Aloha Friday Message – October 15, 2021 – Mind your betters!

October 15, 2021

2142AFC101521 – Mind your betters!

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.

     Mark 10:43-45 – 43 But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Belovéd, why did I choose this strange title? I did not choose it. I asked, “What do we call this?”, and there it was, so … here’s what I found out:

This regional, outdated idiom is an adage that means “Courteously submit to those who hold better status.” There are a couple of instances in literature that contain the phrase or something similar: The Beau Defeated by Mary Pix (ca. 1700) – BETTY: Peace, and mind your betters. Another close example is in The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare (ca. 1589) – KATHARINA – Your betters have endur’d me say my mind, now it’s my turn to say my mind ab’ut my betters.

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. At the outset, I wish to salute our Pastor at St. Catherine of Alexandria Church, Fr. Nicolas Apetorgbor – Fr. Nick. In his very moving homily last Sunday, October 10th, he spoke in depth about the effects of the Sword of the Spirit – last week’s Aloha Friday Message for us. He pointed out that not only could the Word, the Sword of the Spirit, guide us in discerning good from evil, but also it helps us discern between Good and Better. Now, that lit up my brain like the Fourth of July! With some forty years in Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement Management, and also principles of management training, I have repeatedly reminded people that whatever we have or do, we can always have or do better. Eventually we hope to reach the level of “BEST,” but even BEST can sometimes be made Better. Let’s see where that epiphany takes us.

In today’s Key Verse, Jesus is reaffirming his willingness to lay down his life for the redemption of “many.” The word used here for “many” is πολύς (polys) {pol-oos’}, and in this context it means “multitudes,” in other words, innumerable. Christ died for all sinners. His sacrifice was sufficient for every created soul living in sin. The fullness of his sacrifice comes to completeness in those who persevere in faith through all persecutions in all forms (remember Mark 10:28-30). The function of his Mercy is to redeem all, but his Mercy affects all who believe in him. El Shaddai-Olam created all Life and his APP includes Salvation for all. Another example of this use for “many” or “Multitude” is found in Genesis 17:5 – 5 No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations.

Jesus willingly sacrificed his life as the perfect “sacrificial victim.” The implications of that term are wide-ranging. When we think of someone as a “victim,” we envision one who is innocent and is suffering persecution – even death – not for anything s/he has done, but rather for the nefarious purposes of the perpetrator who has no regard for innocence, Life, or intrinsic worth. If we apply the Sword of the Spirit to that sort of situation, we can clearly see we are discerning Good from Evil. Jesus, the Christ of God, submitted to being a victim to appease the pride, greed, and treachery of those who felt threatened by his radical message of Love. He carried that message with him to the Cross, to the Grave, to Sheol, to Resurrection, to Glory. We are given that same message, the message of Love, to share as good stewards of The Word. When we exercise that stewardship by “preaching to all nations (like even in our neighborhoods!), and if we do that we “receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.” Now, what could be better than that?

Indeed, what could be better than that? He said his reward for anyone “who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the Good News” would come to us “now in this age.” Are we still waiting for that to happen? Have we a hundredfold increase in our lives? How would we measure that anyway? I’ve taught for years that “What gets measured is what gets improved.” We can’t improve something we don’t know about, we can’t measure what we can’t see. How do we see what can be measured and improved? Is there any reference to which we can turn? (You’re getting warmer! Go ahead and take a guess!) YES, there is! The B.I.B.L.E. is our reference book, our measuring tool, our compass, our map-box, our direct copper-wire to God. (You already know what’s coming next.)

Where is YOUR Bible?

Pick a place, a problem, an idea, a need, a fear, a hope, an ADVENTURE!, and it’s waiting right there in the B.I.B.L.E. (Remember that’s Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth) for you to find it and use it. Do we need some help with that? Let’s see, is there someplace we can go, or someone we can see, as often as we like – maybe someone who is just a few recycled electrons away, or someone who studied how to use this reference source and tells us about it at least weekly? Well, where, and who, and how, and – come to think of it – WHY? Of course we want to think of and thank our Pastors (so mahalo nui loa Fr. Nick). We have an Aloha Friday Message – primarily as a venue for Intercessory Prayer but also getting into The Word – and in those messages are dozens of links to Scripture passages. (which we hope you use). The purpose of those links is to take our readers into and through The Word of God (Yes! It is indeed God who speaks to us there and we ought to be listening!). What might we find if we are looking for something Better than Good? Hmmm. That means we’d have to see something and measure it. Just for the sake of convenience let’s go back to our Key Verse and see what can be seen. I’ll transfer part of it here for us to review: [Jesus said] whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. Wow, we can only imagine how that sounded the first time Jesus said it. Do we wish to become great? Is that better than being “not great?” If we are basically indistinguishable from everyone else, that’s not so great; that’s humiliating. Still, being humbled is great – God himself said so in Micah 6:8 (remember?), so to be great we must be humbled as servants of … whom? Well, of course, God, but Jesus said the one who is desirous of being “exalted” must be the servant of all – everyone we encounter in our earthly sojourn. Furthermore, if we wish to be “first among our peers,” we must be the slave of all. Go-o-o-o-o-lly! In this age of PC-MeToo-BooHoo, saying “slave” or even “servant” – “Them’s fighten words, podnah!” In the context of Jesus’ speech at that time and place, it would mean being devoted to another to the disregard of one’s own interests. Instead of “ME first!,” it must (always!) be “After you.” Where is the instant gratification in that? Surely that cannot be appealing to vast numbers of people (πολύς) in this day and age – BUT Jesus says that circumstance is the prerequisite to successful citizenship in The Kingdom. Which, then, is better? Is it citizenship in The World with wealth, fame, comfort, and the high regard of everyone we encounter? I don’t think so. It is quiet, humble, and consistent service to God, to family, to Church, to community, to Nation – in short to everyone we encounter in our lives.

Now this does not mean that we take up a new career as a speed-bump and just lie down and let people run over us all day. No, it means we spend our days looking for those “Little things done with great Love,” and then doing them – quietly, justly, mercifully (↔ Click Link). That is a better way to use our Gifts. Do we have any of those? Yes, all of us have Gifts from God, and if we accept them, he expects us to use them. And there are instructions for that right there in our B.I.B.L.E.

1 Peter 4:10 – 10 Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received, and in James 1:17 we read – 17 Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. God can’t help it, I suppose I would say, if he is way too generous. Just because he happens to be extravagantly loving (↔ Music Link) with you, he simply will not stop flooding our lives with gifts! So why is it that we are often so reluctant to acknowledge these gifts (and thereby honor the giver), and fickle in wanting to share them by serving others using those very Gifts from God? Think of all those questions that might arise if we are trying to do something better than being a speed-bump. Is any of that really important to know? Is any of it in the B.I.B.L.E.? Let’s go look!

Romans 12:6-8 can give us some insight into this avalanche of questions: 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.  So, we have these gifts so that they can (should) be given – shared – with others, and the sharing is best when it is absolute, when everything (↔ Please Click Link) we have is given. Belovéd, that is ha-a-ard work! But it is also GOOD work – in fact it is BETTER work. Take a look at what the Apostle Paul says in Acts 20:35 – 35 In all this I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” On reflection, that definitely sounds like something Good and certainly it is a status that is Better-Than-Good. Well, based on all of that, what could we say is one really important attitude to have in order to be notable in the Kingdom of God?

Ahhh, indeed it is that ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE (↔ Music Link) about which we speak so often.

When we learn to be thankfully humble and humbly thankful then we are ready to take up the duties given to us in Christ Jesus: For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve. If we are looking for a better way to live, then what could be a better source for gratitude than to serve the One who came to Serve? That gratitude will lead us to more and more opportunities to serve, so we will be the servant (↔ Music Link) of all and soon we will find that in every moment of every day we are praying constantly to find the next thing, moment, person, opportunity, or Bible verse, that is BETTER. We will be paying attention to, giving deference to, being open to, and being mindful of “our Betters.”

Mind your Betters, Belovéd. They are another extraordinary Gift (↔ Music Link)  from God.

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 – October 8, 2021 – Sharpen your sword!

October 8, 2021

2141AFC100821 – Sharpen your Sword!

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.

     Hebrews 4:12-13 – 12 Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Right at the outset I want to acknowledge my youngest brother, JOHN EDWARD TODD who went to the Lord recently. Today would have been his 61st birthday. We’re happy to celebrate that with him (YOLO-F, remember?) and look forward to celebrating many other wonderful events of his life.

