2nd Mar 2025,
Gospel, Luke 6:39-45
39 He also told them a parable, ‘Can one blind person guide another? Surely both will fall into a pit?
40 Disciple is not superior to teacher; but fully trained disciple will be like teacher.
41 Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the great log in your own?
42 How can you say to your brother, “Brother, let me take out that splinter in your eye,” when you cannot see the great log in your own? Hypocrite! Take the log out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter in your brother’s eyes.
43 ‘There is no sound tree that produces rotten fruit, nor again a rotten tree that produces sound fruit.
44 Every tree can be told by its own fruit: people do not pick figs from thorns, nor gather grapes from brambles.
45 Good people draw what is good from the store of goodness in their hearts; bad people draw what is bad from the store of badness. For the words of the mouth flow out of what fills the heart.
Reflection:
For sure, these are the End Times.
But GOD’S TIME, Our Time, is Eternity ❣️
We could have and probably have amassed more than enough reason for GOD to order The Reset: ‘Measured’ and exceeded the threshold, maybe…
We’re still around…
Do you think recent happenings in our world could have reduced our previous trajectory to imminent (Self) destruction? Thanks President Trump and team, including their powerful one, El-ion.The most serious Conflicts in recent human history seem to be close to some form of resolution. Ukraine and the Holy Land have caused us great anguish. In America, Religion and Faith are no longer ostracised and taboo in politics and in the public domain. No longer is Evil slowly, surreptitiously accepted as Good, no longer is Good slowly being churned into something offensive.
We must have a Much Greater regard for LIFE, whether it is War or abortion or Famine or natural disasters or injustice. We cannot treat LIFE with disdain which THE CREATOR and HIS Angels hold sacred. GOD is LIFE.
LOVE never becomes unfashionable, because LOVE is of GOD. LOVE solves all problems in the most fulfilling way. GOD is LOVE ❤️.
LOVE LIFE.
Perhaps we will need the help of all the great leaders of the world to understand this.
Every leader, of Nations, of Religion, of communities must see these End times as an opportunity to turn their organisations around, New Beginnings, open your windows, let some fresh air in, THE SPIRIT OF GOD , to enkindle in Us a FIRE to change the world, reverse our mistakes and suicidal dark actions. “Write a new chapter in our story”, as our PM Lawrence Wong, said so well.
A new chapter, in a story for Eternity…The Never Ending Story…
We deserve better, GOD insists we work on this… Our survival depends on this.
The Gospel today is of GOD THE SON again moving us to SEE HIM for WHO HE is: GOD, THE GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE.
YESHUA’S, GOD’S Kingdom is the opposite of what would be considered powerful, rich and successful by people in general. Not that you wouldn’t be powerful or rich n successful in this Kingdom, but the power, riches and success will flow from being mindful of What matters Most, should matter most, really… From a beautiful article many years ago,
- To become a Leader, Be a Servant. …
- To truly find life, die to self. …
- To get back at your enemy, love him. …
- To Become Rich, Give Money Away.
To be truly a member or a leader of The Kingdom of GOD, make a difference by SAYING OR DOING WHAT YESHUA WOULD. With the HOLY SPIRIT AND THE HOLY TRINITY in Us, we will be able to see clearly the path forward and lead, our community out of The land of bondage into The promised land. Away from danger and difficulty. If you place your trust in THE LORD, HE will guide you and the people you serve, to a future of joy and fulfilment. Grapes(Wine!) n figs(delicious!) rather than thorns n pain!
Man will be Man. Our shortcomings are many. Judgemental, proud, true of everyone of us. Focus on the big things. See things over the longer term…
Someone once asked me, what to do, if one day, we meet with aliens and civilizations from stars far far away…
It’s not hard to imagine…
They would advise us in the same way YESHUA has told us from 2 thousand years ago. If you include the Old testament, from The Creation story. “No one has ever seen GOD”, not in casual sense, in HIS Realm. But for civilization to be able to last 10000years, a hundred thousand years, a million years, don’t you think what YESHUA says is THE TRUTH?
NO LOVE, NO LIFE.
GOD is telling Us, HE came personally to make sure we get it!
GOD LOVE YOU ALL!
9th Feb 2025,
GOD made Us, GOD with Us, GOD in Us… commentary follows 1st reading n Gospel.
| Isaiah 6:1-2,3-8 |
|---|
In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord of Hosts seated on a high throne; his train filled the sanctuary; above him stood seraphs, each one with six wings.
And they cried out to one another in this way,
‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts.
His glory fills the whole earth.’
The foundations of the threshold shook with the voice of the one who cried out, and the Temple was filled with smoke. I said:
‘What a wretched state I am in! I am lost,
for I am a man of unclean lips
and I live among a people of unclean lips,
and my eyes have looked at the King, the Lord of Hosts.’
Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding in his hand a live coal which he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. With this he touched my mouth and said:
‘See now, this has touched your lips,
your sin is taken away,
your iniquity is purged.’
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying:
‘Whom shall I send? Who will be our messenger?’
I answered, ‘Here I am, send me.
| GOSPEL, Luke 5:1-11 |
|---|
Jesus was standing one day by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the crowd pressing round him listening to the word of God, when he caught sight of two boats close to the bank. The fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats – it was Simon’s – and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
When he had finished speaking he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch.’ ‘Master,’ Simon replied, ‘we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.’ And when they had done this they netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear, so they signalled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them; when these came, they filled the two boats to sinking point.
When Simon Peter saw this he fell at the knees of Jesus saying, ‘Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man.’ For he and all his companions were completely overcome by the catch they had made; so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were Simon’s partners. But Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch.’ Then, bringing their boats back to land, they left everything and followed him.
“WHO is this, that even the…….”
Today, focus your attention on some interesting facts GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT wishes to awaken our souls to. THE GOSPELS are INSPIRED, MOVED to be written by THE GOD WHO IS LOVE. Every WORD, down the the last yod, EVERY NAME, EVERY CITY, EVERY ACTION RECORDED of significance will bring us to our knees to Realise “IT IS THE LORD”.
Jesus Christ, YESHUA= YHWH SAVES, GOD THE SON, GOD, SAVES.
The Gospel is set in Gennesaret. This is NOT a coincidence, as i explained. The name Gennesaret refers to a ‘fertile’ place n it is in this fertile place that YESHUA will begin HIS WORK on HIS Beloved humanity.
GOD MADE US. “In the beginning was THE WORD”, “through HIM all things were made”.
With YESHUA’S birth, GOD THE SON, THE WORD, enters into human history. At that point in time, Humanity is ‘fertile’ n ready to receive HIM, YESHUA. GOD is Born of a Human Mother, fully HUMAN, fully GOD. Thus, HE is GOD with Us, thus HE is THE SON given to Us, MIGHTY GOD…from Isaiah’s prophecy. GOD with Us, eternally, for all time is A MAN and A MAN is for all time GOD. YESHUA, in this alone, reunites Heaven with Mankind. This is not enough for THE GOD of THE IMPOSSIBLE. HE decrees HIS DIVINE WILL to uplift Mankind to be HIS Children, HIS IMAGE , HIS SEAL, representing HIS PRESENCE to The Universe at large.
Humanity is thronging to listen to HIM, “THE WORD”. The lake, the sea of Galilee represents the Chaos and mayhem of sinful human existence. GOD THE SON sees the 2 boats HE sent earlier to prepare the harvest of ‘fish’. Perhaps the boats represent The LAW and THE Prophets. The Old religion had not been productive. A whole night, in GOD’S time, too long, almost an eternity, yet they only had empty baskets to show for their great ‘toil’. YESHUA, GOD THE SON, “YHWH” Saves, HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD (YHWH) has come now to set things right. HE WILL SAVE HIS people, both Jew n Gentiles. [The boat is on the sea of Galilee, ‘of the Nations’]. Man Proposes, but GOD Disposes.
Just as in an extraordinary event, GOD made Creation, just as in HIS Birth, YESHUA came into our world, GOD w Us, fully GOD, fully Man, here YESHUA makes HIS New Creation in an extraordinary miracle.
The Old religion had toiled but had not been able to deliver: there just wasn’t the complete satisfaction THE TRINITY required. What had been required was ‘fish’. YESHUA’S NAME in Greek acronym spells Fish[IxtHuS, IHS in short]. GOD THE FATHER wanted the Israelites and Gentiles alike, to be and think like JESUS, YESHUA. It’s all about LOVE and SACRIFICE, not the other way round, the Light of the world is to show All Humanity THE ONE TRUE GOD, GOD THE FATHER, THE CREATOR, GOD THE SON, TRUE LOVE IN ACTION, THE WORD, GOD’S COMMAND PERFECTED: LOVE GOD, LOVE MAN; AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE PERFECT LOVE BETWEEN FATHER AND SON, now sent to fill us, so we too shallow reflect and represent to the Universe all that GOD TRULY IS, IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH.
YESHUA stands in the 1st boat, THE LAW: HE fulfills THE LAW. The entirety of GOD’s LAW is summarised as: “LOVE GOD, LOVE MAN”, NOT Negotiable. The Old religion threw its nets, fished at too shallow waters to allow for a heavier n much more plentiful catch. GOD wants all Creation to restore Harmony n Order. HE is GOD, all Creation is HIS. HE did not come for only Beloved ISRAEL, but for all Nations. LOVE to GOD is not about rules upon rules but doing what YESHUA would do. The Kingdom of GOD is about GOD in Us, we do as GOD would, w everything in harmony with HIS WILL and in Humanity’s interests. And in MANKIND’S interest, THE GOD of LOVE sets the Bar[ haha, in Hebrew, bar= son of] for HIS Children. LOVE is a billion things, but “NO GREATER LOVE HAS A MAN THAN TO DIE FOR HIS FRIEND”.The results with GOD In Us are of course, beyond expectations. Little Christs with GOD In Us will change everything in Creation.
Peter’s response tells us all, Peter Believes, in YESHUA , he is ‘astonished’, the word in the original implies shocked n frightened: he is before GOD, THE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE !!! What he utters mirrors Isaiah, who has “seen THE LORD of HOSTs”, Peter like Isaiah feels unclean n unworthy, overwhelmed, in THE PRESENCE. But THE LORD is I AM, only GOD is like this. As in Acts, “What GOD has made clean, you must not call unclean!” A job needs to be done. THE LORD of HOSTS, WHO LOVED Us with HIS LIFE commands Us. Every miracle begins with an Act of Faith: Believe in THE LORD, “Put down your crutches, stand up n walk…” ,” Put out your nets…….” Follow the Sure and sound advice of our 1st Pope, ” If you say so, LORD …
After all, to WHOM else can we turn to? Only GOD can give Us all we need to succeed.
Our choice always, YESHUA, Fully GOD, Fully Man, GOD THE SON, GOD WHO LOVES US with HIS LIFE, Forever!
GOD LOVE YOU ALL!!!
2nd Feb 2025
To WHOM else can we turn to?
WHO is this, that even the storm and the sea Obey HIM [Mark 4: 41], WHAT Manner of Man is this, that even… (Matthew 8 : 27)?
THE ANSWER ALWAYS IS YESHUA, “Y H W H SAVES”, HE WHO COMES IN THE (HOLY) NAME OF THE LORD, SON OF GOD, GOD THE SON.
THE LORD comes, fulfilling all HIS PROMISES to the House of Israel, n beyond all expectations, HE, THE LORD, announces HIS PLAN and WILL: THE SALVATION of THE COSMOS, the restoration of The Harmony that governed the entire Cosmos BEFORE The Fall.
Father Joseph n Mother Mary represent All GOD’s Family, who love GOD and do all they can n should under The Old Law to draw close to GOD. YESHUA, (= YHWH SAVES) represents THE FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW. IN THIS GREATEST SAVING ACT, GOD seals HIS Intention from THE BEGINNING, to bring everything, everything back to a state of LOVE n PEACE in Creation.
In Y H W H SAVES=YESHUA, fulfilling THE LAW, THE PROHETS have their Mission fulfilled. They, the Prophets declare their satisfaction n joy that MESSIAH, Y H W H SAVES has come !!! Simeon n Anna represent all THE PROPHETS who ” made straight the path of THE LORD” to enter human history. The time has come for The Prophets of Old to stand aside n for YESHUA to bring about THE KINGDOM of GOD !!! In this KINGDOM, GOD is with us, HE is Emmanu-EL. But as Father was so inspired in reminding us in today’s sermon, we are triply Blessed. THE GOD of LOVE , THE UNITY, THE FATHER , THE SON n THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE HOLY TRINITY wishes to take residence under the humble roof of each one of us chosen to be a child of GOD. THE KINGDOM of GOD is also therefore GOD in Us. Each of Us Christians, little Christ’s will be a prophet, a priest, a son/daughter of THE LIVING GOD, THE PRESENCE of GOD, HIS IMAGE, in this existence. This is what THE HOLY TRINITY wishes Us to be aware of in this passage on The Presentation. GOD’s LOVE STORY with Us, each chapter reveals to you THE GOD WHO ALWAYS LOVES, and NEVER STOPPED LOVING, US.
YESHUA, GOD of LOVE n MERCY, Our choice, always, till the ends of the Earth.
Gospel – Luke 2:22-40
22 When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord,
23 just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,
24 and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord.
27 He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,
28 he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:
29 “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word,
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”
33 The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;
34 and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted
35 (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage,
37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple,
but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.
38 And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.
39 When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.
40 The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him
29th January 2025
Wishing you all a Blessed , peaceful, healthy, successful n prosperous Lunar New Year. 祝你蛇年幸福安康!
This is a pivotal year in Human history.
It is not a coincidence;
Chinese tradition places this as a Snake year(“蛇年”). Coincidentally, it is a wood Snake year. This recalls Salvation history as the Israelites marched through the desert during The Exodus from Egypt n slavery. The Israelites made tragic errors, complaining and constantly disregarding GOD’s provision, not understanding the immense SACRIFICE that was made to Free them. For their sins and arrogance, their wilfulness, GOD let them experience the pain of the plagues He had sent to their captors n tormentors. And to turn them back to HIS DIVINE PLAN, HE instructed the Israelites to set up a pole on which was lifted up a bronze Serpent, that whosoever would lift up their eyes n look upon it would be cured of their wounds and pain. This bronze Serpent on a pole prefigures Jesus/YESHUA crucified on the wooden Cross.
This is THE YEAR OF THE LORD.
In the Jewish calendar, it is also a year of Jubilee. After 7 cycles of 7 years, they were instructed to celebrate a year of Jubilee, a year dedicated to Mercy, Forgiveness n Renewal.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH has also declared this a JUBILEE YEAR,we have a Jubilee every 25 years.
This is also the year (20)25.
We celebrate YESHUA’s birthday on 25th December. But GOD’s time is eternity. Everyday HE has HIS birthday when GOD with Us enters into our hearts. “under our roof”. HAPPY NEW YEAR, HAPPY SNAKE YEAR. Make a difference, the world changes this year, !
19062024-17112024
My thanks to my Beloved brethren who have showered us with Love, with Light and with Truth. There remains Faith, Hope n LOVE, the greatest of all (gifts) is LOVE. To Christopher, Eli, Greg, Hans, Jeffrey, John, Mark, Michael and Samuel, GOD LOVE you all !
TO WHOM ELSE CAN WE TURN TO?
It’s all in how n what you believe… I was distraught, exhausted, disillusioned at Mummy Lucy’s condition not too long ago. In my anguish, I uttered Peter’s profound exclamation of Faith in YESHUA, in our blog. Within a short while after, days, she made amazing progress… we walked into Church for Mass 2 weeks ago.
There is no ‘other’ GOD. GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT, OUR TRIUNE GOD, DIVINE LOVE, GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE. Unlimited in knowledge n power, beyond space, beyond time, beyond all human understanding, loving unlimitedly , loving us with HIS LIFE !
Pope Francis created quite an uproar when he said ” all religions are paths to GOD”. To the zealous, he had uttered a new message incompatible with the GOSPELS. But then, some failed to notice the context, he also said, “As a deeply diverse society, we need to learn how to engage in differences and come to a realization that despite our disagreements, we can still embrace each other as fellow citizens or human beings with the same rights and dignity.”
My dear children, let me help you understand the situation we are in.
YESHUA, JESUS CHRIST, has no human equals. Fully GOD, fully Human. GOD THE SON. GOD.
Is there a need to bang someone’s head or kill someone if he says he doesn’t believe as we do? Is it possible for all Humanity to share only 1 Faith, a new world order? Is this GOD’s plan?
All things are possible with GOD.
However, I feel GOD’s intention is quite the opposite. Let me explain:
GOD tells us Humans, our shortcomings, and what HE intends to reverse n correct, right from “IN THE BEGINNING”. These by the way, are also the shortcomings of all beings in our Cosmos, who have taken up GOD’s Challenge, eaten of The Tree of knowledge of GOOD and knowledge of EVIL:
” MAN…A creature loved n pampered by THE MOST HIGH GOD. He has admirable traits—Man is like GOD, desires a LIFE of LOVE, he craves social interaction, acknowledgement, appreciation, affirmation— Therefore, Man requests a soul mate to keep himself company, to allay loneliness, to complete his human existence, to support n boost his ego. Man is curious n intelligent; has gumption, daring; he wants to be like, perhaps even to be GOD! — PRIDE! AMBITION!! But THE MOST HIGH G0D acknowledges this yearning in a positive Light: “Got Potential!!!” But, then again, if Man proceeds on the same path as the fallen angels — cocky-sure, disobedient, never realizing fully the consequences of their actions till a little too late… he would surely share in a similar disastrous ending, final self destruction, ultimately, extinction.
So Man, he takes up the challenge; consumes and incorporates this knowledge of GOOD and EVIL into his being, Conscience in the Heart, but he is hampered by AMBITION and PRIDE in tow. He now has the weight and guidance of the Divine from his conscience, an awareness and a heightened ability to tell Right from Wrong. Armed with this, GOD sends Mankind into the most comprehensive and intricate Obstacle course amongst all the Realms. MANKIND will have as his guide his conscience.
In the Christian story, THE GREATEST LOVE STORY ever told, GOD inserts HIMSELF INTO HUMANITY’s timeline, into literally Human history. GOD takes up Human Nature. HE takes our side, HE COMES TO BE WITH US [HE shall be called Emmanuel= “GOD with Us”], eternally, unchangeable and inseparable, FULLY MAN AND FULLY GOD, to TILT THE ODDS in our favor — We, children, are programmed to succeed in this Realm. GOD is One of Us and One with Us !!!
We should succeed, if we could only understand our weaknesses and firmly resolve to overcome them:
- A thirst for knowledge, a divinely inspired desire n drive to observe, learn, comprehend n analyse, then to master n achieve more n better, create n innovate. All Positive n Good! However, the small little bug in us also subscribes to Greed, Domination, Exclusivity-elitism, Depriving others to gain advantage n pleasure,…Evil !!
- Ambition. Have you ever wondered why The Serpent was in the Garden? GOD knows everything happening, down to the slightest vibration…. Haha! Maybe, Genesis was just a story. But GOD’s stories always tell much more; much, much, more… A partner is set up for Adam [man], from his ‘rib’, from close to his heart, to support n make him whole. Wo-man [Made from Man] is however, not completely satisfied, though. Why not try to get a better deal? Maybe her Man could get a promotion… become as powerful as GOD…An inability to be satisfied with what is given n what we already have, a penchant for grabbing, stealing or robbing our neighbors when something lights up our eyes !
- Violence. Not a day goes without some madness and extreme violence. When will it all stop? Cain murdered Abel. It was all about not getting what we desire. Rather than finding out why GOD showed preference for Abel’s gift of animal sacrifice n not his own gift of beautiful fruits, Cain let his hurt n disappointment boil into a seething rage, Ending in a LIFE taken. In taking a LIFE that GOD owns, held sacred by GOD n HIS Angels, he fulfilled GODs assessment of him, not realizing there was another path. In Worship n accepted ritual in GOD’S Realm, the greatest n most valuable offering is of Life. Life is in practice, found only in the blood of living creatures. GOD rejected Cain’s offering, but accepted Abel’s sacrifice, to hint to the Human race the Great LOVE Sacrifice HE would make in entering Human history. One Supreme Life in exchange for all the Lives lost through Sin, including the 1st Life lost.
- And so the story continues. Man is asked at periodic intervals, Right or Wrong, Good or Evil? Can we do better? Alas, Ambition n PRIDE gets in the way, Wrong becomes right, Evil becomes good. The seeing become blinded, violence, killing , wars n endless fighting becomes a way to solve all problems. We can see it even in Abraham’s story. Sarah the wife, wants her own flesh n blood to receive the inheritance. But in her wily way, in her Ambition, seeing no results in her age, she arranges a concubine for the husband, despite GOD’S promise of an heir, during HIS n HIS angel’s visit. From there starts the Longest quarrel in human history, a bitter struggle between the Arabs (from Ishmael) n the Israelites[from Isaac], marked by numerous conflicts, burning hate, cycle after cycle of exacting revenge n mindless killing.
We are from The Beginning, told what we have to change. The First Laws, the commandments were given to Moses: First, honor n thank GOD for HIS LOVE n acknowledges HIM as The ONE n ONLY GOD. If we, Humanity, honor n worship GOD WHO made Us, we must honor our Parents who gave us Life n brought us up. Next, if we honor our parents, we must Hold Sacred The Life that they took such great pains, blood, sweat n heartache, to protect, nourish n bring up.
“THOU SHALL NOT KILL”.
Another perspective: what is Scripture, the Bible, trying to tell us? Abraham, believing in Faith in The promise of THE LIVING GOD, puts Isaac on the altar n is ready to sacrifice the boy. THE ANGEL OF THE LORD, WHO IS GOD HIMSELF, instructs him to do no harm to the boy. A ram is provided, its horns are caught in a thorny bush. In the CHRISTIAN Story, the parallels can only be described as Divine Inspiration. 2 horns on a Ram: Horns indicate in Mesopotamian, Sumerian n later culture a God, a Divine being. A Ram, a He goat: Goats were driven into the wilderness by the Israelites to represent the sending off n removal from their lands all sinfulness. YESHUA, GOD THE SON, THE WORD, GOD HIMSELF, COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN,(LAMB OF GOD “WHO TAKES AWAY THE SINS OF THE COSMOS”), ‘HEAD CAUGHT IN A CROWN OF THORNS’. SACRIFICED on THE ALTAR at Golgotha , “BODY GIVEN FOR YOU”, “BLOOD POURED OUT FOR YOU”…… From the beginning, bit by bit, GOD reveals what HE intends to do for Humanity and for Israel in particular:
GOD will do what only GOD can do: “LOVE IN PLACE OF LOVE”.
Abraham professed his Love and Faith in THE LIVING GOD. Tested by GOD, HE places his son on the altar at Moriah. GOD returns his affection n dedication in like, then offers Worlds more. HE offers GOD THE SON. The LOVE of GOD, Eternal, without End, Unlimited, beyond space, beyond Human understanding. In giving us HIS LOVE, GOD tells Us what HE would want Mankind to become n understand. Is HIS language, we, “in HIS Image”, are to do all things as he DOES, we are here to render HIS LOVE, MERCY AND JUSTICE; we are to make decisions in the INTERESTS of THE GOD of CREATION, knowing full well HIS LOVE for ALL HIS FLOCKS spread throughout the Cosmos.
THE LIVING GOD does not need us. HE needs NOTHING from Us. HE, CREATOR of ALL and EVERYTHING, surely does not need us to kill for HIM, brothers. [To Father Abraham: “DO NOT HARM the boy!”]. Most importantly, what HE wants is we STOP THE INSANE NEED FOR VIOLENCE. HE offers to Us THE SUPREME GIFT of HIMSELF — GOD OF THE UNIVERSE, GOD FOR WHOM NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE. ONE GOD, (There’s no other God!), to be rejected, laughed at, tortured, abused, spit on, crucified, finally, KILLED, dying a DEATH of a criminal. THE ETERNAL ONE for all eternity, suffers this insult and grief. What happened to HIM happens throughout eternity…HIS LIFE, in exchange for all the others, at every level. [ Don’t worry, HE IS THE LORD. KILLED n DIED, but RISE AGAIN HE DID, FOR ALL ETERNITY. HE IS THE LORD OF LIFE. HE IS TIME’S MASTER. NOTHING HOLDS HIM DOWN. THE GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE, THE SAME, YESTERDAY, TODAY AND FOREVER. There is a group of scholars who believe Abraham was ready to slaughter Isaac for the SACRIFICE to GOD on Mt Moriah, because he felt that GOD would raise his son from the dead even after Death. GOD does what Man Hopes for. ]
So, in sum total, what does GOD want? HE wants Us to succeed. Didn’t we want to be like HIM? We can be. TO BE GOD, TREASURE LIFE. HIS SON is HIS WORD. HIS SAVING ACT. HIS SON COMES IN HIS NAME: YESHUA = Y H W H SAVES. We mistreated HIM and abused HIM in every way, we killed HIM and hung HIM up on a Tree, all for trying to Save Us. HE HAD A BILLION BILLION REASONS TO WIPE OUT MANKIND AT ANY POINT IN TIME.
