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You Better Recognize

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Jesus must have been unrecognizable after he rose from the dead. Two-thousand years later, we find it difficult to recognize him in anything other than on a crucifix. People stood right in front of the resurrected Christ and failed to notice it was him.

Lord, let me be you to others so I may lead others to you.

We pray for Jesus to be with us. We pray for him to protect us and guide us. And he undoubtedly does those things for us. What we neglect to think about is that other people are praying for the same thing. And don’t you think that Jesus might be answering their prayers as well? In the recognition of Christ in others, we stir the realization of Christ in ourselves.

Don’t make Christ do all the work! We are responsible for heralding his words and emulating his way.

We used to see Jesus in everything. There are innumerable works of art with him or his mother at the focus. Brilliant pieces of music were composed based on some aspect of his birth or death or the three years leading up to it. Musical theatre, straight plays, and films were written around a character’s battle between Christ and Satan, or adaptions of a portion of the Gospel.  But now we desperately pray for some sort of longevity when a new work of art comes out that is related to Christianity or anything remotely religious. It’s no wonder it’s getting harder and harder to recognize him in the moments and people around us.

We’ve got a job to do. If Jesus is presenting himself to you, don’t look away. If the answer is Christ, don’t choose ignorance. There’s a reason that four-letter acronym is so popular. He gave it all, all for the love of us, so perhaps the better question is “What wouldn’t Christ do?”

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Benjamin serves as the Music Minister at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Branchville, NJ. He teaches Children’s Theatre at the Paper Mill Playhouse and is a Catholic songwriter that has given talks on Confirmation, How to Keep the Faith in College, and The Courage to Choose Life. He can be reached at benjamintyates@gmail.com.

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Lord, I Am Not Worthy

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“So from that day on they planned to kill him” (John 11: 53).

I have failed. I have betrayed my Lenten promises. I have neglected to follow through on carefully made plans. I have run from challenges rather than toward them. I have claimed to love you, but instead, I turn to distractions rather than prayer.

The priest walked up to the ambo to preach his Good Friday homily after having read the passion as a congregation. He looked up and said: “We all feel extremely uncomfortable when chanting ‘Crucify him, crucify him. Yet this is exactly what we do each time we sin.” He then walked back to his chair in the deafening silence. 

Jesus reminds us in the Gospels that when we feel despised, we must remember that he was hated first. From even the moments before Christ’s birth, he was hated. After his birth, he was sought after to be murdered by Herod. People laughed at him and abandoned him. One man betrayed him, all men lent a hand.

Lord, I am not worthy.

Jesus carried the weight of the world in the form of a cross on his shoulders. He didn’t arrive to hear adulation when he reached the finish line. Rather, his prize was death on that same cross, and we, the people who put him there, are receiving the gift of the destruction of sin and the hope of eternal life with the man we killed.

Lord, I am not worthy.

Christ was certainly not a failure. He won. And by falling into sin, we are not failures. As Chris Stefanick would say, we mustn’t mistake one bad chapter for an entire book. We are made anew each day. We are made anew each hour. We are made anew each minute. But only if we choose to be. We move on from the sin of despair or presumption, and we build our hope minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day. The hope that one day we may be forever with Christ in the Kingdom of Heaven, to which I repeat:

Lord, I am not worthy. But enter under my roof, and my soul shall be healed.

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Benjamin serves as the Music Minister at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Branchville, NJ. He teaches Children’s Theatre at the Paper Mill Playhouse and is a Catholic songwriter that has given talks on Confirmation, How to Keep the Faith in College, and The Courage to Choose Life. He can be reached at benjamintyates@gmail.com.

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The Other Great Commandment

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“Jesus replied, ‘The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these'” (Mark 12: 29-31).

This is, of course, assuming I love myself.

It’s clear why I should love my neighbor. It’s even more clear why I should love God. But why should I love myself? I know me better than anyone else. I know my faults and I am the first to condemn myself for them. I know where I fall short better than where I excel. I am familiar with my transgressions and surprised by my good deeds.

