Aloha Friday Message – November 3, 2023 – Take Time To Be Holy

November 3, 2023

2344AFC110523 – Take Time To Be Holy (↔ Music Link)

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   1 Thessalonians 2:8 – 8 So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.

Matthew 23:11-12 – 11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

Malachi 2:10 – 10 Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our ancestors?

Psalm 131:2-a –
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother

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. Today’s title is taken from an old hymn, “Take Time to be Holy” by William Dunn Longstaff (1822-1894). I hope you will take time to listen to the Bowers Family Singers as they sing this beautiful and poignant hymn from the late 19th century. Time is the only resource that is equally accessible to everyone. My late friend Joann Hauler used to say, “We all get the same suitcase. How we pack is what makes the difference.” There are 168 hours in a week. If we suppose that it takes 30 minutes to get dressed and go to church, an hour in church, and 30 minutes to get back home, that’s two hours a week given to God. Two divided by 168 = 1.2% of a week. That’s a pretty small tithe! A true and willing tithe – 10% – would be about 17 hours a week. Seventeen divided by 7 = 2.4 hours per day. Not many of us are able (or willing!) to arrange our lives to put in that much time daily. Still, how can we follow The Apostle Paul’s teaching to “pray without ceasing?” Well, one way is to make our whole day a prayer as described in 2221AFC052722 – Make me an offer(ing)! You can find a suggested format here.

These suggestions are offered as ways to use our time rightly instead of unfruitfully. That’s what the Prophet Micah was writing about. This book of prophecy was written around 730-700 BC – a contemporary of the prophets Isaiah and Hosea – during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Jotham was a godly king. His son, Ahaz, was a complete opposite of his dad. Eventually, Ahaz’s son Hezekiah became a godly king who reopened the Temple built by Solomon. He saw to it that only the True God was worshipped and did away with the abominable practice of setting up idols of other gods inside the Temple! If we apply our theme for today, Ahaz and Hezekiah made time to be holy and saw to it that their “family” – the Kingdom of Judah – had time for that, too.

We can see in our Key Verse from Micah that his declaration was proclaiming Jehovah as the one father of Israel. The priests and other components of the national governance desecrated the convenance established in the Shema: Sh’ma Yis’ra’eil Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad. “Hear, Israel, (↔ Music Link) the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.” This declaration by Moses is so powerful! The connotation is “hear, listen to this, and obey.” In this “hearing” one achieves consent, agreement, and understanding because what is heard is so undeniably clear it goes straight to our hearts. We know we have heard Truth speak, and when Truth speaks, there is Life. Do you remember what Jesus said about truth? John 8:32 – 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” And Truth? John 14:6b – “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

That is the Life that comes from the listening. It is Everlasting Life that renews us. That renewal is testified to by God himself during Jesus’ Transfiguration. When we take time to be Holy, when we make our day-to-day lives a prayer, then we are getting a taste of that Everlasting Life – the Good Life. Have you heard this before: “Why would you ever want anything less than that?” Yeah. Me too. That redundancy is one of the reasons we have this weekly study. It might add 10-15 minutes to our 1.2%; listening to the (↔ Music Link) (not this one, though) might add an additional 0.2% so that we end up with (1.45/168) X 100=2.1%, a pretty decent increase. So, that’s part of why these end up in your inbox. But there’s more to it than that. The Apostle Paul gave us a hint.

“So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.” I have absolutely no doubt about the origin of this ministry. It is the accepting of the Gift by accepting the Promise of The Call. That Call was “Preach my Word” when I was a sophomore in high school, but that morphed a bit when I converted in 1969. I understood that Call as “Teach my Word.” That mission started around 1951-52, and I still haven’t finished responding to that Call mainly because there is such JOY in teaching! I agree with The Apostle Paul when he wrote to the Church in Philippi in Philippians 1:3-5-a  – 3 I thank my God every time I remember you, 4 constantly praying with JOY in every one of my prayers for all of you, 5 because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. And that’s the Truth! On one hand, it makes me excited to get to the keyboard and letting the Holy Spirit pull things together. On the other hand, it is calming to be in his presence and feel my hands following his leading. It is like the Key Verse from Psalm 131 above – “2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother.” A nursing baby is fussy and restless, but a weaned child is contented and at rest. It is that kind of contentment I feel as the pages fill up.

Sometimes (last week for example), it’s more difficult; usually, though, I just relax and let it flow in JOY.[1] That JOY is a product of living in Hope. Back at the end of September when we spoke about Nemo, we read about Hope: “It is the Grace of Hope. Godly Hope is the combination of desire (it’s what we want) and expectation – (we believe we will receive it).” Well, just what – exactly – are we desiring and expecting? There’s a really great answer in 1 Peter 1:5-7 – 5  [you] who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, 7 so that the genuineness of your faith – being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. That’s quite a huge Hope! But, wait a minute – what about those different kinds of troubles? Are we experiencing that as well?

According to report from Open Doors Research (↔ Learning Link): North Korea is the most dangerous place for persecution of Christians; world-wide last year 5,621 Christians were martyred for their faith; over 2,000 churches were attacked; and 140,000 Christians were displaced. (see the link above for more details). That’s from last year. In 2023 we know it’s going to be much, much larger. These data include only Christian persecutions. They do not include Muslim or Jewish murders and persecutions, or deaths from warfare. That is indeed a heaping heap of “difficulties.” Reports of corporate, governmental, and even inter-religious prejudices, mistreatments, and shady activities are “in the news” almost daily. I put that in quotes because there are maybe only a handful of news agencies that cover “nothing but the facts, ma’am.” How can so many groups be so hateful about so many other people? “I’m offended,” and “You’re a threat” are the go-to accusations in this era of decline in faith, worship, and morality. The resulting decline in real justice and corresponding need for constant, efficacious prayer leaves one breathless. How can the Body of Christ aspire to holiness under all this persecution (even if we in the US of A are not in the top-50)? Our Gospel Key Verse points the Way.

Matthew 23:11-12 – 11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted. During his ministry, does it seem to you that Jesus might have been persecuted – not just during his Passion, but during the long, circuitous path he and the Apostles traveled while delivering the Gospel. What is the greatest way to be great? It is to be humble which is why we use this as a reminder: Be Humbe Like Jesus. How does that work, anyway?

    Once again, we can turn to the first letter of The Apostle Peter. 1 Peter 1:14-16 – 14 Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. 15 Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” OK, how do we start on that. Let’s check out The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Ephesians 5:18c-20 – … be filled with the Spirit, 19 as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, 20 giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here’s an example of one I found recently – although it’s not the one by Thurlow Spurr and the Spurrlows. It’s called Happy Am I (↔ Music Link).

In closing (finally), I’ll just say I’m recommending that instead of “make time” to be holy, just be holy. I know, that’s a big ask, but we have a Big God, and  and he created us so he could Love us and then we can Love him in return (See 1 John 4:19 again because it’s the core of the Absolutely Perfect Plan. YOLO-F!  Seriously, look it up, now). It can seem hard at first, but if we start at the beginning of each day, we’re off to a good start of a good day! Knowing that all the praise we can offer to God for his goodness is never really enough, we can humbly try to do just a wee-bit more each day to BHLJ, and then pray and sing like only God and all his Angels and Saints are watching. Believe me, with them as an audience, we never need to feel nervous. Next time we sing the Goria at Mass, remember that the Angels (including our guardian angels!)are also singing with us. Try listen. It’s always holy, humble, and heartening. GBUA!

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] Why do I capitalize JOY? It’s an old “formula” I learned in Vacation Bible School – probably about 4th grade. The formula describes an easy way to arrange our time and interactions, even our giving: J is for Jesus. O is for Others. Y is for You. When we make that ordering of our priorities, we truly do TAKE TIME TO BE HOLY.

 

 

Aloha Friday Message – October 27, 2023 – Look, Taste, See, Learn

October 27, 2023

2343AFC102723 – Look, Taste, See, Learn. Lotsa words here.

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. Continue reading →

Aloha Friday Message – October 20, 2023 – God did that!

October 20, 2023

2342AFC102023 – God did that!

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    Isaiah 44:24a, 28-45:1 – 24 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, … 28 who says of Cyrus, “He is my shepherd,
and he shall carry out all my purpose”;
and who says of Jerusalem, “It shall be rebuilt,”
and of the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.”

45 1 Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped
to subdue nations before him
and strip kings of their robes,
to open doors before him—
and the gates shall not be closed!

Isaiah 45:4-6 –
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
I surname you, though you do not know me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;
besides me there is no god (↔ Music Link) .
I arm you, though you do not know me,
6 so that they may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is no one besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.

Psalm 96:1 –
1 O sing to the Lord a new song (↔ Music Link),
sing to the Lord, all the earth.

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 – 2 We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 22:21 c – “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. Today is Friday, October 20, 2023. It is the 293rd day of the year. There are 72 days left in 2023. I think all of us will agree this has been an extraordinary year so far, and it’s likely to get even more extraordinary before 2024 opens up before us. Many of us have had a difficult year. Some of us have had a horrible year. A few of us have had a great year. ALL of us have memories of 2023 that will last us for the rest of our lives, memories we will end up sharing with our grandchildren who will pass them on to their grandchildren. In my heart of hearts I hold the hope that somehow all this chaos will be resolved; but, that little man in the right-rear quadrant of my brain keeps saying, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

Recently we’ve mentioned the “birth pangs” Jesus spoke of when describing the “end times.” If, indeed, what we are seeing now is just the birth pangs, then the pandemonium lurking just outside the door (see Genesis 4:7) is something I don’t want to see or endure. That’s kinda crazy, because if these days are the birth pangs, and if the next item on the program is The Tribulation (with or without the Parousia), then – as a person of Faith – I should be jumping for joy because everything is going as planned, and the Day of Resurrection is in sight. The World would judge me as just plain crazy, another religious nut. You’ve probably seen this little meme before, so you’ll understand why it is very important that we do not pay attention to the World’s judgments!

We know the way God works – he does everything perfectly! (Remember the Absolutely Perfect Plan). We don’t do that because we can’t do that. We are broken, imperfect because of sin. That’s why he’s God and we’re not (despite what certain Hollywood nuts say). This Sunday, we’re going to talk about one of the guys God stirred up to do what God had planned. It’s a pretty good story. We’ll hear about Cyrus, ruler of the Medes and Persians – the same guy who defeated Babylon and returned the Jews to Jerusalem after 70 years of exile there. Here’s the back-story on that.

