Aloha Friday Message – May 24, 2024 – Famous Last Words

May 24, 2024

2421AFC052424 – Famous Last Words ← 😊 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.
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 Deuteronomy 4:39 – 39 So acknowledge today and take to heart that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.

Psalm 33:6-9 –
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and all their host by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;
he put the deeps in storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear* the Lord;             *reverence
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.

Romans 8:12-15 – 12 So then, brothers and sisters,* we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh — 13 for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba!** Father!”  
* Greek adelphos – brethren ** Aramaic word for “Dad”

Matthew 28:18-20 – 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.”

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. This weekend we will celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. (↔ Music Link) This is one concept that baffles us. There is a saying, “If you have faith, you don’t need proof. If you need proof, you don’t have faith.” It seems to me that all Mysteries are like that – black or white, true or untrue, avoidable or unavoidable. If we accept the Truth of a Mystery we are called gullible or astute. If we deny the Truth of a Mystery we are called … gullible or astute. What, then, are we to do with this fundamental Mystery of Faith – One  God in Three Persons, Blessed Trinity? (↔ Music Link)

Perhaps the most basic question is “How would we know?” How would we know if God is Three Divine Persons? How do we know if God is? If God’s True Name is I AM THAT I AM, and the Shema says “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One,” then I AM is One. The Catholic Encyclopedia (↔ Click Link) states: An absolute mystery is a truth whose existence or possibility could not be discovered by a creature, and whose essence (inner substantial being) can be expressed by the finite mind only in terms of analogy, e.g., the Trinity. Logically, one cannot be three; but Mysteries are not logical, and so no logical explanation is possible. We have to use another source to understand Mysteries, and that source is also a Mystery: Scripture.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us – 16 All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. God’s Word is inspired by God, and as such would not exist had God not decreed it. Yep. Circular logic. If we know God, we believe his Word. If we believe his Word, we know God. for that to be True, God must be Universal, and SURPRISE, SURPRISE, Moses told the Israelites that “The Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.” In our Key Verse from the Gospel, Jesus tells the Apostles and Disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Jesus has the same authority as God, so is he a “second God” who is Holy and Worthy of Praise? (↔ Music Link)

No, that is a heresy; in fact that supposition might fit into a number of the many heresies that plagued the Church over the past 2000 years. I refer to this kind of heretical supposition as “superstitious knowledge.” The folks who come up with this baloney (mostly men!) claim to possess knowledge imparted specifically to them as unsurmountable proof of their convictions which are rarely (if ever) actually “inspired by God.” In other words, their “guesses” about the nature of God are based on no substantive reality. It’s kind of like saying a clock tells time “because maybe the rays from the sun move the hands on the clock.” Should we all claim to be agnostic then? Is God so unknowable that we shouldn’t even try? Who can answer that for us? The answer is – and is not – surprising.

God – our Triune God – can answer all the questions we have. Let’s take a look at Romans 8:26-27 – 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Christ has the authority of God over Heaven and Earth and there is only one God with only one authority, and that God is the Holy Spirit who intercedes with the Father and the Son on behalf of all Believers. The Apostle Paul begins this proof by pointing out the testimony God has given to us about himself in Romans 1:18-21 – 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse; 21 for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened.

“The Truth is out there,” and in our hearts and minds as well. We only have to look and see. I’m going to hop in the Wayback Machine to 2012  for a bit where I wrote about radiolarians.

Here’s what my heart and mind tell me: Whether you’re talking about Intelligent Design and Irreducible Complexity or Random Systematic Evolution and Natural Selection or “In the Beginning, God…” it all comes down to “How do I know God exists?” I personally see and feel the evidence of His existence which he has placed before me. I recall a time at Huntingdon College during my Junior Year when for the first time I saw a radiolarian through a microscope. The one I saw looked a lot like this one:

One type of radiolarium

This is a living microscopic protozoan called a radiolarian (↔ Learning Link). Well, it was alive once. The one I saw was fixed and stained on a microscope slide. There were others like it on the same slide, and other radiolarians that were quite different. There are so many different kinds of these things that one wonders how they were ever given names. And there are people who devote their lives to finding, studying, and classifying these amazing microscopic critters that end up as part of the plankton soup that runs the oceans. When I saw it, I recall saying, “I don’t see how anyone could look at this and not believe in God.” Now someone else can look at the same critter and say, “I don’t see how anyone can look at this and not believe in Intelligent Design.” Or even, “I don’t see how anyone can look at this and not believe in the power of evolution.” What’s the common factor in all of those statements of belief? Give yourself a few seconds here to think up an answer.

<<<<<<PAUSE>>>>>>

Yes, you are correct. None of those statements say, “I don’t see how anyone can look at this and not realize it created itself.” Did it evolve? Some think so. Did the Id of Creation make it? Perhaps. Did God do that? Probably; but, I only say probably because it is only one radiolarian. When I know there are bazillions of them just within a mile of the coasts of Kauai, and then think about how many are in the entire width, breadth, and depths of all the saltwater oceans of the world and have been there since the time oceans first existed, I see something bigger and better than Intelligent Design, or Evolution; I see Creation, and that is the beginning of the dawning light. Remember I said (See the previous post at 1222AFC060112), “If you, as a human being, take on any part of the ‘Is God Real’ question, you ultimately end up buying into the entirety of the Mystery of Faith” earlier in this post? That’s one first-part and there are about as many ways to find a first-part idea as there are radiolarians in the sea. The evidence for God and his Creation are everywhere. From the inside of our bodies, to the entirety of the ocean, to the immensity of the universe. The evidence is there. God is not the Universe (nor is it the other way around). God is in the Universe and in everything that is in the Universe (including you and me), but he is separate from everything in and of the Universe. How do I know? The Bible tells me so. (↔ Music Link) “Yeah, but who can believe the Bible? What kind of argument is that?” It is precisely the kind of argument The Apostle Paul warned us about in Romans 1. In fact, if you can find a good Bible study about the book of Romans, get it! We’re going to close with the best evidence God gave us to help us understand that he is God and we are not.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba!** Father!” John 1:12 – 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God. 2 Timothy 1:6 b-7 – 6 b I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; 7 for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. Jesus’ Power is the Universal Power of our One God in Three Persons. He clothed the Apostles with his Universal Power by giving them a Universal Mission – to make disciples of all nations. When we believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, we are united with the Most Holy Trinity through the Rite of Baptism by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. That is because For he spoke, and it came to be;  he commanded, and it stood firm. All of that brings us to the beautiful and famous last words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew: And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. How could he be with us as Emanuel unless he is here? I know, it’s a Mystery. AMEN.

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

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

 

 

Dearly Belovéd, please join with us in prayer for our Great-Niece Marie A. Johnson. A recent very serious illness has decimated her health. She is being moved to hospice. Please pray for her family – husband and son and daughter – as well as her mom, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends and all of us who have been the beneficiaries of her steadfast Love. A miracle is not out of reach. Thank you.

 

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

Aloha Friday Message – May 17, 2024 – Spirit of the Living God

May 17, 2024

2420AFC051724 – Spirit of the Living God ← 😊 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.
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    Acts 2:1 – 1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.

Psalm 104:30 – 30 When you send forth your spirit, they are created;
and you renew the face of the Earth.

1 Corinthians 12:3 b – … no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.

John 20:21-22 – 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. The holy Season of Eastertide is drawing to a close. This coming Sunday is Pentecost Sunday, and therefore the Birthday of The Church. It’s a very familiar story – or at least it certainly should be – and so today we’ll skip the descriptions of that miraculous event, and just talk about what the Holy Spirit has to do with these posts, the coming celebration, and why I hold it in such high esteem.

If you read these messages regularly, you know I keep a list of favorites.

  • Favorite Psalm – 138
  • Favorite Solemnity – The Ascension
  • Favorite Gospel – John
  • Favorite Gospel verse – John 3:17
  • Favorite Old-Time Hymn – Ivory Palaces

One of the reasons I treasure Pentecost so much is that it goes back millennia to the Festivals decreed by God in Leviticus 23. (See 1221AFC052512 Pentecost for details. There is a lot of good information for you there.) Also – if you’ll go back and look at the post from 2012 – Pentecost is in the middle of the 7 Feasts or Festivals, (Shavu’ot: The Feast of Weeks or Festival of Harvest). Whenever God puts something in the very middle of what he wants or what he creates (same-same those are), it turns out to be very special and important. Pentecost comes at the end of Eastertide, and it’s a pretty long wait – 50 days like the name says – so it’s like a really big reward for that wait. In more recent times, it commemorates what is perhaps the defining moment in the history of Israel: the Giving of the Law to Moses. All those connections serve to hold my fascination with this important day in World History. Something that many of us never really think about is the situating of the event. Everybody is involved. No occupational work, a full day of celebratory rest – much like Shabbat (the Sabbath). A day to honor the Lord by giving him the firstfruits of everything. As we see in our Key Verse from the Second Chapter of Acts, everyone was together in the same place. This aspect of Pentecost also affirms one of the quintessential aspects of God being The I AM – it is done as community, for community, in community, because God is community. In my heart that is just way-far cool.

