Forty Days~Water~Desert~Lent~Forty Nights

~~~ First Sunday of Lent ~~~

~~~ Genesis 9:8-15 ~~~ Psalm 25 ~~~ 1 Peter 3:18-22 ~~~ 

~~~ Mark 1:12-15 ~~~

Forty Days of Lent has deep meaning for us...

God sent a great flood. It rained for forty days and forty nights,

but God saved Noah, his family and pairs of animals of all species.

Jesus is led into the desert to be tried and tempted 

by the devil for forty days and nights.

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, 

and he remained in the desert for forty days,

tempted by Satan.

Jesus was alone in the desert...a time of solitude and torment.

He was being tested by Satan...Satan needed to prove

 to himself that Jesus was truly the Son of God.

The Spirit drove Jesus into the desert.

Was this time of temptation part of God's plan?

Was it necessary for Jesus to be put to the test?

Did Jesus need to have a personal encounter with Satan?

Is this what gave Jesus his later power over the Evil One?

After these temptations in the desert the Evil One

 knew that Jesus was the Savior.

After the flood God promised to never again destroy

 the Earth with floods.

He sends a brilliant rainbow

 to spread across the sky sealing his promise.

Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those 

who keep your covenant.

God did not abandon Jesus while he was in the desert;

he sent the angels to minister to him.

The angels were not there to prevent the attacks from Satan

they were present to let Jesus know he was not alone.

God has given us our own guardian angel.

In times of temptation it is this angel 

that comes to our assistance.

The waters of our Baptism is a reminder 

of the covenant God made with Noah.

Through our Baptism waters we are saved.

Forty Days...flood...rainbow...

...desert...Satan...temptation...salvation...

Remember the Blessings of the Rainbow.

It is true there can be no rainbow without the rains.

Jesus overcame the temptations in the desert for our salvation.

Repent, and believe in the gospel.

~~~Peace~~~

What is Around the Next Corner?

~~~ Ephesians 4:32-5:8 ~~~ Psalm 1 ~~~ Luke 13:10-17 ~~~

Live as children of light. 
Let no one deceive you with empty arguments...

The elders of the synagogue wanted to dictate
when those seeking healing would be allowed access.
Their intention was to harness the healing power of God...Jesus.
They wanted to parameters upon the powers of God,
which of course no human can do.

In their desire to be in control they attack
 Jesus for breaking the Jewish law of the Sabbath rest.

If this were to be enforced today our hospitals
 which virtually shut down every Sunday.
No one would receive care on Sundays...
not even an emergency room would be open.
Consider how many people would potentially die if they
could not receive medical care on Sunday.

Luckily this is not the case today.

Medical care is administered
twenty four hours a day seven days a week.

There is however, one thing that still lingers, cited in today's Gospel.

The crippled woman who presented herself
after eighteen years of suffering probably
 had some form of osteoporosis.
She was unable to stand upright.

This daughter of Abraham,
whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now...

This belief that sickness is caused
 by Satan still lingers among us today.
Some continue to believe that sickness
 is even a punishment for their sins.

A woman I dearly love is actually anxious
 if her life is going too smoothly.
She is of the opinion that something bad
 is coming in the near future.

This fear actually robs her
 of relishing the blessings she has in her life.
We should not live every day trying to anticipate
 what is around the next corner.

Even illness, as you know,
has the potential to bring forth goodness.
Physical illness can bring healing within the heart.

The elders were trying to set their own boundaries
 around Jesus and that will never be possible.
There are no boundaries within which
 you can keep the power of God.

They failed to deceive Jesus with their idle empty words.
Jesus healed the woman by fulling the spirit of the word.
Jesus healed the woman because of his great capacity for compassion.
Jesus healed this woman because she asked for his healing.

Jesus brought light into our world of darkness.
We are to live as children of light.
To live as children of the light we must be open,
we must not even attempt to put fences around God's power.

If Satan curses people with afflictions here on Earth,
which we personally ignore,
 he will not prevail.

Light disperses all darkness.
Jesus is the light...he heals through the light of the Father.
Satan, who is darkness, cannot win.

We are Blessed with the Light of Christ.
Live as Children of this Light.
~~~Peace~~~

