Joyful Reunion

~~~ Genesis 46:1-7, 28-30 ~~~ Psalm 37 ~~~ Matthew 10:16-23 ~~~

I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves;

so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.

Sheep are naive, simple, and trusting of their shepherd.

Jesus sent the apostles out, while they were still 

like innocent sheep.

When you are doing the work of the Lord 

there will be pain and suffering.

All of the family of Joseph was suffering.

His brothers can claim responsibility for instigating most of it.

They were jealous and selfish.

God promises to turn our mourning into dancing...

God did indeed turn the mourning of Joseph into joy

just to see his aging father once again.

God also brought joy into the heart of his father

at seeing Joseph once again.

Together father and son wept tears of joy.

Jesus sends out the apostles carrying his joy in their heart.

Jesus sends them out with a warning that they

 will be subjected to suffering.

He also gives them confidence to speak his message.

...do not worry about how you are to speak

or what you are to say.

You will be given at that moment what you are to say.

Joseph had this same experience when he saw standing 

before him his very own brothers.

They had not seen each other for many years now.

He had no way of searching for his beloved father.

He had no way of knowing if he was still alive.

For it will not be you who speak

but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Truly it was God who put the words into the mouth of Joseph.

God blessed Joseph, reuniting him with his father.

God led Joseph and all of his family into the land of Egypt.

He turned their mourning into dancing and joy.

God wants to do the same for you.

Whatever mourning you are currently experiencing,

turn to God he will turn it into joy.

Blessings of Joy

in the Lord.

~~~Peace~~~

All About the Joy

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 19:1-8 ~~~ Psalm 68 ~~~ 

~~~ John 16:29-33 ~~~

In the world you will have trouble,

but take courage, I have conquered the world.

Jesus tries to prepare his disciples for the realities of the world.
They had seen how he suffered and was persecuted.
Now he was telling them that they too would have
many hardships to bear in the world.
Those who follow Jesus...
those who were and are believers
have never been spared hardships, pain, and suffering.

Even today it is not for us to question why
we have troubles in our life.

It is precisely when we are facing pain and suffering
that we must remember his words of courage.

We cling to this world because it is all that is visible.
We long to cling to heaven, but it is invisible to us.

Saint Paul tells us in his letter to the Colossians...

If then you were raised with Christ,
seek what is above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of the God.

We can take courage to keep our focus on what is above
because Jesus came into the world...
Jesus conquered the world on your behalf.

He is never far away from you.
He is with you...he loves you

None of us will escape this world without facing
 some heartaches or physical suffering.

It is the way of the world.
Take courage,
for the way of heaven is
all about the joy.

You are Blessed because
Jesus came into the world.
Jesus conquered the world for you.
Take Courage!
~~~Peace~~~

The Perfect Life

~~~ Hebrews 5:1-10 ~~~ Psalm 110 ~~~ Mark 2:18-22 ~~~

Son though he was, he learned obedience 

from what he suffered;

and when he was made perfect,

he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

There is one phrase above that puzzles me...

... when he (Jesus) was made perfect...

Wasn't Jesus perfect from the beginning of time?

Certainly he was the Word made flesh...

He came down from heaven to live among us, 

to be with us, to be one of us.

Just what needed to be perfected in the person of Jesus?

In order for Jesus to be fully human he had to experience 

all of the wonder and the ugliness of what it means to be human.

Jesus had to know what it meant to be hungry, to be rejected, 

to be misunderstood, to be accused, to be homeless, 

to be loved, to be cherished, to be mocked, to be betrayed, 

to be tortured and finally to be crucified.

Jesus was made perfect through all of these various aspects

 of being human because he overcame all of them.

 He was the one who was able to come out unscathed.

He was the one who would be victorious,

 just to save us.

He was the one who was made perfect 

through his sufferings;

suffered for you and for me.

Jesus showed us the way.

Jesus showed us that it is possible 

to endure for something greater.

Jesus showed us that there is

 no way to escape suffering.

Jesus showed us that we must carry our cross

 to be made perfect with him...

to reach our eternal reward of salvation.

We too are made complete through our suffering.

Our sufferings may not be as 

monumental as being nailed to a cross,

but nevertheless they are our sufferings.

How are you facing the struggles in your life today?

Jesus gives us sufficient grace to emerge from our sufferings

 just as he came out victorious.

Someday we too will share in the glory

 of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Perhaps there is some truth to the saying

no pain no gain.

Jesus does not want us to suffer,

 but he knows first hand that suffering is part 

of what it means to be human.

Jesus is the perfect vision of hope.

Without his suffering we might be asking

 a very different question today...

we might be asking if he really was God.

We may long for the perfect life, 

but the truth is not even Jesus had the 'perfect life'

he drew upon his relationship with the Father to keep going.

Our 'perfect life''

is achieved through our life long relationship with God.

Blessings bring us through our sufferings.
Peace

Will You 'Sync' With Jesus?

~~~Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~~~

 

~~Zechariah 12:10-11; 13:1~~Psalm 63~~Gal 3:26-29~~Luke 9:18-24~~

 

Jesus gets personal today with not only Peter but each of us.

'...who do you say that I am?'

 

This is the question we must answer for ourselves.

Jesus wants a direct answer not a string of empty words grouped together.

Jesus wants us to look at his face and speak to him.

 

Some will quickly claim Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Jesus goes on telling Peter what the future holds for him...

suffering, rebuke, death, and finally resurrection.

 

Those who confess belief in Jesus will also endure suffering and hardships.

 

 

"If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me."

 

Following Jesus is not like belonging to some elite country club.

Following Jesus is not a life of lounging around the pool sipping mint juleps.

Following Jesus is not sailing off to an exotic paradise island.

 

If you want to follow Jesus you must synchronize your life with his.

Now days in this age of technology we hear about 'syncing'

our data from one device to another.

With Jesus it is not quite as easy.

We cannot just tap our phones together.

 

Syncing your life to the life of Jesus requires pain and suffering.

It requires taking up your cross daily.

 

When you reflect on the question 

who do you say that I am

you may be somewhat reluctant to answer.

You may instead want to shy away from responding;

lest you must also accept the accompanying cross of suffering.

 

St. Paul tells us we are all one in Christ through our Baptism.

We are one with Christ,

 we are united with him in his suffering too.

 

Are you willing to 'sync' your life with Jesus?

 

Blessings are in your personal answer...

Who do YOU say that Jesus is?