Aloha Friday Message – May 19, 2023 – Look! Up in the sky!

May 19, 2023

2320AFC051923 – Look! Up in the sky!

Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.

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     Acts 1:11 – 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Psalm 47:7 –
7 For God is the king of all the earth;
sing praises with a Psalm

Ephesians 1:22-23 – 22 And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Matthew 28:17 – 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and Peace to each of you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. This Sunday in many parishes, the Church will be celebrating The Ascension of the Lord. The actual feast day of the Ascension was yesterday, May 18th. It just so happens that Crucita’s “Saint Name” – the Saint or Sacred Event for which she was named – is the Ascension, and this year her birthday (yesterday May 18) and her feast day are the same day. In years past I have written about this event in the life of Christ many times. It is my favorite Gospel message – the day Jesus went to Heaven in a cloud while the baffled Disciples watched. It is important to me because of the content of Acts 1:11. In the post called 1512AFC051515 – Look him up, I said it this way: “Then two angels show up and say, “Men of Galilee, why-y-y-y are you standing there looking into the sky!? This same Jesus, who has been taken up from you into Heaven will return to you in the same way you saw him going up into Heaven.” Man! How great is that?!?! I think that passage is just amazing. I guess some scholars can debate about “in the same way” or “in like manner” but for me the word that jumps off the page and makes my ears ring is SAME as in THIS SAME Jesus.” A few years later in 1917AFC042619 – THIS is important, we find this about “THIS:” “I have also commented there about the word οὗτος (oútos) {hoo-tohs or oo-tohs} as it appears in verse 11 – “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking up into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way you saw him go into heaven.” This Greek word is very specific and means this one, the one visibly present here, the one just named and none other than this one. There’s not another one, there’s no way it could be someone else. It will be precisely, exactly, permanently that same guy you just saw take off into the clouds. It is HE who will return to you.” It’s one of the most important aspect of the APP.

Every time I hear that it gives me chicken-skin (that’s how we say “goose-bumps” in Hawaiʻi). The angels are confirming what he’s been telling the Apostles and the other Disciples: “I’m coming back to get you and take you home with me.” I wasn’t actually there, but I was there via contemporaneous concomitance (↔ Learning Link), and that experience fills me with great-big, shiny HOPE. I have no doubt that it happened, and I have no doubt that it is true – Jesus is coming back for us at the “end of the age” (the age of The Church). If that bit is true, then it is reasonable that everything else God – the Blesséd Trinity – has said all along: “I love you, and if you will only love me only, I will restore all of you to the Way your Life is supposed to be.” I really, really like that idea! It also fits right in with our Key Verse from Psalms because God is indeed King over all the Earth. The Response in our Responsorial Psalm is “God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.” That Key Verse ends with “Sing Praises with a Psalm.” The kind of Psalm referenced here is called a Maskil – it is a “wisdom song” designed to be sung by two choirs for the purpose of meditative instruction. Thus, we have two contrasting outlooks – the first is to raise a ruckus whilst praising God, and the other is to meditate on the magnificence of God’s kingly powers. The boisterous praise is the antecedent to the goal of contemplative reflection leading toward wisdom – as we described last week in the concept of “fear of the Lord.”

Before we tackle the next Key Verse, let’s take in the title. Do we recognize that phrasing? In our minds do we hear “It’s a bird!” “It’s a plane!” “No! It’s ….”? The person we are expecting is not Superman. The person we are expecting is Jesus! But, are we really? How often do I, do you, do we really look up in the sky to see if that cloud elevator he rode up into Heaven is headed back down? Isn’t it true that most days we are so wrapped up in the day-to-day grind that we put it completely out of mind – you know, “out of sight, out of mind.”? Getting in touch with God is actually pretty easy – when we remember to do that. But how do we stay in touch with God anytime all the time? I remember a song from 1972 that instructs on how to get in touch with God in a wise way – maybe it’s a modern maskil? We can and should turn our attention to God, tune in on what he has to say (he’s telling us stuff all the time!) and just Turn Your Radio On. Belovéd, I love that song! First because it tells a timeless truth: If you want to stay in touch with God, you gotta listen!

When God speaks it is very often in that “celestial hymn” and so, “Lord, with all the angels and saints, we, too, give you thanks as in exultation we acclaim: Holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts, …” Did you know that if we’ve got our radio on, we might – you and I just might – hear our Guardian Angels singing along?!?! Sometimes they sound like our grandkids, or our neighbors, or like real-deal angels – but if we don’t hear them it’s NOT because they are not singing! It’s because we’re being fence-post Christians – just standing there in the noise like fenceposts in the meadowlands. Belovéd! We’re singing with the Angels and the Saints! And if we are missing that, what else might we be missing if we aren’t looking up and listening in? “Pray without ceasing” keeps the radio on, so when we make our entire day a prayer of adoration, thanksgiving, and praise we are certainly less likely to miss the millions of little piece of the gigantic moments in our lives when God is singing “Hey there, you with the stars in your eyes – this is a sing-along, not a sing-alone, so I’m signing to you BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!”

Can you believe that? God’s Love is everywhere all the time. It’s in all the blessings he showers down on the good and the no good. Sometime this week, as we’re about to nod off in front of the TV or in bed, let’s agree to take a moment or two to count our blessings (↔ Music Link) just for that day. Too tired? Then let’s count them (↔ Music Link) just since dinnertime. I’m pretty sure you won’t be able to stay awake long enough to cover them all. Sometimes they’re hard to remember because we’re not paying attention. What if we really tried hard during the day to know that “he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” When I give God my entire day as a Daily Offering, it helps me keep that radio plugged in and turned on. The Apostle Paul tells us we can fill our days with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs (See Ephesians 5:15-21 – it’s beautiful!) – so turn on your local Gospel station or EWTN. Stay on the straight and narrow. Walk the Path of God’s design. Read Psalm 27 every day if you need to (or just memorize it), especially verses 1 & 11. Don’t hang out with wicked people – even though we’re surrounded by them and we are sinners, too. Just remember GIGO – Gospel In Gospel Out. We need to be doing what we know is right and avoid doing what we know is wrong. When we mess up, we fess up – we repent and stick to it. Don’t be full of “it.” Be full of him who made you and blessed you with his Love. If we find that hard to believe, we may not be getting any reception where we are. It might be time to get a stronger receiver or get closer to the broadcaster (Sehlah. ↔ Learning Link) or, maybe we need to simply believe the incredible, the unbelievable, the incomprehensible:

Jesus is real, Jesus is alive, Jesus was taken up into Heaven in clouds. Jesus is coming back the same way, but he won’t be alone then because it will be the end of time. We might think it extraordinary that even as they watched Jesus’ Ascension, “some doubted.” After all, the Apostles spent about three years with him day and night, and those who witnessed his appearances in the Cenacle surely had no doubt that the glorified Jesus was “this same Jesus” with whom they had shared many intimate moments before and after the resurrection. The text does not give any indication of how many were with him on the mountainside when he was taken up into Heaven, but imagine how his followers might have perceived him as different.

His body may have had the holy shimmer of Glory as we covered in 1202AFC011312 – Sh’khinah Glory for you, that same glimmer hovering over the Mercy Seat on the Ark of The Covenant. Perhaps they weren’t convinced that “this same Jesus” was the Man of Sorrows (↔ Music Link) who had been severely beaten beyond recognition, and then crucified. Perhaps – even with the testimony of the 12, the attestations of the Saints in the Cenacle, and the words of the” two men dressed in white” – the total magnitude of the “sheer goodness of God was so overwhelming that reason could not take it in; such information can be held only in the earthen vessel of F.A.I.T.H. – being Fully Aware I Trust Him. After the Resurrection, Jesus’ body was transformed into the eternal, divine, and glorified human who participated in creating everything this that is, was, or will be. Considering that, I believe Jesus must have had a different appearance than what some Disciples could comprehend. When I try to imagine that, I remember a story told by Dr. Fred Begay. (↔ Learning Link)

Dr. Begay was from was the first Navajo, and also the first Native American, from any Indigenous People, to receive a Ph.D. in physics. In an episode on NOVA in 1979, Dr. Begay explained how, as a child, he first tried to understand how clocks worked. his experience in his family had taught him that one can tell the time using the position of the sun. As I recall, he postulated that the sun’s rays entered into the mechanism and made it move. He seemed destined in his family to be a Healer and farmer, but after serving in the Korean war, he was recruited by the Federal Government to go to college and study mechanical engineering. He eventually ended up at Los Alamos National Laboratories as a nuclear physicist. He has won many prestigious awards and his work is recognized internationally. So, what’s the connection? In much the same way that one can tell time by the position of the sun, one can also view Time by the position of The Son – but only if we’re looking for the Sun and not trying to lock him into some sort of mechanical box to make the World function. God already took care of that, but we are still obligated by F.A.I.T.H. and reason to keep watching for Jesus. If we’re gonna watch, we have to look. If we want to stay watchful, then everything we think or say or do must be “hidden in Christ.” (See Colossian 3:1-11. There is some really Good News there!) I also recommend remembering that after the Resurrection, Christ did not appear to everyone. Over the forty days between the Resurrection and the Ascension, he appeared to many Disciples – as many as 500 at one occasion – but he didn’t go into Jerusalem and shout, “Hey everybody! Look what God did!” He appeared with and spoke to the Body of Christ, the Church. Can we trust him to appear in out lives and speak to us? Let’s look to Genesis 28 as we close up shop for today. Maybe it will help us see the Light. (↔ Music Link)

This is where we find the story of Jacob’s Ladder and the Promise God made to Jacob –

Is it JUST a telephone Pole?

called by God IsraʻEl. In verse, 15 God tells Jacob, “15 Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Our Blessed Trinity is still working on that promise. They have not left us (“Behold, I am with you always … ), so we can believe that we are not abandoned. IF we believe Jesus “was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.”
THEN we should take to heart his admonition to watch (See Matthew 24:42-44). We can take as our motto, Just Trust. He’s coming back to us in the sky amid the clouds, so Look! Up in the sky!

