Pile of Hardships

~~~ 2 Corinthians 11:18, 21-30 ~~~ Psalm 34 ~~~ Matthew 6:19-23 ~~~

...store up treasures in heaven...

Whatever trials, tribulations or hardships

 we endure during our life they are not in vain.

Our suffering while here on earth 

is building up treasure for us in heaven.

Paul endured much suffering while

 he was ministering to the people.

He was tortured, imprisoned, beaten and starved

just to name a few of his hardships.

Paul never gave up he remained true to his calling...

he was resolved to do the will of God.

He believed that the reward for his faithfulness 

would come in the next life...

his life in heaven.

Consider this vision for a moment.

As you go through life with various hardships,

eventually many of them pass.

Suppose these difficulties where to be set in a pile?

Every time a hardship comes along 

I invite you to mentally put it

 into your personal 'pile of hardships'.

As time progresses some of your piles may be quite high.

Perhaps some are toppling off the sides

falling to the ground just to be noticed once again.

Some may be poking out the side of the pile.

...store up treasures in heaven... 

What if when we get to heaven, when our eyes are opened,

we discover that all of these things have been transformed.

What if what we believed to be hardships 

were actually turning to gold.

If we could only see the true beauty of our hardships

maybe we would not be so reluctant to accept them.

The treasures we store up in heaven 

are directly related to our life here on earth.

Whatever trials you are experiencing 

God will turn into gilded blessings.

There will be no more tears and suffering in heaven.

May God teach us to see our hardships

as building up our treasure in heaven.

~~~Peace~~~

Led by Star-light

~~~ Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord ~~~

~~Isaiah 60:1-6~~Psalm 72~~Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6~~Matthew 2:1-12~~

This fascinating story of the Magi
is only found in the gospel of Matthew.
Three foreigners travel to see the new born king.
Being kings themselves, they brought
with them fine gifts to lay before the crib.
The magi from the East arrived in Jerusalem
after the birth of Jesus.
They had celestial guidance; a star
led them to where the holy family was staying.
Jesus was the light in the darkness of night.

We saw his star at its rising...

...the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them,
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star... 

We only think there were three travelers because
Matthew names three gifts...
gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Today there is still something about traveling
east to Bethlehem that draws millions of people every year.
It is a home coming of sorts; coming home to where
what we believe had its beginning.
The Holy Land will always attract both believers
and the curious traveler.
People I know who have been there say
they felt a sense of peace.

These three wise men represent all of us.
We all are on a journey to find Jesus.
We may not have expensive gifts to lay before him,
but we come just the same to pay him homage...
to knell before him.
We want to follow the star...his light.
He is the Light of the World...
The Child himself led these foreigners
to his crib by his light.

Whoever these wise men were being in the presence
 of the child Jesus profoundly changed them.
Somehow they were Blessed that day...
they were home...they were exactly
where they were supposed to be.
This is where they belonged and they were at peace.
They had no desire to return to Herod.

Being in the presence of Jesus
 blesses us with sufficient grace to no longer
have the desire to sin.

Three Profound Gifts

~~~ Solemnity of the Epiphany ~~~

 

~~~Isaiah 60:1-6~~~Psalm 72~~~Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6~~~Matthew 2:1-12~~~

 

Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

 

Today's Gospel gives us one of the most intriguing Biblical stories.

Who are these three men from afar?

And did a star really lead them to the manger? Really?

Matthew gives us the only gospel accounting of the three wise men.

 

These three brought gifts of great treasure.

The gifts symbolically represented all of who Jesus is...

King, Prophet, and Savior.

Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh,

the three gifts offered to pay homage to the infant Jesus.

 

The glory of the Lord was shining brightly over all the nations.

The heavens and the earth shall adore the Lord.

 

The prophet Isaiah foretold that great gifts would be brought before the Messiah.

Caravans of camels shall fill you,
dromedaries from Midian and Ephah;
all from Sheba shall come
bearing gold and frankincense,
and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.

 

The three wise men traveled miles across the desert.

The primary mode of transportation would have been on camels.

Camels were created to survive in the desert.

The Arabic meaning of camel means 'beauty'.

Contrary to popular beliefs, it is the shape of the camel's blood cells

that allows them to survive

long periods without water, not their humps.

 

Sheba was representative of royalty and wealth.

Due to the notoriety of the Queen of Sheba it would have been very significant

for those from Sheba would travel to the manger.

 

 

Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

 

The first gift of Gold

represents the kingship of the infant Jesus.

His kingdom, as we now know, was not of this world.

The kingdom of Jesus would be the eternal kingdom of God.

 

The second gift of Frankincense

represents the position of Jesus as priest.

Incense was part of the rituals preformed in the temple.

It also represents the Divinity of Jesus.

Today we still use incense during our special liturgies or high Masses.

Incense also represents our prayers rising up to God.

In many ways rising incense is mysterious.

 

The third gift of Myrrh

represents the death and crucifixion of Jesus.

Myrrh comes from a thorny tree.

When the tree is deeply wounded the resin drips out and is harvested.

Jesus would be crowned with thorns.

Jesus would be deeply wounded.

His blood would drip down.

Saving us one drop at a time.

Myrrh was often used in embalming by the ancient Egyptians.

 

The three gifts brought by the Magi are prophetic by their very nature.

The wise men could have brought other gifts of beauty and wealth,

but they chose Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.

 

'...upon you the LORD shines,
and over you appears his glory...'

 

We too can bring a gift to the infant Jesus.

The best gift we can give is the gift of ourselves.

Give back to God what he has given you...