Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz and this is Ascension Presents.
So the other day, I got a video on my phone from my little sister.
She has three little girls: the two oldest— one is in first grade, the other one's in preschool
and the preschooler— they're all lying in bed— and the preschooler was sick
and this video of just her eyes were all red, her nose was so stuffed
and she was like, "Hewwo, Uncle Fadder Mike. I hope you're doing OK."
I'm just like, "Oh my gosh."
And later on, I talked to my sister and here's this little sick little girl
and she's laying on my sister's chest there as my sister was in her bed with her older sister
that she was just kind of like just comforting her
and she said, "Yeah, she had to pick Catherine up from school that day.
She got kind of sick and—"
I just thought about this, it just blew me away.
Just that reflecting on this is, what does that do to a human being
to know that when I'm sick, someone else is going to stop what they're doing
and they're gonna come get me?
Like, what does it do — to a human being,
what does it do to little Catherine there who says,
"OK, I can't breathe out of my nose, my eyes are all red and I just feel so sick,"
that someone's just gonna hold on to me, someone's gonna hold me close.
What does that do to a human being's heart?
And the other question is, What does the opposite do?
That when I am in the most need is when I least find people around me.
That affects our hearts, that idea that either I'm chosen, I'm loved when I'm at my best
or I'm chosen, I'm loved when I'm at my worst.
You know, this is actually the message of Christianity isn't it?
Is that Jesus Christ chooses us because we're weak, not in spite of weakness.
In fact, it might have been Saint Catherine of Sienna or someone who said,
God does not love us in spite of our weaknesses.
He loves us because of our weaknesses.
And that the gospel is this, it's in Romans chapter 5.
St. Paul says this. He says, "Christ, while we were still helpless
yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly.
God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
It's just remarkable because I think a lot of us don't believe the gospel.
I think a lot of us believe the anti-gospel.
And the anti-gospel is this,
is in order to be chosen, you've got to be perfect.
In order to be loved, you've got to be lovable.
In order to belong to someone, in order for people to stop what they're doing and come and be with you,
you have to be whole, you have to be strong, you have to be healthy, you have to be great, special
but the message of Christianity, the real gospel,
is in order to be redeemed by Jesus, you have to be broken.
In order to be loved by God, you have to be, in some ways, you might even say, unlovable.
And in order to be redeemed by him, you have to be a sinner.
In order to be made righteous, you have to be someone who's not righteous.
Now I know so many Christians who disqualify themselves
because they say, "No, I'm too weak. I'm too much of a sinner. I'm too broken."
And in that case, you just have to remind them that's not the gospel, that's the anti-gospel.
But to believe the true gospel is to know this—
when I'm in need, the Lord comes to my aid.
When I'm stuck, he comes to my rescue.
And when I am dying,
he dies in my place
and in your place.
Again, you're not chosen because you're special.
You're special because you're chosen.
And God does not need you to be perfect.
He just wants you to be his.
From all of us here at Ascension Presents, my name's Father Mike.
God bless.