Not many things are cooler than that, at least not without God’s putting it into the Absolutely Perfect Plan, and so on the Feast of Pentecost God the Father – who gives us the firstfruits of his community, Jesus – follows up with “The Lord, the Giver of Life.” You’ll remember that in Genesis 1, the Ru’ach – the Spirit or the Breath of the Lord was the Power-in-motion at the start of “In The Beginning.” Jesus had told the Apostles gathered into the Cenacle (The Upper Room) that they would receive Power when the Father sent them the Holy Spirit. Whenever I try to imagine that day, I end up grinning at their astonishment of what’s happening because it is absolutely astonishing! It started off big and then got BIGGER, AND BIGGER! The World was changed in a matter of minutes. That’s not a throw-away sentence. It’s a FACT! God sent forth the Spirit, and the face of the Earth was renewed. Wouldn’t we all want to be there in that moment? We can, you know.

Many of us will remember this Prayer to the Holy Spirit –

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy Holy Love. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
O God, who by the Light of the Holy Spirit instruct the hearts of your faithful, grant us by the same Spirit to be truly wise and ever rejoice in his consolation.

V. You, O Lord shall open their lips
R. and their tongues shall announce Thy praise.
V. Incline unto our aid O God.
R. O Lord make haste to help us.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Through Christ Our Lord. AMEN.

This is the prayer I always use when I sit down in front of my keyboard to get a post started. The prayer is followed by a short song, another one of those treasures from my childhood, called Spirit of the Living God. (↔ Music Link) Both of these might be prayed aloud or both silently; it is then that I know we are ready to work together. I have learned that this is an important first step, a primary objective toward the goal of ensuring that what goes into the post turns out to be the proclamation, “Jesus is Lord.” The entire purpose of these posts is to make Scripture more accessible so that, together, we give Glory and Praise to Our God (↔ Music Link) He always is Jesus the Lord. (↔ Music Link) The Apostle Paul found very clever ways to plant that seed of faith in the people who would listen to him.

One example we can cite is in Acts 17:26-28 – 26 From one ancestor [Adam] he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, 27 so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. 28 For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said,
‘For we too are his offspring.’ This was spoken to a crowd of Stoic and Epicurean philosophers on the Areopagus in Athens. The first quote from the Apostle Paul is by a well-known poet of the region, one Epimenides of Crete (or another Athenian poet). Apparently it had its desired effect because some of them indicated they would like to hear more. The Apostle Paul was telling them that all their handmade gods were useless whereas the One, True, Living God was the origin and sustaining of all Life. When he also told them the account of Jesus’ passion, death, Resurrection, and Ascension, some waved him off as more-than-dubious, but the others … well, they were very interested in hearing more. The second quote about being “his offspring” was from a Cilician Stoic named Aratus. In this way, The Apostle Paul led his listeners to consider that their gods (Zeus, for example) might be “shadows” of a Greater God. Whenever we reflect on the spread of the Early church through the Apostles, we see that Jesus’ promise about the Holy Spirit: “the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.” (See John 14:25-26) the Holy Spirit is sent to us in Jesus’ name to teach and remind us of all that Jesus wants us to hear, and every word of it comes from El Olam – the Everliving God.

At this point, I am going to yield to the Spirit and close with a trio of music links. I don’t wish to overburden you with more words. There is a quote attributed to St. Augustine: “He who sings once prays twice.” Or something like that! 😉 These things are also true:

  • There is an Absolutely Perfect Plan
  • YOLO-F is the real (and only) deal
  • Jesus is Lord
  • Jesus Loves you, and so do I.
  • If you like the prayer and the music, save them for future use.

Spirit and Grace   (↔ Music Link)

 Veni Sancte Spiritus   (↔ Music Link)

 Come Holy Spirit   (↔ Music Link)

Romans 15:13 – 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 51:11 –
11 Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.

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

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

Sprit of the Living God   (↔ Music Link just in case you missed it)

Indeed, receive the Holy Spirit and renew the F.A.I.T.H. of the Earth!

 

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

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

 

Aloha Friday Message – May 10, 2024 – Believe it or else, too

May 10, 2024

2419AFC051024 – Believe it or else, too ← 😊 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.
Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Ask them to email us or to subscribe on our blog-site.

   Mark 16:6-16 – 9 Now after he [Jesus] rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 She went out and told those who had been with him, while they were mourning and weeping. 11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it. 12 After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 13 And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them. 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.
Ephesians 1:17-19 – 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 (↔ 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, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.

Acts 1:10-11 – (NIV)[1] 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “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.”

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. I must compliment you on your excellent memory if today’s title sounds familiar. That same title appeared in a post on May 28, 2021. There may be some similarities, but overall the content is different. Readers who have been reading these posts since 2021 may remember that The Ascension is, for me, the most reassuring passage in Scripture. Why? Because it states unequivocally that Jesus is coming back in the same way he was seen going back up into Heaven. There are many other things in Scripture associated with that event, but for me and my heart they are all secondary to the assurance that he’s going to be coming back. Many in the Early Church believed that his return was even imminent – surely occurring in their lifetimes. Throughout the ensuing centuries, many “Prophets” have assured us that Jesus will arrive on a specific date.

We know better – or at least we should! “It is not for you to know the hour or the seasons …” I’m OK with that because the hour and the seasons are also secondary for me and my heart. He told us he would come back. The “men in White” told us he had been raised and will be coming back. The Church Fathers have told us he’s coming back. That’s enough evidence to convince me; but then, I have 2000+ years of history, teaching, theology, and F.A.I.T.H. under my belt. The Apostles and Disciples present with Jesus at the instant of his Ascension had only about 40 days to get used to the idea that he was leaving now and would be back “later.” To paraphrase a phrase, “We’ve been waiting over two-thousand years. What’s another couple of weeks, or centuries for that matter?” Since we don’t (can’t) know, there exists no reason whatsoever to give up Hope or be discouraged because today is not the day (or is it? Time will tell!) We all know that verse about “a day is a thousand years in God’s sight,” (See 2 Peter 3:8) so for God it could be tomorrow or the day after. I may or may not be a corporeal being when it happens. NO BIGGIE! I’ve already got a good head-start at Everlasting Life. Some of the people I know would be surprised at that. A subset of those would be convinced I was off my rocker and a smaller group would think I was just bragging – or totally ignorant. It does not matter to me. It does, however, matter to God.

It matters because if I fail to believe what God and his messengers (Prophets, Angels, Apostles, and other similarly-qualified persons), then it’s like calling God a liar. Everybody knows that’s a bad idea! Recall the words of Gabriel to Mary: “For nothing will be impossible with God.” (See Luke 1:37) Mary believed that, and so she said “Yes.” I believe it, and I, too, say “Yes nothing is impossible with God.” Again, I reiterate that we have had a lot more time to think about this than the Apostles and Disciples did. We have evidence of this just up the page from our Key Verses in Acts of the Apostles at Acts 1:6 – 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” Jesus was so patient with them! He knew what would happen when the Holy Spirit came to them at Pentecost. They were still stuck in the Davidic image of the Messiah as a military leader that would liberate Israel from their oppressors – at the time, Rome. Jesus had told them multiple times that he would suffer greatly at the hands of their leaders, would die, and be raised up on the third day. They believed he was the Messiah, that he was the Son of God, but could not grasp the Truth of his Prophecy of death and Resurrection. We read in Matthew’s account of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:17 – 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.

