who do men say that the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13) • John the Baptist, a prophet, Jeremiah… • Who do YOU say that He is?

15. A Moral Teacher Like No Other • Albert Einstein (Jewish) – “I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene…. No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word.” • But Jesus wasn’t just a wise man because He made claims no one else made…

16. Jesus Forgives Sins • Matthew 9:2-7 – Jesus is brought a paralyzed man by his companions. • “Which is easier to forgive sins or say, ‘Rise and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins…” • As the man got up and walked, his restored body gave physical witness to the forgiveness Jesus granted. • Only God can forgive sins, so Jesus was proclaiming, “I am God” • The real miracle is not the healing, but the actual forgiveness of sins.

17. Jesus Claims Pre-existence • John 8 – religious leaders are criticizing Jesus, “Do you think that you are better than Abraham?” • Jesus responds, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58) • “I AM” is the Name of God in Hebrew, the Name by which God revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush • This name was sacred and unspeakable to Jews. • And Jesus takes it upon Himself! • That is why they wanted to stone Him right away

18. Jesus Claims to be the Only Way to the Father • Jesus taught people to be good, to care for the weak, the sick and the poor, like many wise teachers. • However, more than showing the way, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me.” (John 14:6) • He claims to be more than just a “good man”

19. Jesus Allows Himself to be Worshipped • John 20:26-29 – Jesus appears to the apostles after the resurrection and Thomas is doubting • Thomas falls to the ground and says, “My Lord and my God!” • Neither Jesus nor the apostles rebukes Thomas for blasphemy • Jesus accepts this worship, which says something • His followers certainly saw Him as much more than a wise teacher.

20. Jesus is either God or a bad man • C.S. Lewis’ trilemma • Jesus is either 1) Just a moral teacher – we have shown this not to be the case in previous arguments. I AM, forgives sins, accepts being worshipped, etc… 2) God 3) Not God • Liar – if Jesus were a liar, He’d be a liar of biblical proportions. • He would be evil claiming to be God to innocent people. • Yet He witnessed to the truth, healed, gave life, wanted nothing for Himself but to do the Father’s will. • Usually liars are in it for themselves. • True love – seeking the best for the other person • Lunatic – does Jesus’ comprehensive teaching, the Sermon on the Mount, all of His words sound like they come from a deranged man? He is wise, warm and alive.

21. Jesus is God • The only conclusion left is that Jesus is God • We are asked to echo Peter’s words, “You are the Christ (anointed one), the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16)

22. Fully Human / Fully Divine • Fully human • Born in Bethlehem, had parents, laughed, cried, slept, ate, drank, was tempted, died on a cross • Fully divine • Miracles, walked on water, fed 5000 with a few loaves and fish, healed the sick, raised people from the dead, forgave sins, said, “The Father and I are one”, rose from the dead

23. God is Love • Always desiring the best for the other. • “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” • How does the world define love? • What is the danger of this kind of love? • Love is a decision to always seek the best for the other person. • “Love does not seek its own interest” • This is how God loves us.

24. Skeptics • The skeptic says, “Yes, if you believe everything that you read. But why should we trust the story the Bible tells us?” • People will look for any excuse to not believe in the Bible and/or Jesus

25. Can you Believe what you Read? • The Biblical evidence of Jesus is compelling, but can we believe what we read? • Is the Bible just something created to make Jesus and the apostles look good? • Stumbling blocks for some regarding the Bible • Mistaking “Complementary for Contradictory” • Ignorance of Literary Form • Failure to read in context • Resistance to the unexplained

26. Mistaking “Complementary for Contradictory” • Matthew 5:1 – Jesus went up the mountain for the sermon on the mount • Luke 6:17 – Jesus stood on a level plain and gave what sounded like the sermon on the mount • Which is it? Mountain or plain • Could be both – these were important teachings of Jesus and He probably repeated them in several places • Matthew highlighted Jesus as the new Moses, delivering a New Lew on a New Mountain • Luke emphasized Jesus as the New Adam, who makes salvation available to all • Complementary does not mean contradictory

