Fr. Mike Schmitz: "More Than Words" | SEEK2017

[Music] thank you why Bulldogs bullsááá where where is UMD sitting OH oh my god oh they get they get crazy in Minnesota this is actually a picture of campus right here as Sara said I actually true story I was almost cast as Robin in Batman Forever I made it to the final cut of the the auditions they can't having callbacks and so the the audition went really well and so after I auditioned for Robin they said would you want to audition for another another movie we're casting I said sure so they said okay um they act out the scene they filmed it and they're like that was so much fun we're going to submit you eating you be good as that character the movie was called hackers and an audition for the the male lead I didn't get it but it's interesting because the male lead played opposite the female lead and the female lead was played by Angelina Jolie and those two people ended up marrying each other so I could have been the first ex mr. Angelina Jolie like that coulda could have been part of my story you know um so as we start you know we've been going through this whole week talking about living the Catholic life we're living a Christian life living a life of the disciple but one of the things I don't know if we've really spent enough time doing is establishing like what's them what's the thing we can really trust about the Christian life living as a Catholic because I know all of us right we're going to go back to campuses in on campus is there gonna be a lot of different people leaving a lot of different things and it's really easy in that kind of situation to think like you know during that week of seek it was great take seeking week at the hall Brian during that week of seek it was so good because I was surrounded by people who believe we all believe the same thing we're united in her faith but now I'm back on campus and who knows I mean I don't even know what to believe anymore because if you're anything like me in college I took a number of classes like that were called you know comparative religion classes if you've ever heard of any period of religion classes anyone ever taken any of those yeah that they're great they're they're wonderful in and because it's a good thing right it's good to study the different religions of the world it's good to study what two different people around the world believe but it's interesting because in every comparative religion class you're ever going to take it was always the same for me at least you get the textbook and each chapter would be a different religion and so you study Buddhism and Confucianism and you study Christianity and Islam and Judaism and if so astron ISM and you know whatever that all the other isms you study all these things to learn about them and that's wonderful but at the end of the day we have to realize that to look at every world religion in the exact same way is is not being entirely honest because I want to say this and it's going to sound it might sound a little bit biased but I don't mean it in the biased way we can't evaluate Christianity in the same way that we evaluate every other world religion and again that sounds like well of course they're going to say that you're the priest but it's true because why because every other world religion that's ever been established it's been established by someone who said one of two things they either said I have insight into who God is or they said I have a revelation from God every religion every world religion either has I have an insight into God or have a revelation from God Christianity is entirely different because the founder of Christianity didn't come on the scene and say I have revelation from God or I have incident 'god the founder of christianity jesus what did he say he did he said I am God exactly he said I am God and so if we want to if we want to figure out is Christianity true we don't have to study every other world religion first all we have to do is answer one question what's he telling the truth all we have to answer is one question when Jesus said I am God was he telling the truth because what a lot of people say I mean how many times have you heard someone say this well I mean I don't believe in I don't believe Jesus is God but I believe that he's a holy person you ever hear anyone say that right I don't believe Jesus is God so I'll leave you I believe there's a prophet you know CS Lewis my my my good buddy CS Lewis man that guy key he said you know actually one thing we can't say about Jesus the one thing we can't say about Jesus is that I don't believe he was God but he was a holy person why because he claimed to be God and if he wasn't God he was either lying because he wasn't got any new he wasn't God or he was crazy because he wasn't God and he didn't know he wasn't God there's the only the only two options three options really either Jesus was lying he was a lunatic or he was the Lord so let's look at it actually CS Lewis does this in his book Mere Christianity if you ever want to read a book on your way home on the bus you can get through the whole thing roughly three times so in it he says let's look at the story of Jesus let's look at the Gospels and see does this look like a liar we'll see it's Lewis examines this and he says you know those people who are like not just lying occasionally but like professional lifers pathological liars they all have the same kind of psychological profile and that profile is their narcissistic their uncreated they lack compassion their self-involved but when you look at the Gospels what you see is a picture of someone who is the exact opposite he is absolutely creative he is the definition of compassion he is completely not self concerned he's other concerned in fact remember that time when Jesus is exhausted he's going across the Sea of Galilee to get away from the crowds and they're sitting on the crowd there he goes to the shore and they're all these people and he says my heart has moved with pity for them because like they're like sheep without a shepherd that's not someone who's self involved that's someone who wants to pours himself out he doesn't fit the profile of a liar no he might be it might be a con artist but he doesn't fit the profile of a liar we'll come back to that in a second he doesn't look like a liar maybe he's a lunatic what's this about this what's a definition of sanity I would say that I would say that a person is saying to the degree that the perception conforms to reality would you say that's kind of like that's what sanity is you're saying to the degree that your perception conforms to reality so as an example if I were to say I'm a priest I'd be relatively sane because my perception conforms reality if I were to say I am the best priest in the world you'd say hmm okay a little bit less conformed to reality if I were to say hola me llamo Pope Francis you know no and I really thought I would talk Francis like don't tell anyone okay you know InFocus I wanted to bless you okay here we go you know if I really thought I was hope Francis after a couple minute conversation you'd be like okay backing away slowly from the weird man if I were to come on the scene and say hello my name is Marie Antoinette's have some cake and I really believe that how is a dead French noblewoman pretty quickly you'd be able to connect the dots and say you're not connecting with us if I were to come on and say hello everyone I'm a butterfly no I really am I really am like if I really did you pretty soon catch on that