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Friday, February 2nd 2018

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

                                Malachi 3:1-4

                                Psalms 24:7-10

                                Hebrews 2:14-18

                                Luke 2:32

                                Luke 2:22-40

Christians, Jesus said, “Think not that I have come to abolish the Law of Moses, rather, think that I have come to fulfill it!” Now this… being said, although as Christians, as Saint Paul teaches, “We have been transferred from faith to faith,” from the Old Testament to the New Testament, we know that it is not through the law or works, of a purification ritual that we are saved.  For again, as Saint Paul teaches, “The Law never brought anything into perfection,” rather it is through faith in Christ Jesus that brings us, the hope of our individual, salvation.  Now Christians, the Prophet Malachi says this interesting thing, “Thus says the Lord God our Father – I am sending you … the covenant whom you desire, in whom you delight!”  Christians, if Malachi’s words are to be parsed, he, Malachi is saying, the New Covenant that has arisen out your hearts, minds, souls, and your strength, your desires is a person whom is, Christ Jesus, and that this New Covenant is the word of life.  Malachi continues to say, thus says the Lord God: “When will the sacrifices of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasing to the Lord, the Heavenly Father?”  Malachi teaches, when the Messiah comes… who, will endure the day of his coming and who can stand when he appears?  For the Messiah is like the refiners fire, and like the fuller’s lye; he will sit refining and purifying silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi – refining them like gold, and like silver that they may offer, due, sacrifice to the Lord our Heavenly Father.  Christians, interestingly this question arises: “If Christ Jesus is not recognized, by some, as the promised Messiah even at this late date, in creation, will any of these endure and will any of these, stand?”  This said, even some of the neighbors of Malachi’s audience do not recognize Christ Jesus as the Messiah: how will they stand and how will they endure, when he comes again?  Now Christians, in Christ Jesus we have been translated and transferred from the power and dominion of darkness to the light of the kingdom of our Heavenly Father’s Son, the Lord Christ Jesus.  Jesus has opened the gates of heaven, with its strong lintels supports, and with its ancient portals; he has reached up with voice and with the sacrifice of his blood from the cross, saying, “Recognize me… the king of glory so I may come in!”  Still, the keeper of the gate calls out to the Lord Christ Jesus, “Who is the king of glory?”  Now to this reply, Jesus says, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled: for I am the way, the truth and the life, and no person may enter into the kingdom of Heaven; no person comes to the Heavenly Father, but by me.”  Now Christians, as we move on, in prayer and meditation, we notice that Saint Paul has to clarify that Christ Jesus came, for the reconciliation of humankind, and that he did not come to help Angels….  Yes Christians, Jesus is the omnipotent faithful high priest: loving, merciful, true, righteous, good, kind, and holy, and he, Jesus was of flesh and blood, so as to share with the children of humankind, the temptations and desires of the flesh; however, in all things Christ Jesus overcame the temptations and desires of the flesh.  Then through his sacrificial crucifixion – having overcome the sinful flesh; he, Jesus, the Christ, and the Messiah put to death sin, its power, and we no longer have to be slaves to our sinful flesh; we have Christ Jesus’ grace and truth, which is the strength needed to overcome our temptations and sinful desires.  Furthermore, after, the time past, while he, Jesus was on the cross suffering, and putting to death sin: Christ Jesus died; he was dead.  Then on the third day death not being able to hold nor contain him: Jesus rose from the dead, and overcame death; bringing to humankind the hope of eternal life: the Devil’s power of death was ended….  Now Christians, Christ Jesus, the Messiah, brought to humankind the New Covenant between God, the Father, and ourselves: a covenant that rose out of the deepest and inner secrets of people’s hearts and minds; Jesus was and is a light of revelation to the Gentiles and he, Jesus is the glory for the people of Israel….  Now Christians, when we look at the case of Simeon; what are we to believe?  “That Simeon, this righteous and devout person, sat around making up tales of having received a revelation from God: that he would not see death; until he saw the promised Messiah?”  Simeon was a man filled, with great concern for his people.  Now upon seeing Joseph’s and Mary’s son, Jesus, he prayed to God, the Father, “Thanking him, for such a blessing in allowing his eyes to be opened and not veiled; where upon seeing, Jesus of Nazareth: he knew that he had seen the promised Messiah.”  Furthermore Christians, this kind and humble Elder, of Israel, Simeon spoke and blessed Mary and Joseph, but his blessing was a contradiction to Jesus’ parents.  He, Simeon said, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted and you yourself a sword will pierce, so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”  Christians let us not forget to remember the prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.  Of Anna it could be said, “That she was a daughter of the Temple having lived the bulk of her, widowed, life at the Temple; whereas she, Anna came forward and gave thanks to God, for the Christ child, and then spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.”  Christians, Mary and Joseph journeyed home and Jesus grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God, the Heavenly Father was upon him.  Now Christians in the name of the Lord Christ Jesus let us pray and be thankful.  Amen.