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 – May 12, 2023 – Sanctifying Fear

May 12, 2023

2319AFC051223 – Sanctifying Fear

Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often. Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Ask them to email us or to subscribe on our blog-site.

    Acts 8:14-17 – 14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit 16 (for as yet the Spirit had not come] upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). 17 Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 66:16, 20 –
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for me.
20 Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me. 

1 Peter 3:14-15 – 14 But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, 15 but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you

John 14:21 – 21 They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.

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. Alrighty then, who’s afraid of God? Is this an image of God that usually comes to mind when you think of him?

If you’ve spent any time reading the Old Testament – especially 2 Chronicles – you know that lots of people died either directly from “the hand of God,” or from those whom God empowered to wipe out his (and/or Israel’s) enemies including the nearly-genocidal extinctions of the Seven Nations of Canaan. Steve Wells, a self-proclaimed atheist, authored a book titled “Drunk With Blood: God’s Killings In The Bible” which seems to stretch the truth more than a few times by negatively manipulating Scripture. In it he has done a “deep see dive” into the number of persons killed by, or for, or in the name of God. He estimates it to be as high as 25,000,000 – twenty-five-million. Most of those are in the Old Testament, with considerably less than 1,000 in the New Testament. Most people, including Christians of all stripes, “sorta-kinda” know about some of that, but will excuse it as “probably justified and necessary” because God was wiping out sinners or folks opposed to his Law (which, by the way, is Torah – the Entire Law of God, including since about 300 AD, all 613 Mitzvot (↔ Learning Link), not just The Ten Commandments). On the other hand, some of us can think of God as a nice grampa type who benevolently watches over us as in this painting of God the Father by Giovanni Battista Cima, also called Cima da Conegliano (c. 1459 – c. 1517). In my heart, this is the way I think of the Author of Life and of the Absolutely Perfect Plan.

Earlier this year, in 2304AFC012723 – The Discipline of Discipleship, we featured The Emerald Throne from Art created by Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992, 2002. For me, personally, that is more in line with how I imagine “my El Shaddai-Olam” in my morning prayers (← Check it out!). Some of you who might know my Facebook page will recognize this logo on my Facebook home screen:

This image reminds us there is a “proper fear,” the Fear of the Lord, which includes adoration, thanksgiving, and praise – like Standing Ovation Praise. Now, most of us know that when we see that phrase – fear of the Lord – it does not always mean we are to be afraid of God. It means to be in awe of God, to reverence and to venerate him by honoring and respecting him, and to know he is our Creator, our Salvation, and our Enduring Hope. Fear Not, because you Fear God! Fear Not and Know Fear. (← Check it out!) Someone has written that there are 365 instances in the Bible that tell us not to be afraid. I’d say that is pretty convincing evidence that being afraid in our lives is not what God intended for us. Here’s a good quote from the following selections in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke: Matthew 10:28 – 28 Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. And Luke 12:5 – 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! (Use the link to see about 20 translations of this passage from Luke.)

I used to think that passage refers to Satan, but it does not. It is referring to God’s final judgment after the Resurrection. In my admittedly limited experience, that is the only time Jesus told us to be afraid of God – or did he? Could we not read that as “rather give reverence to him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” instead?

In most instances when we read, “Fear God,” we know it means to reverence God, to give God our awe and admiration for his Magnificence as Creator of the Universe (including each of us). Note that God created the universe. God is not the universe and the universe is not God. Mysteriously, God is omnipresent in the universe but still separate from it. The substance of the universe is only the universe, and the substance of God is only God. Now that we have that out of the way (I hope), let’s take a look at “sanctifying.”

To sanctify is to consecrate, to set apart, to purify, dedicate, to ascribe the qualities of sacredness and holiness. When we ask God to sanctify our actions (↔ Music Link) or our very selves, we are asking him to help us to be wholly holy as he has commanded. Let us recall the word from The Apostle Peter: 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.” (See also Matthew 5:48 – 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Most of us are afraid we will never live up to that standard! If so, it is because we are forgetting how very much God loves us (his Only Begotten Son teaches us that). So many times in Scripture God says, “Don’t be afraid.” Jesus repeatedly told the Apostles, “Fear not,” or “Do not be afraid.” How do we keep from being afraid of God?

First, be faithful to the Gospel. In the words of the simple instructions Jesus gave at the beginning of his ministry (and the end of John’s) – “Repent and believe the Gospel.” Prophecies that do not include a call to repentance were instantly recognized as false prophecies. We must start out with Faith that is nurtured and pruned through repentance. That is how we face and overcome the fear that all of the commotion around us can stir up. That is the second thing we must do. We must not fear.

You see, it is fear that the Foe uses to make us abandon our mission to go to all corners of Earth to proclaim the Good News. Satan uses F.E.A.R. to keep us in doubt and desire to keep us dissatisfied. We don’t have to submit to those tactics; in fact, we must not buy that line of baloney from Satan or his minions among our fellow earthlings. Some time ago I sent you a very special music link: Be Not Afraid (↔ Music Link). Maybe you could watch it again? We cannot, must not, should not be afraid to make the Gospel known and to live it as completely as we can. We know that Jesus has told us he is always with us, that God is always watching over us, and – as the Apostle Paul said – “all things work together for good for those who love the Lord, who are called according to his purpose.” (See Romans 8:28) Ah, that last little phase there is quite the hook! For what purpose are we called? We are called to be faithful, to testify from the housetops (see Matthew 10:26-33, especially verses 32 and 33), and to reverence God. Check out the APP if you believe it’s OK to wait until That Great Day to make up your mind about God’s judgment.

God Our Father himself said, Isaiah 41:10 – 10 … do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. We have Jesus’ word as well in John 16:33 – 33 I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world! So, Belovéd, what shall we do? Scripture shows us we need not be afraid, so what outlook should we embrace? Let’s choose Psalm 37:3 – 3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. Again, who can do that, and how? Here’s what God himself says about this: Leviticus 20:7-8 – 7 Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am the Lord your God. 8 Keep my statutes, and observe them; I am the Lord; I sanctify you. I can’t do it! Can you do it? (Remember last week we said ” Prayer is a gift of Grace. We cannot give Grace to ourselves any more than we can give Salvation to ourselves. Grace comes from God, God is always of and in community.”)

God will sanctify us if we consecrate our complete selves to him which means we Love him, we obey him, we give him primacy in all things by living our lives as his servants following the example of Christ. Our “fear of the Lord” is our loving reverence for his majestic benevolence across all of his Creation – including us, Belovéd. That reverence is what effects, brings about, is the outcome of letting him be God and letting ourselves be his children. That relationship is the consecrating reverence, the sanctifying fear, that makes us able to be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect. If he will sanctify us, we can sanctify – to consecrate, to set apart, to purify, to dedicate, to ascribe the qualities of sacredness and holiness – our reverence for him and his magnificent Love and Salvation. God does Sanctify us when we are baptized, when the Bishop lays his hands on us and we receive the Holy Spirit when we are confirmed (see Acts 8:14-17 above), when we rightly receive the Eucharist, when we offer our lives as witnesses to his Kingdom, and more as when in our hearts sanctify Christ as Lord – God is always finding ways to make us his!

Next time we’re tempted to think of God as a mean old man (an image sent to us by the Tempter), let’s just remember this from 1 John 4:18 – 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. Jesus said it like this in John 14:21 – 21 They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them. We are sanctified in and because of his Love. As the Psalmist said, Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast Love from me. If you review our Key Verse from Psalms, you will see – and receive – an invitation: Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me. When we reverence God, our sanctification comes as we worship him and he blesses us. Our reverence is sanctifying as we set aside our wants to give God Glory and Praise (↔ Music Link). As we read in our Key Verse from 1 John 2:4-6 whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him:  whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk just as he walked. (↔ Music Link)

Belovéd, let us all sanctify our fear by giving him All Glory, Laud, and Honor. (↔ Music Link) Let this be our daily Prayer:

Almighty Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – I love You. I worship You. I adore You. I praise You. I glorify Your name. I give you thanks for revealing your Great Glory through Christ Jesus Our Lord. I ask you to enlighten, guide, strengthen, and console me. Teach me Your will and empower and inspire me to fulfill it completely, for it is my heart’s desire to serve You well in all that You ask of me and everything that You allow to happen to me. Only make Your will known, and grant me the graces necessary to faithfully follow You to the place You have prepared for me. I offer You this prayer in the name of Jesus, The Christ, our Lord who lives and reigns with God, The Father Almighty, in the unity of The Holy Spirit, The Lord, the Giver of Life. AMEN.

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 – May 5, 2023 – Obedient scissors

May 5, 2023

2318AFC050723 – Obedient scissors

Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.
Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Ask them to email us or to subscribe on our blog-site.

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

1 Peter 2:6-8 –
6 For it stands in scripture:

“See, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious;
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
7 To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe,
“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the very head of the corner,”
8 and
“A stone that makes them stumble,
and a rock that makes them fall.”
They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

John 14:10-14 – 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. 12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask [me]* for anything, I will do it. (*Some ancient authorities exclude the word “me”)

Psalm 33:18 – 18 Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love  

  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. In addition to our Key Verses, we begin today with a quote from one of our favorite Christian authors, C. S. Lewis. Here it is in a nice little meme featuring that quote. You may recall the passage in James which talks about faith and works: James 2:26 – 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead. A scissor (or pair of scissors if you prefer) is an apt image for the relationship between faith and works. Today we are also going to think of scissors as working like faith and prayer together. Prayer is one of the most perfect “works,” because when we pray we pray in Hope – 1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) We know what we are hoping for because we are certain of what we do not see; prayer is hope in action. Today, then, we are talking about the blades of the “pair of scissors” as being faith and prayer – which of those two is most essential for living a genuinely Christian life?