I don't have all my marbles and I'm not connected to reality Jesus didn't say I'm a prophet no I'm Jeremiah come back from the dead he didn't say I'm even a jelly doughnut Jesus came on the scene and he said hey uh you see that big yellow thing in the sky I did that he claims to be God he claimed to be the uncreated and unstoppable immortal and all-powerful God and so after about maybe 30 seconds of conversation you'd be able to pick up on the fact whether he's connected to reality or not but everyone who meets Jesus and the Gospels at least they're blown away by how how absolutely connected he is to reality so he doesn't seem like a liar and he absolutely doesn't seem like a lunatic it only leaves us with one one real option that he is Jesus is the the Lord no I at the same time I realized that's not like you could like poke holes in that all you want in fact sometimes we think the only recent people back in the day then when Jesus was alive the only reason they believed in him is because they were so stupid back then you know people they didn't know how to program TiVo they don't know work didn't know how to work iPads like they were so dumb Jesus says hello I'm god they're like hook country so you know kind of like picking the nose but that's not what happened right when Jesus came on the scene and he said something like you know because that was if someone walked onto the stage with me and said greetings I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except through me would you be like cool what would you say prove it exactly be like okay buddy let's see some stuff and that's exactly what happens in the Gospels right even I mean all throughout st. John's Gospel whenever Jesus does a miracle he doesn't call it miracle whenever Jesus does a miracle in John's Gospel John calls it a sign and wonder what assigned to do signs point to something what are they pointing to they're pointing to the fact that Jesus is who he says he is and we think that look at mark chapter 2 there's this famous story everyone we all know it right there's a paralyzed man he's got four friends good friends and they're trying to bring their friend who's paralyzed to see Jesus but how Jesus is in is just packed they can't get to the door so these four friends are so committed to bringing this guide to Jesus they go on the roof and they start playing chip and Joanna and they just click go Waco Texas we it's like even more and so they start renovating a fixer-upper it's a skylight now and to lowering the guy down in front of Jesus I imagine you ever imagined who owned that house the guy he's like flood fine anyway the guy glows in front of Jesus Jesus looked at the face of the friends and he says to the man your sins are forgiven everyone's like say what and they ask themselves who but God can forgive sins you know Jesus is like ah ha ha ha jesus knows what they're thinking and he says exactly who but God can forgive sins which is easier to say to the man your sins are forgiven or rise pick up your mat and walk to prove to you that I am who I say I am looks at the man rise pick up your mat and walk and Jesus does it again and again and again and we think about remember the man who is deaf but he couldn't speak I mean even in weird way jesus heals people to prove that he is who he says he is I always think this funny story is so funny Jesus walks up to this man he can't hear and he can't speak and so it says in the scripture that Jesus walked up to the man puts his fingers in his ears then spitting touches his tongue it says be opened imagine if you were that guy you don't know what's going on here I mean you can't hear right this guy's going up hey hey come here no it's okay touches your tongue what are you doing Jesus what's happening right now and his ears were open and he could speak I think the bigger miracle is the fact that he could actually speak like words and language they remember that time oh my gosh just there's a little 12 12 year old girl and her dad runs to Jesus my daughter sick come to her by the time they get to her she's dead we say bleed Malone Jesus says listen let me add her when he takes about the risk and he says two words he said Talitha koum e which in english means little girl arise and his girl that was dead is now alive and what's that mean I mean Jesus is who he says he is one of the biggest ones I mean the one I love I love all of them I love all of them but in John chapter 11 there's a story in John 11 where Jesus has these three friends they're sisters and a brother a Mary Martha and Lazarus do you guys Bible scholars have you heard this one before um and Mary and Martha say Jesus the one you love is ill come quickly and then I fathers because Jesus takes his time because these Jesus by the time he gets there Lazarus isn't sick anymore because Lazarus is dead never thought of it that way Welli she's not sick so and they're all weeping and Jesus at one point says take me to where you've laid and take me to the tomb this is really important because they bring him to the tomb and in John chapter 11 it's the shortest verse in the entire New Testament it's two words when Jesus got to the tomb of Lazarus his friend who is dead it just says Jesus wept when I pressed pause on that for just a second because I think we need to just reflect I don't know if you've ever felt like this if you've ever felt like the stuff that breaks your heart everyone else thinks is just stupid like maybe you've like you fell in love in high school and then then the person broke up with you and you're just like so heartbroken and your parents are like Huck gosh it's just puppy love you're going to get over it why are you crying like you could maybe because you're like Bella and you're sitting hunched around and like the cameras going around your head it's a month tick by and get over it Bella but but for you it was a big deal your parents like it's no big deal sometimes we think that what breaks our heart God looks at us and says I'll come hon it's not that big a video you guys there's heaven don't worry about it because listen you know everyone dies thanks Jesus but in this moment when Jesus sees the tomb of his friend and he sees his friends sisters his friends as well their wound their grief their sadness Jesus weeps here's the tears to think if you follow Jesus you follow the God of the broken heart a God whose heart breaks for what breaks your heart I mean he knows when he's going to do he knows that in like three minutes Matlacha is gonna be alive he's that doesn't show up to the tumor like okay this is this is awesome this is so great okay guys just wait oh my gosh this is the biggest prank ever No he let to break his heart if you follow Jesus you follow the god of the broken heart a God who loves you and whose heart breaks for what breaks your heart and then Jesus says this he says roll away the stone I love this because because in the gospel be a sister of Lazarus says um Lord now here's the thing for us when someone gets sick and someone dies typically we take them to the hospital first and then after they die someone else comes and takes the body takes them away and then when they're taken away then someone else prepares the body for burial and then someone else buries their body but in this culture if you had someone in your family they would die in your home and you would watch them die and care for the mass they died then you would care for their body after they died you would anoint their body after they died you would lay there dead