More Than White Noise

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 9:31-42 ~~~ Psalm 116 ~~~

~~~ John 6:60-69 ~~~

It is the Spirit that gives life, while 

the flesh is of no avail.

The words I have spoken to 

you are Spirit and life.

God has extended to each one of us

an open invitation to eternal life with him.

We on the other hand make up excuses

 as to why this is not true.

While our excuses become our reality

 we build walls between ourselves and God.

We do this to ourselves.

We push the Spirit into the background of our lives.

We consider the Spirit to be white noise,

which we can routinely ignore.

You can download a white noise app 

but you cannot download the Spirit.

Just as in Biblical times, we too turn and walk away 

because we cannot accept what is true.

Jesus was prepared for the apostles to turn away from him.

But Peter hits the nail on the head when he says...

 “Master, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life.

We have come to believe

and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

Have you come to believe?

Do you believe that Jesus has the words of eternal life?

Do you believe that the Spirit is working in our midst?

It is the Spirit that gives us and sustains our animation.

We live and move and breathe in the Spirit.

When we leave this world it is our Spirit that leaves our body.

It is the Spirit that gives us the qualities of being alive.

No matter how close science comes to creating a mechanical being

they will never be able to 'create' a Spirit.

The breath of the Spirit was given to us by God.

Once we take our final breath the Spirit 

returns to God for all of eternity.

In the early church some of the apostles 

could call upon God to return the Spirit 

into the body of one who had died.

Jesus allowed them to tap into his divine power of life.

They did not possess it of their own workings.

The apostles could only do as much as the Lord permitted.

I can imagine their awe and surprise the first time

 they healed someone or called their spirit 

to come back into the body.

How shall I make a return to the Lord for all 

the good he has done for me?

Psalm 116 reminds us to be cognizant of the life we have

in the Spirit...through the Spirit...and of the Spirit. 

God is with us in every breath we take 

whether it is a deep cleansing breath 

or a shallow weak breath.

The Holy One of God

lives in you.

...to whom shall you go?

The Spirit is not white noise.

The Spirit is our Life!

Let each breath make a grateful 

return to the Lord.

Fill your lungs completely with his life.

Blessed to have Spirit and Life...

gifts from God. 

God himself!

~~~Peace~~~

Spirit and Life

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 9:31-42 ~~~ Psalm 116 ~~~ John 6:60-69 ~~~

 Does this shock you?

In our world today there is not too many things that shock us.

We are surrounded, thanks to the media, with so many horrific things

 that we have become numb to being shocked.

What would shock you today?

Have you ever thought about it?

The terrible events on 9/11 certainly shocked our entire nation,

but now not even flying jets into buildings would shock us.

How sad our world has become.

I challenge you to look for anything positive that shocks you.

Jesus was preaching about wonderful things...

life eternal...nourishment from his body and blood...

raising people from the dead...

All of this was too much for many of his so called followers;

so they turned and walked away.

Would you have stayed?

Do you believe these things today?

Even if you are a faithful attendee at church; 

do you truly believe?

Do you still hold on to some form of doubt?

It is the Spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail.

The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.

Jesus is the only one who can nourish

 our soul and our body.

He gives us his spirit of life.

He gives us his body and blood to sustain our soul.

Who gives you more?

 Master, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.

I want to have the conviction

 like Peter when he spoke these words to Jesus.

To whom shall we go, there is no other like our God.

There is no other who has a fraction

 of the capacity to love like him.

There is no other who has the words of eternal life

even if they make such empty claims.

Let yourself be shocked, that is blessed,

 by something good and wonderful during the next few weeks.

It might not make the news, just let it shock your heart.