The obvious answer is that – like the quote from Lewis – one is not much good without the other. If we live in prayer without faith, we’re just heating up plain air. If we live in faith without prayer, it’s like we’re swimming in sand. They really do belong together, and when we don’t keep them together (here it comes), we just can’t cut it in Life. There’s quite a lot more to scissors, though, than just the blades. Back (way back) in 2008, we had a post called 840AFC100308 – Faith and Wheelbarrows. (↔ Click Link) It was kind of fun to write because at the end we knew that the handles were Trust and Knowledge, the pan of the wheelbarrow is practical knowledge we learn in our lives, and then we went a bit bonkers with the wheel being consciousness and morality (check out the post to see how we got there).

Let’s begin with why “scissors” is a plurale tantum – that’s a noun that is used and understood as a plural without any form that is a singular of that noun. The etymology of scissors comes from a Latin word which referred to a cutting instrument with two blades that slid past each other. (c.f. “What’s the Singular of ‘Scissors’? at Merriman-Webster online). The simple answer is that over centuries we got used to the idea of referring to the two-bladed shears as a pair of scissors. HOWEVER, the scissors have more than the blades just like a wheelbarrow has more than a wheel and a “barrow” (the mound of “stuff” carried in the pan). Scissors have handles too, and if the blades work like faith and prayer, then the handles work like ways to “handle” faith and prayer.

What do we need to handle Faith? Well, we’d need something or some-One as the basis of Faith. Since those two items are – for Christians – directed at God, then the basis of Faith is Scripture through which God has continued to reveal himself since the day he first said, “Let there be …” Scripture is such a powerful tool! It provides movement, strength, and control in our lives. Now the other blade representing Prayer also has a handle. What do you suppose would be the handle for Prayer? Let me ask some simple questions. How did we first learn to pray? How did we grow our prayer life from those first lessons? Where do we most often  join hearts, hands, and voices in Prayer? We learned to pray from our parents, most likely; our parents who represent the Domestic Church. Later we are, hopefully, blessed to have some form of religious education through church, and as adults we find a “Church Home.” Let’s call the handle on the Prayer side of the scissors “The Church.”

Now, if Scripture and the Church are the handles of the scissors, it’s pretty evident that they most certainly are going to be working together. Each will assist the other in cutting through the bonds that that restrain us, or the fabric of our lives, or opening envelopes that bring us information we need for successful living. You know, when we use scissors, we pretty much always use them with one hand, our dominant hand, and one handle is operated by the thumb and the other handle is operated by two or three opposing (to the thumb) fingers like this:

   The action of the thumb is like the powerful opening and closing action of Prayer, and the action of Scripture is like the guiding action of Faith. Our hands guide the action of the scissors just like our thoughts, intuitions, and decisions guide our lives. We can see that Prayer is the type of action that happens when we work with God and with others in community. Prayer is a gift of Grace. We cannot give Grace to ourselves anymore than we can give Salvation to ourselves. Grace comes from God, God is always of and in community. Scripture and Faith help us to use the power we can experience through community and prayer. When Scripture and Faith, Prayer and Church all come together great things can happen! But wait!! There’s MORE!!

How in the WORLD can we use a pair of scissors that has no fulcrum? You know, that little post that holds the blades together so we can stick our fingers through the handles and make them work? Goodness sakes! If we have Scripture, Faith, Prayer, and Church, what else do we need to live a Christian life? Belovéd, the fulcrum for all those things is

OBEDIENCE!

And there is the meaning of the title of this post and the thread that runs through all the Key Verses. We see “ a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.” Next we have, “They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.” I read that as “disobey the Word, the Logos.” In the Gospel we see, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” Jesus’ entire human Life and Divine Life centered on obedience to his Father. This is why he says, “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” What is God’s Great Command? “I am the Lord your God. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. You shall Love your neighbor as yourself. I AM the Lord your God.” Can we truly forget that Jesus is God? If you are in CIAY, or a good student of theology, you will know that whenever one Person of the Trinity Acts, they all act together. Obedience is at the core of everything in our relationship with God – or rather we should say it is our disobedience that disfigured our relationship with God. His image in us has been damaged, but he wipes away the damage and helps us hold Scripture, Faith, Church, and Prayer together. Just one thing left:
Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love

In this short passage we have the traits of reverence and hope. When those virtues combine with obedience, we experience humility. We surrender to the Lord our present endeavors, or future expectations, and acknowledge his Primacy in all things. Can you take a guess at what part of the scissors this might represent? We’ve established that the fulcrum is the essential piece that makes it possible for the scissors to work. WHAT HOLDS THE FULCRUM IN PLACE? LOOK AT THIS PHOTO. The scissors’ fulcrum is held in place with a fastener – a nut, a bolt, a screw, or a rivet – something that keeps the fulcrum in place, allows the blades to work together without budging from its position. In the same way, humility anchors obedience. Without the fulcrum and its retainer, the scissors are not of much use. Without humility and obedience, Scripture, Faith, Church, and Prayer are also not of much use. “The eye of the Lord is on those who Love and obey him.” His Everlasting Love (↔ Music Link) is there every time we pick up the scissors. You must be tired of hearing this by now, but nonetheless “It’s in the Absolutely Perfect Plan.” God IS Love. He cannot, will not, stop watching us, encouraging us, guiding us, Loving us. (↔ Music Link. That’s a secular love song, but imagine Jesus singing that to you). So, what’s next?

How about this? “Yeah, so what?” said someone. We all know this game. We know paper covers rock, rock breaks scissors, scissors cut paper. Suppose with me then, that the rock is the World, a stumbling block to believers, and that the paper is the life we are given to shape and change and to beautify. The paper is a gift from God, and so are the scissors. When we use our Gifts against the World, the paper covers the stone but the stone does not go away. Also, when we use the scissors against the stone, they have little effect on the World and can damage or even break the scissors. Take a moment to reflect on what we’ve covered, and then think about this photo and compare it to 1 Corinthians 6:9-14. Add to that this passage from a couple of pages ahead of that one: 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 – 12 For what have I to do with judging those outside? Is it not those who are inside that you are to judge? 13 God will judge those outside. “Drive out the wicked person from among you.” Other than evangelization, we don’t do anything to change the World into something more like paper. But wait! There’s MORE! <groan>

1 Peter 2:4-5 – 4 Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and 5 like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. That rock up there by the scissors and paper? That rock is inanimate. It’s dead. When we shed ourselves of the World, we become living stones which can help to build a spiritual house with Christ as the Corner Stone (↔ Music Link). Let us leave the dead rocks alone and join up with the Living Stones of the whole New World. Take our scissors, too; walk – don’t run – with the Man from Galilee. (↔ Music Link) Repent and believe the Gospel, then go ahead and rock out alive forever and ever because YOLO-F. Peter tells us Christ was “chosen by God and precious to him.” Christ, the Messiah is “called ‘elect,’ as appointed by God to the most exalted office conceivable.” And we are called to that same life as his servants. We are called the elect, the chosen because “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes” (Ephesians 1:4 paraphrase) This word is ἐξελέξατο exelexato (↔ Learning Link) and it denotes chosing the best of its kind or class. What a GOOD God we have! He even gave us obedient scissors.

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

Aloha Friday Message – April 28, 2023 – Deeper than always

April 28, 2023

2317AFC042823 – Deeper than always

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    Acts 2:38 – 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

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.

2 Corinthians 9:8–11 – 8 And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. 9 As it is written,
“He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.” (Cf. Psalm 112:9)
10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us

1 Peter 2:23-25 – 23 When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

John 10:9-10 – 9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.  (See also 1718AFC050517 – Seeds and Sheep)

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! [We] pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth (of His Love), and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (See Ephesians 3:18-19)

Once again, we have a surprising topic (at least, it surprised me). “Deeper than ever,” or “Deeper than the deep blue sea” might be things we’d think of when a phrase starts would with the words “deeper than.” “Deeper than always” might spark a memory of Dolly Parton’s hit Longer Than Always (↔ Music Link) The lyrics (↔ Learning Link) are “kind-of-close” to something like a religious song as in Sister Act. Jesus certainly made it clear that he will love us “longer than always” and we certainly want to love God that way, too. But I digress. What about “Deeper than always?” How deep is that? We might want to ask a little fish about it (↔ Learning Link for “A Fish Tale” by Steve Brown). Just how deep is deeply Loving?

We know God is deeply Loving because God IS Love. God the Father Loves God the Son and that Love is so powerful that it lives as a Person named The Holy Spirit. These three persons eternally Love one another, otherwise we could not say “God IS Love.” Now, if you’re in the community of believers studying the Catechism In A Year, you’ll recognize that; but, if not, we can all recognize that Love is one of the fundamental characteristics of God. As a reminder, we recall that Perfect Integrity, Endless Mercy, Everlasting Love, and Eternal Salvation through Christ our Lord. Here’s how I think of that; it goes back – way back – to 10th grade and Plane Geometry with Mr. Hughes at TJ Hi. A line segment is a connection of points that has a beginning point and an end point. That’s like our earthly, physical life. A LINE is a straight path on a plane that extends endlessly in two directions – left-right, up-down, there-there. That’s like the Trinity – there is no beginning and no end. A RAY is a line segment that has a beginning point, but then extends continuously in one direction with no endpoint. That is like YOLO-F. Those four fundamental characteristics (four out of infinite) are but a few of the totality of the Eternal God. Moreover, the “line of existence” for God is endless in any and all directions. The deeper, the farther, the higher, the lower, the longer, the shorter, the all-in-all of that Divine Existence is completely humanly incomprehensible. Ahh, but the Love extant in that Existence is not. When we are touched by such Wondrous Love as This (↔ Music Link), we cannot keep from singing (↔ Music Link) as the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 71:8, 15-16 –
8 My mouth is filled with your praise,
and with your glory all day long.

