The Jeff Cavins Show (Your Catholic Bible Study Podcast) - Memories of Jesus on the Sea of Galilee

Episode Date: May 28, 2018

Listen as Jeff reflects on his recent trip to Israel...

You're listening to The Jeff Kaven Show, episode 65 Memories of Jesus on the Sea of Galilee. Hey, I'm Jeff Kavans. How do you simplify your life? How do you study the Bible? All the way from motorcycle trips to raising kids, we're going to talk about the faith and life in general. It's the Jeff Kaven Show. Hey, thanks for joining me again this week, just coming off. of an absolutely tremendous pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Father Mike Schmitz and I went over to the Holy Land with 112 beautiful people that love God

and are really trying to seek him. And I got to tell you, it was a transforming experience for me and one of the great trips. I've been over there 52 times, and I'm a little bit in jet lag, and I wanted to just take a moment to share with you something that was on my heart from the trip and then next week we're going to be back in full swing got some great topics i want to share with you but i i just had to share with you something that was

was on my heart on the heels of coming back from the sea of galilee you know every time i go there i am reminded that i'm walking in the footsteps of jesus the footsteps of the blessed virgin mary the the apostles and every time i go which is every january i take pilgrim over there, it always changes my life. And people ask me, they say, well, do you ever get tired of going to the Holy Land? And I say, no, I really don't because of two things. One, God always has me on a pilgrimage, and he's always showing me things. And the other is, I just love seeing people transformed. I love watching their faces. They come to Copernum or Bethlehem or Nazareth, Jerusalem, the Jordan River, the Sessaria Meritima, where Paul appealed to Caesar.

It always changes me. And I really love it. You know, this year on this pilgrimage, which is my 52nd, the one thing that I was struck by is just how busy we are in the United States and how preoccupied we are with so many things that really are not important, but what is really, really important is following Jesus, the relationship with Jesus. I can't stress how important that that that's number one on our list. And as I was walking on the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee, in fact, I was at the place of the primacy of Peter, where Jesus was dealing with Peter, I talked about it on an earlier show. I was just struck by how real this relationship is with him, and that theology, teachings, it's all so, so important. But if we never get around

walking with him, around the sea, walking with him on a daily basis, growing and listening to his wisdom, and putting it in a practice on a daily basis, and then going back to him and saying, how did I do? How am I advancing in the spiritual life? Then a lot of this is really ending up in a non-productive Christianity, a non-productive relationship with God. And on this trip, there was such a contrast between walking with Jesus on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Nazareth, all these states, Bethlehem. There's such a difference between walking with him. and the busyness, or what I would call the tyranny of the urgent back home. And particularly in the area of media and entertainment, you know, staying busy, watching this,

listening to that, posting this, you know, on the internet. And at the same time, God is calling us to that intimate relationship. I guess the reason that I'm bringing it up to you today is just to remind you that if you're heart is empty, if your heart is longing for more, if your mind wants to go places with God that you don't really have time for on a daily basis, make the changes in your life to pursue Christ and the relationship with the Lord. That really is the number one thing. We had 112 pilgrims and I think probably, I don't know, 70 of them were in their 20s and early 30s. And I was so blessed to be with them, to see their enthusiasm, their hunger, their desire to

want more of Jesus. Father Mike and I were talking, and we both, you know, agreed that it's these young people that really have an influence on us and make us better teachers. And I have made friends on this last pilgrimage that are going to last, hopefully, for eternity. Really, really good people. And I hope you get a chance to come with me sometime to the Holy Lamb. You know, I'm reminded of what Jesus said because we went up from Copernum on the northern shores up to the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus spent time in prayer. And the catechism says in paragraph 2602, his words and works are the visible manifestation of his prayer in secret. Everything, in other words, emanated from this filial relationship that Jesus had with the father and he made it number one and everything he did

everything he said all of his relationships his encounters were the result of his private time with the father and Jesus said in John 1315 and I'll put these in the show notes he said I have given you an example and as I'm fresh off off this trip you know on the heels of this trip I'm just reminded of how focused Jesus was, to do the Father's will. And he said, I have given you an example to live like me. He said in Matthew 633, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. And I'm thinking about all the things, you know, in the West that we are seeking constantly, whether it's physical or non-tangible things, whether it's, you know, old brick and mortar types of things, or whether it's internet, you know,

in the digital age. He says, seek me first. In one evening, I was sitting in a lounge with a lot of these young adults, and we were talking about the internet, we were talking about social media, and everybody, I think, kind of agreed that we need a break from time to time, and we just need to get real and walk and walk with the Lord. And how many people secretly were saying, if I could, I'd drop out of a lot of these things and I would spend more time on my relationship with the Lord. And thanks to that, what the Jews call Kavanaugh, that focus on Jesus, that intention attitude, that, you know, that attitude that says, Lord, I'm going to pursue you. He says in John 17, I completed the work that you gave me to do. and that's what I was reminded of when I was walking in Israel this last week is, Lord,

there's so many things that I could do and so many things I could become preoccupied with, but Lord, I want to complete the work that you have given me to do. And deep down inside, isn't that what you're longing for as well? I want to complete the work that you gave me to do. And now in order to do that, we go back to that very popular scripture in Matthew 11, 28, where Jesus said, come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. I guess this is just a short show in a little bit of a jet lag on the way back, but a short show that's reminding you, hey, let's seek Christ.

Let's put away the distractions, and let's seek him. know him understand his heart understand his plan and give ourselves over to that a special shout out to all those who went on the trip with me on this great pilgrimage and uh and i hope that i hope that you can unpack everything that we learned and that and that you can grow closer to jesus as a result of it i'm a big believer in pilgrimages i'm a big believer in taking time out of your schedule to say, Lord, I have been so busy. I have been posting this. I've been surfing. I've been doing so many things. But Lord, I need to take the time for you right now. But I was sitting here thinking, I just want to share that with you. And I'm going to be back next week with a full show.

I've got some great ideas that I want to share with you. Once again, go to iTunes and make comments and follow. It really helps in the algorithms. Really appreciate that. And if you have have a question for me or anything you would like me to talk about, especially about the trip, you can email me at the Jeffcaven Show at ascensionpress.com. Well, that's it for today. God bless you. Seek the Lord. Go after what will really satisfy your life. God bless you.