27. Ignorance of Literary Form • Some think that if the Bible is not like a newspaper account of facts, then it has no truth • Jesus spoke in: • Parables – it is not necessary to have a real prodigal son; the story is meant to illustrate an important teaching point • Hyperboles – exaggeration – does Jesus really want us to cut off our hand if it causes us to sin? No, but it is urgent to turn away from sin! (Matthew 18:8) • Some of Scriptures is meant to be taken literally (John 6) and others are poetic and are not meant to be taken literally • Allow the Holy Spirit and the Church help you understand the Scriptures

28. Failure to Read in Context • We can twist the text to say anything out of its proper context • Extreme example – “Judas went off and hanged himself” – Matthew 27:5 • Luke 10:37 – Jesus said, “Go and do the same” • If we put these two together we get the wrong message

29. Resistance to the Unexplained • Unexplained doesn’t necessarily mean impossible • Example – we can’t explain how bumblebees can fly because their wings are so small compared to their bodies • We can’t really explain the resurrection of Jesus; yet that doesn’t mean it was impossible • Witnesses just knew that it happened; it didn’t matter how it happened

30. Textual Criticism • Deals with the reliability of ancient texts • Three types of evidence used: • Bibliographic • Internal • External

31. Bibliographic Evidence • Some say that since we don’t have the original manuscripts of any books in the New Testament, why trust the versions that we have today? • This would erase most of our history since we don’t have originals of ANY writing except in the modern era (papyrus decays over time). • But there is evidence that our versions correspond to the originals…

32. Testing the reliability of ancient texts • Gospel of Matthew – oldest manuscript is from 4th Century • St. Jerome – 4th century – says he saw the original manuscript of Matthew • Jerome translated Matthew into Latin • So we have an ancient witness of the original (Jerome) and his translation that matches other manuscripts of the same Gospel

33. New Testament Texts • We have 5,366 ancient manuscripts and fragments of the New Testament, all datable within 50-100 years of the originals. • Plus we have 10,000+ copies of the Latin Vulgate (St. Jerome – 4th Century) • 2,000+ copies in Coptic • 4,000+ copies in Slavic languages • Comparing all of these we can come to a “high degree of accuracy” about what the original Greek said.

34. Dr. John Warwick Montgomery • “To be skeptical of the resultant text of the New Testament books is to allow all of classic antiquity to slip into obscurity. For no documents of the ancient period are as well attested bibliographically as the New Testament.”

35. Sacredness Raises the Stakes • People who copied sacred texts, often monks, took great care in their copying • Many people would check their work word for word • If they found the slightest error, the whole copy was destroyed and they would start over • It was a sacrilege to corrupt the sacred text • Biblical reliability and fidelity to the original text have been scientifically established by textual criticism.

36. Internal Evidence • Does the document contradict itself? • Is it logical and plausible? • Errors in geography, customs or persons point to forgery • However, details that would be unknown to a later forger, like John talking about the architectural details of Jerusalem before its destruction in 70 AD, point to authenticity • Luke talks about people and events surrounding St. Paul; events and people that can be verified by other sources

37. Details no one would invent • Also, the Gospels, especially Mark, have many unflattering descriptions of the apostles • If someone were trying to write the Gospel to promote Jesus as God and his friends as reliable witnesses, they would not contain such details: • Peter’s denial of Jesus • Cowardice of the apostles during the crucifixion

38. External Evidence • This looks at the meaningof the text • How did the original audience react? • 6 historical facts that support the resurrection • 1) Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate • 2) The tomb was empty • 3) The once fearful disciples soon proclaimed the bodily resurrection • 4) Other eyewitnesses saw Jesus alive after resurrection • 5) All apostles (except John) were martyred • 6) Millions accepted the faith quickly

39. More external evidence • St. John taught St. Polycarp, who taught St. Irenaeus. • Polycarp & Irenaeusboth were martyred • St. Paul believed immediately and also was martyred • So many lives have been changed by one person and Jesus continues to inspire people today…

40. Conclusion • Jesus was not crucified because he said, “Love one another.” • He was crucified for saying, “I AM”, claiming to be the God of the universe (King of the Jews) • He doesn’t ask us just to accept His teachings; He asks us to accept Him • The apostles became eyewitnesses to the greatest miracle in history – the resurrection of Jesus and they gave their lives for Him. • How am I responding to this miracle?

41. What can I do? • Read the Bible 5 minutes a day • Either the daily readings, or • Start reading the Gospels • Read the Catechism 5 minutes a day • Pray, converse with God based on what you have read, for 5 minutes a day