15 My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
of your deeds of salvation all day long,
though their number is past my knowledge.
16 I will come praising the mighty deeds of the Lord God,
I will praise your righteousness, yours alone.

We who love the Lord can barely fathom how much Joy there is going to be as God immerses us in such endless Joy, and the endless echoes in our souls as we sing together with each other, all the Saints, and all the Angels. That’s pretty deep, but that Joyous Life will go deeper than deep because one Day we will sing an AMEN that has Perfect Integrity, Endless Mercy, Everlasting Love, and Eternal Salvation when the trumpet sounds and the dead shall be raised and sing God’s praise until Forever is Always every endless day!

THAT IS DEEP!

Belovéd, we are headed in that direction – quintazillions of rays with decazillions of intersections all going to and through the same place all at once forever. (If you don’t recognize those numbers, it’s because I made them up, but don’t tell Mr. Hughes.) Now, of course we can’t understand that, but guess what? WE DON’T HAVE TO UNDERSTAND IT TO BE LIEVE IT! I believe it because that’s HIStory, and I’m stickin’ to it! A certain Nobel-Prize-winning poet (↔ Learning Link) once said, “I was born a long way from where I belong and I am on my way home.” Encountering Life that is actually (not virtually) endless changes us if we try to embrace it. Sometimes whatever seems impossible to believe is confirmed for us in things that have no tangible connection to Faith. I’d like to show you an example of that – a quote from a guy who ran full-force, head down, smack into a brick wall – a prison wall. His name was Charles “Chuck” Colson.

You might remember him as a Watergate felon. His experience in that life seemed to change his direction. What happened goes back to that plane geometry lesson about lines, rays, and segments. Chuck’s life was a ray in politics, then he hit a point when his sins marked out a segment in his life and sent a ray in another direction – a proper direction. He eventually became a much-respected and often-quoted evangelist. Here’s how his experience for his criminal acts opened his heart to the Truth of the Resurrection:

  “I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren’t true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.” That’s deep, Belovéd, but not as deep as always, and definitely not “Deeper Than Always.” Is there anything we know that is that deep, deeper than always? The answer I always get when I ask that question is one of God’s most-favorite answers to prayer: “Not yet, but I have something even better in mind.” “I see,” says I, “I guess I’ll keep walking.” I know he will set me on the right path (See Psalm 25:4-5) and keep me there when I try to turn a ray into a segment (See Isaiah 30:21). I know he will lead me if I follow him (↔ Learning Link), so where he leads me, I will follow (↔ Music Link). As he told his chosen one, Israel “do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you,” (See Isaiah 41:10), and all we have to do is say “Yes” (See 2136AFC090321 – Opened to Hear, Closed to Fear). See also 1718 and 2201 “seeds and sheep” and “like a shepherd.” In the Key Verse from 1 Peter about having gone astray like sheep, we, too, must return to the Good Shepherd.

“Yes” seems like such a simple, perhaps even shallow, word – “Yes.” But look what happened when a certain you woman said “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” (See Luke 1:38) Belovéd, that’s deep!  About 33 years later, her Son – born of the flesh and in the Spirit – said “Yes, Thy will be done.” Belovéd, that’s deeper than deep! Because why? Because that means that death is not just the endpoint of another segment joined to another ray. It means that death is now a sign of Hope because Life is an Always thing, not a no-way thing. What comes next is still part of a ray which we have come to call a Ray of Hope. You know the Scripture: 28 “For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.'” (See Acts 17:28) There has been some … discussion (read “nitpicking”) over The Apostle Paul’s quote from a well-known poet (probably Aratus who had written that line around 300 years before The Apostle Paul spoke it here). His familiarity with that level of literature is an indicator of the multicultural education Saul of Tarsus had acquired before his conversion. Using that quote in the Areopagus in Athens would have certainly drawn closer attention to his speech. We have no “Epistle to the Athenians,” but we do have two epistles to the Thessalonians who had just thrown The Apostle Paul out of town, threatened his life, and even came to Athens to stir up more trouble for him. We also have two epistles to the Church in Corinth, and The Apostle Paul doesn’t mince words with them either. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, he lays out the image of the Church as one Body, the Body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12:27 he says 27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

Let that sink in a minute.

We are one body, The Body of Christ. (↔ Music Link) The Church is the Body of Christ. The Church is the Bride of Christ. The Church is revealed to everyone through the Holy Spirit as both visible and spiritual and is preparing all believers and nonbelievers for the End of the Age. The Church is here as the pathway to holiness and Heaven for whomsoever will respond to her mission of always restoring humanity to its intimacy with our Creator. That restoration will be the fulfillment of every prophecy, every prayer, every Scripture inspired by the Holy Spirit and that, my Belovéd Sisters and Brothers in Christ is about as close to Deeper Than Always as we can envision because “eye has not seen” (↔ Music Link). As we close today, please spend a moment thinking about Isaiah 64:4 and 1 Corinthians 2:9-13 – 9 But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the human heart conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. 13 And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual. What we learn from and through the Holy Spirit, therefore, is always deeper than always. The Apostle Peter started his ministry with the same words Jesus used when making present the Kingdom of God: Acts 2:38 – 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Day by day he makes himself known to us. Today we are asking that you read aloud all of the Key Verses and that you take a few moments to reflect on each before going to the next one. Go higher up and deeper in. Love so as to Love deeper than always so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness.

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

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

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

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

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

Aloha Friday Message – April 21, 2023 – Whadaya know!

April 21, 2023

2316AFC042123 – Whadaya know!

Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.
Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Ask them to email us or to subscribe on our blog-site.

    Acts 2:32-33 – 32 This [same]* Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear.
* In the koine Greek used in Acts, the word for same is houtos. I can put the Greek letters here, but they might not display correctly on your screen: οὗτος. So it turns out that this word, which is used in a bunch of places in the Bible, means this one, the one who was visibly present here among us, the one just named and none other than this one. There’s not another one, there’s no way it could be someone else. It will be precisely, exactly, permanently that same Jesus who died on the Cross and was raised up to Glory at the right hand of God. Follow up with 1917AFC042619 – THIS is important

Psalm 16:7, 11 a –
7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
11 You show me the path of life.

1 Peter 1:20-21 – 20 He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. 21 Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.

Luke 24:35 – 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread. This is the story of the Road to Emmaus. You’ll recall that later that same day – RESURRECTION DAY – he took a little trip to a village that was about 7 (yep, seven!) miles from Jerusalem. More on that later, first, though, I want to call to mind some very meaningful events that happened during Spring:

  • February 25th – 46th anniversary of my confirmation at St. Bede church in Montgomery AL
  • March 27th – 75th anniversary of my baptism as an infant at 1st Presbyterian Church in Rapid City SD
  • April 3rd – 68th anniversary 1st profession of faith at Corona Presbyterian Church in Denver. I had tyo recite the Apostles Creed unassisted.
  • April 5th – 54th anniversary of my baptism and first communion as a Catholic in 1969
  • April 18th – 57th anniversary of my selection for membership at Corona Presbyterian Church in Denver CO
  • April 19 – 54th anniversary or our Holy Matrimony. Charles O. Todd, III married Crucita A. Gonzales at Chapel 2 on Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio TX.

Events like these matter, and that is why we remember them. The First Eucharist is at the top of the list for important things to remember – “Do this in remembrance of me.” When we follow those simple instructions, life changes. And the change is for the better!

I would be remiss to focus only on these joyful celebrations when there are so many tragic incidents in our nation and in our world. The shocking events with the mass shootings of defenseless people, brutal deaths imposed by – and even upon – law enforcement officers, the evil actions perpetrated and boasted about by those who attempt to defend the so-called “right’ to murder the unborn, the grievous wars and persecutions all across the globe, and the corruption we see in all manner of institutions of government. All these are signifiers of the evil that underlies a pervasive culture of blatant deception and death. For those who commit such heinous and dehumanizing acts of terror, murder, and indifference to the sacredness of life, let us all the more reaffirm our resolve to make faith, hope, and love prevail (↔ Music Link) and above all to love one another as He has loved us. Belovéd, the whole purpose of the Moon Beam Network is to pray for one another and to feast on the Word. St. Ambrose of Milan said, “He who reads much and understands much receives his fill. He who is full refreshes others. So Scripture says: “If the clouds are full, they will pour rain upon the earth.” And if hearts are full of Love, the rain they make is refreshing indeed!

Let’s look back at our Key Verse from The Apostle Peter. He is on fire with the Holy Spirit and speaking with a boldness and certainty he did not have until then. He knows what he is saying is True, and it has liberated him to be a witness (martyr) for Jesus. The first thing he is moved to do is to share his anointing with others. His heart is overflowing with Divine Love, and he cannot hold it back – it bursts forth like summer rain which waters the Earth and brings forth new life. He is experiencing that limitless flow of Living Water Jesus talked about with the Samaritan woman. The Fire of the Spirit and the Waters of Rebirth! That is certainly something to S H O U T about, something to celebrate, something to remember! Look at the Key Verse again. Do you see that there are TWO asterisks? Wherever you see “this” written in Scripture, remember THIS is important. We have another important statement in Psalm 16. Let’s have another look at it.