Even the presence of two Men in White could not convince those who doubted. Their motto would be something like, “I did see it, but I just can’t believe it.” This reminds me of a passage in the book of Proverbs.
Proverbs 11:31 –
 31 If the righteous are repaid on earth,
how much more the wicked and the sinner! This was quoted by The Apostle Peter in
1 Peter 4:18 – 18 And
“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinners?” When I first studied the Ascension back in the mid-50’s, I was using the King James Version. In that translation, the statement is “This same Jesus.” In the translation I usually use, the word “same” is not present. That’s why I put the NIV quote in this post. When I’m serving as a Lector and read that verse, I emphasize the word THIS instead of the name of Jesus – most readers will say, “This Jesus.” It comes out as “T H I S … Jesus” so that the word “same” is replaced by a brief silence, and that emphasizes the demonstrative article “this.” The absolutely undeniable FACT that it will be this, and only this, Jesus is a difference we must be aware of in our F.A.I.T.H. one might say, “Well, isn’t that kind of silly being that specific? I mean, who else would it be?” After the first 2000 years of study, I agree; but back then, “some doubted.” The Greek word – οὗτος – used in this passage is very specific and means this one, the one visibly present here, the one just named and none other than this one. There’s not another one, there’s no way it could be someone else. It will be precisely, exactly, permanently that same guy you just saw take off into the clouds. It is HE who will return to you. (See 1917AFC042619 – THIS is important for more about οὗτος (oútos) {hoo-tohs or oo-tohs} as it appears in verse 11 (↔ Click Link)

At this point I invite you to find and read 2021AFC052220 – What is doubt? Now, of course, all of us know what doubt is. I could even say, “I doubt very, very few people are uncertain about doubt.” But before that, I want to recall some “tough-guy talk.” We’re familiar with the phrase, “Believe it or not” from the long-running newspaper funnies feature Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. Here’s one example. “Believe it or else” is a take-off on that catch phrase. The tough talk was a comeback, “Or else what?” The first place in Scripture that we find the answer “or else this!” is in Deuteronomy 1:32 during the Desert Wanderings. Spies had been sent up into Canaan to assess the threat of the nations they would face. In the verses before this one, most of the spies spread doubt and fear saying that the inhabitants are fierce giants. Only Joshua and Caleb believe Israel can prevail. Despite all that God had done for them to bring them out of Egypt and to protect them, they did not trust God to help them prevail against that threat. The “or else” turned out to be forty years of wandering, a whole generation dying out, and, eventually they still had to fight those people. When the Apostles who had not seen Jesus heard the accounts of those who had, they did not believe it despite all the miraculous things Jesus had already done in their presence.

Again, Jesus was patient with them, but throughout his ministry, he did not chase after those who would not believe. He allowed them to choose between belief and unbelief. For those who chose belief, they experienced the Kingdom of Heaven. Those who chose unbelief did not experience that. These are the same consequences we can earn for the same choices – believe it or else. Belief, F.A.I.T.H., is rewarded with an eternity in the presence of God. Unbelief, F.E.A.R., is rewarded with an eternity outside the presence of God. Believe it or else, or believe it or not. And, of course, it’s in the APP.

Sorry for being late with this. SOMEthing got hold of me Wednesday afternoon and I had zero energy for about 48 hours and slept for about 40 of those.

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

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

[1] Passages marked (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Aloha Friday Message – May 3, 2024 – Keeping His Word.

May 3, 2024

2418AFC050324 – Keeping His Word. ← 😊 PODCAST LINK

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 Acts 10:25-26 – 25 On Peter’s arrival Cornelius met him, and falling at his feet, worshiped him. 26 But Peter made him get up, saying, “Stand up; I am only a mortal.”

Psalm 98:3 –
3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.

John 15:9-17 – 9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants[a] any longer, because the servant[b] does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

1 John 4:7 – 7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, in truth and love. Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea!. Here we are at the Sixth Sunday of Easter. Two more Sundays until Pentecost, and my favorite New Testament reading. More on that later. Right now we have some astonishing Scripture passages to feast on.

Today’s post could have been called, “Who do you know?” I ask you, then, do you know Cornelius?

You see in our Key Verse that The Apostle Peter went to visit a man named Cornelius, a Centurion in the Italian Regiment stationed in Cæsarea. Cæsarea was an important port at the Western shore of Israel. He was a very devout man, perhaps a convert to Judaism but that’s unlikely. He was, however, very generous in giving alms and support to Jews in his area. He had a dream in which a man in brilliant light appeared and told him to send for “Simon who is called Peter” who was staying in the house of Simon the Tanner in Joppa. That’s about 30 miles from Cæsarea. He sent trusted members of his household to bring The Apostle Peter to him.

The Apostle Peter – who had been praying on the rooftop of Simon’s house and was feeling hungry – also had a vision in which he saw a large number of unclean animals – food that was forbidden to devout Jews – and a commanding Voice told him to “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” This happened three times and each time, The Apostle Peter refused to eat what was profane. Then the voice said to him “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” Just as that experience ended, the men from Cæsarea arrived, told him what Cornelius wanted, and he went with them. Meanwhile Cornelius was anxiously waiting for their return. We can imagine he would have been a bit rattled by his vision. Roman Centurions saw a lot of gruesome and dangerous things, but a brilliantly shining messenger from God was totally out of his wheelhouse! If the messenger was so spectacular, what indeed must be “Simon who is called Peter” be like!?

We can see that when he finally did arrive, Cornelius fell at the Apostle’s feet in humble homage. The Apostle Peter understood God’s message about the unclean animals. He, an Apostle of Jesus, was no longer to call the gentile profane, for God had created them to be coheirs in the Family of God. He told Cornelius to get up because he, too, was merely a mortal man like him. Cornelius was very devout, very generous and kind, but he did not know Jesus. The Apostle Peter knew Jesus and now was charged with Jesus’ command to “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.” (See Matthew 28:19-20) “All nations” included all the gentile nations. As The Apostle Peter explained about Jesus’ Gospel and the history of his life and death, while he was speaking, the Holy Spirit welled up in all the gentiles and they were speaking in tongues and glorifying God. The Apostle Peter ordered that all of them should be Baptized as Jesus had commanded.

Now, I’ve given you a condensed version of Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 10 (↔ Click Link), but I strongly encourage you to go back and read it a couple of more times. Cornelius may have been the first gentile convert. He did not fully know or understand the God worshipped by the Jews. He did know that God expected worship, generosity, kindness, and reverence. After meeting The Apostle Peter, he did know God, and shared in the JOY of the Holy Spirit with The Apostle Peter. His life-changing “come to Jesus” moment is a serious lesson for us. It is insufficient to be “merely Christian” (See Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis ← Seriously, read this book.) All of Cornelius’ good deeds were just that, good deeds. But after he came to know Jesus and was Baptized in Jesus’ name and confirmed in the Holy Spirit, all of his goodness was given as obedience to Jesus’ command to Love.

Belovéd, as we well know, that command most definitely applies to every believer. The Apostle John reminds us 7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. We might ask, “Well, didn’t Cornelius show love in all his goodness to the Jews?” Yes, it was indeed a form of love called PHILIA φιλία (philia) {fil-i-ah}. This is a pretty familiar root-word and we see it in other words like “audiophile”, Philadelphia, and Theophilus. It is “brotherly/sisterly love,” and is usually associated with dignity and respect of and for others. The minimum number of persons required for this kind of love is two, and there is no maximum number. What Jesus calls – yea, commands – is AGAPE ἀγάπη, (agápē) {ah-gah-ee}. Agape is the LOVE that transcends all other forms. In the New Testament, this is the verb used to characterize the LOVE that God has. We’ve all heard of AGAPE love, in fact I’ve mentioned it several times in these Aloha Friday Messages. Here, however, is something new and different I learned from Father Al Rubadello many years ago:

Agape LOVE is a love that can only exist for three or more persons. It is a love that grows out of community, not self. God is LOVE and God is Three Persons. When a couple shares agape LOVE, it usually includes him, her, and God; that’s five persons. Agape love is not self-based and as so is not self-serving. Agape love carries with it no preconceptions, no prejudices; it is that kind of love that is usually called “unconditional.” Some folks think that only God can love unconditionally. I do not. My wife and kids prove it. They still love me despite the times I have not have always loved them as well as I could. (See 1519AFC050815 – Do you love me? For details, please.)

So, Belovéd, what can we say about this?: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” We’ve said several times that “as I have loved” means “in direct proportion.” We could read this quote from John 15:12 as “This is my requirement for the end-result of my Love: that you love all of each of you in exactly the same manner and degree as I have loved you.”  Again: This is my requirement for the end-result of my Love: that you Love all of each of you in exactly the same manner and degree as I have Loved you. And oh, HOW Jesus has Loved us! “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.” That’s no easy-peezy sort of Love, is it? As I look at those words on the page, I am convicted of my innumerable failures – some of them monumental – to live up to that one, basic rule that underlies all of Scripture, Tradition, and Teaching: Love God and one another exactly as you have been told and shown. (↔ Music Link) That is consistent with what we heard last week about keeping our connection  with the True Vine. We know that God tells us he Loves us constantly. How often we fail to return that Love! How often we let the Foe infest our connections to the True Vine with the devouring spirits of selfishness, greed, and duplicity. Who do we know that can overcome sinfulness like that, and STILL say, “I Love you like Fod my Father Loves you?” I will show you again our Key Verse from the Psalms
Psalm 98:3 –
3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.