One of our Key Verses today is from the book of the Prophet Isaiah. Isaiah’s prophesies were made the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, all of which ruled in the closing years of the eighth century B.C. (ca. 740 – 701 B.C.). What’s really cool about this prophecy is that Isaiah specifically named Cyrus, who wasn’t even born yet! Cyrus was born around 585 ± 5 BC, around 150 years later! He was not a Jew, but rather a gentile. God refers to him as “his anointed” in Isaiah 45:1 – 1 Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their robes, to open doors before him — and the gates shall not be closed. ALL the kings of Israel were anointed, and Cyrus was a Gentile whom God himself anointed with his Spirit. (See 2012AFC032020 – Anointed for Good for more information). After being whupped by just about every empire in history and carted off to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, I imagine the Jews looked at this new, young military leader as just another oppressor. “Here we go again. Now what?” They seem to have forgotten that God himself had chosen Cyrus and told them “Cyrus will do what I tell him to do. Jerusalem will be rebuilt and all of you will go there.” From Genesis to Malachi, God tells his people I am the Lord over 160 times. You’d think they’d remember! Another of our Key Verses says 5 I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides me there is no god. So, what are we supposed to do with that?

Cyrus was the leader of the Persians, conquered the Medes and united the Iranian people under one ruler for the first time. Cyrus became the first king of the Persian Empire; under his remarkable leadership he was able to establish one of the largest and most enduring empires in history. He was very tolerant of other religions (he himself appears to have followed Zoroastriansim), and in short order determined that the violent and dehumanizing repression of Babylonia against the Hebrews must be reversed. He sent several delegations back to Israel with instructions to rebuild the altars, the temple, and the city walls. It was at this time that the Second Temple was built.

(This is where I’m supposed to insert Micah 6:8 again. We should all have that memorized by now.) We should also be thinking about the two greatest commandments – love God completely and love our neighbors (including our enemies) the same way Jesus loves us. That’s God’s plan for us – the APP. It’s a pretty simple plan if you really think about it. Trouble is, it seems to be “too simple for our complex minds and hearts.” The folks who manage to figure out how it works and get’r done are the folks we name as Saints. Now, of course, all of the people saved by Grace are “the Saints of God,” but the exemplary ones are those who “do small things with great love.” We are all called to that kind of greatness. We who are baptized are also anointed Priest, Prophet, and King. If we think it was amazing that God would have Cyrus named as “his anointed” 150 years before it happened, then how great is it that millennia before we came on the scene, God named us – each and every person reading this – as his anointed? Yes! God did that! If God has prepared that for us, what ought we to prepare for him? I am not a Priest like Saint Pope John Paul II, I am not a Prophet like Isaiah, and I am not a King like Cyrus; but, I am chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. (See Ephesians 1:4) I am, you are, we are chosen and anointed by God, in God, and for God. As we hear in the Eucharistic Doxology, it is our call to live this proclamation as a core value in our lives: “Through him, and with him, and in him, O God, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, forever and ever. Amen.” We are a community of faith. We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Everyone in our lives is affected by our anointing. For most of us, though, that’s no big whoop; that is, unless we are counting our burdens instead of our blessings. That sort of focused awareness is pretty depressing because we concentrate too much on what we don’t have and overlook everything we do have. If we are living in accordance with Christ’s Law of Love, we know, see, and understand how God’s Grace gifts us with extraordinary treasures. That kind of focused awareness gives us a predisposition to value God’s Love deeply and also inspires us to make a return on that love. God invests us – clothes us in Christ – so that when we return the Love of Christ to God and to neighbor our blessings are increased. If we give whatever belongs to God to someone or something else in the World, we should not be surprised that our investing in the World does not produce spiritual blessings. Those investments only satisfy our liabilities to the law. Investing in the World is about the same thing as paying our taxes. That’s the lesson Jesus was teaching when the Pharisees plotted to entrap him by asking, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” (See Matthew 24:17). Jesus told them, “Show me the coin used for the tax.” Now we recently said something about this particular coin. It was a Denarius showing the image of Tiberius Caesar, Emperor in Jesus’ day. It was a tribute tax, a way of paying Caesar for his “protection” (under his thumb!). Jesus held the coin so the Disciples of the Pharisees could see it and said, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” 21 They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Sometimes we earthlings have trouble sorting that out. Just what does belong to God? Let’s take a look at what Scripture says:

Psalm 24:1-2 – 1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, 2 for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.

1 Chronicles 29:11 – 11 Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.

Deuteronomy 8:17-18 – 17 Do not say to yourself, “My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.” 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, so that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors, as he is doing today.

Job 41:11 – 11 I am in command of the world and in debt to no one. Contemporary English Version (CEV)

The short answer, then, is that everything belongs to God. He made it, and it’s his to do with as he pleases. If you’ve ever received a gift that was far beyond anything you could have imagined, that’s what God’s Grace is like. He gives us more than we can comprehend or repay, so he just asks us to share a little of it with him and with our neighbors. It may look like we have a house, a car, a deed to property, a bank account, but all of those things come from God, and if they are his, we should use them as best befits their purpose – to give God the glory, the praise, the thanks, the adoration, and all the Good that flows from his generosity. We can use God’s car to take a friend to work. We can use God’s groceries to feed a grieving family. We can use God’s living room in our home to host a prayer meeting or Bible study. Whatever we have, we can use it for something greater in the Kingdom than what it is in the World. In fact, whatever we do in the Kingdom, whatever we add to the Kingdom, whatever share to the Kingdom has come to us from and through God. (See John 1:3-4) Even so, we can “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” The reason is simple: Everything belongs to God, ultimately even the things that belong to Caesar.

If everything belongs to God, then it follows that everyone belongs to God. Our life, our love, our worshiping, and honoring of God and neighbor belong to God. If we offer all that we have – body, mind, and spirit – to God and neighbor, what becomes of us and of our gifts? I believe the answer is in John 15:13 – 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. All Good things come from God, so whatever is Good in our lives comes from him, but who can repay him – and how? If we give him All That We Have (↔ Music Link), could it ever be enough? Could we give God and each other All That I am (↔ Music Link), and still come up short? We want to Love God for the Greatness of his Love, but in the Light of his Love ours is Only a Shadow (↔ Music Link). Still, I am certain you have felt moments in your life when you and God are very much in sync and you know firsthand that Great Things Happen (↔ Music Link) when God mixes with us! As we wind this up, let’s look at another amazing incident in God’s Absolutely Perfect Plan by turning to Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 2:

Acts 2:7-11 – 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs – in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”

Here we have a list of locations that include much of Cyrus’ empire. All these nationalities are brought together by Cyrus as commanded by God through the authority and protection of the Holy Spirit. Likewise, God’s Anointed, the Christ of God, establishes the Authority of God in Heaven and on Earth, over the Divine and the Human. The “Promised of Ages” has come to rule the World, not through the power of might, but through the Authority of the Law of Love – the same Law through Which and by Whom all of Creation was formed. It was, is, and will be through God’s Authority that the universe – including you and me – was created. In God’s Omniscience, he meticulously pronounced the name CYRUS 150 years in advance to show how the Mercy of God surpasses any human expectation or understanding. There is no greater Authority than Truth, and the LORD declares “I the Lord speak the truth, I declare what is right.” The Truth is what is right. God did that “etiam pro nobis,” – even for us. He placed in us the Light of the World so we could be a Light to the Nations. (See Isaiah 49:6) Yes, Belovéd! God did that!

LIGHT ≡ GOD ≡ LOVE ≡ TRUTH ≡ WAY ≡ LIFE ≡ ETERNAL ≡ JUSTICE ≡ TRUTH

≡ ONE GOD IN THREE PERSONS

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.

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

Belovéd, we are chosen for greatness in and through Love. Isn’t that great?

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

 

 

Aloha Friday Message – October 13, 2023 – Come and get it!

October 13, 2023

2341AFC101323 – Come and get it!

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 25:6 –
6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines,
of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.

Psalm 23:5 –
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

Philippians 4:12 – 12 I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need.

Matthew 22:10-14 – 10 “Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! I pray that the following passage may be the way your heart opens for today’s message: Ephesians 1:17-18 – 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) click it now, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints

Before we begin, let’s all take a quick mental pause and ask for an end to the wars in Ukraine and Israel. As we read in Matthew 24:6-8 – 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famine [and pestilences] and earthquakes in various places: 8 all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs. Therefore, as you well know Belovéd, we must prepare ourselves for what is yet to come. “The Times, They Are A-Changin’.” The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news. (See Mark 1:15) We are going to find our faith in God tested by persecutions (See Mark 10:28-30), by fear and doubt, and we will surely prevail if we do what he tells us. Here are a few examples:

  • Ecclesiastes 10:2 – 2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of a fool to the left.
  • Isaiah 30:21 – 21 And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
  • Jeremiah 6:16 – 16 Thus says the Lord: Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.
    But they said, “We will not walk in it.”
  • Matthew 17:5 – 5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”

In the Book of Proverbs, we read about the feast prepared by Wisdom: She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine, she has also set her table. (See Proverbs 9:2) This is a poetic description of a sumptuous feast. The meal includes huge quantities of food. Here we recall the great Marriage Feast of the King in Matthew 22. The feast is immense and the King has invited many, but they give him the brush-off with all sorts of excuses about being unable to attend. The wine has been mixed with spices to make the meal even more extravagant, but the invitees don’t care. Eventually the King invited every stranger his servants could find. He supplied each of them with a Wedding Garment – a long-standing custom in the region – which demonstrated traditional generous hospitality, but one man refused (or neglected) to wear it and was thrown out. God in his Wisdom invites all and provides for all the garment of repentance (See 1743AFC102717). Wisdom’s feast is also for all who will come.

Just as the Kings servants called everyone from everywhere to the King’s Wedding Feast,  She has sent out her servant-girls, she calls from the highest places in the town, 4 “You that are simple, turn in here!” The gates are open, the doors as well, and the invitation is everywhere. She especially calls on those most in need of her feast and her dwelling: To those without sense she says, 5 “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. 6 Lay aside immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight.” Clearly it would be wiser to accept her invitation than to continue to live in ignorance. We are called to be wise, and to be wise is to be obedient to God. We must be obedient to Christ’s Law of Love: 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.” Of all the things Jesus said, I rank this highest. This is the garment we are to wear – the Love of Christ – when we accept the call to repentance.

