Is the Choice Clear?

~~~  Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious ~~~

~~~ Revelation 1:1-4; 2:1-5 ~~~ Psalm 1 ~~~ Luke 18:35-43 ~~~

Realize how far you have fallen.
Repent, and do the works you did at first.
Otherwise, I will come to you
and remove your lampstand from its place,
 unless you repent.

As the liturgical year is coming to a close we are reminded to repent.
As humans are prone to do; we have gotten off the path.
We are reminded to return to our initial good works.

This is of utmost importance lest our lampstand is removed.
Why is this important?
Would we not still have our light?

The lampstand is first mentioned in Exodus.
God gives detailed instructions about the
golden lampstand to be kept in the holy place of the tabernacle.
The lamps were to tended so as their light would always be burning.

The lampstand was to radiate the light both day and night.
This lampstand was the only source of light.
Jesus is known as the light of the world.
He gives light, he is the source of our light.

We have been given the light of Christ...
we are children of the light.
If you are to shine the light of Christ
 then it is necessary for you to live holy life.

God is warning us to repent lest he takes away
 the lampstand and our light will no longer shine brightly.

The lampstand holds up the vessel of oil burning brightly.
Jesus is the support...Jesus is the lampstand.
Without him we could not be complete;
our light would not be able to burn brightly.

Jesus is the one who led his chosen people
 out of darkness into the light.

Those who are victorious I will feed from the tree of life.

(Rev. 2:17)

The tree of life begins in the Garden of Eden
and continues into end times.
The tree of life given by God is life sustaining.
It bears fruit. It provides shelter. It is a safe place.
 It gives us hope.

God is the tree of life.
He takes care of all of our needs.
He waters the roots.
He prepares the soil. He prunes the dead branches.
He covers the branches with lush green leaves.
He ripens the fruit in the warmth of the sunshine.

He calls us to gather around this tree of life.
He is the Life.
This tree of life represents all that was, is and is to come.
This tree of life has no end...it continues to nourish
those who are faithful.

When we turn away from our sinful ways
 it is so much easier to access the tree of life.

If we want to be the light of Christ to others then
we must draw from the source, the tree of life.

Have sight; your faith has saved you.

Jesus is the light of the world high upon the lampstand
giving light to each of us.
Jesus is the life giving tree.

God is the giver of everything good
including eternal life.

The choice is clear; repent...
your light will continue to shine...
you will be fed from the tree of life.

He is waiting to feed us
 with his grace and Blessings.

~~~Peace~~~

Lampstand...Where is Yours?

~~~ 2 Samuel 7:18-19, 24-29 ~~~ Psalm 132 ~~~ Mark 4:21-25 ~~~

Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket
or under a bed,
and not to be placed on a lampstand?

Jesus is asking one of those rhetorical questions...

you know those questions where you really do not intend anyone to respond,

because the answer is so obvious.

A lamp is lit first of all to provide light 

to a space that is either poorly lit or entirely in darkness.

So why would you want to hide this lamp?

A lamp has to be carried with you.

A lamp has to brought into the space you wish to illuminate.

If you have ever been camping overnight or

experienced a power outage;

you know what it means to carry a lamp into the darkness.

The higher you raise the lamp the greater the area is illuminated.

Jesus is the Light of the World.

He came to illuminate the will of the Father.

He came to light the way for all of us on the journey.

He came to show us the way...to light the path.

Jesus did not come to stay hidden away...

to remain anonymous or obscure.

Jesus came to be a beacon for us so that 

we would not loose our way.

Everything that Jesus said and did was for one purpose...

to illuminate the great love the Father has for us.

We were the children who were in the dark,

but now we walk in the light.

Is the Light of Jesus high on your lampstand?

Even when there is visible light there can also be mystery.

What needs to be illuminated in your life?

Let the blessings of the light lead you

to the Father.

Peace.

Salt and Light

~~~ Kings 17: 7-16 ~~~ Psalm 4 ~~~ Matt. 5: 13-16 ~~~

Salt and Light...two things very important and familiar to the early Christians.

Salt as we know is important even for us today. In Biblical times salt was used to create a covenant with another individual.

Salt is a preservative; so without the luxury of refrigeration meat was encased in salt to keep it from spoiling. Salt is necessary for our body to function properly. Without salt your body suffers grave consequences.

Salt is as important as water for the human body.

Back to the covenant of salt used in the Bible. A Biblical salt covenant was unbreakable with the penalty being death.

In Pauls letter to the Colossians he say, "Let you speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you know how you should respond to each other."

The words we speak to one another when seasoned with salt will be words of kindness

...words used to preserve the relationship between you and the other person.

Honoring a salt covenant implies being honest and trustworthy.

You would not blindlessly or carelessly enter into a salt covenant.

If for some reason a salt covenant is to be dissolved then it would no longer be

useful for either participant. A broken trust would break the covenant. Later of course through reconcilliation another convenant could be agreed upon.

Immediately following this example of the salt covenant Jesus speaks of light.

Back in thise days it got really dark once the sun set. They did not have the modern conveniences we have today...electricity. Fire provided their source of light either on a torch or in the form of an oil lamp.

On occasion when our power has been out I have experimented with lifting the candle or the flashlight up higher as opposed to waist level. What I discovered is that when to light is lifted higher it casts light on a wider area.

So it makes sense that the oil lamp would be placed on a lampstand.

The lampstand would also serve as place of safety for the fire.

Naturally it is difficult to hide an open flame especially under a basket.

Perhaps Jesus is saying you cannot hide what I have given you. Plus you should not want to hide your gifts. Instead let your light shine for all to see just as your words are seasoned with salt. You light must illuminate the path as you journey with your sisters and brothers.

Whatever gifts God has given you must be taken out and used not kept hidden under a basket. For even under a basket tiny bits of light will still escape. Light is powerful.

Even the smallest source of light pierces the darkness.

No matter what you may think about your gifts when we join our gifts together for one cause the combined light created will shine like a beacon into the darkness.

Jesus is the Light of the World he came to dispel all darkness.

We needed him to bring us his light otherwise we would still be stumbling in the darkness. Even today, we have those who do not want to see the light and keep themselves closed off in the darkness.

Just as the widows flour and jar of oil was replenished;

our light souce will never run out of fuel. We only have to return to him often

and our light will be made bright once again.

Keep the flame burning!