body in the tomb so if you lived in this culture you'd know what dead looks like apparently if you lived in this culture you know what dead smells like because Martha says Lord um he's been dead for four days there will be a stench because he's not like the little twelve year old girl who's just so she just died like half an hour ago the clubbing time she's only mostly dead he'd say fishes she says Lord keep that to four days there will be a stench and Jesus was like I know roll away the stone and I love this because this is the moment where Jesus does not just a like that comes up to the little girl's rise he does it's a remote-control bus uh cetacean we're standing outside the tomb he just says three words Lazarus come out and then to love us because in John's Gospel it just says and then the dead man walked out of the tomb one of those moments when I wish that in the Hebrew language they had exclamation marks good to be liked and then at that moment the dead man walked out of the tomb this is crazy because at this moment Jesus proves he is we says he is it's at this moment that John make the point he says this as a result of this many of the Jews would come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him but then some of the others from that day on they planned to kill him because that that's it Jesus is I don't know if you know about this but Jesus is the only thing the only thing in the universe the only one in the universe that when you meet him you can't just say man like you can stomach it be super excited about like a new TV show like oh my gosh if you've seen stranger things it's the best thing ever and then you guys told everyone about it right those people who are yelling and the people next next to you said I'll watch it you went so you have to listen to the new album from whoever and someone listen to it they're like yeah whatever Jesus is the one person you can't say meh about you can't say whatever about it's either I believe in him or kill him that's it that's the only two options when it comes to Jesus it's either I believe in him or kill him and that's what she what they do we know this we that's what it's exactly what they do we know how the story goes Jesus gets to Jerusalem right after this walks into Jerusalem on a Sunday all that week they examine him on Friday on Thursday night he's arrested on Friday he's tortured he carries a cross he's nailed to that cross he's crucified he dies now we know that's at the end of the story we know what happened three days later but here's the crazy thing the thing opposed I mind is this so what if they disciples right did you ever notice that how many times in the Gospels where Jesus tells the disciples what's going to happen and when it happens they freaked out their ever notices like okay here's the deal guys we're going to Jerusalem they're going to arrest me then they're going to kill me but don't worry because three days later I'm going to be alive again and then when it happens they're like wow it's going on I mean honestly even on Sunday it says in John's Gospel says early on Sunday morning the women are going to the tomb and they're not going to the to me because they're like oh hey she said he's gonna rise today let's go check it out it says they're going to the tomb did you like that it says they're going to the tomb to anoint his body because they're like he did he did and then this crazy thing is when they get there the stone is rolled back and you'd think they'd be like oh yeah was that today awesome but they're like what's going on so they go into the tomb and you think they see nobody there they'd be like oh yeah that's right they're like know what's going on that they leave Mary Magdalene stays right and she's weeping and weeping because she's like I don't know someone must have taken his body she sees like she sees Jesus and she and she thinks he's the gardener and he even talks to him if you've taken his body show me where he have taken him and imagine Jesus walks in and says Mary and then me then Mary's eyes are open right she's like all rubber and I you know and and he says go to hell my brothers that I'm alive so she runs back to the Apostles and again when she bursts in where the Apostles are he's alive I've seen them you think they were like oh shoot we're late you know that's but dog they're all like no no no no only I me think about this there are 11 apostles left only to go to even check out the story Peter and John run to the tomb and even then they see the stone rolled away and they see that the you know the garments laid up there folded up and they're amazed like what's going on you think to be like oh yeah the Angels have to say okay okay McFly remember when he said what was going to happen she they wandered away bewildered and amazed like well it's coming that day they're locked they're in an upper room right locked together for fear Jesus appears to them and again they be like oh yeah they're like what's going like a ghost Jesus is like pinch me okay people gave me some fish remember this he's proving that he's not a ghost right so then he leaves remember the one guy who remember the one apostle wasn't there at the time what's his name Thomas right Futaba always imagined like comments is out like grocery shopping he like does the secret knock getting back in the door you know and there you open the door Thomas like jesus is alive he's like oh man I missed it but that's not that's not what Thomas says is it they say Thomas we saw Jesus he's alive he's like nope nope nope nice groceries nope nope nope Thomas says no unless I put my fingers in the nail marks in his hands and my hand in the spear mark and his side I'm not going to believe and Peter was like Thomas you're morbid that's a little discuss that that's I don't know if that's in the original translation but it's in my updated version what's happened what happens a week later it's John makes a play pelvis week later John's writing this gospel and he says again they're all together in one place and this time Thomas was with them bomb bomb bomb and Jesus appears to them imagine if you're Thomas I'll send Jesus is there you're like oh no and Jesus looked at Thomas Tommy put her there and at that moment and that woman what happens that moment Thomas falls to his knees and he says five words my Lord and my god because Jesus has just proven that he is who he says he is that's the thing you guys that's the only question we need to answer to know if we can believe in Christianity to be Catholic it's Jesus who he says he is and he's proven he as we says he is the only next thing that realizes if Jesus is who he says he is and guess what you are who he says you are if Jesus is who he says he is then you are who he says you are that's not the end of the story right Jesus stays with them for 40 days continues to teach them and be with them and be their friend and be their Lord and be their God and then he goes out to Bethany outside Jerusalem and from this place if you ever want to go there let's go go to Israel someday you guys and he goes to Israel and he's standing out on Bethany overlooking all Jerusalem you can see the whole thing you can see the Upper Room where Jesus gave us the Eucharist you can see the Goll Gaza which Jesus was crucified you can see where the tomb was right next to it where he rose from the dead you can see the whole thing at that moment the Apostles asked Jesus in his Acts chapter 1 they asked Jesus Lord are you at this point they know who he is right they know he is