Jesus frequently pointed out that answering that command to love one another required a radical change in one’s life (we’ve discussed metanoia previously). If a Disciple was not able to sustain that level of commitment, they “fell away” from discipleship. They were left out. This is the basic message of everything in the Bible. We are to love God and love our neighbor. In and through that love, we find ways to obey God, to draw ever closer to him, and to find the strength to keep our commitment to his love. As stated here repeatedly, everyone is called, everyone is invited, the Wedding Feast is open to anyone who will come in and honor the Bridegroom. Resistance is foolish. We must assimilate. If someone wishes to be welcomed into the Body of Christ – that is, The Church – s/he must be willing to be fully incorporated into the Church, fully loyal to her mission, and fully obedient to ALL her teachings, rules, and sacraments. I strongly urge you to become thoroughly aware of the questions posed for the Synod on Synodality. They can be found here and find Pope Francis’ answers can be found here. This will, of course, require a good deal of extra effort on our part, but we must be prepared to take up our defense of the authority of Tradition.

In the Wedding Parables, those who could not do that were “bound hand and foot and cast out into the darkness where there was weeping and grinding of teeth” (paraphrasing there). Yes, we can be thrown out of the party, even if we think we belong there! Check out this passage:

Matthew 7:21-23 – 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’” Just who are these who are the “many,” the ones who expect Jesus to wave them into Heaven along with all the righteous? They are the “Sunday-goin’-t’meetin‘ (↔ Music Link)” Christians. They are the folks who associate with the Church because they think hanging out with believers is all they need, but are only superficially tied to the church. Many passages in the Epistles and catholic letters deal with members of the early church who are abusing the fellowship (koinónia) of the Christian community. They refused their wedding garment.

The Wedding Garment was a tradition wherein the patron of the wedding provided a garment for all the guests. It was a visible test of loyalty and love for the patron. The man in our Gospel reading refused to wear the garment provided. His defiance was clear to all around him. He arrogantly considered himself sufficiently “royal not loyal,” and dared to walk into the banquet hall without the proper vestments. If we look around the world today, we see many such guests who are invited to the Wedding Feast, but will no put on the Wedding Garment – the Love of Christ. The wedding garment was an outward sign of an inner reality. Those guests who chose to wear it were inwardly committed to the King. Their heartfelt attendance and proper decorum was an endorsement of the King’s authority and goodwill. It was the internal disposition of respect that engendered the external expression of that respect. Likewise, it is the internal disposition to love and obey God that engenders the outward expression of that love and obedience. It is the decision to give God primacy in all things that empowers and inspires us to come to the Table of Plenty and to be welcomed there. I refer you again to the article in ATXCATHOLIC for a great teaching on this.

In Scripture, we read of many Old Testament customs which still exist today in some form, but we often have little understanding of the origin or importance of those signs or types in the Old Testament. We see one of them in our Key Verse from Psalms. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. In the Psalmist’s day, guests were anointed with fragrant oil to refresh them after their journey. It was a sign of hospitality, one of the foundational principles in the heritage of Israel. The overflowing cup reinforces this hospitality as being expressed in great generosity. This sort of extravagant generosity was an expression of humility, not pride, because it was committed to honor the guest, not the host. Now we begin to see the true power of these words from Psalms. God has prepared a feast for us in the presence of our enemies and has blessed us with an extravagant banquet of his Hospitality.

Like The Apostle Paul, we place our faith fully in God and “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (See Romans 8:28) In our own lives we know that wherever evil seems to prevail, God’s Love ultimately conquers. We may still have to fight the battle, but “31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?” (Romans 8:31) God is the Patron who sets the Wedding Feast. Who is the Bride? The Church is the Bride. Who is the Groom? The Christ is the Groom, crowned with many crowns (↔ Music Link). This also refers back to Old Testament treasures concerning the Wedding Feast. Usually the entire village gathered for a wedding. At the beginning of the wedding celebration, in the evening, the bridegroom, accompanied by his friends, went to fetch his betrothed from her father’s house. He would wear particularly splendid clothing and sometimes even a crown. Jesus is “crowned with many crowns” because he is the King of kings and the Lord of lords who will reign forever and ever.

At the wedding feast in our Gospel Key Verse, none of the guests were “worthy.” (“Lord, I am not worthy (↔ Music Link) that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.)The King invited all the uppity-ups and they all turned him down because they thought they were too worthy in their own selves to be at the wedding. Therefore, the King invited all the riff-raff, the ragamuffins, and the marginalized. As they entered, they were treated to the King’s extravagant hospitality. So it is with us Belovéd. We are invited to the King’s extravagant banquet a Table of Plenty (↔ Music Link). I have wondered at times what’s on that banquet table. Jesus ate food after his Resurrection, so perhaps we will as well but there is no “menu” given in Scripture. We will feast in the presence of the Risen Christ and share in the joyous worship and adoration of our Eternal Triune God. We can only attend that feast if we answer the call (↔ Learning Link). What will be our wedding garment? The Love of Christ. (↔ Music Link) At our Baptism, we are clothed in white or receive a white covering. Consider this from ATXCATHOLIC: (↔ WONDERFUL Learning Link!) We receive our wedding garment when we are “baptized into Christ [and] clothed with Christ,” (Galatians 3:27) or as the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains, “Having become a child of God clothed with the wedding garment.” (CCC 1244) (↔ Click Link)

“Wars and rumors of wars” have captured our attention the past few months. It will get worse, way worse, as time goes by. We know where we are going, and we know Who’s going with us. We know Who we Love, and we know Who we will marry as the Church Triumphant. As of now we are the church Militant, and for some (perhaps most?) of us we will become the Church Suffering. But, as the Time and Times progress, we will be clothed in the white robes of the Wedding Garment and enter in to a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. It’s all part of God’s Absolutely Perfect Plan. SO ARE WE, BELOVÉD! Take a look at this image and chose which feast we can plan on attending together. Again I ask you to pray for Ukraine and Israel as well as the enemies that assail them and the many, many earthlings who will die because of this. Jesus told us to pray for our enemies. We are not in either of those countries, we are not at war with either of their persecutors; however, we are at war with the entities behind these vicious, evil, wars – Satan and his minions both human and demonic. They will not be invited. Will we be chosen to enter into the feast? Jesus said, “Many are called but few are chosen. How shall we be among the chosen? By accepting God’s extravagant hospitality and choosing to wear the Wedding Garment God himself has provided: The Love of Christ internally and externally.

As with the King in the Parable of the Wedding Feast, we have received multiple invitations: John 13:34, John 15:17, 1 John 3:11, 1 John 3:23. Let us therefore in all humility don the Wedding Garment our King has provided because – as The Apostle Paul has told us in Corinthians 13:4-8a – 4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. That’s a tall order, but it is already on the menu for the Final Wedding Feast, so COME AND GET IT! YOLO-F Blesséd be God forever in his Angles and his Saints – including us! Consider this from 1935AFC083019 – … And me, your worthless servant.

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

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

 

Bonus (↔ Music Link)!

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 – October 6, 2023 – Fruit of the Branches

October 6, 2023

2340AFC100623 – Fruit of the Branches

I apologize for this being so long. Much has happened in the past week that requires prayerful attention and proclamation of the Word.

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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  Matthew 21:43 – 43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.   

   Isaiah 5:7 –
7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts
is the house of Israel,
and the people of Judah
are his pleasant planting;
he expected justice,
but saw bloodshed;
righteousness,
but heard a cry!

Psalm 80:8 –
8 You brought a vine out of Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.

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. The readings for this weekend – the 27th week in Ordinary Time – are about vineyards, grapevines, grapes, and vinedressers (sort of). Before we jump into what the Holy Spirit has for us today, I want to share something he suggested as an opener:

John 15:4-9 – 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, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become] my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.

* μένω (meno) {men’-o} – abide, remain, dwell, continue, tarry, endure; to remain, abide in reference to place, to sojourn, to tarry, not to depart, to continue to be present, to be held, kept continually; to continue to be, not to perish, to last, to endure; of persons: to survive, live, to remain as one, not to become another or different, to wait for someone In the Old Testament it is יָשַׁב (yashab) {yaw-shab’} – to sit, remain, dwell; abide, live, stay tarry, connect.

That’s a lot of stuff up there, so I should just get on with it. For the topic at hand, we begin with a riddle: 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 the tree? You want to say “a stick,” but that’s not correct. A branch cut off of the tree is kindling. Matthew 7:19 – 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. In either case, whatever is cut away ends up getting burned. I see you’ve figured out where we’re going with this, so “Per spem ad astra!” – Through hope to the stars (Or perhaps Per ardua ad astra! Through struggle to the stars.) Here we go!

Suppose I know that you really love grapes. I decide I want to give you a memorable present, so I go to a vineyard being pruned and gather up a few of the pruned branches, and wrap them in a pretty velvet bow as a friendship present to you. “Not much of a present,” you say. “What am I supposed to do with these? They’re already wilting.” You get the idea. You do not define your life, or anyone else’s, by the fruit that can’t be grown on pruned branches. Like the artist who discards everything he does not need in a chunk of marble so that only the figure remains, the branches that are pruned are discarded because they allow the true purpose of the vine to become manifest. The vine bears more fruit after it is pruned.

In the passages above, we see the Lord God is addressing Israel, the vineyard he transplanted from Egypt. We’ve spoken many times here about a type or figure. Egypt is the type for captivity in sin. God released Israel from their bondage in Egypt. God’s Son was called forth from Egypt after Joseph and Mary took him there when Herod wiped out the babies in Bethlehem. God is telling Israel through his servant and Prophet, Isaiah, that he rescued the chosen, fruitful vines of Israel and transplanted them after he cleared the land of the vineyard from all the weeds, junk, and corruption there. After treating them so carefully, they “went wild” on him and did not live up to the promise of rich fruit that was expected. There are really strong lessons for us in this collection of readings for Sunday. We can start with Jesus’ words in the Gospel of Matthew. They directly echo God’s words through Isaiah: Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.