That victory is the victory over sin and death. There is only one way to claim that Victory, and that is to be in the Army of the Lord wearing our full armor. (↔ Music Link) We must put away all foolishness and weaknesses, all that is carnal within us. Remember what Jesus told his Disciples (that’s you and me, kiddos) “ You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.” I really want to copy and paste all of Colossians 3 ← HERE, but I will instead implore you to follow that link. It will take less than three minutes to read the whole thing, If you read all the notes and cross-references, it will still take only about 15 minutes of your day, I assure you, that will be time well-spent.

ʻŌmea, we know Jesus. Jesus knows us. He has called us by name and we follow him. Jesus Loves us just as much as God, his Father, Loves him, and together they both love us as much as does the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life. We will close with part of the Second Reading 1 John 4:9-10 – 9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. that indeed is worth repeating – and remembering! In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Remember this?

GOD ≡ LIGHT ≡ LOVE ≡ TRUTH ≡ WAY ≡ LIFE ≡ ETERNAL ≡ MERCY ≡ GOD (↔ Music Link – really!)

Who do we Love? Who do we know? Who is it that always Loves us first? Why? Why does HE ask us to Love precisely as he Loves? The answer is mysteriously simple. We are keeping HIS Word to us, HIS command to Love him and each other. “This is my requirement for the end-result of my Love: that you love all of each of you in exactly the same manner and degree as I have loved you and God, your Father, Loves  you and ME.” We’ve got his word on it, and we know it is worthy of our trust and obedience. Keep his Word.

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

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

Aloha Friday Message – April 26, 2024 – Now, cut that out!

April 26, 2024

2417AFC042624 – Now, cut that out! ← 😊 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.
Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Ask them to email us or to subscribe on our blog-site.

   Acts 9:27 – 27 But Barnabas took him [The Apostle Paul], brought him to the apostles, and described for them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus.

Psalm 22:30-31 –
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord,
31 and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
saying that he has done it.

1 John 3:21-24 – 21 Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; 22 and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.
23 And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

John 15:1-5 – 1 “I am The True Vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes* to make it bear more fruit. 3 You have already been cleansed* by the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, (↔ Music Link), you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.”
*καθαιρει – Cleaned inside and out, renewed for growth. kathaírō – make clean by purging (removing undesirable elements); hence, “pruned (purged)”; eliminating what is fruitless by purifying (making unmixed).

E pili mau na pomaika‘i ia ‘oe a me ke akua ho‘omaika‘i ‘oe, ʻŌmea! (May blessing always be with you and may God bless you, Beloved!) Last week we explored Good Shepherd Sunday. Today, we hear Jesus’ assurance that he is the True Vine. This weekend marks the Fifth Sunday in the Octave of Easter. The first reading this Sunday is not from the Old Testament but rather from the Acts of the Apostles. As we have previously stated, the word Apostle comes from the Greek apostolos {ap-os’-tol-os} word which means sent as in one sent forward with information or under orders. We also recall that Jesus chose 12 men who were at first his Disciples. Please read the following list carefully because you might notice that some persons we call Apostles are not in that list in Luke 6:13-16 – 13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. They were Disciples at first, but when Jesus sent them out in pairs (See Mark 6:7-13, 30) they were then Apostles for they had completed the purpose for which Jesus sent them.

One apostle not in that list but often heard from here is The Apostle Paul who was confronted by the resurrected Jesus on the road to Damascus. There are others who may be considered Apostles because they were sent by the Church in Jerusalem to carry the Gospel to the gentile nations. Several were companions of The Apostle Paul: Barnabas, Silvanus, Silas, Timothy, Luke, and John called Mark (or John Mark, the author of the Gospel according to Mark), and others who served as missionaries. There is an interesting list of Companions of The Apostle Paul that is worth a cautious reading. (The company providing that information is a Travel Agency.)

I tell you all this because in our first reading from Acts of the Apostles, we read about Barnabas taking Saul of Tarsus to the Apostles in Jerusalem. Even though this was after his conversion, “his name and reputation preceded him” so to speak. The Disciples and Apostles in Jerusalem were afraid of him because of his aggressive and even ruthless persecutions of converts to The Way. He was introduced and/or named as Saul of Tarsus 11 times in the book of acts, and it is only in Acts 13:9 does the author of Acts of the Apostles (presumably The Apostle Luke) write “ But Saul, also known as Paul.” Some authorities assert that Paul (Paulos in Greek) is the Greek word for Saul. (In the same way that Mary is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Miriam.) One last little detail here: the name Barnabas. In Acts 4:36-37 we read – 36 There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”). 37 He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Barnabas, the son of encouragement, spoke up for Saul of Tarsus and – on his recommendation – Saul was accepted into The Way and preached boldly about Jesus. I’ve often wondered if going with the name Paul helped ease the tension between him and the Jews who persecuted him, but there’s no solid evidence of that. Sometimes we are called to speak up for others as Barnabas did. Other times we are called to be a Disciple-maker as The Apostle Paul did with Timothy. It is because of men like these – and many women as well – who spread the Good News that the words in our Key Verse from the Psalms are fulfilled: Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord, and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it. Certainly this is true of the Christ of God and his servants who tell the world about his deliverance. What the Apostle John wrote applies to us as well: All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us. That Spirit is the Spirit of Love, and if we really, truly live in the Spirit of Love, then we fulfill what The Apostle John says in 1 John 3:18 – Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. How do we live like that, not merely in word or speech but actually in truth and action?

The key is, of course, in the three short words “let us love.” So easy to say and so difficult (but not impossible) to do. In our words and deeds we must be truthful and not dissemble, we must be honest and not lie, we must walk the walk and talk the talk that brings freedom, forgiveness, pardon, empathy, efficacious help, and joy to others. We are called to bear fruit, fruit that will last. This is what Christ tells the Apostles in John 15:16 – 16 You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. It is also what John reiterates in Verse 22 above: we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him. We, too, are commanded to bear fruit, and we, too, are prepared for it because we, too, are called to hear and obey the Good News. “Love one another even as I have loved you.” (See John 13:34) Jesus calls us to the same type of selfless, unpretentious Love he has given to us; but how? How can we love each other as Divinely as Jesus does?

How truly blessed we are to get the answer straight from the Apostle John in today’s Key Verse from his letter: we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us. (my emphasis) Belovéd, this is simpler than it seems. Let me ask you, how many times have you heard or been asked, “Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus?” or “Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?” if you’re reading this, the answer to those questions is most likely “Yes.” (If not, write me. We should talk.) Well, my dear friends in Christ Jesus, then you also have an intimate personal relationship with the Holy Spirit as well as an intimate personal relationship with God the Father. Whenever one acts, they All act. Whenever one is called, All are called.

Do I, do you, do we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us? Why or why not? If we believe, we, too, have fruit that will last. Here’s the thing, though. We must remember that Jesus is The True Vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes* to make it bear more fruit. In 2340AFC100623 – Fruit of the Branches, I asked you Q: What do you call a boomerang that doesn’t come back? (Come on, you know this one.) A STICK! Now, what do you call a branch cut off from a tree? You want to say “a stick,” but that’s not correct. A branch cut off of a tree is kindling. Matthew 7:19 – 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So also are branches cut from the vine in the vineyard. We must ask ourselves then, “Am I kindling, or a pruned branch connected to the vine?” if we look carefully we are perhaps both. There are some aspects of our lives that are unproductive and could be cut away. There are other things within that are fruitful and can be pruned a bit to make them more fruitful. How are we serving in truth and action? IF we are not certain about how to answer that, then – since we have an intimate personal relationship with the Holy Spirit – just ask to take a little off the top and around the edges; you know, ask for a quick trim, a little pruning for the Lord. “Jesus, the Holy Spirit showed me this and it is unfruitful. Now, just cut that out, please.” This makes everyone happy because of what Jesus told us in John 15:8 – 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. The Apostle Paul repeatedly stated that the Praise and Glory all go to God:

Remember HE is God and we are not, when we Praise and Glorify God (↔ Music Link) rather than ourselves, we are inviting our close personal friend to come and give us a pruning. We are given the Holy Spirit by, in, with, and through our Almighty, Triune God who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Whenever we praise and glorify God we inform ourselves and all the true children of God of our relationship with the One True God. Here’s his own Word on that:

Isaiah 48:12 –
12 Listen to me, O Jacob,
and Israel, whom I called:
I am He; I am the first,
and I am the last.
Isaiah 49:6 –
I will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.
John 17:11 – 11 And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.

Here’s another chance to use the M.A.P. (↔ Click Link) as part of God’s Absolutely Perfect Plan so that all of us – you’n’me together – will be united in YOLO-F. Now, I could resist this, but you just might like where I heard (↔ Music Link) some of this – except I know we won’t ever hear “you’ll no longer be mine” because we’re in and of the True Vine! (↔ Music Link) Maybe that’s another way to testify – just don’t gossip – EVANGELIZE! Maybe open a “branch office”?