who he says he is and they say Jesus Lord are you at this point you know restore the kingdom to Israel because Israel the Jewish people are God's people the Jewish people remain God's people and they say as God's people Lord are you going to do it now are you gonna are you going to fulfill everything for the whole world are you to bring peace to the world you can bring hope to the world are you gonna bring mercy to the world and Jesus answers them Lord you are who you say you are are now you're going to do are you going to do now what we hope you're gonna do you Jesus looks at them and he says nope it's not for you to know the times or seasons and he says this but you you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and then you will be my witnesses here in Jerusalem in Judea and Samaria to the ends of the earth we have to realize this if Jesus is we says he is then you are who he says you are and what does he call us to be he calls us to be his not just to believe in him that's the thing as a crazy thing we have too many Catholics who believe in Jesus but who don't belong to Jesus there's too many people who say when it says are you Catholic check the box when it comes to the rest of the week it's well I just kind of do my I I do my life you're right that's my least favorite saying of 2016 Hey Dude what he gonna do oh I'm gonna do something else okay man you do you you do you come over here I could punch my finger in your face my fingertip what's that I don't know I'm doing me man whatever but really realizing this it's not enough to believe in Jesus we have to belong to Jesus which means we have to let him change our lives because you'll be my witnesses the truth of the matter is every one of us witnesses to something every one of us witnesses to someone who does your life witness to what does your life witness what is my life witness to because if I'm gonna belong to Jesus my life had to be changed I don't if you know this but in the early church the process of becoming a Catholic took three years I know some of you are in our CIA or some of you were recently in our CIA and it took nine months Wow guys way to go no I really do mean way to go but imagine this imagine that the early the process of becoming Christian becoming Catholic in the early church took three years why because the early church I mean except for that one first day Pentecost where it took like one hour and then like 3,000 people came into the church and then the church realized oh that was too quick why why did it take three years because the church realized that if you're going to leave a pagan world and become a Christian that means you have to change the way you look at the world back it's so powerful you know Jesus rarely rarely rarely ever said hey guys come and believe in me we believe in Jesus of course but he said come follow me even more he said take my yoke upon you and learn from me never when he said that take my yoke upon you and learn from me what's a yoke you probably know this is is a farming implement right and and it is either made of metal or wood and it goes around the shoulders of some kind of beasts of burden but almost always what a yoke is the in fact at least in the Middle East it's rarely a yoke for one animal usually usually it was a yoke for two animals it's when Jesus says take my yoke upon you he basically is saying okay so get in the yoke with me Jesus as a joke right he's he considers himself our God humbles himself and he considers himself to be a beast of burden for us so it'll work for us to serve us to give his life for us he puts the yoke around his shoulders and he says if you want to be mine don't just believe in me hey get in the yoke next to me this means two things that means one one of the things that means is when you put your short or your head through the yoke here with Jesus here it means you look like Jesus I mean you look at the world like Jesus and if you're going to believe in Jesus if Jesus is who he says he is and we decide to be changed by that that means we're going to put the yoke of Jesus on our shoulders we're going to look at the world the way he looks at the world imagine if you were a pagan converting to Christianity that means the way you looked at God or the gods was very different because if you believed in the Greek or Roman gods that means you believed that the gods were powerful means you maybe believed they were immortal but Greek and Roman gods were not they were not just they were not good they didn't care about you the Greek and Roman gods they did not and could not love you in fact there are stories of soldiers in the Babylonian army there's a Babylonian war god and if you wanted to do well in battle what you do is you go to the temple whose babylonian war god you pray try to get the attention to Babylonian war God and if you wanted to have victory in battle you might even go so far as to take your dagger out or take your sword out or take your spear out and start slashing yourself and be willing to bleed for this Babylonian war God so try to get his attention so you can have victory but if you look at the world like Jesus looks at the world you look at the father the way Jesus look to the father all sudden you realize wait a second there is one God and he is good he cares about me yes he loves me and he doesn't want me to bleed for him he's willing to bleed for me if Jesus our God is a God who was willing to bleed to win your heart he's not asking you to bleed to win his heart you already have his heart Management's to put your your head to the yolk of Jesus and look at the father the way Jesus looks at the father what if your prayer looked like that what if we really became Christians and we began to look at the father the way Jesus looked at the father how did Jesus look at the father never in the garden Gethsemane Jesus is just he's sweating blood because he knows what's coming he says father let this cup pass for me why cuz he looked at the father's a good dad it's a good dad he tell his dad whatever he is in his heart I don't want to do this it hurts it's hard but I know I can trust you dad not my will your will be done how different would your prayer be if you looked at the father the way Jesus looked at the father god this is hard dad this is hard but I trust you that's we're call to do we're called to look like Jesus look at the father like Jesus were also called to look at the world like Jesus to look at other people like Jesus and again if Jesus is who he says he is you are who he says you are and the person sitting next to you is the person he says they are how different would it be if we actually looked at other people like Jesus there's a great a great story in Jason never explore st. John Paul the great such a great book the opening story is actually Jason told me this story and he said oh there's a story about john paul ii and my bishop bishop rom bishop ron was the former bishop of san diego but he's also the former bishop of duluth and so i said you mean my bishop rom and when bishop Brahmas made bishop by john paul ii and he had his ad limited visit the visit where you visit the Pope for the you know first time kind of inning or regular basis he meant when N is the Holy Father great to meet you and John Paul looked at Bishop Rama says oh no Bishop Ron we met before official promises own no Holy Father I would we've never met John Paul's no no Bishop Ron we've met before and no I Holy Father I'm sorry we've never come across each other ever bishop rom we've met before