This Gospel quote comes from the Parable of the Wicked Tenants. A landowner planted a vineyard and leased it out. The tenants did not pay him his share of the crops. He twice sent emissaries to ask for their cooperation, but they abused his messengers and even killed one. At last he sent his son, believing that they would surely not harm him. Instead they plotted against him and killed his son as well. We can see plainly enough with our 2023 hindsight that this is about Israel and Jesus, the Son of the Landowner. At the end of the parable, the people who heard it passed judgments on those evil tenants: They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.” We can easily understand “God is due what (and who) belongs to him.” And we also understand that if we refuse to Repent and Believe the Gospel, we will be among the kindling.

In the “Song of the Vineyard” in Isaiah, God wanted Israel (and ultimately Believers) to abide in him, to be fruitful in and for and through him. Instead they bore wild, practically unusable fruit. One can make wine from wild grapes, but it is sour-tasting beyond the flavor of common “dry wines.” We can imagine a community of “wild men,” but it would be a community of adversity. Even wild grapes can be pruned and cultivated, but the “wildness” doesn’t really depart from them. Good vines should produce good wines, but sometimes vines go haywire and lose their goodness. The same things happen to people, right? But suppose we have good vines, an expert vine dresser, knowledgeable vineyard workers, and all the right equipment to gather and process the fruit. What then?

The good fruit is harvested only from the good branches of the good vines, and the good branches only produce good fruit if they are part of the good vines. It’s time to stop beating around the bush (or rather vines) and get to the point: Am I, are you, are we among the branches pruned away? Is our spiritual life wilting and drying up because we’re no longer connected to the Vine? “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” Most of us who are reading this are abiding in him. Someone who is not abiding in him is probably in one of two categories: Either they have been pruned away, or they have not been branches of the True Vine.

Consider this from Matthew 7:15-16 – 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? Another translation puts it like this: Matthew 7:16 (ICB) – 16 You will know these people because of the things they do. Good things don’t come from bad people, just as grapes don’t come from thornbushes. And figs don’t come from thorny weeds. [1] In this example, Jesus is talking about false prophets, but doesn’t it seem possible it could also be referring to false believers or even unbelievers? “Oh, but we can’t call them ‘bad people.’ That’s prejudicial. We might damage their self-esteem!” If Jesus also described them as looking like sheep but underneath being ravenous wolves, that sounds like ‘bad people’ to me. Is it really possible that there are some people who cannot bear the Fruit of the True Vine even though they look like every other thing/person in the vineyard? You already know the answer to that. Would it surprise us to be able to actually see that? If we look, listen, and ponder, we will understand – we cannot bless what is wicked any more than we can eat thorns and call them figs. Such condonation leads to death for both the sinner and the condoner. Remember Phineas and Hophni whose allegiance was to Satan, not God. Their father, the priest Eli did chide them but did not condemn them. As a result the two sinful men died and later Eli died (see 1 Samuel 4:11-18). If any of us are unfamiliar with this account we should study it carefully. There is a faction in the Church that seeks to condone what is clearly evil and prohibited in Scripture, Tradition, and Church Teaching. A list of some of those things is found in the passage above from Galatians 5:19-23. I also offer this for more insight: Romans 1:26-32 – 26 For this reason God gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error.

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind and to things that should not be done. 29 They were filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, they are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious toward parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 They know God’s decree, that those who practice such things deserve to die — yet they not only do them but even applaud others who practice them. Whenever any of these is condoned, when any of these are absolved without repentance, THE SINNER AND THE CONDONER WILL DIE FOREVER. YOLO-F! Belovéd, pay attention to what is happening in the Synod on Synodality and watch carefully as questions and answers are published!

No fruit will come from a vine or a tree or grass or wheat or any green growing thing unless it has its roots in a nourishing environment. Belovéd, where are your roots? I hope by now you know where mine are – they are in the Word, not the World. I make it a point throughout every day that I must be in the Vine. Those who know me best know that in addition to being in the vine daily, I also need (and often receive) a severe and well-deserved pruning as well. Let’s grab another branch from these roots. Here we go with another flashback:

1518AFC050115 – Fruit to Root You can sort of make a climbing rose look like a grape vine by tying clusters of grapes to it. You can make a cactus look like it is bearing figs by sticking them to the thorns. Would that really fool anyone? Yet sometimes we try to do that with our lives; we try to make them appear as though we are yielding spiritual fruits by showing the outward signs of them. Do those signs last? If they don’t start at the root, then of course they don’t last! The same is true of false prophets. They drape themselves with the supposed fruits of their prophecy, but everything they produce smells of decay and ruin. They reek of the fruits of the flesh as found in Galatians 5:19-23 – 19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21 envy [and murder] drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (my emphasis added) 22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.

In this time of upheaval we could also add terror, murder, blasphemy, deceit, persecutions, violence, evil appetites, abortion, addictions, slander, libel, calumny, and many, many other similar evil things. When people produce this kind of fruit, it is because of where their roots are growing. It grows from a bad tree and produces only bad fruit. When that fruit is fed to others, it takes root in them as well – we are what we eat. If, then, Christ is in us, then the fruit we bear will be good fruit if we remain in HIM. Will parts of our lives be like a slightly-fruitful vine that is pruned away to make better growth? Will we remain true to our roots? Will we produce the fruits to feed others? When such as these look at us, what might they find? Will they see a True Branch of the True Vine?

A condensed version of a story I heard from a Brother in 2011: A woman said, “I had a dream where I was in a line of people going into heaven. I looked across at the line of people going down into Hell. I saw the face of a friend. She looked over at me and said, “Why didn’t you tell me?” You know what, Beloved? There is a very good chance we are part of God’s intent to “fully supply all” that person’s (and even many others’) needs! What’s stopping us? Whatever it is, there is an eternal life-or-death decision we must make before it is too late. Let none of us be another stick in the … pile through condonation. Repent and Believe AND LIVE the Gospel! And what shall we do to live the Gospel?

Start with this: Philippians 4:8-9 – 8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (↔ Music Link) 9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. We can practice living by the GIGO rule – Gospel In, Gospel Out. And if we’re still unsure about how to stay connected with that True Vine, we have this from just up the page in Philippians 4:6-7 – 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. There’s an everlasting love (↔ Music Link) in that, Belovéd. I heard it through the grapevine (↔ Music Link – just for fun!), and maybe that’s another way to testify – just don’t gossip – EVANGELIZE! Maybe open a branch office?

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] International Children’s Bible (ICB) The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission from the Publisher

 

 

Aloha Friday Message – September 29, 2023 – DON’T FORGET NEMO

September 29, 2023

2339AFC092923 – DON’T FORGET NEMO

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.

    Ezekiel 18:27-28 – 27 Again, when the wicked turn away from the wickedness they have committed and do what is lawful and right, they shall save their life. 28 Because they considered and turned away from all the transgressions that they had committed, they shall surely live; they shall not die.

Psalm 25:6-7 –
6 Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.*
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for your goodness’ sake, O Lord!

Philippians 2:3-5 – 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus

Matthew 21:28-31 a – 28 “What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went. 30 The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir’; but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?”

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. You remember these guys, right? Nemo and his dad, Marlin and mom, Coral? Coral and her eggs are destroyed near the beginning of the movie, but one egg apparently survives and grows up to become Nemo. We should begin by telling why this post title is so strange. What’s Nemo got to do with anything? Let’s start with his name.

Nemo is a Latin word meaning “nobody.” In Homer’s Odyssey, when Ulysses blinds the Cyclops, the Cyclops asks him: “Who are you?” Ulysses replies (in the Latin translation): “Nemo.” When the Cyclops was later asked by his father Neptune: “Who did this to you?” he answers “Nobody did it.” In Greek, the name Nemo is ανώνυμος → anonymous I or no one. another word with the name connotation is Κανένας ka-‘ne-nas → nobody, no one and in “not any person.” Another odd “co-inkidink” is that Nemo lives in an anemone as in a-NEMO-ne. Get it? So, the movie is about a fish named Nobody who gets lost trying gather knowledge and he gets caught by a human and hustled off to Sydney Australia. His dad teams up with a ditzy Pacific regal blue tang name Dory and together they eventually locate Nemo. In just about 100 minutes we go through all sorts of internal and external conflicts, experience loss and gain, grab a little comedy along the way, and end up dismissing the whole thing as just another kids fable. Why, then, are we going to think about Nemo as we get into this message? Good question, Camper!

Where does Nemo’s adventure happen? In an OCEAN. Where does our adventure of Life happen? In an OCEAN OF GRACE (↔ Click Link). You can follow that link and find some additional insights. The Express Stop Summary for that is this: It is the 9th installment in the Series on Virtue and Sin. There we recount how we can open our hearts to let in Jesus or a demon. We spoke of “Grace upon Grace,” and showed that does not mean Graces piled on top of each other, but rather Great Grace exchanged for Greater Grace. When the inner furnishings of our hearts are in good order and clean, there is no place for the demon to take a place there. To ensure our hearts are ready for Jesus we recall Colossians 1:19-20 – 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. Jesus is the Fullness of God’s Immeasurable Grace, so when we open the door of our hearts (remember last week?), we get the WHOLENESS OF God! We live out our lives in an ocean of Grace. You may recall a lovely story by Steve Brown at KeyLife Ministries about a fish who swam in a Great Ocean but was afraid he would fall into the Great Abyss. He chose to try to hold his tail in his mouth so he couldn’t fall, but he wasn’t flexible enough to catch it. He started having a panic attack because of this and then a BIG VOICE (it was The Ocean) said, “What are you doing?”

“Oh,” said the fish, “I’m terrified of falling into the deep dark abyss, and I’m trying to catch hold of my tail in my mouth to hold myself up.”

So the ocean said, “Well, you’ve been trying that for a long time now, and still you have not fallen down. How come?”

“Oh, of course, I haven’t fallen down yet,” said the fish, “because … Well, because I’m swimming!

“Well,” came the reply, “I am the Great Ocean where you swim, and I have given all of myself to you in which to swim, and I support you all the time you swim, but here you are, instead of exploring the length, breath, depth and height of my expanse, you have been wasting your time pursuing you own end.”

We might be tempted to think , “Silly fishy! Do what God created you to do.” Hmmm. Sounds like good advice for us, too, yes? The love of God is like the ocean, you can see its beginnings but not its end. The Grace of God is the Great Ocean of His Love. He is the source of the Ocean of Grace. When you acknowledge Him, it is as if you are submersed in a vast ocean being fed by a fountain of purest water. You are standing in that fountain in the center of the center of the Crystal Sea drinking from a crystal cup filled to overflowing with God’s Endless Grace and Love, and this is available to every human soul alive today in Heaven and on Earth who chooses to Live in the Grace of God .  This is “so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.” ( See 1 Peter 4:7-11 And that’s the TRUTH!