And now may the God of All Mercies be with you, both now and forever, in all that you think, do, or say.

 

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

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

Aloha Friday Message – April 19, 2024 – Because we know him

April 19, 2024

 2416AFC041924 – Because we know him  ← 😊 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.

Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Ask them to email us or to subscribe on our blog-site.

    Acts 4:11-12 – 11 “This Jesus is‘
the stone that was rejected by you, the builders;
it has become the cornerstone.’
12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”

Psalm 118:22-23 –
2 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.

1 John 3:2 – 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.

John 10:14-15, 18 – 14 “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! May the God of Peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We have arrived at the 4th Sunday of Eastertide. Sometimes this is called “Good Shepherd Sunday” (↔ Click Link) because of the readings. The 4th Sunday of Eastertide is smack-dab in the middle of the octave of Easter. Now, I know most of you know that “octave” indicates a grouping of eight. 4 is in the middle of 7, so where is the 1st Sunday of Easter? Well, that would be Easter. The 7th Sunday of Easter is usually celebrated as the Feast of the Ascension, but actually the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord is on May 9th. May 19th is 10 days after the Ascension and occurs on the Jewish Feast of Pentecost  – and Pentecost (Shavu’ot) The Feast of Weeks or Festival of Harvest – was smack-dab in the middle of the Festivals prescribed by God in Leviticus. Let’s just do a quick refresher on the Prescribed Festivals because they were of great importance to God and therefore also to all Jews (spoiler alert! – Jesus was a devout jew and so were his Disciples).

  1. Passover (Pesach)
  2. Unleavened Bread (Chag Hamotzi)
  3. Firstfruits (Yom Habikkurim)
  4. Pentecost (Shavu’ot) The Feast of Weeks or Festival of Harvest
  5. Trumpets (Yom Teru’ah)
  6. Atonement (Yom Kippur)
  7.  Tabernacles (Succoth)

Pentecost is described in Leviticus 23:15-22 as a period of seven weeks – “The Counting of the Omer” (“sheaths”) a week of Sabbaths = 49 days – that were measured off. On the day after the end of the seven weeks, the fiftieth day – a celebration was prescribed by God. The name “Pentecost” comes from the Greek term for the celebration, Day of Pentecost Πεντηκοστή ἡμέρα (pentekoste hemera) {pent-tay-cohs-tay ee-mair-ah} – Πεντηκοστῆς = “of Pentecost,” which means fiftieth day. Originally Shavu’ot was a Harvest Feast celebrating the First Fruits of the wheat. In modern times it is celebrated as the commemoration or the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai.

It was through these celebrations that the Israelites learned to give Primacy to God in all things. The Festivals collectively help show them and us about the nature, the names, and the nuances of our Heavenly Father. Throughout the ages between now and back to the days of the Desert Wanderings, God has incrementally revealed himself to us. We know that in Scripture, we hear the “voice” of God as his inspired authors recorded his Word as he taught them. They in turn teach us, and the Greatest Teacher of all of his Messengers was of course Jesus his Christ. In our Key Verses today, Jesus tells his followers (and we know that means us as well) that I know my own and my own know me and in John 10:27 he says further My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.

This is an excellent description of the intimate relationship between sheep and their shepherd. The shepherd knew each animal by name, and all of them knew her/his voice. 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 dim-witted and unwise – 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 and could do so because they knew each other. That is how we understand the meaning of Jesus’ declaration that he is the Good Shepherd. He names us (I have called you by name), he calls us (come to me … ), he leads us (“If I do not go to prepare a place …), and he loves us as God Loves us ([Heavenly Father,] “you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”), and most importantly we read in John 13:34-35 – 34 “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (↔ Music Link) We also 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 just before them. He’s gone ahead for us, too.

Because we know that he has indeed set out before us to ensure his flock is safely led, we recall his words, “I AM the Good Shepherd.” This is one of the seven I AM Statements all of which are in the Gospel of John. I want to call your attention to the two highly significant words in each of these – I AM. In the New Testament, these appear in Greek as Ἐγώ εἰμι egō eimi I AM. This phrase, as is, would be an uncommon combination that might not make much sense unless it was an attempt to put an Aramaic or Hebraic term into Greek without losing the impactful meaning of Genesis 17:1 – 1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I AM* God Almighty**; walk before me, and be blameless. *ani I Myself Am Y_WH
** God Almighty – a El Shaddai אֵ֣ל שַׁדַּ֔י šad-day, As you can see in the list below, the Good Shepherd statement is smack-dab in the middle of the seven passages. It seems there is a pattern forming here, right?

Seven I AM Statements

            I AM …

1: The Bread of Life (John 6:35, 48-51)
2: The Light of the World (John 8:12)
3: The Gate (John 10:9)
4: The Good Shepherd (John 10:11)
5: The Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25)
6: The Way, The Truth, and The Life (John 14:6)
7: The True Vine (John 15:1 & 5)
All these sayings are like mini-parables. They are statements that illustrate what and who Jesus is, they describe his purpose, and illustrate what he wants the people to understand about God’s plan for redemption through Jesus’ sacrifice which is to lay down his Life for the sins of all earthlings. His life thus becomes the cornerstone of the firm foundation on which his Church is built.

In our Key Verse from Psalm 118 (↔ Music Link), Jesus is described as the corner stone rejected by the builders. Here again, if we take a peek beneath the language used, the word rejected in Hebrew is מָאֲס֣וּ mā-’ă-sū and in Greek it is ἐξουθενηθεὶς  exouthenētheis. These words mean to count something as worthless through comparison. We might think of it as if saying, “We see nothing of value in this chunk of stone and it is unworthy to become any part of the foundation for the edifice we have planned.” That’s how they looked at Jesus – just junk along the Grand Highway being built by the Children of Abraham. It seems to me they overlooked those words seen in our Key Verses in Psalm 118. What God did was, and is, marvelous in our eyes. It makes us want to Sing to Jesus Alleluia! (↔ Music Link). When we look at this image of a corner stone, we can more easily understand the strength that comes into our lives when his Life and Love are the cornerstone of our lives.

His Life and Love are Eternal, and that is what El Shaddai has always had in mind for us. We are created in his likeness and image. We are created to be like him – Eternally Holy. Original sin has kept us from that Original Holiness. We recall the truth set down by the Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 53:6 –
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all. This leads us right back to the closing Key Verses in our Gospel passage: John 10:17 c -18 – “I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”

We know from the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ Passion the difficulty in that command. Jesus, tortured beyond all endurance, dying by suffocation and exsanguination, cold (about 55°F that time of year) and naked, deserted by most of his friends, slain for being a stone over which many stumbled. Such was God’s command. Obedience to that command confirms that There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved. He knows us and calls us by name. Like a trusting flock we follow him “Because we know him.” Best of all, he knows me, (↔ Music Link) he knows you, he knows us. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. (See Psalm 100 the perfect summation of today’s post.

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

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

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

Aloha Friday Message – April 12, 2024 – A Show of Hands

April 12, 2024

2415AFC041524 – A Show of Hands  ← 😊 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. Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Ask them to email us or to subscribe on our blog-site.

   Acts 3:13-21 – 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant  Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. 14 But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.

17 “And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. 19 Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, 20 so that times of refreshing* may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah appointed for you, that is, Jesus, 21 who must remain in heaven until the time of universal restoration that God announced long ago through his holy prophets.
*ἀνάψυξως (an-aps’-ook-sos) – a recovery of breath, a refreshing – like “catching your wind” or “catch my breath”

Psalm 4:6 –
6 There are many who say, “O that we might see some good!
Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!”  (↔ Music Link)

1 John 2:1-2 – 1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Luke 24:36 b -40 – 36  Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” (↔ Music Link) 37 They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.

May the God of all hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope, Belovéd! Let’s start with the obvious: That’s not a key up there next to our Key Verses. Another thing it is not is a double-dose of “Live long and prosper,” kinda. More on that later. We should start with The Apostle Peter’s impassioned speech to the crowd gathered around him and The Apostle John at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple. Just before this, they had passed a well-known beggar who had been lame from birth. He sat near that location, and “everyone” knew him because he was always there. He asked The Apostle Peter for alms. Here the newly-empowered Apostles took him by the right arm and The Apostle Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” (See Acts 3:6) We mentioned this last week in 2414AFC040524 – Envisioning Mercy. The two Apostles then moved over to Solomon’s Portico (there is a nice image of the Temple in Jesus’ time here ← click this) As we’ve often heard, the astonished man got up and walked, and that miracle created quite a hubbub. Peter announce to that crowd – he referred to them as brethren (adelphoi) – that it was . … by faith in his [Jesus’] name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you. See 2116AFC041621 – His name alone.

