Self-Fulling Prophecy

~~~ Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9 ~~~ Psalm 147 ~~~ Matthew 5:17-19 ~~~

In motivational circles we often hear about the self-fulling prophecy effect.
It is very common for athletes to visualize themselves
crossing the finish line first and even standing
on the podium receiving the gold medal.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.

For many years the prophets had been telling of the coming of the Messiah.

God the Father sent down Jesus while we were still in sin
to save us to redeem us.
He fulfilled all of the prophecies beyond comprehension.
The prophets only had a small portion
of just how great Jesus, the Messiah would be.

Jesus was so much more than just the fulfilling of a prophecy.
He had to tell the people, look I am more than what
you have been previously told.

Jesus was the fullness of all prophecies.
No human being would have been capable of this completion.

Jesus came to us to bring all prophecies
of him to the heavenly realm.
That which is out of our comprehension.
God is greater than the sum of all
that the prophets could reveal.

Jesus is about wholeness and completeness.
He wants us to find our wholeness and complete happiness in him.

Truly it is only in him that our soul can find rest.
It is only in him can we be complete.

If there is something missing in your life...
come to Jesus...
there you will find all of your answers.

Blessings and Peace.

Seven Baskets Left Over

~~~ 1 Kings 12:26-32; 13:33-34 ~~~ Psalm 106 ~~~ Mark 8:1-10 ~~~

“My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
because they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.

Jesus is now hanging out with the Gentiles.
What has he been doing for three days?
How has he kept them wanting to remain,
ignoring their hunger pains?
Was he healing people of common afflictions?
Was he speaking words so touching
that they dare not want to miss a single one?

All we do know is that they remained
with him night and day without food for three days.

Jesus is concerned about the people as they journey back to their homes.
It does not matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile;
everyone has the same need for food.

The disciples give him the seven loaves of bread
they have carried with them.
They also had a few fish which would hardly be enough
 to feed such a large group.

Jesus stands before this crowd of Gentiles and does what any good Jewish host
would do he gives thanks to God for providing the bread,
breaks it, and distributes it.

He also blesses the fish and has it distributed to the people.

This should remind you of the same ritual he uses during the Last Supper.
The same ritual that has become the central part of our Mass.

Do you think it was the blessing that Jesus prayed
that miraculously multiplied the offerings of bread and fish?
Or was it because of his strong connection with the Father?

They ate and were satisfied.
They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets.

Seven baskets of left over food was collected...seven.
The number representing fullness, wholeness and completeness.
The four thousand left that day
more complete and whole
than they were at the beginning of the first day.

How much does it take to make you feel whole and complete?
Would you be satisfied with the left overs?
God blesses us with his wholeness;
it is he alone who can complete us for all of eternity.
Peace.

The Lineage of Wholeness

~~~ Genesis 49:2, 8-10 ~~~ Psalm 72 ~~~ Matthew 1:1-17 ~~~

 

Today in the gospel from Matthew we are given seventeen verses

listing the genealogy of Jesus.

The older I get the more my ancestral history has come to be valued.

When you are young you don't think too much farther back

 than your grandparents.

It is difficult for children to grasp the concept

that their parents were once little children just like them.

 

In an effort to teach the value of ancestors teachers often

give the family tree assignment.

I remember one of my younger sisters getting in trouble

with her teacher for not placing

any aunts and uncles on her family tree illustration.

When in reality my sister was correct.

Our parents are both only children

so we do not have any aunts and uncles.

An entire section of our family tree has no branches.

Really strange when you think about it...

are the branches bare or do they just not exist at all?

 

Establishing the lineage of Jesus fulfills the prophecies,

but it gives us a human connection to him.

We can identify with and understand the importance

of family connections.

Listing, as in a litany, the lineage of Jesus

gives it a formality worthy

of who he is...the Son of God.

 

Life has a rhythm and reciting the ancestors of Jesus

also sustains a rhythm

all of its own.

 

This passage proclaims Jesus as one of us even before the

angel Gabriel appeared to Mary.

The lineage of Jesus was evolving with the passage of time.

 

I do not believe in numerology, but I think you would agree

that some numbers have

specific meaning in the Bible.

That is another whole blog post for the future.

 

I began to explore the number fourteen in the Bible.

Thus the total number of generations
from Abraham to David
is fourteen generations;
from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations;
from the Babylonian exile to the Christ,
fourteen generations.

 

We know that the number seven implies perfection or completeness.

To the Jews the number seven or its multiples was significant.

The seventh day was the Sabbath.

The seventh month was holy and had three feast days.

At Passover fourteen lambs were offered.

 

Thus the lineage of Jesus is connected

for us to perfection and completeness.

When Jesus was born the Old Testament prophecies were finally complete.

From Abraham to the Nativity many generations passed,

 before the coming of the Christ child.

 

 

If one looks closely at this lineage of Jesus you see that there are several

individuals that you would not care to have in your family tree.

 

But here they are in the family tree of Jesus.

Jesus comes into our midst no matter what.

We cannot make the excuse of not being worthy.

We cannot be boastful about being worthy either.

 

Jesus enters into the good times of our life,

as well as the bad times.

 

So I guess one could say that there is some darkness

even in the lineage of the Christ.

What matters the most is that when was born all darkness was dispelled.

His light broke into the darkness making it possible for us

to inherit the grace to live a holy life.

 

This Christmas as your family comes together remember that you

have the light of Christ;

it is up to you to let it shine out to your family.

 

As part of the Body of Christ we are continuing the lineage of

the baby in the manger lying in the hay.