Now, let’s get to the business at hand. The readings for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time include a wonderful passage from the book of Wisdom (↔ Click Link), Psalm 90 which has us singing for joy as we witness to the works of God, the above passage from the Letter to the Hebrews, and the story of The Rich Young Ruler. We’ve previously weighed in on these topics. To be bluntly honest with you, I seriously considered just giving you the links to the two older posts that cover this set of readings and leave it at that. Alas and alack, there was more that the Holy Spirit required, so we’re going to follow his directions. Nonetheless, I think it’s OK to share those links with you. You can find these posts at 1541AFC100915 – The Wisdom of Love and 1841AFC101218 – Prophet and Loss. I’d also appreciate it if you would look at this little piece about My Mother.

     Looking at our Key Verse and the image next to it, you may have guessed there is another bushel of Scripture headed our way. Since that’s the case, let’s ROLL! I’m sort of hoping you’re already ahead of me in knowing what I mean by “sharpen your sword.” Do you remember “The Full Armor of God”? (↔ Click Link) It is described in Ephesians 6:10-18. The particular piece of equipment I refer to is in Ephesians 6:17 – 17 Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Follow that link to see the whole passage.) We’re going to have to do some word etymology here so please get through this next bit with the kindness that comes from patience.

Roman legionaries in the Apostle Paul’s day carried a short two-edged sword called a gladius. That’s the Latin word for it. The Greek word is machaira. This means a short, sharply pointed sword which was “two edged” – dístomos in Greek – having “two mouths.” The nickname for that blade was “drinker of blood.” It was a very effective weapon because not only could it slash and cut like a single-edge blade, but also it could stab and slice thereby inflicting greater harm. It was indeed a superlative weapon – AND SO IS THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, THE WORD OF GOD!

Note what the Apostle Paul says at the beginning of this passage – 2 Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit. We are given this superlative weapon for battling against the Accuser. Why is it important that it divides soul from spirit? Let’s think of our soul as our intellect, our recognizable being in life. Our spirit is that part of us given by God to make us like him – we are spiritual beings, like him. What does the Accuser attack? He wants our soul, our understanding of our presence in Life. He accuses us of being sinners (and we are), and testifies against us saying we are unworthy of God’s Love and Salvation (but we are NOT!). He draws our attention away from God, and exaggerates our focus on us, blinding us to Truth. He hammers away at our hearts and minds so that we find ourselves in deep waters of remorse and regret, but he turns us away from Repentance! He serves up the garbage of our past as the treats for our pity-party. Jesus – the Word – stands against the Accuser. Satan tries to make us believe we are so corrupt that God has abandoned us in disgust.

Jesus convicts us with the Law, but does not accuse us. He speaks his Word of Love in our soul and spirit so that we realize we have sinned and long to return to fellowship with Jesus and our Brothers and Sisters in Christ – the Church. Our focus is diverted from the introspective derision Satan the Accuser uses and is turned toward the Cross where we know we find forgiveness, not abandonment. We are drawn closer to the Lord, closer to the Light, and we experience sincere contrition (not paralyzing guilt) and effective repentance. Thus, being closer to the Lord, we rest in the confidence of God’s Love and deal a painful, debilitating blow to Satan with our Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.

Now, why “Sharpen your Sword” for today’s topic? Surely you’ve guessed by now. What good soldier would leave his sword gathering dust in the bookshelf, or rusting away in some musty closet? We have this Spiritual armament given by God to fight against the Accuser. Are you getting pummeled by Satan? Suit up and get out there and fight! If we’re sitting around moaning, “Poor me, Jesus’ own little Christian sibling, I am so bullied and beaten by the Devil,” just dump out that mindset. Come ON! This is WAR! WAR! Ephesians 6:12 – 12 For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. What happens to you, to me, to us, to the World if we do not fight?

What? Don’t we know the word of God? Look what God himself says: Jeremiah 23:29 – “Is not My word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that smashes a rock?” And if we refuse to fight, refuse to believe God is with us? Jeremiah 17:10 – I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. Please think back to our discussions about prophesying – speaking the Word of God. That is how we use this Sword of the Spirit: We speak it and – better still – we live it. Moses opined that he wished all of God’s children would be Prophets. What would that be like? Check this out: 1 Corinthians 14:24-25 – 24 But if all prophesy, an unbeliever or outsider who enters is reproved by all and called to account by all. 25 After the secrets of the unbeliever’s heart are disclosed, that person will bow down before God and worship him, declaring, “God is really among you.” (↔ Music Link) Try to imagine how that would feel to the Accuser! OUCH is an understatement!

Well, by now you may be wishing I had just left you with those two links and have done with it. I can’t do that because before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account. Scroll up a paragraph or two and reread Jeremiah’s prophesy. Here’s how Jesus followed up on that: John 12:48-49 – 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge, 49 for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak. We can’t just phone it in. We have to be out there on the field of battle, (↔ Music Link), fully armed, and we sure better sharpen our Sword because that’s how we resist the Devil – with a good sharp poke in the keister I’d say. This is WAR! JEHOVAH SABAOTH – the Lord God of Hosts – is our commanding General. We must be prepared to follow his orders as given to us through his Son and the Son’s Brigade Commanders, our Church leaders: James 4:7 – 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. That happens because The Word is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. That’s what the Accuser wants to destroy so that he can have us forever body, soul, and spirit. Let’s sharpen our Swords! Study, practice, learn, memorize, drill, train in the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God! Onward to 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

 

Aloha Friday Message – October 1, 2021 – Bless God for Consecration

October 1, 2021

2140AFC100121 – Bless God for Consecration

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.

     1 John 4:12 – 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

Mark 10:6-9 – 6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

The liturgy this weekend in many churches will focus on marriage and the pledges given to God and to each other by men and women who share the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. That is a topic I would love to write about because it is such a perfect exemplar of the wisdom of God’s Creation and God’s Plan.  The readings on October 3, 2021 come from Genesis 2:18-24, Psalm 128, Hebrews 2:9-11, and Mark 10:2-16. All of these passages make references to the blessings inherent in a happy and consecrated relationship between a man and a woman. It is just one of the countless ways God blesses us in ways that show us – by example – how his universe and his law work together to make our lives replete with blessings. I will share with you an example of how a man and a woman living a life consecrated to God can begin. This is a lyric I wrote for my sister Merilee’s wedding many years ago.

MY LOVE, MY JOY

My love. My joy
I will want you all my life
Close to me
And yet, still free.
We shall be
One My Love

Together we will reach for stars
And always find them near.
With Jesus as our constant friend
We’ll have nothing to fear.

When times get rough,
Or things go bad,
We’ll stand together
Hand in hand

My Love. My Joy.
This will be our first of days.
My Love. My Joy.
With this ring I do thee wed.

Just to refresh our memories, let’s look at how God gifted Adam with a corresponding earthling: Genesis 2:21-25 – 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man*, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman** and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken.” 24 Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.
* אּישׁ (ish) {eesh} – man, husband
** נָשִׁים (ishshah) {ish-shaw’} – woman, wife

In the passage above, we have a description of how God brought about this marvelous duality of beings. Eve was created from the flesh and bone of Adam. You might call it mythology, but I call it Common Sense. Here’s why:

God had created animals out of the clay even as Adam was created, and Adam gave them names (↔ Music Link). When God saw that none of those were suitable for a companion and helpmeet for the man, he took part of the man and made of that a partner for him. Adam liked the change! He took one look at Eve and said, “at last!” I have a suitable companion. That joy in seeing Eve was a blessing for God. It made God happy to see Adam happy, and I dare say Eve was happy to see Adam as well. She was, quite literally, “made for him.” Talk about love at first sight! But, as we well know, later those two came to a rough patch in the road. Maybe it had something to do with the quality of materials used to create them?

Man comes from dirt, and – as I have often said here – that pretty well defines his character – dirt. Woman comes from dirt that had been improved by making it a living being; woman was created from the flesh of the man. Woman, it could be said, was created from better ingredients, not just dirt, but improved dirt. I might be borrowing from Papa John Pizza a little – “Better Ingredients. Better People.” Men – who come from dirt, remember – have a hard time accepting that “first” is not directly-equal to “better.” I am reminded of “The Diaries of Adam and Eve” as translated by Mark Twain:

Adam: “Dear Diary. This new creature with the long hair is a good deal in the way. It is always hanging around and following me about. I don’t like this: I am not used to company. I wish it would stay with the other animals. (To himself) Cloudy today, wind in the east, think we shall have rain. We? Where did I get that word? I remember now, the other creature uses it.”

