Joy Stronger than Pain

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 18:9-18 ~~~ Psalm 47 ~~~ 

~~~ John 16:20-23 ~~~

But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice,
and no one will take your joy away from you.

God told Paul in a vision to not be afraid...
to go on speaking of Jesus.
In today's Gospel we hear about our mourning turning into joy.

When we are facing trials and suffering in our life
we should cling to this message of being not afraid...
We should trust that our suffering is actually temporary.

But I will see you again...

Jesus is telling us he will see us again,
but the promise of the Resurrection implies that
we will see our loved ones as well.
Our loved ones who have gone before us
already know the joy that we seek.

...your hearts will rejoice...

When we see Jesus in heaven our hearts will rejoice
any fear and sadness previously experienced will be forgotten.

The pain a woman experiences during childbirth
 pales in comparison to the joy of giving birth to her child.

In this the joy far surpasses the physical pain.

...no one will take your joy away from you...

When you find true joy no one can take it away.
The martyrs went to their brutal deaths
with joy in their hearts.
They overcame their fears
because they believed they
 would be in heaven with Jesus.

If you do not believe that you will see Jesus again
there is little reason to believe in the after life.

Our joy can be greater than our pain and fears.
Grace nourishes our joy.
Grace keeps our supply of joy alive in our soul.

Our joy is not dependent on our physical existence.
Our joy must come from the Divine source of love.

Blessed with a joy that
sustains me in times of fear.

~~~Peace~~~

Pay Attention

~~~ Zechariah 2:5-9, 14-15a ~~~ Re: Jeremiah 31:10 ~~~Luke 9:43b-45~~~

 

The Lord needed to tell the people to pay attention;

he was about to reveal his own death to them.

They could not grasp his meaning, but he wanted

 them to at least listen to the words.

If the words you hear have no way to connect to something heard before

you can have no comprehension.

 

“Pay attention to what I am telling you.
The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.”

 

Hearing the Lord speak of the Son of Man made very little sense

 to his audience. They had no prior knowledge of this Son.

 

I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.

 

Today as we read these words of mourning, joy, consolation, and sorrow

we can relate. We experience these emotions in our lives.

They represent what it means to be human.

Life events may cause us to be mournful and filled with sorrow.

This is to be expected.

God is the one who makes it possible to once again experience joy.

God is the one who gives consolation...the one who takes our sorrow away.

 

 I will be for her an encircling wall of fire, says the LORD,
and I will be the glory in her midst.

 

Jerusalem has no wall of protection...it is vulnerable to the enemy.

God does not want his people to concern themselves

with this perceived weakness.

The Lord will protect with a ring of fire.

The Lord God himself has been with the Israelites for decades,

he would not abandon them now.

They are home where they belong. The temple

is where the glory of God will shine.

 

 

I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD.

 

If God was coming to dwell in our community

 can you imagine how we would feel?

Initially there might be some who would doubt it was true.

Others would be beside themselves with excitement.

Others would immediately begin the list of what

needed to be done before his arrival.

 

The whole community would be buzzing with joy and excitement.

The truth is the Lord is here with us, but where has all the excitement gone?

How is it that we have become numb to his presence?

 

It is good that the church gives us this reminder today.

Pay attention to what I am telling you.

God is in our midst at every moment, but we tend to get

caught up in this world of distractions.

 

Blessings come to those who pay attention.

He gladdens and consoles the soul.

Daughter, Your Faith has Saved You

~~~ Wisdom 1: 13-15; 2:23-24 ~~~ Psalm 30 ~~~ 2 Cor.8:7,9, 13-15 ~~~ Mark 5: 21-43 ~~~

Daughter, your faith has saved you.

(Mark 5:34)

The woman in today's gospel who had been bleeding for twelve years and the little twelve year old have more in common than you might think.

Both of these daughters wanted to choose life.

The child was choosing life through the intercession of her father.

The woman chose life by taking action herself to seek out Jesus.

The two females were blessed with restored life through the love and mercy of Jesus. 

"...For he fashioned all things that they might have being..."

(Wisdom)

Paul tells us that we live and move and have our being in him.

(Acts 17:28)

Daughter, your faith has saved you.

(Mark 5:34)

The adult woman in this gospel had been suffering for over a decade.

She was in a desparate state of mind.

The psalm chosen for today expresses how distraught she must have felt.

She may have even prayed this very psalm.

The Lord did indeed rescue her from her despair.

He had pity on her because she allowed her faith to lead her actions.

It was through her faith that she found the courage and

the strength to even approach Jesus.

Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper.

I can just imagine how her long years of mourning were suddenly

 turned into joyful dancing. I can just visualize how this woman

went about spreading the good news of her healing. I can hear her passionately

giving thanks to the Lord; perhaps even singing hymns of praise

morning noon and night.

Today it is difficult for us to understand what her life was truly

like as an outcast of society.

How difficult it must have been for her to just survive from one day to the next.

How physically, emotionally, and spiritually deprived she had become over time.

You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
(Psalm 30)

If you look closely at your life what causes you to dance with joy?

Have you found healing of mind, body, or spirit?

Have you ever felt close to despair because of a long term situation?

I invite you to give thanks to the Lord for all that he has done for you.

Thank the Lord in advance for the healing that is yet to come in your life.

Daughter, your faith has saved you.

(Mark 5:34)