TREASURE LIFE…like THE GOD WHO LOVED US WITH HIS LIFE.
Do all major religions lead to GOD, are all “paths to GOD”? In Truth, what Pope Francis said is accurate. There is NO ‘other’ GOD. All things come from GOD, all things return to HIM. GOD desires especially, to draw all men to Himself. But for those who know how to truly worship n honor GOD, HE has provided, we believe, a lighted path, so we do not trip n fall or walk off the beaten path.
10112024 32nd Sunday ORDINARY TIME,
Mark 12:38-44
38 In his teaching he said, ‘Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long robes, to be greeted respectfully in the market squares,39 to take the front seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets;40 these are the men who devour the property of widows and for show offer long prayers. The more severe will be the sentence they receive.’
41 He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the treasury, and many of the rich put in a great deal.
42 A poor widow came and put in two small coins, the equivalent of a penny.43 Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘In truth I tell you, this poor widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury;44 for they have all put in money they could spare, but she in her poverty has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on.’
How do we know YESHUA is WHO HE SAYS HE IS. Because everything HE SAYS and DOES, ties in with all that is written in THE LAW and THE PROPHETS. THE GOD of All is THE GOD of LOVE, GOD of LIFE. HE abhors The Taking of Human Life. Leave all life taking to HIM. We face many challenges in this realm, too many human lives are lost through disease and natural disasters, one after another, especially in this cycle. It’s high time we made a decision to work out the future together. PEACE is the Fruit of WISDOM, and WISDOM is of GOD. Every major religion will teach Goodness and have rules and regulations to benefit their communities and the world at large. Should we allow criticism? Surely!! Pedophilia and sexual abuse deserve millstones around the neck, but willful parody of religious practices and beliefs held sacred must have limits, must not be allowed. “As a deeply diverse society, we need to learn how to engage in differences and come to a realization that despite our disagreements, we can still embrace each other as fellow citizens or human beings with the same rights and dignity.”
In this Age, clearly the End times, we are faced with stark choices. The End Times are not the END of The World. But it will be, if we Do Not draw Red Lines and continue our willful ignorance, bad habits and inhuman behavior.
GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON, AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT are moving the wise men of our times to give advise and provide a voice of reason. The choice is still ours to make: Grow up, show some restraint, think like a people ready for the future or go into self destruction.
YESHUA, GOD THE SON, says it all. In the ‘test’ and trap set by the Pharisees on whether to pay the temple tax, JESUS, YESHUA explains it all. The stakes are enormous. GOD[HE] paid One Price to enable us to be Children of GOD, brothers and sisters in THE KINGDOM. HE paid heavily for this, with ALL HE HAD, HIS REPUTATION, HIS SUFFERING AND DEATH, HE PAID with ALL HE COULD GIVE… and in GOD’s NATURE, HE GAVE HIMSELF, ONLY THE BEST, NOTHING LESS. 1 DENARIUS of GOD’s currency is Unlimited value, a Priceless gift. HE Paid THE SUPREME PRICE for Eternity, for All people on Earth and throughout the Cosmos. The poor widow in HIS observation is A Little YESHUA. That is how the world will survive and succeed. Whether you are Leader n Rich and Powerful, or poor and just one of the many, we will achieve the best by giving our hearts and minds to LOVE GOD and all HIS precepts , and also to LOVE Man, even to the poorest, the smallest[an embryo], the weakest, the aged sick, the blind and lame….. Blessed indeed are The Peacemakers, they shall be called Children of GOD. In GOD’s PEACE, we will see New Beginnings and Endless opportunities!!!
17112024, 33rd Sunday OT
Gospel, Mark 13:24-32
24 ‘But in those days, after that time of distress, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light,25 the stars will come falling out of the sky and the powers in the heaven will be shaken.26 And then they will see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.27 And then he will send the angels to gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the world to the ends of the sky.
28 ‘Take the fig tree as a parable: as soon as its twigs grow supple and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.29 So with you when you see these things happening: know that he is near, right at the gates.30 In truth I tell you, before this generation has passed away all these things will have taken place.31 Sky and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
32 ‘But as for that day or hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son; no one but the Father
” Our Choice….”
I don’t know how The Great Leaders of The World and the leaders of all the major world religions and their different sects will solve this issue. The World cannot carry on like this.
LORD, TO WHOM ELSE CAN WE TURN TO?
ONE MAN stands between us and self destruction. You see, GOD LOVES US, and GOD THE FATHER, THE CREATOR OF ALL THINGS, sent HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON to SAVE US. WHO but GOD would do something like that? LOVE is many things, but THE GREATEST LOVE A MAN CAN HAVE IS TO DIE FOR HIS FRIEND. WHO BUT GOD WOULD COME TO DIE FOR EVEN THE THANKLESS AND THOSE OBLIVIOUS TO HIS SUFFERING AND AYE, EVEN THOSE WHO GAVE HIM PAIN FROM REJECTION AND ABUSE?
OUT THERE IS OUR GOD. YESHUA SHOWED US EXACTLY WHAT HE IS LIKE... LOVE GOD, LOVE MAN ,IN PERSON. It’s time we take another look at HIM. Have we missed SOMETHING HUGE?
IN THERE, IN OUR HEARTS, IS OUR GOD. FATHER , SON AND HOLY SPIRIT ARE HOUSED WITHIN US. Like the Woman who gave all she had, LOVE GOD, LOVE MAN, A Little YESHUA is all the world needs to become a better place. Would THE FATHER destroy Us if little YESHUA thinks it might be good to have one more day to look see… remember one day is Eternity to YESHUA…
It’s not about making all religions into a mumbo jumbo salad of sorts. It’s about making all men and women love and respect each other, LOVE as GOD LOVES US, maximal restraint, maximal tolerance, justice in mercy. Let Us all be little YESHUAs, then GOD is with Us, then who can be against Us.
GOD LOVE YOU ALL!!!
Something to Consider
Sam Samouthian is an exceptionally gifted biblical scholar. In this segment, he gives us an in depth analysis of what Scripture says of GOD’S decision to wipe out the Amalekites. This act has stumped many who have come across this passage. Was this the 1st Genocide, capital G, attributable to GOD? Is the Christian GOD and Christianity violent and hypocritical? Why order the killing of all, men, women and children, even livestock? Are we Christians no better than barbarians in reality?… The answer, Sam tells us, shocks, and further deepens our understanding of Our GOD.
- GOD is THE GOD of MERCY. In THE ARK of THE COVENANT, JESUS, YESHUA sits in judgement on the Mercy seat, guarded by 2 Cherubim, atop the Chest that holds the The tablets of The LAW, Moses’ staff, powdered Gold/Manna and some other precious items. Have no doubts, GOD’s decision to wipe out these people was not taken lightly, it was made mercifully, this is the GOD who sits on the MERCY THRONE: HE gave the people of The land time to change their ways…400 years. Yet the sins of the Amalekites came to full measure, and they were wiped out.
- We are in the same boat, the same sins. On top of this, it is the time. The fig tree has sprouted new leaves. This happened when Israel was founded and the Jewish diaspora started returning to their ancestral lands. “It was as at the time of Noah”. GOD’S Patience and Mercy is limited. In Justice, even with The Greatest Mercy, we are just a couple more steps from triggering a Reset. JESUS, YESHUA, ‘doesn’t know’ the time or the hour this will happen. That’s because HE doesn’t want our destruction. GOD THE FATHER also doesn’t want our demise. HE sees Promise and Potential in Humanity. One MAN stands in THE WAY of our Doom. YESHUA! We may already have reached full measure, but I think GOD THE FATHER always holds back, HE sees YESHUA in Us, HE hears each time, YESHUA’s plea, “FATHER , forgive them for they know not what they do!”
It’s time to stop fighting. Perhaps, not only stop, but go into an act of penance, the entire people of the countries involved in conflict. Learn to live in peace for another few years by turning away from revenge and violent responses. Start talking terms for peace. GOD’S decision to let us exist on depends also on us showing positive plans we have for the future we want, or are we interested at all? Worse, are we trying to test HIM, again?
JESUS, YESHUA, GOD THE SON , SAVIOUR OF THE COSMOS, HAVE MERCY ON US !
26th Sunday, Ordinary Time
Numbers 11:25–41
25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was upon him and put it upon the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did so no more.
26 Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested upon them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, “My lord Moses, forbid them.” 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!
Gospel: Mark 9: 38-43, 45, 47-48
38 John answered him, saying: Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, who followeth not us, and we forbade him.
39 But Jesus said: Do not forbid him. For there is no man that doth a miracle in my name, and can soon speak ill of me.
40 For he that is not against you, is for you.
41 For whosoever shall give you to drink a cup of water in my name, because you belong to Christ: amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.
Reflections, 25th Sunday in Ordinary time 22/09/2024
The wicked say:
Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us;
he sets himself against our doings,
reproaches us for transgressions of the law
and charges us with violations of our training.
Let us see whether his words be true;
let us find out what will happen to him.
For if the just one be the son of God, God will defend him
and deliver him from the hand of his foes.
With revilement and torture let us put the just one to the test
that we may have proof of his gentleness
and try his patience.
Let us condemn him to a shameful death;
for according to his own words, God will take care of him.
Beloved:
Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist,
there is disorder and every foul practice.1
But the wisdom from above is first of all pure,
then peaceable, gentle, compliant,
full of mercy and good fruits,
without inconstancy or insincerity.
And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace
for those who cultivate peace.
Where do the wars
and where do the conflicts among you come from?
Is it not from your passions
that make war within your members?
You covet but do not possess.
You kill and envy but you cannot obtain;
you fight and wage war.
You do not possess because you do not ask.
You ask but do not receive,
because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee,
but he did not wish anyone to know about it.
He was teaching his disciples and telling them,
“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men
and they will kill him,
and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.”
But they did not understand the saying,
and they were afraid to question him.
They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house,
he began to ask them,
“What were you arguing about on the way?”
But they remained silent.
They had been discussing among themselves on the way
who was the greatest.
Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,
“If anyone wishes to be first,
he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”
Taking a child, he placed it in their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me.”
A warm welcome to our beloved Pope Francis on his visit to our Little Rock in the sea, SINGAPORE. Glory to GOD in THE HIGHEST, Peace to all men of Goodwill!
Thank you your Holiness!
A beautiful rainbow we saw this evening, vibrant colors, from violet to red and violet again, a good welcome gift from GOD, a reassurance of HOPE and GOD’S perpetual LOVE and regard. Some problem with loading up photo though, haha!
Dearest friends , brothers n sisters,
“Who can say GOD does not Love you?” The conqueror king said to the Knight defending the City of Jerusalem [from the movie “Kingdom of Heaven”]. Jerusalem had finally fallen , the resolute defenders had turned back the attackers, despite round after round of overwhelming force, despite being heavily outnumbered, outgunned. But they were exhausted, could hardly stand, let alone fight. The Knight, in relinquishing The City, asked only for the lives of the inhabitants to be spared. In acknowledging the Divine, the conqueror king gladly agreed, to ensure the bloodshed stop there n then. GOD works in strange ways…
Many ponder in their hearts, it troubles great n simple souls alike, aiye, even some of the saints, why does GOD allow such cruel n painful things to happen in our lives, throughout Human existence. In the Old testament oft quoted is the clearing of all the dwellers and their animals in the Promised Land as the Israelites crossed the river Jordan. Was it genocide? In the new testament, the Passion n Suffering of OUR LORD , the thousands of Martyrs who were tortured n killed for their belief, was it really needed?? Was JESUS really rude to the Samaritan Woman, calling her a dog, in Matthew 15, 21-28:
The Faith of a Canaanite Woman
21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”
23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.
WELL, GOD DOESN’T CHANGE, neither do HIS statutes. The choice is ours. Believe or not to believe. GOD or no GOD. GOD or not GOD. TRINITY or not TRINITY. YESHUA, GOD THE SON or not GOD THE SON. FULLY GOD, FULLY MAN or not FULLY GOD, FULLY MAN. GOD’s Commandments in summary, LOVE GOD, LOVE MAN or not to LOVE GOD , LOVE MAN.
To set Man Free when HE made him, GOD designed our Obstacle Course, from the beginning. Armed with conscience, the fruit of The Tree of knowledge of Good n knowledge of Evil, HE set us on a Life Journey to rediscover HIM n our Destiny; Stewards of Creation.
GOD is by definition, undefinable , unlimited, unfathomable, impossible, beyond Human undertanding:
We have somebody like that, HE says HIS NAME is “I AM THAT IAM” , in Hebrew, Initials Y H W H, pronounced YaHoW(V)aH. We understand this GOD is a communion of GOD THE FATHER, THE CREATOR, GOD THE SON, ONE in Being with GOD THE FATHER, called THE WORD, THE ACTS OF GOD in PERFECT HARMONY with THE FATHER and GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE PERFECT LOVE that exists between FATHER n SON. QUANTUM UNION, anything perfect is GOD, so 3 Perfect Entities, 3 IN 1, TRINITY. In Christian Belief, any one seeking membership in GOD’s Family must acknowledge this TRUTH, “baptizing them, ‘IN THE NAME of THE FATHER, THE SON and THE HOLY SPIRIT’ “.
Is YESHUA GOD? YESHUA= YHWH SAVES. IT FITS LIKE A GLOVE. YESHUA IS FULLY GOD, FULLY MAN. If we love HIM, WE MUST LOVE GOD, LOVE Man. We cannot LOVE GOD without loving Man. GOD’s SALVATION for Man and HIS Creation is HIS Defining ACT, HIS PROUDEST MOMENT, “THIS IS MY SON, THE BELOVED…”. HE IS THE GOD OF SALVATION, HIS NAME SAYS IT ALL, YHWH SAVES !
How does GOD SAVE us? THE WORD of GOD Opens our Eyes n Ears, it stirs our Hearts, we are astounded n amazed, “HE told me everything about myself…(the Samaritan woman at the well)” ONLY GOD knows us, because HE made us, we have nowhere to hide...[Adam n Eve at The Garden, “why are you hiding … ?”]
“EPI(H)PTHATA”, commanded by THE WORD. JESUS,YESHUA ‘groans’, just as HE uttered at Creation, our knees bend or we fall flat, all of Creation, the Angelic realm, the Spirit world, all creatures great n small , in every world…. every knee bends…when THE LORD passes by.
The Gospels, more than all the writings, direct us to THIS REVELATION. Binding the past, The Old Testament prophecy, with THE SECOND PERSON in THE TRINITY. YESHUA fulfills Isaiah’s Words, “HE comes to SAVE”; Eye of the Blind, Ear of the Deaf “be opened”. When you can accept HIM, your tongue is loosened, you can then talk to HIM. UNDERSTAND that GOD , THE FATHER, SON n SPIRIT, LOVES YOU with all HIS BEING, NEVER STOPPED LOVING YOU, NEVER WILL. THIS GOD LOVED YOU WITH HIS LIFE (One Day in GOD’s Life Time is ETERNITY). NO ONE BUT GOD CAN LOVE LIKE THAT !!!
WHO ELSE COULD YESHUA/JESUS BE, TO WHOM ELSE CAN WE TURN TO ???
Most of us never realize this, there is a GOD, and for sure HE LOVES us, not a romantic feeling[eros], not friendship[filios] but with HIS LIFE, in exchange for ours, our Freedom [AGAPE!!].
JESUS CHRIST, YESHUA= Y H W H SAVES IS OUR KNIGHT AND KING WHO LAID DOWN HIS LIFE FOR US.
HE wants, wills us, to be HIS FAMILY, not just listeners[‘Rabbi,Teacher’], not just friends and followers [‘Master’] but Brothers n Sisters of THE LIVING GOD [‘MY LORD and MY GOD !!!’ Baptised…In THE NAME of THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT]. We could never have made it on our own in this obstacle course in our chaotic reality [Sea of Galilee , of the Nations(Gentiles)].
So GOD THE FATHER sent HIS SON [“for GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE SENT HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON…”. And come to us HE did, to Tyre[ in Hebrew, Rock, fortified Island inhabited by mostly Gentiles, off Sidon, a busy shelter n port of call. The name ‘Sidon’ derives from the local dialect ‘to Fish’. Every place, every person, every name has been lined up by GOD, to lead us to THE TRUTH, YESHUA, LORD and GOD, SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD. GOD, YESHUA came to Fish for us Gentiles in Sidon n Tyre especially [the initials of YESHUA’s Name in Greek also spell ‘Fish’, YESHUA , DIVINE FISHER OF MAN]. HE found worthy The Rock(Tyre) of The Gentiles: the Gentiles in Great Faith, and in Great humility had acknowledged their nothingness, in Truth, we are no better than any creature under Heaven, [see above, Matthew 15, interestingly, dogs were regarded as unclean by the Jews but admired by all for being domesticated, loyal , defensive of THE MASTER’s interests and holdings! Haha! Luckily HE called us dog and not something else ]. The Samaritan Woman represents all of us Gentiles: we have asked GOD to accept us as HIS Children. This request parallels the request of HIS Mother, ‘Woman’— Mother Mary’s request is on behalf of The first People of GOD, Israel, and all of GOD’s Family, “they have no wine” … This is the request that GOD delights to answer, yes, yes, yes!!! HE wants to fill us, when we acknowledge our nothingness, our absolute dependence on HIM, with LOVE EVERLASTING, LIFE ETERNAL, GIFTS OVERFLOWING.
HOW does HE want us to understand HIS KINGDOM, HIS FAMILY, KINGDOM of HEAVEN; KINGDOM of GOD. Remember, In SPIRIT and TRUTH, Not a Place, no Time involved also— (stop fighting for land, Heaven can be at the tip of a needle—) it’s about your heart/mind and soul, and THE KING WHO SEEKS TO LIVE WITHIN, ONE GOD, THE FATHER, CREATOR OF ALL THINGS, THE SON, GOD WHO SAVES, THE SAVIOUR OF THE COSMOS AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT, FIRE OF LOVE BETWEEN FATHER and SON, GOD WHO WILL MAKE ALL THINGS ANEW! It’s about being ‘little Christs’= Christian! HOW will GOD see n recognize HIS sons n daughters? From far, far away, HE will rush over to Welcome n LOVE n Hug us, because HE CAN SEE HIS SON n HIMSELF n THE SPIRIT of LOVE under our roof. THE HOLY TRINITY lives in us at our invitation especially during Mass, when we consume THE EUCHARISTIC HOST, we are entering into supernatural Comm-Union with THE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE. HE COMES INTO US, MAKES HIS HOME in us. WE become little Christs literally. Our eyes n Ears are Opened, we begin to speak, we regain our ability to communicate w THE TRIUNE GOD, our first words are in confession, “FATHER, I have sinned..”
CHRIST is EmmanuEL, GOD with us. In every sense, this is a prophecy fulfilled. CHRIST is within each one of us, HE is already here, no need to wait and wait, look here n there, up or down. IN SPIRIT n TRUTH, no space, no time, “so long as you did it to one of these, the least of my brethren, you did it to me” Immediately, HE is you and I.
MAYBE, maybe it’s about time we sit down n talk this through with all The Family. YESHUA WILLS AND INSISTS that we believe, in UNION, IN SPIRIT n TRUTH. HE IS GOD, GOD THE SON, FULLY GOD, FULLY MAN, not negotiable. HE LOVES us, n INSISTS if WE LOVE GOD, also must LOVE MAN, not negotiable. HE promises to be with us, till the Ends of the Earth, end of time. HE continues to be with us, in prayer, when 2 or more are gathered in prayer. HE is PRESENT ESPECIALLY in THE SACRAMENTS, EVERY SACRAMENT SHOWS HIS REAL PRESENCE, not negotiable!! ESPECIALLY THE EUCHARIST, not negotiable…HIS DEATH, HIS SACRIFICE, THE CROSS, the second chance given to us, never ever negotiable. 7 sacraments, 7 assurances YESHUA, EMMANUEL is always GOD with Us. When we Take and eat Communion, we partake THE BODY and BLOOD of THE SACRIFICED LORD, at THE Upper Room, Under HIS CROSS, with THE Church past, present till eternity. “IT IS THE LORD” WHO gives us HIS GIFT OF LOVE n LIFE. When we confess our sins, IT IS THE LORD WHO hears our pain, extends HIS MERCY from HIS CROSS and absolves. When we are Baptised ,“IT IS THE LORD who washes, helps us put on the Garment of The Family. THE FAMILY THREE Hugs us, fills us with the FIRE of LOVE and Seals in us THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE DIVINE PRESENCE “IT IS THE LORD”. When we get married, “IT IS THE LORD”, holding us together, whispering into our ears, “FOR BETTER OR WORSE, FOR RICHER OR POORER, IN SICKNESS AND HEALTH” , When, HE BLESSES AND APPOINTS THE PRIEST, “IT IS THE LORD”, didn’t you hear HIM, THE SPIRIT in the gentle breeze, “FEED MY LAMBS…” When we are sick and about to return, “IT IS THE LORD” WHO told me to get up……
IT’s ALWAYS BEEN THE LORD, WHO TAKES US THROUGH EACH STEP, CARRIES US THROUGH EVERY DIFFICULTY…
Why then, did GOD do a reset? WHY if HE LOVES US so much? To GOD, THE FATHER , THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, It’s not just only Sin, but the worst DEPRAVITY, THE DEPRAVITY of MINDLESS VIOLENCE, THAT’S WHY — No chance for survival of Mankind if this continues. Why instruct the killing of the Canaanites when the Israeli forces entered The Promised Land? The religion of the Canaanites centered on worship of a God they called Baal, They were exceedingly violent, they were the worshippers of the Demon god who insisted new born babes be split in half n burned in offering at his temple. GOD removed them to allow Israel a chance to survive. Does that mean we can genocide, kill a few thousand here n there , since GOD INSTRUCTED IT ONCE?? BEWARE, “VENGEANCE IS MINE” says THE LORD. THE LORD does as HE SO PLEASES , all Creation exists at HIS MERCY, HIS ALONE is the right to end Human life. No one should feel too free to take liberties, not with this GOD. GOD THE SON, SUFFERED HUMILIATION, WAS SPIT ON, LASHED n WHIPPED, CRUCIFIED FOR LOVE of GOD, LOVE of MAN. HE DIED AND ROSE AGAIN TO GIVE US A CHANCE TO ESCAPE DEATH AND A CHANCE FOR US TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. BUT I WARN YOU ALL, GOD’S PAIN AND SACRIFICE MUST NEVER BE TRIFFLED WITH. Time for us to take a break from what HE DETESTS.
GOD LOVE YOU ALL, HE ALWAYS HAS, ALWAYS WILL. If you can cherish this thought, you are in The kingdom of GOD, in HEAVEN already, because THE TRINITY is always in you, each Day in GOD’s Time is Eternity, to make a difference, doing all things, IN THE NAME of THE FATHER, THE SON and THE HOLY SPIRIT !!! Amen !!!
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, 08 Sept 24
Isaiah 35:4-7A
Thus says the LORD: Say to those whose hearts are frightened:
Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing. Streams will burst forth in the desert, and rivers in the steppe. The burning sands will become pools, and the thirsty ground, springs of water.
Gospel : Mark 7:31‐37
Returning from the district of Tyre, Jesus went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, right through the Decapolis region. And they brought him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they asked him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, put his fingers into the man’s ears and touched his tongue with spittle. Then looking up to heaven he sighed; and he said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be opened.’ And his ears were opened, and the ligament of his tongue was loosened and he spoke clearly. And Jesus ordered them to tell no one about it, but the more he insisted, the more widely they published it. Their admiration was unbounded. ‘He has done all things well,’ they said ‘he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.’
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, 1st Sept 24
Moses said to the people:
“Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees
which I AM teaching you to observe,
that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land
which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
In your observance of the commandments of the LORD, your God,
which I enjoin upon you,
you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it.
Observe them carefully,
for thus will you give evidence
of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,
who will hear of all these statutes and say,
‘This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.’
For what great nation is there
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us
whenever we call upon him?