he's like holy father I would have remembered meeting the Pope he has John Paul drops it and have the rest of the meeting after the meeting carnal jiva she was the Pope's personal secretary tracks Braman says never argue with the Holy Father miss rom says well no we said we met together Jebus says the way wait were you a seminarian here in Rome back in 1962 during the second session of the Second Vatican Council mr. problems uh yes GB says you were walking out of the JC which is the Jesuit Church with three other American seminarians while jean-paul who at the time was only the Archbishop of Krakow was walking into the Jesu with two Polish seminarians and he said you met on the steps and he can name the other three American seminarians he said that's the first time you met John Paul the second and the bishop Rahm was like oh man the next time he met John Paul John Paul first thing John Paul says is bishop prom how many times have we met and when was the first time bishop prom it says John Paul we've been twice before the first time was in Rome John Paul slaps at us and says you remember Brom Bishop Brom asked my turtle Jebus says how did you do that and and I would say a jump Aldus a genius so that's one but gee wish said for John Paul the second every encounter with another human being is an encounter with God himself because every person he looks at the world like Jesus looked at the world every person's made in God's image and like this therefore every encounter with another person is memorable imagine what how would our lives be different if we looked like Jesus we looked put her head through the yoke and looked at other people looked at the father and talked to him looked like Jesus things will be transformed be transformed but here's the problem here's one of the problems I don't think we want to be transformed I think one of our main things is I just I just want to look like everyone else here find yourself doing the head like I don't wanna I don't be super different I don't be way out there I just I just actually just want to fit in I just kind of want to look like everyone else I kind of just want to live like everyone else I kinda just want to be like everyone else you know if you've ever felt yourself feeling that way which all of us have I mean remember junior high um not only that remember your first week of being on campus and you're like stressing out like okay what should I are flip-flops to like informal or like is that like a past thing should I wear doc shoes maybe this is a guy thing but like or maybe they don't care I guess I should wear dresses as a dress things that a shorts thing is that a capri thing or capris out are they in I don't know like this whole idea if I just like I just want to fit in I want to be like everyone else again if that's you it's this is nothing new this is so hold all of us struggle with this I just want to be like everyone else I don't want to be different I don't want to be transformed I just want to be like everyone else's act the schools all the way back to God's chosen people the Jewish people when they were in Egypt they were slaves in Egypt they were there and they lived like everybody live like any Egyptians they ate like the Egyptians they talked like the Egyptians they walked like the Egyptians I just really wanted to say that um but they just ain't just started living like everyone else and then what God set them free right there's a ten plagues and he set them free because why because you're my chosen people he gives them some rules in the wilderness because he says listen I'm gonna give you two I'm gonna bring you to the promised land and when you get there this is your home this is the place I set apart for you I've set aside for you and you're my chosen people but here's the deal there's people there there's the Canaanites this amirite there's Jeb you sites is a Hittites there's the parasites there's the termites there's all these different groups of people you're going to get there and the thing is you're going to want to live like them you're going to want to look like them you're going to want to be like them so God says here's the deal I'm gonna give you some rules you're gonna have to dress differently your temptation is going to be to fit in it's a dress differently because you want to be like everyone else that you can you're going to have to cut your hair differently because there's innovation if you want to fit in but you can't you got to be different your temptation is you want to fit in a suit you can have to eat different kinds of foods I mean think that's what the Jewish dietary laws are so much about right God says you can't eat things like shellfish lobsters you can't eat pork and things were dark and bleak and then came Jesus He fulfilled the law and the world was good and we cannot have bacon but the same temptation is there the same thing is there I don't want to be transformed I want to be conformed to everyone around me that's why st. Paul writing to the Romans he says there's in Romans chapter 12 st. Paul says listening if Jesus is who he says he is you've got to live how he's calling you to live and he says I urge you do not be conformed to this age do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind temptation as I want to I want to be like everyone else I want to be conformed to this age but you can't be going to be transformed by the renewal of your mind I want to just say one word about what renewal of your mind is all about because we can come to this week and we can think like okay so um if I come to Jesus like he's gonna make me like a nicer person right sure I realize I'm kind of a jerk and so if I come to Jesus will he make me less of a jerk we'll see if I I'm gonna we basically many of us look at Christianity like behavior modification okay Jesus is kind of like you know rust or unrest among the ruffians change me where I want you to change me but not really in the deep dark parts of myself we have this thing we want to call behavior modification I don't want to be transformed I just want to be a little bit a little bit a little bit different but that's how we live our Christianity will never be fully transformed do not conform yourself to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind one of the things that means if I'm going to have real Christianity really gonna follow Jesus if I'm really gonna be a witness that means the things I think about the things I choose and the things I grow to love are gonna have to be transformed I didn't want you to do that right now just to think about it what are the things you think about what's the entertainment you feed yourself with is it is it like everyone else if someone looks back at your Netflix history will they say oh that's a Catholic or they say oh that's just a normal sophomore in college how do you feed yourself because we're going to be conformed to whatever we inform ourselves with and if I feed myself with garbage you know what I'm gonna have is this garbage that's why I love I've used this example before if I if you've heard it before I'm so sorry um you guys all heard Pete p90x tell her to p90x so I'm kind of a I'm kind of an expert on p90x because I've started it like 10 times and but I've met people I've known people up in Duluth who who've done the whole deal like this 90 days 3 months of working out almost every day for at least an hour sometimes an hour 45 minutes and I've seen people who at the end of it they've done the workout every single workout they've worked