JESUS FREAK

1 corinthians 7:25-31; Ps 45 listen to me, daughter; see and blend your ear; Luke 6:20-26


Because all the early Christians assumed that the second coming of Jesus was imminent, all stable human  institutions were under judgment and were approached with caution.

The expectation of the second coming colored the perspective of the early Christians.  sometimes unfortunately this expectation is lost to us and we go about our business as usual.  This business as usual approach can be destructive.  Also, just living with the expectation of the second coming as if it were everything can also be destructive.

The proper attitude is to keep both in tension as we journey through life.
It is the expectation of the coming of Jesus that empowers the daily grind of living and loving to be elevated, to become supernatural experience of charity, hope, and of faith as we anticipate tomorrow as another day to work vigorously for the vineyard.

This is why the church holds in great regard the beauty of the sacrament of Marriage as a source of grace not only for the couples themselves but for the world.  In the sacrament the couples become a witness to divine love.  This is not as st Paul describes an affliction to run from but an affection or pressure that purifies and makes holy.

We turn to Jesus in the gospel.  We encounter the beatitudes.  Blessed are the poor, the hungry, weeping, those who are hated account of the son of man.   Rejoice and leap for joy.

Recently i came across a christian song that was popular when i was in college.  DC Talk was the all the rave as christian bands went and one of their songs was entitled, "Jesus Freak."

Here are a few of the lyrics,

"What will people think

When they hear that I'm a Jesus freak
What will people do when they find that it's true
I don't really care if they label me a Jesus freak
There ain't no disguising the truth

Kamikaze, my death is gain

I've been marked by my maker
A peculiar display
The high and lofty, they see me as weak
'Cause I won't live and die for the power they seek

People say I'm strange, does it make me a stranger
That my best friend was born in a manger
People say I'm strange, does it make me a stranger
That my best friend was born in a manger"

It made me think of the beatitudes. 

Poverty, hunger, tears, outcast...Jesus freak in deed.