Merrily, Merrily, Merrily

~~~Song of Songs 2:8-14 or Zephaniah 3:14-18a~~~ Psalm 33~~~Luke 1:39-45~~~

 

Mary was so filled with excitement, after her personal angel visit,

 that she rushed as fast as she could to be with Elizabeth.

She and Elizabeth had so much to share;

so much to be overjoyed by. They both had conceived in

uncommon circumstances.

 

I can just envision how the eyes of Mary must have been sparkling

with the joy she felt inside.

Her smile must have warmed the heart of anyone

she met on her journey.

Perhaps she was even singing her favorite hymns as she

merrily skipped along the roadside.

 

The birds may have taken their place by her side

circling high up with their wings of joy.

The sun shone down brightly warming the ground below her feet.

When you are filled with joy you seem to float slightly above the ground.

Your whole perception of reality is more detailed when you are joyful.

 

This type of scene is often depicted in fairy tale movies.

But this was not a fairy tale this was our tale of salvation.

 

The joy in the heart of Mary made her even more lovely to God.

Although this is not recorded in the scriptures I can almost

hear God saying, 'This is my beloved daughter,

in whom I am well pleased.'

You know God was well pleased with Mary.

She was prepared and chosen by him to give Jesus

his human flesh and blood.

She kept him safe, warm and nurtured within her little body.

 

When Gabriel returned to heaven with Mary's answer

all of heaven broke into joyous song.

The angels played their harps long into the night.

 

 

The heavens rejoiced just as vibrantly as the child leaped

with joy in Elizabeth's womb.

The news of Mary's yes is what continues to

stir joy within our own hearts today.

Be Joyful!

God is in our midst...

 

"...He will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in his love,
He will sing joyfully because of you,
as one sings at festivals."

In the End Angels Will Come

~~~ Jeremiah 14:17:22~~~ Psalm 79 ~~~ Matthew 13: 36-43 ~~~

"...Why have you struck us a blow
that cannot be healed?
We wait for peace, to no avail;
for a time of healing, but terror comes instead."

The advantage of being close to someone you admire is that you can take
 them aside and ask questions. This is what the disciples do with Jesus;
 they take him aside and ask him to explain the parable he just taught.

The disciples were confused wondering if there would ever be peace.

They had questions about weeds.
Have you ever wondered if you could be one of the weeds?

Jesus explains that he is the one

that sows the seed into the field of the earth.
If he sows the good seeds.
Where does the Evil One get his seeds?
The devil is allowed to sow the seeds of the weeds freely.
Have you ever wondered why no one prevents the devil from sowing his seeds.

Recently I have been asking myself the same question;
who can stop the Evil One from sowing his seeds of hatred.
Surely any seeds which do not emerge in the form of love have not come from God.

God says we must patiently wait until he sends his angels to gather up the harvest.

At this time

"The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his Kingdom
all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."

Jesus issues strong words here about what will happen to those who cause others to sin.

What if you do not realize that you have caused another to sin?

What if it was not your intention?

I firmly believe that if you have come from the hand of the Evil One then your

intentions to harm others will be evident.

I pray to be spared from ever coming in contact with one whose

desire is drag others into sin with them.

This sheds a whole new light onto the saying misery loves company.

Jesus goes on to say...

"Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the Kingdom of their Father."

If you listen and hear the words of the Lord then

you shall become part of the light of Christ.

At the end of the age we will be gathered up by the angels and carried

to the Lord where we will be cherished for all eternity.

Let your hearts not be troubled by the seeds of the Evil One,

for in the end all that is good will prevail.

John 3:16 "God so Loved..."

~~~ Acts 5: 17-26 ~~~ Psalm 34 ~~~ John 3: 16-21~~~

The apostles were busy about the Lord’s work of healing mind and body. The Sadducees could not tolerate this lack of attention; they were so filled

with jealousy. They tossed them in jail again only this time God sent angels to release them to preach in the temple area. I can just imagine the frustrated officials saying to one another, ‘What ARE we going to do with these guys?’

John 3:16

 probably the most quoted verse in the Bible.

“God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.”

You can find this verse on everything from stationery to t-shirts....from mugs to manger scenes. It is unlikely that we could ever grasp the full meaning of just the first five words much less adding the last seven words.

God’s word through the power of the Holy Spirit brought forth the Son.

The Trinity at its best...for us

Divine Trinitarian Wisdom

Together in unity with one another

they created something that would forever hold our attention.

 

 

Love so great can only be returned through loving one another as best we can with all of our humanity.

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.