7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. 11 You show me the path of life. How wonderful it is when we walk with the Lord with humble patience! With him, we are always seeing the World more like God sees it, and less like we formerly saw it before we joined him and his Disciples on the Road Home. Even when we are at rest, we converse with him and he with us. As we go toward the place he has prepared for us, we can be confident that we will remember 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.” Even as we sleep, our hearts are filled with good will, our ears with good advice, and our eyes with good rest. Our hearts are filled with gladness and our souls do rejoice, even our bodies flourish with confidence because we know our Road Home will bring us to Life Everlasting. Here’s why:

King David, the Psalmist, knew all this because God had revealed it to him in countless ways. David understood that God already knew how sin would be eradicated, Life would be restored, and God would once more live among his people. Jesus, the Christ of God, would bring all things back together by his incarnation, holy life, and salvific death. In David’s time, the Messiah was foreknown, but not yet manifested in the World. He came to Shepherd God’s sheep, (↔ Learning Link) the Peoples who follow his voice. What would happen if you and I were listening for Jesus’ voice and he said “Follow Me” (↔ Music Link) right this minute? Belovéd, is it true – as The Apostle Peter said – that our faith and hope are in God? If that is true, then we can pray in bold confidence, ” Lord Jesus, open the Scriptures to us; make our hearts burn while you speak to us.” Were not our hearts burning within us?!? (↔ Music Link)

My Belovéd sisters and brothers in Christ, these two Disciples recognized Jesus “in the breaking of the bread.” In what do I, do you, do we – whose determination it is to walk with him – recognize him? If indeed we walk with him, then do we see him in all the Corporal and Spiritual Acts of Mercy? ⇓ If not, why not? If so, then Whadaya know! If we see him there, we can see him anywhere and everywhere just as easily as saying it because he will be saying, “turn here, do this, help them in secret, rejoice and be glad, for your Father in Heaven who sees in secret will call you by name and we’ll all walk Home together.” Whadaya know about that? It sure sounds good to me! Do you want to know why? IT’S IN THE APP! Dear Friends, remember: YOLO-F

Corporal Acts of Mercy

feed the hungry
give drink to the thirsty
clothe the naked
shelter the homeless
visit the sick
visit the imprisoned
bury the dead

 Spiritual Acts of Mercy

counsel the doubtful
instruct the ignorant
admonish sinners
comfort the afflicted
forgive offenses
bear wrongs patiently
pray for the living and the dead

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

On The Road Again –April 14, 2023

April 14, 2023

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! As stated previously, we’re on the road again – figuratively speaking – so I’m just going to give you a link to a previous message: 2115AFC040921 – Enduring Mercy.

 This Sunday is Divine Mercy Sunday. Please consider the Mercy of God in your own life as you read this post.

If that one doesn’t strike your fancy, you can give this one a try: 1716AFC042117 – What is Mercy?

Next week we should be “back to usual” – whatever that is.

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

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

Grace and Peace to each of you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit.

Aloha Friday Message – February 7, 2023 – Short and Simple

April 7, 2023

w2314AFC040723 – Short and Simple

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.

A pile of keys outside an antique shop in Eton.

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Christ Jesus our Lord. You might recognize ← this image. It means that this post is loaded with Scripture. The title – Sort and Simple – refers to the fact that each passage will be presented on its own, for the most part, with a few comments interspersed here and there.

Today is Good Friday (↔ Learning Link), and we are in the center of the Triduum – a very L-O-N-G single event that begins on Thursday evening and runs through Sunday morning. During that period, my hope is that you’ll will make time to review some of these passages – even use the links I’ve provided – and soak your soul in the sweetness of Holy Scripture. Before we get into that, though, just a little housekeeping.

Beginning tomorrow, April 8, Crucita and I will be on a little “stay-cation” up in Princeville on the North end of Kauaʻi. For next Friday’s post, I will send you only a link for something I will (or have already) post(ed) before we depart. It’s only around 25 miles away, but on some days it can take more than an hour to get from there to Kapaʻa, and 2 hours to get from Princeville to Lihuʻe. Whatever I chose or prepare will need to be read online. The link will also be posted to my Facebook page (I hope). Please remember: if you are using an iOS device, you can select “Reader Version” if you find it difficult to read light-against-dark printing colors. We also have a little rectangle in the upper-left corner of each post that will give you a non-dynamic text version. OK, then! We’re off to see the King! (↔ Music Link) As you approach each passage, I encourage you to read them aloud or at least “silently vocalize” (lip-sync) each of them.

We begin with some well-trod ground with phrases that are not Scripture, but are scriptural – the memorial acclamations used in the Eucharistic prayers before and after the revision of the Roman Missal beginning in 2008:

We proclaim your death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.

When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your death, O Lord, until you come again.

Save us, Savior of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection, you have set us free.

Dying, you destroyed our death; rising you restored our life. Lord, Jesus, come in glory.

Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again.

When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death, Lord Jesus, until you come in glory.

Lord, by your cross and resurrection, you have set us free. You are the Savior of the World.

Save us, Savior of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection, you have set us free.

Here we begin with Scripture, but not necessarily in chronological order. As you speak them please try to sort them into their places in the History of Salvation fully aware that history is His Story.

Some of those should ring a bell, I hope, and as you read them please remember to speak them.

Luke 2:9-11 – 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see — I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.

Genesis 3:15 –
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.”

Genesis 12:1 – 1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.   

  Psalm 2:7 –
7 I will tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have begotten you.

Psalm 51:15 –
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
(do you remember the response in the Prayer to the Holy Spirit which begins with the words “Incline unto?”

Isaiah 7:14 – 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. World English Bible (WEB) Used with permission.

A REFLECTION ON WHAT IS HERE SO FAR:

He refused to save himself so that he could save all of us. Therefore, we have gratitude and we are given grace to understand so we can continue to fulfill our mission in his mission because we will have distractions which will require us to stay focused on Jesus. In the Life of Christian Service, and on our mission, we are broken and shared because a broken heart expresses, and exposes, its secret of seeing how beautiful is the body of Christ. (↔ Music Link)

Psalm 110:3
3 Yours is royal dignity in the day of your birth;
in holy splendor, before the daystar,
like the dew, I have begotten you.”

New Catholic Bible (NCB) Copyright © 2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. All rights reserved. [Used by permission]

Psalm 110:4 –
4 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

We always remember, of course, the momentous event that brought us “ a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord” as it is told to us in Luke 1:28-38 – Our Holy Mother’s fiat. (OPEN THE LINK and meditate on the full content and impact of the event that led to the defeat of Ha-Satan)

The following were made available to us by our Brother and coworker in Christ, Nicholas J Stojakovich. They remind us that as Christians and Jews we are now targets of many hate-crimes; however, we have a fortress, a refuge, a Strong and Mighty Arm to defend us!

Genesis 50:20 – 20 Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.

Romans 8:28 – 28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

Psalm 33:10 –
10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.

Psalm 21:11 –
11 If they plan evil against you,
if they devise mischief, they will not succeed.

Job 5:12-13 –
12 He frustrates the devices of the crafty,
so that their hands achieve no success.
13 He takes the wise in their own craftiness;
and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end.

Psalm 21:11 –
11 If they plan evil against you,
if they devise mischief, they will not succeed.

And in the same way we are certain that “they will have their reward.” (See Matthew Chapter 6 for multiple examples. Understanding these lessons from Jesus is essential to Christian life.)

We also know that God commands that HIS rules for the universe are what we are to follow, the moral criteria for living a Blesséd Life, and not the amoral or contra-moral laws implemented by political vermiforms such as these:

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 – 9 Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, 10 thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

God (remember that’s the same as “Trinity” in these pages) does not permit anything or anyone contaminated with unrepented evil to enter his house, so here are some additional wise words for those folks who think they can outsmart God by going, “Nyah-nyah-nyah-nyaaah-nyah! You can-a-an’t catch me!” Take a moment to let the underlined words sink in when it comes to so-called “refuge cites” that decry and defy moral law and tout their immorality – like Honolulu for instance.

   Proverbs 6:16-19 –
16 There are six things that the Lord hates,
seven that are an abomination to him:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that hurry to run to evil,
19 a lying witness who testifies falsely,
and one who sows discord in a family.

It is the Lord who judges, and his judgment is just. He knows the heart of each of us and rewards us according to his Perfect Integrity, Endless Mercy, Everlasting Love, and Eternal Salvation through Christ our Lord. Sometimes during Mass, if we are listening carefully to the Eucharistic Prayer, we might hear these words:

Eucharistic Prayer IV – Intercessions (partial) Remember also those who have died in the peace of your Christ and all the dead, whose faith you alone have known.

This weekend we are given extra and very special time to be contemporaneously concomitant (↔ Learning Link) with Jesus as we listen to the whole array of Messianic Scripture, prayers, and Rites that comprise the Triduum. The most beautiful, the most important, and the most dear of these treasures from the hand of God are these:

Matthew 26:26-30 – 26 While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many* for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” ** πολλῶν (pollon) from πολύς (polus) {pol-oos’} – signifies ‘many, numerous’; with the article it is said of a multitude as being numerous or abundant, plenteous; many, a large part of mankind. This is similar to the Hebrew word רַב (rab) {rab} – much, abundant, abounding, great or great in numbers. (↔ Learning Link)
30 When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

(See also Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46)

We can also seek the will of God when it comes to our choices. How is it possible that we can so easily betray Someone whom we love so much?! Our prayer can also be “Not my will but yours be done.” Often times we end up praying “Not thy will but mine be done. Here’s my list.” Let’s not, and say we know better. If we focus on our intentionality as Disciples, we must know that without Calvary there is no Easter, and without Easter, there is no Bride of Christ. When we struggle with the rigors of obedience and humility, it will be those four words that will make our struggle fruitful – THY WILL BE DONE. (↔ Music Link) It’s a short and simple way to rest against The Master’s shoulder and know that we are finally safe at Home. We arrive at living with Jesus by Living For Jesus (↔ Music Link) That’s the Power in the Blood that animates the Absolutely Perfect Plan.