When a married couple learns that the pronoun “WE” is the appropriate pronoun for a couple, that is when God is also praised, because that is when God’s intentions for Man and Woman come together. They are “one flesh” and – in many ways it seems – also one soul if everything is working well. I cordially invite you to look back with me to February 14, 2011 for a special message about how that works for Crucita and me! We have celebrated that Wedding Day for over 52 years – 2737 weeks – and there is still Love (↔ Music Link)

Please take a look at the key next to today’s Key Verses. You see the three rings? That’s what a consecrated marriage is all about – the three of us opening doors to ever-greater blessings. Wait, why is it three? Well, there’s you and there’s me and Jesus makes three. In our courting days, Crucita and I came to complete and irrevocable agreement on living a Christ-centered marriage. It’s always “we three.” Once Crucita was explaining that to a child and he replied, “It must be crowded in bed that way.” Well, no, it’s not crowded because we all share equally. Note that in the key, the circles are of equal size. There’s a better way to understand that. Do you remember Venn Diagrams? Take a look at this one:

The heart of a consecrated marriage – the place where love lives eternally – is right there in the middle of that. Each contributor has room to express self, and also shares equally with self and other. When all-self and all-other share equally, all is well because all is Blessed. Sometimes some folks have a hard time believing that a married life, a consecrated married life, is a blesséd life. That’s the imperfection of humanity expressing itself and sort of smudging up the edges and intersections of those circles. God knows what it is supposed to look like though, and he sends us directions for corrections. That’s one way God blesses us. It’s also one way we bless God.

We see these words “bless the Lord” in scripture so many times, especially in the Psalms (see Psalms 16, 68, 104, and 134 for samples). When I think of a blessing, I usually think of a gift, a really nice gift, which God has given me. “Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts ….” He blesses me constantly with food, shelter, love, friendships, knowledge, skills, abilities, feelings, beautiful surroundings, temporal comforts, and (best of all) Salvation. Anything I have, I have only because it came from him so anything I return to him was already his in the first place. How is that a blessing? How can someone who is clearly insignificant give a gift that makes the Infinite greater? Or maybe I just don’t understand what “bless” means.

Here I go again, looking at the real words used in the real Bible so I can understand the real meaning. The word used in verses 1 and 2 is the Hebrew word “barak” which means “bless.” It looks like this: ברך barak {baw-rak’}. Among the synonyms are bless, salute, blessing, praise, kneel down, congratulate, give thanks, and to be adored. Now, that makes more sense! If I add all of that together, I come up with “worship” or “honor” or “reverence.” I am not trying to confer my favor on God; I am offering him my recognition of his omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence, and Omnibenevolence. I am acknowledging he is God and I am not. I am extolling, praising, exalting, applauding, revering, lauding, and glorifying God. And there’s another one of those words! Glorify God. God is the penultimate Glory. So that makes me wonder …

Q: What can my puny existence add to his Glory?
A:  Nothing.
Q: What does God need from me?
A:  Nothing.
Q: Then what can I give to God?
A:  Everything.

Huh?

 Q: If he’s got everything and he created everything and he is everything and he’s in everything, and everything I have comes from him … how can I give him everything?!?  
A:  By extolling, praising, exalting, applauding, revering, lauding, glorifying, and thanking God. That is how we bless God.

There is also the idea throughout the Bible that blessed and happy are the same thing. “Blessed are the poor in spirit …, blessed are those who mourn…, blessed are the meek…, blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness….” We know those blessings mean “happy are those who….” So I believe we can also bless God in the sense that we make him happy. He does everything he can to make us happy, so we surely can think of some things we can do to make him happy. In fact, we have a whole Book called the Bible which is full of ways to make him happy. One of the best ways he recommends is to make him happy by loving each other because he loves us and because we love him. Love. My Love. That is something I can give to God that is mine to give even though I received it first from him (please follow this link to 1 John 4:19 to see what I mean). And it’s just what he wants, too. Note I did not say it’s just what he needs; he doesn’t need anything from me; but, he will accept my love. He will accept your love. Most remarkable of all, he accepts and participates in the consecrated love in Holy Matrimony.

And do you know what else? He will accept our love! When you and I take the love he has given us, break it up, multiply it, and share it with each other … we can give that multiplied love to him too. When we bless the Lord, it is because we have understood that we are blessed by him. When we understand that blessing, we understand better how to recognize the blessings he keeps heaping into our lives. We feel grateful, so grateful that we bless him for his goodness.

Adam and Eve were Consecrated by God to God For God. Validly married couples share that blesséd state; it is what God intended from the get-go.

God created man for God, not as God, but for God. God created Woman for man and only for man – not for woman, not for beast, not for abuse or neglect – for man; and in and with man, Woman is created for God.  They are consecrated by God to God for God and for each other. Sin has corrupted that Consecration, but sin has not eliminated that Consecration. Earthlings have tried mightily for all of recorded time to get around the idea (and ideal) of that Consecration, and they’ve made quite a mess of Life because of those efforts, BUT we have not eliminated the holiness of being created to serve God together as one flesh – as one entity if you will. In our sinful stubbornness, we’ve tried thousands of ways to wiggle out of that – everything from divorce, to prostitution, to domestic violence, to  gender confusion, to character assassination. All of those things are wrong because they contravene the Holy Consecration of Man and Woman to God. We have made prodigious efforts to essentially slap God in the face for daring to create us as complementary, harmonizing, paired beings. We have demanded that God “stay out of our business” so we can redefine his Gift of Consecration according to our own poor judgment. What foolishness that is! (See Isaiah 45:9 and Romans 9:21) Throughout our history we have contrived to make society primarily patriarchal – with a few exceptions of matriarchal structuring. Whichever we choose, we have nearly always forgotten that LEADERSHIP IS NOT OWNERSHIP. (Please reread Ephesians 5:22-33 as a reminder of how God intends Matrimony to be lived.)

Men and women who attempt to replace individual perceptions of self with anything other than what God created us to be forcefully disrupt the essence of human nature. Husbands and fathers who neglect their children and abuse their spouses, wives and mothers who neglect their children and abuse their spouses, men and women who manipulate and abuse each other to satisfy carnal cravings – all of these are contrary to the Creator’s intentions for the descendants of אּישׁ and נָשִׁים. Pause and reflect for a moment on this quote from Matthew Henry (1662-1714):

     “Eve was not taken out of Adam’s head to top him, neither out of his feet to be trampled on by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected by him, and near his heart to be loved by him.”

God did not, has not, will not Consecrate or condone any other Matrimony. Earthlings have attempted to change the definition of Matrimony and marriage as a marriage solemnized as a civil contract without religious ceremony between any two human beings regardless of gender. Some have also decided that it’s pointless to even consider marriage when cohabitation – regardless of gender or number – brings psychosocial satisfaction to participants. Let me state as plainly as possible; this is wrong and must be condemned as must all other aberrations of relationships between men and womenbe condemned. It is equally wrong to say, “it’s none of my/your business.” If that’s not acceptable, we’ll have plenty of time between now and the Resurrection to complain about it to God – you see, he makes the rules; we don’t!

Bless the Lord (↔ Music Link), O our souls, and all that is within us bless his Holy Name. That is the Prayer of Gratitude from the heart of a consecrated marriage. How blessed are we who have been gifted in such a Divine way!! My Love. My Joy. We shall be ONE My Love!

Belovéd if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

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

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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 – September 24, 2021 – THUS SAYS THE LORD

September 24, 2021

2139AFC092421 – THUS SAYS THE Lord

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.

     Numbers 11:29 – 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!”

James 5:5-6 – 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.

Mark 9:39-40 – 39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 Whoever is not against us is for us.

THUS SAITH THE Lord. That phrase occurs well over 400 times in the Bible, all of them in the Old Testament. It is the announcement made by a Prophet appointed by God to speak the Word of God to his people. Speaking what God says must be spoken is a powerful state of life. It is also a precarious state of life because if one misspeaks or, even worse, fabricates a prophecy, the outcome is completely unpleasant. God will not be misquoted. Our Triune God says in Ezekiel 12:25 – 25 But I the Lord will speak the word that I speak, and it will be fulfilled. It will no longer be delayed; but in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and fulfill it, says the Lord God. One of his prophets summed it up like this in 1 Kings 22:14 – 14 But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak.”   [He was prophesying against King Ahab and predicting his death. Micaiah (↔ Click Link)  means “who is like Yah.”] The Lord does not speak without intent. When the Lord speaks, he speaks through humans – usually men but sometimes women as well – and his messages are always given proper attribution. Let me explain what I mean by that.