Now, let’s jump down the page to today’s Key Verse from the Gospel according to Luke. This is a parallel to what was presented last week in John 20:19-23. Although the doors to their “safe-room” were locked, Jesus appeared and stood among them and said “Peace be with you.” We hear that phrase every Sunday in a quote from the Gospel of John (14:27) – Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your Apostles: “Peace I leave you, my peace I give you;” look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church, and graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will. Who live and reign for ever and ever.” When he finishes this, he holds out his hands, palms forward, fingers pointed upward, and says “The Peace of The Lord be always with you.” We respond, “And with your spirit.” This is very similar to the sign we see for our Key Verses.

This comes from the Jewish practice of giving the Aaronic Blessing. It reads as follows:
Numbers 6:24-26 –
24 The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

The gesture shown here is a representation of the Hebrew letter shin as in this diagram. This letter is the beginning of the name Shaddai as in El Shaddai – Almighty God, or God Who is All-Sufficient. In this image notice that we are seeing it from the vantage point of the Rabbi – the back of the hands are facing us. Now, how did this – or half of this – end up as “Live long and prosper?” Here it is in Leonard Nimoy’s own words from an interview in 2015 with Abby Ohlheiser: “This is the shape of the letter shin,” Nimoy said in the 2013 interview, making the famous “V” gesture. The Hebrew letter shin, he noted, is the first letter in several Hebrew words, including Shaddai (a name for God), Shalom (the word for hello, goodbye and peace) and Sh’khinah, the glow of God’s glory and brilliance, His actual presence when dwelling in the Temple. (Sh’khinah is an ancient word used to describe the “abiding, dwelling, or habitation” of the physical manifestations of YHWH described in Exodus 24:16, and 40:35.).

Our study for today, then, begins with the sign of blessing which fits in well with the first words from The Apostle Peter in Acts 3:13. Jesus, the Rabbi from Nazareth also called Rabboni – my Master, or my Teacher – might have used this or a similar gesture when he greeted his Apostles. This Aaronic Blessing is echoed in our Key Verse from Psalm 4 – Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord! In the opening verse, David says, “Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.” He is petitioning God directly by beseeching him to bestow mercy and favor – in other words, he is asking for God’s blessing of Grace. We might think of this as petitioning God to bless us in the same way as he prescribed as a blessing for his own People into which we have been grafted as we read in 1 Peter 2:9 (GNT) [1]– 9 But you are the chosen race, the King’s priests, the holy nation, God’s own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his own marvelous light. (See also Exodus 19:6) Just as God called the Israelites out of the “darkness of slavery in Egypt,” Jesus calls us out of the darkness of sin and into the light of his Glory and Grace. Better still, we get more than just his Light and his Peace. We also get his Breath. Consider this:

When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (See John 20:22). This is the ruach of God which moved upon the waters in Genesis 1, the Spirit of the Lord – the Holy Spirit who comes to us from the Father through the Son. He is the Advocate, the Comforter, the Lord, the Giver of Life, the Spirit of God,. And what does The Apostle Paul have to say about that this weekend? But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. Why? John 3:16-19 is why. There is one God and one Mediator. Let’s have a show of hands for all of those who believe that! You see, the first Disciples actually had to see his hands and feet. and touch his wounded side. Some might ask, “But why does the Resurrected Christ still have those wounds? Wasn’t he fully healed when he was made Divine?” Those wounds are there to show all his Disciples (we are included) that this is indeed the Real, True, Everliving Christ, the Only Begotten Son of the Father. Jesus is willing to show us his wounds so that we can believe and no longer lack F.A.I.T.H.

 

 

Peace be with you.  (↔ Music Link)

Blesséd are those who have not seen and yet believed.
See John 20:29.

I find myself asking, “What might Jesus see if he asked me, ‘Show me your hands and feet.’”? Am I, are you, are we hoping for an Easter without Calvary? Of course not! When others can see the Jesus in us because we see the Jesus in them, then we will experience what the Disciples experienced when they saw the Lord. John 20:19 D -20 – Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced [2] when they saw the Lord.

Let’s take another show of hands.  

Anyone up for a day of Rejoicing?


BONUS (↔ Music Link)

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

Creative Commons License
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)  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

[2] echarēsan – To experience God’s unmerited favor (Grace) with glad delight and rejoicing as Jesus extends himself toward them in Love.

Aloha Friday Message – April 5, 2024 – Envisioning Mercy

April 5, 2024

2414AFC040524 – Envisioning Mercy     ← 😊 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.
Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Ask them to email us or to subscribe on our blog-site.

   John 5:25-29 – 25 “Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; 27 and he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and will come out—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

Acts 4:33 – 33 With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.

Psalm 118:23-24 –
23 This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.

John 20:19-23 – 19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (emphasis added)

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! This coming Sunday is the second Sunday in the octave of Easter. This Sunday is also called Divine Mercy Sunday. More on that later. Let us begin with today’s Key Verses. We begin in the Acts of the Apostles: With great power the Apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. We recall that this was after the man who was lame from birth was healed at the site of the Beautiful Gate of the Temple. This caused such a stir that the religious leaders had them jailed overnight and then in the morning ordered them not to speak in the name of or about Jesus. The power in which they spoke was, of course, the Holy Spirit who caused them to speak with such boldness and eloquence that those rulers were surprised how such uneducated men could respond. They sent them away with only a warning because there was a crowd surrounding them praising God for what had happened. A great thing had happened, and the rulers could not deny it.

We’ve heard the song “Great things happen when God mixes with us” several times here. Isn’t it wonderful when we deflate our pride a bit and instead of the flimsy image we try to show the World, we act and speak with the boldness of the Holy Spirit? That is indeed a time to rejoice. Such things are the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Here we again recall the words of St. James in James 1:17 – 17 Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. This, in turn, can remind us of Romans 8:28 (another song we have recently heard. Don’t remember it? You can try it here. (↔ Music Link) – 28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. I confess that the Radio Station (↔ Music Link) in my head plays that tune often. Now, with such “good vibes” filling the air, it would be simply sad to be unglad, especially if we want our nametag to say, “Disciple of the Lord.” Of course we want everyone to know we believe in and belong to Jesus, right?

“But I don’t want to force my faith on them. And I sure don’t want them to force their faith on me!” I understand. This is the “me too” and “not me” generation. No matter what we do, someone – even a complete stranger! – is likely to pop up and say, “I’m offended! Christians are supposed to be accepting and inclusive of everyone, including me.” Well, we who keep the faith described in 1 John do indeed believe that Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. We may know some who are trying to wear that nametag mentioned, but since “actions speak louder than words. What we do says who we are,” then when we see what we clearly know is wrong (and so do they probably), because By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world.

We’ve certainly heard of “born again Christians,” and so we expect a relationship of kith and kin because, accordingly, we all belong to Christ; but not all will love God and obey his commandments. These are the ones who will not conquer, but rather be conquered because they lack the faith that brings them victory. As John clearly states, this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. 5 Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? In the Gospel passage for this weekend Thomas gives his bold line about “seeing is believing.” He gets kind of a bad rap about that, but check out what I underlined above. Here it is for you again: [And] the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Thomas’ stance was the same as his fellow Disciples. They all had to see to believe. I mean after all, it truly is shocking news to actually SEE the man you saw tortured to death just four days earlier! Belovéd friends and fellow heirs with Christ, as we said last week, “If they can see the Jesus in us, it is because we can see Jesus in them.” In that sense we are to be accepting and inclusive with the objective of encouraging contrition, repentance, and reconciliation.

The Church is the home of the children of God, and genuine F.A.I.T.H. requires no less than those three acts of Love and Obedience. I believe, and have seen, in the lives of Saints on this Earth and in Heaven that seeing the Jesus in others is to obey Christ’s Law of Love. Some of those Saints were here in the lifetimes of many of us. Their testimony calls us to acknowledge “Jeus is here.” Indeed if we live through him, with him, and in him, then he is also in others who look to him in Love and say, “This is Jesus.” (↔ Music Link) All who become true children of God also receive the Holy Spirit just as Jesus’ Apostles did. That is so remarkable that it is incomprehensible – almost. After all, each of us receive the Breath (ruach) of God at the moment of conception. Later, we receive the Power – the same Power by which The Apostles Peter and John spoke at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple and gained thousands of converts in that one day – we are also brought into that Power. It’s all in the Absolutely Perfect Plan, and ensures us of YOLO-F.