We are made in the image and likeness of God. This is not a platitude, it’s an unbelievably startling reality. If I love others, I will their ultimate good. If I am not willing my own good, then I am not loving others and I am certainly not loving God. This is not a selfish outlook or a nod to the popular notion that life is all about doing whatever makes you happy. It has very little to do with happiness and a lot to do with holiness.

Jesus wants us to come back to him with not only the best parts of us; he wants our entire selves. He wants our damaged parts as well as our perfected parts.

I have decided to forgo lunch for Lent this year to the absolute best of my ability. This is something I’ve been slowly preparing for so that I’m able to sustain without material sustenance. We don’t fast because we think food is intrinsically evil. We unite our fasting with our prayers in love for others and for God. We fast to remind ourselves in those moments of hunger that God has ordered our lives and it takes work to put things back into that order. We fast to remind ourselves how good food is, and how much better our lives are when God is the first place we go in each moment of difficulty.

Return to the Lord in the love of the person he made you. Return to the Lord in the love of others. Return to the Lord in the love of the Lord.

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Benjamin serves as the Music Minister at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Branchville, NJ. He teaches Children’s Theatre at the Paper Mill Playhouse and is a Catholic songwriter that has given talks on Confirmation, How to Keep the Faith in College, and The Courage to Choose Life. He can be reached at benjamintyates@gmail.com.

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The Freedom of Servitude

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“Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!” (Psalm 119)

The NFL handbook is over three-hundred pages long. What makes this sport so entertaining is seeing smart players execute a touchdown or large gain in the bounds of these rules. This structure does not limit these players; it frees them up to utilize their creative ability. The expertise is beautiful.

What would kill the beauty of this sport? Seeing twenty-two grown men running out of bounds, throwing illegal forward passes, and hitting each other illegally in order to win.

Theatre directors will often go throughout the early phases of a rehearsal process staging the actors in a general shape. This overall shape will set the bounds for the actors. Within these bounds, the actors are free to explore and employ their own creativity. Then on opening night, the audience witnesses the beauty of the collaboration that leads to live theatre.

What would kill the beauty of this art? Seeing actors run around the stage, speak in ways that can’t be seen or heard, or default to standing in a line for the entire two hours.

Rules are what free us to be us. Without rules, we are slaves to a false sense of freedom. It is in the service of God’s will rather than my own that my life becomes beautiful. The best way to do this is by knowing God. Frank Sheed said that each reason for knowing God is another reason to love Him even more and that each reason to love God is another reason to know him even more. Then we may live in accordance with what we were created for, and this is beautiful.

It can be intensely dissatisfying to know that God “makes his sun rise on the good and the bad” (Matthew 5:45). But we must remember that God made his Son rise for the good and the bad. When Jesus tells us to live perfectly it is not a demand to be entirely free of all blemishes. It is an admonition to strive toward the fullness of truth that lies within God’s commandments, laws, decrees, and way.

And “provided you keep all his commandments he will then raise you high in praise and renown and glory above all other nations he has made and you will be a people sacred to the LORD, your God, as he promised” (Deuteronomy 26: 19).

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Benjamin serves as the Music Minister at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Branchville, NJ. He teaches Children’s Theatre at the Paper Mill Playhouse and is a Catholic songwriter that has given talks on Confirmation, How to Keep the Faith in College, and The Courage to Choose Life. He can be reached at benjamintyates@gmail.com.

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Second Chances

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“We will know heartache, Prayers that don’t work, And times of bitter circumstances. But I still believe in second chances.” (Schwartz, CHILDREN OF EDEN)

After an unsuccessful first attempt of the dove to see if the earth was dry, Noah waited seven days to try again. When he sent the dove once more, an olive leaf lay in the bill of the dove signaling an end to the flood.

After Jesus first rubbed his saliva into the eyes of the blind man, the man’s vision remained imperfect. The faith of the man had not wavered, and Jesus saw to the full restoration of his sight.

