2620AFC051526 – What are YOU lookin’ at? ← PODCAST LINK 😀

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Matthew 28:16-20 – ¹⁶ Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Acts 1:10-11 – ¹⁰ While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. ¹¹ They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Psalm 47:8 –
⁸ God is king over the nations;
    God sits on his holy throne.

Ephesians 1:17-21 – ¹⁷ I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, ¹⁸ so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. ²⁰ God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.

May Peace always be with you and may God bless you, Belovéd! We are so close to Pentecost! That is when the Church became the ἐκκλησία – the ecclesia – founded on the Living Corner Stone, and the building up by the living stones that were the Apostles. Today, though, we celebrate The Ascension – the “regular day” for that was this past Thursday, the 14^th of May. It is such an important event that the Church often (usually?) transfers the celebration to this Sunday which is also the Seventh Sunday of Easter. The Key Verses for today are longer than usual because the content is so rich! I don’t want to miss a word of the Good News that is in them! a quick note on housekeeping though.

I have settled on a solution to this problem about emails getting snagged by SPAM filters. I’m going to buy a business email address that will allow me to send bulk emails – I think. I’m a genuine novice about this sort of thing, so I might mess it up, but here is the impact for you: IF YOU WANT TO CONTINUE RECEIVING AN EMAIL OF EACH ALOHA FRIDAY POST, you will have to send a subscription request. When I have all this resolved (hopefully with a little help from my friends), you will receive the messages (if you have requested a subscription) from [email protected] every Tuesday and Friday. Each message will have an “unsubscribe link” (required by law!) and some other information that goes along with a subscription service. There will also be a Subscription “page” on the website at www./aloha-friday.org where you – and people you refer – can sign up. Our email list has shrunk over the past 5 years through attrition, but I’d like to build it up again through referrals. That’s the state of things for now. Let’s talk about Ascension!

In my “calendar of significant events,” this usually holds top place. I can think of nothing in Scripture that means more to me than Luke’s description of the Ascension in Acts 1:6-11 especially the last verse 11, which says:“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” I’ve addressed this before. The very idea that this SAME Jesus is coming back “in clouds of glory” (See also Luke 21:25-27 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-19) is often more than I can get my head around. And yet, Jesus himself had told the disciples that “There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? (↔ Music Link) When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” (John 14:2-3) I find I am in full agreement with the Psalmist when he said, “Such knowledge is beyond me, far too lofty for me to reach.” (Psalm 139:6) And yet, Adelphos, I cannot recall ever being lonely because he is with me wherever I am. Like I said last week, there is no place I can be that God is not already there. Yes. I am never lonely.

e begin with the underlined words in our first Key Verse – When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. How should we understand that? The majority of the commentators I researched say, “On first seeing him, some were unsure it was actually Jesus.” His appearance had changed subtly – perhaps a bit of a shimmer? – and his voice was somehow “larger” so that some of the traits of familiarity had been altered. The Ascension is mentioned in Mark, Luke, John, and Acts of the Apostles, but not in the Gospel of Matthew. There are some interesting parallels and antithetical parallels in these accounts. I show them to you here so we can be aware of their content:

THE ASCENSION IN OTHER PASSAGES

Matthew 28:16 – ¹⁶ Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. Although Jesus’ Ascension is not specifically mentioned, this instruction is given on a mountain in Galilee. One might wonder why Galilee was mentioned here and Bethany and possibly Jerusalem in other passages. This map shows a triangular area outlined in red which is called the “Evangelical Triangle,” an area where Jesus concentrated much of his ministry in the region of Galilee. There is a purple star in the approximate location of Mount Arbel which is a very high mountain with steep cliffs near the western shores of the Sea of Galilee. Many scholars believe this is the mountain referred to in this passage. It is a place that has a commanding view of the entire sea of Galilee and the surrounding countryside. It is believed that this is where Jesus spoke The Great Commission – Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. – to the Apostles and other Disciples. Seeing the “Big Picture” from there probably made quite an impression.

Mark 16:14-20 – Jesus Commissions the Disciples

¹⁴ Later he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were sitting at the table; and he upbraided them for their lack of faith and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.* ¹⁵ And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. ¹⁶ The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷ And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸ they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

The Ascension of Jesus

¹⁹ So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. ²⁰ And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.

*V. 14 – This passage is part of what is called “The Longer Ending” of the Gospel of Mark. Other ancient manuscripts include the following additional words for verse 14: And they excused themselves, saying, “This age of lawlessness and unbelief is under Satan, who does not allow the truth and power of God to prevail over the unclean things of the spirits. Therefore reveal your righteousness now”—thus they spoke to Christ. And Christ replied to them, “The term of years of Satan’s power has been fulfilled, but other terrible things draw near. And for those who have sinned I was handed over to death, that they may return to the truth and sin no more, that they may inherit the spiritual and imperishable glory of righteousness that is in heaven.”  

Luke 24:50-53 – ⁵⁰ Then he led them out as far as Bethany*, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. ⁵¹ While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into Heaven. ⁵² And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; ⁵³ and they were continually in the temple blessing God. * Bethany is located on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives, about 2 miles from Jerusalem.

John 20:17 – ¹⁷ Jesus said to her [Mary Magdalene], “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus addresses the 11 Apostles at table – perhaps in the Cenacle, the Upper Room where they met for the Last Supper.

In the Gospel of Luke, he meets them where they are gathered together listening to the story about his appearance to two Disciples on the Road to Emmaus. He leads them from there to a place near Bethany, and goes away from that place in a cloud entering Heaven.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells Mary of Magdala that he is going to his Father. “I have not yet ascended to the Father.” He‘s got other things to do and places to go before his Ascension. That’s why he cannot stay and comfort Mary. He’s going to take care of a few final things before taking his place at the right hand of God the Father because God is king over the nations; God sits on his holy throne. Although Jesus is enthroned on High with God the Father and with the Holy Spirit and is accompanied by the Blesséd Virgin Mary, he still tells us, And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” We can recall that “the end of the age” is the current Age, the Age of the Church.

And so Adelphos, at what or at whom are we looking? Are we looking at the Evangelization Triangle to see if we missed anything in Jesus’ teachings? Remember, that Triangle is famous for the “Woe to the Cities” passage in Matthew 11:20–24 where Jesus condemned Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum for failing to repent despite witnessing the majority of his miracles. Have we failed to repent? Are we gazing out from the heights of Mount Arbel and the vast expanse of our commission given to us by Jesus through Apostolic Tradition? Are we looking for the Signs and Wonders that precede Jesus’ final return – snake handlers, poison-drinkers, healing hands? Are we watching the Temple Mount where his feet will first touch?

Are we looking at Scripture throughout the Bible that tells us we can look for Jesus in every person we meet if we will only look “with the eyes of your hearts enlightened, (↔ Music Link) you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.”? Are we looking for evidence of his Divine Attributes such as Perfect Integrity, Endless Mercy, Everlasting Love, Eternal Salvation, Immutable Justice, Irreproachable Wisdom, and Incomparable Grace? If so, WHERE!? If we see him, will we have doubt? Or are we looking at Jesus in you, Jesus in me, Jesus in the mirror, Jesus in the poor, the sick, the vulnerable, the marginalized, the sinners? ARE WE LOOKING AT EACH OTHER to see if we are helping each other look for HIM? And while we look, dare we believe that “This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”? Well, do we? What are YOU lookin’ at?