We are Blessed with Spirit and Life.

~~~Peace~~~

Words of Spirit and Life

~~~ Feast of Saint Andrew, the Apostle ~~~

 

~~~ Romans 10:9-18 ~~~ Psalm 19 ~~~ Matthew 4:18-22 ~~~

 

For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be enriched.

Jesus meets you where you are and begins to make your life more fruitful.

Paul says the Lord sends some to preach...through the preaching his words will be heard...if his words are heard then people

will come to believe...if people believe they will call on him.

How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!

 

When the Lord enters into your life you will never be the same.

Faith comes from what is heard and what is heard

comes through the words of Christ.

 

Andrew heard the words from the mouth of Jesus and immediately he believed.

 

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

 

When you hear the words of the Lord; the life you knew before is forever changed.

Consider the Blessed Mother, Mary; when she heard the words

of the Lord her life was immediately changed.

 

The day Peter and Andrew were called by the Lord they were going about

their normal daily routine. They were working their family fishing business.

They were respected contributing members of the community.

They were loved by their families.

They were most likely happy with their productive lives.

 

 

 

Imagine if today a stranger came up to you and said these very same words...

"Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."

 

Would you be willing to leave all that you knew to follow a stranger?

Sitting here today I can honestly say I probably would not

immediately walk away from where I am.

 

When Jesus calls us he considers our talents and gifts;

 enriching them for his use.

We are called to leave behind our former ways.

We are called to come follow him.

We are invited to something better without knowing

what it will be or how it will manifest itself.

  

 On this last day of November and the end of this section of Ordinary Time

we are given the images of beautiful feet bringing the word of the Lord to others.

 

We are also reminded that receiving Christ into your life is accompanied by your desire to be enriched...to be brought into a new life...a new purpose for living.

 

The words of the Lord are Spirit and Life...

a new life; for he makes all things new.

The Spirit of the Lord enriches our life each and every day.

Whom Will You Serve?

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

~~~Joshua 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b~~~Psalm 34~~~Eph 5:2a, 25-32~~~John 6:60-69~~~

 

Unless you are a robot or under some hypnotic spell

you have had the occasion to question your faith.

It is normal to to have doubts from time to time.

 

Have you ever disagreed with one of the church's teachings?

Have you ever not been in total agreement

with the teachings or mandates of the church?

Most of us can answer yes to these questions,

but we chose to remain faithful in spite of our questions.

 

But many people make the choice to leave the church

when they disagree, or have felt rejected by the church,

or been denied access to the sacraments as a result of past choices.

 

This is where the disciples of Jesus find themselves today.

They just cannot accept his teachings about the Bread of Life.

 

"This saying is hard; who can accept it?"

 

Because they could not believe and accept his teaching

they turned and walked away.

It must have been disappointing to Jesus

to be rejected in this way.

Even though Jesus knew what was in their hearts

he still delivered his message.

 

Joshua is addressing a similar situation today with his people...

"If it does not please you to serve the LORD,
decide today whom you will serve..."

 

His question was, which God are you going to serve?

Joshua gave them an ultimatum.

He was not willing to tolerate indecision.

 

The people were so reluctant to change

from their service to their idol gods.

Finally he says you can decide for yourself,

"...As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

 

The people were able to use right judgment

and in the end put aside their doubts.

They were able to make the connection

and see that the goods things they had experienced had indeed

come from God.

 

"...Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God."

It is good for us also to be reminded of all that God

has done for us throughout our life.

He truly is the God of Spirit and Life.

It is the Spirit of the Lord that gives us life.

It is the Spirit of God that speaks to us in the scriptures

and in the teachings of the church.

The Spirit has provided guidance for the church to continue to flourish.

 

Jesus emphasizes the gift of faith, which comes from the Father.

"For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me
unless it is granted him by my Father."

As people turned away and left,

 Jesus gives his apostles the chance to make the same decision.

"Do you also want to leave?" 

 

Jesus never requires one to stay with him against their will.

 

Unlike some cults we have witnessed in our time,

Jesus always invites you to freely follow him.

Likewise you are free to leave his community of faith.

Jesus does not take us as prisoners

or slaves...

we are free.

We are free to accept the results of our choices.

 

 

Taste and See the goodness of the Lord

and you will make the best decisions.

As for me and my house we have made the choice to serve the Lord.

We have made the choice for the Spirit and the Life of the Lord.

What have you chosen?