God bless you always and all ways. See you in two weeks, but watch for a link after seven days.

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

BE SURE TO SEE OUR PRAISE REPORT HERE!

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 – 033123 – Obedience Or Humility?

March 31, 2023

2313AFC033123 – Obedience Or Humility?

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.

    Matthew 27:46 – 46 And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” [1]

Mark 15:34 – 34 At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (↔ Music Link)

Isaiah 50:5-7 –

5 The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious,
I did not turn backward.
6 I gave my back to those who struck me,
and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;
I did not hide my face
from insult and spitting.

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

Isaiah 53:10 –

10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain.
When you make his life an offering for sin,
he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days;
through him the will of the Lord shall prosper.

Philippians 2:7b-8 – [he was] born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
8     he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death –
even death on a cross.

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. There is so much I want to share with you today, but if I put it all into one post … well, it wouldn’t be prudent. Nonetheless, I want to pluck some bits of Scripture from this fascinating set of readings and make a few comments – call them reminders – about what we hear every year. We will be hearing about 1] the entry into Jerusalem; 2] the institution of the Eucharist and Priesthood; 3] the agony in the garden; 4] the arrest and trial of Jesus; 5] Peter’s denials of Jesus; 6] Judas’ regret – not repentance – and suicide; 7] the release of Barabbas (whose name means “son of the father’); 8] the cruel scourging of Jesus, the mockery of the soldiers, and the crown of thorns; 9] the demands of the crowd stoked by the Pharisees; 10] the Way of the Cross, and conscription of Simon of Cyrene; 11] the barbaric crucifixion of Jesus and two criminals; 12] and the death of Jesus. Today we’ll pull up some tidbits from the readings, from previous posts, and from whatever sources inspire comment. This will happen in two parts – all done today. Buckle up! We’re gonna do another deep see dive.

Part 1 – Scripture Before the Passion
The first Key Verse for today is from the 7 Last Words series. Here is a quick analysis of it:

Mark 15:34 – At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Greek Text:
᾿Ελωΐ, ᾿Ελωΐ            λαμὰ             σαβαχθανι
Eloi,    Eloi               lema             sabachthani
(elói,   elói)              (lema)           (sabachthani)
{el-o-ee’, el-o-ee’}    {lem-ah’}       {sab-akh-than-ee’ or sab-akh-than’-ee}

Matthew 27:46 – And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Greek text:
Ἠλὶ*,   Ἠλὶ*              λεμὰ             σαβαχθάνι*
Eli,      Eli,                lema             sabachthani
(éli)     (éli)               (lama)           (sabachthani)
{ay-lee’, ay-lee’}       {lam-ah’}       {sab-akh-than-ee’ or sab-akh-than’-ee}

Psalm 22:1 – My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?

Hebrew Text (from right to left):
עֲזַבְתָּ֑נִי                     לָמָ֣ה               אֵ֭לִי                  אֵלִ֣י
‘ă·zaḇ·tā·nî             lama             ’ê·lî               ’ê·lî
a zahb thāh nee      lā māh ale-ee           ale-ee

Now, why does this old man want to look at this? First, we sometimes wonder what language Jesus was speaking. The final analysis given by most scholars is that it’s Aramaic – sort of. In Mark’s transcription, it’s partially Hebrew. That’s a minor point. The important point is why Jesus said that. Did God the Father really, really, ignore, dismiss, or abandon Jesus? Of course not! Jesus was never abandoned by the Father! Why? Because the Father Loved the Son and the Son Loved the Father. Jesus – as God the Son – could not be abandoned by the Father; but, he could feel in his humanity the agony of death, separation, and aloneness. The humanity of Jesus certainly felt the abandonment of being alone in his death throes while most of his trusted companions for the previous three years were in hiding. God did not abandon Jesus to suffering, but Jesus perhaps felt the same sense of hopelessness that all humans feel in times of great duress: “Where is God in all this suffering? Surely a good God would not allow this?” Remember – he told his Disciples he must suffer greatly and be killed.

Why was it the will of the Lord to crush him with pain? Was it because God enjoyed seeing his Son suffer? Of course not! Was it because God was taking out his vengeance for all of our sins on Jesus? Not really. Remember, Jesus willingly laid down his life. (See John 10:18) this was part of God’s Absolutely Perfect Plan. Whose plan was it? God’s plan. And just to check our understanding of what that means, what should be our understanding of who GOD IS with regard to that plan? Was it God the Father who said, “Son, I’ve got some Good News and some bad news.”? Was it God the Son who said, “Father, I think I have an idea that will clear up this whole mess.”? Was it God the Holy Spirit who said, “How long should we wait before we proceed with our plan?” You have guessed the correct answer! It was ALL of the above! God has always been a community of Love. There wasn’t any “imposition of will.” There was only congruity of will! If, then, “everybody” in the Trinity was in agreement, everything went according to plan.

Every (good) plan has achievable goals and clear objectives. The Goal in this plan was to restore us (every living soul who ever sinned – and that’s plenty of us!) to the Community of Love that existed among God and Earthlings before sin entered into the World. The objectives were 1] God takes on human form (humility) 2] grows up according to human customs, 3] preaches to humans about being humbly obedient, and 4] dying the death he helped plan with his Father and his Holy Spirit for our Salvation. God’s Plan of Salvation was not for his benefit – although as we have seen it pleased him to formulate it and bring it to fruition – but while God was pleased to create this Salvation, he is all the more pleased to bless and approve this plan for our benefit. He is especially delighted, joyous, pleased-as-punch to see that we are redeemed by this plan. “By his stripes we are healed.” What kind of language is that for prophesy? Shouldn’t prophesy be future tense? Yes, you are right again! God has no future tense, no past tense, only present tense all the time everywhere. That pleases God who are always happy to destroy the barriers between God and Man. He who gave himself as a ransom for us all (↔ Music Link), he who paid in full (↔ Learning Link) all the debts of all your, my, and our sins, including death, he who willingly sought to please God so that God might be pleased to welcome us back into fellowship with Him – HE is pleased that WE are once again fully HIS. Is that cool or what!?!?!

That certainly pleases me. It also blesses me because it blesses God. It pleases us because when we say “God Bless YOU,” we mean that blessing to be in present tense in the same way that God is in present tense – all the time and everywhere. We have been given the remarkable Gift of Free Will so that when we finally hear and understand that “he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (See Isaiah 53:12), we will know why Isaiah says, “through him the will of the LORD shall prosper,” (See Isaiah 53:10c).

Part 2 – Scripture during the Passion

We’re going to skip ahead to the trial and then work out some things around that historical point. Here’s an example from the Old Testament –
Isaiah 50:5-7 –
5 The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious,
I did not turn backward.
6 I gave my back to those who struck me,
and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;
I did not hide my face
from insult and spitting.
7 The Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;

During the so-called trial of Jesus, as he was shuffled back and forth between persons of authority, he did not answer questions, did not debate, did not call down fire and brimstone or lightning on those who struck him, stuck him, or tried to trip him up. “Like a lamb to the slaughter … ” he opened not his mouth. In the Garden of Gethsemane his humanity was sorely tested as he contemplated the duress he would suffer as he took up the final objective in God’s Absolutely Perfect Plan. I’d like to come up with some beautiful words to sum that up, but The Apostle Paul said it best here in Philippians 2:7b-8 –

[he was] born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
8      he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death –
even death on a cross.

Now that we have come to this point, we begin to see why the topic for today is “Obedience Or Humility?“. We might ask ourselves, “Did Jesus have to be humble to be obedient, or did Jesus have to be obedient to be humble?” Which is the antecedent disposition – humility or obedience? The best answer seems to be “both,” but I’m going to risk picking one. By asking a few questions.

Q: What was the foundation of the lie the Serpent used in the Garden?
A: God doesn’t want you to be like him, but you can get around that by doing this.
Q: Of the Seven Cardinal Sins, which is most directly connected to this temptation?
A: Pride, because when we choose to determine our own destiny rather than rely on God’s Absolutely Perfect Plan, we throw humility to the winds, and fly away with all its blessings. We know God wants a heart that is contrite and humble. Do we obey him when we try to achieve that? Or do we start with humility and work our way up to obedience by becoming meek and lowly? Are we coming to the conclusion that we need both simultaneously? Can we be obedient without being humble – without submitting to another (or Another) out of Love, respect, or even fear (not reverence -real fear). Can we be humble without being obedient? If that’s what God wants, then we must humbly set aside our own silly little plans and live by the APP.  But what about contrition? Is that humility or obedience? Let’s see what Scripture says.

We offer our contrition because it opens our hearts and lives to God’s forgiveness and forgetfulness:

We can begin with a very familiar verse which is often cited when discussing the moral condition of the Nation and the World: 2 Chronicles 7:14 – 14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. To be contrite is to feel sorrow and/or pain when we acknowledge of sins. There are four steps: Humbly acknowledge our sins, seek and accept forgiveness, continual awareness of God’s presence and care in one’s life, and fully repent by avoiding sin and the desire to be tempted – the “near occasion of sin.” Then we can rely on God who says unequivocally, “I will heal you.”