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!

Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer.

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Lovingly dedicated to Mr. Michael Cruz, a friend, a mentor, a fellow teacher for Jesus and his Disciples.

2618AFC050126 – To Be Known As A Stone

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John 14:6-7, 10-11 – ⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.
^0 “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. ¹¹ Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.”   

Acts 6:7 – ⁷ The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. 

Psalm 33:18-19 (GNT) [1] –
¹⁸ The Lord watches over those who obey him,
    those who trust in his constant love.
¹⁹ He saves them from death;
    he keeps them alive in times of famine.

1 Peter 2:4-5 – ⁴ Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and ⁵ like living stones, let yourselves be built^[a] into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and Peace to each of you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. Things are moving slower than I wish for with this blog. I want to be able to send messages to all of you without fighting off accusations of SPAMming and getting my email address blocked. Apparently looking for a cheap way to do it comes with built-in delays which seems to be related to cost. Please keep this decision-making process in your prayers. I do not know how many persons on the email list actually read these posts, and that is by design. Nonetheless, we continue to crank out the verbiage, so let’s get on with it, shall we?

We’ve all heard these familiar words of Jesus, Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” These words are deeply meaningful for Christians, and deeply disturbing for non-Christians. Believers know that Jesus means it when he says this because we know it truly is the only possible way to know God; it is the inclusivity of F.A.I.T.H.. Unbelievers find it offensive because they view it as being divisive. I can recall a rant by a well-know female talk-show host about it. “Do you actually believe that God, who you claim loves everyone, would exclude someone from Heaven – no matter how good they have been, no matter how generous and loving they have been – just because they didn’t believe in Jesus?!?! There has to be something wrong with that. And what about all the other people who never even heard of Jesus?”

Well, obviously, she has never heard the Truth of the Gospel nor has she understood the teaching of the Church that whatever is good, whatever is generous, whatever is Love – it all comes from God who is the giver of all Good Gifts. God is the One who measures these things, not the earthlings who question them. in Eucharistic Prayer IV, we mention “Remember also those who have died in the peace of your Christ and all the dead, whose faith you alone have known.” So, what about those people, who – because of their own particular circumstances – never hear the Gospel? CCC 847 says – “Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience — those too may achieve eternal salvation.”

Jesus is the Savior of the whole World. Everyone who believes in him can have Eternal Life. We are to seek, to love, and to obey God with the entirety of our being, and that is accomplished by believing that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. To help us do that in Jesus’ name, God – in his Perfect Integrity, Endless Mercy, Everlasting Love, Eternal Salvation, Immutable Justice, Irreproachable Wisdom, and Incomparable Grace – has given us the Church established on the anointing by the Holy Spirit of The Apostle Peter as the successor to the leadership of the ekklesia, the Church which Jesus himself established and passed on to us through the leadership of The Apostle Peter and the other eleven Apostles.

Jesus is the Corner Stone of that Church, and The Apostle Peter (↔ Music Link) is the next stone laid into that foundation. This Sunday’s second reading is from 1^st Peter. He references a quote from Isaiah 28. In that chapter, the Prophet is really socking it to the leaders of the Northern Kingdom of Israel who have become drunken with wealth and power (and plenty of wine as well!) God is condemning their lifestyle and telling them they will soon feel the scourge of the Assyrians. He assures them, though, that he will place the beginnings of the renewal of righteousness by saying in Isaiah 28:16-17 ^a (GNT) ¹ – ¹⁶ This, now, is what the Sovereign Lord says: “I am placing in Zion a foundation that is firm and strong. In it I am putting a solid cornerstone on which are written the words, ‘Faith that is firm is also patient.’ ¹⁷ Justice will be the measuring line for the foundation, and honesty will be its plumb line.” He also refers to Isaiah 8:14 – ¹⁴ He will become a sanctuary, a stone one strikes against; for both houses of Israel he will become a rock one stumbles over—a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The Psalmist refers to this Stone as the chief cornerstone or the capstone in Psalm 118:22 – ²² The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the chief cornerstone. That is to say, it is the most important stone of all, yet a stone which with cause people to stumble and which the builders – the leaders of the Peoples – rejected.

That is still happening today, btw, by leaders and by billions of people who just don’t care enough to take the time to Love and serve God as he has [1^st] commanded, and [2^nd] provided for in his Christ, his Anointed One. In those first days of Jesus’ ekklesia, there were many people who overcame that tendency to trip over a stumbling block. In our Key Verse from the Acts of the Apostles we read, The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. That is the Church beginning to grow, brick-by-brick, stone-by-stone. Still, many others found the claims of the Apostles to be a stumbling block. What is that anyway? Here’s another familiar passage containing that concept.

Matthew 16:21-23– ²¹ From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. ²² And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” ²³ But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block* to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

*Σκάνδαλον (skandalon) {skan’-dal-on} a stick for bait (of a trap), generally a snare,  an offense; stumbling-block, cause for error. The most common designation is as the trigger of a trap (the mechanism closing a trap down on the unsuspecting victim), and it connotes an offense as in putting a negative cause-and-effect relationship into motion. It is used to illustrate how someone is caught by their own devices (like their personal bias, carnal thinking). It is also the native rock rising up through the earth, which trips up the traveler, hence, of Jesus the Messiah, to the Jews who refused him. Note that this word is also translated as offense or offended – scandalized: Skandalon (↔ Music Link). LYRICS HERE.

Those who are “scandalized” – tripped up, as it were – by Jesus’ words and Life stumble over his Law of Love just as the People of Israel stumbled – again and again – over The Law and the Prophets. It’s the same old story of us saying, “That doesn’t make any sense. God must of have meant thus-and-so.” Belovéd, we all know we shouldn’t try to DIY our Salvation. But knowing the Truth isn’t quite the same as believing the Truth. It really seems so simple. “For God so loved the world.” What is the appropriate response? Some of us “of a certain age” may remember Question 6 from the Baltimore Catechism: 6. Q. Why did God make you?
A. God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in heaven. Eezy-Peezy, jah? God Loves us, we Love him back. Remember the line, “To know, know, know him is to Love, Love, Love him, and I do, and I do, and I do.” The inverse is also true: To Love him is to know him – a thought that seems to simple for our complex minds, so simple, in fact, that we easily get tripped up.

Another way we interact with a stone or a rock (same-same for us, but not for the Greeks) is to “kick it down the road.” It’s just a rock, kick it on down the road. “It’s just a bunch of rules laid down over the centuries by an endless stream of religious nuts.” (You probably know the adage, “God wants Spiritual Fruit, not religious nuts.”) Or perhaps we’re more like Scarlet O’Hara who quipped, “I can’t think about that right now. If I do, I’ll go crazy. I’ll think about that tomorrow.” Remember, it is not “seek the Lord where he may be found; it is “Seek the Lord while he may be found.” When under the grass, we face Eternity, but on this side of the grass, Time matters! The place where God is found is not a destination. There is no place we can be wherein God is not already present. The time in which God is found is NOW – because, of course, God is in Time all of the Time, Time after (or during, or before) Time. :smiley:

Today we also hear from the Psalmist that The Lord watches over those who obey him, those who trust in his constant love. Here again, love and obedience are linked. We cannot obey the one we do not know without rebelling against being kept in ignorance. God reveals himself to us constantly – first and importantly, through his Word, but also through his works; in fact, even without hearing his Word, we can see the Works of God and know he is present. We know, through his Word, that God desired to make a place for the People of God to know, to Love, and to serve him. Since the earthlings, and their generations, consistently failed to do that properly, God did it for us by setting the Perfect Stone as a foundation with Justice as the measuring line (the blueprint) and trustworthiness (honesty) as it’s plumbline which keeps it true, straight, and stable.