The title of this piece is “Thus saith the Lord.” When that announcement is made, whatever follows is communicated to the Prophet directly and intended to be proclaimed to the People – most usually (and always in the Old Testament) Israel. When I’m reading something in a book or magazine or (worse even) online, and I see this introduction – “I believe the Lord is telling us to …” – as far as I’m concerned, that’s an opinion, not a prophecy. Nowadays it’s pretty rare for someone to stand up and say “Thus saith the Lord.” The people hearing would think “That guy is nuts.” It’s not really any surprise that in ancient Israel, prophets were viewed that same way. Jesus mentions that the ancestors of the Jews killed the prophets. The Bible tells us that Zachariah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah ben Jehoiada were murdered. Jezebel and King Ahab murdered hundreds of prophets. Elijah ordered the death of 850 Prophets of Baal (See 1 Kings 18:16-45). Prophets never have been popular because they make it clear they work for and with God. Sinners do not, and therefore don’t like to be reminded that God always has an Absolutely Perfect Plan (the APP) that always includes repentance, forgiveness, and blessings for love and obedience and also always includes accusation, judgment, and punishment for indifference and disobedience. It’s a pretty simple system. And it works very well as long as the People pay attention to the Prophets – the real, true prophets. We are reminded to be aware of the false prophets. We should take a moment to see how they work.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:24 – 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. They do have power, but it is not power from God. Here’s how they get and use that power. First, they are deceivers. Jesus calls them wolves dressed up like sheep. They seem good, kind, gracious even, and certainly religious; but, “religious” is not the same as “righteous.” Their piety is petty and shallow, and they are quick to retaliate when criticized although the retaliation is from their own heart, not the Holy Spirit. Moreover, their “prophecies” are limited in scope because their understanding of the history, content, and purpose of Scripture is narrow and selective. These are the “proof-verse” spiritualists who usually pull things out of context and make them sound believable only within the context of their interpretations. In addition – and this is the most dangerous part. – they set themselves up as the final arbiters or authorities on what they proclaim. They may claim to have exclusive information from God or perhaps his permission to shepherd God’s people. Well, the People of God who are in Christ will not be persuaded because they know his voice and follow him. (See John 10:27) False prophets are looking for idolization, income, and ideology. They pretend to understand the Scriptures, but they fail every time. Whenever God raises up righteous Prophets, Satan raises up as many or more religious Prophets. If what they say is inconsistent with Scripture, Tradition, or Teaching – RUN! Let’s look at some real Prophets.

     In our first Key Verse, Moses is wishing that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them! That way all the Lord’s people would be intimately connected with God and would be “a light for all the nations.” Obedience would be much improved, as would their love and respect (“fear of the Lord”) for God. Indeed, a nation, a society, even a Church or a family, so devoted to God would be a worthy ideal. But, we are sinners, and we simply are not able to consistently serve God properly. What is often surprising, though, is when someone seems to sort of “fall into” that role like Jonah. Sometimes that includes strangers not even named. In the passage from Matthew, the Disciples are all in a fit about someone who is “not us” doing what “only us” has been doing, and they are apparently doing it in Jesus’ name. (See Mark 9:38-41) Jesus wisely tells them to cool their jets by saying no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 Whoever is not against us is for us. Belovéd, the Prophets are for us and for God; the false Prophets are not. I mentioned some of them like to rake in the cash (do not read that as a sweeping characterization of the so-called Tele-evangelists!) and have huge beautiful buildings, churches with thousands of members, jets, cars, and a formidable entourage. Let’s look at what James said about that. I reiterate:

5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you. Prophecy is not a job one takes to improve one’s status in life! Imagine being told to lay on your side for a whole year, or having to run for your life because the Queen is sending her henchmen to kill you. The Prophets who did best in the eyes of God were the ones who repeatedly said “THUS SAITH THE Lord GOD,” and then stood their ground regardless of the opposition. They believe that what the Lord says is true and they know that God can do anything he says. One of my favorite examples of that is the story The Healing of a Boy with a Spirit. You’ll find that in Mark 9:14-25. Jesus asks the boy’s father about his son’s behavior. After the description, the father says (See Mark 22b-25) but if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us.” 23 Jesus said to him, “If you are able!—All things can be done for the one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out, “I believe; help my unbelief!” 25 When Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You spirit that keeps this boy from speaking and hearing, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again!” I have used that father’s prayer many, many times. Sometimes I pray in a similar way, I love; help my lack of Love! There is a reason God sends us Prophets; he wants us to know the power of belief. “Faith can move mountains” is a familiar adage based on a Bible verse (can you find it in your Bible?) Saying that does not make one a Prophet, nonetheless it is a Word from God – it tells us how to trust him in all things. That’s the purpose of prophecy – to let us know what God is thinking, and then how to think as he thinks. Sometimes he gives us a warning and tells us the dire consequences of failure to act on that warning; but, guess what? Every warning comes with a blessing, every curse comes with a blessing, every punishment comes with a blessing FOR WHOEVER REPENTS, OBEYS, AND BELIEVES THE WORD. Prophets remind us that God always, always, always Loves us and all he requires from us is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might (See Deuteronomy 6:5) and but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God. So easy to remember … until we forget. Belovéd, let’s take a moment to make a moment.

If we want to be inspired, to be instructed, to be edified, to discover a revelation from, for, or about God, we are looking for a Prophet because that’s what Prophets do. Some prophecies come with conditions (do this and/or I’ll do that) and often the conditions are rather explicit. The outcomes are also often explicit – reward or punishment based on obedience. He expects us to be finished with sin.
Today, I ask all of us, “Are we done with sin? Do we commit to loving God and neighbor as he commanded? Are we done with the life we have chosen to live, including the times we suppressed our consciences? Are we ready to hear God ask us, “ARE YOU DONE WITH THAT?” Well, are we? Like you, I’m doing the best I can – I hope – but, honestly, it’s not enough. In whatever way God decides to deal with those who are deemed unworthy of Heaven, I absolutely aspire to be in that other group and I absolutely do not want to be guilty of failing to warn, to coax, or to plead with and for any soul that could end up being separated from God in any fashion whatsoever. I just want to encourage you to Take Time To Be Holy (↔ Music Link) and to remember You Can’t Be A Beacon if your light don’t shine (↔ Music Link) so that God may be all in all as his Prophets foretold. Belovéd, come to the Light and share in the Feast. Come to the Table of Plenty (↔ Music Link). God will provide for all that you need. Do not let that old liar and thief break in and steal your Joy! Come to the Table and live The Abundant Life. Here is an excellent reason to do so: Joel 2:28 – 28 Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Moses’ prayer that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them, will come into being when all of us open our hearts and minds to the Power of the Holy Spirit as testify as Prophets for the Lord.

For further study, please read 1804AFC012618 – A Prophet In Deed for a little Prophet humor.

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.

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

Aloha Friday Message – September 17, 2021 – Love and Prayer, War and Peace

September 17, 2021

2138AFC091721 – Love and Prayer, War and Peace

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.  AS FOR THOSE ANNOYING ADS ON THE MUSIC LINKS, JUST WAIT A FEW SECONDS BEFORE LEFT-CLICKING AND THE AD WILL CLOSE ON ITS OWN.

A pile of keys outside an antique shop in Eton.

Psalm 40:1 – I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry

Wisdom 2:18 – 18 For if the righteous one is the son of God, God will help him and deliver him from the hand of his foes.

Psalm 54:4 – 4 But surely, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.

James 4:1-3 – 1 Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Don’t they come from your pleasures that war in your members? 2 You lust, and don’t have. You murder and covet, and can’t obtain. You fight and make war. You don’t have, because you don’t ask. 3 You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. World English Bible (WEB) by Public Domain. The name “World English Bible” is trademarked.