Earlier I wrote I would share some information about Divine Mercy Sunday. This special celebration began in 2005 instituted by St. Pope John Paul II. Years before, in his Regina caeli message, April 10, 1994, he said, “What is mercy if not the boundless love of God, who confronted with human sin, restrains the sentiment of severe justice and, allowing Himself to be moved by the wretchedness of His creatures, spurs Himself to the total gift of self, in the Son’s cross …?
Who can say that he is free from sin and does not need God’s mercy? As people of this restless time of ours, wavering between the emptiness of self-exaltation and the humiliation of despair, we have a greater need than ever for a regenerating experience of mercy.”

Ahhhh, Belovéd, what would we do, how would we live, without the Mercy of God!? This post is titled, “Envisioning Mercy,” and that is the connection to Divine Mercy Sunday. It is based on the events in the life of a young Nun who experienced mystic encounters with Jesus. Maria Faustyna Kowalska who was a young Polish Catholic of the Congregation of The Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy (OLM). She was also a mystic who experienced extraordinary visions of Jesus holding his right hand up in blessing and his left hand resting on his Robe just above his Heart. From that Heart came rays of light in two colors – red and white. The red is for the Blood of Christ which, through God’s great Mercy, redeems and brings life to souls. The paler beams streaming from His Heart are for water which cleanses and makes souls righteous. The painted image was completed under the direction of St. Faustina and is described extensively in her Diary. (↔ Click Link) The encounters were based on one idea: Come close to Me in prayer and find Mercy for us and all the World. If we give our testimony to the Resurrection of Jesus, will great Grace be on us all? There is also this to consider:

John 5:25-29 – 25 “Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; 27 and he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and will come out—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. Wait and watch, and keep listening.

That’s important. That is worth knowing. That is why St. Faustina shared the results of her encounters. Jesus wants to encounter us as well. It may seem at times too much to ask, but … is it really? Have we ever been asked by a loved one to give them something we know they ardently desire, and then gladly given it? Have we ever asked a loved one to just “be with me,” and then felt hurt because they didn’t have time? (↔ Music Link) If God, who would never, ever forget us had asked us “Can you spend an hour with me? Only one hour?”, would we be too busy to care? The Saints I have referenced in this essay made time – their entire time, their entire life, their entire entirety. God wants us to pray so that we will choose to be with him instead of with the world. Can you hear the words of Psalm 22:1 right now? When he calls what will we answer, “We’ll get together soon.”? How about now? Why? Do any of us disbelieve the words in from John, Chapter 25, quoted above? Is that out of bounds for our faith?

We invite you to use this link for The Divine Mercy Chaplet with Meditations by Greg Keuter. This is no longer available on the Internet, so hopefully you will be able to download this and use it often. It is a beautiful way to pray the Chaplet because it unites reflections of the sufferings of Christ with the comforting prayers of the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

Have Mercy on us for we are sinners!

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

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

Aloha Friday Message – March 29, 2024 – Who has done this?

March 29, 2024

2413AFC032924 – Who has done this? – ← 😊 PODCAST LINK

The Road to Jerusalem Series #7

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.
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 Today is Good Friday. Today I am thinking about what happened on Good Friday in Jesus’ life. I am thinking about how and why it happened. I am thinking how you, how I, how we might have connections to that moment of Jesus’ crucifixion. It is not a pleasant subject, but it has been laid on my heart since before Lent began to cover this topic, the connection between Love and human depravity.

I have stated previously that Jesus certainly was not the first to be crucified and definitely not the last. There is evidence of crucifixions and other forms of torture going back thousands of years – at least as far back as the sixth century BC – and they continued to be widespread until about the fourth century AD. Crucifixion is execution by torture. (← Check it out!) The process of dying can last for days in some instances. It is a method of execution specifically designed for maximizing pain while dehumanizing the victim. Jesus died in great pain in the dark, in the cold, totally alone, deprived of freedom, dignity, and even – at the end – without even the company of his Father. It is death by blood loss and suffocation so that the life force of both the body and the life force of Spirit are spilled out completely. But, despite all that, he died with Faith, Hope, and Love – even for us (etiam pro nobis). He died for you, for me, for us in F.A.I.T.H., knowing that God would accept his Sacrifice, knowing that his Perfect Sacrifice was the only hope for reconciliation for the entire world, and he held that faith and hope because he gave up everything he was because of Love for God and for us. He stretched out his hands between Heaven and Earth, to embrace a tortuous death, and gave us back our humanity, which is our Oneness with our Creator.

Torture is a gruesome, evil, deliberate act of inflicting pain and suffering for the purpose of coercing, terrorizing, or punishing enemies. Sometimes it is also a form of personal gratification. My personal belief is that the Crucifixion Squads the Romans used were comprised of men – usually a team of four soldiers and one Centurion – who enjoyed their work immensely. Execution by torture is mentioned in many ancient histories of empires and nations including some in the Bible. Crucifixion is one of the cruelest forms of execution. There are others that fall into that category of extreme cruelty, but they are so gruesome I cannot mention them here. There is no civilization, no nation, or no empire that has not employed torture at some time in its history. Does that seem remarkable, or odd, or inaccurate? It is none of those things.

All of us have the capacity for inhumane treatment of others. That is why inhumane acts are so prevalent throughout history, even today in Mass shootings and in suicide by cop. I’m not really a history freak, but I do explore history a lot, and in every history of humankind there are examples of torture. It’s not always horrific like crucifixion, but it is always dehumanizing. That is the ultimate purpose of torture, to dehumanize an enemy whether it is a single person, a class of persons (like slaves or enemy soldiers for example), or an entire nation (like a pogrom – so-called “ethnic cleansing”). Think of it: Uganda, Rwanda, Eastern Europe – Guantanamo, Russia, China, Japan, and the United States (on “foreign” soil). There was horrific torture in all of those places in the 20th century!

“What makes you think that’s part of my make-up?” you ask. Beloved, we are human. We can get angry and strike in anger. We can hold a grudge. (↔ Learning Link) We can think hateful thoughts. We can get carried away with punishment, mistaking it for “correction.” We can be unloving and unforgiving. We can curse a loved one. We can strike out at another for the most foolish reasons. “But that is not as atrocious as torture! It’s just that we are human.” Look at what Jesus said about many other things that are “merely human.”

“You have heard it said that …” In Matthew 5:21-48, Jesus tells us that fulfilling the Law isn’t the answer. Hating your brother is equivalent to murder. Lusting after someone is equivalent to adultery. Lusting after a certain thing is idolatry. Swearing by or about anything is blasphemy which comes from Satan, and is not from God. Only God-given self-control centered in compassionate commitment to morality prevents us from becoming brutal, ghastly, and capable of being inhumane. It is possible, even probable, that most earthlings committed to morality will never, ever do anything as monstrously cruel as torturing another earthling for any reason; but the germ for it is there in our sinfulness, and it is a mark of meekness to recognize it. It is an appalling aspect of human nature. Jesus knew that. He knew what would happen to him. He knowingly, willingly, totally surrendered to ignominious, cruel, tortuous execution on a cross. He did that because of what has been behind every single topic we’ve covered this Lent. He did it for Love.

“Greater love has no man than this, …” Look at John 15:9-17. Click on the link and read the passage. That is what was at the core of every study we have submitted in the Lenten Series. God is Love and that Love is perfected in Jesus’ sacrifice and conveyed to us in his Resurrection through our participation in the Holy Eucharist. It is that Love, and only that Love, which makes being a humane earthling possible. Only because of the Love of God, manifested in Christ Jesus, can we be caring, kind, gentle, meek, humble, compassionate, charitable, benevolent, good, and holy. “There is no other way?” you ask. No, there is no other way. Not so interested in being a Christian because religions bum you out? It doesn’t matter. It is still because of God’s Love and Christ’s death and Resurrection that you and I have the capacity to be all those wonderful, Godly things. “How could there have been good people who were wonderfully humane before Christ, and how can people today be all of those things and more without being Christians?” Because of God’s Covenant of Love which begins and ends in the Eternal Love of God given to us in Jesus by the ministry of the Holy Spirit. It is Love that saves me, saves you, saves us from the evil that has consumed every soul that devised and committed any kind of sin – including torture. Whatever goodness might manifest in others who are not Christians comes from the Manifest Grace of God in Christ Jesus. That is why Christ commands us to Love one another (↔ Music Link). Through The Word, we are present in his sacrifice 24/7/365. (↔ Music Link) Live and Love as He Lives and Loves, and we will know his return.

When you listen to the reading of The Passion, think of Love. It is the Greatest Love Story Ever Told. (↔ Music Link)

Look at him. He did that for us. He did all of that for all of us. He did it because he Loves us so much more than we can possibly comprehend. He can do that because he alone is Love.