You know about those two guys building houses, right? One on the sand and one on the rock? Well, The Apostle Peter is the rock upon whom the Corner Stone was set, the Holy Spirit follows the blueprint and guides the use of the plumbline, the Apostles laid out the first several courses of stones in the foundations of that ekklesia, and we follow that layout as the living stones which build up the Church for God. The walls are still growing, and the Church continues to be where God is worshipped well. After all, do we not call it “The House of God?” Adelphos, when we say that, we are not talking about the building we enter every Sunday (nearly at least). We are talking about the People of God.

We are the assembly, the Church who say “YES!” to Jesus’ question, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.” Therefore we must ask ourselves, each and all, “Am I a living stone in the ekklesia of Christ, and in that ekklesia, am I where God is worshipped well, to be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ? Well, am I? Am I known as stone?” Or when the Rock “trips me,” do I kick the Rock?

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!
Please pray with us hereat Share-a-Prayer.

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

[1] Passages marked (GNT): Good News Translation (GNT) are from the Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition)© 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.

2617AFC042426 – Shepherd Me, O Lord ← PODCAST LINK 😀

Read it online here, please. We now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often. And please, when you visit there, use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post.  
Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Please forward this to them and ask them also to share it to others.

John 10:9-11 – ⁹ I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Psalm 23:1 – ¹ The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

1 Peter 2:24-25 – ²⁴ He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵ For you were going astray like sheep, (↔ Music Link) but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. (See Isaiah 53:6)

Acts 2:38-39 – ³⁸ Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” 

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and Peace to each of you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. This weekend we are already at the Fourth Sunday in Easter. Yeppers, Easter isn’t over yet – although the discounted marshmallow PEEPS are pretty much gone. Sunday will be Good Shepherd Sunday because of the content of the Gospel reading from the 10^th Chapter of John. It is set during the winter, and in this chapter, Jesus is telling the crowds that he is the Sheep-Gate, and the Good Shepherd, the shepherd who willingly gives his life for his sheep.

“Tending flocks” was usually a lonely job. One solitary shepherd might tend to a dozen sheep or several hundred sheep. Sheep are fairly obedient – although we tend to think of them as stupid – but they are easily spooked, too. When they are frightened, their tendency to bolt makes it difficult to keep them under control. That is why the familiarity between the shepherd and the flock was so important. The shepherd definitely needed the sheep, but most certainly the sheep needed the shepherd even more. They depended on each other. So must we. Our Good Shepherd leads us safely to good pastures and peaceful waters. That is IF we go where the shepherd goes.

Like us, sheep are curious about their surroundings, and they love to eat – to graze (like some people do at Costco, eh?), and so they usually walk along moving from bite to bite, item to item, fully focused on the ground in front of them. They can go astray because they lose sight of the flock. If they notice some plant, or bush, or patch of greener grass over there¸ then over there is next on the menu. We do something similar when we get so wrapped up in what we’re doing that we forget where we’re going and who we’re going with – our Shepherd.

At times another sheep will be treated as more dominant in the herd, and if that sheep takes off after “greener pastures,” other sheep are prone to follow the Big Sheep on Pasture (sort of like the BMOC). There are also sheep in the herd that are just contrarians. If the flock is headed one direction, they will deliberately “escape” and do their own thing. I’ll bet all of us know a person who acts like that – or maybe we are that person? We also tend to withdraw when we are not feeling well, or are injured. Sheep do the same thing when they are unwell, and they go off to be alone so they don’t have to keep up with the flock.

Being part of the herd is a very strong instinct. Be it the herd of sheep or cattle, the flock of birds, the pack of wolves, or a school of fish, traveling in a tight social group is a powerful instinct across nature – humans are not exempt. We, too, require unity, familiarity, and  leadership. Oftentimes we don’t like what leaders do, nonetheless we pretty much have to go where leaders go or we get lost from the throng. Sometimes that turns out OK, sometimes not so much. Depending on our situation, we may be fortunate enough to have  someone caring about where we are while we’re off looking for who we are. Whether we know it or not, whether we believe it or not, that Someone is The Good Shepherd.

Sometimes when sheep get really lost, they realize they’ve lost sight of the herd, cannot hear the shepherd, and they freak out. In their panic to satisfy the powerful pull of the herd instinct, they can “jump up and run off in every direction.” If one of us has been through a situation like that, we know it is very stressful and often even more dangerous because we are not thinking clearly. Sheep have a reputation for not thinking clearly, in fact, most people think they are dim-witted and easily deceived. It’s really more like they are self-centered – more concerned about getting their share. Sheep always know who the shepherd is, though, and if he calls them, and he calls them by name because he knows them, they go toward him. In that regard, sheep are brighter than us because we’ll often switch shepherds, leaders, friends, teams, or herds, or flocks, at the drop of a feather. That is precisely why we are most in need of a Good Shepherd leading us.

We tend to think of sheep being driven, like other domesticated herd animals. But sheep are better led than driven. The shepherd is at the head of his flock. He knows what they need, goes where they are going and gets there before them. If they are going to the sheepfold, he enters first. If they are leaving, he exits first. If they are going to pastures for grazing, he finds those pastures. The sheep follow only the shepherd; they run from strangers; they panic when attacked by carnivores like wolves or lions. If you remember the stories about David dealing with such predators, you know how important it is to have a leader who will neutralize the threat before losses are too great and panic scatters the flock disastrously.

In this drawing you can get an idea of how a shepherd might protect his sheep by being the door or gate to the sheepfold. Most sheep folds were constructed of low stone walls, unroofed (although sheepcotes were sometimes sheds with roofs), and quite often circular. The shepherd could lay across the threshold or entrance of the holding pen, and that way anything (or anyone) coming or going would literally have to pass over him. It was quite a security system! The shepherd was that gate.

The gatekeeper opens the sheepfold for the shepherd. In much the same way, the Holy Spirit opens the Church (the sheep and sheepfold) for the Shepherd (The Word) to lead and protect. The sheep obey the Shepherd who has conditioned them to know his voice. They know when that voice speaks, there is safety, for it is the Shepherd’s leading that takes them to graze on verdant slopes and rest by running waters which are always fresh and clean rather than stagnant puddles and ponds. The Shepherd values his sheep, so much in fact that he names them and calls them by their names. But for shepherds in Biblical times – and most likely even today in herds not run by agribusiness – Sheep were not considered pets, and yet were more than just livestock. The sheep provided wool, leather, meat, and a sacrificial victim for important feasts and rites. Shepherds invested time and effort in caring for the sheep because they were a major component of their lives. They took care of the sheep because they needed the sheep; to fail to take care of them would be to abandon them. Scripture uses the imagery of sheep and shepherd to describe the relationship between Israel and Jehovah. Sheep are the most-mentioned animals in the Bible – at least 200 times – and the shepherds are often mentioned with them.