Or what great nation has statutes and decrees
that are as just as this whole law
which I am setting before you today?”
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem,
summoning their elders, their leaders,
their judges, and their officers.
When they stood in ranks before God,
Joshua addressed all the people:
“If it does not please you to serve the LORD,
decide today whom you will serve,
the gods your fathers served beyond the River
or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now dwelling.
As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
But the people answered,
“Far be it from us to forsake the LORD
for the service of other gods.
For it was the LORD, our God,
who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt,
out of a state of slavery.
He performed those great miracles before our very eyes
and protected us along our entire journey
and among the peoples through whom we passed.
Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God.”
Gospel
When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
—For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace
they do not eat without purifying themselves.
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds. —
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”
He responded,
“Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:
This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.
You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”
He summoned the crowd again and said to them,
“Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.
“From within people, from their hearts,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile.”
To WHOM ELSE can we turn to…
Gospel Jn 6:60-69
Many of Jesus’ disciples who were listening said,
“This saying is hard; who can accept it?”
Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,
he said to them, “Does this shock you?
What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending
to where he was before?
It is the spirit that gives life,
while the flesh is of no avail.
The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.
But there are some of you who do not believe.”
Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe
and the one who would betray him.
And he said,
“For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me
unless it is granted him by my Father.”
As a result of this,
many of his disciples returned to their former way of life
and no longer accompanied him.
Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
We have come to believe
and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”
A father’s reflections:
GOD instructed Moses, (“… I AM THAT I AM”[ this is HIS NAME]–the initials of THE HOLY NAME in Hebrew read: Y H W H, thus THE NAME YHWH, YaHoWaH or YaHWeH)” “Tell them that “I AM” has sent… you…” ). Not once but 7 times JESUS, YESHUA declares HE is “I AM” in the Gospel of St John. No IF or Buts, children… “I AM” = YESHUA = GOD.
We understand the difficulty our beloved Jewish brothers n others faced yesterday and up till this very day. The Jewish audience at Jesus’ sermons were confronted n challenged by 2 levels of THE TRUTH. YESHUA(Hebrew, =YHWH SAVES)[= JESUS CHRIST(greek)] says of Himself, ” I AM THE LIVING BREAD…came down from Heaven”, HE was declaring HIMSELF to be GOD[I AM], came down from HEAVEN. HE is GOD, GOD THE SON, THE WORD, through WHOM all things were made. A New Covenant had been requested by The People of GOD[ represented by Mother Mary, “They have no Wine.” The old wine, the old religion had lost its’ taste. But in coming down , entering into our frailness, our fragmented, disordered and chaotic reality, GOD has Plans !!! A NEW REALITY, a RESTORATION of CREATION to the pristine, balanced Joy, Peace n Love existing in Perfect Harmony in every Realm, as it was, from before the War in Heaven, from before the Fall. How will this be accomplished? GOD THE SON, YESHUA = YHWH SAVES, is GOD-with-Us, EMMANUEL. Simeon’s Prophecy [Luke 2:29-32] says it all, (on meeting YESHUA as a baby at the temple presentation):
29 “Now, according to your word, Sovereign Lord, permit your servant to depart in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your SALVATION
31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples:
32 a light, for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”
GOD THE FATHER Wills The Restoration of HIS Creation.
GOD THE SON , YESHUA = YHWH SAVES, is at once HIS ACT/INSTRUMENT and THE PERSON WHO is THE GIFT OF SALVATION. HIS NAME SAYS IT, HE (COMES TO) SAVES. Salvation is for all, not for Israel or The People of The First COVENANT alone, but also for The Gentiles, the rest of The Human Family, indeed , of All GOD’s Family throughout The Cosmos.
“How is this possible, how can HE say, … who can accept it?“
But accept you must, if you wish to be part of THE FAMILY. When GOD wants you[ everyone of you], you will know n accept. WHO else could YESHUA be?, after all these [thousands of ] years, each and every messianic prophecy fulfilled, [Has anyone come close to even fulfilling some?], the Silence of Prophecy after HIS Coming: Birth, Ministry, Death n RESURRECTION, Miracle after Miracle during HIS Ministry, the Martyrs of The Early Church who gave up their lives for THIS BELIEF: There is ONE GOD[No other], FATHER, SON AND HOLY SPIRIT [Baptizing All Nations, “In THE NAME of THE HOLY TRINITY. Where the Church set up, this was the belief n practice]. YESHUA= YHWH SAVES [ YESHUA’s NAME literally contains ‘YHWH’— “HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD”, YESHUA is GOD’s GIFT of SALVATION. YESHUA IS GOD with Us, FULLY GOD, FULLY MAN, YESHUA LOVES HUMANITY[Not negotiable!], HE LOVED US [Only GOD loves so unconditionally…] with HIS LIFE, AN INNOCENT PERFECT LIFE, HIS LIFE, offered in SACRIFICE to redeem a broken, disordered Creation that had lost its direction n flavor.
The second difficult teaching that YESHUA insisted on was that HE was THE BREAD of LIFE. GOD THE SON Offered HIMSELF, BODY TO BE BROKEN and eaten.., BLOOD TO TO BE POURED OUT and drunk … The Words HE used are CHEW n REAL(flesh, blood), no mistake. Many stopped following after this discourse.. They understood what HE was insisting on, that only by eating HIS BODY/FLESH and BLOOD would they have a share in HIS LIFE, in eternity.
In celebrating THE EUCHARIST, we “WORSHIP IN SPIRIT and TRUTH”, we enter into GOD’s Realm. No space, no Time, GOD is GOD of visible and invisible. We are having Supper with THE LORD in The Upper Room [ Upper room= mountain top, where Man meets GOD…] with all GOD’s Family. A Family feast, we are GIVING THANKS to THE LORD, same place, all the time
Who is presiding, WHO is THE HIGH PRIEST Offering Our THANKSGIVING? “THIS IS MY BODY, THIS IS MY BLOOD”? “It is THE LORD” This is every disciple’s proper response when they understand, when they finally get it, when GOD Opens your eyes, when the priest/celebrant[It is Jesus in him] lifts up THE HOST, we see JESUS at the Altar, THE REAL PRESENCE !!! Like on the road to Emmaus, OUR LORD opened the eyes of the 2 disciples whose FAITH had been shaken upon THE CRUXIFIXION, they ‘recognized HIM at the breaking of Bread’…same High Priest, THE LORD, everytime!
WHAT SACRIFICE is being offered? YESHUA lifts up THE HOST, says THE WORDs, ” THIS IS MY BODY, Given for you… MY BLOOD of THE COVENANT, Poured our for many for The Forgiveness of Sins”. As the Priest, YESHUA in him[“It is THE LORD”], lifts up the HOST n Chalice, our eyes lift up n at once, we see THE CROSS, we are, at once, also at CALVARY, standing below THE CROSS, in sorrow n pain with Mother Mary, The Angels n Saints, The entire Chuch [No space, No Time]. On THE CROSS hangs OUR SAVIOUR, GOD THE SON, THE SAVIOUR of THE COSMOS ! … same event every time, same 2 places, Calvary n Upper room at every time.
YESHUA Dies once, we offer the Sacrifice only once. THE FAMILY THANKSGIVING MEAL is NOT a remembrance enacted many times to gain more benefit. It is in fact, GOD’s Eternal GIFT to us, HIS Family. WE ARE THERE, WHEN OUR GOD DIED TO SAVE US. THE MASS is something like a time machine, so to speak. The Mass is for anyone who comes in peace n reverence. THE LORD’s SUPPER is for the Baptized, Family members only. At every EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION, the feast happens in the Upper Room. We are there, with the entire Church gathered to celebrate. The COMMUNION HOST we receive is THE REAL SACRED BODY and BLOOD of YESHUA. This gives us LIFE ETERNAL. We celebrate THE LORD’s SACRIFICE. This is of INFINITE value n happens once only. At once, we are also at the foot of THE CROSS: ONE Event, celebrated at each Mass, no matter when or where. Finally, do we actually consume THE BODY n BLOOD of YESHUA? Again,YES!YES! GOD is GOD of Everything, visible or invisible. Matter n Time are HIS to command. What if one day, we invent a time device? That’s exactly it, GOD is GOD, go where HE Wills, you will see only what HE wants you to see… In this Realm, we Believe we receive the REAL FLESH and BLOOD, GOD THE SON IN HIS Entireness, BODY, BLOOD, SOUL and DIVINITY !!! See, we only see THE HOST, But we know, we Believe: it is THE LORD !!! Wouldn’t a spiritual or metaphorical explanation do? NOT TO OUR GOD. When we CONSUME HIS BODY n BLOOD, we invoke n invite GOD THE TRINITY , FATHER , SON and HOLY SPIRIT into our being. We become Little YESHUA’s, Little Christs (= Christian), We BECOME GOD with Us. GOD’s Kingdom is about Creation filled with Little Christs.
Do you still Believe or “Do you also want to leave”?
GOD LOVES US, EVERY SOUL A MIRACLE OF LOVE ETERNAL. THE MASTER NEEDS US TO LOOK AFTER AND PROTECT CREATION, HE IS DOING MAJOR RENOVATION, CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION WORK. HE IS NOT GIVEN TO WHIMS. HIS EXPERTISE IS THE IMPOSSIBLE.
WHAT IS THE SUM OF ALL HE DESIRES FROM US? BELIEVE IN HIM [ CAN YOU THINK OF ANYONE ELSE TO TURN TO? ] HE IS GOD[ONLY ONE], HE IS “I AM THAT I AM”, ETERNAL, UNLIMITED POWER, ABLE TO DO IMPOSSIBLE THINGS IN HUMAN TERMS.
GOD knows how difficult it is to get things in order. GOD THE SON, FULLY GOD, FULLY MAN, WAS KILLED BY VERY PEOPLE HE WAS SAVING. BUT THIS IS THE WAY HE PLANNED FROM THE BEGINNING: (TO REDEEM US) BY OFFERING HIS SUFFERING AND DEATH SACRIFICE AS A BLAMELESS MAN, HE REVERSES AND SETS ASIDE JUDGEMENT ON OUR FAILINGS, OUR SINS. MORE IMPORTANTLY, HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION THEN OPENS THE GATE FOR MANKIND TO RETURN TO GOD’s REALM.
THIS GOD IS DIFFERENT, CHILDREN. DESPITE OUR NOTHINGNESS, HE LOVES US, NEVER STOPPED LOVING US. HE GOES TO NO END OF TROUBLE PREPARING US, THEN WHEN HE COMES, HE SURPRISES US BY BEING SO GENTLE [Not the gods of the times who were revered for their ‘power’, often violent in nature, needing endless ritual, including human, sacrifices. Remember Elijah, when Elijah hears GOD coming to his cave, it is not in quake, thunder, hail or storms but as a gentle wind] HE TALKS TO US AS IF HE KNOWS US INSIDE OUT, ALL OUR BAD HABITS, OUR HUMAN FAILINGS, OUR RECALCITRANT BEHAVIOURS, AS IF HE MADE US…THEN, HE SUFFERS n DIES FOR US, RESTORES OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM, MAKES US HIS CHILDREN. THIS GOD LOVED US WITH HIS LIFE. HE NEVER STOPPED LOVING US.
GET OUR ORIENTATION AND MOTIVES RIGHT, ” LOVE GOD, LOVE MAN !!! THIS IS WHAT HE WANTS US TO DO ALWAYS IN THE KINGDOM ” [ By THE WAY, HE detests violence and bullying. ] For the rest, leave it to GOD. THE FATHER , SON AND HOLY SPIRIT, THE HOLY TRINITY, OUR LIVING GOD, has it all worked out, to the last yod/letter, till the Ends of The Earth.
GOD Love you all today, remember, GOD’s Day is Eternity, Forever.
John 6:51-58
18th August 2024, 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
51 I AM the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day, 55 for my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which the ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.
19th Sunday Ordinary time, 11th August 24
Elijah went a day’s journey into the desert,
until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it.
He prayed for death saying:
“This is enough, O LORD!
Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”
He lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree,
but then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat.
Elijah looked and there at his head was a hearth cake
and a jug of water.
After he ate and drank, he lay down again,
but the angel of the LORD came back a second time,
touched him, and ordered,
“Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!”
He got up, ate, and drank;
then strengthened by that food,
he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.
John 6:41-51
41 At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he … say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
43 “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. 44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’[a] Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. 46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47 Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. 48 I AM the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
21012024, 3rd Sunday in Ordinary time, Gospel : Mark 1 14-20
The Gospels are always exciting and so rich in the messages contained within.
A voice called out in the wilderness, the voice of St John the Baptist, dressed in the attire of a beggar or hermit (Animal skins), out in the desert, the wilderness, in the bewildering chaos that is our reality. John represents the culmination of the Best of the OLD Testament (OT) prophets. For all OT history, the prophets did as GOD directed, to prepare the coming of YESHUA, HIS PRESENCE entering human reality. They were lamps in the dark night of chaos n confusion within human history.
WHO are those that LOVE GOD? They know WHO HE is! This is “The LAMB of GOD”. Once the people are prepared, by acknowledging their failings, accepting n reestablishing GOD’S friendship (Baptism) and showing due repentance, John steps aside, for THE ONE Greater than he.
YESHUA goes into Galilee. YESHUA, HIS NAME means: YHWH saves. “Galilee of the Nations, (Isa 8)” is a famous town, crossroads where peoples from all over the ancient world met, both Jews and Gentiles living under one sky. It was considered an unclean, dirty place with pagans, by the religious standards of the elite. But GOD, YHWH tells us HIS Intent in “Galilee”, HE COMES to SAVE both Jew n Gentile, HIS WORK begins at the world’s crossroads !!! Galilee is along the coast of the sea named after it. Like John in the wilderness and desert, the sea of Galilee represents the wilderness, the chaotic existence n confusing world we live in. YESHUA reveals HIMSELF to those who love HIM: HE, GOD, is MASTER of Creation, only HE can control The Elements by HIS WORD. HE choses HIS team 1st, very carefully, as only GOD can. Every place, every person is put in place from before the world began. GOD is putting HIS plan in place. Every name , every place has a meaning and function. Andrew [ name means manly n brave, St Andrew was matyred on an X shaped Cross] recognises HIM, after initially following St John— YESHUA is THE MESSIAH, just as St John the Baptist proclaims, YESHUA is THE LAMB of GOD. Andrew then spreads the discovery. He tells his Brother SIMON, whom YESHUA renames and elects to the Chair of PETER. Simon’s name derives from the Hebrew ‘Shema’ meaning ‘he who hears’ (“Hear O Israel ….”), the name in Hebrew is Shimon. Both in personal character and as the Office of the Chair of Peter, Simon ranks well in GOD’s mind, one of GOD’S ‘brothers and sisters’ , those who ‘hear’/listen to HIS WORD and act on it appropriately (Recall YESHUA’s reply to the question of who are his brothers?) The response to GOD THE SON’s Invite by the 2 is the response GOD desires and appreciates= immediately !!! The response is complete, although, interrupted by a temporary faltering. (Peter denied CHRIST initially out of fear but was reinstated and eventually crucified for his love. Tradition holds he was crucified upside down in Rome at the time of the great persecution of early Christianity). Next, YESHUA calls James and John. Jame’s name derives from the name Jacob/Yacob, which has a meaning of following very closely, watching over and protecting. Finally, John , the name derives from the Hebrew Jonah/Yonah, literally ‘Dove’ which is how THE HOLY SPIRIT appears. John’s name means GIFT from GOD. The first apostles called are the leadership of The early Church, Peter , James n John are with JESUS, YESHUA , to witness The TRANSFIGURATION, where GOD THE SON is REVEALED. In The Leadership of The Church, GOD has placed HIS TRUST, in THE OFFICE of PETER, in The Bishops who working in Harmony with ‘Peter’, watch over n protect The Church, guided always in LOVE for GOD THE FATHER, SON and HOLY SPIRIT. In SPIRIT n TRUTH, they will sail THE CHURCH through the Sea of Chaos, guided by THE HOLY SPIRIT, we will be brought safely to the Other Side, to meet YESHUA at The Mountain Top (Where GOD and Man meet). Amen, Hallelujah, Praise and Glory be to OUR LORD and GOD !
“YOUR KINGDOM come, YOUR WILL be done.”
The Gospel passage from Mark 1: 14-20 celebrates the launch of THE KINGDOM. What is THE KINGDOM? Who is called to the ranks?
THE KINGDOM is GOD’S FAMILY. With GOD as THE FATHER, together with GOD THE SON, we are “THE KINGDOM”. It’s about those, all beings, who LOVE GOD n LOVE MAN. Each one has a special place in The Family, each one a Gift of GOD, a Beloved ‘John’, each of us provided a GIFT to finish and succeed in our mission by THE HOLY SPIRIT. Andrew was called 1st but was not at The Transfiguration, yet all LOVED GOD with their lives. Simon is renamed PETER as an act of institutionalization of a visible quantifiable leadership. A visible leader of the band of brothers and sisters. A first among equals. Save St John, all the apostles died as matyrs in their belief n mission. Each family member has THE HOLY SPIRIT within us, THE GIFT of GOD, this makes us Little CHRISTs , Little Beloved St John’s, Brothers n Sisters of Our LIVING GOD.
You see, GOD’S KINGDOM is already HERE. YESHUA HAS ALWAYS BEEN HERE, WITH US n WITHIN US, with GOD THE FATHER AND THE HOLY SPIRIT. We are CHRIST’s, YESHUA’s PRESENCE, we are HIS FAMILY KINGDOM. THE CHURCH is HIS PRESENCE, what we call sacraments are evidence of HIS PRESENCE and LOVE, always. When the priest Baptises, YESHUA is there. HE is the one doing the cleansing n infusing into us THE WATERS OF LIFE. HE helps us put on our tunic of white so we can sit and participate in GOD’S supper feast. When we celebrate THE EUCHARIST at MASS, it is YESHUA who celebrates, “it is THE LORD” [as the disciples at Emmaus exclaimed, in delight at discovering their companion was THE RISEN LORD]. It is YESHUA WHO is also THE LAMB of GOD offered up in Sacrifice. We are at once in The Upper Room with all, Mother Mary, the angels , all the Saints, all disciples, at once, under THE CROSS on which hung THE SAVIOUR OF THE COSMOS. How is this possible? Because we worship in SPIRIT and TRUTH, when we worship GOD , time and space stand aside. This is THE GOOD NEWS : GOD so LOVED the world that HE sent HIS ONLY SON to die for us. In Dying and Rising from the dead, all bonds and separation of GOD and Man are destroyed. GOD THE SON, FULLY GOD n MAN, GOD with us, inseparable, forever. Amen !!!
GOOD NEWS, PEACE to all men of Goodwill !!!
Mark 1 14-20
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand;[a] repent and believe in the gospel.”
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”[b] 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.
Read carefully these beautiful Gospel readings arranged by The Church after Christmas:
14012024, 2nd SUNDAY in Ordinary Time GOSPEL : Jn 1:35-42
The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples; and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them,“What do you seek?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying; and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, “So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).
07012024, Feast of THE EPIPHANY GOSPEL : Matthew 2:1-12
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.” Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.” After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.
31122023, Feast of THE HOLY FAMILY , presentation of THE LORD at the temple. Gospel : LK 2:22-40
When the days were completed for their purification
according to the law of Moses,
They took him up to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord,
just as it is written in the law of the Lord,
Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,
and to offer the sacrifice of
a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,
in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.
This man was righteous and devout,
awaiting the consolation of Israel,
and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit
that he should not see death
before he had seen the Christ of the Lord.
He came in the Spirit into the temple;
and when the parents brought in the child Jesus
to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,
He took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:
“Now, Master, you may let your servant go
in peace, according to your word,
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you prepared in sight of all the peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and glory for your people Israel.”
The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;
and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,
“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.”
There was also a prophetess, Anna,
the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.
She was advanced in years,
having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage,
and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.
She never left the temple,
but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.
And coming forward at that very time,
she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child
to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.
When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions
of the law of the Lord,
they returned to Galilee,
to their own town of Nazareth.
The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom;
and the favor of God was upon him.
In the previous reflections, we come to realise what Scripture is telling us about OUR GOD. GOD loves MAN, with HIS LIFE!!! Simultaneously , FINITE and INFINITE co-existing is a contradiction. YET, GOD decides for it and it is done: this is THE GOD of THE IMPOSSIBLE! As GOD THE SON, HE is THE WORD , THE ACTION(s) of GOD, in perfect agreement and resonance with GOD THE FATHER. GOD THE SON IS FULLY GOD , FULLY MAN. HE makes the Reunion of GOD and Man POSSIBLE! Moreover, THE LOVE of FATHER and SON is PERFECT and IN COMPLETE RESONANCE WITH GOD THE FATHER and THE SON. THE PERFECT LOVE of GOD is GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT and it is THE HOLY SPIRIT which is goes from THE FATHER and THE SON to fashion, inform and educate, mold and recreate Creation. When GOD, FATHER, SON & SPIRIT live under our roof, we resonate with GOD, then truly The World changes and is made anew. GOD, THE FATHER, THE SON, YESHUA, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT is PRESENT in The World through HUMANITY. YESHUA HAS ALWAYS BEEN WITH US AND ALWAYS WILL BE WITH US TILL THE END OF TIME through this.
In GOD’s view, CREATION stands on HIS 2 LAWS. HE is FULLY GOD, FULLY MAN. To understand and Worship HIM ,we must understand HIS Prime Directive: It’s all about LOVE GOD, LOVE MAN. In loving Man, we will love , respect and steward all of GOD’s Holdings, Created Order. We must understand why this is so important to HIM, THE GOD of CREATION, SACRIFICED HIS SON, TO SETTLE OUR ‘DEBT’, our destructive shortcomings :STUBBORN, WILFUL, Wrong Doings n Thinking, made worse by PRIDE, GREED, MANIPULATIVE and VIOLENT behavior. GOD firmly believes in HUMANITY, IT CAN TURN AROUND, with HIS SPIRIT, in THE IMAGE OF GOD THE SON, reinvogorate, renew, Creation. Humanity can exist in Peace and bring GOD’s PRESENCE, HIS LOVE and HIS PEACE, HIS SPIRIT to all in Creation.
The readings after Christmas tell us , in another cycle, what THE GOD of LOVE sees in THE HUMAN Race and THE GREAT GOD-MAN LOVE STORY :
Who are those that LOVE GOD? THE CHRISTMAS STORY tells us. MOTHER MARY is a remarkable example, BLESSED amongst Women. Those who LOVE GOD, hear his WORD and accept All that HE asks, Mother Mary’s response to Angel Gabriel is the response that delights GOD: Be it done to me according to your word”,despite knowing how she will be ostracised, humiliated and rejected by friends and family. Mother Mary represents all the BEST of THE OLD and NEW TESTAMENT. The People who LOVE GOD just know WHO HE is, and what they have to do as HIS BELOVED family… again Mother Mary at Canna,” Do whatever HE tells you!” Saint JOSEPH likewise welcomes GOD THE SON and cooperates to enable GOD’S LOVE STORY to be told. At the PRESENTATION , we are again told of how The Best of the OLD who loved GOD responded to HIS arrival…They were Waiting in Worship at The Temple. Simeon, the prophet could see who YESHUA was: His n Israel’s SALVATION, The Divine disruptor of a Jewish leadership that had gone awry. Simeon makes a prophecy of Mother Mary and The Church she represents. A sword will pierce her soul, revealing the thoughts of many… THE SON OF GOD LOVED US even allowing HIMSELF to be SACRIFICED at CALVARY. THOSE WHO LOVE GOD, HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS MAY FIND THEIR LIVES TURBULENT AND FILLED WITH PAIN AND HARDSHIPS [ Eli, Eli ,lema sabbachthani [Zebacthani]…] … ‘MAY’….But they like all the others will give thanks to THE GOD of LOVE for HIS LOVE n HIS GIFT of LIFE always. Troubles are part of the road we walk on, but GOD is THE MASTER OF DESTINY.
To Whom can we turn to?
