Pay Attention...

~~~ Zechariah 2:5-9, 14-15A ~~~ (Psalm) Jeremiah 31:10, 11-12AB, 13 ~~~

~~~ Luke 9:43B-45 ~~~

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

Every year we see the terrific wild fires.
They race across the land consuming all in the path of the flames.
The Lord tells the prophet that his fire will be one of protection.
The Lord's fire will create a wall circling around Jerusalem.

This will be a time of great joy...
a time to sing and dance.
The Lord will come to dwell with the people;
he will be the glory in their midst.

The Lord continues to live among us...with us...
the glory of his presence is with us even today.

Do you recognize the glory of the Lord
in our world today?

The Lord continues to encircle us with us...
not with fire but with his great love and protection.
This is the permanent yet invisible protection he extends to you.

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

Jesus was speaking to those physically present before him,
but his command to pay attention
is relevant for us today.

Unfortunately some still do not understand
the significance of the actions of Jesus.

His death overcame the darkness of sin.
His death becomes the glory that lives with us.
You participate in this glory if you so chose.

We have the opportunity to share the glory of God
every day as we engage with our neighbors.

Allow yourself to always be amazed by the Lord.
Our Lord, who has power to tame the flames of fire
forming them into a protective circle.

Our Lord, who defied death
to bring us to everlasting life with him.

There is nothing greater than the glory of God.
It is more than we can comprehend...
greater than the sun...
more powerful than fire and water.

"Pay Attention..."
there is more to come...
you do not want to miss what God has planned for you.

Jesus destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.

Blessings to be the heart and soul
of the glory of the Lord.

~~~Peace~~~

Would You Want to Know in Advance?

~~~ Saint Vincent de Paul ~~~
~~~ Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:8 ~~~ Psalm 90 ~~~ Luke 9:43B-45 ~~~

Saint Vincent de Paul dedicated himself to serving the poor.

He is known for his compassion, humility, and generosity.
"The Great Apostle of Charity"
Vincent himself was captured and auctioned off to the highest bidder as a slave.
He lived in slavery for two years.

The Vincentian order of missionary priests remains in existence today.

“Pay attention to what I am telling you.
The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” 
But they did not understand this saying;
its meaning was hidden from them
so that they should not understand it,
and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

They did not understand...its meaning was hidden from them...
There have been so many times in my life when
I was not able to understand why certain things happen in my life.
Sometime later on I was able to see how God's plan was better,
of course, then what I had in mind.

God has told us that his ways are not our ways,
which means to me that we are not equipped to understand his ways.
We are limited in our view of even our own life.
If God had revealed to anyone who has survived a catastrophic
what was going to happen to them it would have
had them trembling with fear.
God cannot reveal to us in advance exactly
how the events in our life will work out. 

The way we come to some understanding God's ways
 is to pay attention to what he is telling us,
but to also pay attention after the fact to the outcomes and results.

God does have a plan for our lives...it is for good
even when it seems otherwise at the moment.

Many times we may never know the good that has occurred.

Perhaps you were in the right place
 at the right time without ever knowing it.

Since we cannot understand the ways of God
we are left with one alternative...
We must place our trust completely in him.
We must trust even as we ask why.

The Blessings we receive every day
are not contingent upon our understanding.
Trust in his wisdom.
~~~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.