Now, that Great Ocean of Grace is what we might recall is “Prevenient Grace.” It is the Grace of Hope. Godly Hope is the combination of desire (it’s what we want) and expectation – (we believe we will receive it). Prevenient Grace is Grace that’s given to all earthlings without any effort or contribution on their part; it’s like “standard equipment.” It means Salvation cannot be credited to believers’ enterprise because all they did was to accept what God had already provided – a Great Ocean of Grace. A fish gotta swim, and a sea’s the place for it. We can’t pay for the Great Ocean of Grace any more than we can pay for our own Salvation. Both of these are God’s Gifts, the Prevenient Gift of that Ocean of Grace is essentially irresistible if we are still alive. Salvation, on the other hand, is resistible which means that anyone can choose whatever is less than that. We must choose someone or something.

Everybody can choose a Life in Christ, but, not everyone will. We have an ocean of Grace surrounding and filling us. Oh! And now I know why I got up in the middle of the night a few years ago and wrote down this! “I have immersed my life in His Heart so that my heart can be entirely filled with Him.” Scroll up and look at that passage from Colossians. “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell …” As we’ve said, Jesus is the Fullness of God’s Immeasurable Grace, so when we open the door of our hearts, we get the WHOLENESS OF God! Therefore we are reconciled with him as part of “all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.” Now that will change the interiors of our hearts by placing Grace upon Grace!

In the past when I read that phrase, I thought it meant one grace piled on another grace – like a wall made of bricks – a fortress of Grace built with succeeding layers of God’s gifts. Then I actually looked at the language behind that verse and discovered I had the wrong idea. The Greek word meaning “upon” is the preposition ἐπί (epi) {ep-ee’}, but this verse says in Greek χάριν ἀντὶ χάριτος. John did not say χάριν ἐπὶ χάριτι; he said χάριν ἀντὶ χάριτος. That word in bold letters, ἀντὶ, is another familiar preposition anti – (anti) {an-tee’}. That word means “instead of; for; in place of; corresponding to.”  What difference does that make, after all, if grace is given in exchange for grace rather than on top of grace? How about if it signifies Grace that serves is the Grace of God and that Grace is within us? All of us already have Prevenient Grace, so when we take in the Great Graces of God we experience Sanctifying Grace, Grace that makes our souls holy and makes us the Children of God. God Gifts us with additional Graces – called “actual” Graces – actual here meaning a Grace that enables us to act in cooperation with God’s redemptive actions. These are like little nudges, or hints, or stirring events with which God blesses us. We can sure then say, “Your Grace Is Sufficient For Me.” (↔ Music Link)

Perhaps we could think of them as gentle (or heavy!) currents in that Great Ocean of Grace that move us toward Home. (Or maybe like a great migration of really cool sea turtles?) In addition to the terminologies of  Prevenient and Actual Grace we also have Justifying Grace which is the forgiveness of our sins through Baptism and brings us into “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ.” (CCC 1987). Justifying Grace is inextricably intertwined into Sanctifying Grace and together these Graces truly cleanse and free us from our sins. Because of our extraordinary gift of Free Will, these processes are always ongoing in Believers who refuse to coexist with serious sins cluttering up the interiors of their hearts. God’s Amazing Grace (↔ Music Link) takes care of that. I say again, “why would anyone want anything less?” Reflecting on that, one might ask, “Who is the person for whom salvation is not possible?” Wanna know the answer?

NEMO. That’s right! NEMO – NOBODY! Rewritten that says, “Nobody is the person for whom salvation is not possible.” Now, those of you who are grammar geeks like me will know that’s a double-negative which translates to “Everybody is the person for whom salvation is possible.” All of us live in the Great Ocean of God’s Grace because that is how and where he created us to be. Thinking back to the story of the fish trying to hold itself up in the waters, all we need to do to have Life is to Live as God intended us. Wanting anything less than that would be like that little fish deciding it wanted to walk out of the ocean and breathe in God’s Gigantic Ocean of Air. That may be good enough for a mermaid named Ariel, but it’s not good enough for us. DON’T FORGET NEMO. Remember, Nemo is nobody. God has forgotten Nobody in his Absolutely Perfect Plan, so that must mean we’re part of it – surprise! (↔ Click Link) Why would we want anything less?

Ephesians 2:4-9 – 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us 5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ —by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— 9 not the result of works, so that no one may boast. There’s no point in chasing pursuing our own ends to stay afloat in God’s Infinite Mercy. Otherwise, if we choose unwisely, we might have a misadventure like Nemo and Dory or even like The Three Little Fishies (↔ 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

 

Aloha Friday Message – September 22, 2023 – Who’s there?

September 22, 2023

2338AFC092223 – Who’s there?

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 55:6 –
6 Seek the Lord while he may be found, (↔ Music Link)
call upon him while he is near

Philippians 1:20-c – 21 – Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.

Psalm 145:18 –
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.

Matthew 20:14-15 – 14 Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous*?

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. We are already at the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time. There are only eight more weeks in Ordinary Time until we celebrate The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe on November 26th. At the outset today, I want to mention a previous post. In 1738AFC092217 – BHLJ! I urged all of us to “Be Humble Like Jesus” where I said – “The Apostle Paul tells us that Christ Jesus required, and submitted to, humility before all other things. It took humility to obey. It took humility to empty himself and become an earthling. It took humility to direct his life and our hearts to God. It takes Love to be humble. ‘Be Humble Like Jesus.’ B.H.L.J.” I guess if I really want to do that, I should have in me the same attitude as Christ. Maybe it would be wise to just listen to that little old guy in the back of my head, zip my lip, and light up my heart so I can clearly see all the things which I do that Jesus wouldn’t do. Please bear that challenging adage in mind as you continue to read.

We will begin with the Key Verse from the Gospel of Matthew. The landowner says Take what belongs to you and go. This comes as dusk is falling and the men are about to head home. What might this mean for us? What does Jesus, the ultimate landholder, give us to take before we go home? I think it is Jesus himself and the salvation that comes through him. The Apostle Paul advises we should “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” He is not saying we cannot depend on help from the Holy Spirit, but rather that we need to be attentive to how God is working within us to bring us closer to him. That attentiveness is something we should keep handy always.

Next the landowner says, “ I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?” When we belong to God, we allow him to be free to choose what is ours, to choose which Gifts he bestows through his Grace. His ways of choosing are incomprehensible to us, and the type and magnitude of his Gifts are beyond us. Recall that he says in Isaiah 55:9 –
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts. God is indeed omnibenevolent and omniscient; his gifts are magnificent – but they are Gifts and we can reject or even undervalue them. That’s what the men who had worked all day did.

They “decided” they should be paid more because they endured more. The landowner accuses them of being envious – in Greek the idiom is that they gave him the “evil eye” – because he is generous. It is the same when we “decide” that God “owes us” for all the good things we do when the truth is that what God owes us is (at the very least) chastisement. Now, if I were a laborer in that man’s neighborhood, I would certainly look for more opportunities to work for him. Would I always make sure to arrive just before dusk? The landowner gave the workers who arrived early a fair wage. He gave those who started later a generous wage. Either way, he was generous because he gave freely of what was his. God will do the same for all who willing labor in his vineyards. The “payment” for our lives in  his employment is eternal, everlasting life. That is certainly very generous! After all, our life comes from him and we hope it will return to him.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians about that. His life-goal was that in all things, Christ  would be exalted. What is “exalted?” It means praised, extolled, acclaimed, honored. He adds to that “in my body.” Many interpret The Apostle Paul’s statement in Galatians 6:17 – 17 From now on, let no one make trouble for me; for I carry the marks of Jesus branded on my body as meaning that he bore the stigmata, the marks of Jesus crucifixion. At the very least, The Apostle Paul’s back was scarred by all the floggings and beatings he received. (See a list in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28). He suffered much before he was executed. All of that was minor, in his heart and mind, compared to what Jesus suffered for him and for us. It is no wonder, then, that he said, “For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.” For those among us who also suffer – either because of illnesses or persecutions – we can understand that dying would be gain, but it will be all the more so if our living is in, with, for, and through Christ. We can offer our lives of suffering to be united with the suffering of Jesus and we will be living in, with, for, and through Jesus. We know that The Apostle Paul asked to be relieved of at least some of his suffering – his thorn in his side – and we also know Jesus told him, “My Grace is sufficient for you.” (↔ Music Link) I often have trouble remembering that, despite my many weaknesses because one of my greatest weaknesses is that I FORGET. Belovéd, when we forget, we often call out to God “Help me Lord!” (↔ Music Link) It is then we are reminded that it is his pleasure and will for us to call out to him.

Psalm 145:18 –
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth. This is a point where I wish to remind you again of 1738AFC092217 – BHLJ! That post featured this image. Use the link to the previous post for a larger view. I reiterate that this image has always been part of my life. It was seen in our home and in our church, in the houses of many of our family’s friends, and in our hearts and minds. How close must Jesus be if Jesus is knocking at the door of my soul? Do you recall who else is at that door, waiting for a chance to burst in? The Lord God told Cain in Genesis 4:7 – 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.” Cain did not master the temptation of sin. The Apostle Paul alludes to this in Ephesians 4:25-27 – 25 So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. 26 Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not make room for the devil. Who’s that knocking at my door? Well, if Jesus is in our hearts and fellowshipping with us, then that must be the Devil come a-knocking, and in that case we better ask Jesus, “Could you get that for me?”(↔ Learning Link) Adelphos, if Jesus is close enough to knock, (↔ Music Link) OPEN THE DOOR! Is there something in that space set aside for him that doesn’t belong there? THROW IT OUT! Ask the Holy Spirit to clean house for Jesus’ entry. Repent and Believe the Gospel isn’t just an idle slogan. And, if we have some reason to suspect that Jesus is not knocking at the door, CALL HIM UP AND ASK HIM OVER! (Psalm 145:18 again). Why?