“We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father’s love for us” (St. John Paul II). God does not use us in spite of our weaknesses; God uses us through his utilization of our weaknesses. It is through the man’s blindness that God reveals himself. God fills any lack that we have and implores us to bring him to others through that very deficiency.

Following the flood, we are promised that something like that will never happen again. We are not owed this promise, but God in his goodness does it. The symbol of his promise to Noah is a rainbow. The rainbow is beautiful and gives all hope. But even more so it is the visual of a bow (a weapon of war) turned upside down that is a grand symbol of peace.

Perhaps this is one of the more significant instances of God’s forgiveness and perpetual desire to give us yet another chance.

Noah and his family were given the great responsibility of humanity’s second chance. And despite not being able to see at first, the blind man’s faith gave him distinct and clear sight. Someday there will be no more flood, and we will see more clearly than ever before.

Benjamin serves as the Music Minister at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Branchville, NJ. He teaches Children’s Theatre at the Paper Mill Playhouse and is a Catholic songwriter that has given talks on Confirmation, How to Keep the Faith in College, and The Courage to Choose Life. He can be reached at benjamintyates@gmail.com.

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Sow What?

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I recently reached the final page of a long, good book. I turned the back cover over and placed it on the coffee table with an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. As I returned it to its place on the bookshelf the following morning, I tried to think of what I
remembered about the book. I realized I didn’t remember anything. I read every word, yet I failed to retain any of the meaning.

There are two ends to which the pursuit of knowledge may lead: the love of knowledge itself, or the application of knowledge as a weapon of love. Neither are bad. One is insufficient.

In his brilliant book Theology for Beginners, the renowned apologist Frank Sheed begs the reader to reread the Gospels, Acts, Paul’s Epistles and eventually the entire Old Testament as well as the rest of the New Testament. Specifically, he says that “…there is
no exhausting their richness” when it comes to chapters fourteen through seventeen of John’s Gospel (Sheed 33). But he cautions the reader to read them as though this was the first time. Most of us know the parable of the Sower like the back of our hands. We
hear it read aloud in mass. We see it in a playful rendering during the musical Godspell. We see drawings of it used as illustrations for children in Religious Education. The tendency is to immediately recognize the parable, and in doing so turn our focus away
because we assume we understand all it has to offer. But Jesus delivered his parables to illustrate truths that increase in their relevance as we move from stage to stage in our lives, just as Shakespeare wrote his plays to be overflowing with relevant truths no matter the time period. However, Shakespeare was a playwright. Jesus is God.

Jesus is the sower.
The seeds are Jesus’ words.
We are the path.
We are the rocky ground.
We are the thorns.
We can be rich soil.

It’s easy to believe we’re rich soil when in reality the majority of us are probably the rocky ground or thorns. We get excited about the Good News of Jesus Christ, but we lack roots. Or we accept the words of Jesus Christ, but we are too concerned with
“worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things” (Mark 4:19). Look at this parable from the lens of your current stage in life and inhale these words as though for the first time.

Then when it’s your time to bear fruit, don’t keep it all for yourself or it will become rotten. Share it with not only your friends but your enemies as well.

Benjamin serves as the Music Minister at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Branchville, NJ. He teaches Children’s Theatre at the Paper Mill Playhouse and is a Catholic songwriter that has given talks on Confirmation, How to Keep the Faith in College, and The Courage to Choose Life. His album The Start Toward Rivo Torto can be found on SoundCloud and his other talks and music can be found on YouTube.  He can be reached at benjamintyates@gmail.com.