really really hard for three months 90 days in a row and they'll say like Oh father Mike I've done p90x okay awesome cool uh wouldn't you finish my finish yesterday or I finished last week like seriously like a muscle like if you don't look like you just finished p90x I've seen those commercials I don't say that out loud I think it but I don't say it out loud but my little brother he's 10 years younger than me bunch of years ago he did p90x and when he got done I started I saw him we were at like my parent have a place on the lake and so we were he took of a shirt to go swimming and I'm like dude what's up like I literally eyes like I've seen that in movies like what the all these kid veins coming down his stomach and stuff I'm like that's real I thought it was Photoshop he's like yeah I just finished P no jokes you do it like no dude I've seen people do p90x they don't look like that and he said that he said well you've got to do the diet because they get it p90x they give you two things they give you the workouts and then they give you the eating plan a lot of us think like no I'm working so hard that doesn't matter what I eat ever do that went with your prayer life are you kidding me I'm going to mass every day doesn't matter what I feed myself with that night I'm making a holy hour every day doesn't matter what kind of music I listen to I'm doing all these religious things why am I not being transformed oh because the time outside of Holy Hour the time outside of mass time outside of my rosary what am i informing myself to that's what I'm going to conform to do not be conformed to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind because our goal is to look like Jesus our goal is to look head to the yoke to look like Jesus but also our goal is to look like Jesus our goal is our call is to live like Jesus in fact this is what it is to be a Christian right no no no I won't but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit spirit comes upon you and then you will be my witnesses when people see you they will see me our goal the Christian life does not behavior modification it is to look like Jesus is to live like Jesus it's a live so transformed so free and so courageous that it changes the world I just think a lot of us can't imagine being that free I think a lot of us can't imagine having that much courage to say I went away I met Jesus and now I'm gonna live like Jesus I'm gonna look like Jesus I'm gonna have the freedom that I don't have to look like everyone else I don't have to live like everyone else I'm gonna have the courage to run with purpose or the courage to fight with purpose in his letter to the Corinthians chapter 9 his first letter st. Paul write to the Corinthians and he says this don't my favorites it's just awesome you write it down you guys 1st Corinthians chapter 9 verse 24 and following he says do you not know that all the runners in the stadium they all run the race but only one wins the prize then he says these lines run so as to win so many of us we treat life or to retreat the Catholic life like it's a fun run for the Cure um so we think it's like it's like a race walking on I'm also you know because why we get a bunch of participation trophies st. uh st. Paul he says in and when you're in this race run to win he goes on he says every athlete exercises discipline in every way and they do it to win a perishable crown we do it to win an in perishable crown and he says therefore I do not run aimlessly therefore I do not fight as if our shadowboxing how many times do we live our Christianity like no here's my Sunday there's the week I just do what I want here's my holy hour there's some the day I just do what I want here's my time I went to see it was great but now the rest of the semester I'll do what I want why cuz I'm not in a fight I'm not in a battle I'm not in a race but what if what if you had the courage to run to win what if you had the courage to look look up and realize I'm in a fight what if you had the courage to realize that Jesus is not just calling me to believe in him he's calling me to be on mission with him that's what the yoke is all about look like me and live like me have my worldview and be half my mission I don't know if you guys know a guy name his name is William Wilberforce that have you ever heard of William Wilberforce in the 18th century who William those go English so William Wilberforce was a genius he was raised in eighteenth-century England by wealthy grandparents at one point he was shipped off to his aunt novels place like twelve years old his aunt Mazal of Christians and his grandparents found out that their Christianity was infecting Williams so they said no we can have him back and they started disinfecting him from his Christianity William Wilberforce graduated from Krank Cambridge University and he was the youngest person ever to be elected to Parliament he was elected just two weeks after the required age to be elected to Parliament he was a genius he was incredible he was driven he was accomplished and he was like a partier he was like the st. Francis of the Englishmen st. Francis - his Italian William Wilberforce was English and he was just he absolutely had no interest in in Christianity he only had interest in being like everyone else he did it really really well at one point William was going to go on vacation and he wanted a traveling companion and so neutral friend recommended this guy named Isaac Milner now Isaac Milner was a genius in his own right Isaac Mill Isaac Milner yeah occupied the Malaysian chair I think at Oxford University which is the chair that Sir Isaac Newton once I held the chair that Stephen Hawking at one point held this is Isaac Milner and so William Wilberforce says Isaac would you like to join me on this trek around Europe Milner says sure they get in the carriage and they're talking about life I got big ideas talking about politics talking about people at one point this one very famous pastor came up in their conversation and William Wilberforce says well you know he had makes a lot of good points but I think he's taking this whole Christianity thing too far and Milner looks over at him and says I don't think he could possibly ever take following Jesus too far in William Wilberforce had that look on his face as maybe you had when you got in the on the bus and looked at your traveling companion was like oh no they realized he was traveling with a Christian but he was traveling with a genius Christian and for the next couple hundred hours in this carriage through Europe they debated and discussed Jesus Christ and the truth of Jesus that he is who he says he is by the time William and Isaac got back to London Isaac with Isaac a William Wilberforce was it with a Christian he knew the Jesus is who he says he is therefore he knew that like I have to have his worldview I have to have his mission I don't know what to do I'm elected to Parliament and we're all Swiss bunch of partiers maybe that's you this week I'm going back home tomorrow I don't I'm not sure what to do on Monday because I think I believe in Jesus now but like what does God want me to do Jesus you're gonna save the world now then you know you've received power and you're gonna take my yoke upon you and share my worldview and share my mission William Wilberforce gets back to London and he disappears for like weeks no one season like I think Williams back but no one can find him he spent that time count in Council with various pastors he spent that time in prayer