Our Good Shepherd is our leader and protector – who calls us by name – makes himself known by inhabiting the praise of his people who hear his voice through his Word and then travel together with him to the Mansions of Rest he has provided for them. He has prepared a Way for us and the Light to see it, the leadership to find it, and the deep spiritual yearning to desire it above everything else. All of this he has done, for each and all of us, despite our brokenness and sin. As The Apostle Peter stated, “He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you had gone astray like sheep, but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.” OUR Good Shepherd transformed our lives by laying down HIS life as the Perfect Sacrificial Offering for that brokenness and sin. Hallelujah! What a Savior! (↔ Music Link)

Here’s what some folks find hard to understand: Our Good Shepherd is also The Lamb that is slain, and the One who offers up the sacrifice, thus at the altar as alter Christi we have “Priest, Victim, and Sacrifice.” That might seem confusing, but it is one of those mysteries that God intends to show us because it has no worldly explanation. It is entirely supernatural. If we believe it happens, we don’t need to know how. If we don’t believe it, we can’t know how. To me, it’s so cool that it’s amazing, and so amazing that it’s totally cool. Just thinking about it makes me happy because when I think about it, I’m in sync with the Good Shepherd, hearing his voice, and seeing him up in front of all of us saying, ”Come on, little ones, home is just around that bend in this Long Road.”

Today, I return to one of my favorite stories about kids and God.

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD
A Sunday School teacher decided to have her young class memorize one of the most quoted passages in the Bible; Psalm 23 (↔ Click Link). She gave the youngsters a month to learn the verses. Little Rickey was excited about the task but, he just couldn’t remember the Psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past the first line.
On the day that the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the congregation, Rickey was so nervous! When it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone and said proudly, “The Lord is my Shepherd, and that’s all I need to know.” Rickey was a living example of what happens when we ask, “Will you Shepherd me Oh God?” (↔ Music Link)

Because why? Why does God make us his flock so that when he calls us by name, it is to have us come to him? The Apostle Peter has a good part of the answer: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” We hear his voice, a friendly, consoling voice of My Good Shepherd (↔ Music Link) He names us and calls us because he Loves us. He is the Shepherd Of  My Heart (↔ Music Link), and we trust in him because he calls us by name, and that brings us to our closing passage

Isaiah 43:1-3 (GNT) [1]– ¹
 Israel, the Lord who created you says,

    “Do not be afraid—I will save you.
    I have called you by name—you are mine. (↔ Music Link)
² When you pass through deep waters, I will be with you;
    your troubles will not overwhelm you.
When you pass through fire, you will not be burned;
    the hard trials that come will not hurt you.
³ For I am the Lord your God,
    the holy God of Israel, who saves you.
I will give up Egypt to set you free;
    I will give up Ethiopia and Seba.

We have been redeemed at a Price (See 1 Corinthians 7:22-23) and that price was The Blood of the Lamb of God, our Good Shepherd – Jesus. (See 1 Peter 1:18-19) Let us be like Samuel. When the Lord calls us by our name, let us respond, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. Shepherd me, O Lord.” What is the Good Shepherd saying to you, to me, to us today?

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!
Please pray with us  here at Share-a-Prayer.

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

[1] Passages marked (GNT): Good News Translation (GNT) are from the Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition)© 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.

2616AFC041726 – Downhill and Up Again ← PODCAST LINK 😀

Read it online here, please. We now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often. And please, when you visit there, use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post.  
Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Please forward this to them and ask them also to share it to others.

Acts 2:30-33 – ³⁰ Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. ³¹ Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying,

‘He was not abandoned to Hades,
    nor did his flesh experience corruption.’

³² This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. ³³ Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear.

Psalm 16:8-10 –
⁸ I keep the Lord always before me;
    because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

⁹ Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
    my body also rests secure.
¹⁰ For you do not give me up to Sheol,
    or let your faithful one see the Pit.

1 Peter 1:20-21 (GNT) [1] ²⁰ He had been chosen by God before the creation of the world and was revealed in these last days for your sake. ²¹ Through him you believe in God, who raised him from death and gave him glory; and so your faith and hope are fixed on God.

Luke 24:28-33 – ²⁸ As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. ²⁹ But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. ³⁰ When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. ³² They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” ³³ That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together.

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him. Before we get down to business – a little housekeeping. I have mentioned that my emails have been blocked by MicroSoft because they consider them to be SPAM. It happens often and usually takes days to undo. I am pursuing a way to send “bulk emails” in a manner that will not be SPAM. THAT MEANS I WILL NOT BE USING OutLook TO EMAIL THESE POSTS. If you wish to continue reading these essays, there will be two ways to go about it. [1] Go to the website and pull it up from the archives the archives (↔ Click Link or copy and save this link), or [2] SUBSCRIBE. There is no charge or cost involved in the subscription.The bulk email system requires that recipients have an intentional subscription, and that each message have an unsubscribe link. The messages – like this one – will still show up in your inbox and you will not have to go to the website to read them. I’ll be able to send you full information by the end of the month (I hope) and you can decide whether or not to continue, and how to do that. OK enough of that. Here we go. First, I’m going to set the scene a little better.

This account of “The Road to Emmaus” is recorded only in Luke’s Gospel, although it is referenced in Mark 16:12–13. It begins during the afternoon of Resurrection Day. Two of the Disciples (not Apostles, but other disciples of Jesus, one of whom was Cleopas) were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Emmaus was a perhaps something of a “resort village” – the word Emmaus would be probably from a Hebrew word meaning something like “hot springs.” It was about 60 stadia – around 7-8 miles northwest of Jerusalem. recall that Jerusalem is at a fairly high elevation – about 2500 feet (around 760 meters). Emmaus’ elevation was about 850 feet (roughly 245 meters, so that was quite a drop – downhill 1650 feet or about 236 feet incline per mile, all the way essentially – past impressive limestone cliffs. Cleopas and the unnamed Disciple were walking there – a journey of about 2 ½ hours. As they walked, they tried to make sense of what had happened during the previous three days as well as that morning.

We learn that they had heard reports from some of the women Disciples that they had seen Jesus and that he was alive. They could not understand or believe that report. While they were discussing this, Jesus – who was apparently walking behind them, but perhaps at a quicker pace – joined them and began to participate in their discussion. We have no indication why any of these three men were going to Emmaus. Jesus, though, made it a “teaching moment.” During this longish journey in the late afternoon, he went through all the Scripture “beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them all passages referring to him throughout the Scriptures.” With the village of Emmaus just steps away, Jesus appears to be going farther – perhaps along the ancient road to Jaffa. The Disciples urge him to stay with them – at the resort inn, perhaps? – and he agrees and soon joins them at table. There he receives bread, offers the blessing, breaks it, and hands it to them. At that moment they suddenly recognize Jesus, and – to their astonishment – he just disappears!

