Joyfully Praising God

 

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 3:1-10 ~~~ Psalm 105 ~~~ Luke 24:13-35 ~~~

 

The Beautiful Gate and the Beautiful Journey

 

The sick and crippled are healed and dance with joy at the Beautiful Gate.

It is the place to be if you want to receive compassion and some small coins.

 

After Jesus' Resurrection the apostles are given many gifts through the Holy Spirit...

one such gift is that of healing. Today we have the story of Peter

 healing the man at the gate.

After his healing the man rises to his feet...

 

"...in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk.”
Then Peter took him by the right hand and raised him up,
and immediately his feet and ankles grew strong.
He leaped up, stood, and walked around,
and went into the temple with them,
walking and jumping and praising God.

 

He immediately joyfully enters into the temple to praise God.

How often, when we have prayers answered,

 do we remember to first give praise to God?

This man had not been able to go into the temple for sometime.

He could have just as easily gone out into the streets rejoicing and dancing.

 

 

Rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord.

 

The couple walking sadly along the road to Emmaus

were blessed

with a spiritual healing.

They were heart sick over the loss of Jesus.

They had placed all of their future hopes and dreams in him,

and now he was gone.

 

As Jesus walked with them they did not recognize him.

Later they were able to recall how their hearts were burning.

Their hearts were burning because our hearts can sense the presence of God

when our intellectual self cannot.

 

There is a part of our heart that longs to be reunited with God.

It is a longing we often confuse for something else.

 

“Were not our hearts burning within us
while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”

 

When Jesus broke the bread with them, they were given

clarity of vision. It was then that they had their profound AHA!

 

Like the healed man at the Beautiful Gate

 they are eager to share their experience.

The Lord has truly been raised...

Alleluia!

 

On the road or at the gate, the presence of the Lord is sufficient reason

 to jump with joy and give him praise.

May our hearts burn each time we hear his words.

He is alive...He is present!

What is Really Important?

~~~ Acts 15: 1-6 ~~~ Psalm 122 ~~~ John 15: 1-8 ~~~

Today's reading from Acts speaks of circumcision; as a woman I will not be writing about that topic in case you were wondering.

What I will say is that the early church had many decisions to make since others beside the chose Jews were wanting to sign up...to belong to this community of believers.

So as the elders met their real task was to determine what was of real importance. What mattered in the greater scheme of things. These very dilemmas still exist in the church today...and they always will.

We do not live in a stagnant world things are constantly changing evolving; if you will.

We belong to a church that is alive, full of living breathing people of God.

Even though the teachings left for us by Jesus were so carefully modeled

we are part of the living vine.

We must strive for ways to live out our faith and the promises made to us by the Father within the world we live in today. This does not mean we abandon any of the Divine teachings; on the contrary we must pray for the vision to see how we can live them to the fullest within todays' framework.

This task is only possible to accomplish if we remain connected to the vine. We must remain connected so that he can reside in us. It is then that he will remain in us. As he remains in us the Holy Spirit guides and leads the way.

I suggest one other connection between the readings; removal of what no longer serves a purpose. The vine grower knows when it is time to remove the branches. The vine grower knows which branches, when removed, will produce the most new growth.

So today let us look at what is really inportant in our lives.

Do you have the strength to honestly look at your life and decide

what might better trimmed back?

Do you have the confidence to say

this habit is not bringing me closer to the Lord?

Visiting with a spiritual director may help you in seeing

where God is leading you and what he really is asking you to let go.

The vine and the branches are connected...commited to each other in a very intimate way. The branches flourish through the nourishment of the vine. The branches are supported by tiny wispy tendrils holding them in place near the vine.

The vine is the source of life.

I pray that today you each find comfort and peace connected to the Vine.

Shake off the Dust

~~~ Acts 13: 44-52 ~~~ Psalm 98 ~~~ John 14: 7-14 ~~~

"They shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium."

Things were going well...the good news was spreading among the Gentiles...and then the Jews came along and began to incite the prominent women of the city, and stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas. These circumstances caused them to leave...

"They shook the dust from their feet..."

Sometimes when things are negative and you are feeling persecuted the best you can do is move on leaving the problems behind. To me the message of shaking the dust from your feet is to let everything go carry nothing from the past ahead with you.

Free yourself from the unwanted burdens;

 the useless baggage and move on into your future.

If you leave behind even the tiny particles of dust you can begin with a fresh outlook. It often serves no purpose to carry around those things that no longer serve a purpose in your life.

If the dust is gone the slate is also cleared. What is written in the dust can be blown away even if it is on your feet. When we walk we are either walking toward something better or walking away from something no longer satisfying.

Dust is not permanent...dust is not solid...you cannot build upon dust...

When we are faced with disappointments and are hurting we can make the decision to

'shake the dust from our feet' and let it go.

Holding on to 'dust' takes more energy than it is worth.

Next time things start to bug you or get under your skin...

'shake off the dust' and save your energy for better endeavors.

Holding grudges only keeps you feet covered in the dust.

More Came to Believe

Acts of the Apostles 2: 36-41 ~~~Psalm 33 ~~~ John 20: 11-18

"Save yourselves from this corrupt generation."

This sounds like a headline riped from one of today's tabloids, but it was actually recorded by the Gospel writer, Luke.  This sentence was part of a longer dissertation being presented to the Israelites by Peter soon after the Resurrection. He goes on to tell them that those promises made to them and to their children and to any one else the Lord will call would be honored.

That day, of those who heard the message, three thousand were baptized. They went on to devote themselves to the teachings of the apostles and to the communal life. "All who believed were together all things in common..." (Acts 2: 44) Times were blessed and filled with joy. Every day more people came to believe and join the community.

For awhile now we will hear about how the faith grew around the teachings of Jesus through his apostles. These testimonies are meant to give us reason to feel grounded in what we have been taught too.

This verse from the psalm sums up their prevailing sentiment "...May your kindness, O Lord, be upon us who have put our hope in you."

Meanwhile back at the tomb...

Grieving, Mary Magdalene remains weeping. Even when you accept the resurrection you still shed tears for the loss of the physical presence of the one you love who is no longer with you. John places angels sitting in the tomb keeping watch over the space or filling it with grace. Perhaps John was making the connection with the angels present at the birth of Jesus. These angels were not singing this day they were marking the spot where the raising had taken place.

It is wonderful when the angels speak...they inquire as to why the tears are falling.

But much to Mary's surprise the one she sees outside also asks about her tears. This does not bother her because she assumes it is the gardener

who would not have known Jesus.

Then it happens; she hears the voice of the one whom she loves call her by name, 'Mary'. I am convinced that the qualities of the voice of Jesus were beyond our comprehension. For many times it was only his voice that changed people's lives.
Mary must have been overjoyed to hear the sweet sound
of this voice once again saying her name.

Think about how you like to hear your name pronounced by a loved one.
Now imagine God calling you by name. I mean really hearing with human ears your name spoken by God...perhaps at the time of our death.
Wonderful things can happen in a garden.