ONLY GOD, THE GOD of PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. Let’s join the family of GOD’S brothers n sisters. Like Mother Mary n Saint Joseph, like Simeon n Anna… On the feast of Epiphany, GOD tells us HE LOVES everyone, both Jew n Gentiles. But The Jewish Nation has disappointed HIM. They didn’t realise HE had come, HEROD had to check with his advisers where the Messiah king was to be born! Then he hatched a plan to get the 3 Magi to inform him on the whereabouts of the Christ Child to have him killed! The Jewish elite likewise looked to a Messiah king of the likes of their great hero warrior King David. They rejected THE SON…HE just wasn’t what they wanted or expected. GOD
34th Sunday OT, 26th November 2023
You see, it’s all been about “LOVE GOD, LOVE MAN”. GOD THE SON. YESHUA is MAN AND GOD, forever. So too will we be judged. The scene in the story seems a scene into the future. In reality, once you grasp the concept that GOD and HIS Realm are outside time, just as THE MASS allows us to be in THE PRESENCE of CHURCH at all times with OUR HIGH PRIEST YESHUA in the Upper Room, Offering THE SACRIFICE , YESHUA, LAMB OF GOD, at Golgotha, at the foot of THE CROSS! The judgement we receive is Immediate to our action and inaction. DID we do good as faithful servants, as Little CHRISTs, DID WE “LOVE GOD, LOVE MAN” ???
Matthew 25: 31-46
Jesus said to his disciples:
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his glorious throne,
and all the nations will be assembled before him.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right,
‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.’
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
And the king will say to them in reply,
‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Then he will say to those on his left,
‘Depart from me, you accursed,
into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a stranger and you gave me no welcome,
naked and you gave me no clothing,
ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’
Then they will answer and say,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,
and not minister to your needs?’
He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.’
And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life.”
What does GOD Require of us , LOVE GOD, LOVE MAN — MAKE A DIFFERENCE : to The world , your country, your family, your friends and colleagues, your community, your church or other organization.
33rd Sunday in Ordinary time , 19th November 2023
Matthew 25:14-30
(14) “For it is like a man, going into another country, who called his own servants, and entrusted his goods to them. (15) To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his own ability. Then he went on his journey. (16) Immediately he who received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. (17) In the same way, he also who got the two gained another two. (18) But he who received the one talent went away and dug in the earth, and hid his lord’s money. (19) “Now after a long time the lord of those servants came, and reconciled accounts with them. (20) He who received the five talents came and brought another five talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents. Behold, I have gained another five talents besides them.’ (21) “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ (22) “He also who got the two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents. Behold, I have gained another two talents besides them.’ (23) “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ (24) “He also who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter. (25) I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the earth. Behold, you have what is yours.’ (26) “But his lord answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant. You knew that I reap where I didn’t sow, and gather where I didn’t scatter. (27) You ought therefore to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back my own with interest. (28) Take away therefore the talent from him, and give it to him who has the ten talents. (29) For to everyone who has will be given, and he will have abundance, but from him who doesn’t have, even that which he has will be taken away. (30) Throw out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
32nd ordinary Sunday, 12th November 2023
The theme is the same: “LOVE GOD, LOVE MAN”. The Greatest of the commandments is to Love GOD with all our hearts, but the first is inextricably linked to the 2nd Great commandment, just as YESHUA, GOD THE SON is FULLY HUMAN, FULLY GOD… GOD and MAN, INSEPERABLE, Forever. Ten virgins rerepresent ten believers, ALL believe, ALL accept YESHUA AS THE MESSIAH, ALL AWAIT HIS PROMISES…But GOD looks at the currency they use, if they LOVE MAN also with all they can do, they’re using the right currency, the only legitimate Proof of Value to OUR GOD. Proof of LOVING GOD lies in our ability to show how we loved His Creation, all things great and small, but the most critical the UNDERPRIVILEGED and VULNERABLE in the HUMAN FAMILY.
It’s still, it’s Never too late, to make a change, make a difference NOW and into a bright and beautiful future…
GOD LOVE YOU ALL. HE ALWAYS HAS… ALWAYS WILL !!!
Gospel Mt 25:1-13
Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins
who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
The foolish ones, when taking their lamps,
brought no oil with them,
but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.
Since the bridegroom was long delayed,
they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
At midnight, there was a cry,
‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.
The foolish ones said to the wise,
‘Give us some of your oil,
for our lamps are going out.’
But the wise ones replied,
‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you.
Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’
While they went off to buy it,
the bridegroom came
and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him.
Then the door was locked.
Afterwards the other virgins came and said,
‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’
But he said in reply,
‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’
Therefore, stay awake,
for you know neither the day nor the hour
It’s always been about “LOVE GOD, LOVE MAN” It’s all about THE GOD WHO NEVER STOPPED LOVING US, WHO NEVER GAVE UP ON US, THE GOD WHO LOVED US WITH HIS LIFE. We say we Love GOD, we must use HIS DENARIUS, with HIS LOVE and PRESENCE, we become HIM on Earth, acting with HIS CURRENCY, the only legitimate entity of value in GOD’s eyes: HIS LOVE OF LIFE and HUMANITY, Eternally…
Matthew 23:11-12 (31st ordinary Sunday)
11 He that is the greatest among you shall be your servant.
12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled: and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
To WHOM ELSE can we turn to ? GOD WITH Us, YESHUA, YHWH SAVES, THE GOD WHO LOVED US WITH HIS LIFE……
October 29, 2023, 30th Sunday in OT.
Matthew 22:34-40
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a scholar of the law tested him by asking, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said , and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
The passage is at once captivating and at the same time carries many precious hidden messages and Good News for all who Love GOD and Humanity.
This is the final test. The minions of Evil know WHO this is. In a funny way, they are, in Challenging the HOLY ONE, they reveal HIS IDENTITY, and reaffirm HIS LOVE for MANKIND, LOVE MAN => not negotiable! After this short attempt, the Authorities, guided by Evil suggestions that they were about to be displaced and replaced, their status and income revoked by YESHUA, launch their attack on GOD THE SON, they plot HIS execution. This instead facilitates HIS ULTIMATE PLAN TO REINSTATE HUMANITY to being FAMILY once again.
WHY TEST or as I mentioned previously, test=Tempt ? What are ‘they’ trying to tease YESHUA to abandon. WHO IS YESHUA?
WHO BUT THE GOD WHO WROTE THE COMMANDMENTS KNOWS THE COMMANDMENTS? YESHUA, GOD THE SON, FULLY GOD, fully HUMAN explains THE LAW OF GOD. What are the 2 COMMANDMENTS all about? It’s about WHO GOD IS :
FULLY GOD, FULLY MAN.
Our existence follows this knowledge, our Universal response is :
“LOVE GOD, LOVE MAN”:
OUR GOD in GOD THE SON is GOD and MAN together, forever. THIS IS HIS DESIRE, GOD and MAN united forever, Inseperable, GOD LOVES MAN Forever, NOT Negotiable!!! YES, DIE FOR MAN, HE Felt it was needed, LOVE in place of LOVE. Abraham was willing to place his son in GODs Hands. HE WILL RETURN THIS GESTURE IN FULL. No Regrets, a PRICE to be paid to restore MAN TO FAMILY Again. MAN is worth Dying for…
EVIL is Silenced…
This is what YESHUA is all about — “THE GOD WHO NEVER STOPPED LOVING US “… Maybe it’s time for all of Humanity to pause for a little while and think through this… Maybe it’s time to ask, not what HE taught, not whether he existed, nor whether he died or was crucified… WHO ELSE BUT GOD COULD OPEN OUR EYES TO MYSTERIES SUCH AS THE PRIME DIRECTIVE in The Heavenly realm, “LOVE GOD, LOVE MAN” ? WHO ELSE BUT GOD CAN SILENCE THE DEVIL AND HIS MINIONS. WHO ELSE BUT THE GOD WHO TRULY LOVES US IS WILLING TO STAND BY US, THE INNOCENT AND SINLESS HANGING ON A TREE, TO MAKE US FREE— BROTHERS AND SISTERS, CHILDREN OF GOD ONCE AGAIN. WHO ELSE BUT GOD COULD OPEN UP THE GATES OF HEAVEN, GOD IS IN, MAN IS IN. THIS MAN YESHUA IS GOD , HALELUJAH !!! GOD WITH US FOREVER…AMEN !!!
21st Oct 2023
“ELI, ELI, lema Dabacha-Zebach-thani…” Marking the 6 or 7th month Lucy has been down from a Craniopharyngioma which recurred from the episode in 2020. Right when COVID seems to have mitigated its trajectory of pathogenicity, aiyah !!!
We are exhausted, trying to look after her. She is improving finally, after earlier surgery failed, requiring a shunt to relief cerebrospinal fluid flow from being obstructed. She is suffering all the effects of Hydrocephalus and local effects of tumor on the hypothalamus. Just finished course of Radiotherapy. We are praying GOD relents and assents to her recovery with the latest intervention. Please pray for us… ” It rains on both good and bad”…
29th Sunday, OT
Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar [Matthew 22: 15-21]
15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax[a] to Caesar or not?”
18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
21 “Caesar’s,” they replied.
Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s
Haha! One of the seminal passages in the Bible, today’s Gospel: Who Else but GOD has insights like that ?
The scenario: Jesus, YESHUA, has just taken down and castigated the temple leaders. In the 1st instance, on the surface, the response of the leadership of Israel was to destroy JESUS, YESHUA. The matter is so critical to the leadership that both religious and secular segments combine (Anything ok) to try to destroy HIS Authority and Identity, indeed if JESUS had agreed to paying tax to Caesar, HE would be dismissed by the people as a traitor, on the side of the ‘enemy’.On the other hand, if HE had agreed to withholding Cesar’s Census tax, HE would be branded a Rebel and handed over to the Roman Authorities for severe punishment. In the 2nd instance, YESHUA , you will notice , responds by calling the leaders out for what they were, ‘hypocrites ‘! Here and in subsequent encounters, the Pharisees and other leaders are often described as ‘testing’ JESUS. The word ‘test’ is synonymous with ‘tempt’. Like their controller , the Devil, they are provoking , testing and tempting GOD in YESHUA’S Humanity. The leaders are acting under the influence of Evil, who knows exactly who YESHUA-JESUS is. HE is NOT just an ‘honest man’ ‘teacher of truth’ and ‘right behaviour ‘ , this is GOD HIMSELF, JESUS-YESHUA, GOD THE SON is THE TRUTH and THE WAY. The coin the leaders present at the request of THE LORD exposes the realities of both religious and secular leaders. Within the sacred perimeter of the Temple, where no ‘graven images’ are allowed, here they are: carrying and probably using n profiting from Caesar’s Image. The Denarius has a special meaning which most miss. A Denarius was the average daily wage of a worker in those days. In HIS parable of the landlord during Harvest, THE LORD, the Great Landowner pays each worker 1 Denarius, no matter their labour done. A Denarius coin had Caesar’s Image, an inscription reading “Divine son of Caesar, Peace in Roman empire” and on the the reverse side, it reads Pontifex Maximus, meaning High Priest. The devil’s minions were provoking JESUS-Yeshua. Would HE take the route of less pain, enjoy the joys, pleasures and riches the ruler-god of the World had to offer or would HE accept GOD’S DENARIUS. GOD’S Denarius has the Image of THE REDEEMER on THE CROSS on one side, HIS Inscription reads GOD THE SON, Prince of PEACE, Redeemer of the COSMOS. On the reverse side, it reads also ‘Pontifex…High Priest’. The Jews were held hostage by the Roman overlords. They were forced to pay a tax per head of 1 Denarius for the ‘peace’ their conquerors provided. OUR GOD requires us to pay a tax too. HIS TAX: 1 Denarius, is the PRICE HE already PAID for us. 1 DENARIUS, 1 LIFE, OF INFINITE VALUE, for ALL ETERNITY, for Everyone! Eternal never ending peace from our eternal LIVING GOD! When we render to GOD what belongs to GOD, we are offering HIS DENARIUS given to us. We offer HIS SACRIFICE, on THE CROSS in the Mass. ONE PRICE, more than enough, covers all the debt , for all time. GOD’S realm is Not bound by Time, one Mass, One Sacrifice, in union with all and every Mass ever said, with all GOD’S PEOPLE, at all times, especially at the Foot of Calvary, while in the Upper Room, with the High Priest holding up THE EUCHARIST…….. ” It is THE LORD”, AMEN!!!
This is THE GOD WHO NEVER STOPS LOVING US. Why then the pain and suffering? His rain falls on the Good and the Bad,… I dunno why, but I do know HE LOVES US, with HIS LIFE!
“ELI, ELI, LEMA DABACH(Zebach, Hebrew)a-THANI?” ONE LIFE for the MANY…
GOD LOVE you all!!!
Perspectives from EASTER to PENTECOST
READ PLEASE :
THE GREATEST LOVE STORY EVER TOLD,
THE REAL NEVER ENDING STORY
A TIME TO BE WARY :
These are very difficult times, children ! Prof Jeffrey Sachs is a very experienced and very, very well thought out diplomat and economic adviser who has a deep love for humanity, especially underprivileged peoples and newly reborn economies; and who shares a deep desire that human dignity, including the rights and duties of both strong and weaker nations are balanced out in a just manner. One of The King’s Men !
We have a torrent of happenings that are in danger of derailing Humankind’s progress and development into the next stage.
(1) The Sun, Sol, has entered into a superactive phase , surprising us, it has entered into a solar Maximum, with recurrent solar flares; releasing multiple Coronal Mass Ejections, CMEs , plasma ejected from the sun’s surface that may hit Earth and trigger massive disruption to satellites and short-circuit the electrical grid. The extra energy flowing into our system leads also to massive surges in our weather control mechanisms : typhoons, hurricanes, wind and storms will be more common and extreme. Earthquakes and volcanic activity will also increase. The sky and horizon will turn orange and reddish hue from the excess SO2 and CO2 released from the volcanic eruptions.
(2) With this increased solar activity and concomitantly, we have a progressively weakening magnetic shield, more cosmic radiation is filtering in. One of the side effects is an increased energetic state. Water can evaporate very easily, so you see large river systems drying out, ( The Yangtze River, The great Euphrates, The Rhine, Colorado river, The Nile ) aggravated no doubt by human attempts to control head waters for water redistribution and energy production. Many countries will conflict if these issues are not addressed.
(3) On top of this, the uptick in solar activity comes with an increase in Earth’s ambient frequency. Studies ( quoted from Greg Braden Official ) have shown that this increased frequency is associated with and probably causes an increase in the number of human wars, conflicts and acts of violence. Brain and heart disease may also see an increase in frequency.
We have to be very, very careful that we take extra efforts to reign in this danger at this time. Time to stop acting like there is no tomorrow !!!
The conflict in Ukraine can be solved. NATO and The USA can have an acceptable outcome, and Russia can be satisfied, Ukraine can have peace and rebuild itself again. Both sides must talk first, no lecturing, no throwing stones, our survival depends on people behaving with the greatest respect. They will then be able to come to a reasonable agreement. No more dily dallying, hoping for a change in fortunes and time to gain the upper hand. No more, please, of dangling of Nuclear weapons in each other’s theater, we are too close, too close to erupting into Mutual Assured Destruction. (MAD). I am asked to remind you again, there are no winners in all these conflicts, only loss of precious human lives that could otherwise give us a different time line, a chance into the future !!!
(4) The financial system in the world is crumbling. It is not in anyone’s long term advantage that mayhem presides these times. The loss of the American Dollar’s Predominant position as a global currency will release minions of evil which will try to disrupt such an outcome, maybe a military misadventure, maybe a serious cyber security breach. America still needs to do the needful revision of its spending policies, despite that their debt ceiling will be approved, and hope that its friends do not abandon it, lock stock and barrel. America remains the greatest Nation on planet Earth, but it must realise its time of preeminence has come to the cross roads. The world has to learn to live and work and enjoy life and prosperity together. In the final analysis, the world must go back to a Gold standard for all currencies, to be fair and equitable. Including especially those involved in cross border trades, those processing high volumes of financial transactions or transhipment output. Both Brics alliance and the American led allies would have to entrench trust in their currencies for trade with a top class asset of stored value.
(5) We may or may not face a huge catastrophe, going forward. The sun nova-ed 13 000 years ago at mid cycle of procession. The ‘sun’ at that time was Saturn. The event was monstrously powerful, displacing and disrupting planets and moons in our the system. As the planets escaped Saturn’s grip, huge crustal displacements occured. This resulted in a rapid expansion and re-morphing of the Earth, widening and stretching from East to West stretching slightly from North to South, from an onion shape, the Earth became a flattened sphere . With the changes, occuring through the unlocking of the crustal plates, North and South America separated from the African continent, Atlantis and Lemuria sank south, Atlantis drifting till it banked onto Antartica, Australia and Zealandia sliding South East to crash into the Indonesian archipelago to Papua. For a few thousand years, the remnants of humanity watched in terror and awe as the planets blazed plasma discharges (inter planetary plasma/auroras) as they neared and drifted apart. … giving rise to the petroglyphs of old and legends and myths of the war of the gods in the heavens. ( “The war of the worlds” )
Will such an event happen again ?The answer is that we don’t know. Maybe not. The bad news however is that the same events that triggered the Nova last time are upon us again. We are now at the other end of the 25900 year procession. The present sun sol is clearly energetic and active, it has released multiple powerful flares before. One such example was the Carrington event of 1859. Whatever, we may or may not have super flares or micronova or Nova in the future. Still, No Fear. No need to go to a panic state. What we should do and must do is do everything we can to get more prepared for a disaster if it happens. That will really help !
STOP FIGHTING ! — All our resources must be reserved for use to save ourselves and help save each other in the inevitable emergency !
Does GOD love Rich people ? Yes, of course, but HE will love you more when you are generous and do what you can to help the needy . Elon Musk and Warren Buffet , Charlie Munger are some good men, pointing out to the masses the dangers into the future with interesting observations and solutions.
The scripture readings below and my thoughts will show you how GOD thinks and how HE intends to shape the COSMOS. GOD is GOD of ALL. HE wants all Nations to progress and thrive, together, the stronger, more advanced and richer to help lift up the weak and poor. This is not Communism, it’s Commonsense.
Does GOD love America ? Of course, for sure ! But what can America offer the world as a leader. PEACE [ Listen to the King’s Men: America has a penchant for starting wars ] , PROSPERITY [ It prints Money at will, overspends 32 TRILLION Dollars on all sorts of things, 25% military related !!! It then punishes those it has issues with by illegally depriving them the free use of this priveleged facility ], PROGRESS [ Where are the new roads , bridges, hospitals, schools, airports for the great American people. Where are the shelters for the homeless ??? ] America needs to look into the neglected portions of American society. The minorities : African-americans, Hispanics, Asians, the reigious moderates. Give them the great promise of America, give to one and all a sterling education, proper roads to travel on, health care that is the talk of the world, a solid roof over their heads, freedom to pray and worship within reason, their concerns to be considered despite a liberal society. America needs to go back to basics to be Great again, it can no longer be the bastion of business associates of the alumni, what JESUS/YESHUA lambasted as ” a veritable den of thieves”. Further, will America be willing to take the lead, to share with the world its most advanced space age technology, that can and will save many millions in future? To lead, it must be able to show how it can be useful, help and save the rest of the human race. Nobody wants a bully and tough guy trouble maker, perpetually shooting up the house. The world wants and is ready for PEACE and the Stability and Development that comes with it. The world is tired of War and the never ending beggar your neighbor to get ahead of the pack. Call it what you like, DERISK or DECOUPLE , ALL IT MEANS IS THAT YOU HALVE OR EVEN GREATER, THE ABILITY FOR ONE PART OF THE WORLD TO BAIL OUT THE OTHER IN A GLOBAL CATASTROPHE. We need new sources of abundant cheap ENERGY to Power us into the future. We need ENERGY to drive unlimited Water production from precipitation and other energy dependent methods. We need ENERGY to engineer Food Production in BioSafe environments. We need ENERGY to build our Infrastructure into the Future. We need ENERGY to protect ourselves from a harmful environment…
Does GOD love Russia and China and India , Japan, Australia, the European countries? Surely, and these nations will count amongst the greatest in the world. Open your own eyes. See a country by its fruits, how it overcomes its difficulties to have a better outcome for its people is how GOD has blessed it ! Peace grows Success. Maybe, just maybe, this is the time to march to a different drumbeat.
Does GOD love the African countries, the Nations of South East Asia, the countries and peoples of the Middle East and Central Asia ? Very, very much so… You see, NO ONE is unloved, everyone is Needed. And everyone has a part to play in this new world , lessen your risks, increase your odds of a better payout !!!
THE TIME IS AT HAND. THE END TIMES ARE HERE. BUT IT IS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD. THESE ARE THE TIMES FOR US TO BEGIN AFRESH THE STORY OF HUMANITY, AS OLD, EVIL AND USELESS PRACTICES ARE THROWN ASIDE. THERE IS A GOD, HE INTENDS TO RESTORE THE WORLD AND THE COSMOS. STAND WITH HIM , Humanity has a future and the future is bright ! We will be fools to miss this chance for a better life !!!
Eugene HOPE.
27th May 2023.
From the bible : A story of the failings of the Human Race.
An occasion for betrayal.
Judas had lost Faith in YESHUA. Perhaps like the 2 disciples on the way to Emmaus, these had begun to walk further and further from THE GOD WHO LOVED THEM with HIS LIFE. Some of the group had hoped that JESUS, YESHUA, would be in the likeness of DAVID, a great warrior King, free them from oppression, make Israel into a world SuperPower, defeat the Romans… Perhaps Judas had thought that a betrayal would trigger an avalanche of marshal power from the heavens to protect YESHUA. Clearly, GOD THE FATHER willed differently.
LOVE in place of LOVE.
Man thrown out of heaven into a world existence, replete with struggles, suffering and pain, including all the negative aspects of human life : grief, betrayal, lies , violence, injustice, theft and cheating, illegal deprivation of lawful property, disrespect for human dignity, inhumane acts of torture and punishment : YESHUA, GOD THE SON, comes into our reality, fully human. HE will go through the worst of Human experience : LOVE in place of LOVE ! Abraham was willing to give up his son Isaac at GOD’S behest. GOD THE FATHER returns Father Abraham’s Faith with the actual INACARNATION and Revelation of HIS SON : FULLY GOD, FULLY MAN; THE RE-UNIFYING OF HEAVEN AND EARTH, HIS LIFE will be ‘ GIVEN UP FOR YOU ‘ !
Why need a sacrifice ? Why need YESHUA’S LIFE ?
LOVE IN PLACE OF LOVE : IN GOD’S REALM, MAN LOST HIS RIGHT TO LIFE. GOD ALLOWED THIS, WHILE PROTECTING HUMANITY, with the fruit of the Tree of knowledge of good and knowledge of evil ( Consciousness and Conscience ! ) and at the same time provided the institution of a Light to The World, Guides to The World, initially , The House of Israel, then following this , THE CHURCH, ( The Fig tree leaf ) to protect humanity from its own nakedness and foolishness !!! Man is set on his way on a journey to discover what it means to be the IMAGE of GOD. To totally reverse MAN’S mistake, MAN in GOD THE SON will give up HIS LIFE , a LIFE FOR A LIFE. GOD’S LIFE is the whole of Creation, for an Eternity. One death, HIS DEATH more than compensates for the failings of Humankind. HIS RESURRECTION, on the other hand, is the Bonus that OPENS FOREVER TO US AGAIN THE GATE WHICH HAD BEEN CLOSED PREVIOUSLY — LOVE IN PLACE OF LOVE, don’t you see.
Our journey through this realm does not allow us to avoid the Dark side. In fact, the journey humanity is taking is an Exodus from Ignorance, foolishness, Pride, irrational Violence into a land of milk and honey, marked not by place or time, but by a human race standing tall on duty and honor, guided by Mercy, Love and Wisdom. When we are going through each difficult moment, remember that YESHUA went through and lives our pain with us. This is THE GOD WHO NEVER STOPPED LOVING US , everyone !
JUDAS’ Betrayal, his death , burial in the potter’s field, and even THE PRICE of Selling Out YESHUA [ 30 pieces of silver : The value of a Man with a price on his head ] are foretold by the Prophet Jeremiah. Everything has been planned, children, down to each trivial detail….. Even with this nefarious act of betrayal, JESUS calls Judas ‘ friend’ . Is Judas the sole betrayer, no , all including the leadership of the Church also Denied any association with THE LORD or ran away, when confronted by the violent happenings those dark days. THEY WERE ALL AFRAID … But THE GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE is comfortable with the failings of HIS FAMILY. HE KNOWS WHAT ITS LIKE TO BE HUMAN ( HE’S Human ) !!! HE is NO LESS Forgiving and NO LESS Certain of the Love of HIS Family. There will be a turning over, the Family will reverse their failings. They will get up from their Fall and return to THE WAY and THE TRUTH. THE FATHER’s WILL will be done. Till the Ends of The Earth, HIS Family will bring the Good News …” THAT GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD… ” ALL the Apostles outside of John, the Beloved disciple died on this path of returning to GLORY in THE GOD WHO LOVED THEM WITH HIS LIFE. Perhaps this is why I find it easy to Love and Believe in this GOD, not for some obscure teachings but by the sheer fact that HIS Brethren chose to Die for HIM rather than Deny HIM a second time. Peter, Paul and Andrew were Crucified, Peter upside down. James was beheaded, Bartholomew was skinned alive rather than recant their FAITH. They died believing in THE GOD KING OF PEACE, ( “put your sword down” ) , who willed Mankind to be elevated into a creature anew , devoid of sword and spear, a lover of LIFE like HIMSELF.