Aloha pumehana, a me ke akua ho’omaika‘i ‘oe, ʻŌmea! Warmest Aloha, and may God bless you, Belovéd! Today I want to bring together two characteristics about our relationship with God and with each other. The first is LOVE. The Second is PRAYER. God loves us unconditionally. Jesus commands us to love each other as he loves us – unconditionally. We tell God – the Divine Trinity – about our LOVE in prayers of adoration, thanksgiving, and praise. In our prayers we also ask God to be mindful of the persons we LOVE. I want to look at both of these biblically and also share some practical ways these actions – loving and praying – work together.

First, I want to share with you some verses about God’s LOVE. It is so amazing that, if I did not believe in it, it would be incredible. It is credible, however, because we can see it and feel it in our lives, in our hearts and minds, and especially in the love we share among each other. Here are some – only a few – of that wonderful things we know about God’s love – and we know them because they are things HE told us!

It is an Everlasting Love
Jeremiah 31:3b – I have loved you with an everlasting love; (↔ Music Link) therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.

It is a Manifested Love
1 John 4:9-13 – 9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world (↔ Music Link) so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. (↔ Music Link)

It is a Redeeming Love
Isaiah 63:9b – It was no messenger or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

Jude v. 21  21 keep yourselves in the love of God; look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

It is a Preserving Love
Romans 8:38-39 – 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

It is a Persevering Love
Isaiah 55:3b – 3 Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David

Now, this next one isn’t exactly in the Bible, but maybe you are familiar with it.

It is Way-Cool Love
Isaiah 54:10 – 10 For the mountains may depart* and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you. * Here is a great (↔ Music Link)

It is an Enduring Love
Isaiah 49:15 – 15 Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.

It is a Perfecting Love
1 John 2:5-6 – 5 but 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: 6 whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk just as he walked.

And we can. We can live just as he lived, walk as he walked, love as he LOVED if we live in his LOVE.

We share LOVE, we grow LOVE, and we grow in LOVE through prayer. In today’s Key Verse from Psalm 40, the Psalmist declares he waited patiently for the LORD. Sometimes we find that difficult as in the prayer, “LORD grant me patience right now!” Sometimes we just can’t seem to make what we want to say come out in a way that makes sense; we think God needs an interpreter to understand us. Let’s take a quick look at a couple of biblical statements about prayer (two out of thousands).

Romans 8:38-39 – 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (ʻŌmea, use this link to see this quote in full context.)

It is an Always-Merciful Love
Hebrews 4:16 – 16 Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Yes, it is true. Nothing can separate us from the Love of God, and that means – since God is Love – he places no obstacle between us and Him. And yet, we stumble through prayer sometimes as if it were a terrible ordeal, or breeze through prayer as if it were a recitation of some sort with no depth of meaning. Paul tells us to approach the throne of grace with boldness. Sometimes we feel that we need to learn how to pray so that when we pray we don’t just babble and we don’t recite platitudes and we don’t go away thinking, “Well, if that didn’t work, I don’t know what else will!” Really? Let’s take a look at the anatomy of a prayer. For instance, how do you start?

  • Dear God … Ummmm, Hi God, it’s me. You know, “The Sinner in Apartment D-316?”
  • Jesus, I come to you today to ask for your help with my nut-case neighbor.
  • Almighty God, we come to you today to thank you for sparing us during this latest winter storm.”

So what kinds of “things” go into a prayer, and how can we learn to build a prayer that flows, that is both Biblical and relevant, and one which isn’t so convoluted we don’t even remember what we said? I’m going to suggest a simple outline and give some examples. Here’s the outline:

  1. Greeting
  2. Praise
  3. Thanks
  4. Petition
  5. Confession/Profession
  6. Closing

#1 – Greeting: Name the person to whom you address your prayer: God, Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Blessed Trinity, Lord, Master, any opening like that is fine. I have said before my favorites are My El Shaddai-Olam and Abba.

#2 – Praise: Hallowed be thy name, you alone are Holy; you are our awesome God, Omnipotent and Omniscient Creator, Lover of my soul, source of all that is Good, Great, and Just Judge of all mankind, and so on. What is there in my heart and mind that just totally wows me when I think of Him? How can you combine that with the Greeting? They can work together. Here is one that was inspired by a popular contemporary Christian music group – the Hemphills – in the 80’s:
Father, we worship you as One in the Love of the Spirit and the Son.
Jesus, we honor you as Lord by all of Heaven and Earth adored.
Spirit, we love you as our Friend and giver of Love and Gifts without end.
#3 – Thanks: We thank you for all your gifts, thank you for hearing my prayer, thank you for all your blessings, thank you for subduing my enemies, thank you for this day / this life / this world / this family / this spouse / this (everything). To borrow a line from a Gospel chorus … “Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul / Thank you Lord for making me whole. / Thank you Lord for giving to me / Thy great Salvation so rich and free.” Yes. You can quote another’s prayer as part of your prayer especially if it’s a song! (↔ Click Link)

#4 – Petition: This is the part we’re pretty good at, giving God a To-Do list. In fact, truth be told, this is almost always where most of us start. Even if we don’t usually pray the “gimme” prayer, we pretty much expect God to pop up like the genie in the bottle and grant our wishes. A bicycle, a house, a victory over an enemy, something to suit our passions, you know what to ask, and the Bible tells you how to ask – with faith, believing that you will receive it, and in Jesus’ name. But we’re not quite to that closing part yet. Sometimes the best petition is to ask God for guidance, for the grace to see and do his will, or for direction (↔ Click Link) about what he would have us do next. Another is to prepare (↔ Click Link, seriously) your heart for his Presence (↔ Yup, Click this Link, too). (PLEASE USE THESE LINKS.)

#5 – Confession/Profession: “Wait a minute, I’m not Catholic.” “What is there to confess, and to whom?” “What do you mean, ‘confess’? And what could I profess that God doesn’t already know?” You know that part in the Lord’s Prayer “Forgive us our debts (trespasses) as we forgive our debtors (those who trespass against us)? That is a confession of our sinfulness. “Lead us not into temptation (Do not put us to the final test): That is a confession of our weaknesses. But deliver us from evil (from the evil one): That is a confession of our awareness that we are sinners redeemed by Grace through the loving protection of God. When we say, “Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed by thy name,” we are professing our awe of God’s benevolent power in our lives. What does that sound like outside of the Lord’s Prayer? When you pray the Apostles or Nicene Creed, your profession of faith, you publicly profess what you believe. You can declare that privately in your personal prayer as well. Here’s a little example:

Master, I do not know how to pray so that my prayers are pleasing to you, but send me your Spirit to pray with me. You are my hope and my Joy. In you alone do I find comfort and peace. You alone are worthy of Praise, O God my strength and my redeemer! In you, O LORD, I am made whole. I know my sinfulness. Grant me faith to overcome sin and to live in your presence at all times. Look into my heart, Holy Spirit, and remove all that is offensive to you. Cast me not out from your presence O God, but in your mercy save me from my sins. I confess my love for you, my Lord and my God. I place my trust in you. Jesus, I trust in you. Jesus, I love you above all things and persons, and I desire to receive you into my heart and soul. Sprit of the Living God, I surrender my entire life to the Holy Trinity without reserve. O God, you are my God and I will always praise you. I offer this prayer in the name of Jesus, the Christ who lives and reigns with God the Father Almighty, in the Unity of the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life. Amen.

#6 – Closing: Jesus told us to pray in His name, and that’s pretty easy: In Jesus name. Amen. In your most precious name, we pray. As the Lord taught us, we pray in His name, Amen. In faith believing, we place our trust in you, Jesus. As you have commanded through your Son, Jesus Christ (↔ This is how and why it works! Click it!), we pray in His name, AMEN. In the Power of the Blood of Jesus we humbly pray. Amen.

Once we learn to converse with God instead of simply giving him a To-Do list, then our prayer life becomes a source of constant joy. Therefore, Beloved, pray for one another that God will give all of us “the will to do small things with great love.” (Use all the links in this paragraph, please.) Remember, God – all three Persons – knows everything (↔ Click it.), is everywhere (← Do not miss this one!), and is all-powerful. Knowing these things, we also know God is always with us, around us, and in us, and we have no need to shout or doubt. We can be confident He reads and hears our heart’s longings. It only takes a moment for God to answer our prayer. One day it will happen. Wait patiently on the LORD. Pray in gratitude without ceasing. God Will Take Care Of You. (↔ Music Link) He will lean in to reach you and hold you in his LOVE. God is the upholder of our lives, the source of our Peace. And even the son of God endured all for the sake of Love – yes, Belovéd, it was more than nails that held him to the cross; it was above all LOVE. When you are held in the Peace of Love, there is no longer war or illicit passion – we are free from all that is unworthy of God and at ease in Peace. Let Christ Be Our Light.  (↔ Music Link)

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

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

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

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

Aloha Friday Message – September 10, 2021 – Unbearable?