“If today you hear is voice,” (↔ Music Link) Jesus is inviting you to share his Joy. If you have not accepted Christ as your personal savior, pray this short prayer from your heart and Jesus will answer it. If you already know the Lord and have found Peace and Joy in his presence, pray this prayer to recommit and reconsecrate your life to him, so that your J.O.Y. may be complete.

Jesus, I realize now that you are God’s Only Begotten Son. I know you chose to die in my place for the forgiveness of my sins. Thank you for loving me so much. I want to love you that much, too, and I claim you as my personal Savior. I give you my heart, my life, my soul, my all. I ask you to be in my life forever. Bless me with your Presence, and send your Holy Spirit to pray with and for me so my faith in you becomes permanent and real. I accept your love, your forgiveness, and your Salvation. AMEN

Remember, saying this prayer or any other prayer will not save us. Only believing in Jesus Christ, His finished work on the Cross is there and real and done for us, and his Resurrection into Glory can save us from the wages of our sins. Who has done this? WE have joined the crowd that cried out crucify him crucify him!, and we do so with every unrepented sin. Amazingly, God even blesses unrepentant sinners – they are not our enemies; ha-Satan and his minions are everyone’s enemies, but on an earthling plane just remember Matthew 5:44-45 – 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. If they can see the Jesus in us, it is because we can see Jesus in them. Who has done this? Us. No? Then we must keep trying to let Jesus to do this in us because he did this for us.

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

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

We did that. We were there.

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

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

Aloha Friday Message – March 22, 2024 – Who has done this?

March 22, 2024

2412AFC032224 – Who has done this?  ← 😊 PODCAST LINK

The Road to Jerusalem Series #6

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.
Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Ask them to email us or to subscribe on our blog-site.

     Isaiah 50:7 –
7 The Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame;

Psalm 22:21-22 –
21 Save me from the lion’s mouth:
for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. [or wild oxen]

22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren:
in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.

Philippians 2:6-9 –
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,

* ekenōsen from ken-o’-o – to empty out, render void, seen as without value or recognition.

Mark 14:3 – The Anointing at Bethany
3 While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper†, as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard‡, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head.
† This could refer to the brother of Mary and Martha of Bethany – Lazarus – and that name means “God has helped.” It might also be that man’s father or brother, or some other close friend of Jesus. The Gospels of Matthew and Mark mention the name Simon, but in the Gospel of John, the name Lazarus is used. There is a stop at Bethany in all four Gospels during the last week of Jesus’ life before the end of his Journey to Jerusalem. See Matthew 26:6-13 and also John 12:1-8.

‡ Nard, also called spikenard, is a very expensive fragrant plant (See photo) originally found in the Himalayas. It is very costly to extract and purify. The fragrance is said to be exquisite, and would not be diluted or overpowered by other fragrances – such as those at a meal. In Song of Songs (also referred to as the Song of Solomon) Chapter 1, Verse 12 it says the King was reclining on his couch at table and the fragrance his lover wore filled the air. The oil clings to skin and hair and last for quite a long time.

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. This weekend we will hear the Passion of Christ as recorded in the Gospel of Mark. The Gospel reading is longer than most, and often it is read by 3 voices and the assembly participates as well. We all know the story, and it is easy at times to get on autopilot and hear the readings as sort of a long b-z-z-z-z-z-z. Today I want to look again as some of the things where we say, “OK, OK, and what’s that? … never mind. Back to the story.” Let’s begin with the Old Testament reading from Isaiah 50. Verses 4-11 are referred to as one of the Songs of the Suffering Servant and those are prophecies of Jesus’ Passion. Here, Isaiah is telling us he has the gifts of a “well-trained tongue.”

This Gift from God is an answer to what Isaiah said in Isaiah 6:5-8. (↔ Click Link) In that passage he bemoaned his unclean lips so an angel took a burning coal in some tongs and cleaned his lips. The Lord God of Hosts – Jehovah Sabaoth (ṣə-ḇā-’ō-wṯ) – proclaims “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then Isaiah says emphatically “Here am I; send me!” (↔ Music Link) Now, that’s what all of us should say when the opportunity comes up to be of service to someone. Remember, they can see the Jesus in us if we look for the Jesus in them? In our Key Verse, he describes how Jesus was able to leave the Garden of Gethsemane and – with the same steadfast determination we have seen all the way on this Journey to Jerusalem – he moved forward into his Passion. He fixed his whole being – body mind, and Spirit on what must be done … then he did it. We may not feel like we have a well-trained tongue, but we most certainly can make up our own body, mind, and spirit to do what God asks. There’s an APP for that.

Our Key Verse from the Psalms is part of David’s Prophecy of Jesus’ Passion and Crucifixion. I have sometimes wondered if this was one of the songs the Disciples sang at the Last Supper. The first line of it is included in the Seven Last Words of Christ – My God! Why have you abandoned me? (↔ Music Link) There are plenty of beautiful explanations of what that meant to Jesus while he was dying. This old man likes the idea in the tradition that says all Jewish men knew the Psalms by heart and upon hearing the first line, they could recite that Psalm to the end. Here is a version of that ending:
Psalm 22:29-31 [1] (GNT) –
29 All proud people will bow down to him;
all mortals will bow down before him.
30 Future generations will serve him;
they will speak of the Lord to the coming generation.
31 People not yet born will be told:
“The Lord saved his people.”
That is the Victory of the People of God!

For our Key Verse from the Epistles, I’ve given us a note about the word “emptied” because it means more than just what comes to mind when we think of pouring out a vessel. I am always reminded of the Christmas song “Come to My Heart, Lord Jesus.” (↔ Music Link) Jesus gave up being God! to become like us – the creatures HE created – and he allowed us to kill him in the most gruesome way. The passage cited is referred by some as a “Hymn of Kenosis” or kenotic hymn. It reinforces and exemplifies Jesus words in Mark 10:32-45. That passage is the third time that Jesus tells them about his Passion and Resurrection, and tells them “and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” There we see the true result of Jesus’ kenosis – to empty out, render void, seen as without value or recognition. And yet, Belovéd, he was still God and part of the Holy Trinity throughout all Eternity. AMEN to that! As a human earthling, he did not use his Omnipotence to escape the agony of the Cross. Instead, he knowingly, willingly, humbly, quietly, and completely surrendered to his death, even death on a cross. When we meditate on those last hours, those last words, those last gurgling breaths, we might experience those moments of contemporaneous concomitance (See 1620.5AFC051616 Contemporaneous Concomitance) and stand with the Apostle John and the three Marys while our hearts break to see him suffer so. Selah.

Next we move to the Gospel Key Verses.

This account takes place at the home of Simon the Leper in Bethany. The note provided along with the Key Verses give us most of the information we need so as to come to an understanding that Jesus spent some time with some very dear friends before finishing his Journey to Jerusalem. Jesus was in Bethany, close to Bethphage Βηθφαγή, (Béthphagé) {bayth-fag-ay’} which is from an Aramaic word meaning “Place of new – or unripe – figs” near the base of the Mount of Olives. While reclined at table (chairs were not used as in this image), an unnamed woman anoints him with nard. As the lovely fragrance fills the air, some of the guests complain it is too extravagant. Jesus quiets them with yet another reference to his impending Sacrifice: Mark 14:8-9 – 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial. 9 Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her. ʻŌmea, have we done what we could to unite our lives with Jesus’ last hours? The opportunity is always there; bet to act on it before the cock crows thrice in our lives!

Now, we turn to our question of the week, “Who has done this?” Who can unfetter mind, heart, and soul to walk that lonesome Journey to Jerusalem with Jesus? God willing, and with our commitment, we have traveled these first six weeks of Lent together, and we’re going to see the King of the Universe die a shameful death all alone, cold, beaten and battered. Still, he asks his Father’s forgiveness for the ones who have done this to him: us. He asks God to forgive us because we don’t know what we’re doing when we walk away from Our Father into the seemingly warm arms of sin only to find ourselves in freezing fire. Instead we must recall that The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced.

Jesus surrendered everything for us. What will we surrender, empty of ourselves, to come to know who we are in Christ? Can I, can you, can we surrender all? (↔ Music Link) We have walked with Jesus as earthlings for many days – for some of us it is our entire life to be on this road with him and with each other. Knowing that the Journey to Jerusalem ends at Calvary is, frankly, a terrifying thought. But we know a Secret that God himself has told us: “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” When you listen to the reading of The Passion, think of Love. It is the greatest Love Story ever told. We will walk with Jesus all the way to Easter next week and ask “When did we know?” Think about that for me, OK? Then next week let’s share what we know about when we knew. You can send your memories to this email address. Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea!

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

Creative Commons License
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)  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

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