Take a minute and put yourself in that situation. You’ve just spent almost three hours with a man you had followed for at least three years, whom you loved, hoping he would be the one to free Israel from the oppressive presence of Rome only to see him tortured to death. You’ve heard fantastical tales about him being alive after all that, and now – with the same subtlety as an anvil falling on Wiley Coyote – you realize you’ve been with him, with the real, LIVING Jesus! Oh my! Oh my! Oh my! Oh my!!!! Those stories told by the women were TRUE! These two guys were so excited that they had actually seen Jesus that they decided to go back UPHILL 7 MILES IN THE DARK to tell the Apostles what, and who, and how they had just realized. Jesus is alive, and they knew that as soon as he broke the bread – precisely as the Apostles had apparently told them before they left Jerusalem to head for Emmaus. And they exclaim as the realization takes hold: “Were not our hearts burning within us?” (↔ Music Link)

JESUS IS RISEN! JESUS IS THE LORD! Lo, and behold! Once they rejoin The Eleven,  they hear from all those assembled there, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” From other Gospel accounts, we know that several women – Mary of Magdala, Joanna (the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward), Mary (possibly the wife of Cleopas who may have been the brother of Jesus’ foster father, Joseph), Salome (often cited as the Mother of James and John and the wife of Zebedee), and other unnamed women – I like to think Susanna, who also was healed by Jesus of “evil spirits and infirmities,” was there as well, (See Luke 8:1-3 please), mainly because she reminds me of the woman named Susanna in the apocryphal sections of the Book of Daniel, Chapter 13. (←This is one of my favorite Bible stories!)

Now then why Downhill and Up Again for the title. Well, of course, it describes the journey that Cleopas and his companion made that first Resurrection Day. In another context, it describes how our lives can go sometime.  Here’s an example. Here in Hawaiʻi, a common greeting is “howzit.” That’s an abbreviation for “how’s it going?” Sometimes the answer is “Br’ah, it’s go straight downhill.” Other times the answer can be, “Oh, Auntie, you know, it’s uphill alla  way, but one day atta time, you know.” But, whether it’s up or down, or just cruisin’ on a good road, it’s always possible that as we go truckin’ along, Jesus might just come up and start walking and talking with us. I have to tell you, I’m not always paying attention when that happens, and often it is only through some unexpected sign, or sound, or memory that I go, “Oh my! Oh my! Oh my! Oh my!!!!” And – along with you –  whenever that finally dawns on us, often the afterglow is the Fire of the Holy Spirit making our hearts a suitable place for Jesus to come in, break bread, and sup with us – but, without disappearing. It really is worth running all the way back uphill to share the news, “Jesus is back in my heart again, and I’m going to have to shout that from the housetop.” (↔ Music Link)  

David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying,
“He was not abandoned to Hades,
    nor did his flesh experience corruption.”
For you do not give me up to Sheol,
    or let your faithful one see the Pit. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from death and gave him glory; and so your faith and hope are fixed on God. And we say amongst us to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us? Belovéd,THAT IS something to shout about!! (↔ Music Link)

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!

 Please pray with us hereat Share-a-Prayer.

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

[1] Passages marked (GNT): Good News Translation (GNT) are from the Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.

2614AFC040326 – That’s unbelievable, yet still … ← PODCAST LINK 😀

Before we begin, I want to acknowledge the copious, much needed, and truly efficacious assistance from Daniel at Kukui-IT. Somebody – or some-bot – made it impossible to open any page whatsoever at our blog site for the Moon Beam Network at Aloha-Friday.org last week. I don’t know how, but they restored us to fully-open in a very remarkable display of technical expertise, and so we say to Daniel and his cohort at Kukui-IT …

And let us begin!

Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often. And please, when you visit there, use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post.  
Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Please forward this to them and ask them also to share it to others. (In this message, scroll down past the credits.)

Isaiah 53:1 (GNT) [1]–
¹ The people reply,

“Who would have believed what we now report?
    Who could have seen the Lord’s hand in this?

John 20:1-2 – ¹ Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. ² So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”

Adelphos: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. As you are aware, today is Good Friday. Our Key Verses come from the Old Testament reading for Good Friday, and the Gospel from Easter Sunday’s Mass in the morning ← PODCAST LINK 😀 – a pair of unexpected events that were unbelievable because the Apostles forgot (we just keep doing that, adelphos) that those happenings should have been fully believable because they should have been fully expected, and yet still …

Who could have believed that the man called Jesus of Nazareth would have to be taken down from a Roman crucifixion cross? This was the man who was to restore Israel, to get rid of the Romans, to reign forever on the Throne of David. And now he’s dead? How could that be? We had no warning, no clue that this would happen! Yet still …

Since in the Liturgy for Cycle A liturgical year we primarily use the Gospel according to Matthew, here are three quotes from Matthew in which Jesus told them it would happen and we can now ponder:

#1 Matthew 16:21 – ²¹ From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

#2 Matthew 17:22–23 – ²² As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands, ²³ and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.” And they were greatly distressed.

#3 Matthew 20:17–19 – ¹⁷ While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, ¹⁸ “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; ¹⁹ then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the third day he will be raised.”

What he was saying was unbelievable, yet still it should have been memorable. I think I know at least one person who might have remembered. There was one of Jesus’ followers who kept every moment and word of Jesus in her heart and wondered about them. She some of the long hours in solitary prayer. She watched the resolute determination on Jesus’ face as he made his way to Jerusalem. She heard and remembered these three warnings, and as she pondered them, and her heart ached because she feared that those warnings might become true. And yet still …

Mary also knew that being the Messiah would not be a political or military role It would be the role of the suffering servant. I think Mary was the source of a lot of parables that Jesus told, Little stories she told him when he was a child to help him understand what was going on in the world. Now that seems unbelievable, yet still, for at least part of the time between Jesus’ age 12 and age 30, she was a single parent. Now we know that Jesus worked as a carpenter or perhaps a construction worker. He built things for people, so he must have learned those skills from Joseph. We have no mention of any other person in a fatherly role for Jesus so perhaps Joseph was around long enough to teach him. Some people might want to say, ”Well, after all he is God so he should know everything.” But we forget (there it is again) that he was also fully human. When he hit his thumb with a hammer it still hurt. He knew going to Jerusalem would end up hurting, yet still …

Luke 9:51-53 – ⁵¹ When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. ⁵² And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; ⁵³ but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. (See also Luke 9:51, 13:33, 17:11, 19:11 for additional important information) In our own 20/20 hindsight we know that for him to be taken up means for him to die and be resurrected – not resuscitated, but resurrected – and then ascend to Heaven in a Glorified body. We also know that his face was set toward Jerusalem was offensive to the Samaritans because of the enmity between them and the Jews. His determination was patently evident. Jesus tells his Disciples, “Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.” (See Luke 13:33)

Weeks, months, years later might not the Apostles have wondered, “How did I miss that.” We know that initially, the Gospel was shared verbally. And many years later, people began writing it. One of the first documents that was written down was The Didache(did’-a-key), Διδαχή – the summary of the teachings of Christ that was used – along with accounts of Jesus’ miracles and life – by the early Church to teach the message of Jesus. That link will allow you to download your own PDF copy of this amazing little book. It’s something that should be read often. In addition to The Didache, the Epistles were also circulated among the early Churches. They were delivered physically by well-trusted and brave Disciples who carried the letters to the various assemblies of Christians in places like Colossae, Ephesus, and Corinth. Some of the epistles were personal letters like those from The Apostle Paul to Timothy and Philemon. We can crank up that little movie theater on the inside of our forehead and imagine how listeners might have thought, “That’s unbelievable, yet still …”

Those persons who listened with open hearts and minds could find it believable, and could become Christians. In that era becoming a Christian was a multifaceted experience, and included the possibility of jail or even death. It worked out a little like this, as far as I can tell:

1. Hearing the Word.
2. Believing the Word (I call that HEART-ing the word).
3. Publicly confessing that Belief with a Credo.
4. Baptism – generally by immersion. Years later there came the practice of pouring blessed water on the head of the candidates and catechumens, whether infants, minors, or adults.
5. The laying on of hands and confirmation of metanoia by Receiving the Holy Spirit.
6. Welcoming into the community of believers as Adelphos of the Lord.