September 10, 2021

2137AFC091021 – Unbearable?

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.

     Mark 8:29 – 29 He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.”

Mark 8:32-33 – 32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

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. Folks, the readings for this Sunday are heavy stuff! Isaiah’s poetry gives us a mental image of what we recall about Jesus’ so-called trial during his Passion. Here’s a brief sample:

Isaiah 50:6 – 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. In the next verse he says, “I have set my face like flint and I know that I shall not be put to shame.

Isaiah continues to describe the fate of the Suffering Servant in the very familiar passage of Isaiah 53 (Sometime this week I hope you will come back, click on this link for Isaiah 53, and reread it.) When we have compassion, sorrow, even empathy with Jesus’ suffering, we sometimes gain new insights into our own suffering. “Aw, shucks! It ain’t so bad! Long as I’m on this side of the grass everything’s good.” We might strike that pose of bravado in front of others, but inwardly we often hear our own voice say, “I’ve had enough of this! I don’t even know how to pray any longer! I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired. It just wears me out, it’s so-o-o unbearable.” And yet, what does Jesus say to his Disciples about a cross? He says, as recorded here in Mark 8:34-35 – 34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the Gospel, will save it. (Please see 1725AFC062317 – What do you say? for important information on the Greek for “deny.”)

Oh my word, that’s a whopping-big requirement – those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the Gospel, will save it. Everyone listening knew what a cross was, and they knew it was part of the Roman’s way of disgracing a person condemned to die to carry the implement of their death to the place of their death. I sometimes imagine people sat there shaking their heads and wondering how much crazier this new Prophet could get. Even today, with 2,000 years of work and study on this passage, the content and import of it is immense. Does he literally mean “Grab a cross and carry it beside me to Calvary.”? Honestly, when I think about that, about the suffering he endured for ME, my heart turns and my stomach churns. I could never do that. It would be unbearable; still, I am to bear my cross, and give up my life for the Gospel. Alright, then, where is this cross that I must take up? The answer really surprised me. It validated that old adage, “Be careful what you ask for.” Where is my cross? I am my cross.

I have to put up with me. I have to pay the temporal cost for my sins – those consequences that accompany every action I make – are mine to deal with. Jesus took care of the Eternal consequences, but I still am accountable for the temporal, in-my-own-little-world consequences. If you don’t believe me, try telling a law enforcement officer or a Judge, “No worries guv! Jesus has got my sins all paid for. It’s been covered.” Nice thoughts, but – if you are deserving – you’re still going to jail. We bear the consequences for all the smart and stupid  things we do. That’s how it works. Now I want to throw something in here that’s sort of a light-hearted interruption. I want to use it for two reasons. [1] It’s kind of a funny story, and [2] it uses the word “unbearable.” Here we go:

The Pregnant Wife

A man from Bolivia was meeting with some officials from The Bureau of Consular Affairs about getting visas for him and his wife. He was having some difficulty because his command of English was limited. The official asked if he would be bringing any children along as well. The man replied, “Ah, no, Señor, my wife is unbearable.” The puzzled look on the official’s face indicated he hadn’t understood. “Ah, Señor, what I mean to say is that she is, ahhh, inconceivable.” The puzzled look on the other man’s face changed to surprise. The Bolivian man decided to try one more time. “You see, Señor,” … he then whispered, “she is impregnable.” The official’s face lit up with understanding, and he wrote on the application, “NO CHILDREN.”

When we say unbearable we mean that something is not tolerable, it is unable to be endured, it is something our capabilities cannot manage. It would be overwhelming, massively painful or destructive; it might even kill us. Are we really¸ really ready to die as a martyr while testifying about Jesus? Let me go back to “I am my cross” and try to answer that question about martyrdom.

If “I am my cross” is true, then when I “deny my self and take up my cross” to follow Jesus, that is very much like my day-to-day life consequences. If there is some simple thing I’d like to do that really isn’t good for me or that doesn’t really show love for God or neighbor, what happens if I go ahead and do it anyway? Well, of course, I have sinned! Now, if I deny that impulse, then I – in a manner of speaking – put it to death, and I do not sin. There are other ways we become, and deal with, being our cross. One which most of us associate with Jesus’ suffering is PAIN. We all know pain – physical pain, emotional pain, even spiritual pain – and honestly none of us like it. Let’s just think about physical pain for a moment. We know people with cancer or other chronic illnesses have plenty of pain. We know that innocents from fetuses to old-timers are tortured to death. Some of us have injuries that plague us for years.

I’ll share something with you: I have a stasis ulcer on my right ankle that’s been surgically debrided every week since January and wakes me up at night. Both rotator cuffs have significant, inoperable tears. There is osteoarthritis in practically every movable joint in my body. Pretty much every move, every step, every breath, every blink is a moment of pain. I tell you sincerely, I have no use for it; so every day I give it to God so he can do with it as he pleases. Do you remember how the Apostle Paul described that? Take a look:  Colossians 1:24 – 24 I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. Doing that doesn’t diminish what my senses are telling me, but it does make my sensations sensible. Maybe someone on my IPL could get the benefit, or even someone I know nothing about. It’s just one of those things that makes my days better. Now, let’s talk about the head-snapper in today’s Key Verses.

     Jesus asks the Disciples, “Who do you say that I AM?” The Apostle Peter comes back with the correct response – You are the Christ. You are the Messiah. Again Jesus tells all of them not to tell anyone else – yet. His revelation as Messiah is set for the time of his Passion, and it’s just days away, but it is not that day. Jesus tells them openly, frankly, and factually that  he is going to die a terrible death. Next thing you know, The Apostle Peter is so pleased with himself for getting the right answer that he feels he can take Jesus aside and say, “Look Master, you can’t talk like that! Nothing that bad is going to …” Jesus breaks in with “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” Now usually in my mind’s little movie theater, Jesus says that angrily, but actually I think he probably said it with sadness.

As in the wilderness when tempted by Satan, The Apostle Peter was taking the role of opposing what is God’s will essentially saying that course of action he deemed unnecessary. Jesus the Christ knew that it was his divinely-appointed purpose to suffer and die. The Apostle Peter was saying “There gotta be a better way.” Although he said it out of love and respect for his friend and Master, it was still wrong! It must have really stung his sensibilities, because The Apostle Peter wasn’t thinking of Jesus the same way God was thinking of Jesus. Here’s why it is so important to understand the difference. We do not want to pen God up in a pretty little box!

Belovéd, he is the God of the impossible! What did Gabriel tell Mary? “for with God all things are possible.” What did Abraham decide about sacrificing Isaac. “God can restore his life if he chooses to.” We have a tendency to measure what God can do by using our yardstick. Boy! Is that dumb! I can only do what is humanly possible, and there’s not much of that that I can do any more, so my busted yardstick is certainly no match for God’s awesome power.

We would all love to see miracles, wouldn’t we? When I look out my window, I see several – and they are all from God! Who can make a flower? (↔ Music Link) As nearly I can tell, it’s a Wonderful World (↔ Music Link) out there. Have you ever thought about how great a miracle it is to plant one kernel of corn and get 500 back? We have such low expectations of our God. There’s nothing at all wrong with asking him to tackle the big stuff. After all, look at all the little stuff he manages. Ask him for the big stuff! If he doesn’t change your illness or pain, at least you get credit for asking in faith.

Here’s the deal: I Expect A miracle! (↔ Music Link) Like Iz, says “You gotta just make you kuleana pono.” (Kuleana = caring responsibility. Pono = done with careful correctness in harmony with all things and persons.) We have to make whatever we do be worthwhile and doable; we need to “do t’ings for God’s way not for my way.” The Apostle Peter learned that eventually and that enabled him to be the Rock upon which the Church was built. You know, I don’t mind at all being a little stone in the floor of that edifice. That’s because I have solid faith in what The Apostle Peter himself told us in 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. My little life is no bargain, believe me; but, if I put it where it belongs – in God’s hands – if I invest it, clothe it with Love, and give every living moment to him for you and to you for him, then nothing in my life will ever be unbearable. I’m going to close with something from 2020 (↔ Click Link) because the point made by what follows can be life-changing:

We want to acknowledge and thank Turn Back to God and Jesus Christ Cartoons for this wonderful object lesson on The Cross We Carry. Used with permission from the author at http://www.turnbacktogod.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Jesus-Christ-Cartoon-02.jpg

Please use this link to see the image full-size at that location.