asking God God what do you want me to do because here I am in London but my life been changed because I know Jesus is who he says he is that means I have to look at other people differently it means I have to live differently what do you want me to do and he came out of that time of prayer they came out of that time of counsel with two missions in his life and he devoted the rest of his life to these two missions one with the abolition of the slave trade in Europe the other mission he had Prime the other mission of his life was devoted to the reform of manners in England now I know that sounds really like wow I bulletin of the slave trade that's awesome reform of manners everyone tea is at 4:00 o'clock it goes until 4:15 you drink with your pinky out it doesn't mean that welcome back to and second so Williams spent the rest of his life trying to end the slave trade two weeks before he died the slave trade was abolished made illegal in Europe now imagine imagine someone who says I believe that Jesus is who he says he is if that's going to make a difference in my life because of that I'm going to change my culture I'm going to change the world in which I live imagine someone standing up in a culture and saying I belong to Jesus so I'm going to end slavery people says that you can't do that you know our economy is based off that you can't do that you can't change our culture all it takes all it takes is one person with courage all it takes is one person with courage to change the world he devoted his life to this mission and he transformed his culture the other thing reform of manners in England you know we say manners and we think like you know high tea what he meant was morals because you might think Oh eighteenth-century England that was like start of Christianity right wrong when William was alive the morals of England were just absolutely they were out the window I mean there was rampant gambling there was rampant I'm on every alcoholism and every level of society it was like everyone drank there was child labor it came back to the drinking things I know you guys like that um but from the highest office to the lowest person everyone just drank and they drank and they couldn't stop drinking in fact their records of entire sessions of Parliament where they held the thing and everyone was absolutely bombed out of their minds you know when you drink so much you need more entertainment so what they normal entertainment is enough so they started doing this thing like bear baiting but bears in an arena haven't fight each other to the death bull baiting when that became too little they started having public executions when that became too little too tart having public dissections of human beings it was said that at the time when William was alive in London 25% of all single women were prostitutes and the average age was 16 years old this is the world in which William said I listen listen I belong to Jesus he is who he says he is and so listen homina I'm not only a surest worldview I'm gonna share his mission I'm not gonna look like Jesus and I'm gonna live like Jesus and he transformed he transformed his world one person with courage who says I will not be conformed to the stage will be transformed because I do not run aimlessly I am NOT shadowboxing you know this this week it's been great I think it's been a good week but I know I know the temptation temptation is gonna be this to be like this is good I was really built up but bracket back on campus I'll just be another dude be one of the Bros second canvas I'll just be another gal another one of the you know single ladies you know kind of a thing I'm just gonna I'm just going to go back to be in me and that's good there's something good about being in this kind of a situation something good about being in in a in a used ministry something good about being in a great campus ministry but all those things are there when you call greenhouses this week is a greenhouse greenhouses are really really good what do you put it in a greenhouse you put plants that are fragile you put plans that are vulnerable you put plants in the greenhouse that need to be protected that's good because we need to be protected we need to grow a little bit but you realize that you're not meant to live in a greenhouse you're not meant to live in your campus ministry forever this time in a greenhouse is meant to grow you so that you can be planted anywhere if you have an awful campus ministry back on your campus leave we have an awesome campus ministry back in your campus it doesn't matter because you're not made to live in a greenhouse you're made to live in the wild and every single one of us the reason why we have this week is to prepare you to be able to live anywhere the reason why we have this awesome environment it's prepare you to live in any environment if you're going to live in any environment that means you need to have roots jesus said remain in me my invitations everyone here we three things you know then I'm done promise I kind of promise um first thing I need to pray you need to pray and I don't just mean pray like you know have your holy hour that's awesome or have your holy 20 minutes that's great for I mean I've read this this awesome book by father Michael Gately on divine mercy so good oh my gosh praise the Lord he ended he quoted st. Faustina in Sister Faustina once she said that she said someone was asking her like how do you have faith in all things how do you trust in everything the answer was that in every situation if you want to know how to trust in all situations and every situation have thanks and praise I don't know how to really live your faith in every environment that in every environment offer God thanks and praise why because you have your heads to the yoke and you're looking at the Father the way Jesus look at the Father saying god I don't like this moment but I can give you thanks I can give you praise because I know you're my good dad so when I need to pray you in live in any environment if you're not made to live in a green house you're made to live in the wild I need to be able to give God thanks and praise in every environment even in the wild the second thing is I know I can't do it alone I can't do it alone I can't I can't be that witness to the world alone I need someone to walk with me I need someone to run with me I don't want to I don't want to run aimlessly so I can't run on purpose alone I need someone else that's why I love have you guys ever seen the documentary of the human planet documentary the human planets awesome by BBC America they go through all these different environments around the world all these hostile environments where it's almost impossible to live there's one where it's not the savanna life on the Savannah and it was these hunters who are going out hunting wildebeest and the wildebeests they didn't hunt the wildebeest a track down Lions who hunted the wildebeest and then they scared the Lions away how they did this it was crazy did these three men they tracked on a pride of lions and I just killed a wildebeest it's like a dozen 14 lions devouring as wildebeest and these three men they saw it and at one point at one as one they got up shoulder to shoulder to shoulder you started walking towards the Lions you're like what it was one guy one girl whatever is walking toward the lion he beat a dead guy or dead girl because there's three of them a three string cord is not easily broken three of them they walk towards the Lions knowing where they're going not