Now we begin to see the connections between the Key Verse in Isaiah 53:1 and John 20:1-2. That connection is incredulity. NO one would raise up someone who had died! Even though God told Israel through the Prophet Ezekiel that the Lord would raise up all the dead and make them alive. I strongly encourage you to read Ezekiel 37:1-14; however, in case you decide not to, I will give you something more to think about anyway.

Ezekiel 37:12-14 – ¹² Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³ And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. ¹⁴ I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.”

Shall the Lord speak, and we not believe HIM? Well, God’s chosen have done that for millennia. We’re even doing it today. Are we praying for the forgiveness of the sins of those, who, straying far from the path of salvation, refuse in their obstinate infidelity to follow Jesus, their Shepherd and Leader and renouncing the vows of their baptism, have cast off the sweet yoke of God’s Law of Love? Are we praying for those who have died, but yet have a temporal purging that will bring them to the refection of Heaven? Or, are we just breezing along with our fingers crossed, our hymnals tattered, and a shiny spot worn into the pew where we sit every Sunday? Is our Bible so underlined and highlighted that we can’t even read it any more, yet we still gossip about our neighbor, or our Pastor, or badmouth our boss? Do our lives show that we say in our hearts, “Father in Heaven I know what you want, and I know how to do that, but, I’m going to try it my may first.”?

Do we believe that we have understood and worked out the necessities of Salvation through our own hard work and dedication to our Parish or Congregation? You know what? That’s unbelievable, yet still … God the Father loves us (but we sometimes act as if that is unbelievable), Jesus died for OUR sins (even those sins we tell ourselves nobody will ever know about, and that’s unbelievable because God knows!), and the Holy Spirit moves daily to show us The Law of Love and convict us of our sins so that we can know those sins and repent of those sins (and we’d best believe that because that is VERY believable Love). And lest we forget what repent means, here’s a little visual aid to remind us.

Who among the Disciples Loved Jesus the most? His mother Mary? The Apostle John, or The Apostle Peter? Any of the Apostles except Judas? Who would Love Jesus enough to sacrifice their own life to save Jesus from the Cross? Loving Jesus the most is not as important as believing and doing what Jesus commanded – Love God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit completely, Love each other just as completely as The Persons of the Trinity Love us. We can – should, and MUST – have the unbelievable Love that only comes from God. That is as important as it is necessary! Because why? Because, as the Lord himself told us,
1 Samuel 15:22-23 ^a – ²² And Samuel said,

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
    as in obedience to the voice of the Lord?
Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice,
    and to heed than [is] the fat of rams.
²³ For rebellion is no less a sin than divination,
    and stubbornness is like iniquity and idolatry.

Being the biggest fan of Jesus is not enough. Believing everything he said and did is not enough – think of Mary of Magdala going to the tomb and then returning to say, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Who are “they” and why was that treachery more believable than the Resurrection? It was Too Much To Handle! The Disciples and Apostles all knew Balaam’s Oracle as recorded in Numbers 23:19 –
¹⁹ God is not a human being, that he should lie,
    or a mortal, that he should change his mind.
Has he promised, and will he not do it?
    Has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

God loves YOU! He even loves ME! He even loves your cranky boss, your noisy neighbor and her squalling toddler, the driver of the junk car that cut you off on the highway, and even the politicians we each despise. If God loves all of those in Christ Jesus, then we must do the same. I know! That’s unbelievable, yet still … (paraphrasing here) – WE have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives US. Believe it or else. (çç Click Link to find out “Or else What?!?!?”) oh yeah, and that sentence about facing all conditions? Check out Philippians 4:13 (GNT)

(In this message, scroll down past the credits.)

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!

Please pray with us here  at Share-a-Prayer.

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Obedience is the root of endurance!
We must consistently ask, “Who is the ruler of my heart?
God, or my imagination’s image (idol) of God? Here’s why.
AGE QUOD AGIS – DO WHAT YOU’RE DOING
Unless it’s the Wrong Thing!

[1] Passages marked (GNT): Good News Translation (GNT) are from the Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition)© 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.

2613AFC032926 – Gloria in excelsis deo!  ← PODCAST LINK 😀

Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often. And please, when you visit there, use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post.  
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Philippians 2:5-11 – ⁵ Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

⁶ who, though he was in the form of God,
    did not regard equality with God
    as something to be exploited,
⁷ but emptied himself,
    taking the form of a slave,
    being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
⁸     he humbled himself
    and became obedient to the point of death—
    even death on a cross.

⁹ Therefore God also highly exalted him
    and gave him the name
    that is above every name,
¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus
    every knee should bend,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue should confess
    that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father. 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. This post is intended to help us prepare for the beginning of Holy Week, and our immersion in the Passion of Christ. Do we remember what Jesus told James and John, the sons of Zebedee – the same guys Jesus called “the sons of thunder” – when they (and/or their mother) asked Jesus if they could sit on either side of him when he came into his kingdom? He said, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” (See Mark 10:38) Let us be sure to recall that the Greek word βάπτισμα, describes the act of Baptism in which there can be a complete immersion, or submersion, which has its roots in Jewish ceremonial washing. Do we dare to be spiritually immersed – Baptized – in the simple majesty and Joy of the Entry into Jerusalem as well as the horror and sorrow of the Passion?

We might be able to tolerate that contemplative Baptism if we recall the words of Bishop Fulton Sheen (soon to be Venerable Bishop Fulton Sheen) who said “Unless there is a Good Friday in our lives, there will never be an Easter Sunday. The Cross is the condition of the empty tomb, and the crown of thorns is the preface to the halo of light.”

March 29, 2026, (← Check it out!) marks the beginning of Holy Week as Palm Sunday, (↔ Learning Link) and discerning hearts around the globe will be contemplating a prodigious message of Hope, and invitation to deep, deep reflection, and the Glory of God’s Word-made-Flesh will be lifted up in Christian hearts, and hands, and voices. I like to call it “Hosannah Sunday!” All the dried-out, sometimes carefully woven and plaited palm fronds from the last Hosannah Sunday were burned and ground into a smooth black paste for Ash Wednesday. This coming Sonday [sic] we will receive another batch of fresh, green palm fronds to take home. There is an old tradition in some parts of the USA wherein people say that, “if you burn the dried palm leaves during a storm, it helps weaken the storm or even cause it to pass by you.” Well, that and burying a statue of St. Joseph upside down in the garden are OK for some but not for others.

I chose this longish passage from Philippians because it has so many GREAT nuggets. Some authorities hypothesize that this might have been a Christian hymn of the period when it was paraphrased by The Apostle Paul. There’s a LOT to think about here! Let’s start at the beginning (always a good place to start!)

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus. Now, there is a metanoia that is definitely challenging! The Apostle Paul is, of course, beginning his exhortation to edify the Christians in Philippi about the extraordinary Majesty of the Life, Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus, the Christ of God.

The Apostle Paul is exhorting us to take on Christ’s humility for though he was in the form of God, [he] did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited …. Now, one thing we can see right off in this short phrase is that he was in the form of God. I include that for the folks who somehow mistakenly believe that Jesus set aside his divinity so he would be 100% human. This is a heresy. Jesus was fully human and fully divine simultaneously. It is a Mystery of Faith earthlings cannot and do not understand intellectually, but can accept as a matter of Faith. Christ, then, being fully human and fully divine lived in humility so great that he surrendered everything to God The Father.