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

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

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

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

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

Aloha Friday Message – September 3, 2021 – Opened to Hear, Closed to Fear

September 3, 2021

2136AFC090321 – Opened to Hear, Closed to 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.

     Isaiah 35:4 – 4 Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.”

Mark 7:34-35 – (↔ Please use this link to see the whole story in context.) 34 Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha*,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.

* Ἐφφαθά = Ephphatha and is part of the Baptismal Rite when the Priest says, “Ephphetha: that is, be opened, that you may profess the faith you hear, to the praise and glory of God. While saying this, he touches the ears and lips of the candidate. I found this illustration of the Bible story, and to me it makes this passage clearer. Take a look:

    This man was freed from what kept him “locked up” inside himself. He is referred to as “a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him.” Many of us have known hearing-impaired persons who have trained themselves to speak. The speech is understandable but not without distortions. We know, then, that he could communicate his inner thoughts and desires, but could not hear the responses to whatever he had spoken. He released his fear, fired up his faith, asked for and received Jesus’ help, and his life was completely changed. If we try to understand why Jesus used this unusual form of healing, we might not get any better answer than, “It was necessary.” The deaf man was in the presence of the Creator (↔ Click Link), so whatever the Creator did was how the Creator worked. Oh, how we love to say it! “God works in mysterious ways.” Sometimes we say that tongue-in-cheek (↔ Click Link) because we wonder how something good could come out of a real mess. Often the best explanation is “God did it.” That kind of childlike faith is a supreme goal for every Christian, and when we resort to such simplicity, we find ourselves standing much closer to The Light of Truth. Belovéd, if we’re standing in The Light, we need not fear the darkness!

That is what Isaiah is prophesying in the other Key Verse for today.

During Isaiah’s ministry, Israel and Judah were in terrible straits. They were oppressed, repressed, depressed, distressed, and hard-pressed to even stay alive. Neighboring nations waged wars against them, there were revolts and swift counter-attacks. Some of the names involved are familiar to us both historically and biblically: Sargon, Sennacherib, Assyrians and Arameans, Ashdod and Hezekiah, and Babylon and its Arabian allies. Good News was hard to find, because bad news was everywhere you looked. It seemed to Israel and Judah – “The Divided Kingdoms” – that God had abandoned his Chosen People. They certainly got a whopping-big chastisement for their disloyalty, wicked rejection of God’s sovereignty, and their lack of faith and trust in God’s deliverance. True to form, though, God had something better in mind for them – Salvation! In the short-term scheme of things, God was going to overturn the oppressors who devastated the Kingdoms. In the long-term scheme, we know that his Promise of a Redeemer for all earthlings was behind everything he did. Now, can you guess what Israel and Judah had to do to get out of that mess? I’ll give you a hint: It starts with R, ends with T, and means “turn around.”

Now that we understand that, it’s time to look at the driving force behind one of the greatest Prophets that ever lived. I’m going to ask you to go “off-message” for a moment so you can read about the remarkable circumstances behind Isaiah’s call to serve God. It’s one of the most remarkable passages in Scripture. Whenever I read it I think, “God is indeed very and completely AWESOME!” The images invoked by this passage are absolutely magnificent. Please take a few moments right now to at least glance through Isaiah Chapter 6. We will peek in on some of that passage now.

     When I read about what Isaiah saw – the Lord God on a Glorious Throne with Seraphim surrounding and praising him (In the Christian theological doctrine of angels, the Seraphim are the highest-ranking celestial beings in the hierarchy of angels), I sense the absolute awe he must have felt. From that magnificent throne room, God called out as in Isaiah 6:8 – 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!” (↔ Music Link!) WHAT A RECRUITING CALL!! How thrilling to have such Majesty and Power say “You’re my guy for this job – only if you take it.” It is as magnificent a call as the fiat of Mary or the mantle of Prophecy passed to Elisha (See 2 Kings 2:8-14). The passage also reminds me of the vision of God and his Throne recorded in Daniel 7:9-14 when the Judgment before the Ancient One is described. In all of these visions of God, there is a strong and beautiful message to those who are suffering. We see it in our Key Verse from Isaiah: “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.” That message is for us as well, Belovéd.

We are surrounded by so much violence and evil! It seems that every day we are assaulted by more news of natural disasters and horrific catastrophes so disruptive that entire communities – and many of their inhabitants – are destroyed. There are indeed wars and rumors of wars. There are appalling incidents of terrorism and cruelty, horrifying stories of excessiveness in politics, religion, and human interactions, and the constant fear of yet another incredibly deadly disease sweeping across the planet.

Then we hear it as in Psalm 46:10 – 10 “Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.” This idea of “being still” is an important Act of Faith. Take a look at Psalm 37:7 – 7 Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices. In the prophetic poetry of Isaiah’s messages later on in his career, God’s message in Isaiah 30:15 – 15 For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning [repentance] and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. Alright, by now you get the idea. We need to quiet down and listen for God’s call. What would he want to say to us? How about this?

DO NOT BE AFRAID. He says that nearly 70 times in Scripture. Have no fear, fear not, be not afraid (over 80 times!) And how about this: Mark 4:9 – 9 And he said, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” You know what? I’ll be somewhere listening! (↔ Music Link) Where is that somewhere I’ll be listening? Right here, Belovéd; I’ll be right here. It’s really hard for me to be quiet (someone just said “No kidding!”), but Love makes it possible – whenever I remember Love. All this disease – “If I get the covid I’ll die” – and war – “Authorities in Afghanistan today said …” – and violence – “A large group marching in a peaceful protest over the new laws was attacked by a mob of dissidents who …”  –  – What’s it all coming to? What do we do? We quietly trust that God will say to us  “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.”

I believe that. Do all of us believe that? If not, why not – what’s stopping us? Let us therefore make our ears, our hearts and our minds Opened to Hear, Closed to Fear. (Brendan, this is for you) – Remember FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real (the Devil’s lying again!), and FAITH is Fully Aware I Trust Him. I find good reason to trust whenever I read Jude 1:24-25 – 24 Now to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

I want to share this Music Link with you again. Please think of it when you’re watching the news on the MSMOs, or reading the paper (or some news blog) or listening to a podcast. As long as there is Love in the World we know God will be telling us “Be Not Afraid.” (↔ Music Link) Beloved, let us quietly listen for God’s call “Whom shall we send?”, and stop being afraid. We stop all the worry, because Why worry when you can pray? (↔ Music Link). Here is the secret to finding that Wisdom:

😀

In fifth grade, our Music Teacher Mrs. Williams would put on a record for us to listen to, and she seemed to say, “Sit down. Be quiet. Listen Carefully. Be in the music.” Isaiah might say something similar: Sit down. Be quiet. Listen Carefully. Be in the Lord.

That’s a wrap for these two key verses, but I have one more thing to add – a wonderful story that goes with the Epistle for this coming Sunday. It’s from James 2:1-5 and it begins like this: My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? Let me share an example by telling you about

The Old Cowboy

One Sunday morning, an old cowboy entered a church just before services were to begin. Although the old man and his clothes were spotlessly clean, he wore jeans, a denim shirt, and boots that were very worn and ragged.

In his hand he carried a worn out old hat and an equally well-worn, dog-eared Bible.

The church he entered was in a very upscale and exclusive part of the city. It was the largest and most beautiful church the old cowboy had ever seen.  The people of the congregation were all dressed with expensive clothes and fine jewelry.

As the cowboy took a seat, the others moved away from him. No one greeted, spoke to, or welcomed him. They were all appalled by his appearance and did not attempt to hide it.

As the old cowboy was leaving the church, the preacher approached him and asked the cowboy to do him a favor. “Before you come back in here again, have a talk with God and ask him what he thinks would be appropriate attire for worship in this church.”   The old cowboy assured the preacher that he would.

The next Sunday, he showed back up for the services wearing the same ragged jeans, shirt, boots, and hat. Once again he was completely shunned and ignored.

The preacher again approached the cowboy and said, “I thought I asked you to speak to God before you came back to our church.”

“I did,” replied the old cowboy.

“If you spoke to God, what did he tell you the proper attire should be for worshiping in here?” asked the preacher.