Because of Isaiah 55:6 –
6 Seek the Lord while he may be found, (↔ Music Link)
  call upon him while he is near.  Now years ago I thought that verse said to see the Lord where he may be found because it said, “call upon him while he is near.” Well, DUH! It’s both! This requires some additional thought, so let’s expand the context by going to Isaiah 55:3-7 –
3 Incline your ear, and come to me;
listen, so that you may live.
I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
4 See, I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander for the peoples.
5 See, you shall call nations that you do not know,
and nations that do not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel,
for he has glorified you.

6 Seek the Lord while he may be found,
call upon him while he is near;
7 let the wicked forsake their way,
and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

We are invited to come to God through Christ Jesus’ Way – the Cross. Here again, God is calling upon Israel (and of course, us) to repent. When is it too late to repent? AFTER WE’RE DEAD! Therefore, “while he may be found” is while we are alive on Earth. If we die unrepentant, that’s it, finito, all gone. It says, “let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” When is he near? ALL of us know the answer to that one. HE’S EVERYWHERE ALL THE TIME.

If anyone is reading this, that person is still an earthling on the Earth and therefore concomitantly alive with God. That would be a good time to call, but an even better time to “return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” And here’s the clincher found in Matthew 22:14 – 14 For many are called, but few are chosen. We call on HIM because HE calls us, chosen before the dawn of creation. We must not “forget to answer.” By doing so, we reject his gift of Mercy, and reject our choosing by him.

Mercy, also called loyal or steadfast love, is one of the most notable aspects of God’s character. By His very nature, He shows unstoppable, limitless, everlasting mercy, even to those who don’t deserve it: “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy” (Micah 7:18). Who’s there all the time, everywhere? Who ceaselessly calls us? Who knocks waiting to be invited in for fellowship? Do we hear that call? I Can Hear My Savior Calling, and he’s calling all of us. Sirach 51:12 –
12     for you saved me from destruction
and rescued me in time of trouble.
For this reason I thank you and praise you,
and I bless the name of the Lord.

What destruction might we avoid if we answer that call, respond to that knock? What will happen if we do, and why? How about this? Romans 3:23-25 – 23 since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed. (my emphases) In “this day and age,” we know that Satan and sin have waltzed right into our societies and drawn many away from God. 1 Timothy 4:1-2 – 1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will renounce the faith by paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared with a hot iron. But we have the promise of salvation through Christ Jesus. Jeremiah 50:20 – 20 In those days and at that time, says the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and none shall be found; for I will pardon the remnant that I have spared. Too many people are locked inside with the Devil and too few are banging on the door to get out. YOLO-F is a reality, but if we “forget” that it starts as an earthling and continues after we leave the Earth, our seemingly good intentions quite can quite literally pave the road to Hell. Therefore, Belovéd, BHLJ. THAT IS THE Absolutely Perfect Plan.

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 – September 15, 2023 – Pardon Me

September 15, 2023

2337AFC091120 – Pardon me.

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.

    Sirach 28:6-7 – 6 Remember the end of your life, and set enmity aside; remember corruption and death, and be true to the commandments. 7 Remember the commandments, and do not be angry with your neighbor; remember the covenant of the Most High, and overlook faults.

Romans 14:8 – 8 If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. YOLO-F

Psalm 103:3-4 – Bless the Lord, O my soul! (↔ Music Link)
3 Who pardons all your sins,
and heals all your ills,
4 Who redeems your life from the pit,
and crowns you with mercy and compassion
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Matthew 18:21-22 – 21 Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.

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. What are your thoughts about death? Do you have a deeply-rooted understanding of the purpose of death in God’s Absolutely Perfect Plan? Or do you rather have an intellectual or even poetic notion of death as “the next level” of our existence? Come to think of it, do you ever think of it? Most of us would rather not think of it, and I suspect there are a few who regret or even disparage it. We all know it’s going to happen “someday,” and don’t want it to be today. In the past, we’ve asked “Are we really, really ready to die?” Well are we? We’ve all got to do it, but none of us is in a hurry to “get it over with.” We think about the part “They’ll all miss me.” We also  think about the part about “The Big Blue Button (↔ Click Link) with a big white H” on it – “I’m sure I’ll end up in heaven.” Here’s sort of a summary of this idea from the past:

Perhaps you do not recognize the phrases in this image. The Latin translates as “Time flees, Remember You Must Die.” Look at our Key Verse for today. It is part of the first reading for Sunday, September 17, 2023, 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Sirach 27:30—28:7. It speaks to us of resentments that are nurtured and fortified by the desire for vengeance. The writer is named יֵשׁוּעַ, Yeshua [Jesus], son of Eleazar, son of Sira” translated as “Jesus the son of Sirach of Jerusalem.” Ben Sira wrote in Hebrew, but his grandson later translated the book into Greek. The content of this lovely book is, in many ways, like the familiar Book of Proverbs, and is included in the list of writings called “Wisdom Literature.” Sirach is warning us to be true to the commandments – always a wise thing to do. He cautions us “do not be angry with your neighbor; remember the covenant of the Most High, and overlook faults.” Overlook faults? Honestly, compared to thinking about death, that just might be something we think even less about! Again, intellectually or poetically, we know that’s part of the Two Great Commandments – Love God and Love you neighbor. Why would God tie those two things together? Is that just something he threw in to make life more difficult?

Well, of course not. He didn’t just throw in some random requirement to keep us on our toes. The similarity between them is part and parcel of being created in the image and likeness of God. when we fail to do one or the other – or even worse, both – we are telling God, “I don’t want to be like you, and I don’t want you to tell me what to do.” That is most definitely an unwise stance, but it is regrettably not uncommon. “The commandments are such an imposition! Every little thing I do has to be checked against them to see if I’m in compliance.” When I hear that coming from someone, I hope they are outside the Church – the Body of Christ because if they are not, then they are committing a grave error. God offers pardon and peace to all. Not all will accept either or both. Once we have accepted Grace – the unmerited favor of God – then we can keep it or throw it away. This is not the venue for debating the “one and done” version of redemption, but we do know that when God sees our contrite repentance something incomprehensible happens, he forgives and forgets. (See Isaiah 43:25) We earthlings have trouble with both sides of that pairing, too.

We see it on the “True Crime” shows often – “I can never forgive her/his vicious act!” or “I have forgiven him/her, but I will never forget what they did.” That’s not the way God works (and also therefore not the way we should work). God is Sovereign over all Creation and has authority to pardon us – to graciously grant us a remission of the penalty due to sin. A pardon is a sovereign act by a superior authority which grants the lessening or omission of punishment. The Justice of God is his authority to expunge  our guilt and retore us to his company. It requires reparation for the remission of our sin, and thus he provides us with justification that is in his capacity as The Just Judge. He grants all of the rewards and blessings of our Salvation. Sin is actually removed from our soul. Now that’s something to think about! Pardon and Justification are Graces for those who belong to the Lord, who present themselves in humility and contrition, and who accept and abide in God’s limitless Grace. As The Apostle Paul has said in our Key Verse from his epistles, Romans 14:8 – 8 If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. So, if we live or die for the Lord, then we are ready to die, right? Well, so it would seem, but the a priori issue is that humble and contrite heart and submitting ourselves to God for his judgment – not just at the end of time – but all the time.

Jesus lives for the living and the dead; he has been both, and he rules over both. If we are living in Jesus, we are living with the living and dying with the dead. Time flees and death waits. We’re not going to be able to change that. If death is waiting a little farther down the road, we can choose to fill our lives with Life or empty our lives with Death. Life is founded in Love – Love of God and neighbor; Death is founded in indifference – indifference to God and to neighbor. Why do I say indifference instead of hate? Hate requires effort, the effort of acknowledging the other. Indifference won’t make that effort. Hate does require some work. Take, for example, the bearing of a grudge, the nurturing of enmity. I think most of us have read the story (← Check it out!) about the black wolf and the white wolf inside of us, fighting for control. The story ends with the promise that the wolf we feed is the one that wins. In everything in our lives we face the same kind of dichotomy – the conflict between good and evil, between carnal and spiritual, between conscience and consciousness of the effect of our choices. It seems to me it always comes down to picking one of two things – to be more like God or more like me. It sickens me to realize how often I make the wrong choice almost automatically. There is a better way.

Perhaps you will recall the passage from last week in Matthew 18 where Jesus set out the parameters for fraternal correction (2336AFC090823 – Marana tha!) in the Church – privately between you and another member, then with 2-3 witnesses, then with the church. If they will still refuse to repent and reform, they are to be considered as living outside the fraternity of the Saints. Nonetheless, we must always bear in mind that repentance and reform are always possible, so we forgive them. Forgiveness (↔ Music Link) can be a tough pill to swallow!

Immediately following the passage in Matthew on fraternal correction we read in Matthew 18:21-22 – 21 Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. There is a similar admonition in Luke 17:3-4 – 3 Be on your guard! If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive. 4 And if the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive.” If we don’t, we are faking our “holiness.” Why? Why must we be so forgiving? Because, we are created in God’s image, AND THAT’S WHAT GOD DOES. We are to be holy because HE is Holy. That means we must live our lives with God in control, not us. Man, oh man, is that tough to do! We should not – must not – let our lives betray the Goodness which God puts into us so that we look like, sound like, walk like, pardon like, and forgive like HE does. As the Psalmist said, it is God who pardons all our sins, who heals our ills, who redeems our life from Sheol, who crowns us with mercy and compassion. We, too, must pardon and forgive.

We are Baptized in Jesus as Priest, Prophet, and King (↔ Music Link) and Confirmed in the Holy Spirit to act on and with the Graces given to us. In our Priesthood of the believer, we can forgive as we expect to be forgiven – “forgive us as (in the same way) we forgive each other.” In the believer’s role as Prophet, we are called upon to edify and to set an example for the sinners inside and outside the Church, to share the Love and content of the Logos with our neighbors, and to faithfully proclaim the Good News in the ways we live our lives. In our believer’s Kingship, we can pardon one another’s transgressions against us by omitting all desire for every form of retribution.