Even everything he said and did was from The Father. His will, his attitude, his opinion of himself and his mission was from God. Jesus put everyone – yes, EVERYONE – ahead of himself. That was his mindset, his attitude, his self-image if you will. Here is the result as it is found in Philippians 2:1-4 – ¹ If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, ² make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.

In Sunday’s Gospel, we will first hear about the colt, the foal of a donkey, who has not been ridden, as Jesus makes his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Jesus has become well known by thousands because of his marvelous deeds – feeding great crowds of people, speaking with authority, raising the dead. Now he enters the city of Jerusalem, riding on a baby donkey. The fact that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey was, in part, a fulfillment of scripture. But there’s more. A king who rides in on a donkey is coming peacefully. A king who rides in on a horse is coming to make war. It is also significant that the colt Jesus’ disciples borrow is one that has never been ridden. Here the King of Peace is so gentle and so humble that even a young colt never before ridden submits to Jesus’ presence. Instead of bucking him off, the colt meekly carries a full-grown man. It is interesting to me that the disciples who went to fetch it did so without question, and then they put their own cloaks on the back of the colt to make a more comfortable seat. I think it might have also been more comfortable for the colt! And you know, I think that colt’s mama walked next to him on that journey. Read it again and see if you think so, too.

As he rode through Jerusalem, people in the crowds recognized him and paid him homage: Mark 11:9 – And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” That word, Hosanna, is found only in the New Testament, but there are echoes of it in other places in the Old Testament, too. It means to help or to save (See Psalm 118:25, for example). It comes from a Hebrew phrase hoshiya na. in Psalm 118:26, it is followed by Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Over the centuries between David and Jesus, the expression hoshiya na had come to mean Salvation is now! When Jesus got on that baby donkey, he started toward Jerusalem to fulfill what had been prophesied about the Messiah.

Jesus was in Bethany, close to Bethpage (“Place of new – or unripe – figs”) somewhere perhaps around the Mount of Olives. He gets on the colt in Bethany – about 2 miles from Jerusalem, and heads into town. On the way people who have seen him, who know him – some intimately, some only by reputation – get excited about seeing him, and they begin to remember Zechariah 9:9 . They start pulling down palm fronds and laying them on the path in front of him or waving them in the air. The palm was a symbol of victory – even Holy Victory. In addition people were laying their cloaks down in the road and letting the little donkey pass over them. A similar event is reported in 2 Kings 9. [They hurried and took their cloaks and spread them under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet and shouted, “Jehu is king!”] Elisha had just anointed Jehu (“Yahweh is He”) as King of Israel, and had ordered him to go avenge the murders committed by Jezebel’s forces when she had the prophets slaughtered. The king, Ahab, had permitted this, and Jehu was told to destroy Ahab as well.

Spreading cloaks or other objects to “pave the way” was a common demonstration of respect for the dignity and power of a person – a King, a general, even a prophet. So now we have Jesus on a baby donkey and everyone is shouting and happy and cheering and dancing and running ahead and coming back and just going nuts over what Jesus is doing. He was finally defining himself as the Messiah, the Ruler of Israel, The Son of David! And, they surely thought he was about to kick the Romans out of town because he was the Rightful Ruler.

But, he was on a donkey, not a horse. And the people understood. They identified with him. Until they turned against him.

Palm Sunday, Hosannah Sunday, is also called Passion Sunday because the Gospel reading ends with Jesus’ dead body sealed in a borrowed tomb and guarded by Roman soldiers. The Apostle Paul tells us –  
though he was in the form of God,
he did not regard equality with God
 as something to be exploited,
⁷ but emptied himself,
 taking the form of a slave,
 being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
 he humbled himself
 and became obedient to the point of death—
 even death on a cross.

Jesus knew what to expect. He warned his disciples, the Apostles, at least three times about what was going to happen to him – please take a look at these. All you need to do is click on the links: Matthew 17:22, 26:2; Matthew 20:17-19; (←Stop here and read this.) Mark 9:31; Luke 9:43-45. We should not be at all surprised that in the garden of Gethsemane Jesus was sweating copiously in anticipation of the humiliation and pain he was about to face. I’m sending out a challenge to anyone who is willing to take it up: Set a timer and spend 5 minutes, just 5 minutes, on what it would be like to be flogged so hard that the skin came off your back, to have every surface of your body bruised and torn open over and over, to be struck in the groin multiple times with a flagrum like this, then to carry about 200 pounds of timber on your right shoulder, then to have a large spike, 7 inches and about half-an-inch wide driven through the bones of your wrists and feet after your severely-injured right shoulder was dislocated, and extreme damage was done to one eye. Can you, can I, can we be immersed (βάπτισμα) enough in the Passion that it troubles our hearts and tears well up?

After all that, could we face the humongous reality of the Resurrection and the massive dichotomy of Joy tinged with horror as we probe the wounds in the hands, feet, and side of Jesus? Dare we join James and John in asking for a share in Jesus’ Majesty without taking a share in Jesus’ suffering? Even if our suffering is more than a spiritual exercise, even if we are actually in a form of physical duress, great or small, for each Believer there must be that salvific sequence in our lives – the Cross, the Tomb, and the Glory.

As we begin Holy week, can we prepare our hearts, our minds, and our souls to sing with gusto “Gloria in excelsis deo!” for each step along the way, crossing over the palms and cloaks, passing over the Brook Kidron to Gethsemane, and then still sing it through the sham trial, the extreme pain, pass over the edge of Life into Sheol, and then cross over again into New Life? Do we have the Faith, the Discernment, the Patience and Perseverance; and especially the Humility – as HE was humble? – to walk with Jesus through all of that? Every step of every moment we hear during Holy Week is an opportunity to praise God, so indeed! – Gloria in Excelsis Deo!

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!

Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer.

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

2612AFC032026 – Like a rolling stone?  ← PODCAST LINK 😀

Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often. And please, when you visit there, use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post.  
Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Please forward this to them and ask them also to share it to others.

Ezekiel 37:13 – ¹³ And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people.

Psalm 130:7 ^b –
 For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
    and with him is great power to redeem.

Romans 8:10 – ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit^[a] is life because of righteousness.

John 11:39 ^a (GNT) [1]– ³⁹ “Take the stone away!” Jesus ordered.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And from the hymn called Immortal, Invisible God we proclaim (↔ Music Link) –

Great Father of Glory, pure Father of Light
Thine angels Adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
All Praise we would render, O help us to see:
’Tis only the Splendor of Light hideth Thee.

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! I’m back – sort of – let’s say around 90%. Two serious infections requiring high-powered antibiotics kind of take a toll on a guy! Today, I want to get past that and share something about some very important rocks. I’ll start with one we all have experienced: the one that gets into your shoe. Usually it’s just one, but it can be several, too. That little stone sneaks in unnoticed – until we step on it! We may end up hopping round on one foot trying to get that shoe off and shake away the stone. Even though it’s irritating, we sometimes end up laughing about it because it is improbable and yet somehow comical because it is so common.