GOD’s Final aim is the RESTORATION OF PEACE, LOVE AND ORDER TO HIS BELOVED CREATION. HUMANITY represents HIS CALLING ATTENTION TO THE COSMOS AND ALL WITHIN, THAT GOD IS REFASHIONING AND RESTORING THIS REALM.
” ELI, ELI, LEMA SABBACHTHANI…”
This has stumped many in Christendom and has been the relish of those who would want to deny YESHUA as GOD THE SON. Haha ! WHAT COULD IT MEAN, how could YESHUA, how could GOD feel forsaken. The added line in Greek ( ” The interpretation is ” My GOD, My GOD, why have YOU Forsaken me ? ” ) tells us that the Church pondered on this long and hard….
GOD when HE speaks to us in scripture tells us multiple messages in a single Word or sentence. Even in the Greatest Agony, YESHUA wants HIS FAMILY to understand and believe HIS LOVE. Everything had been planned to the minutest detail! WHO ELSE BUT GOD COULD COMMAND WIND AND STORM, WHO ELSE COULD FIT like a glove THE PROPHECIES AND VISIONS OF KINGS AND PROPHETS of a thousand years past ?
The phrase ” My GOD, My GOD, why have…” refers us immediately to Psalms 22, reputed to be written by King David…..
Psalm 22 : 1-18. ;
1) My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises.
4 In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the LORD,” they say, “let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me.
15 My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.
The words of DAVID are YESHUA’S final proof . YESHUA IS THE MESSIAH. Listen to verses 1, 6 , 7 , 8 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ,18 again and again. DAVID in HIS VISION testifies to THE MESSIAH’s AGONY and suffering. The scripture is so clear !
The Jewish people had sadly missed their own MESSIACH. Flesh and blood, HE came. But they missed HIS arrival. ( Herod had to ask directions from gentile foreigners, the Magi. The rich young Man from the Jewish elite, who had come to ask Jesus, Yeshua, how else he could do to be saved, … Jesus loved him [ The young man represents IsraEL ] , because of his/IsraEL’s attempt to love GOD and follow the Law. But his first question to YESHUA was “when did You come ?” — Aiyah, they missed HIS Advent into their Salvation History ! ) In death, a Death they were destined to cause, they continued to deny their MESSIAH….. ( ” If HE is….” ) …”HEAR O ISRAEL, THE LORD GOD IS ONE”……BUT THE LORD GOD IS NOT BOUND BY HUMAN IMAGINATION OR INTELLECT. In our realm, fully HUMAN and fully GOD, the only way to resolve HUMANITY’S DI-‘LEMA’, dilemma : how to restore Mankind to GOD’S PRESENCE? GOD’S DIVINE SOLUTION : A LIFE ( GOD’S LIFE) for all lives, for all humanity, for all time ! YESHUA, GOD SAVES, IS GOD’S GIFT TO BRING HUMANITY BACK FROM A LIVING HELL. YESHUA is GOD THE SON, and HE came for all Humanity, not just the Jewish Nation. This is ” THE SAVIOUR OF THE COSMOS ! “
” My GOD, My GOD” represents all of Mankind crying out, YESHUA prays and references to our exit from GOD’S PRESENCE, in the beginning. Perhaps GOD had intended a journey of discovery, learning, for a Humanity HE found worthy of HIS LOVE and TRUST , in the Garden. However, the pain, sufferings , encounters with Violence, Destruction and Death leaves Mankind in horrific shock and dismay. Mankind understandably, feels abandoned and lost, apart from his GOD. The second frame of reference is the Nation of IsraEL. IsraEL, the First House, is Chosen by GOD, but it is too much for them. Already , the Exodus through the desert made them grumble and curse. The Prophets, Kings and judges, all the saints and angels are crying out in agony. All feel the tragedy that IsraEL missed GOD THE SON, the Messiah they had been awaiting for centuries, then in a moment of folly, put their GOD to Death on HIS CROSS. Will they , “Friends”, continue to deny THE SAVIOUR OF THE COSMOS ?
The third reference is YESHUA calling out to the FATHER. Like a little son, calling out to HIS FATHER, HIS DADDY. One biblical scholar has said that JESUS, YESHUA, had said a word different from ‘sabbachthani’, as there is no Aramaic or Hebrew word that matches this. ( That’s why they had to put in their ‘interpretation’…) The scholar suggests that YESHUA was at this stage in HIS final moments, weakened and traumatised , perhaps severely dry and dehydrated from fluid loss( “I thirst” ) and had trouble speaking from the fluid that had built up in the heart and lungs. Perhaps this was a Divine measure to allow reference to Psalm 22 in fulfilment of prophecy, but Perhaps simultaneously, cross reference and let us also fully realise the Enormity and PURPOSE of HIS DEATH. The suggestion is that YESHUA used the term ‘Dabach-thani,’ meaning in Aramaic, ‘Sacrifice’. Now rendered ” My GOD, My GOD, why have YOU SACRIFICED ME ??? ” Isn’t that something???
YESHUA DIED WILLINGLY FOR MANKIND : NO GREATER LOVE IS THERE THAN THIS, THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIEND…. YESHUA KNEW EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS DOING, HE HAD NO REGRETS : LOVE GOD ,LOVE MAN ( to PERFECTION) . ‘Forsaken ? Perhaps , as part of humanity but THE GOD OF LOVE knows : HIS LOVE SACRIFICE , THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB OF GOD, will set us back into GOD’S PRESENCE. ” IT IS DONE”, GOD’S WILL IS DONE, the end of the prayer Psalm 22, and as HIS PRAYER (THE “OUR FATHER”) to THE FATHER always. HIS LOVE SACRIFICE, unlike the 1st failure in the beginning, unlike the second failure in the desert, he completes the task set by GOD THE FATHER, thus begins our next step into a better life, an ETERNAL LIFE……The real Never Ending Story.
In later readings, we will look into how YESHUA is PRESENT in us and THE CHURCH, GOD with Us every moment and always !!!
Gospel Mt 26:14—27:66 ( Palm Sunday )
One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot,
went to the chief priests and said,
“What are you willing to give me
if I hand him over to you?”
They paid him thirty pieces of silver,
and from that time on he looked for an opportunity
to hand him over.
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
the disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Where do you want us to prepare
for you to eat the Passover?”
He said,
“Go into the city to a certain man and tell him,
‘The teacher says, “My appointed time draws near;
in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”‘”
The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered,
and prepared the Passover.
When it was evening,
he reclined at table with the Twelve.
And while they were eating, he said,
“Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
Deeply distressed at this,
they began to say to him one after another,
“Surely it is not I, Lord?”
He said in reply,
“He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me
is the one who will betray me.
The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him,
but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”
Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,
“Surely it is not I, Rabbi?”
He answered, “You have said so.”
While they were eating,
Jesus took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and giving it to his disciples said,
“Take and eat; this is my body.”
Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying,
“Drink from it, all of you,
for this is my blood of the covenant,
which will be shed on behalf of many
for the forgiveness of sins.
I tell you, from now on I shall not drink this fruit of the vine
until the day when I drink it with you new
in the kingdom of my Father.”
Then, after singing a hymn,
they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Then Jesus said to them,
“This night all of you will have your faith in me shaken,
for it is written:
I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed;
but after I have been raised up,
I shall go before you to Galilee.”
Peter said to him in reply,
“Though all may have their faith in you shaken,
mine will never be.”
Jesus said to him,
“Amen, I say to you,
this very night before the cock crows,
you will deny me three times.”
Peter said to him,
“Even though I should have to die with you,
I will not deny you.”
And all the disciples spoke likewise.
Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane,
and he said to his disciples,
“Sit here while I go over there and pray.”
He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee,
and began to feel sorrow and distress.
Then he said to them,
“My soul is sorrowful even to death.
Remain here and keep watch with me.”
He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer, saying,
“My Father, if it is possible,
let this cup pass from me;
yet, not as I will, but as you will.”
When he returned to his disciples he found them asleep.
He said to Peter,
“So you could not keep watch with me for one hour?
Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test.
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Withdrawing a second time, he prayed again,
“My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass
without my drinking it, your will be done!”
Then he returned once more and found them asleep,
for they could not keep their eyes open.
He left them and withdrew again and prayed a third time,
saying the same thing again.
Then he returned to his disciples and said to them,
“Are you still sleeping and taking your rest?
Behold, the hour is at hand
when the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners.
Get up, let us go.
Look, my betrayer is at hand.”
While he was still speaking,
Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived,
accompanied by a large crowd, with swords and clubs,
who had come from the chief priests and the elders
of the people.
His betrayer had arranged a sign with them, saying,
“The man I shall kiss is the one; arrest him.”
Immediately he went over to Jesus and said,
“Hail, Rabbi!” and he kissed him.
Jesus answered him,
“Friend, do what you have come for.”
Then stepping forward they laid hands on Jesus and arrested him.
And behold, one of those who accompanied Jesus
put his hand to his sword, drew it,
and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his ear.
Then Jesus said to him,
“Put your sword back into its sheath,
for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.
Do you think that I cannot call upon my Father
and he will not provide me at this moment
with more than twelve legions of angels?
But then how would the Scriptures be fulfilled
which say that it must come to pass in this way?”
At that hour Jesus said to the crowds,
“Have you come out as against a robber,
with swords and clubs to seize me?
Day after day I sat teaching in the temple area,
yet you did not arrest me.
But all this has come to pass
that the writings of the prophets may be fulfilled.”
Then all the disciples left him and fled.
Those who had arrested Jesus led him away
to Caiaphas the high priest,
where the scribes and the elders were assembled.
Peter was following him at a distance
as far as the high priest’s courtyard,
and going inside he sat down with the servants
to see the outcome.
The chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin
kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus
in order to put him to death,
but they found none,
though many false witnesses came forward.
Finally two came forward who stated,
“This man said, ‘I can destroy the temple of God
and within three days rebuild it.'”
The high priest rose and addressed him,
“Have you no answer?
What are these men testifying against you?”
But Jesus was silent.
Then the high priest said to him,
“I order you to tell us under oath before the living God
whether you are the Christ, the Son of God.”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“You have said so.
But I tell you:
From now on you will see ‘the Son of Man
seated at the right hand of the Power’
and ‘coming on the clouds of heaven.'”
Then the high priest tore his robes and said,
“He has blasphemed!
What further need have we of witnesses?
You have now heard the blasphemy;
what is your opinion?”
They said in reply,
“He deserves to die!”
Then they spat in his face and struck him,
while some slapped him, saying,
“Prophesy for us, Christ: who is it that struck you?”
Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard.
One of the maids came over to him and said,
“You too were with Jesus the Galilean.”
But he denied it in front of everyone, saying,
“I do not know what you are talking about!”
As he went out to the gate, another girl saw him
and said to those who were there,
“This man was with Jesus the Nazorean.”
Again he denied it with an oath,
“I do not know the man!”
A little later the bystanders came over and said to Peter,
“Surely you too are one of them;
even your speech gives you away.”
At that he began to curse and to swear,
“I do not know the man.”
And immediately a cock crowed.
Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken:
“Before the cock crows you will deny me three times.”
He went out and began to weep bitterly.
When it was morning,
all the chief priests and the elders of the people
took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.
They bound him, led him away,
and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.
Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned,
deeply regretted what he had done.
He returned the thirty pieces of silver
to the chief priests and elders, saying,
“I have sinned in betraying innocent blood.”
They said,
“What is that to us?
Look to it yourself.”
Flinging the money into the temple,
he departed and went off and hanged himself.
The chief priests gathered up the money, but said,
“It is not lawful to deposit this in the temple treasury,
for it is the price of blood.”
After consultation, they used it to buy the potter’s field
as a burial place for foreigners.
That is why that field even today is called the Field of Blood.
Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah
the prophet,
And they took the thirty pieces of silver,
the value of a man with a price on his head,
a price set by some of the Israelites,
and they paid it out for the potter’s field
just as the Lord had commanded me.
Now Jesus stood before the governor, and he questioned him,
“Are you the king of the Jews?”
Jesus said, “You say so.”
And when he was accused by the chief priests and elders,
he made no answer.
Then Pilate said to him,
“Do you not hear how many things they are testifying against you?”
But he did not answer him one word,
so that the governor was greatly amazed.
Now on the occasion of the feast
the governor was accustomed to release to the crowd
one prisoner whom they wished.
And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.
So when they had assembled, Pilate said to them,
“Which one do you want me to release to you,
Barabbas, or Jesus called Christ?”
For he knew that it was out of envy
that they had handed him over.
While he was still seated on the bench,
his wife sent him a message,
“Have nothing to do with that righteous man.
I suffered much in a dream today because of him.”
The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds
to ask for Barabbas but to destroy Jesus.
The governor said to them in reply,
“Which of the two do you want me to release to you?”
They answered, “Barabbas!”
Pilate said to them,
“Then what shall I do with Jesus called Christ?”
They all said,
“Let him be crucified!”
But he said,
“Why? What evil has he done?”
They only shouted the louder,
“Let him be crucified!”
When Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all,
but that a riot was breaking out instead,
he took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd,
saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood.
Look to it yourselves.”
And the whole people said in reply,
“His blood be upon us and upon our children.”
Then he released Barabbas to them,
but after he had Jesus scourged,
he handed him over to be crucified.
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus inside the praetorium
and gathered the whole cohort around him.
They stripped off his clothes
and threw a scarlet military cloak about him.
Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head,
and a reed in his right hand.
And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying,
“Hail, King of the Jews!”
They spat upon him and took the reed
and kept striking him on the head.
And when they had mocked him,
they stripped him of the cloak,
dressed him in his own clothes,
and led him off to crucify him.
As they were going out, they met a Cyrenian named Simon;
this man they pressed into service
to carry his cross.
And when they came to a place called Golgotha
—which means Place of the Skull —,
they gave Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall.
But when he had tasted it, he refused to drink.
After they had crucified him,
they divided his garments by casting lots;
then they sat down and kept watch over him there.
And they placed over his head the written charge against him:
This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.
Two revolutionaries were crucified with him,
one on his right and the other on his left.
Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying,
“You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,
save yourself, if you are the Son of God,
and come down from the cross!”
Likewise the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him and said,
“He saved others; he cannot save himself.
So he is the king of Israel!
Let him come down from the cross now,
and we will believe in him.
He trusted in God;
let him deliver him now if he wants him.
For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.'”
The revolutionaries who were crucified with him
also kept abusing him in the same way.
From noon onward, darkness came over the whole land
until three in the afternoon.
And about three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”
which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Some of the bystanders who heard it said,
“This one is calling for Elijah.”
Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge;
he soaked it in wine, and putting it on a reed,
gave it to him to drink.
But the rest said,
“Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to save him.”
But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice,
and gave up his spirit.
Here all kneel and pause for a short time.
And behold, the veil of the sanctuary
was torn in two from top to bottom.
The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened,
and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised.
And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection,
they entered the holy city and appeared to many.
The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus
feared greatly when they saw the earthquake
and all that was happening, and they said,
“Truly, this was the Son of God!”
There were many women there, looking on from a distance,
who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him.
Among them were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph,
and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
When it was evening,
there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph,
who was himself a disciple of Jesus.
He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus;
then Pilate ordered it to be handed over.
Taking the body, Joseph wrapped it in clean linen
and laid it in his new tomb that he had hewn in the rock.
Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance to the tomb
and departed.
But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
remained sitting there, facing the tomb.
The next day, the one following the day of preparation,
the chief priests and the Pharisees
gathered before Pilate and said,
“Sir, we remember that this impostor while still alive said,
‘After three days I will be raised up.’
Give orders, then, that the grave be secured until the third day,
lest his disciples come and steal him and say to the people,
‘He has been raised from the dead.’
This last imposture would be worse than the first.”
Pilate said to them,
“The guard is yours;
go, secure it as best you can.”
So they went and secured the tomb
by fixing a seal to the stone and setting the guard
Gospel Jn 20:1-9 ( Easter Sunday)
On the first day of the week,
Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we don’t know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
For they did not yet understand the Scripture
that he had to rise from the dead.
Gospel Jn 20:19-31 (2nd Sunday of Easter)
On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
But he said to them,
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples
that are not written in this book.
But these are written that you may come to believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that through this belief you may have life in his name.
Gospel Jn 14:1-12
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me.
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.
If there were not,
would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back again and take you to myself,
so that where I am you also may be.
Where I am going you know the way.”
Thomas said to him,
“Master, we do not know where you are going;
how can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you know me, then you will also know my Father.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said to him,
“Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time
and you still do not know me, Philip?
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own.
The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me,
or else, believe because of the works themselves.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,
and will do greater ones than these,
because I am going to the Father.”
John 10:1-10
Jesus said: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.” Although Jesus used this figure of speech, the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them.
So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”
Gospel Reading: John 14:15-21
Jesus said to his disciples:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,
because it neither sees nor knows him.
But you know him, because he remains with you,
and will be in you.
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
In a little while the world will no longer see me,
but you will see me, because I live and you will live.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father
and you are in me and I in you.
Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”
4th Sunday of LENT
Sometimes, it takes a humongous effort to figure out GOD. This OUR GOD, the GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE. Can we blame any human being who had doubts about (1) GOD’s Existence , (2) THE HOLY TRINITY, (3) JESUS’s/YESHUA’s DIVINITY, (4) THE REAL PRESENCE of YESHUA in THE EUCHARIST [ BODY and BLOOD and DIVINITY ], (5) THE DEATH and RESURRECTION of YESHUA. When we consider we live in a world where we can be wiped out in a moment’s notice, in a cycle of renewal and creation followed by destruction and extinction, is it possible to be shaken in Faith, in the belief in an omnipotent GOD ? If there is advanced technology so advanced, could we be having a reality that has undergone manipulation and insertions into our time-line by advanced beings. Could GOD be fake news or some myth introduced into our reality ?
Yet, there you have it !
It takes GOD to be able to make this reality explainable and the Impossible seem logical and connected. Imagine a cycle of existence and destruction created, amazing challenges, lethal hurdles to learn how to overcome at each corner and every turn. Amongst HIS most illustrious works, a creature that GOD determines, has all the markings of intelligent order, greatness and service in leadership, how to set him on an accelerated path to the levels of angels or sons of GOD, as they called themselves. How to have an end product a HUMAN race that behaves and thinks like GOD, and be HIS IMAGE and Authority in this Reality. Since GOD exists as The MAKER of all things, the end product has to match The Maker to be able to survive and overcome the hurdles of created existence.
Is there a GOD ? People out there, who have been around far, far longer than us tell us they have never seen HIM… The sumerians in their writings indicate that the Anunaki who ruled over them had a history in excess of half a million years, yet believed in a Creator GOD . The point is , half a million years , half of an eternity of development and technology, but not able to proof that GOD doesn’t exist….. It takes GOD to be able to keep HIMSELF hidden from Creation. And the reason HE would want that is that HE wants to find Faith in us. A Faith that allows to sense and wonder at an immensely beautiful , ordered Creation, unfolding in design and meticulously formulated detail, that must have a first cause, a beginning… I must add that there is probably another subtle objective, if we are little gods, little Christs, we would have seen GOD, felt GOD, and we would be naturally be already living in a Paradise with each other, in a peaceful, meaningful, and glorious manner, as GOD would have willed.
It has come to my feeble realization that the Gospels are not only very well, meaningfully written pieces. They represent posits of revelations about GOD and why HE loves us so much, which is why HE has gone through SO MUCH PAIN and SUFFERING just to protect us and help us understand, this is to make us Little CHRISTs, { Little gods, — ” is it not written, “ye are gods?” }.
Already in the midst of LENT, last Sunday’s gospel and 1st OT reading, just past , is exceptional. It opens us to a peep into GOD’s thinking and Why GOD is so devoted to the people who have come to accept HIM in YESHUA. The 1st Reading from 3rd Sunday LENT 03/12/2023 brings us to the Exodus times. The people of Israel are out in the desert. Names of places carry a meaning, Meribah/massah means quarreled, more accurately, ‘almost rioted’ because they were thirsty and despairing after such a long time in the desert. However, instead of praying and asking THE LORD of The Universe for providence, they muttered and complained and were about to lynch Moshe !
The Samaritan woman’s story in the Gospel is the story of The Gentiles. The time is the sixth hour, the sun is at its highest position, at its hottest , at midday. (The SON is at HIS GLORY ! )The Gentiles were despised by the Jews, considered unclean people. Even worse , this lady had had so many lovers. The Gentiles knew not the GOD of Israel, they had many gods. By virtue of their association with pagans, Samaritans had probably adopted some pagan worship as well. Because of her history, this lady went at midday to avoid meeting the stares and mumblings of the towns folk. In a stroke of Divine Mercy, she gets to meet YESHUA = YHWH SAVES —GOD THE SON, through whom all things were made, seeks out the Gentiles, represented by this Samaritan ‘Woman — a proxy term for ‘people’ “. HE offers them LIFE in all its fullness and Glory–LIVING WATERs. The woman responds positively !!! The Gentiles accept GOD’s GIFT , The Water of New Life !!! The Jews had been given all the knowledge of THE HOLY ONE. They chose however to ignore HIS Coming, they did not accept HIS terms, that HIS KINGDOM was one of Service and PEACE, where swords would be turned into ploughshares. They could not accept that HIS intention was to save the Gentiles as well, to restore PEACE, ORDER and LOVE to the Entire Universe. When Moses struck the ROCK with his staff, it was a pre-figurement of the pain and injuries YESHUA would receive from HIS beloved people, yet HE never stopped loving them. All the more painful, considering the response of The Gentiles is so very different. The Gentile (‘Woman’) is open to and recognizes YESHUA as THE MESSIAH. The people of The NEW COVENANT worship in SPRIT and TRUTH !!! And the truth is this, THERE IS A GOD, ONE GOD only, and ” GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE SENT HIS ONLY SON…] The Samaritan woman is the picture of all believers when they truly realize that YESHUA is GOD with US, GOD come to US. Once we know, nothing else matters, she leaves her old jug of water behind. She tells All her friends of her encounter with THE LIVING GOD, THE SAVIOUR of THE COSMOS. Once having met GOD, they are changed ! You see, this story teller knows GOD, those non believers, they fall flat on their faces when GOD reveals HIMSELF, “every knee shall bend”, for those who believe, they come away changed (!!!), ready to fill The world with GOD’s HOLY SPRIT, they will make a difference, a Kingdom where THE KING of PEACE , LOVE and WISDOM reigns.
In the 4th Sunday of LENT, we meet the man blind from birth.
We are all like this Man. We are blind in some way or other, we have many prejudices and biases. Were we punished by being sent to this realm ? Is COVID, or Tsunamis, or Earthquakes a judgement from GOD ? Sometimes, GOD gets angry, but I can tell you, HE forgives and holds HIS hand many, many more times than not. In the case of the blind man, YESHUA tells us that his blindness was to allow THE GOD of THE IMPOSSIBLE to show HIS GLORY. A fulfillment of prophecy, ” the blind shall regain their sight ” . The blind man probably represents especially the Jews who embraced YESHUA in The Early Church. Were they foolhardy, was YESHUA GOD really ?
” The blind see , the deaf hear ” These were simple signs GOD gave to HIS PEOPLE. What else would they have needed ? Not legend, not story, but THE WORD of GOD . Prophecy fulfilled. No one had recorded a reversal of blindness that was congenital in OT history. Before this passage, YESHUA had been to the Temple for the Festival of Tabernacles. At the festival, the Lamp had been lit to signify that the Temple was to be ” A Light to the world”, at the same festival , water from the pool of Siloam would be poured on the temple steps to signify the LIFE/GOD, that the Temple brought to the outside world. In this Gospel reading, John lets us know That the GOD of the Universe has come into our midst. the SAVIOUR of THE WORLD walks amongst us, ” The blind regain their sight !” , the OT whispers a hint. Like at creation, from mud he fashions a balm that creates sight for this blind Man. To the Jews who recognize YESHUA as GOD THE SON, OUR SAVIOUR, no mistake. Like all who come to believe, YESHUA is first, man, named JESUS, then Rabbi, then Prophet, then LORD, SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD. IN SPIRIT and TRUTH, NO MORE, NO LESS. In JOY, we hear the call of GOD ,through HIS SON. We proclaim what we have seen and heard!
