Easter Sunday

Good Morning, dear reader and Happy Easter!!! I am doing something just a tad different this morning. I have chosen the readings myself as well as the verse. 

Throughout this Lenten season, we saw how the coming of Jesus, His life and His ministry, and His ultimate death and resurrection were prophisied in the Old Testament. This was God's promise to us, a Saviour, a King. This give us hope. It keeps our faith. We know we can trust in God's promises. Today, we celebrate that promise. 

That first Resurrection Sunday was not the joyous event that we have today. We have the benefit of knowing the outcome of the story. But, on that day, when the women went to where Jesus was buried and found only a young man sitting there, they didn't know what to make of it. They were afraid if they said anything about seeing this young man in the tomb, they, too, would be crucified. So they stayed silent. 

However, our reading in Acts alludes to what is to come. Since the women at the tomb were afraid to say anything, Jesus had to come back to speak with the others so that they would understand and see that He was indeed raised from the dead, just as He said would happen. Jesus urged His disciples to stay in Jerusalem, to spread the news that He was alive and He would make Himself known to all in just a few short days. 

In the coming days, we will continue to celebrate the resurrection, to celebrate Jesus's promises, to rejoice in His life, and to remain hopeful until the day we are called home. Do not stay silent, as those women did. Speak out! Speak up! Tell the world that Jesus has overcome the dark and brings us new light!! And, as always, dear reader..... be a nice human! 😇

A reflection on the Easter celebration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ciwAkn7Jlg 

Matt Maher "Christ Is Risen": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV42JDKd5c4

Words and Forgiveness

Friday March 11, 2022

Read: Ezekial 18:21-28; Matthew 5:20-26

Ezekial was a prophetic prophet, often having visions and mystical insights. So often, God spoke through him, often putting himself in the midst of people in order to spread God's word. 

Chapter 18 emphasizes taking personal responsibility for ones actions. He extoles all things that are considered sinful and the only way to forgiveness is confessing your sins to God in order to live. If one does not take responsibility, if one continues to sin, then the outcome will  surely be death. If not death of the physical self, it certainly would mean death of your spirit and knowing one will not be able to enter the Kingdom of God when they die.

In Matthew, Jesus takes thing a step above. It's not just our actions that can be sinful, but also our words. This is something all of us can identify with. Many priests and pastors use some form of Psalm 19:14 before beginning their homily. The pastor at my former church would always use it before speaking, offering his heart to Jesus so that his words would speak only of love and faith. Wouldn't it be nice if we could do this before we speak, especially when we are angry? We can't take back what was said. But, we can ask forgiveness, both from Jesus and from the person we hurt. It's not an easy thing to do. It requires great strength and humility. You will be a better person for doing this, though. 

At the end of the day, take stock of your actions AND your words. Do they speak of love or hate? What does this say about you? What changes can you make? Bring your wrong doings to the foot of the Cross and ask forgiveness, then try to do better tomorrow. We are imperfect beings of a perfect God. 

Be Blessed and speak life, hope and love. 

Here's a video from Toby Mac about speaking life. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeBv9r92VQ0&ab_channel=TobyMacVEVO

And for further insight to today's reading, here's another video from Father Bill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-bKutiG584&ab_channel=hsccwyo

First Sunday of Lent

 

So often in this world we are tempted by so many things, some good and some not so good. During Lent, we are called to give up something as a sacrifice for our faith, to remind us of the ultimate sacrifice made by Jesus on the Cross.

We all know that when we give up something, it seems that we are presented, almost on a daily basis, with visual reminders of that which we have give up, thus making our sacrifice that much harder. But, we learn to persevere in our sacrifice, knowing it will result in something much greater at the end.

Sacrifice and temptation lies at the heart of our faith in Jesus. How many times was Jesus asked to prove He was the Son of God? We see in Luke's Gospel that the devil asked this same question of Jesus. Prove it. Prove who You say You are. But, Jesus did not give in. I'm sure He must have been tempted, if for no other reason than to shut the devil up once and for all.

How many times have we been in the same situation? Is it easier to give in or easier to walk away? Which would give us the most satisfaction? Is it worth the sacrifice to just walk away? I believe that the harder the decision, the greater the reward. Doing the right thing is hard. Saying no in the midst of being tempted is the hardest thing to do. But, the satisfaction that comes from doing right is always a good thing.

As we walk through this time of Lent, remember that your sacrifice is pleasing to God. It makes you stronger. And the end result is that much sweeter.

Prayer:

Dear God,

The battle feels intense some days. We get tired and weak, weary and worn. It's hard to keep going in the face of defeat. But, help us to remember that You will never leave us, that You're our Refuge and our Strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble. We know that the enemy wouldn't be fighting so hard against us if we weren't making a difference for Your Kingdom. He wouldn't be trying so hard to stop us if he didn't think You had so much good still in store. Remind us that the battle belongs to You, and whatever we're up against can be taken down in one fell swoop by Your Mighty Hand.

Help us to trust You more, to never waste time spinning our wheels and wrestling or fighting our strength. Please forgive us, Lord, for the times we've failed to lift our hands to You, for the days we've forgotten to come to You first. Fill us with the Power of Your Holy Spirit this day. Fill us with Your joy, fill us with constant reminders that Your presence will go with us, and that You will give us rest.

Amen.