Friday, February 9th 2018

The Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

                                1 Kings 11:29-32; 12:19

                                Psalms 81:10-15

                                SEE Acts 16:14

                                Mark 7:31-37

Christians, imagine if you will... a day, pretty much like today, but some two thousand years ago, in the district of Decapolis, and there are a bunch of local citizens, people, who having heard that Jesus of Nazareth, the man who had healed many people was in the district....  Now these people, and let us not try to qualify their motives, took to Jesus, a man with a speech impediment and as Saint Mark tells us, “They begged Jesus to lay hands upon him,” in other words, “They, the people, begged Jesus to heal the man with a speech impediment.”  ...Jesus took the person, with the speech impediment, aside, and basically examined him: he put his fingers in his ears; spitting, touched his tongue; and then looked towards God, our Heavenly Father and called to his father and said, “Be open,” and immediately the man’s ears were opened....  Now Christians, some thousand years before Christ Jesus healed this man with a speech impediment, one of God, our Heavenly Father’s prophets, an Ahijah, of Shilonite was doing the work that the Heavenly Father had sent him to do….  Now Jeroboam, happens to be one of those small individuals the WORD talks about, when it says, “God brought down the high that being the son of Solomon, Rehoboam, and raised the low that being Jeroboam, who is the son of Nabat an Ephrathite, of Zereda, which is a fortress city, north of Mount Ephraim; Jeroboam’s mother was a widow woman named Sarua.”  Still, before we go too far in hopes of Jeroboam being a good king for being raised from a low position; let us look at his history….  Jeroboam became known to be as the man, the king, who caused Israel to sin: Jeroboam was vainglorious and instead of being happy with the ten tribes that God, the Father did give him, he, Jeroboam was at constant war with Judah and as well, he setup golden calves at the extreme ends of his kingdom as symbols of Jehovah. Now the Prophet, Ahijah with his new cloak – tore it in ten pieces and took Jeroboam, aside, and told him, “The Heavenly Father has allowed you these ten tribes as represented by the ten-pieces of torn cloak, but that the Lord God of Israel, says: ‘One tribe shall remain with Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, for the sake of my servant, David; now Christians, because of this one tribe, Israel went into rebellion against the House of David.’”  Now Christians, we read this Psalm and it clearly states: “There shall be no strange god among you nor shall you worship an alien god,” but even Solomon with all his wisdom was not steadfast, in his faith towards God, our Heavenly Father and Solomon chose to worship, the gods made by the hands of men.”  Now because of Solomon’s sin, of idolatry, God the Father took his kingdom and gave it into the hands of Jeroboam….  Yet, for the sake of his servant David, who was not an idolater: God, the Father gave one tribe to Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, and allowed Rehoboam to remain a prince....  Now Christians, we know that God, our Heavenly Father has commanded us: “You shall not have any false gods among you.”  Interestingly, we can make some inferences, some meditation of prayer, in regard to today’s life: since Jesus is the word made flesh and he is rightly, his Gospel, the word of life, and Jesus is God; we can rightly infer that any words, thoughts, ideas, philosophies or viewpoints that rise up against Christ Jesus’ Gospel are thoughts, words, ideas, philosophies or viewpoint, which are of an idolatrous nature.  Yes Christians, we believe that God, the Heavenly Father did bring Moses and the Israelites out of Egypt and furthermore, the Israelites know this is their handed down and word of mouth history, yet some historians question, "If the Israelites were ever in Egypt," because there is no archaeological evidence of them, the Israelites, in the pyramids; still the Psalmist proclaims, God, our Heavenly Father did lead us out of the land of Egypt and freed us: why then, oh why do we refuse to have faith, in God the Lord Christ Jesus, and take up idolatrous ways to serve our flesh....  Yes Christians, the Israelites were not mindful of God, our Heavenly Father’s, words and teachings, and they did not obey or observe them; rather they gave themselves over to their sinfulness....  Now because of this... God, the Heavenly Father gave them up to, the hardness of their hearts; whereas, they did not remember that in Christ Jesus there is no darkness and that there is only light, and that we must remain in the fruits of the Holy Spirit, to live in oneness with God, the Father, so that we may bring forth good fruits….  Now Christians, we fervently pray; “Open our hearts God, our Heavenly Father and help us to listen to the words of your Son, our Lord Christ Jesus.”  Yes Christians, Jesus opened the mute man’s ears and he was able to hear; however, Jesus tells us not to rejoice at the fact that the deaf can hear or if the lame can walk, but rejoice in the hope that your name is written in heaven....  Now Christians, in the name of the Lord Christ Jesus pray and be thankful....  Amen.