aimlessly not shadowboxing the Lions see them and they scattered the men walk up the hack away like a leg for over their shoulder and they all walk away it's together I can't do it on my own I can't do it on my own one I need to remain in him be give God thanks and praise in all situations - I have to do it with someone else last plan need to be paired I need to be prepared to fight I need to be prepared to fight that God tell you guys I don't want to be like a buzz killed but you're in a fight I don't know if you know this but this is the age of the martyrs this what we're living in right now is the age of the martyrs more people have been martyred in the last century than all other centuries combined this is the age of the martyrs when Jesus said you'll be my witnesses you know what the word witness is in Greek it's the word Marcus which is martyr you will be my martyrs that means I need to be we need to be ready to fight but no the Father this is this is this is America this is United States you don't need to fight in America you don't need to fight the United States I wanna tell you a story some of you heard it before two years ago mark Bartek who works for Focus he told me this tell me about a man in the Fujian province of China in the Fujian province of China it is still illegal to be Catholic and so this man he was Catholic and his family were Catholic and so what they would do is it would have mass in secret in their homes they put their lives on the line just to have the Eucharist so they have sentries outside they have mass in the middle of the night their sentries outside watching for the officials to come they had masks one night at the end of mass the centuries rushed in and said officials are on their way so everyone scattered priests ran off the family ran off all these other families ran off for this guy's house so he couldn't have anywhere to run off to they burst into his home and they arrested him and he took him to wherever they held him and they started to torture him for three to four weeks day after day night after night they would strip him naked they would take a jerry-rigged cattle prod that was rigged to give up to a million volts it put it on different parts of his body they just tell us where the priest is you can go back to your family tell us where the priest is and you can go home with this man strapped to this thing getting electrocuted all over his body getting burned all over his body he knew that if he told where the priest was his neighbors his family no one would have mass for who knows how long he just loved Eucharist so much that he's like no I just I just I can't I can't give it up I can't say no to this I can't betray the Eucharist after three four weeks of torturing him straight they're like we can't break this man and so they let him go pretty soon as soon as you could actually he arranged passage to the United States and he moved to a city in this country this is just a couple years ago and he got here when he got he was so overjoyed because among other things he got to go to Mass every single day and it wasn't an hour and a half he got to go to Mass every single day got to go to mass on Sundays and no one was arresting him he's got to go to Mass in the middle of the day but he also realized something pretty quickly he realized that in America if you work harder you make more he realized in America if you do more you get more he said I want to give more to my family I wanna do more I want to accomplish more I want to be more in this country so pretty quickly he didn't have enough time to go to daily Mass and as time went on he occasionally would skip Sunday Mass another year went by you only go to Mass on Christmas and Easter when I first heard this story that Easter the man didn't even go to Mass and Mark shared this with me and I want to share this with you he said I don't want you to miss this point what communism what torture what communism couldn't do what torture couldn't do weird electrified cattle prods couldn't do our culture could do and it didn't even have to try that torture could not break this man's love for the Eucharist and our culture was able to strip this man's love for the Eucharist and it didn't even need to try it you guys were in a fight and it is time to fight it's time to witness it's time to look like Jesus and to look like Jesus this is exactly what the church needs right now is the last thing this is this is not a new story this is an old story we are exactly what the church has always been in the year 33 the very beginning of Christianity when everything looked like was over and Jesus was dead all of a sudden there's like in he's alive again there's Peter and there's Paul there's Mary Magdalene there's Mary the mother of God they came together and they were witnesses and all of a sudden Christianity just they had to bring hope and light and life to the world and then years went by and here's the four hundred cents five hundred five hundred years later you have the church that gets all big and fat and comfortable and the church gets corrupted and starts falling into disrepair and so what does God do God raises up someone like Agustin and like Benedict and like Scholastica and all of a sudden the church gets renewed because they're people who are like no listen if Jesus is who he says he is I am who he says I am aren't to be his witness message didn't believe in him I'm gonna live like him I'm gonna look like him but in the church was renewed and another 400 500 years later happened and the church again gets bloated and gets comfortable and gets soft he falls into disrepair and so what's what's God do raises up people raises up people like Francis and Dominic and Claire and all of a sudden the people who says I listen this is the age of the martyrs this is the age of the witnesses I just want to believe in Jesus I want to belong to Jesus I want to look like Jesus and I want to live like Jesus and the church is renewed again centuries past the 1500s and the church is just bloated and comfortable and falling apart what does God do he raises up st. Charles Borromeo Saint John of the Cross teresa of avila catherine siena and what happens the church gets renewed from the inside causes people in the church who say enough I have courage all it takes is one person with courage I'm not going to be like everyone else I'm going to be like him to renew the world here we are 500 years later and the church is comfortable and the church is bloated and the church is falling into disrepair and God will do what he always does he will raise up Saints this is the age of the martyrs this is the age of men and women with the courage and the freedom to look like Jesus and to live like Jesus and those people will be renewed by Jesus and that was people who are renewed by Jesus will renew the church and the in the renewed church will renew the world it is time to get to work [Music]

Channel: FOCUS Catholic

Views: 401,751

Rating: 4.8694654 out of 5

Keywords: Fr. Mike, Fr. Mike Schmitz, fr mike youtube, fr mike schmitz youtube, fr mike homily, fr mike homilies, fr mike schmitz homilies, fr mike vocations, fr mike ascension press, homily, priest, catholic, catholicism, catholic talks, seek, seek 2017, seek17, focus, fellowship of catholic university students, happiness, catholic happiness, superman priest, fr mike priest, fr mike talks, fr mike talk, fr mike podcast, priest fr mike

Id: MvOvz1-nPVo

Length: 63min 35sec (3815 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 19 2017