In contrast, the Jewish elite who interrogated the blind man, refuse to acknowledge his witness. They neither see nor hear the ADVENT of GRACE.
Put down your crutches, stand up and ( Those who love YESHUA take a first step always after hearing YESHUA pronounce their cure ) join the realm of those who have seen and heard the Good News. Your miracle begins HERE. YESHUA , GOD SAVES, LOVES US WITH HIS LIFE, JEW or GENTILE, RICH OR POOR, KING OR SLAVE, HE DIED FOR ALL. Time to stop all the violence, killing, dishonesty, distrust and beggar thy neighbor attitudes. A dangerous world awaits out there, it can’t be solved by Power or might alone, and definitely not by cheating. A lot can be undone by GOD though, if only we prayed and asked in earnest !!!
NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE TO GOD.
Gospel, John 9:1-41
As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth.
His disciples asked him,
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,
that he was born blind?”
Jesus answered,
“Neither he nor his parents sinned;
it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.
We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day.
Night is coming when no one can work.
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
When he had said this, he spat on the ground
and made clay with the saliva,
and smeared the clay on his eyes,
and said to him,
“Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” —which means Sent—.
So he went and washed, and came back able to see.
His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said,
“Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?”
Some said, “It is, “
but others said, “No, he just looks like him.”
He said, “I am.”
So they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”
He replied,
“The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes
and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’
So I went there and washed and was able to see.”
And they said to him, “Where is he?”
He said, “I don’t know.”
They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees.
Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath.
So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see.
He said to them,
“He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.”
So some of the Pharisees said,
“This man is not from God,
because he does not keep the sabbath.”
But others said,
“How can a sinful man do such signs?”
And there was a division among them.
So they said to the blind man again,
“What do you have to say about him,
since he opened your eyes?”
He said, “He is a prophet.”
Now the Jews did not believe
that he had been blind and gained his sight
until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight.
They asked them,
“Is this your son, who you say was born blind?
How does he now see?”
His parents answered and said,
“We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.
We do not know how he sees now,
nor do we know who opened his eyes.
Ask him, he is of age;
he can speak for himself.”
His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews,
for the Jews had already agreed
that if anyone acknowledged him as the Christ,
he would be expelled from the synagogue.
For this reason his parents said,
“He is of age; question him.”
So a second time they called the man who had been blind
and said to him, “Give God the praise!
We know that this man is a sinner.”
He replied,
“If he is a sinner, I do not know.
One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.”
So they said to him,
“What did he do to you?
How did he open your eyes?”
He answered them,
“I told you already and you did not listen.
Why do you want to hear it again?
Do you want to become his disciples, too?”
They ridiculed him and said,
“You are that man’s disciple;
we are disciples of Moses!
We know that God spoke to Moses,
but we do not know where this one is from.”
The man answered and said to them,
“This is what is so amazing,
that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes.
We know that God does not listen to sinners,
but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him.
It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind.
If this man were not from God,
he would not be able to do anything.”
They answered and said to him,
“You were born totally in sin,
and are you trying to teach us?”
Then they threw him out.
When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out,
he found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
He answered and said,
“Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?”
Jesus said to him,
“You have seen him,
the one speaking with you is he.”
He said,
“I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him.
Then Jesus said,
“I came into this world for judgment,
so that those who do not see might see,
and those who do see might become blind.”
Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this
and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?”
Jesus said to them,
“If you were blind, you would have no sin;
but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.
3rd Sunday of LENT
1st READING, Exodue 17 : 3 – 7
In those days, in their thirst for water,
the people grumbled against Moses,
saying, “Why did you ever make us leave Egypt?
Was it just to have us die here of thirst
with our children and our livestock?”
So Moses cried out to the LORD,
“What shall I do with this people?
a little more and they will stone me!”
The LORD answered Moses,
“Go over there in front of the people,
along with some of the elders of Israel,
holding in your hand, as you go,
the staff with which you struck the river.
I will be standing there in front of you on the rock in Horeb.
Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it
for the people to drink.”
This Moses did, in the presence of the elders of Israel.
The place was called Massah and Meribah,
because the Israelites quarreled there
and tested the LORD, saying,
“Is the LORD in our midst or not?”
Gospel
Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar,
near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
Jacob’s well was there.
Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well.
It was about noon.
A woman of Samaria came to draw water.
Jesus said to her,
“Give me a drink.”
His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.
The Samaritan woman said to him,
“How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?”
—For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.—
Jesus answered and said to her,
“If you knew the gift of God
and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink, ‘
you would have asked him
and he would have given you living water.”
The woman said to him,
“Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep;
where then can you get this living water?
Are you greater than our father Jacob,
who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself
with his children and his flocks?”
Jesus answered and said to her,
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again;
but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst;
the water I shall give will become in him
a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The woman said to him,
“Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty
or have to keep coming here to draw water.”
Jesus said to her,
“Go call your husband and come back.”
The woman answered and said to him,
“I do not have a husband.”
Jesus answered her,
“You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’
For you have had five husbands,
and the one you have now is not your husband.
What you have said is true.”
The woman said to him,
“Sir, I can see that you are a prophet.
Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain;
but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.”
Jesus said to her,
“Believe me, woman, the hour is coming
when you will worship the Father
neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
You people worship what you do not understand;
we worship what we understand,
because salvation is from the Jews.
But the hour is coming, and is now here,
when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth;
and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him.
God is Spirit, and those who worship him
must worship in Spirit and truth.”
The woman said to him,
“I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ;
when he comes, he will tell us everything.”
Jesus said to her,
“I am he, the one speaking with you.”
At that moment his disciples returned,
and were amazed that he was talking with a woman,
but still no one said, “What are you looking for?”
or “Why are you talking with her?”
The woman left her water jar
and went into the town and said to the people,
“Come see a man who told me everything I have done.
Could he possibly be the Christ?”
They went out of the town and came to him.
Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat.”
But he said to them,
“I have food to eat of which you do not know.”
So the disciples said to one another,
“Could someone have brought him something to eat?”
Jesus said to them,
“My food is to do the will of the one who sent me
and to finish his work.
Do you not say, ‘In four months the harvest will be here’?
I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest.
The reaper is already receiving payment
and gathering crops for eternal life,
so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together.
For here the saying is verified that ‘One sows and another reaps.’
I sent you to reap what you have not worked for;
others have done the work,
and you are sharing the fruits of their work.”
Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him
because of the word of the woman who testified,
“He told me everything I have done.”
When the Samaritans came to him,
they invited him to stay with them;
and he stayed there two days.
Many more began to believe in him because of his word,
and they said to the woman,
“We no longer believe because of your word;
for we have heard for ourselves,
and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”
Happy CHINESE NEW YEAR ( January 2023) to all my beloved friends in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan and all the Chinese Diaspora. The above is a painting reputed to be by Mr Jin Di Qiang of HK. A Master needs only 3 strokes [ actually 2 strokes plus 1 red dot ] to convey profound truth. In the Western calendar , we are in the year 2023. 23 is drawn to make the shape of a Rabbit, the red dot the seeing eye. This being the Rabbit year in the Lunar tradition. The number 23 and the red eye are auspicious, and relates to wealth, health and happiness.
What a beautiful Church, brings back memories of a similarly beautiful church I sought comfort, refuge and peace in, on a slightly cold, windy day while touring Shanghai , December of 2019, yes, yes, Dec 2019, just a few weeks into the appearance of COVID 19, not too far away from WUHAN !!!
Do you see the tall steeple, and the Cross raised atop the peak. This is Christianity’s BOAST. This is OUR FATHER’s Pride and Joy. It is HIS GIFT to The Human Race ! The steeple is the mountain top. At the Mountain peak is where Man meets GOD. THIS GOD is like no other, there is no other GOD — THE GOD of THE IMPOSSIBLE, HE does what NO BEING would, Sacrifice HIMSELF, HIS SON for the Humanity HE Loves, HE goes through no end of trouble, pain and suffering for a thankless and clueless lot, and through this MAJESTY, forever reunites Heaven to Earth ! THIS IS THE TRUE GOD, OUR LORD, the GOD who Believes in Serving HIS People and insists HIS PEOPLE SERVE EACH OTHER AND RESPECT EACH OTHER AS IF EACH ONE WERE GOD HIMSELF.
HEAVEN and EARTH, GOD and Man, forever One. Through this CROSS, ALL of THE BLESSINGs, Protection and LOVE of the GOD of The Universe flows through to Humankind. Raised on the hill top but not for arrogance and show. THE CROSS reminds us; in these very difficult times, GOD has always and will always LOVE us. HE remains just a prayer away, just look up to this Sign, ask what you will , THE GOD of the Universe understands, NO DIFFICULTY , GOD and MAN , forever One, and nothing is impossible.
To all the Priests and Religious who have served GOD and the Church selflessly, GOD LOVE (Agape) you all. Whether Rich or Poor , powerful or powerless, leader of a thousand armies, or just a lone man staring into the night sky, THE GOD of THE UNIVERSE loves you all, with HIS Life. He calls you Brother or Sister, will you answer, will you hug HIM, accept HIS advice and a Father’s faithful Love? Will you also extend your hand to the one next to you, your other brothers and sisters? Perhaps it is time to restore The World HE wanted us to have, write a new story, a Happy one, endless wealth, health and happiness…….. for all.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND A BLESSED, PEACEFUL AND BRIGHT NEW YEAR !!!
ADVENT — REPENT !!!
The Jews MISSED THE COMING OF THE SAVIOUR of THE COSMOS. (The Young Rich Jewish man who came to ask Jesus how else he could do to be saved, 1st asks ” When did you come ?” They who had been given all the knowledge in the World about their GOD had missed HIS COMING !!! How to explain this, a great and Holy people ? It boils down to DIVINE Intervention, DESTINY …..
GOD’s plan all along has been the restoration of order and PEACE in the ENTIRE COSMOS. No one understood this, least the teachers and learned scholars of Israel. It was all in the writings of the prophets, as ADVENT readings clearly reveal.
To King Ahaz, GOD says ask a sign, HE, GOD , will prove to the king who had lost his faith in GOD’s intention to save him, that HE indeed is GOD, nothing is impossible to HIM.
” The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying:
Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;
let it be deep as the netherworld, or high as the sky!
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel.“
24/12/2022 Midnight Mass
1st Reading ISAIAH : 9 : 1-6 (taking only v 5)
5 For a son has been born for us, a son has been given to us, and dominion has been laid on his shoulders; and this is the name he has been given, ‘Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace’
Thus GOD reveals HIMSELF. No one knew in advance, a time decided by HE alone, but they should have known the moment he arrived, the prophets had foretold HIS coming long ago, everything fits : … HE is GOD of PEACE, ‘Dominion is laid on HIS shoulders’ : this is weight of THE CROSS, This is the calling card of THE GOD WHO LOVED US WITH HIS LIFE, this is HIS gift to us, THE REASON WHY HE IS GOD and no other comes close, HIS DOMINION IS HIS LOVE SACRIFICE.
Just as was foretold in the scriptures, JESUS is born in Bethlehem, City of David. The Jews , from the King Herod down to the common folk, had expected a King in the line and likeness of King David, fearsome warrior king, who “killed his ten thousands”. But GOD is not like that, HE is KING of HEARTS AND MIND, he will conquer our hearts in the billions, reverse our failings, our sinfulness and allow us to glory in HIS LOVE, acting as HE would and on HIS behalf to restore a Broken Creation. HE is far and further away from desires for Power and wealth. HIS prophets would have told you. HIS ONLY SON confirms our reading of HIS NATURE. Remember also , when visiting Abraham, GOD is as a traveler with companions, no airs, no chariots of gold, although Abraham was very sentient.
The CHRIST child is born in a cave probably. The manger was usually the cave where the house animals were housed and rested. This was usually below the guest room , all taken up as a result of the Census. John the baptist was garbed in Camel’s hair, a dress suited for the wilderness. YESHUA, (HIS NAME tells us HIS PLAN) : HE SAVES, not from the temporal, of dangers and persecution and war and fighting, but saves us from sin, from pride, greed, envy and the tendency to solve every problem by violence. Thus YESHUA appears as HIS prophets came : HE is wrapped in strips of cloth, and is laid on the food trough of the stable animals as a cradle. The placing of the scene in Bethlehem, which means ‘House of Bread’ , and his cradle as a food trough, all point HIS insistence THAT HE IS THE BREAD OF LIFE, with THIS BREAD, HE WILL BE TRULY PRESENT IN EACH AND EVERY CHRISTIAN WHO PARTAKES OF THIS BREAD, HIS FLESH AND BLOOD. The picture is again, also a deliberate comparison to YESHUA’s DEATH, placed in a CAVE, wrapped in linen after being taken down from THE CROSS. THERE are rules even in HEAVEN, there is a code of conduct, GOD intends to redeem us, HE will save us from the Chaos of The Wilderness, HE will bring us across wild seas to go back home , back to where we belong with HIM. HE WILL PAY THE ULTIMATE PRICE, HIS LIFE, AND GO THROUGH ALL THE WORST HUMAN SUFFERINGS, HE WILL DIE, BECAUSE HE LOVED US, ALWAYS.
Gospel, Luke 2:1-14
1 Now it happened that at this time Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be made of the whole inhabited world.
2 This census — the first — took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria,
3 and everyone went to be registered, each to his own town.
4 So Joseph set out from the town of Nazareth in Galilee for Judaea, to David’s town called Bethlehem, since he was of David’s House and line,
5 in order to be registered together with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
6 Now it happened that, while they were there, the time came for her to have her child,
7 and she gave birth to a son, her first-born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the living-space.
8 In the countryside close by there were shepherds out in the fields keeping guard over their sheep during the watches of the night.
9 An angel of the Lord stood over them and the glory of the Lord shone round them. They were terrified,
10 but the angel said, ‘Do not be afraid. Look, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people.
11 Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
12 And here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.’
13 And all at once with the angel there was a great throng of the hosts of heaven, praising God with the words:
14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace for those he favours
The GOSPEL today is more than interesting, but intricately intertwined with the Old testament , a bit hard to explain smoothly.
The time has come. GOD will introduce HIMSELF into HUMAN HISTORY. First, the Gospel author Luke tells us this is in the reign of Caesar Augustus — The ROMAN emperor. Rome required the emperor be worshipped as a god. The name ‘Augustus’ means ‘exalted one’ or ‘divine’. Nonetheless, Caesar was lauded in the empire as he had successfully brought down the enemies of Rome and the empire was experiencing a much appreciated period of peace and prosperity [Pax Romana]. The census was called to determine the tax, the cost of maintaining peace. The Names are important. A human god, the Roman rulers were known for their AWFUL cruelty and the immense efforts to stem opposition to them with unbelievably cruel methods of torture and punishment. They were the Akkadians of their time. GOD in YESHUA, offers to SAVE us for a different PRICE. First, HE IS GOD. THERE is no TAX, HE has no need for money, HE needs us however to look after each other and the WHOLE of CREATION. HE will pay the PRICE, HE will redeem us from our SLAVERY. HE will of HIS Free WILL die for us, we are the Treasure HE found, the Pearl beyond Price. We are worth every effort HE makes, worth giving up HIS Life. The PEACE GOD offers us is the knowledge HE LOVES US. Not here and now but for an eternity, Life is a struggle, but with GOD-WITH-US, there is always HOPE. With all the little Christs, we should have all the help and love we need.
Mother Mary and Joseph represent the best of Israel.
HOW DO THE FIRST 2 CHRISTIANS SOLVE THEIR PROBLEM ? Mary’s name means ‘Star of the Sea’, so we call her sometimes Our Lady, Star of the Sea. ‘Sea’ remember figuratively references to the wilderness or chaos we are part of in this reality. Mary’s example is stellar, she represents the best of humanity, not often understanding what GOD intends and what our responses should be. In this case, she decides to ponder the mystery of the LIVING GOD as HER FIRST BORN. Let go, LET GOD ! Joseph’s Name also carries a special meaning. In a variant, his name contains YHWH, and means to add. He is added as guide to YESHUA in HIS infancy and childhood. Both Joseph and Mary trace their lines back to King DAVID, fulfilling prophecy. Joseph’s treatment of Mary is also exceptional, Pope FRANCIS gave a beautiful commentary on this : he , the foster Father as it were, was clearly a man of Mercy in receiving Mary into his household. GOD THE FATHER is GOD of DIVINE MERCY. YESHUA will JUDGE us , but OUR GOD, FATHER AND SON RULE FROM THE MERCY SEAT. GOD is all about LOVE, AND THERE CAN BE NO LOVE WITHOUT MERCY. The Earthly parents of YESHUA are truly models of Humility, Patience , Faith and Hope, Mercy and Love.
WE LIVE IN ECEPTIONAL TIMES, BUT ITS GOOD TO HAVE AN EXCEPTIONAL GOD AS FATHER AND FRIEND ! GOD DETERMINES HISTORY, HE CONTROLS TIME.
Meanwhile, we wish one and all a HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND A BLESSED NEW YEAR AHEAD, PEACE TO ALL MEN OF GOODWILL.
“ADVENT” comes from the Latin ADVENTUS, meaning “coming” . A series of 4 Sundays , beginning Nov 27th, 2022 till Christmas. This period marks our wait and preparation for the coming of YESHUA {= YHWH SAVES } , JESUS THE CHRIST, THE MESSIAH. Why is GOD COMING ? What is GOD seeking in Humanity? Already , in ISAIAH’s time, we are told that THIS , OUR GOD, is totally different from the usual human expectations of Power and Might. The ONE TRUE GOD, HE lives in the “highest Mountain”, there is no Power or Might greater than HE, yet what HE desires from Man is we walk in HIS Path, follow HIS Light, reject violence and bloodshed.
FIRST SUNDAY of ADVENT
1ST READING , Isaiah 2 : 1-5 [Excerpts]
” This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz,
saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In days to come,
the mountain of the LORD’s house
shall be established as the highest mountain
and raised above the hills.
All nations shall stream toward it;
many peoples shall come and say:
“Come, let us climb the LORD’s mountain,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may instruct us in his ways,
and we may walk in his paths.” “
” He shall judge between the nations,
and impose terms on many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
one nation shall not raise the sword against another,
nor shall they train for war again.
O house of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord! “
Gospel reading :
Matthew 24 : 37-44
” As in the days of Noah”: We are now clearly in the midst of The End Times, no, not the end of the world, that would be too easy. We are clearly in the period of History OUR LORD warned us about. The Markers of this appointed time abound : ISRAEL has been regrouped and been given back their lands, The Fig Tree (Israel) is sprouting new shoots [ Jesus says the (End) time draws near when we notice this]. We have advanced and been led by such advancements to a state of impending self-inflicted self-destruction. We have issues with a growing world population but no emphasis given to food security, sustainable potable water production, energy sustainability, pollution, pesticides, antibiotic use and abuse, dumping of chemicals and poisons. We live like there is no tomorrow. Yet, we are blissfully ignorant of some very imminent dangers in our Galactic neighborhood that can finish us off for good. All life can end in a moment at GOD’s Mercy. In like fashion , THE LORD’s 2nd coming will come without warning.
“IN THE DAYS of Noah”, GOD was sickened by the violence that prevailed on the Earth, the fallen angels had created monstrosities in their offspring from liaisons with human females. Many of these were giant races, the Nephilim, Rephaim, and they were exceptionally violent, sacrificing babies and humans in rituals, fighting and killing were rampant. They lived and made merry , but unbeknownst to them, GOD decided to end the prevalent evil that threatened the existence on Man and the restoration of His Kingdom. GOD called for a reset. ARE WE ANY DIFFERENT FROM THEM TODAY ?? Every now and then, we will have a war, Ukraine and Russia still haven’t stopped fighting, why are they not talking PEACE. BOTH CHRISTIAN PEOPLES, with a long and glorious history, they are as close as family, why can’t PEACE be given a chance ??? We have unbridled abortion without allowing for more support for alternatives that reflect a race that values Life at every stage. We tinker with GENETICs now with NO LEGAL AND ENFORCIBLE GUIDANCE or SYSTEM that ensures SAFETY AND LIMITS in testing and research. Maybe COVID was a lab accident as The US Senate is investigating now. One unfortunate accident, inadequate biosecurity, perhaps a foolhardy attempt to evaluate viral infection characteristics that should never have been done ! Pandora’s box seems to be a story told to our foolish ears in this time line, one mistake, millions dead, 3 years of imprisonment for the whole world. One painful idiot mistake. Then again, have we changed our pattern of behavior to hold back the Righteous Hand of GOD FROM ISSUING THE ORDER FOR ANOTHER RESET !!! It’s AMAZING, we can give 100 BILLION DOLLARS TO HAVE SOME PEOPLE KILLED, but find it hard to give something substantial for a flood disaster, to save lives. Should GOD let this pass ?
Matthew 24 : 37-44
Jesus said to his disciples:
“As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
In those days before the flood,
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage,
up to the day that Noah entered the ark.
They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away.
So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man.
Two men will be out in the field;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Two women will be grinding at the mill;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Therefore, stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house
had known the hour of night when the thief was coming,
he would have stayed awake
and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
2nd SUNDAY in ADVENT, 03122022
ISAIAH 11 : 1-10 [ Excerpt]
The message is consistent, Isaiah in this reading excerpt, reinforces the Image of GOD who wants harmony in this and all created reality :
Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
the calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,
together their young shall rest;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the cobra’s den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.
There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,
as water covers the sea.
On that day, the root of Jesse,
set up as a signal for the nations,
the Gentiles shall seek out,
for his dwelling shall be glorious.
GOD abhors WAR, VIOLENCE, BLOODSHED and any action that results in loss of Human Life or the denigration of Human Dignity.
Gospel reading : Matthew 3 : 1-12
John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea
and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:
A voice of one crying out in the desert,
Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
John wore clothing made of camel’s hair
and had a leather belt around his waist.
His food was locusts and wild honey.
At that time Jerusalem, all Judea,
and the whole region around the Jordan
were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River
as they acknowledged their sins.”
When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees
coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers!
Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.
And do not presume to say to yourselves,
‘We have Abraham as our father.’
For I tell you,
God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees.
Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit
will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
I am baptizing you with water, for repentance,
but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I.
I am not worthy to carry his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in his hand.
He will clear his threshing floor
and gather his wheat into his barn,
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
The message in this Gospel is Clear. WHEN GOD COMES, HE DOES NOT NEED TO TELL ANYONE. We are expected to be prepared and watchful. GOD doesn’t need people to lay a red carpet for HIM and ask people to kowtow and worship HIM. When HE decides to reveal HIMSELF, you will kneel or fall flat on your face. The Herald John HE sends reflects the Spirit of GOD, a cool, gentle breeze. GOD is FREELY coming and GIVING himself to us, John’s name means YHWH [GOD] freely GIVES. GOD comes not as an oppressive ruler, a bloodthirsty warlord, a conquering military emperor, thus, John, GOD’s servant and Herald is in the clothing of all the great prophets before him, simple and unadorned. John prophesizes though, a MESSAGE of UNIVERSAL-SHATTERING PROPORTIONS, that YESHUA is to come after him. YESHUA is greater than he, and will baptize with the HOLY SPIRIT. The people must REPENT. John preached a baptism of water as a sign of sorrow for man’s sinfulness and as an act of contrition for personal failings. THE MESSIAH who is to COME after him will baptize in THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE SPIRIT of GOD, GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT who will reside in us and make us into Children of GOD, GOD’s presence on earth. HE will forgive our sins, ” take away the sins of the World” — in this way, HE will restore the broken relationship between GOD and MAN and reverse the Sin of Disobedience in The Garden BY his Obedience unto Death.
3rd SUNDAY in ADVENT 11122022
1ST READING ISAIAH 35 : 1-6A [Excerpt]
Here is your God,
he comes with vindication;
with divine recompense
he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared;
then will the lame leap like a stag,
then the tongue of the mute will sing.
“HE comes to save you.” — YESHUA’s NAME means YHWH SAVES !!! When he comes, the blind will see, the deaf hear, the lame will walk. Only GOD can do this. Even in present times , WITH ADVANCEMENTS IN MEDICINE, WE STILL RECOGNISE MIRACLES. This is THE GOD of the impossible.