Belovéd, let us give Love, share Love, receive Love, be Love  (↔ Music Link). Honor the Giver by accepting the Gift. If we receive the Gift as those living in Christ, then we must also give the gift as those living in Christ. The Apostle Peter’s question was about someone in the Church. Jesus answer says we must forgive 70 X 7 = 490 (or in some versions 77 X 7 = 539). Honestly, if we’re keeping track for that many “offenses,” are we truly being forgiving? Peter thought he was being overly generous. The Pharisees said 3 times was enough, so he figured 7 would be extraordinarily righteous. Jesus shows Peter – and us – that God never runs out of forgiveness. Remember, even if a mother could forget the child in her womb, God will not forget us; but he does forget our sins! We need to stop revolting against God. How can he forgive our treason if we continue to fight against him? We need to repent and believe the Gospel. Do not think of your repentance as the cause of your forgiveness, but rather understand that forgiveness is the companion of repentance We need to stop revolting against God. How can he forgive our treason if we continue to fight against him? We need to repent and believe the Gospel. Do not think of your repentance as the cause of our forgiveness, but rather understand that forgiveness is the companion of our repentance.

Belovéd, time is flying and death is waiting. We can choose to make the journey peaceful or terrifying. Let us choose Peace, therefore, that we may live, and live as the Lord’s! Let us forgive one another, edify one another, and pardon one another. Just so, let us turn to God and pray, “Lord, pardon me.”

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 – September 8, 2023 – Marana tha!

September 8, 2023

2336AFC090823 – Marana tha!

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.

    Ezekiel 33:9 – 9 But if you warn the wicked to turn from their ways, and they do not turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but you will have saved your life.

Romans 13:10 – 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

Psalm 95:7-c – 8-a – O that today you would listen to his voice! Do not harden your hearts (R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.)

Matthew 18:19-20 – 19 Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! May mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance. Today’s Key Verses point toward paying attention to what God expects from us. We are to do good, be good, and work for good in all things. We’ll pick those Key Verses apart in a bit, but first a comment about the title. Why did I choose that? I don’t know. I didn’t choose it. As I prayed about working on this in the early morning (before drifting off again), I was thinking about the world situation. Some commentators (the talking heads on the MSMOs) are promoting the idea that we either have to force Peace in Ukraine or fight a war with Russia – either/or. Some say that if the US-of-A gets further tangled up in other nations’ messes, China will clobber Taiwan with massive force, and Palestine will join with Syria to pummel Israel. That’s too much to think about at 3 AM! I knew at the time that it was Wednesday, so I left behind the World’s woes and asked what we’d be writing about today. The answer was Marana tha.

We’ve used that phrase several times in the past, but let me just put a reminder here of that that means. Here is a sampling of the words’ origins and meanings, starting with the Greek words: Μαρανα θα! Μαραν αθα! Maranâ thâ‘! (↔ Click it) Maran ‘athâ’ (Aramaic: מרנאתא‎) – Come Lord! Our Lord has come! This word occurs only once in Scripture in 1 Corinthians 16:22 (follow this to see multiple translations of how this is used – and sometimes abused!) These Greek words are formed by assigning Greek letter to the spelling of an Aramaic word – (מרנאתא‎). The splitting of the saying – some might call it an epithet – gives two slightly different meanings. The first shown here – marana tha – is “Come Lord!” and the second – maran atha – connotes “Our Lord has come.” Either way, there is the connotative sense that the Lord is present and there is a prolonged effect of his presence. The Lord God is present among us, and he’s not going anywhere but here.

If he’s here, there must be something happening as we gather together across miles and miles of ocean and land. Are we gathered together in his name? Perhaps, but there are things we can do together even when we are alone. We can pray with and in the Holy Spirit, and when we do Jesus IS WITH US, because wherever the Holy Spirit is there too is the Son and the Father surrounding us in Love because God is Love. If we look at the Gospel Key Verse, in this section of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is giving instructions on “fraternal correction.”

We are supposed to have faith, trust in the Lord, do the right thing, love God and neighbor, and keep an eye on the folks around us – especially our fellow Christians. Wha-a-a-a-a-t? Let me give you some examples. We can start with a quote from Sunday’s Gospel from Matthew 18. Jesus is telling the Apostles how to deal with “backsliders,” and folks who misrepresent the values and practice of Christian living. What Jesus tells them is too 1 – privately alert them, 2 – meet with them and 2-3 witnesses, and 3 – if all else fails, take the matter to the Church – the Fellowship of Saints to which you both belong. If the errant member will not accept the rule of the Church, that one is to be treated as “Gentile or a tax collector,” that is, as someone outside the fellowship of the Church. Does that seem inconsistent with our beliefs about “Christian values?” Hmm, maybe it is not only consistent, but also necessary.

Take a look at the Key Verse passage from Ezekiel. God (The Holy Trinity) tells him he must convince sinners to repent. If he does, he and the sinner will live – be able to carry on with their lives. If he cannot convince the sinner, the sinner will die and the sinner’s death will be Ezekiel’s (hence therefore our) fault! In that passage, Ezekiel – who is at that time a 30-year-old Priest of God – is commissioned to be God’s Prophet and to rein in the rebellious Israelites so that they would return to their heritage as God’s chosen people. One guy against the entire nation. Someday, just for fun, read the first three (↔ Learning Link) Chapters of Ezekiel. There are some mighty strange things in Ezekiel’s visions! Nonetheless he was an effective Prophet for God and helped Israel recover from their deportation to Chaldea (Babylon).

Ezekiel was sent to prophesy against Israel because there were “a rebellious house” according to the Lord’s judgment. He calls them that eight times in the passage recommended above. This also ties in with the Psalms Key Verse for today. There is a reference in Psalm 95 to the rather noisy incident where Moses and The People quarreled (place-name Meribah) over the lack of water and tested God (place-name Massah). From the git-go they were a contentious bunch, and many seers, judges, and prophets were sent to them by El Elyon (God Most High) to straighten them out. It’s safe to say, it never fully worked because even in the presence of the Messiah, Yeshua, they were still arguing – mostly about things that were of human, not divine, concern. The psalmist is telling us, “Listen for HIS voice (and turn yours off) and don’t try to be quarrelsome. There’s no point in arguing with God.” We know that, don’t’ we? Still, as with Israel, we forget and get hard-headed anyway. That hard head leads to and supports a wagging tongue. Go back and look at James 3 (↔ Learning Link) where he says “no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” (See James 3:8).

There is absolutely no point in arguing with God, nor is there any reason to hand him a checklist of change-orders. Get together with your adelphos and recall that “if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” Now, some folks claim that this applies to the series of admonitions for fraternal correction. That conclusion requires a bit of what I call “hopscotch logic.” One has to make some irrational connections to make it work. So, get together as 2, and Jesus is the third – maybe. I tend to think he’s the first. Because why? Because he’s always with us if we are with him.

That’s the best reason I can think of to know about and utilize maran atha – the Lord has come (and he’s right here with us … TODAY! NOW!) OH, WOW! It’s time to follow Ezekiel’s example and quietly receive the Word of God in our mouth and to digest it so it becomes the Word of the Lord. And what is that Word? Belovéd, you might be sick of this by now but it is “Repent and Believe the Gospel.” Ezekiel’s mission was to warn the wicked that judgment will weigh heavily upon them if they do not turn from their wicked ways. God’s Justice is served with generous Mercy. In Ezekiel 33:11 God says, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel?” From the moment the Serpent handed over the fruit, God has been restoring us through justice and penance. Since we still couldn’t seem to handle it, he himself made the restoration. Yet, we can’t seem to get it though our thick, flint-hard skulls that all God wants from us is to be his … not ours, but his. “If today you hear is voice …” Turn your radio off? (↔ Music Link) Take a look at Luke 11:24-28 – 24 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 When it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. 26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first.”
True Blessedness
27 While he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” 28 But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!” Yup, like that song says, “Turn Your Radio ON!” If we turn it off, we can’t hear the Word of Christ being preached. Romans 10:17 says – 17 So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.

Belovéd, when we receive the Word of God and digest its power in our hearts so that it flows sweetly into our minds, we are empowered with the Grace to Love God and Live in and through his Word. I feel most of us would agree that we can often be hardheaded, but if we stick to that, it only makes it more difficult to be soft-hearted to the kernels of truth – the κήρυγμα, Kerygma (English transliteration), the core of the Gospels, the proclamation of the Life of the Christ and Word of God. Remember, the people of Nineveh – a huge pagan city-state that represented antipathy against God – repented at the preaching of Jonah, who had to die in order to accept his mission of conversion. (See Jonah 1:17 – 2:9, especially verse 2:2). Jonah would have been much better off had he not defied God and tried to run away. So would we, Belovéd; so would we.

What is the point of this “Repent and Believe the Gospel?” What sort of things shall we turn away from? Of what sinfulness are we convicted when we truly listen to and hear the Gospel? To help answer that, I invite you to look back to earlier this week for Terrific Tuesday – a very serious Terrific Tuesday. We looked at 1 Corinthians 13:13 – 13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. [Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)  KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK. Used with permission.] I have learned recently in studying the Catechism of the Catholic Church that Charity is giving God Primacy in our exercise of Love.  Now, this will be true no matter what how or where you read this chapter. First a quote from the CCC, Part 3, Chapter 1, Article Seven, Paragraph 1822 (↔ Click Link). There is a bit of information in that one short sentence that one can overlook. I’m going to copy it here:

Charity is the theological virtue by which
we Love God above all things for his own sake,
and our neighbor as ourselves for the Love of God.

In the original Greek, the word used for Charity is agape (ἀγάπη), and that is the purest and utterly supreme Love shared with God as The Holy Trinity. God is Love and those who abide in Love abide in God and God in them. (See 1 John 4:16) That is the goal of Repent and Believe the Gospel – as The Apostle Paul put it, “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.” How can we do that? It sounds so simple – love God and love your neighbor as one loves one’s self. The best I can come up with is maran atha, marana tha. If the Lord, present to us, is our director – our leader, our teacher, our mentor, our shepherd, our Savior, and our God – then it would be best for us to hush and listen as we stroll through his Garden (↔ Music Link) because there we will not be alone. Being accompanied thus, we are better disposed to prayer “where two or three are gathered.” Even so, come Lord Jesus. My heart is longing for you. (↔ Music Link) Maran atha, maran atha, marana tha.

Psalm 95:1-2 –
1 O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! (↔ 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

 

Aloha Friday Message – September 1, 2023 –Wise Up and Change Up

September 1, 2023

2335AFC090123 – Wise Up and Change Up

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.

    Romans 12:1-2 – 1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed* by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God — what is good and acceptable and perfect. (or: what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God)

(GNT) 1 So then, my friends, because of God’s great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer. 2 Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform* you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God — what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect.
* μεταμορφόω – metamorphoó (met-am-or-fo’-o) from which we get the word “metamorphosis.” This signifies transformation, change, modification – the change of one type of thing to another type of thing as in a tadpole to a toad.