 

Friday, February 16th 2018

Week of Ash Wednesday

                        Isaiah 58:1-9

                                Psalms 51:3-6, 18-19

                                SEE Amos 5:14

                                Matthew 9:14-15

Christians, Jesus breaks with the tradition, of the religious, all the time fasting, while he was with his Apostles; arguably, he knew well that there would come a time for them to fast….  Now Christians, God, the Heavenly Father tells, his Prophet, “Isaiah, tell my people of their wickedness!”   God the Father does not simply instruct Isaiah to go about mildly or meekly, but rather God, our Heavenly Father tells Isaiah, “Cry out full-throated and unsparingly, lift up your voice like a trumpet’s blast.”  Bumptiously, the Israelites seek the Lord, our Heavenly Father day after day and they conceitedly desire to know his ways, as if they were a people, a nation, who were doing what was right and just; pretending that they had not abandoned the law of their God: this… than, with vexed-consternation God, the Heavenly Father had Isaiah, the Prophet, cry out to the people of Abraham, and to the people of Noah….  Furthermore, Isaiah speaks with dismay about his brethren, the Israelites, “Your seeking what is your due… and you are pleased to receive gain, from Our Heavenly Father and you want God to see, the way that you have supposedly afflicted yourselves, and you want God to take note of it?”  Still, Isaiah with stupefying disbelief says something like this, “Yes God, the Father sees everything you do: he sees that you have abandon his laws and precepts; he sees your idolatry: your false teachings, a perversion of his commandments and of his words and teachings; he sees your adultery and your sodomy; he sees, that you are not dealing with your neighbors, justly, and he sees, that you are angry, drunk, and that you beat your hand maiden….  As well, when you are carrying out your fast… to honor our God, the Lord, our Heavenly Father, who by his mighty hand freed us from the Lands of Egypt and from Pharaoh’s grasp and who has time and time again forgiven our wickedness, and yet bumptiously, you carry out your own pursuits, instead of honoring God with your fast; pretending that you actually afflicted yourselves, for his… sake, oh! you hypocrites….  Christians, what we should see from this reading, from Isaiah is, “God, the Father is instructing Isaiah to tell his people that they are living in a pretense, a fabrication – that they are not sincerely acknowledging being created in the image of God, the Father, even though they pretend to be pious and dutiful, but in reality they are anything but being faithful to God, our Heavenly Father’s covenant with them.  The Messiah Jesus puts it this way, according to the Gospel of John, “This is the verdict – the light came into the world, but men preferred the darkness, because their works were evil.”  Now here in Isaiah, but not exclusively… we see some of the preferred darknesses that the Israelites lived: their fast were a pretense, they carried out their own pursuits and drove their laborers, rather than sincerely honoring God with their fast; they ended their fasts in quarreling and fighting, instead of loving their neighbor and walking humbly with their God, who is holy, righteous and just.  Furthermore, instead of actually being pleasing, to the Heavenly Father, by keeping a true day of penance; they invent their own notion of what a fast should be and carry on in a pretense, with insincerity, because it appears to be pious and that is the problem, the pious penance is only a pretense, of sincerity, and it is not a changing of the heart or of the mind and the choosing to abide in God the Father’s laws, which they have abandon….  Yes Christians, Isaiah cries out a whole litany, of deserved admonishments, describing what type of fast, our Heavenly Father does find pleasing: release those who are unjustly bound, untying the bonds of their yoke; set free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; sharing your bread (Daily Bread) with the hungry, sheltering the homeless; clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own....  In the New Testament, under various versions through many translations, we find the Messiah Jesus keeping his father’s words and teachings, by being the pleasing Rabbi, teaching: as you forgive, so shall you be forgiven and whatsoever you do to one of these, you also do unto me....  Isaiah then tells them, the Israelites: “The due that you will receive and the gain that you will prosper: speaking, “Then you, my beloved children of Israel, your light will break forth like the dawn, and your wounds shall quickly be healed; your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of Our Lord, the Heavenly Father shall be your rear guard.”  Isaiah says, again, “Then you will call, then you will pray, and the Heavenly Father will answer, you shall cry for help and he will say; here I am…!Now Christians, Amos our dear brethren admonishes so rightly, and with such a wealth of goodness, saying, “Seek good not evil, so that you may live and the Lord will be with you.”  Now Christians in the name of the Lord Christ Jesus let us pray and be thankful....  Amen.