GOSPEL Matthew 11 : 2=11
When John the Baptist heard in prison of the works of the Christ,
he sent his disciples to Jesus with this question,
“Are you the one who is to come,
or should we look for another?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Go and tell John what you hear and see:
the blind regain their sight,
the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear,
the dead are raised,
and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”
As they were going off,
Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John,
“What did you go out to the desert to see?
A reed swayed by the wind?
Then what did you go out to see?
Someone dressed in fine clothing?
Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces.
Then why did you go out? To see a prophet?
Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
This is the one about whom it is written:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way before you.
Amen, I say to you,
among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
In the GOSPEL of the third Sunday, the scene is sad, John has been imprisoned by Herod, as he had criticized Herod having had an affair and eloped with his sister in law. He Knows he is about to be killed. Why doesn’t Jesus , YESHUA , intervene and get HIS Angelic Hosts to set up straight away the new KINGDOM of GOD ??? This would be the Opportune moment to bring in a new order, ” Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”
John knows exactly who YESHUA is, he leapt in Elizabeth’s womb on Mother Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth. John calls YESHUA, ” the LAMB of GOD” “WHO takes away the sins of the world” In answering John, JESUS reaffirms he is THE FULFILLMENT of ISAIAH’s prophecy. But YHWH , GOD , does not fit into any man’s thinking, it would seem. HIS mission is to save the world and humanity. HE has everything planned and will effect the reversal in the disharmony the world faces with HIS own special plan and at the exact time of HIS choosing. By JESUS’ reckoning , John the Baptist, was the greatest man, born of ‘woman’, ever to live, the greatest and last of the old testament prophets. But his perspective was colored by his impending execution by Herod, and he had no idea of THE KINGDOM YESHUA had come to set. Born of the HOLY SPIRIT living within us, every believer , blessed with proper Baptism, SUSTAINED BY THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST will become part of THE BODY of JESUS, GOD THE SON, GOD-WITH-US , in every way possible. From YESHUA on, the Children of GOD in the KINGDOM, born of THE HOLY SPIRIT, CHRIST on Earth. Little CHRISTs, GOD-with-US.
4th SUNDAY in ADVENT 18122022
1st READING ISAIAH 7: 10-14
The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying:
Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;
let it be deep as the netherworld, or high as the sky!
But Ahaz answered,
“I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!”
Then Isaiah said:
Listen, O house of David!
Is it not enough for you to weary people,
must you also weary my God?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel.
In the first reading, King Ahaz of JUDAH is facing the combined forces of Israel and Syria. ISAIAH has come to offer Ahaz GOD’s ASSURANCE that the kingdom of JUDAH will be spared. GOD makes Ahaz a strange offer, he can ask for any sign to confirm GOD’s favor. Ahaz declines, he is afraid to offend GOD, and has already opted to seek the help of the Assyrian king. The sign ISAIAH gives is seen by us to be fulfilled in THE BIRTH OF YESHUA many hundreds of years later, fulfilling GOD’s promise to preserve the kingdom of JUDAH till Jesus’ time to ensure his lineage was unbroken.
GOSPEL MATTHEW 1 : 18-24
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
In this GOSPEL, we are brought back to the circumstances regarding JESUS’ conception and Mother Mary’s pregnancy.
JESUS , YESHUA is THE NAME given by the Angelic visitor in Joseph’s dream. YESHUA means YHWH SAVES. YESHUA , GOD THE SON, is not about a conquering hero trying to protect Israel, or making His people a military power of unmatched strength. YESHUA will SAVE HIS people from sinfulness. HE will restore humanity to a good relationship with GOD, this he will do by creating a new Kingdom of GOD, every member filled by HIS HOLY SPIRIT, reborn of the SPIRIT. In this KINGDOM, GOD is with Us, HE is always inside us. WE ARE LITTLE CHRISTS. Thus his NAME IMMANUEL fits like a glove, only GOD can plan like that , over Centuries from Isaiah’s time till Christ, over an eternity for each and every one of us that is called.
GOD Bless and keep you !
THE GOD WHO LOVED US :
Evil knows who YESHUA-JESUS is. The Spirits know HIS identity, this is THE HOLY ONE. The corrupt powers of the world know who HE is too ! HE is King of The Jews, Pilate is witness. Yet in the mad frenzy to justify their evil , the powers of the world heap HIM with insults and TEST HIM again and again, in this moment of immense anguish and unimaginable Pain. ‘If HE is… ” They know very well who HE is. In this final moments, THE SON of MAN still gets tested, like the 3 temptations of the Devil, is THE SON OF GOD going to change HIS mind about the useless thankless creatures who are intent on giving HIM the most cruel Death, the sentence of the worst criminal. They launch abuse and insult after insult, this is how they treated the world, how they governed humanity, abused and stripped of dignity. WOULD GOD STILL FIND MAN WORTH ALL THE PAIN AND BROKENESS. …
But, truly, no one can shake GOD’S LOVE and FAITH in HIS CHILDREN, HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS. HUMANITY will shine , GOD’S HOLY SPIRIT will move us to make THE DIFFERENCE. We will continue to make HIS KINGDOM where the rule is LOVE GOD , LOVE MAN. We will continue to show THE REAL PRESENCE of THE GOD OF LOVE, THE ONE TRUE LIVING GOD. As an answer to the questions of those who taunt HIM: YES!!! LOVE MAN !!! GOD LOVES HUMANITY. HE is willing to go through Human existence, Experience Human Life, including the worst human behavior: betrayal and ungrateful rejection , torture, abuse, a dehumanizing death , whipped, and strung on a tree like a criminal. WHY ??? The ‘Good Bandit’ tells us why. This thief called YESHUA, JESUS, by name. He was a source of great comfort to GOD, in the agony of all the suffering. He acknowledged the TRUTH, and the TRUTH IS THAT YESHUA is Blameless, man – the good bandit had sinned and received a just return on erroneous doing. BUT, DID YOU NOTICE,, The good bandit did not call YESHUA even Rabbi, or Master, or LORD(GOD) ! Yet YESHUA, (HIS NAME SAVES), insists and commands (YESHUA says AMEN! : Let this be !! ): this man will dine with HIM at the heavenly banquet for eternity [ ‘today’, ‘this very day’, a day in GOD’S time is the whole of Eternity ]. ONLY GOD CAN LOVE like that, ONLY GOD decides who passes through the gates. A camel has passed through the eye of the needle, now for the sheep and lambs to follow. GOD has decreed, the entire Universe has to take note , THE REVERSAL has been set, GOD and MAN will be FAMILY again, as at the beginning. The KINGDOM of GOD has begun !!!
NO ONE LOVES US LIKE GOD. NO ONE KNOWS US LIKE GOD.
GOD LOVE YOU ALL.
Gospel: Luke 23: 35-43
35 And the people stood beholding, and the rulers with them derided him, saying: He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the elect of God.
36 And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar,
37 And saying: If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself.
38 And there was also a superscription written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
39 And one of those robbers who were hanged, blasphemed him, saying: If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
40 But the other answering, rebuked him, saying: Neither dost thou fear God, seeing thou art condemned under the same condemnation?
41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this man hath done no evil.
42 And he said to Jesus: Lord, remember me when thou shalt come into thy kingdom.
43 And Jesus said to him: Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise.
The gospel readings for this week [ Sunday 13th November, 2022 week ] are below and follow this reflection (completed) :
What are we being told? The LORD of Creation wants to open another small window to show us HIS LOVE. HE seeks to calm and reassure us of HIS PRESENCE always.
When Jesus/YESHUA begins HIS ministry, the devil “tempts” HIM 3 times in the desert. Once the ministry begins, YESHUA, whose NAME means YHWH SAVES, reveals HIMSELF gently, bit by bit, to HIS disciples. Believers begin by acknowledging “THE LAMB of GOD”, then they call HIM their “Rabbi” (Teacher ). Once more convinced, HE is “Master” , a “Prophet” , then finally, ” Who is this that wind and storm obey HIM ? ” Not only humans acknowledge HIM , but the spirits too know who HE is! But, to the ‘powerful’ religious leaders, the governing elite , the rich who owed their good fortunes to the status quo where they held power and oprressive overlordship of the people, where they entirely controlled the economy and religion with their manipulationof the economy, they were not interested in seeking YESHUA’s identity, they were waiting for YESHUA to slip up, any possible error, especially in religious teaching, so they could prove him a trickster, not a prophet or more, not an Authority on their world order, and remove this threat to their continued well being, power and wealth.
THE QUESTION in this portion of THE GOOD NEWs is thus one of AUTHORITY. WHO IS YESHUA ?? If YESHUA failed their tests, HE could not be THE HOLY ONE, nor a Prophet; they would be able to discredit HIM, perhaps even get rid of HIM !
At the same time, strangely, GOD is asking of all of us who profess to believe in HIM, “WHO ( do you think ) AM I” ? Who could and would do all these things for humanity, if LOVE was not THE REASON. GOD THE SON is GOD HIMSELF, who from before time had intended to have HIS WILL be done. A darling of Creation, a pearl beyond price, HIS treasure, Humanity would be SAVED, and HE would see to it PERSONALLY to reverse the failings of humanity and restore this treasure to its finest shine.
The Good News today actually begins in the Gospel where YESHUA passes through Jericho, ancient , rich and defended by towering fortifications , an invincible wall. Jericho was named after the city’s moon god. In Jericho, just as the walls were brought down and the city captured through GOD’s PRESENCE in the ARK of the COVENANT, GOD FATHER, SON AND HOLY SPIRIT are giving notice to the whole Universe as well as the spiritual realms that HE intends to exercise and reclaim the whole of humanity as HIS OWN. The old world order, the worship of the paganistic pantheon of gods, outside of Israel, are to give way to the Truth. And the TRUTH is about ONE GOD, FATHER , THE ALMIGHTY CREATOR, ONE GOD, GOD THE SON, THE WORD, GOD FROM GOD, through HIM all things were made, all because of HIS LOVE, HE desired to SAVE us, HIS NAME tells us GOD’s HEART and INTENT, HE is YESHUA = YHWH SAVES. HE is OUR KING. HE IS LORD AND GOD. How will the people, humanity, be ‘SAVED’ ? ONE GOD, THE HOLY SPIRIT, the SPIRIT that is PURELY THE LOVE OF GOD will descend upon us those who have accepted YESHUA’s LOVE, HE will fill our hearts with GOD’s LOVE, make us Little Christs, a New Creation, to make a difference to the world. We are Christ’s Presence in a dysfunctional world, here to make order, peace, justice, joy and prosperity with tranquility, for humanity and for the entire planet we are given to look after.
In the Gospel reading 2 weeks back, about Zacchaeus, GOD shows the whole Universe, the COSMOS, who GOD is and what GOD is about. GOD’s emphasis has always been the vulnerable and defenceless, HE is and always will be THE GOD saving those who turn to HIM and seek HIS PEACE. HE is not concerned about what Pharisees think: HIS Family, all who seek HIS LOVE sincerely, will meet and SEE HIM, when they seek HIM. GOD GIVES AUTHORITY TO HIS SONS AND DAUGHTERS TO SEE HIM, previously Man was separated from the HOLY of HOLIES by a curtain a foot thick. In instituting a new COVENANT, with THE AUTHORITY ONLY GOD CAN GIVE, we are asked to climb up The Tree, go up to The Upper Room [ in Church at Mass, the Upper room of Pentecost], no different from going Up The Mountain, where Peter, John and James SEE the TRANSFIGURED YESHUA. GOD is like this : OUR SAVIOUR always LOVING MAN , always there for us, no matter what race, color , rich or poor, short or tall, haha!
In the next test of Authority, in last week’s Gospel, the Sadducees seek also to trap YESHUA. Sadducees didn’t accept Resurrection of the Dead as an article of belief. The group were influenced by Greek thinking and philosophy of the times and unlike the Pharisees, accepted only the Torah, where resurrection is not mentioned directly. YESHUA doesn’t belittle them, but tells them they are in error. GOD is THE LIVING GOD and HE IS GOD OF THE LIVING. GOD’s realm is Spiritual. TIME is HIS CONSTRUCT . GOD is always GOD, HE is GOD throughout HIS construct of TIME. Incidentally, HE allows us to HEAR HIM when we climb up the sycamore-fig tree, we listen to HIS WORD as YESHUA speaks in the Readings, we SEE HIM when we celebrate THE EUCHARIST, when the priest holds up the HOST, like all true disciples, we exclaim ” It is THE LORD!” At the same moment , we are seeing YESHUA at the altar breaking bread, simultaneously, we lift up our heads, (there!) , at the foot of Calvary, nailed to the CROSS, ARMS OUTSTRETCHED , like Moses ensuring the Israelites’ victory, like THE FATHER waiting to throw HIS ARMS around HIS Prodigal kids, to welcome back HIS CHILDREN ON ACCOUNT of YESHUA [ = YHWH SAVES ], THE GOD WHO DIED FOR US, WHO NEVER STOPPED LOVING US ! When at the Eucharistic celebration, there is no time, no walls or doors, we are there, celebrating THE SUPPER and SACRIFICE of THE LORD, with all peoples, over all time, in the Earthly realm as well as all the angels in the heavens and all peoples throughout the COSMOS who Love GOD.
Who can think of such an amazing means to unite Man to GOD? ONLY GOD CAN. GOD OWNs TIME. OUR LORD is the GOD of The Reversal. In Genesis, Man expresses a desire to be like GOD. Haha! Now we know, it ain’t easy. It takes time, so we are thrown into a time construct. It takes experience and a process of learning, we are just creatures. We get divided up into different nations, endless bitter quarrels and war, horrible violence, endless attempts at dominating, subverting and oppression. HE, GOD, sets up Israel as the 1st House. The Jews are a remarkable people, we are eternally grateful to them for preservingand protecting GOD’S Word in the Scriptures of The Old Testament. But the emphasis of the Israel of old was understandably preserving their way of life, their nationhood, the establishment. They were more attuned to political and military success for their own, than a victory for The whole Human Race. However, we will see in the following reflection, how their rejection of YESHUA became a cause for joy for the rest of humanity, opening up to us Gentiles a chance to be GOD’S Children.
Finally, we come to this week’s reading ! GOD is GOD. HE knows the future. TIME is HIS construct. JESUS-YESHUA as GOD THE SON, IS GOD. HE KNOWS TIME. HE KNOWS HOW THINGS WILL PLAY OUT IN THE FUTURE. GOD is not answerable to anyone. The Pharisees and Sadducees had wanted to rubbish YESHUA. But HE silenced them with HIS WORD.
Who could know better what was right or wrong in interpretation of scripture than the one who inspired it? Who would know better than the owner of time what happens in the future.
The ball has been set rolling. HIS Intentions have been announced. Now, YESHUA would turn toward Jerusalem to complete HIS SAVING WORK. Along the way, HE will show more of HIS Authority, but this will be the last straw for the elite leaders as their positions and power get increasingly under threat as the multitude throng to see and hear THE GOOD NEWS that has come to their midst.
A new Creation is taking place. GOD THE CREATOR is working in YESHUA, placing HIMSELF in the midst of HUMAN history. GOD HIMSELF as GOD THE SON , The GOD-WITH-US, will unite Man with GOD. In a refreshing reset, the Old will be torn down, Herod’s Temple in Jerusalem represented this, just like Jericho’s walls. In it’s imperfection, in its failure to let Man reach out to THE GOD WHO LOVED THEM WITH HIS LIFE, the Old will be totally dismantled… “Not a stone will be left on top another”. IN PLACE, a new Creation, a new worship will be ushered in. The temple was Israel’s assurance that GOD’s PRESENCE was in their midst. The ARK of THE COVENANT was in the Holy of HOLIES. YESHUA’s New COVENANT will show GOD’S PRESENCE in this world: ” so long as you did this to one, the least of my brethren, you did it to me .. ” First, by being fully Human, HE is present in every person, each person carries HIS IMAGE. Secondly, every little CHRIST, EVERY CHRISTIAN, will be another sign, a Light to the World. Filled with HIS Spirit , he must hold up HIS CROSS and be proud to be a special witnessing part of the BODY of CHRIST. The JOY in Heaven is Great when many little Christs are seen. THE cities of Sodom and Gomorrah would have been saved if only they had a handful of “Good” men. Lastly, my children, at THE LORD’S Supper, the FAMILY MEAL, in GOD’S Mercy, we are brought across space and time to stand before THE REAL PRESENCE, THE LIVING GOD , THE GOD WHO NEVER STOPPED LOVING US, WHO LOVED US WITH HIS LIFE ! In Babel , in arrogance, Man tried to dial up GOD and Summon HIM at will. GOD, in The MASS and THE EUCHARIST brings HIMSELF before us. We get to Hear and See OUR GOD, but at HIS MERCIFUL provision.
Children, GOD’s advice to us is this, CHIN UP, NO FEAR. OUR GOD is THE MASTER of storm and sea, sun and rain. TIME is HIS to dispense with. Don’t get distracted by a turbulent and troubled world; there will always be wars and disturbances. Our Work is to focus on making a difference, making the world a better place, peacefully, honestly. Our main work is not what we do daily, that you do in good faith that you are happy, well treated, and well renumerated. Our main calling is to build The Kingdom of GOD, so St Paul tells us to mind our own business and do as best we can, GOD’S Work. In YESHUA’s parable, HE paid a day’s wages for our Work. A day’s wage in The Everlasting GOD’s time is eternity, JESUS paid our debt to allow us to work in HIS KINGDOM with HIS DEATH over eternity. Yet, why do we rejoice? Because HE rose again, we got a readmission ticket because THE BOSS reopened THE GATE. GOD will look after us, in any case , we are already HIS Family, here now and into the next lap. We also have the privilege of hearing and seeing THE REAL PRESENCE, up in THE MOUNTAIN TOP. Don’t miss The Family meal, GOD LOVES THE FOCUS ON THE FAMILY AND HIS SACRIFICE AT EVERY SUPPER. When THE RISEN LORD holds up THE EUCHARIST before you, saying “THE BODY of CHRIST”, say AMEN, loud and clear, (and thank you LORD for always loving us!)
Does GOD love Israel? Yes! With HIS LIFE ! HE never stopped loving Israel and will always love the 1st Nation that welcomed HIS WORD. Does HE LOVE rich and powerful people ? Yes, of course! He has never stopped loving them. But GOD wants to know from all peoples, ” Can you do better ?”
13/11/2022 6:00 pm
Luke 21:5-19 , 33rd Sunday OT
While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, Jesus said, “All that you see here–the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”
Then they asked him, “Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?” He answered, “See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’ Do not follow them! When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end.” Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.
“Before all this happens, however, they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. It will lead to your giving testimony. Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
Gospel – Luke 20:27-38 , 32nd week in Ordinary Time
Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying,
“Teacher, Moses wrote for us,
If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child,
his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.
Now there were seven brothers;
the first married a woman but died childless.
Then the second and the third married her,
and likewise all the seven died childless.
Finally the woman also died.
Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?
For all seven had been married to her.”
Jesus said to them,
“The children of this age marry and remarry;
but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age
and to the resurrection of the dead
neither marry nor are given in marriage.
They can no longer die,
for they are like angels;
and they are the children of God
because they are the ones who will rise.
That the dead will rise
even Moses made known in the passage about the bush,
when he called out ‘Lord, ‘
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;
and he is not God of the dead, but of the living,
for to him all are alive.”
31st Sunday OT, 30th October 2022
1st reading : Wisdom 11:22 – 12:2
Before the LORD the whole universe is as a grain from a balance
or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth.
But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things;
and you overlook people’s sins that they may repent.
For you love all things that are
and loathe nothing that you have made;
for what you hated, you would not have fashioned.
And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it;
or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you?
But you spare all things, because they are yours,
O LORD and lover of souls,
for your imperishable spirit is in all things!
Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little,
warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing,
that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD!
Gospel LUKE 19 : 1-10
At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.
Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house.”
And he came down quickly and received him with joy.
When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying,
“He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.”
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
“Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over.”
And Jesus said to him,
“Today salvation has come to this house
because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.
For the Son of Man has come to seek
and to save what was lost.”
Today’s 1st reading from Wisdom and the Gospel reading from Luke are exceptional for their beauty and for revealing to us a little more about our GOD. In Wisdom, the writer is in awe as to how GOD is so Merciful to us, slow to anger , patient beyond comprehension. The same thoughts are expressed in Psalms, attributed to King David, where he says, ” What is Man that YOU are mindful of him? ,,, ” In saying this, King David acknowledges in all humility our nothingness before the ALMIGHTY, we are no more than a drop in the ocean. Then again, in the same breath, we are to understand that we MATTER to this GOD. In Christianity, this is the GOD who is FATHER, who sees HIS son making his way home from the hilltop , from so far away, we are HIS treasure, HIS REPUTATION and HIS LIFE are put on the line for us, HE is proud when we wear HIS signet ring and carry HIS Authority. We are HIS FAMILY, and in this relationship, we are held accountable to make a difference to this realm in this time.
GOD REVEALED HIMSELF to us throughout history, opening a little window one after another to let the light in so we could get a clearer picture of who HE is. In the story of Zacchaeus, Yeshua, Jesus opens another window to let us have a look at HIS DIVINITY. Names matter in the scriptures, they carry meaning and leave an imprint on the story being told. In LUKE’s Gospel, we are in Jericho. Jericho is an ancient city and was an important center of trade . The city’s name comes from the moon god who the pagans worshipped before it was captured by the Israelites. In mentioning HE is passing through Jericho, just as HE is passing through this Earthly realm, Yeshua is giving notice to all, from both Earthly and non-human realms that HIS KINGDOM is in full swing. The time of the old gods m the old pantheon is over. GOD’s Family is in and will replace the old. HIS sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, will be able to see HIM when they meet, They will meet, as all families, sitting down at supper, the Family Meal, meeting GOD whilst on Earth, we can access the higher realm.
Zacchaeus means innocent. Nothing simple about this man. Of short stature, but capable, not an ordinary tax collector, but chief tax collector. Tax collectors were despised as sinful, evil administrators of a pagan occupier, oppressors of the people. People who lack nothing are not often looking for GOD. Zacchaeus lacked height, but more importantly, he was curious , he wanted to see GOD. He climbs up the Sycamore-Fig tree. The Fig tree represents the Old Israel. People climb up a tree to get to a higher place — He , Zacchaeus is trying to see GOD. Higher places are where man meets GOD [ Upper room, mountain top, mountain, etc. ] The KINGDOM OF GOD is all about GOD’s Family. LOVE GOD , LOVE MAN. In the midst of accusations from all around at his sinfulness, Zacchaeus makes no apologies. He speaks in a continuing tense, his remorse and contrition lies in his loving actions and reparations made to his fellow man. The prodigal son has returned, GOD rushes all the way to Hug him. YESHUA will have dinner with Zacchaeus. The son is back in the Family again.. At dinner, it will be in the Upper Room , with all the rest of the Family. This is the greatest Family Gathering in the Cosmos. YESHUA lifts up the Eucharist, declaring the LOVE of THE GOD WHO NEVER STOPPED LOVING US, WHO LOVED US TO HIS DEATH, ” This is MY BODY , given for you …” At this the entire Universe kneels, all who Believe exclaim, ” It is THE LORD ! ] There , we see YESHUA on THE CROSS, as HE utters, ” Forgive them FATHER , they know not what they do ” The whole Universe exclaims ” My LORD AND GOD “
Were you at the Eucharist ? I was ! Who has seen GOD ? I HAVE, THE LORD was there !!!
Dear Children ,
We live in a world that remains beautiful each moment , enchanting at every step, mesmerizing at each turn and change of scene. Yet , we cannot help feel bewildered and shaken by the events that are unfolding each day…
Is there a GOD ??? Why so much destruction, death, suffering, pain , disharmony in the Natural order ? Why cycles and why have a civilization or civilizations develop and then, they are wiped out in a whim of time ? Who has seen GOD ? What if there are civilizations so advanced , a thousand years ahead of us, 10 000 years in advance of our knowledge and technology, a million years ahead of us, unimaginable…… Magic and miracles may be advanced Science not yet fully understood. Remember, in 150 years, albeit a guided period I am certain, we went from horse and cart to MARs Rover . What if a highly advanced civilization had manipulated our reality ? Has anyone out there seen GOD yet ? Could we still hold on to our belief in GOD in this age and into The Future ?
THE WEAKNESSES AND SHORTCOMINGS IN HUMANITY :
Children, the story of GENESIS gives us a good idea of How GOD and HIS Family view us. Great potential — Wants to be like GOD, Eve wants the apple to eat and Adam is happy to join in, humanity wants to be like GOD !
