“Set your heart on what pertains to higher realms where Christ is seated at God’s right hand. Be intent on things above rather than on things of earth.”

Col. 3:1-2

In our small group conversation a woman told me how she did not go to church because it was inconvenient. The closest church was twenty-five miles away and it was kind of a hassle to get there. “Inconvenient?” I thought? My pulse was quickened and my blood began to boil (just a little). My thoughts immediately turned to Jesus and what he has done for us. It was inconvenient for Jesus to leave the eternal safety of heaven. His script on earth surely would be different than life in heaven. How convenient was it for Jesus to become vulnerable to the rebellion of human beings? As the devil could almost taste his defeat, think of all the minds and hearts he was trying to infiltrate with plans of smiting Jesus out of existence. Remember all Jesus suffered for us. It was inconvenient for Jesus to be betrayed unto death by one of his closest friends. It was inconvenient to have his flesh ripped open by cutting whips and nails and a crown of thorns. It was inconvenient for the Messiah and Savior to carry his cross, bleeding and full of pain, to the fullness of excruciating crucifixion.

We define ourselves as an Easter people. What are we celebrating at Easter? We are full of praise because Jesus has defeated death and risen to a life full of joy and glory. And his intention is to continually pour forth that joy and glory in our hearts. Jesus’ relentless objective is to fill our hearts with the fullness of heaven. This is Good News! The one intention of the one and only one who has the authority to give us heaven is to give us heaven! We are targeted, by our Risen and Present Savior, for heaven! That is what it means to be an Easter people. But, Easter people, what is our intention?

St. Paul commands us to be intent on things above rather than things on earth; to set our hearts on higher realms. Is that our intent? To focus on what heaven wants as we journey on earth? What does heaven want you to do with your time on earth? You have only one life. As an Easter people, we declare that our life and time is not ours. Our life and time belongs to Jesus. We live our days fulfilling the intentions Jesus has for us. We will do what he wants when he asks. So, if he calls me to sell my mansion (like I could ever afford one) and work with the poor, I will do so.

How badly do I want to find our Jesus’ intentions for me and then live them out with his amazing grace? I offer the idea that many of his intentions for us are inconvenient. It is not necessarily convenient for me to get up earlier in the mornings to do all the extra writing I do when I could be sleeping. It is not convenient to get up early in the morning to pray when you are so tired from all the family demands in your life. It is not convenient to pray on the spot with someone who you know needs your prayers right then or to pray in the resturaunt before eating your meal. It is inconvenient to pray for and forgive your enemies. It is not convenient to go through pregnancy and giving birth. Even though I have never personally had a baby, I am sure it is not easy as ordering a Big Mac! How convenient was it for your parents to be up in the middle of the night all those nights you cried out for their help? It is no walk in the park for a married couple to die to their own pride and selfishness so as to live for each other and their family. It is not convenient to cloth, feed, and nurture, insure, and educate, etc. children. And the list of inconveniences goes on as they daily come to us in our lives. I suggest that every inconvenience that comes our way can lead us to Jesus’ intention for us. As I fulfill Paul’s command to set my heart on heaven; to be intent on things above and not below, I ask the question, “How is Jesus using this inconvenience to teach me the things of heaven? In this inconvenience, how is Jesus intending me to move more fully into his life of joy and glory?”

The woman was not willing to drive twenty-five miles each way to church because it was inconvenient. Jesus inconvenienced himself and traveled from heaven to the pit of hell to find us and fill us with his joy and glory. As an Easter people, in every inconvenience let us find Jesus leading us to live more fully his glory and joy!

Twenty-five miles is inconvenient? How many miles would you travel to get to church and receive his word and body and blood? How serious is your intention to be inconvenienced by him? Set your heart on the things of heaven. Let Jesus continually inconvenience you with his intentions of sharing his joy and glory.

We are an Easter people. Our life and time is not our own. It all belongs to Jesus. Jesus is Risen from the dead and always with you; ready to “inconvenience” you with heaven.

Be inconvenienced!

God’s will!
+Fr. John