 

Friday, February 23rd 2018

The First Week of Lent

                                Ezekiel 18:21-28

                                Psalms 130:1-5 & 7-8

                                Ezekiel 18:31

                                Matthew 5:20-26

Now Christians, Jesus told the individuals who gave him the information about Pontius Pilate – Pilate being the person, who had killed some Galileans, and then mingled these dead men’s blood with the sacrifices, the Jewish people were offering to God, the Heavenly Father: look, “Think you that these Galileans were sinners, above all the men of Galilee, because they suffered such things?”  Jesus says, “No, I say to you: but unless you shall do penance, repent of your sins and sinfulness, you shall likewise perish.”  Therefore we see... instead of Christ Jesus coming out speaking vengeance, over the horrific thing Pontius Pilate did, he taught them, his Apostles and the individuals who brought the information about the Galileans, what they needed to know, to be able to work out their own salvation…..  Still, Jesus teaches, his Apostles, as referred to in this Gospel reading of Matthew, how much more it is required of us, as disciples of Christ Jesus, and those, who hope to receive the reward of eternal life: for Jesus says, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven;” therefore, as Christians, we should see that it is not only our repentance, which is required, but that our righteousness be acceptable to the Lord, Christ Jesus as well….  Now Christians, Ezekiel, a Prophet of God, the Father teaches us that Our Heavenly Father credits repentance, and therefore, as children and people of God, the Father, we too should honor – not only others for their repentance, but our own repentances too: we must learn to forgive those, who have repented, and we must learn to forgive ourselves, likewise, when we have repented.…  Still, during the time of forgiving ourselves, after we have repented, we must consider and know that we must bring forth fruits worthy, of repentance, for our forgiveness to be complete….  Christians, through the Prophet Ezekiel, the Heavenly Father says, this remarkable thing of distinction: the flesh has its nature, but the way of God, the Father is spirit and truth, saying, “Do I indeed derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked; says the Lord, or do I not rather rejoice, when he, the sinner, the wicked, turns from their evil ways that they may live?”  Christians, in contrast and in distinction, the ways of the flesh delights to see their brother, their neighbor, their enemy fall and fail.  Still, as Christians, we must overcome our flesh and not serve our flesh, but serve God, the Lord Christ Jesus: for love takes no delight: in the sufferings, in the troubles, the downfalls, the failings, nor the falling of our neighbor, but love prays that they will turn from their evil, so that they may have life, so that they may be saved….  Christians, Ezekiel goes on to teach, the Israelites, saying, that we cannot store up goodness…. Rather, goodness must be a part of who and what we are, and if a man, who has been known to be virtuous, turns from his righteousness, and takes up the same kind of abominable things that the wicked man does, walks in the ways of evil; consequently, the just desserts of life, will be meted out to him....  Christians, the Lord, our Heavenly Father is both Righteous and fair: for he condemns to death and punishes, the person for their iniquities... that they choose not to repent, but the person who turns away, from their iniquities and their sin and sinfulness and repents: Ezekiel tells us, that this person shall surely live, they will not die....  Now Christians, the Psalmist pleas with God, the Father to hear his voice, which is both acknowledging God and seeking forgiveness, and then, the Psalmist seeks understanding, “Who will be able to stand, if you Heavenly Father mark all of our iniquities?”  But before we fall into, fleshly indulgences: let us remind ourselves that God, the Father did destroy his people with a flood, in the time of Noah; that he did destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, for their godless iniquities; and that many, many, many times, in the history of the Israelites, God, the Heavenly Father has left only a remnant of his people standing….  Therefore, do not think that those who refuse to acknowledge God, and refuse to repent of their sins and sinfulness, will be welcomed into the kingdom of heaven; because, Jesus is a loving and merciful Lord….  Instead, think of how you will work out your own salvation, and live in the hope that your name will be written in heaven….  Now Christians, the choice is your own: you choose to repent of your sin and sinfulness or you choose to remain in your sin and sinfulness; no person can work out another person’s salvation: as Ezekiel teaches, “Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed and cast away from you all the transgressions you have committed against God, the Heavenly Father and his Son, the Lord Christ Jesus, and then, make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.”  Now Christians, as we read in this Gospel teaching, of Matthew, our Lord Christ Jesus is teaching: “You have heard that it was said: to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.’  But Jesus teaches us, by saying, whoever is angry with their brother or sister, their brethren will be liable to judgment and whoever says to his brother Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.”  Christians, Christ Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life; therefore, with all your heart and mind look for him, and seek the kingdom of heaven….  Now Christians, in the name of the Lord Christ Jesus pray and be thankful....  Amen.

 

 

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