Actions Have Consequences

~~~ Isaiah 50:4-9a ~~~ Psalm 69 ~~~ Matthew 26:14-25 ~~~

“What are you willing to give me
if I hand him over to you?”

We may not say these exact words, 

but we do express the same sentiment of the heart

in our sinfulness.

When we chose sin we are choosing something other than God.

We are choosing the pleasures of sin.

When we are in sin we are handing over our soul 

in much the same way Judas handed over Jesus.

They paid him thirty pieces of silver,
and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.

We may not consciously think about in a monetary way.

Judas betrayed Jesus for a bribe.

Judas betrayed Jesus for an empty promise.

Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss of friendship.

It is worth noting that the price of a slave 

was about thirty silver shekels...

the equivalent of three months wages.

Judas gave up his soul when he betrayed Jesus;

he became a slave to Satan.

Satan tempted him and seduced him into the darkness.

What would you be willing to betray Jesus for?

Would it be financial gain...

fame...or satisfactions of the flesh.

I am afraid that sometimes we commit sin 

without fully comprehending the price.

Later we will hear that Judas was distraught as he learned 

Jesus was to be killed.

Too many times our sins are committed 

with only the immediate rewards in view.

We do not see the greater consequences of our offenses.

Judas was greedy and wanted more money;

he never agreed to take part in the actual killing of Jesus.

So I can see his great remorse as the hours

 and the reality of what he had done unfolded.

What Judas put in motion he could not stop.

It was all down hill like a runaway train on a collision course.

Part of me actually feels sorry for Judas, 

because he did not allow the grace of God to stop him from acting.

Every day we must pay attention to the words of the Our Father...

...lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil...

I invite you to pray for the blessing of God's grace;

especially when you are confronted with your

'thirty pieces of silver'.

Peace.

Reflect His Glory

~~~ Isaiah 49:1-6 ~~~ Psalm 71 ~~~ John 13:21-33, 36-38 ~~~

I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

God is commissioning us to go beyond our local church community...
beyond our circle of friends.
We are called to shine our light to the ends of the earth.
Our light, which comes from the Lord,
is a reflection of his glory.
We are light because he is our source.
Without his light we would have no light of our own.

He shares his light with us through the grace of our salvation.
It is his grace that continues to keep our light burning brightly.
We must share what God has done for us.
We are called to tirelessly speak of his wondrous love.

The LORD called me from birth,
from my mother’s womb he gave me my name.
We have each been chosen by God.
He not only knows our name he has counted every hair on our head.
There is no one who could love you more.
We must let the sparkle of God's love radiate out to others.

Jesus indicates to the apostles that the one to whom
 he gives the morsel of bread will betray him.

Jesus names Judas without actually speaking his name.

After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.

Did Judas give his soul to Satan?
Did Satan seize upon the opportunity to take control of him?

Apparently not even the presence of Jesus is protection enough from evil.
Judas took the morsel from the hand of Jesus and Satan entered him.
This whole string of events is a little troubling.

Did Jesus know that Judas had already entered into sin in his heart?
When we have already become weakened by our own sinfulness,
 what happens next is crucial.

Jesus had to be betrayed in order for his subsequent arrest could take place.
Jesus had to be betrayed in order for us to be redeemed.

It makes me more determined to be vigilant of the state of my soul.
To be more aware of what I allow to curl up in my heart.

The evil in the heart of Judas was like a snake
waiting to strike its victim.

Jesus had the Father by his side to give him strength.
Jesus knew he would be raised from the dead by the Father.

Hold on to Jesus.
He is our strength. He is our hope.
He is our Savior.
He has made us a light to shine before others.

Blessed to be a tiny reflection of the glory of God
in a world filled with so much darkness.

Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him...

Let us glory in the cross today.
Peace.