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Worth the Wait

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Sometimes being a good person means not saying anything at all. As counterintuitive as this sounds, there are certain scenarios where silence is the loudest response. When something good happens to me, the first thing I think of is “I need to tell someone about this!” When something terrible happens to me, the first thing I think of is “I need to tell someone about this!” The desire to share is built into us and this is a very good thing. I think singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran summarizes it nicely when he sings “Success is nothing unless you have someone to share it with.” There’s a lot of sharing that goes on around us. Almost too much sharing. People share their stories, their pictures, and their opinions on Social Media. The moment something occurs, we can share it and people clear across the globe can have access to it instantaneously. But sometimes, being a good
person means waiting and subsequently not saying anything at all.

Joseph learns of Mary’s pregnancy and his first reaction is to protect her from shame. He waits. He neither speaks nor acts rashly. Not thinking of himself, Joseph protects Mary even in an hour where he could rightfully feel betrayed, not yet knowing the truth of the situation. But Joseph waits and as a result of his prudence, God reveals to him the meaning of all of this. Could there be a better example of manhood and fatherhood than St. Joseph?

As if patience wasn’t hard enough, we almost exclusively find ourselves in situations where we wait for things that will never actualize. This is a direct result of waiting for the wrong thing. That’s why we feel this everlasting ache that fluctuates in intensity from time to time but nevertheless remains. During Advent, we wait. However, this time we know exactly what we’re waiting for, but it is, in fact, something that we already have. You see, Christmas isn’t precisely about people being kind to one another and communal generosity. Think of what Tiny Tim says in A Christmas Carol… that he wanted to be noticed as a cripple, so people would remember who
made “… lame beggars walk, and blind men see” (Dickens). Christmas is about a Person who, instead of talking about good deeds, performed them, and instructed all who witnessed to tell no one what they had seen. It is the example Christ gave two thousand years ago that in 2018 motivates people who have never even heard of Jesus to be kind and giving during the Christmas and Advent season.

I’ll be the first to admit I struggle with the virtue of patience. But every Advent we get the chance to train ourselves to wait for what comes at the end of the four weeks. As we slowly develop this great virtue, we become stronger. Despite the naturally passive connotation of the word “waiting” we are encouraged to be active in the purification and preparation of ourselves as a way of inviting Christ into our lives, someone who is truly worth the wait, at this year’s celebration of his birth and at our eternal destination.

Benjamin serves as the Music Minister at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Branchville, NJ. He teaches Children’s Theatre at the Paper Mill Playhouse and is a Catholic songwriter that has given talks on Confirmation, How to Keep the Faith in College, and The Courage to Choose Life. He can be reached at benjamintyates@gmail.com.

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The Church’s One Foundation

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“The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord…” A beautiful hymn we sing from time to time as the priest processes toward the altar. These words serve as an important reminder of who we are to build our lives upon.

It takes careful planning and diligence when constructing even a small house. What tools will I need? What materials are going to be most suitable for this environment? The most critical step in the preparation process is deciding what this house will be built on. If the foundation proves to be solid the house will not be in danger of collapsing. However, if the foundation is weak then it will shake with the coming of every minor storm, and in the midst of a great storm, this house will fall.

How much more meaningful then is the preparation and diligence when planning to build our lives. St. Paul describes how we are God’s building and that we must be careful as to how we build ourselves (1 Cor 3: 9-10). Our bodies, which are ourselves, are temples. The Holy Spirit dwells in us. This, at the very least, gives us new eyes as we glance at the mirror and a new love when glancing at our neighbor. We must not, therefore, lay a false foundation upon which we build our lives. If the Holy Spirit is to dwell in me, shouldn’t I make myself hospitable? If I am to do so, it is a necessity that I am built upon a solid truth. There is no foundation but the one foundation: Jesus Christ. When we construct our lives knowing He is the force that keeps us standing we avoid believing the lies that accompany a false freedom.

So will you build your life on something?
Or will you build your life on someone; namely Christ?

Benjamin serves as the Music Minister and Youth Minister at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Branchville, NJ. He teaches Children’s Theatre at the Paper Mill Playhouse and is a Catholic songwriter that has given talks on Confirmation, How to Keep the Faith in College, and The Courage to Choose Life. He can be reached at benjamintyates@gmail.com.