Jeremiah 20:7 c -9 –
I have become a laughingstock all day long;
everyone mocks me.
8 For whenever I speak, I must cry out,
I must shout, “Violence and destruction!”
For the word of the Lord has become for me
a reproach and derision all day long.
9 If I say, “I will not mention him,
or speak any more in his name,”
then within me there is something like a burning fire
shut up in my bones;
I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot.

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. Today I want to change things up a bit and instead of pulling something from all four Scripture readings, I want to put our main focus on our Key Verse from Romans 12. As often stated here, this is one of those passages I committed to memory, probably as a teenager, and – although I may not be able to recite it with 100% accuracy, I do use it often, especially in my Morning Offering. (↔ Click it) Years after I memorized it, I thought “renewal of your minds” was related to the Greek word metanoia, which usually translated as “repent(ance).” Here are some examples of that usage: Metanoia Verses – Matthew 4:17, Mark 2:17, Acts 2:38, Acts 19:4, and Acts 20:21. As we can see by the notes under the Key Verse, “renewal” in The Apostle Paul’s usage means a change from one thing (state-of-being) to another, different thing (state-of-enhanced-being). How in the World do we do that?

Well, obviously, this is not something that can be done in “The World,” because what The Apostle Paul is presenting here is an invitation – and a methodology – for making a form of spiritual (not physical, but metaphysical) transformation. We can be completely changed from a soul drenched in sin to a soul grounded in Love when we experience true repentance. What does he tell us to do to begin this process? He says “to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Another way of saying that is your reasonable service of worship. Metanoia is to move beyond where our hearts and minds are and into a new paradigm, a new way of thinking and feeling, and seeing everything in life. When we repent, we have a change of mind – not a renewing of mind as in our Key Verse for today. Another way to think of it is we quash, break, nullify, defeat, or conquer a temptation that is repeatedly before us; we break a bad habit; we realign our values-system so that it aligns more closely with God’s values. Fine, but how?

WE make an effort to sin less even though we know we can never be sinless. Repentance restores our relationship with God, and often it also restores our relationships with community, family, and friends. It gives back to us the “whatever or the whomever” we lost because of sin; it even gives us back to us. It’s not a matter of time – how long we are away, or of intensity – how greatly we’ve sinned. It is a matter of turning around and going back, repenting. Repentance might be thought of as the engine that causes the transformation to move from one state of being to another because it is our minds that are renewed. Once we make up our minds to live a moral life (which involves a great deal of sacrificing of the flesh – sin), then we are indeed transformed. This “engine” is built into us like the bio-physiology that is built into the life of a toad’s tadpole. Once it gets started, and under even marginally-favorable conditions, it goes on as God intends. Easy for a toad – hard for us. Why? Because the tadpole of a toad cannot choose to become the tadpole of a frog, much less a blue jay. It is only we earthlings who have a voice in determining what we become; that is the marvelous Gift of God called Free Will.

When we make a conscious decision followed by a conscientious effort to suppress the desires of our flesh, concupiscence, then we sacrifice what we think we want in order to receive what God knows we need: Him. No longer are we slaves to the flesh, but, in our renewal, we become slaves of the Spirit. Then Jesus himself tells us “I no longer call you slaves, but friends. (See John 15:15) We are transformed inwardly by a complete change of our minds. Because of the evil we bring into The World, our minds are inclined toward evil. Jesus is exceptionally clear about how Disciples are supposed to align themselves with him. We are to testify. We know from previous lessons that the words “witness” and “testify” are closely related to our English word martyr; from Greek μαρτυρέω (martureó) {mar-too-reh’-o}. All martyrs testify, but not all who testify are martyred in the sense of dying. We who testify are martyred in the sense of mortification, the “dying” of oneself for the betterment or acknowledgement of the other. God has provided for us this utterly amazing counter-inclination: Repentance – well, by now we must surely know that this means metanoia – a conversion in one’s life that arises from penitence (sincere and effective sorrow), and doing “a 180” so that whatever transgression(s) arose, we choose to delete that poor choice and replace it with a better choice. That’s the process of metamorphosing our minds. Cool, eh? It works like this.

That amazing feat of metanoia is grounded in our metamorphosis. Our sinful, concupiscent mind becomes a righteous, obedient mind which redirects and transforms our sinful wants in the flesh into our holy and humble service to Jesus. As St. Teresa of Avila said
“Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing frighten you. All things pass. God does not change. Patience achieves everything. Whoever has God lacks nothing. God alone suffices.
“Christ has no body now on earth but yours; no hands but yours; no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ must look out on the world. Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which He is to bless His people. Amen.” Whenever we accept that challenge – to be the real Church, the Body of Christ, the Servant of all – then we do become his hands and feet, we see as though through God’s eyes, and – through and in our confident F.A.I.T.H. – we continue to have the desire and the ability to experience metamorphosis. That experience prepares us for the JOY of metanoia. That J.O.Y. we attain leads us to TESTIFY (← Check it out!) (μαρτυρέω – martureó), and in some instances under the special Grace of God, to prophesy.

Prophecy is a gift of witnessing sometimes given even before birth (↔ Music Link) that just will not stay bottled up! A prophet is anyone who claims to speak God’s words or to teach in his name and is inspired by God to deliver God’s Word and Will to others and what s/he says is Truth. The Old Testament word for prophet is נָבִיא (nabiy’ ) {nah-bee’}. There are some disagreements among scholars about the origin of that word, but one that is well-accepted is that this noun comes from the verb noba` meaning to “bubble up,” “boil over”,” as in “to pour forth an abundance of words,” such as those who speak within divine inspiration. It is by and through the power and inspiration of God that a prophet speaks, and a prophet can’t help but speak when and what God commands any more than a boiling pot can stop bubbling. And that is the key. Those who have Divine Inspiration are True Prophets. The converse is that those whose “inspiration” is self-generated are the False Prophets. Belovéd, let’s stand in agreement with Moses that all may be gifted with prophecy! (See Numbers 11:29) How wonderful it would be if all of us could lay aside all our Worldly idols and speak the words God sends us which begin with, “Thus says the Lord.”

With this in mind, let us look at the closing phrase of today’s Key Verse from Jeremiah 20:9 –
9 If I say, “I will not mention him,
or speak any more in his name,”
then within me there is something like a burning fire
shut up in my bones;
I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot.

Once one receives the authentic Gift of Divine Prophecy, once cannot hold back from exercising it at God’s command. Someone can speak, “Thus says the Lord God,” but if what follows comes from that person’s own heart and mind, then it is false prophecy and worthy of severe condemnation. False prophecy is like characterizing God as a liar. He doesn’t take that well at all. Several times we have shown that all the blessings of following Christ also come with persecution, suffering, and sometimes even death. Those who can still follow Jesus, carrying their own cross, making their own trip to Golgotha – they follow him and love him and serve him despite all of that because that is how they offer up their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. If we search with all our heart, where, when, and how will we find God so we can worship him? (↔ Music Link) What, then, is the form of this worship?

It is obedience to God as Trinity. It is to be just, and merciful, and obedient and to love God and neighbor equally. It is to be humble and lowly, last of and beneath all. Most likely I am “preaching to the choir” here, but sometimes it is the choir that needs to wise up and change up. That might require us to shut up and stop blathering about how good we are as God’s Little Christian, YADA-YADA-YADA. When we come to the daily, even hourly denial of our own flesh through almsgiving, fasting, and prayer, then we’re certainly “in the ball park.” It sounds complicated and unpleasant (which gives rise to the saying “Not all thorns have roses), but actually it’s not that hard to start the habit of our reasonable service of spiritual worship. That is a baby-step toward being Holy. Here’s what The Apostle Peter said about that:
1 Peter 1:13-16 – 13 Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. 14 Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. 15 Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (↔ Music Link) Does that sound like too much? That’s the point. It is too much … if you never get started, so start with something that is easy like prayer, or fasting, or almsgiving.

Fridays are for fasting. Can we take a pass on that Big Mac some Friday, or fast from that second beer while watching a Friday sports event? Can we buy a meal for a houseless person and sit with them as they enjoy it so that you can fellowship with them? Can we offer up prayers for the thousands on Maui who have lost everything and ask for God’s Peace and Provision? Can we pray a rosary with a family suffering the loss of a Belovéd relative? ʻŌmea, these are not hard things, but they are Good things. How can we learn to develop the Gift to search for and identify such opportunities? We’ll turn to The Apostle Paul again:

Philippians 4:8 – 8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. This is the Christian equivalent of GI-GO only in this case, the G’s stand for Gospel, not garbage. We see hundreds of people walking around with wireless earbuds, Bluetooth phone thingies, headphones, even ear plugs as they are trying to shut out the noise around them by “controlling” the noise within them. Some listen to podcasts, some to hip-hop, some to rap, perhaps even a few listen to “classical music” (not the same as “classic rock”). Here is another (GNT) version: 8 In conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable. None of those alternatives for control listed above fit the criteria of The Apostle Paul’s advice. I have one more suggestion before we wrap this up. It’s within the parameters set up by The Apostle Paul. It’s also in the APP for YOLO-F.

Now, ʻŌmea, whenever we feel prompted – most likely by the Holy Spirit – to be just, and merciful and obedient, to live righteously, and to walk humbly before our God, then we need to change up our programming and wise up in the things of God. What the World programs for us is foolishness, but whosoever follows The Way of God is wise. Here’s a clue from the book of Proverbs:
Proverbs 13:20 (GNT) – 20  Keep company with the wise and you will become wise. If you make friends with stupid people, you will be ruined. Pretty blunt, eh? Hold up your hand if you’ve been there, done that. When people laugh at us and call us fools for loving, trusting, and obeying God, then it is our testimony that measures the greatness of their fall. If we make a move to change, we need to make that change upwards-only. That is the wisest choice in a World that always seeks to bring us down like the Prince of the Air was brought down. We should all read Chapter 14 of the Book of Proverbs and decide which state of life we should pursue. If you enjoy exciting literature about historic and fantastic battles of Prophet versus evil, I urge you to read about Elijah in the 1st Book of Kings, chapters 17 – 19.

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

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

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

Scripture quotations marked (GNT) are from the Good News Translation in Today’s English Version- Second Edition Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.

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

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

 

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