John Bartunek - Seeking First the Kingdom: 30 Meditations on How to Love God with All Your Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength

2014 Fr. John Bartunek, L.C., S.Th.D.
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Published by Ministry23, LLC
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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture passages are taken from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All rights reserved.

Scripture passages marked RSV have been taken from the Revised Standard Version, Catholic edition. Copyright 1946, 1952, 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Quotes marked CCC are taken from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for the United States of America, 2nd ed. Copyright 1997 by United States Catholic ConferenceLibreria Editrice Vaticana.

Imprimi Potest, Luis Garza, LC, JDC

Cover design: Coronation Media
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ISBN 978-0-9916038-0-0

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014937369

Printed in the United States of America

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THIS BOOK IS mainly for those who are newly intrigued by Jesus Christ and find themselves wanting to follow him more closely. That desire is the most precious gift God can give to a human heart, because friendship with Jesus Christ is the only path to lasting fulfillment.

But if you feel that desire deeplyif you truly burn with a longing to know Jesus more and more clearly, to love him more and more dearly, and to follow him more and more nearly (to borrow three phrases from a medieval prayer by St. Richard of Chichester)you will run up against obstacles and roadblocks every step of the way. These obstacles can easily drain that precious desire to seek greater intimacy with God. They can disorient, discourage, and jade even the most well-intentioned Christians. And that can happen at any point in the spiritual journey: the beginning, the middle, or the end. So this book is not only for those just starting. Its also for those who would like some fresh encouragement and some motivating reminders along the way.

One sure way to keep our holy desires strong and vibrant, in spite of roadblocks, is to understand the concept of spiritual integration: bringing every dimension of our being and personality into play in our relationship with God.

Friendship with Christ is a unique friendship, because Jesus is a unique friend. He is not only a loyal and loving companion; he is also the Lord Creator and Redeemer of the human race, uniquely worthy of worship and obedience. Friendship with Christ grows, therefore, by allowing Christs companionship and lordship to touch and transform every sector of our existence: all our internal powers, which subsequently manifest themselves in all our external activities. This extension of Christs influence to every corner of our life is the essence of spiritual integration; we gradually integrate, more and more deeply, every facet of our person and experience into our friendship with Jesus Christ. We learn to live more and more in Jesus, and he comes to live more and more in us. This is the amazing journey toward spiritual maturity.

This mysterious connection between Christ and the Christian constitutes one of the main themes of the New Testament. St. Paul especially refers to the phrase in Christ over and over again. Everything changes for the person who has come to share in Christs life:

So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.(2 Corinthians 5:17)

And Jesus himself becomes the life of the one who welcomes him through faith:

I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me. (Galatians 2:1920)

Normal friendship entails an intimate sharing between two people. As Aristotle is attributed with saying, friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies. But when one of those two souls is infinite and perfect, then intimate sharing is not enough. In this case, the lesser of the two must also allow himself to be transformed and elevated by the greater. This is the case with a Christian and Christ. We must walk with Jesus through life, but we also must humbly and lovingly conform ourselves to Christ (this is what it means to follow Jesus Christ) in order to allow this grace-filled friendship to reach maturity. Only thus can we enter fully into Christs kingdomthe one kingdom where our longings for an eternally meaningful life can be fulfilled.

We are not alone in our efforts to conform to Christ. Jesus accompanies us, and actually enables us, every step of the way, especially through the presence and action of the Holy Spirit. St. John Paul II, whose words will accompany you along your journey through these thirty meditations, repeated that essential truth over and over again. For example:

Following Christ is not an outward imitation, since it touches man at the very depths of his being. Being a follower of Christ means becoming conformed to him who became a servant even to giving himself on the cross. Christ dwells by faith in the heart of the believer, and thus the disciple is conformed to the Lord. This is the effect of grace, of the active presence of the Holy Spirit in us.

And yet, Jesus refuses to do all the work himself. He includes us in the project, sharing the work with us. We have to choose, freely and repeatedly, to be faithful to the friendship. Otherwise, it would not be a friendship at allwe would just be pre-programmed Christian robots. But thats not what we were created for. We were created in Gods image, to give glory to him by freely living in communion with him, in whom alone we find our lasting happiness.

And so, in this Christian adventure, in this journey toward spiritual maturity, we have a part to play. We are co-protagonists in the process of integrating every facet of our existence into our friendship with Jesus. We are co-conquerors in the battle to bring every sector of our personality and experience and activity under the infinitely wise and sure rule of Christ the Lord.

How do we do our part? How do we cooperate with Jesus to Christianize every single corner of our lives? Jesus sums up the answer with a liberating simplicity:

But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. (Matthew 6:33)

Seeking Gods kingdom first, seeking to allow Christ the Eternal King to rule and guide our lives in accordance with his wisdom, goodness, and love, seeking to abide by the Lords life-giving standards in all that we think, say, and dothis is every Christians primary task. It is the basic commitment that we make when we fall in love with God and give our hearts to him. Following through on that commitment is how we do our part in allowing Gods grace free rein to order and energize our lives on earth, and to bring us to the fullness of eternal life in heaven.

Seeking something involves knowing about it, wanting it, and going out to take possession of it. These three activities correspond to the three basic powers of the human soul: the