Isaiah 43:25 – 25 I, I am He
who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins.

The Apostle Paul  reminds us that this is God’s plan instituted the day Adam and Eve turned against him. Acts 3:19-21 – 19 Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, 20 so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah appointed for you, that is, Jesus, 21 who must remain in heaven until the time of universal restoration that God announced long ago through his holy prophets.

The Apostle Peter adds: Acts 2:38 – 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Why does God even care if we repent? Because of his everlasting intentional Love. He doesn’t want the sinner to die. He wants us to acknowledge our need for repentance, and then do it.

Luke 15:7 – 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Can you imagine that? When we repent, HEAVEN REJOICES?!? Luke 15:10 – 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. Jesus know that all of that was possible for only one reason:

Luke 24:46-47 – 46 … and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

How can this be? How can God forgive me, forgive you, forgive us who have sinned and will doubtless continue to sin? Romans 5:5b-8 – 5b … because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8 But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

By now, the answer is becoming clearer. It is Humility AND Obedience continuously working together in our hearts that bring the Light of Salvation to our souls. There is a “secret” to making these actions work together smoothly. We combine them, support them, and utilize then that arises out of Trust in the perfect integrity, endless mercy, everlasting love, and eternal salvation that is ours only in our El Shaddai-Olam – the Almighty-Everliving God – through the passion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus, the Christ of God. That combination is the antecedent of the pain and sorrow we know in our contrition. Check out Psalm 51:17.

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]  Jesus was on the cross for about 6 hours. The Earth and all that is in and around it – including the Earthlings – was created in 6 days. The Number of Completion is 6. The day of Christ’s passion began in chaos and ended in completion just like his Creation. God’s Absolutely Perfect Plan is always right.

 

Aloha Friday Message – March 24, 2023 – Believer! Come Forth! – Lent Week 5

March 24, 2023

2312AFC032423 – Believer! Come Forth! – Lent Week 5 (↔ Music Link)

Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often. Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Ask them to email us or to subscribe on our blog-site.

     Ezekiel 37:12a – Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people;

Isaiah 25:7-8 – And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.

Romans 8:8-9 – 8 Those who obey their human nature cannot please God. 9 But you do not live as your human nature tells you to; instead, you live as the Spirit tells you to — if, in fact, God’s Spirit lives in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. Good News Translation (GNT)[1]

Happy Aloha Friday, Beloved. We are already at the fifth Friday of Lent, and this coming Sunday the Gospel is about Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha. The account of Lazarus’ death and resuscitation is powerful emotionally and spiritually. This family was one of Jesus’ favorites. You can tell by the intimacy he enjoyed there that Jesus loved this trio of believers. It was Mary who anointed Jesus feet with fragrant spikenard ointment and dried his feet with her hair shortly before his Passion and Crucifixion, and this act prefigured his donning a towel and washing the feet of the apostles on that holy night. Jesus was at their house often, and perhaps they had known each other since before he began his ministry. We can imagine how these three people lived in their home in Bethany. There is no mention of other family or parents. Bethany was close to the Mount of Olives. Jesus passed through there on his way to Jerusalem more than once. It was near Bethany that the Disciples witnessed his Ascension. These three, then, were people Jesus really, really cared about. He loved them in a very special way.

Around the time of this event in Jesus’ life, there was a strong movement among some of the people to capture him and kill him. His Apostles, Disciples, and other friends were very concerned about these constant threats on his life. Jesus knew about the threats, and he also knew how it would all turn out, he knew what would ultimately happen to him near Bethany, in the Garden of Olives. He knew what had happened to Lazarus, too; despite knowing all the pain associated with that knowledge – Lazarus was dead and Jesus would soon be crucified – Jesus stayed with his mission of teaching and healing. When someone tracked him down to tell him about Lazarus, Jesus told them, “He is only sleeping.” They took that to mean Lazarus was resting and getting better. He told them point-blank that Lazarus had died, but his death would not be the end of the story or his life. Finally he says he will go to his friends’ house so that he can demonstrate God’s power and will. That’s when one of my favorite Bible characters pops into view again. Here’s the passage from John 11:1-45 (← Check it out!):

John 11:16 16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” Thomas fascinates me! He always seems to be a beat behind, or maybe he was just a strong pessimist, “Oh, well, if we’re going to Bethany, we’re all gonna die!” Then again, he might have been the bravest one in the bunch, ready to die with his Master and friend. Later on (John 14:5), Jesus is telling them – in the Last Discourse, “Don’t worry. Everything will be alright. You know where I’m going. I’ll come back and get you.” Thomas pops up again and says, “How can we know where you are going? We don’t know where you are going so how can we know the way?” And of course Thomas is most famous for saying, “I won’t believe he’s back until I see him for myself.” Thomas wasn’t in the Cenacle – the Upper Room – when Jesus first appeared to the 11 after his resurrection, and so he got stuck with the moniker “Doubting Thomas.” Odd that he should doubt Jesus was resurrected because he had been a witness to the resuscitation of Lazarus. He stood there with Jesus, Mary and Martha, and all the other mourners as Jesus, his heart stirred emotion and tears in his eyes, and he shocked them all with what he said in John 11:38-39:

38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.

Everybody there went, “What?!?! It is not a good idea to move that stone. It’s going to smell really bad, and … you don’t really want to do that now. You should have come a week ago when he got sick and you could have healed him, but now, it’s too late. He’s rotting away in his grave.” Jesus must have given them quite a look before he turned toward the tomb where Lazarus had been placed. He told Martha straight out, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” Somebody, maybe several people, maybe even Thomas (although there’s no way to know for sure who moved the stone) had the courage to lift that stone out of the way. Then THE Moment in John 11:43-44:

43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Lazarus, come forth!

     Lazarus came out of the tomb all wrapped up in the trappings of death. He came out to new life. He came out to fresh air, sunshine, solid ground, and within a short time, he and Jesus were reclining at the table enjoying a feast prepared by Martha and enjoying the fragrance of the ointment Mary was lovingly massaging into his feet.

Jesus’ tender sympathy for these friends shows us the very human side of his person. His heart is deeply moved, and he groans inwardly because of their pain. He joins them in shedding tears, but he is also hearing the cries of the mourners and sees the impact the loss of Lazarus has on this tiny community of Bethany. Together they had shared in the joys of life, in the happiness of Jesus’ visits, and now they shared in the mourning, weeping, and immense sorrow of these two sisters who had lost their beloved brother, a brother who had entertained Jesus in his home. In fact, these sisters hoped and prayed that they would be reunited with their brother. They just did not expect it to happen that day!

Some of the bystanders had insinuated that if Jesus could make the blind see, he could surely have gotten here in time to save Lazarus’ life. Jesus’ actions deliberately counter that idea. He gave them something much more powerful than a healing to talk about. He gave them a restored life in broad daylight in front of many witnesses.

So, let’s get to the point. For whatever reason we doubt God’s love or Jesus’ saving power, he is always ready and able to exceed all our expectations, even if it seems to us he is four days late! (↔ Music Link) Whether we go to our death with him from bravery or loyalty or from a sincere fatalism that recognizes our frailty, if we die with him we shall rise with him. And when we rise with him he will take us where has prepared a place for us. But we need to respond when he calls. Why? BECAUSE WE BELONG TO HIM just as Lazarus did. As The Apostle Paul said in our Key Verse from the Epistles today, But you do not live as your human nature tells you to; instead, you live as the Spirit tells you to — if, in fact, God’s Spirit lives in you. In many translations that phrase “if in fact” is rendered as “if only.” We must be wary of any spirit other than the Holy Spirit who keeps us in the heart and mind of Jesus. When we are humble and obedient as Jesus is humble and obedient, then the Spirit of God does indeed dwell within us because we belong to Jesus. (↔ Music Link) The way of the World is pride and disobedience – the sources of original sin – but the way of the APP is humility and obedience – the sources of Salvation. IF ONLY the Holy Spirit of God dwells within us (See 1 Corinthians 6:19) so that we are his temple, then the Absolutely Perfect Plan is also living within us to “guide us to all Truth.” (See John 16:13) When we live in the Light of Truth, then the veil of death (see Key Verse in Isaiah) will be taken away and we shall rise up with him on That Day.

Take away the stone even if you have to do it yourself! The stone in front of your tomb. Move it! Yes. Take away whatever it is you are hiding behind, whatever it is that keeps you in your tomb of death, and step out to meet our Lord in the Light of his Word. He calls all of us to come away from the death of flesh to be alive in Spirit, alive in our Creator, our King, our Savior, or as Thomas put it so well, “My Lord and my God!” We can come away from the death of sin and come alive, renewed, revived, and resuscitated from our former self. Shed the wrappings of death, and the stench of decay. Listen with our ears and hear with our hearts. Strip away the things that bind us to our death. Loose the things that stop us from walking into his Light, his Everlasting Love and Eternal Salvation. Be freed of the trappings of death. Take away the stone! He is calling you, calling me, calling US! to come forth!!

     And here is something to think about: Jesus did not move the stone. Lazarus did not move the tone. Neither Martha nor Mary moved the stone. The friends of Lazarus (↔ Music Link) moved the stone. Sometimes we are liberated by the love of others around us from those things which have us paralyzed as if we were dead . They take away the stone, they open the way to new life. They can help us pull off the wrappings of death and support us in new life – a Life everlasting because of the Love given to them by God and shared by them to us. WE can be counted among the Friends of Lazarus. WE have to get up and go out of the tomb and back into life! WE have to respond with every fiber of our being when the people who love us call, as Jesus did, WE can be deeply moved enough to stand at the door of death and cry out in faith –

“Beloved, come forth!”