Only One Can Reign in Your Heart

~~~ Hebrews 9: 15, 24-28 ~~~ Psalm 98 ~~~ Mark 3: 22-30 ~~~

 

Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.

 

The mighty one has indeed done marvelous deeds for us.

Through the pouring out of his own blood and not that of a sacrificial animal

he completed the offering once and for all.

His one single perfect sacrifice expiated the sins of the whole world for all ages.

No human before him had been capable of this sacrifice.

He was fulfilling the will of the one who sent him.

He was not going through the sacrificial ritual;

he was the sacrifice.

 

The scribes were puzzled by what Jesus was accomplishing through his powers.

They were perhaps a little jealous as well.

Whenever you are jealous of someone you try to make light of anything

that they do that you want to be able to do too.

 

This is one such example...

the scribes decide that because Jesus can cast out demons,

which they connect with evil, he must be aligned with evil as well.

Obviously Satan would not listen to anyone other than one of his own kind.

 

Way back in the Garden of Eden Satan obviously thought that he had the upper hand.

He believed that we humans were going to be easily swayed to join him in his evil ways.

To some extent he was correct, but then Jesus came and things began to change.

 

Satan needed someone greater and stronger to overcome his wickedness.

Someone more powerful did indeed come in the person of Jesus.

Jesus knew who Satan was all too well.

 

"How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided,
he cannot stand;
that is the end of him..."

 

You can either pledge your allegiance to God or Satan.

The two cannot simultaneously reign in your heart.

You cannot decide one day to be on the side of evil and the next the side of good.

But we are weak human beings and the temptations presented before us require

us to be ever vigilant.

This is not always easily accomplished it is a constant battle.

 

 

Today we join the Dominicans in honoring Saint Thomas Aquinas, doctor of the church.

He was one of the most important Medieval philosophers and theologians.

 

The Summa Theologica is his most well known writing.

You might look it up later.

 

A few quotes from St. Thomas...

 

The things that we love tell us what we are.

 

How can we live in harmony?

First we need to know we are all madly in love with the same God.

 

 Love takes up where knowledge leaves off.

 

To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary.

To one without faith, no explanation is possible.

 

Wonder is the desire for knowledge.

 

Grant me, O Lord my God,
a mind to know you,
a heart to seek you,
wisdom to find you,
conduct pleasing to you,
faithful perseverance in waiting for you,
and a hope of finally embracing you.
Amen.

 

Saint Thomas Aquinas, pray for us.

Selfless or Selfish: Which One?

~~~ Daniel 3: 25, 34-43 ~~~ Psalm 25 ~~~ Matthew 18: 21-35 ~~~

"...with a contrite heart and humble spirit let us be received...let our sacrifice be in your presence today...as we follow unreservedly...we follow you with our whole heart..." (Daniel)

Fire consumes and purifies. Fire consumes things that are flammable like fibers, paper, and cardboard. Fire purifies silver and precious metals, but does not consume in the process.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the white hot furnace for refusing to worship the golden statue made for King Nebuchadnezzar. As the three prayed and praised God for his faithfulness, they proclaimed, 'Deliver us by your wonders, and bring glory to your name, O Lord.'

They asked God to intervene on their behalf.
Later, after Jesus' baptism, Satan uses a similar argument attempting to manipulate Jesus to respond to his requests. Jesus rebukes the devil, saying, 'You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.' 

Here we have a stark contrast in motivation. Satan is tempting Jesus and the three men in the fiery furnace are surrendering in their supplication to God.  Both incidents use a similar approach in their choice of words.

We can be guilty of the same in our prayer. Do our words always reflect our true motivation? Are we simply using the same words we have used as a child; only now with different motivation?

Jesus was obedient to the will of the Father securing salvation for us. Our salvation was his motivation. What is your motivation in prayer? Are your prayers a reflection of selfishness or selflessness?

God sent an angel to save the three from the fire because their prayer was honest and sincere. They are examples of complete trust in God.

They model for us praying in humility; knowing you have nothing to offer to God for his love.
We have "...no way of paying (it) back..." to the Lord for being spared from the consuming fire. Instead we humbly beseige God to "...be patient with me...". (Matthew)

All that we can give back to God is to be available for him to use...
to be willing to do his will...
to come before him with open palms and a humble heart.

To follow him unreservedly, with our whole heart
is the best we can offer for repayment.

"May the Lord, our God, bless us in all our works and undertakings."
(Dt. 15:10)