Hell: Understanding What’s At Stake

We are blessed to share that our good friend and frequent guest, Fr Patrick Behm, has joined us as a guest contributor! We will be posting some of his homilies as bonus content, confident that they will provide some great spiritual nourishment! Check out our website (under the blog tab) to find more of his homilies from week to week! We will also have small group questions available for each homily!

Read the readings for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time here!

Discussion questions coming soon!

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Homily with Fr Patrick Behm, theme music © Fred Shellabarger & Kara Kardell
Draw Near Theme © Fred Shellabarger & Kara Kardell

Politics is Not Your God

Fred and I were sitting in a coffee shop with a good friend of ours. We were catching up about life and the conversation turned to what was happening in the world. Now… this was 2020… election year. So, there was a lot going on in the WORLD. He was struggling with his environment at school, the noise on social media, everyone needing to have their opinions known and believed, and the division among people in his life because of the upcoming election. It was clearly wearing him down, as it does for so many of us!

In the midst of this conversation between friends, he paused, looked at us and asked, “why do you both just always seem so happy?”

Truthfully, I was at a loss for how to respond. First, the question unintentionally implied that I was never angry; that I never had a bad day; that I never let the noise of the world impact my mood. I knew these to be untrue in my own heart. I see the pain of the world, the misguided ideals, the lack of love and mercy for others, and the absence of God. It hurts the heart! And perhaps that is the theme of this post.

The Heart!

His heart was hurting, too… struggling to find peace in the midst of a noisy world.

Let me ask… Why is it that so often we feel the NEED to have our opinion heard? (feisty Kara making her appearance on the soapbox) 

The world is not your religion; politics is not your God.  

We see something against our views on Facebook and have to comment or argue. Now don’t get me wrong… if anyone feels the desire to deep dive into my social media history over the past 15 years, you will surely find outrageous posts. I was a stark defender of whatever my beliefs were in the moment of the post! I learned the hard way, though, that hearts are not changed because I had a more articulately written argument on an acquaintance’s post. No one magically thought, “That reason is 100% better than my argument against it. She must be right. Everything I have argued is proven wrong. Thank you, Kara, for this newfound wisdom!” 

Sarcasm aside, when we feel the need to be heard, a natural result is a need to be understood. And when we aren’t understood?... Hurt. Struggles. Sadness. The truth that we are often slow to admit is that hearts rarely change when we merely share our opinions.

Because you and I cannot change hearts. (louder for the people in the back)... 

You and I Can. Not. Change. Hearts. 

In Scripture, Mary Magdalene encountered the mercy of Christ and she was changed; the woman at the well met the savior in the midday heat and she left her sin and preached Christ to her town; Paul persecuted Christians but met Christ on the Road to Damascus and was changed. Want more? Matthew the tax collector, the Roman Centurion seeking healing for his servant, the thief on the cross. What do they all have in common? They were changed by Christ! 

God is the only one who can move hearts! 

If we act like the world is our religion and politics is our God–we will surely NEVER change the world. Because only the true God can change the world by changing hearts. 

This was ultimately the only answer I could come up with to “Why do you both just always seem so happy?” Because my happiness is not in what is going on in the world but in what God is doing in my heart. 

I began reading one chapter a night from “Imitation of Christ” by Thomas a Kempis about a year ago. Chapter 26 says, “Never place your whole trust and reliance in weak and mortal man, however helpful and dear to you he may be; nor should you grieve overmuch if sometimes he opposes and contradicts you. Those who take your part today may tomorrow oppose you; for men are as changeable as the weather. Put your whole trust in God;(Prov 3:5; I Pet.5:7) direct your worship and love to Him alone. He will defend you, and will dispose all things for the best… The man whose inner life is well-ordered and disposed is not troubled by the strange and perverse ways of others; for a man is hindered and distracted by such things only so far as he allows himself to be concerned by them.”

I love this quote. It shook me when I first read it nearly a year ago and it shakes me every time this passage shows up in my nightly readings. We often approach strength from the perception that the louder we are, the more people hear us, the more people agree with us… the stronger we are; and the more power there is behind our convictions. When the truth is that the less we rely on the opinions of others and the more we find conviction and power in HE WHO IS Truth and Power… Only then are we strong. Only then can a soul be at peace and have joy. Only then will we–through God–transform hearts!

For your contemplation: 

Where do you place your trust, passion, and faith? 

I choose to place mine in the God of Hope. I'm not perfect, so I pray that every day I wake up and can say, "Jesus, I trust in you."

Today, what will you choose?

I See a Movement

March 16, 2020. A day I will never forget. That’s the day the world seemed to completely shut down. The day that all of my work, in which so much of my identity was wrapped up, effectively stopped. Not unusual really for the time. Many felt then, and still do, the sting of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kara and I work in ministry full time. We had planned what was to be our most exciting and most ambitious year! We were looking forward to the fruit that would come from our time in prayer and careful planning. Yet, in a moment, it came screeching to a halt. Suddenly, everything was canceled and closed. We were working from home, and so many routines disrupted. For my part, although I greatly enjoyed the company of my family, and even more having less commitments, I began to grow discouraged. Even though I am an introvert… I am also one of those unusual INFJ types… which means I am an extroverted introvert. Wired for ministry… I need to be able to interact with others. To share the love of Christ with them. All of those plans for the time being seemed to be on hold for what felt like forever… Would I even have a job on the other side of this pandemic? 

It was during this time that I sensed the Lord begin to really tug on my heart. He introduced me to one of my good friends, St Therese of Lisieux through her autobiography Story of a Soul. I sensed that he was showing me that during that time, if I wanted to come through the exile (which it felt like), I would need to be very intentional about diving deep into the interior life for myself. Pursuing him in prayer, in Scripture, in mediation.  

It was during this time that I really began to pray. Presenting my discouragement to the Lord. Presenting to him all the troubles that seemed to be piling up in the world around me. Presenting to him the concern that so many seem to have lost hope, faith, and trust in Him. Even presenting to him the sense of hopelessness that I felt. It was then that I believe the Lord began to speak to my heart in that still small way that he does: 

"I see a movement. I see a group of believers so passionate, so committed, seeking so fully Christ above all things; choosing death before sin no matter the cost, committed to radical holiness. Their very presence is a contradiction to the world. They bring the joy and the light of the Gospel to the world. And the darker the world gets, the brighter their light shines. Greater opposition only brings greater grace. Their devotion, their holiness, is so deep that it shows on their face. Others are drawn to them; drawn into the kingdom. They bring comfort to the hurting and healing to the sick of mind, body and spirit. Their very presence is filled with such grace that it feels like a safe haven for others. They live every moment of their lives mindful to offer up every suffering as a sacrifice for souls. They embrace every moment of the day as the prayer that it is. They offer up every work. They are filled with a joy that others long for, and the more the world opposes them, the more joyful, the more committed, the more aware of God’s grace they become. They live for one thing only: proclaiming his name in word, in thought, and in deed."

I later shared this with Kara. In many ways, it was what we both needed to hear during this time. We believe with all of our heart that God is well able to meet the needs of the time and when adversity and trouble rises up, so too does God’s love and his grace all the more. We have seen this in our work with young people; who give us so much hope! In many ways, this lies at the foundation of Draw Near. We want to do whatever our small part is in helping others to be set ablaze with the love of God! We want to help others become strong towers and safe havens for the lost and hurting in the world around us. We hope that this blog, our podcast, and all the many things that we have prayerfully discerned and planned will help you as you Draw Near to Christ and Draw Near to one another. Come, Holy Spirit.