Holding Captives?

It is quite a crazy situation the world finds itslef with this capture and holding of those 15 British sailors in Iran. I heard somebody say the other day, "World wars have been started over less." I hope that this will not be an accurate prophecy of things to come. It doesn't appear that the so-called "crisis" will escalate, but only God knows.

At times like these, as with the first reading at Mass, we should take a few minutes to reflect on our own lives. I mean, it is very much the case that God uses the lives of others, sometimes, to invite us deeper into the mystery of who He is. NOBODY, and I mean, NOBODY can gain nothing from such a reflection, either from the Old Testament or from world situations. What do I mean? Well, when it comes to these captives, we should look at our own lives and ask ourselves: "Do I hold any captives from God's Love?" That is, what in my life do I withhold from the ever-loving God? Perhaps there are some sins we have committed in our lives, or some wounds that we don't want to let go of, or some interior struggles that we haven't placed before God. These and many more things can be like captives within our soul.

On our part, I think it is useful to look at our Lord on the cross, which we commemorate in mere days. On the cross, Jesus said, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." Now, what part of that offering of Jesus tells us that He withheld anything from God the Father? His body was given as a sacrifice for the sake of our sins, and his soul suffered precisely because He knew the pain He had to endure if you or I would ever have the possibility of arriving in Heaven.

St. Paul tells us in his Epistle to the Colossians, "I make up in my body what is lacking in the suffering of Christ." Well, what could be lacking if not St. Paul, you and me in Christ's suffering? Jesus' offering to God the Father was perfect. However, I don't suppose your or I, if we are honest with ourselves, could say we are perfectly offering ourselves to God. Yet Jesus invites us to enter His relationship with God, a relationship where we can call God "Abba" or "Daddy." A deep relationship of intimacy through entering deeper into the life of Jesus Christ.

How do we enter into the life of Jesus Christ? Most of us have already done so - not by our own will, but by the love of our parents - when we were baptized. In Baptism, we are given a share of God's own life. Yet that is not all we get, Jesus established the Holy Eucharist precisely that we might grow in his own life. As He says in the Gospel of John: "Unless you eat my body and drink my blood you have no life within you (Jn 6:53)." However, this means entering more deeply into a relationship with the Son of God. It means coming to know Him not as mere food, or as a hoop to jump through, but as a real person - a really divine person - who comes to us.

Why does He come to us? The prophet Isaiah spoke the words for which Jesus came "to proclaim liberty to captives (Lk 4:18)" What captives is He talking about? YOU and I! We must open our spiritual eyes and see Jesus has come to set us free. For what Jesus offers is not forced upon us, rather it is proposed to us (and yet some parents propose it more convincingly than others) for the sake of our joy. Many people come kicking and screaming to Church, but few, if any, people who know Him ever come kicking and screaming to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. It is on bended knees and with great humility, awe, and thanksgiving that those who know Jesus enter into the intimate union of receiving Christ upon their lips in the Eucharist.

However, we can never let the things we hold captive within us force us away from the mercy and love of God. Jesus did not come to make us flee. Rather, he comes to propose a new way of life to us to set us free. If we want to accept it, then we must let go of our captives and there will be peace. Just as Iran ought to let go of its 15 British captives so that peace might be restored between Great Britain and Iran. You and I, in the spiritual life, may tend to be like Iran: trying to leverage our captives for more power or more say in how things are going, trying to hold sway over one who loves our captives dearly, etc. But let us not do this, at the risk of offending our loving Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier!

May you and I always remember that the Triune God invites us to enter into His union, so that we can have communion, that is "union with" Him. This does take a little dying to ourselves and our pride. If we can just overcome that, then God can change our hearts and help us to see His loving plan for our lives and that of the whole world. Many before us have done it, many during our time are doing it, and many more will do it after you and I are gone - we call them Saints. Yet the Catholic Church has been established precisely so that you and I can become Saints. The second most real way in which we can do this is in the Sacrament which very much applies to what must happen between Great Britain and Iran: Reconciliation. The first, as was spoken of earlier, is the Holy Eucharist - Jesus himself.