In a very short reading, God tenderly expresses His love for His people. Even though it seems He has abandoned them, as the Israelites in exile felt, His love is so powerful, even more than the amazing love a mother has for her children.
That's why we can rest in God, entrusting ourselves to Him, as Jesus exhorted His followers to do. God cares for the resplendent flowers of the field, and the magnificent birds of the air, and so will He care for us the people He created and loves. He calls us to entrust ourselves to Him, seeking after His righteousness, stewarding well this great gift of faith, that we be found faithful at the final judgment, when God will reveal all in our hearts and our motives.
We entrust ourselves to God so that we may be trustworthy stewards of His gift of faith, and receive His praise for being steadfast and faithful.
Monday, February 27, 2017
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
February 19, 2017: 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time
In the Law, God commanded His people to show love for their fellow people, and to put limitations on punishment, so as to fit the crime, and no more. Jesus expands the scope of those commandments to declare that we should love all people, even those who wrong us, a reflection of God's character, Who loves all, and does good to the just and unjust. Indeed, His kindness and mercy are boundless to all people.
God's Spirit dwells in us, making us Temples of His presence to all people as we show them the Love He has shown us, a reflection of His wisdom that is far beyond our understanding, but always present when we reach out to love our neighbors, who are anyone. We thus obey the command to be holy and perfect in reflecting the very character of our God Who is Holy, set apart, just as He has set us apart to be His people of His very presence.
Sunday, February 12, 2017
February 12, 2017: 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time
In the reading from 1 Corinthians, St. Paul speaks about the mysterious wisdom of God that is incompatible with the rulers and powers of the Earth. Yet God has revealed it to us through His Spirit, and it serves as the means for us to grow in relationship with Him.
This wisdom of God is revealed through God's Law, which is the authority for how we are to conduct ourselves in relationship with Him. Psalm 119 speaks about the importance of following God's Law.
And Jesus Christ, in the Sermon on the Mount, affirms the importance of the Law, saying that He has not come to abolish it, but to fulfill it. By His Paschal Mystery of Death and Resurrection, He frees us from sin so that we can live to be just like the Father in Heaven. Our righteousness surpasses the legalistic mindset of the scribes and Pharisees that is so narrowly focused on following rules. Instead, we take on a more holistic approach, to live with right attitudes toward one another, so that we act in right ways toward one another, revealing through our living the Love God shows to us, by sharing it with one another.
We are challenged to do more than the bare minimum, putting in the effort to give ourselves fully to abiding by the Law of God in love, that we may experience, as Sirach speaks of, the fullness of life.
This wisdom of God is revealed through God's Law, which is the authority for how we are to conduct ourselves in relationship with Him. Psalm 119 speaks about the importance of following God's Law.
And Jesus Christ, in the Sermon on the Mount, affirms the importance of the Law, saying that He has not come to abolish it, but to fulfill it. By His Paschal Mystery of Death and Resurrection, He frees us from sin so that we can live to be just like the Father in Heaven. Our righteousness surpasses the legalistic mindset of the scribes and Pharisees that is so narrowly focused on following rules. Instead, we take on a more holistic approach, to live with right attitudes toward one another, so that we act in right ways toward one another, revealing through our living the Love God shows to us, by sharing it with one another.
We are challenged to do more than the bare minimum, putting in the effort to give ourselves fully to abiding by the Law of God in love, that we may experience, as Sirach speaks of, the fullness of life.
Sunday, February 5, 2017
February 5, 2017: 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time
As disciples, we are salt, bringing the glorious flavor of Life with God to all the Earth, and we are Light, shining His glorious presence over all the Earth.
We do this by serving those who are in need, deeds that please God and makes His presence known. By living in justice, we shine the Light of God's presence in a world of darkness and gloom. And in so doing, we proclaim the power of the Cross of Christ, by which God has brought deliverance to the world.
On a historical note, I recognize that February 6 falls the day after this Sunday. February 6 is the the Statehood Day of Massachusetts whose capital city Boston was founded by John Winthrop to be a "city on a hill". He had a powerful, God-inspired vision that this place and its people would set an example of holiness for all the world, just as God's people are called to do.
On a personal note, this weekend, I attended Mass at St. Teresa's in Valparaiso, IN, which was my opportunity to meet the new pastor, Fr. Chris, for the first time. St. Paul's words in the 2nd reading about coming "in weakness...fear and much trembling" speak to my experience of arriving at Valparaiso University as a freshman nearly 7 1/2 years ago, agonizing over the reality of being away from home. But the day after I moved in, I experienced God's presence in a powerful new way when I went to Mass for the first time at St. Teresa's. That day, and all days since, the community of St. Teresa's has boldly proclaimed the message of the Cross through the Christian living they demonstrate in serving the students and others in the community in His Name. They are ultimately faithful to the Lord by doing that which glorifies Him, which is our call as His people.
We do this by serving those who are in need, deeds that please God and makes His presence known. By living in justice, we shine the Light of God's presence in a world of darkness and gloom. And in so doing, we proclaim the power of the Cross of Christ, by which God has brought deliverance to the world.
On a historical note, I recognize that February 6 falls the day after this Sunday. February 6 is the the Statehood Day of Massachusetts whose capital city Boston was founded by John Winthrop to be a "city on a hill". He had a powerful, God-inspired vision that this place and its people would set an example of holiness for all the world, just as God's people are called to do.
On a personal note, this weekend, I attended Mass at St. Teresa's in Valparaiso, IN, which was my opportunity to meet the new pastor, Fr. Chris, for the first time. St. Paul's words in the 2nd reading about coming "in weakness...fear and much trembling" speak to my experience of arriving at Valparaiso University as a freshman nearly 7 1/2 years ago, agonizing over the reality of being away from home. But the day after I moved in, I experienced God's presence in a powerful new way when I went to Mass for the first time at St. Teresa's. That day, and all days since, the community of St. Teresa's has boldly proclaimed the message of the Cross through the Christian living they demonstrate in serving the students and others in the community in His Name. They are ultimately faithful to the Lord by doing that which glorifies Him, which is our call as His people.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)