In humility and obedience we do as he says. Rise up. Go to him. Live. He has already swallowed up death in victory!

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

Originally posted under Aloha Friday Messages at https://aloha-friday.org – The Moon Beam Network See 1414AFC040414 – Believer! Come Forth! Edited for content and images.

[1] Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible. Used by permission. Approved by USCCB  for use.

Aloha Friday Message – Light For Sight – March 17, 2023

March 17, 2023

2311AFC031723 – Light For Sight –Lent Week 4

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!  There are quite a few music links here (for the purpose of REJOICING) so look for the (↔ Music Link) signs and use them.   John 9:5-7 – [Jesus said,] 5 “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, 7 saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.

Me ke aloha pumehana, ʻŌmea! Already we are past the half-way point this Season of Lent. Sunday is Laetare Sunday so named because of the introit (entrance antiphon) which in Latin begins with “Laetare Jerusalem: et conventum facite omnes qui diligitis eam: gaudete cum laetitia, …” which means “Rejoice, O Jerusalem: and come together all you that love her: rejoice with joy, …” For this special Sunday, the vestments and church appointments are rose-colored (“pink”). Rose vestments are also used during Gaudete Sunday, the Third Sunday in Advent (see gaudete above).We are reminded that we are now joyfully looking forward to Jesus’ continuing final journey from Capernaum, through the Samaritan town of Ginae, on through Jericho, Bethany, Bethphage, and then his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. That is of course followed by his Passion, Crucifixion, Death, and Resurrection. For many parishes around the world, it is also the Sunday for the Second Scrutiny when the Elect. who are preparing for the Sacraments of Initiation – Baptism, Confirmation, and First Holy Eucharist – will testify with their godparents or sponsors that they are ready to proceed on their final journey to these Blesséd Sacraments. On this Sunday, we hear the story of “the man born blind,” or “blind from birth.” There are several such stories in the gospels. Here is a summary of sorts:

 

Passage Content Summary
Mark 8:22-26 A single blind man in Bethsaida [a] – Βηθσαϊδά (Béthsaida) { bayth-sahee-dah’} “House of Fish” – is brought by others. Jesus spits on his eyes, touches him once, and the man sees but indistinctly. Jesus then touches him a second time and looks at him intently and heals him.
Mark 10: 46-52 A single blind man called Bartimaeus cried out “Son of David, have mercy on me.” Jesus tells others to bring the man to him. Cloak is thrown aside. [b] Requested to see. Spoken word healed him.
Matthew 9:27-31 Two unnamed blind men – “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” “Do you believe I can do this?” Healed through spoken word without touch. Occurred at “the house”, probably in Capernaum
Matthew 12:22 A blind and mute man who is demon-possessed (“a demoniac”), probably in Capernaum just after leaving Jairus’ house, is brought to Jesus and he casts out the demon. The man can see and speak.
Matthew 20:29-34 Two unnamed blind men by the roadside as Jesus was leaving Jericho. “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes.
Matthew 21:14 14 The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them.
Luke 7:21 Possibly in Nain where he raised the widow’s only son: 21 Jesus had just then cured many people of diseases, plagues, and evil spirits, and had given sight to many who were blind.
Luke 18:35-43 As Jesus is going toward Jericho, a blind man sitting by the road calls out “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” the man replies, “Lord, let me see again.” Jesus says, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.”
John 9:1-41

The Gospel for March 19, 2023

Second Scrutiny

 Jesus seems to be in Jerusalem where he saw an unnamed man, blind from birth. It may be that Jesus, who was a frequent visitor to Jerusalem, had seen him there previously and knew of his condition; the scripture does not describe how Jesus and his Disciples knew his condition was congenital. He makes clay with his saliva which he smears on the man’s eyes, and sends him to the Pool at Siloam. The man is able to see. He returns to his neighborhood and people wonder about how he can see. The Pharisees investigate, and the man testifies “32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind.” Jesus upbraids them for their spiritual blindness.

 

[a] A small fishing village on the western shore of Lake Gennesaret, home of Andrew, Peter, Philip and John or a village in lower Gaulanitis on the eastern shore of Lake Gennesaret, not far from where the Jordan empties into it.

[b] There is a very important lesson here about evangelization. Follow the link to learn more about it.

Jesus uses this healing to make a point about the spiritual blindness of the Pharisees. In the Gospel of Matthew he chides them eight times for their obstinate and persistent duplicity. As we study these passages, we are also cautioned about being blind to the Love and the Power of God. Your surely remember this first verse from the hymn Amazing Grace: (NOT ↔ Music Link)

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound (↔ Music Link)
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

Blindness is a human condition that has been around since Old Testament days – at least! Not being able to see is a serious condition for almost any animal. We know there are some animals (↔ Learning Link) that do not have eyes; but, of those that have eyes, when the eyes do not function, there are other compensatory behaviors that develop. These include everything from increased sensitivity of other senses to physical assistance from a sighted person – a person who can see – or from a “seeing-eye” service animal. We find ways to adapt to the evident limitation caused by blindness. Rarely would one become intentionally blind – at least physically. We know that blinding a person was a form or tortuous punishment – thinking here of Samson – but one would not do that to one’s self.

However, spiritual blindness is abundant, and those who are spiritually blind often cling to their blindness with tenacious defiance. When we call attention to their refusal to “see the point,” we sometimes say something like “What! Are you blind? Can’t you see what you’re doing?” This kind of intentional spiritual blindness is usually associated with arrogance and self-righteousness; other words for that combination are hypocrisy, duplicity, insincerity. We describe people like that as being two-faced, liars, pretentious, and having double standards. That’s what Jesus chastised the  Pharisees about in the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew 23:13-29. In this passage, Jesus refers to the Pharisees as “blind guides” and “blind fools.” Eight times he says “Woe to you …” Jesus is slamming them for their hypocrisy; the Pharisees are deeply angered, and the crowd is stunned by Jesus’ tone. The Disciples are trying to understand how Jesus – whom they now know to be the Messiah – can speak in such a disparaging way to the men considered the most-righteous among the Jews. Naturally, the Pharisees were pretty upset to be publicly rebuked like that. And – as we earthlings with big-headed pride often do – they tried to argue their way out of the doghouse. Of course, that backfires, and they slink off scene smoldering with anger and hatred.

We find the idea of “making the blind to see” throughout Scripture, and it is usually expressed as a physical recovery of sight. Here are a couple of examples from the Old Testament.

Psalm 146:7b-8 – 7b The Lord sets the prisoners free; 8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.

Isaiah 42:1-9 – I have given you as a covenant to the people; a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

In the Gospel of John we find a curious saying from Jesus” John 9:39-41 – 39 Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment [c] so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” – [c] Κρίμα (krima) { kree’-mah} This word signifies a judgment, a verdict; sometimes implying an adverse verdict, a condemnation. These verses describe for us a spiritually symbolic meaning of the restoration of sight; the Pharisees are not the innocent blind, willing to accept the testimony – guidance – of others. They are intentionally blind, preferring their own reason and wisdom about their careful observance of The Law to the plain truth of Jesus’ message of redemption through Christ’s Law of Love. Those who surrender to The Law of Love gain sight while those who cling to only The Law and The Prophets remain intentionally blind to the salvific grace of God’s redeeming love. The Pharisees are offended by The Truth from Jesus, but at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, Jesus has this to say about them in Matthew 11:4-6 – 4 Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. 6 And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

When Jesus went to Nazareth at the beginning of his ministry, he read from the scroll of Isaiah, sat down, and then told everyone in the synagogue that “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” To compare what he read with what he said, check out these two links: Isaiah 61 ↔ Luke 4:16-21 (Go ahead. It won’t take long, and you’ll be enriched by seeing how the passages fit together so well, especially in the CJB.) Jesus is, as we see in our topic-verse for today, the Light of the World.” (↔ Music Link) After he sent us his Spirit, the Holy Spirit, We are the Light of the World. (↔ Music Link)

Here’s something the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth. See 2 Corinthians 4:2-4 – 2 We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

This is precisely what Isaiah was talking about in Isaiah 29:9-11 – 9 Stupefy yourselves and be in a stupor,
blind yourselves and be blind!
Be drunk, but not from wine;
stagger, but not from strong drink!
10 For the Lord has poured out upon you
a spirit of deep sleep;
he has closed your eyes, you prophets,
and covered your heads, you seers.

11 The vision of all this has become for you like the words of a sealed document. If it is given to those who can read, with the command, “Read this,” they say, “We cannot, for it is sealed.” How is it sealed? It is sealed to those who are unworthy to open the seal. Who is unworthy? The unworthy are those who will not see the Goodness of God in his Mercy and Love.

Belovéd, are we blind to the Goodness of God in his Mercy and Love? Jesus resolutely set his face toward Jerusalem. You can follow that journey beginning at Luke 9:51-53 and continuing on through Luke 19:44. Pretty much 11 of the 24 chapters in Luke’s Gospel detail this journey. Jesus and his Disciples made that journey. Will you walk it with him, or must he walk it alone (↔ Music Link) – without you? Maybe we can catch a ride on that chariot (↔ Music Link)  God sends for the Saints! Or perhaps we can just open our eyes and see Jesus’ Glory beyond the agony of Good Friday. That will be our glory as well for “we shall see him as he is.” (See 1 John 3:2) In keeping with our running theme of repentance this Lent, perhaps we need to go and wash, and then come back able to see. If we can see here, we shall certainly be ready to see there. We know this because we know God’s 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.


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

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

Originally posted under Aloha Friday Messages at https://aloha-friday.org – The Moon Beam Network 1712AFC032417 – See Here. Edited for content and dates.

See 1848AFC113018 – 2018 Advent Series #1

 

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