There is a problem, though : PRIDE . Man has great potential, BUT he is crippled by a primal urge, a PRIDE that blinds him to the folly of a decision that brings him endless problems. PRIDE : He wants to be like GOD, but once he is found out, he quickly tries to apportion blame, Adam to Eve, Eve to the serpent. From there, comes all the other failings of humanity : wife tries to get husband promoted to GOD STATUS, couple get found out and are sentenced to expulsion from paradise. From an easy life, they start having to struggle and compete for everything. Then, brother rises against brother. Perhaps there was a perception of unequal treatment ; Cain then kills Abel. Further on, in Abraham’s story, Mother wants son to inherit father’s legacy, so Sarah-Isaac and Hagar-Ishmael and their descendants become bitter enemies. Thousands of years later, the enmity continues, till today. Violence has become part of the problem solving process in human workings. Wars and conflict, an endless Odyssey of human existence.
HOW TO BELIEVE IN GOD ??
” No one has seen GOD.”
Yet, somewhere inside our hearts and what we call our soul, we seem to know that there is SOMEONE out there WHO loves us. THAT DIVINE SPARK tells us who we are : we are of a higher order, set apart, we just KNOW Right from Wrong, Good from Evil . We also sense SOMEONE out there LOVEs us. We can see created order in its beauty and splendor . We can see order and immaculately rolled out precision and finesse. We SENSE things were meant to be perfect and Creation was meant to be in perfect harmony. Our Faith tells us that someone out there started everything , there has to be a 1st and Maker of all things.
That SOMEONE is GOD, we are told; and HE wants us to help HIM restore Creation to Peace and Prosperity, Splendor and Harmony, through Love and Service.
HAIL MARY, FULL OF GRACE …….
The Catholic Faith honors Mary , Mother of Yeshua/Jesus. Mother Mary represents the Best of the Old, the Best of the New. The words in the greeting ” Hail, Full of Grace ” are drawn from scripture , GOD speaks to Mother Mary through Angel Gabriel. Why is Mary addressed as ” full of GRACE. ” The best of GOD’s Family : HIS Mother, brothers and sisters , are all who LOVE HIM and listen to HIS WORD. Full of GRACE, she accepts GOD’s WORD and co-operates in HIS Plan to restore Humanity to its destiny as GOD’s Children and to a wider objective, the restoration of PEACE and ORDER in Creation. “
“No one has seen GOD ” ; No one has ever seen God. The only Son, GOD, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him. ( John 1 : 18 )
What could this mean ?
We have seen : Jesus, GOD with US, Our EMMANUEL. And HE tells us, ” One cannot say he loves GOD who he cannot see, but does not love his neighbor whom he can see. “
In other other words, Love GOD <=> Love Man ; that is the Crux of OUR belief.: it kind of crystallizes the 2 great Laws.
What I’m trying to explain to you is this : THERE IS A GOD.
Sure, ” No one has seen GOD”, but this is how HE wants it. Where is GOD ? HE is everywhere. More importantly, HE is in Everyone : ” do to one of these, the least of my brethren, you do it to me ” . This is how HE wants it. We are HIS eyes , Ears, hands and feet, HIS self. GOD with Us wants Us to move the world. We must open our hearts and welcome HIM. Remember Mother Mary’s advice, ” Do whatever HE tells you !”, if you want water to turn to Wine.
The following passage comes from the mass we just attended on 29th May 2022:, the 7th Sunday of Easter , celebrating the Ascension of Jesus :
Reading 1, Acts 7:55-60
55 But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand.
56 ‘Look! I can see heaven thrown open,’ he said, ‘and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God.’
57 All the members of the council shouted out and stopped their ears with their hands; then they made a concerted rush at him,
58 thrust him out of the city and stoned him. The witnesses put down their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul.
59 As they were stoning him, Stephen said in invocation, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’
60 Then he knelt down and said aloud, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ And with these words he fell asleep
Like many other passages you would have heard throughout the year, as we sit through each week’s celebration of the Mass, we realize the amazing outpouring of the HOLY SPIRIT through OUR LORD.
What is a Christian ?
WHO ARE WE ?
CHRISTIAN means Little Christs. The Orthodox Church will especially agree with this rendition. Just look at Stephen who is martyred in the reading from the ACTs of the Apostles. The HOLY SPIRIT is telling us about this wonderful Little Christ, Stephen. By the Grace of The Living GOD, his name means crown/wreath/garland , so apt. To GOD The FATHER ; in this man HE sees HIS SON. HIS BELOVED. Mirror imaging YESHUA, JESUS CHRIST on THE CROSS, Stephen’s words and actions RESONATE with THE WORD and SPIRIT of THE GOD WHO REFUSED TO STOP LOVING US, THE GOD WHO JUST WOULDN’T GIVE UP ON US, THE GOD WHO LOVED US WITH HIS LIFE !!! His words are THE WORDs of YESHUA : in horrific pain and dying from the wounds inflicted, he asks THE LORD to receive his spirit, this LITTLE CHRIST asked THE LORD to take him home, but before this, he utters the Prayer of CHRIST, ” Do not hold this sin against them “. “TO FORGIVE IS DIVINE “, When GOD peered down on this horrific Act of Violence, HIS HEART is soothed and Anger calmed only because HE sees in STEPHEN HIS Beloved SON, on HIS account, judgement is withheld. THIS IS THE ESSENCE OF OUR LIVING GOD: HE SAVES AS NONE HAS EVER DONE, truly YHWH SAVES ( Reminder : Jesus’ Name in Hebrew is YESHUA, which translates YHWH SAVES ) !!!
Interestingly, there was a young man named Saul who was in the crowd of persecutors, those who stoned Stephen. Saul was his name. Again , by the GRACE of THE SPIRIT, ‘Saul’ derives from the word “to request ” and is associated with a meaning of “death and destruction” Traditionally, some say this Saul later becomes the giant of Christianity, St Paul. ( After his conversion, when he was struck by THE LORD on the road to Damascus .) THIS IS THE WORK OF THE GOD OF THE REVERSAL. Humanity must turn away from desiring all that only leads to death and destruction ! While it may be painful, this will include THE WILL TO FORGIVE and let GOD be GOD.
Our CROWNS lie not in gold or silver but in being LOVED by THE LIVING GOD.
“LORD, to whom can we turn to, YOU have the WORDs of Eternal LIFE !”
WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE --- Getting to know GOD
The WORD of GOD, Readings for Sunday 17th July 2022 :
LUKE 10: 38-42,
Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”
A short Gospel reading today. Full of meaning nonetheless. Martha and Mary and 2 of OUR LORD’s greatest friends and followers, sisters to Lazarus, whom Yeshua raised back to life from the dead. As in all important passages, the names give us a clue to hidden implications and messages that YESHUA wants us to understand. Martha and Mary , both names are derived from the Hebrew root word for Myrrh, which carries a meaning of bitterness. To GOD, HE has always loved Mankind, yet Mankind has not been been able to return HIS LOVE in kind. Nevertheless, GOD , in all MERCY, accepts us lock, stock and barrel. Martha also means lady/mistress. Like when Jesus uses the term Woman for His Mother, in Martha, we see the people of GOD going about to Do the Work of GOD, imperfect, bitterness, but precious to GOD. Mary, represents the other type of follower. Her name means beloved, again as in the above reference, the root is derived from myrrh, bitter incense. YESHUA is referring also to the whole people of GOD who pray and keep HIM company. It takes all to complete the CHURCH, let all our works of Love and devotion, all our prayers and meditation, rise up as a fragrant offering to THE GOD WHO NEVER STOPPED LOVING US.
The passage is better reflected in the perspective of the previous chapter of The Good Samaritan. LOVE GOD equals LOVE MAN. True Love hurts, GOD, OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST knows, HE suffered for us ! YESHUA promises HE will bring us through thick and thin, till the End of Time. All are precious to HIM, all are HIS portion :
Reflection : ” 34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” ( Acts 10 : 34 )
The 1st reading today was also interesting, taken from GENESIS : 18 : 1-10. Abraham is told by GOD he will father a great Nation. He receives 3 guests at his tent and welcomes them with a feast with exceptional hospitality. One of the Visitors is GOD Himself. HE lets Abraham know HE will have a son in due time. By this time, Abraham and Sarah are elderly, Sarah is in her 90’s. She quietly laughs that she is old, in menopause and no longer actively having relations. GOD, YHWH hears her doubts and reminds her and all generations to come, ” Is there anything YHWH/GOD cannot do ? “
To all the Marthas and Marys of the CHURCH, don’t worry , don’t sweat the small stuff, chin up , no fear. Nothing is impossible for THE GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE.
27/8/22
Dear Children,
I had wanted to drift incognito into a long period of hibernation, but it seems the times are getting more complicated. The COVID 19 pandemic is coming to an end though, GOOD NEWs, if by GOD’s MERCY, the trends hold.. The new variant Omicron BA5 should replace the previous variants and by virtue of its ability to induce super-immunity, we anticipate good news and respite ahead. Mind you, this is possible because (1), the virus is mild , and (2) prior vaccination has further blunted the virus; but the unvaccinated and vulnerable still present a challenge to manage into the future. How I wish, we had Peace and co=operation in all of this beautiful Blue Planet. There is much to do and prepare for and little time to waste, my little ones. We desperately need the wise leaders of the world to get together and hammer out an arrangement for a better future. Humanity has to decide what it wants and how it wants, to help itself. Heaven’s mandate is only to love and support what man in wisdom decides on.
LUKE 14:1,7-14 — [ Gospel for Sunday 28/8/22 ]
On a sabbath day Jesus had gone for a meal to the house of one of the leading Pharisees; and they watched him closely. He then told the guests a parable, because he had noticed how they picked the places of honour. He said this, ‘When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take your seat in the place of honour. A more distinguished person than you may have been invited, and the person who invited you both may come and say, “Give up your place to this man.” And then, to your embarrassment, you would have to go and take the lowest place. No; when you are a guest, make your way to the lowest place and sit there, so that, when your host comes, he may say, “My friend, move up higher.” In that way, everyone with you at the table will see you honoured. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the man who humbles himself will be exalted.’
Then he said to his host, ‘When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not ask your friends, brothers, relations or rich neighbours, for fear they repay your courtesy by inviting you in return. No; when you have a party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; that they cannot pay you back means that you are fortunate, because repayment will be made to you when the virtuous rise again.’
HEBREWS 12:18-19,22-24 — [ 2nd Reading ]
What you have come to is nothing known to the senses: not a blazing fire, or a gloom turning to total darkness, or a storm; or trumpeting thunder or the great voice speaking which made everyone that heard it beg that no more should be said to them. But what you have come to is Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem where the millions of angels have gathered for the festival, with the whole Church in which everyone is a ‘first-born son’ and a citizen of heaven. You have come to God himself, the supreme Judge, and been placed with spirits of the saints who have been made perfect; and to Jesus, the mediator who brings a new covenant and a blood for purification which pleads more insistently than Abel’s.
Luke 14:25-33 Gospel reading for Sunday Mass on 04092022
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’ Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. In the same way, anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.”
Luke 15, NIV , Gospel on Sunday 10092022
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
The Parable of the Lost Coin
8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins[a] and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
The Parable of the Lost Son
11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14
7 Yahweh then said to Moses, ‘Go down at once, for your people whom you brought here from Egypt have become corrupt.
8 They have quickly left the way which I ordered them to follow. They have cast themselves a metal calf, worshipped it and offered sacrifice to it, shouting, “Israel, here is your God who brought you here from Egypt!” ‘
9 Yahweh then said to Moses, ‘I know these people; I know how obstinate they are!
10 So leave me now, so that my anger can blaze at them and I can put an end to them! I shall make a great nation out of you instead.’
11 Moses tried to pacify Yahweh his God. ‘Yahweh,’ he said, ‘why should your anger blaze at your people, whom you have brought out of Egypt by your great power and mighty hand?
13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to whom you swore by your very self and made this promise: “I shall make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven, and this whole country of which I have spoken, I shall give to your descendants, and it will be their heritage for ever.”
14 Yahweh then relented over the disaster which he had intended to inflict on his people.
All the readings above are drawn from Mass readings on Sunday, dates provided.
Points to ponder :
- SOMEBODY UP THERE LOVES US.
- HE THINKS THE WORLD OF US, WE ARE THE GREAT TREASURE HE FOUND IN THE FIELD. GOOD POTENTIAL !!! GOD IS WILLING TO GO THROUGH THICK AND THIN FOR US, ” HE SELLS EVERYTHING HE OWNS AND BUYS THE FIELD” , AND OF COURSE THE TREASURE : HE PUTS HIS REPUTATION ON THE LINE. HE PLACES ALL HIS RESOURCES, AYE, EVEN HIS HUMAN LIFE INTO THE DIVINE PROJECT TO RESTORE OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. ULTIMATELY, GOD INTENDS THE DISHARMONY IN CREATION TO BE REVERSED AND PEACE RESTORED TO HIS FAMILY THROUGHOUT THE COSMOS ( Cosmos = Chaos, wilderness).
- OURS IS THE GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE, ONLY GOD COULD LOVE LIKE THIS. TO RESTORE CREATION, HE HAS TO ALLOW THE RECONNECTION OF HEAVEN AND EARTH. IN SIMPLE HUMAN TERMS, HE “DOWNLOADS” HIMSELF INTO OUR REALM. THUS HE IS GOD-WITH-US.
- GOD’s AIM IS TO RESTORE THE FAMILY RELATIONSHIP , THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS THE FAMILY OF GOD and LOVE GOD EQUALS LOVE MAN… AND HOW DOES YESHUA SHOW HIS LOVE FOR US ? WE ARE LIKE THE LOST SHEEP, 100 SHEEP, BUT THE ONE LOST, MOST VULNERABLE, MOST IN DANGER GETS HIS FOCUSSED ATTENTION. THE 99 ARE IN THE ‘OPEN’ , THE WILDERNESS OF THE COSMOS, BUT THEY’LL BE OK IF THEY STICK TOGETHER. HE REJOICES when he finds the lost sheep. THE SHEEP IS PLACED ON HIS SHOULDERS, HE IS HAPPY TO ACCEPT. THE IMAGE IS OF YESHUA CARRYING THE CROSS TO HIS CRUXIFIXION AND DEATH. ONLY GOD CAN LOVE LIKE THIS. ” NO GREATER LOVE IS THERE THAN THIS, TO DIE FOR A FRIEND. ” THE SAME WITH THE STORY OF THE COIN LOST. GOD REJOICES AND THE WHOLE FAMILY REJOICES WHEN WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND THE OUTCOME, OUR TIMELINE, CHANGES, OUR LIVES … OUR DESTINY, TOTALLY DIFFERENT. THE LAST PARABLE ON THE PRODIGAL/lost SON COULD TAKE A WHOLE BLOG, BUT IT TELLS US ABOUT THIS, OUR GOD : ONLY GOD COULD LOVE LIKE THIS. THE FATHER RESPECTS US, OUR FREEDOM TO CHOOSE. WE WANT A TASTE OF FREEDOM AND POWER, THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND KNOWLEDGE OF EVIL … GOOD POTENTIAL… WANTS TO BE LIKE GOD, BUT OUT WE GO FROM THE GOOD LIFE , INTO THE CHAOS AND WILDERNESS, OTHERWISE HOW TO KNOW GOOD FROM EVIL? THE ACTION OF SON 2 IS INCIDENTALLY HORRENDOUS, AS CASHING OUT ON THE INHERITANCE IS CULTURALLY WISHING THE FATHER’S EARLY DEMISE. THE PRODIGAL SON SPENDS HIS INHERITANCE FOOLISHLY AND LAVISHLY. THEN WHEN ALL IS GONE AND HUNGER SETS IN , HE RECALLS THE GOOD TIMES WHEN HE HAD FOOD APLENTY, SHELTER AND A HOME WHERE HE WAS CARED FOR, RESPECT AND DIGNITY, CLOTHES AND COMFORT….YET, GOD NEVER STOPPED LOVING HIM. OUR GOD NEVER STOPS LOVING US : ONLY GOD COULD LOVE LIKE THAT. FROM AFAR, HE COULD SEE HIS SON MAKING FOR HOME, HE REJOICES and runs toward the Lost Son AND MAKES IMMEDIATE PREPARATIONS TO WELCOME HIM HOME, HE THROWS HIS ARMS AROUND THE SON WHO HAS JUST COME BACK TO THE FAMILY. THE FAMILY CELEBRATES. note THE FATHER ” OPENS UP HIS ARMS” … THE IMAGE IS AGAIN OF THE CRUCIFIED CHRIST, YESHUA = YHWH SAVES, THE GOD WHO LOVES US WITH HIS LIFE. WE ARE WORTH EVERYTHING TO THIS GOD. THE ELDER SON FEELS DISAPPOINTED, DEJECTED, RESENTFUL. WE CAN UNDERSTAND, BUT GOD IS GOD, HIS GENEROSITY SEEMS UNFAIR, BUT WHAT IF WE WERE IN THE POSITION OF THE PRODIGAL SON ? — INDEED, WHO AMONGST US IS NOT THE PRODIGAL SON ? OUR GOD NEVER GIVES UP ON US, NEVER STOPS LOVING US.
- AS PRODIGAL SONS, WE ARE THANKFUL OUR GOD RULES WITH DIVINE MERCY. IN FACT, GOD’s THRONE, ON THE ARK OF THE COVENANT IS CALLED THE MERCY SEAT. WANT TO BE LIKE GOD ? LOVE GOD, LOVE MAN. LOVE LIKE GOD LOVES. CAN WE DO LIKE St STEPHEN , THE MATYR? ” FORGIVE THEM LORD, THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO… ” Having welcomed back the prodigal Son, THE FATHER puts new clothes on him, [ the image is of Renewal of baptismal promises and reacceptance as a Child of GOD) and puts on his ring (AUTHORITY). — As GOD’s child you ARE EMPOWERED to act in HIS interests. In the 1st reading, Moses, pleads with GOD for Mercy although the Children of Israel rebelled while in the desert and were about to be punished. PRAY AS YESHUA, JESUS , TAUGHT US IN THE OUR FATHER : FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US. WHEN GOD SEES US FROM ” FAR AWAY” LOOKING AND BEHAVING LIKE HIS SON, HE FEELS SATISFIED THAT ALL HIS LOVE HAS BORNE FRUIT. IT FEELS LIKE FAMILY, HE CAN SEE HIS BELOVED SON IN US, HE NEVER REFUSES HIS SON. FOR OUR GOD, NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE, YESHUA IS PROOF.
- SOMEONE ONCE ASKED ME WHY GOD CHOOSES US AND PUTS US IN A CERTAIN TIME AND PLACE. LIKE NOW, THE PRESENT , IT’S SUCH A BEWLDERING TIME. THE SHORT ANSWER IS : IT’S BECAUSE TIME IS GOD’s CONSTRUCT ( A TOOL ) AND A SINGLE PERSON DOING THE RIGHT THING AT THE RIGHT TIME CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE NOW AND TO THE FUTURE FOR MANKIND. SO PLEASE, CARRY ON, MAKING A DIFFERENCE, AS LITTLE CHRISTS, IT CAN MEAN A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE. WE PRAY, AS ALWAYS, THAT THE LEADERS ESPECIALLY OF YHE WORLD REALISE THIS. WE PRAY ESPECIALLY THAT THE POPE CONTINUES TO GROW IN STRENGTH DESPITE HIS AGE AND ARTHRITIS. HE AND ALL THE NEW CARDINALS AND NEW PRIESTS AND RELIGIOUS REPRESENT THE HOPE OF A WISER GENERATION. IN POPE LEOXIII’s vision, THE DEVIL ASKED FOR A HUNDRED YEARS TO WEAKEN (SEIEVE LIKE WHEAT), POLLUTE , CORRUPT AND DESTROY OUR FAITH IN YESHUA AND THE LOVE OF YHE LIVING GOD. ( Haha, not only Moses and Jonah and the prophets plead with GOD, the adversary pleads too, only against us and our existence) THE CATHOLIC CHURCH MUST RENEW AND RESTORE ITSELF, AND QUICKLY. MUCH NEEDS BE DONE. Not any new mumbo-jumbo, brothers. ALL WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YESHUA IS ALREADY IN THE WORD, SIMPLE AS THAT, BEFORE TIME, BEYOND ETERNITY . OUR GOD , FATHER, SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, MOTHER MARY AND ALL THE ANGELS AND SAINTS, THEY ARE ALL AT THE DOORWAY ARMS STRETCHED OUT IN WELCOME, THEY HAVE SEEN US COMING HOME ! AMEN !
18th Sept 2022, SUNDAY MASS READINGs
Gospel, Luke 16:1-13
1 He also said to his disciples, ‘There was a rich man and he had a steward who was denounced to him for being wasteful with his property.
2 He called for the man and said, “What is this I hear about you? Draw me up an account of your stewardship because you are not to be my steward any longer.”
3 Then the steward said to himself, “Now that my master is taking the stewardship from me, what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong enough. Go begging? I should be too ashamed.
4 Ah, I know what I will do to make sure that when I am dismissed from office there will be some to welcome me into their homes.”
5 ‘Then he called his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, “How much do you owe my master?”
6 “One hundred measures of oil,” he said. The steward said, “Here, take your bond; sit down and quickly write fifty.”
7 To another he said, “And you, sir, how much do you owe?” “One hundred measures of wheat,” he said. The steward said, “Here, take your bond and write eighty.”
8 ‘The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light.’
9 ‘And so I tell you this: use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends, and thus make sure that when it fails you, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.
10 Anyone who is trustworthy in little things is trustworthy in great; anyone who is dishonest in little things is dishonest in great.
11 If then you are not trustworthy with money, that tainted thing, who will trust you with genuine riches?
12 And if you are not trustworthy with what is not yours, who will give you what is your very own?
13 ‘No servant can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or be attached to the first and despise the second. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.’
Reading 2, First Timothy 2:1-8
1 I urge then, first of all that petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving should be offered for everyone,
2 for kings and others in authority, so that we may be able to live peaceful and quiet lives with all devotion and propriety.
3 To do this is right, and acceptable to God our Saviour:
4 he wants everyone to be saved and reach full knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is only one God, and there is only one mediator between God and humanity, himself a human being, Christ Jesus,
6 who offered himself as a ransom for all. This was the witness given at the appointed time,
7 of which I was appointed herald and apostle and — I am telling the truth and no lie — a teacher of the gentiles in faith and truth.
8 In every place, then, I want the men to lift their hands up reverently in prayer, with no anger or argument.
Reading 1, Amos 8:4-7
4 Listen to this, you who crush the needy and reduce the oppressed to nothing,
5 you who say, ‘When will New Moon be over so that we can sell our corn, and Sabbath, so that we can market our wheat? Then, we can make the bushel-measure smaller and the shekel-weight bigger, by fraudulently tampering with the scales.
6 We can buy up the weak for silver and the poor for a pair of sandals, and even get a price for the sweepings of the wheat.’
7 Yahweh has sworn by the pride of Jacob, ‘Never will I forget anything they have done.’
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 113:1-2, 4-6, 7-8
1 Alleluia! Praise, servants of Yahweh, praise the name of Yahweh.
2 Blessed be the name of Yahweh, henceforth and for ever.
4 Supreme over all nations is Yahweh, supreme over the heavens his glory.
5 Who is like Yahweh our God? His throne is set on high,
6 but he stoops to look down on heaven and earth.
7 He raises the poor from the dust, he lifts the needy from the dunghill,
8 to give them a place among princes, among princes of his people.
I couldn’t help but notice how apt these passages are in the follow up to last week’s Gospel of the three lost treasures. Last week’s overview of the readings is dedicated to all you kids .
GOD gives us messages in the written WORD, fitting all peoples all times, but especially pertinent to a situation , a person , at a particular time. HIS construct is time, when HE speaks the relevance is spread over all time.
To the kings and leaders, the rich and powerful of the world today and at at every age, GOD’s message is as to to The Lost Son : HE has loved you and never stopped loving you. In any miracle, GOD requires we make the first step. “Put down your crutches, stand up and come to ME “… The cure is to turn your eyes to Home. “Never will GOD forget what they have done “, from the prophet Amos. but to the Lost Son who repents and realizes the right thing to do to correct his mistake, THE LORD runs to meet him, throws HIS arms around him and HUGs him, gives him the Best ROBE, returns to him the signet ring of authority. The power kings and leaders have is at the Mercy of THE GOD of LOVE. Put down whatever acts and practices have impeded your rise to greatness. There are lives to be saved…..