Silence, Follow Me, Wisdom

As part of the Fellowship for Social Justice group, we have been sharing very short Lenten videos on social media. These videos are created by Teresita Scully who has a master’s in theology. I can only imagine she must have been loved by her students. She has inspired me so much that I consider her a mentor for my spiritual growth. You can review the playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3_aeevDeq24vfpUPjFVeJcxSyQ17PRVK

For some this may be difficult to understand or believe. That is alright. No judgment from me. For a few weeks it has been on mind that I can use the title of three videos to create a blog. My blogs are written as if I was speaking to one or more people. Simple, at times provocative, with questions and hopefully things to think about. So here is the first blog using video titles.

The title of this blog is from three recent videos based on the Gospel of Lent (see playlist link above).

After Jesus is baptized by John he immediate goes into the wilderness. There he spends 40 days/nights connecting to God. He went to get away from the crowds to be in quiet solitude. We call it silence. But there is really no complete silence in the wilderness. There are ae sounds of nature and creatures. He’s letting the Holy Spirit fill his whole “human being” side with wisdom while he is surrounded by God’s creation.

After 40 days/nights, Jesus is tempted. The tempter, Satan, uses words from the Old Testament to seduce him into giving in to this human side. Fortified by his time in the wilderness, having learned the Torah, Jesus developed a physical, mental and emotional strength to withstand the temptations.

This human experience empowered Jesus to search for disciples to begin his ministry. This was God’s plan for Jesus and for all the children of God.

He came across Peter and his brother fishing. Jesus said to them, “follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” I imagine that the “follow me” was not the compelling words for them. But curiosity of the next words, “I will make you fishers of men” was the decisive factor.

At this point, I believe, is where Jesus begins his teaching and preaching. We do not know what words he shared with them. I’m guessing he kept it as simple as possible so that their minds can begin to assimilate what he would teaching then and in the future. Like a newborn when you begin to nourish with liquids, move on to purees, and then solid food. It’s a similar process for spiritual growth.

Now is a good time, as we get closer to Holy Week to reflect on how much time you have spent in silence and praying. How much time you have spent reading the Bible, especially the gospels. Reflect on how you might respond to Jesus’ call to follow him in this current environment.

We are providing a free webinar, Three Self-Emptying Days, review, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday.  Register for the webinar here

Millie Padilla

FSJ Admin