In the readings for this coming Sunday, the Fifth Sunday of Lent, we read about being dead, and in a grave, and also about God’s Power to redeem us. Now, what is redemption? The main gist of that in Scripture is the idea of being bought back, of being released from bondage by someone else’s sacrifice – a purchase out of their wealth to pay for our freedom. For example, in our Key Verse at Psalm 130:7, the Psalmist declares that For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem, which is to say, “With God there is plentiful Mercy and great power so save us from our bondage.” The Hebrew word used there is פְדוּת peh-DOOTH, which is to rescue, or redeem, or even to set apart as distinct and therefore consecrated.

I suppose I have an odd way of thinking about redemption, but to me it is kind of like buying back something that was stolen. Now, if we apply that to ourselves, our lives were “stolen” from God in Eden, but Christ eventually bought it back by God at Calvary. And oh! what a price was paid!! You may remember we talked several times about the Greek word for Jesus’ dying acclamation on the cross – “It is finished.” That word is Τετέλεσται, (Tetélestai) {teh-TEH-les-tie} which means “paid in full,” consummated, completely fulfilled; or to complete a process all the way through the final step such that everything that needed to be done has been done.

If we apply that to the word “redeem,” it might sound like “completely, irreversibly, and unequivocally set free from captivity. God and God alone can do that – even for us (etiam pro nobis) (↔ Learning Link) Now, some may protest that Jesus certainly didn’t say that in Greek and that most likely it was in Aramaic, or even Hebrew. Fair enough, then, the Aramaic word for “it is finished” (See John 19:30) is משלם Mashelem. In Aramaic it can be construed to mean complete submission, e.g., “everything that needed to be done has been done” and all proper relationships have been completely restored. I definitely like that notion!

God and God alone can make that restoration when it comes to our eternal souls. It would take that Power of God to fulfill the Prophecy in Ezekiel 37, And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. We express that idea every time we pray The Apostles’ Creed when we pray the Rosary, or the Nicene Creed at Mass – The Resurrection of the dead. Of course the deep-seated question truly is come, “Is that what we truly believe?” Sometimes I think we might be tempted to say to ourselves, “Well that’s what the Church believes, but we’ll see what happens when the Time comes.” Adelphos, if we wait until then, we will be too late! To redeem us from that outcome God, in his Irreproachable Wisdom, gave us some examples – Lazarus, Jesus, and “Many Holy People” (Matthew 27:50–53) (← Check it out!) see what I mean? Look at these two scenes:

Do we BELIEVE God has that sort of Power? If we do not, then our Faith is hollow and therefore useless.

If, however, we DO believe God has that sort of Power, then the event in Sunday’s Gospel is believable. Jesus did raise Lazarus from death by commanding his resuscitation, not his Resurrection which is the transformation to a Glorified Body like Jesus’ Body in Heaven. Gospel is about Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha. The account of Lazarus’ death and resuscitation is powerful both emotionally and spiritually. This family was one of Jesus’ favorites. You can tell by the intimacy he enjoyed there that Jesus loved this trio of believers. Jesus was at their house often, and perhaps they had known each other since before he began his ministry. We can imagine how these three people lived in their home in Bethany. These three, then, were people Jesus really, really cared about. He loved them in a very special way. Jesus raised Lazarus, but who took away that stone covering his grave?

“Take the stone away!” Jesus ordered. Jesus didn’t roll away the stone. Lazarus’ friends did. Then Jesus prayed aloud a prayer that revealed the purpose of his Presence there: To reveal the Power of his Father. Belovéd, that is the whole purpose for everything Jesus did – to Glorify The Father so that we could regain a proper perspective about Life, Death, and Eternity. Then, after Jesus’ prayer, John’s Gospel gives us this from John 11:43-44 (GNT): ⁴³ After he had said this, he called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ He came out, his hands and feet wrapped in grave cloths, and with a cloth around his face. “Untie him,” Jesus told them, “and let him go.” The people who helped Lazarus also helped Jesus Glorify Our Father in Heaven! In like manner, we, too, are called upon to help Jesus, our neighbors, our Church, The World to Glorify Our Father in Heaven.

Certainly, Lazarus had to do his part, too. He was the one who had to obey that command from Jesus. I firmly believe that because I know and understand the relationship he had with Jesus that, in the parlance of the early 20^th century, we might say Lazarus and his sisters “got right with God.” We can (and definitely better) get right with God by frequently consulting the M.A.P. (←Stop here and read this.) – our Measure of Actual Progress – to see just where we are on The Long Road to Home. “Ah, man! What’s the point of that? All of us are wandering around back and forth or up and down that road, and not a few of us are on the wrong road – the bad road.” Well, Adelphos, that’s what our M.A.P. is for – not for finding ourselves like the gurus do, but for finding our Way in the Light of Truth. Pretty cool, I’d say, that God would allow us to carry such a fine apparatus as that! That’s good because God is good. All the time (and you know the rest of that).

We know someone else who had help rolling away the stone in front of their tomb. “Who is that?” we might ask. Jesus of course. While we’re contemplating the glory of the Resurrection, we sometimes might forget this in Matthew 28:1-4 – ¹ After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. ² And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone (↔ Music Link)  and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. ⁴ For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. This amazing and beautiful passage underscores the importance and magnificence of Divine Intervention. The event was initiated by the Christ of God, Τετέλεσται by the Angel’s functions, and witnessed by True believers. This help from others – this time Divine, not human – was not given so that Jesus could exit the Tomb, but instead to prove that he was no longer there because he’d left after his Resurrection! Only God could conceive of such a perfect solution to the problem of sin. There’s an APP for that, you know.

My heart aches for the misled souls who deify the universe and say things like, “Well, the universe needed something like that.” Nope. Absolutely not!  There are significant and eternal consequences for deifying the universe; it has no power of Resurrection. Only God has that power, remember? ⁹ We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. Christ, who is God, is Resurrected. We sometimes think of persons “raised from the dead” as being resurrected, but that is as false a notion as believing the universe can have its own volition. Lazarus, for example, was resuscitated – he experienced the reanimation of his natural, physical, mortal body. Jesus is RESURRECTED. The Apostle Paul amplifies that in Sunday’s Key Verse from the Epistles.

He speaks of the effect, the efficacity, of being a follower of Christ, a Christian. But you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. Can you, can I, can we attain righteousness without the help of God taking away the stone that is our heart? “Church-ianity” ain’t gonna cut it, folks. We‘d better be Living for Jesus (↔ Music Link) every moment of every day. I want to be a Christian (↔ Music Link) with those Wonderful Words of Life (↔ Music Link) in my heart! The next time I see that long, dark tunnel with the light at the end, or the endless hallway of doors (← Check it out!), I want to be able to know and understand, “It is finished.” I’ll look to the Angel God has committed to me here – my Baruch (Hebrew word for A Blessing) – to roll that stone way, and when the time comes for my own Resurrection, my Baruch might also lift that slab separating me from All That Is New. Let the Good Times … be just beyond the Corner Stone that commands us, “Enter in to your Master’s Joy.” It’s the Absolutely Perfect Plan, Start to Finish, and each of us has to do our part. Sometimes it’s getting rid of the pebble in our shoe, and sometimes it’s rolling away a burden that’s keeping someone from sailing into New Life. Or, following in Jesus’ Way, laying down our own burden of hurts and slights by saying, “It is enough. All is forgiven and paid in full.”

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!

Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer.

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

[1] Passages marked (GNT): Good News Translation (GNT) are from the Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition)© 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.