“Well, sir, God told me that He didn’t have a clue what I should wear. He said He’d never been inside this church.”

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 – August 27, 2021 – The Beast Under the Bed

August 27, 2021

2135AFC082721 – The Beast Under the Bed

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,

  Mark 7:17-23 – 17 When he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 He said to them, “Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, 19 since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “It is what comes out of a person that defiles. 21 For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, 22 adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

     James 1:17-20 – 17 Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures. 19 You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope, Belovéd. Surely you must be thinking, after reading that title, “The Old Man has finally fallen off the cliff and landed in the loony bin.” My dear friends, that is indeed a possibility, so let me show you what I mean. Let’s begin with why I picked these Key Verses. We’ll start with the parable mentioned. Jesus had just taken the Pharisees to task for cheating parents out of the support they should have been giving by saying that the resources for that care have been set aside as a sanctified gift for God and therefore the parent should not expect any access to those resources. Of course, those greedy children using this excuse gave perhaps a small offering to the Temple, but the rest went for their own pleasures. Jesus scolded them for making a big show out of “keeping The Law” and by criticizing Jesus’ disciples for not performing the ritual hand-washing before eating. Such behavior, they said, defiled the person and what the person ate. Jesus was showing the Pharisees that they had made The Law a threatening and even frightening barrier set up to hold them away from the goodness of worship in the Temple. This barrier was like the Greek mythological creature Cerberus (← Check it out!), a “religion” monster that blocked the Jews going in for worship or coming out with blessings. The Law had become a monster under the control of the three political powers then – The Pharisees, the Sadducees (opposing political parties), and the Priests (the executives who owned the right to pass judgment). To put it in frank terms, that really ticked Jesus off! He blasted the masters of that monster many times, and Belovéd, that really ticked them off, too! It got them angry enough to start plotting to kill this rebellious, blaspheming, trouble-making upstart from some hick village in Galilee.

Jesus was most angry about this monster forcing God’s children away from God’s gifts of Love, and Peace, and Joy – all the things promised to those who kept The Law – but denied to those children of God by greedy, sinful, vain men who valued prestige and power over justice and mercy. I think all of us can recall times when we absolutely knew something terrifying was right over there in the closet, or under the bed, or behind the curtains. Our moms and dads would comfort us, show us it was just a shadow or an imaginary shape. No monsters would get past the loving protection of our parents! … except maybe for that one that lived under the bed and was invisible, and might even be friendly enough to touch if we just patiently waited for it to talk to us. Then, just as we drifted off to sleep, we heard it roar into life and knew it really was a monstrous beast under the bed. After that jolt of fright, many of us ended up spending the night in our parents’ bed. That reality indeed was God’s gifts of Love, and Peace, and Joy. It was full and free access to all that is Good – every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, (↔ Music Link) and that is True because it is not imaginary, not false evidence, not under the control of anyone but God.

     My Belovéd friends, we really do have a monster under our bed, but this one is not like the imaginary monsters that scared us as children. This monster is one that we try to make into a pet; but it’s a wild animal that will destroy us and all we have if we allow it to stay with us, to control us, to get in-between us and all that is Good. Those things are available to the Children of God through his Church, and we are told repeatedly that in that Church we are not to compromise with evil. Now, here comes a whole slew of Bible passages. Just read through them gallantly and then we can wrap this up. I want to start with how the monster was used to threaten Jesus and his Disciples during the Passion:

Matthew 26:59-65 – 59 Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death, 60 but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward 61 and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’” 62 The high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?” 63 But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I put you under oath before the living God, tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you,

From now on you will see the Son of Man
seated at the right hand of Power
and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? You have now heard his blasphemy.

The monster is a liar and a murderer, and we want nothing to do with him. THERE IS NO REASON TO COMPROMISE OUR FAITH OUT OF FEAR BECAUSE THE MONSTER CLAIMS IT WANTS TO BE IN THE PEW WITH US! Here’s an example from the Apostle Paul:

1 Corinthians 5:9-13 – 9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral persons — 10 not at all meaning the immoral of this world, or the greedy and robbers, or idolaters, since you would then need to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother or sister who is sexually immoral or greedy, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or robber. Do not even eat with such a one. 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.” This last Scripture quotation is from several passages in Deuteronomy where God orders that those who are evil must be purged from the midst (↔ Click Link) of the people. He will not tolerate evil where there should be only holiness! Brothers and Sisters, that applies to us. Are we so intimidated by this monster of accommodation, acceptance, and compromise that we feed and defend the beast under the bed?

In his letter to the Hebrews, the Apostle Paul again points out the difference between regret and repentance. Repenting changes us. Regret merely disguises our sinful intentions. Hebrews 12:16-17, 25 – 16 See to it that no one becomes like Esau, an immoral and godless person, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17 You know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, even though he sought the blessing with tears.

25 See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! Who ya gonna call? It had better be Jesus, and not the caretakers for the beast. That monster is no “ghost” to be busted. This monster intimidating us is from the demonic force that controls the masters of the monster. Jesus makes it clear that we must not let those forces inhabit his Church. We who call upon the name of the Lord are to be his and only his to the degree that nothing which must stay outside the Church is allowed to inhabit the inside of the Church. Hebrews 3:12-19 – 12 Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partners of Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end. 15 As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” 16 Now who were they who heard and yet were rebellious? Was it not all those who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses? 17 But with whom was he angry forty years? Was it not those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, if not to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

“Unbelief” is the growling of the beast. It is a false warning to stay away lest we be devoured. It is the monster that must be cast out from the Church, not the humble believers seeking Love, and Peace, and Joy – “Every kind of gift given that is good, and every one received that is perfect in its kind comes from above.” This magnificent sentence is thought to be the fragment of some Christian hymn. Two words are translated by our one word “gift”; the first is more accurately the act of giving (dosis), the second the gift itself (dōrēma), and the effect of both together is an affirmation of the statement of God’s benevolence. If we besmirch that gift, reject that gift, hand it over to the monster and its masters, we stand to lose everything. We invite the starving fox into the henhouse, the ravening wolf into the sheepfold, the menacing kraken into the safe harbor. We are called to live In Christ Alone. Why would we do such foolish things?

We do them because, in our pride and fear of being accused of prejudices, biases, and partisanisms we compromise on biblical values. We probably will get clobbered with Galatians 3:28 – 28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. I understand that. I also understand that this passage requires closer reading than we usually give it.

First, to whom is the Apostle Paul writing? This letter is to the Christians of the Church in Ephesus. He is writing to the Church which is one in Christ Jesus. Those who are claiming the confidence of living Christian lives but who are also sexually immoral or greedy, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or robber those whom Jesus identified as those who have evil intentions such as fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. When we have persons in the Church who

  • advocate murder (euthanasia, abortion, capital punishment),
  • commit adultery (openly or secretly perform adulterous acts),
  • commit fornication (openly commit sexual acts with themselves or other persons of the same or different gender),
  • theft (tax evasion, hacking, stealing from the poor or from one’s employer),
  • pride (braggadocio about one’s prowess, denying their abuse of others),
  • idolatry (to honor and revere a creature, image, or object in place of God, such as celebrities, plants, animals, or geographical locations like mountains, or power, pleasure, ethnicity, ancestry, political or religious prestige, and of course money)

… if those things are invited, allowed, tolerated, encouraged, even ordered IN, BY, AND THROUGH THE CHURCH, WE HAVE GONE HORRIBLY ASTRAY!

It is we who must speak out to the Church – our brothers and sisters in Christ – about the same things the Apostle Paul warned about: Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers – every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice, envy, vaunted pride, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, gossips, slanderers, God-haters who are insolent, haughty, those who are gluttonous, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious toward parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, and ruthless. They know God’s decree, that those who practice such things deserve to die – yet they not only do them but even applaud others who practice them. (See Romans 1 and 1 Corinthians 5) To that list we must shamefully add murders of millions of innocents – babies, elders, political enemies, ethnic pogroms, and intentional destruction and failure of stewardship for our only home, Earth. We do well to remember these warnings:

Isaiah 5:20-21 – 20 Ah, you who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! 21 Ah, you who are wise in your own eyes, and shrewd in your own sight!

Wisdom 2:23-24 – 23 for God created us for incorruption, and made us in the image of his own eternity,24 but through the devil’s envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his company experience it.

John 8:44 – 44 You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

2 Corinthians 11:3 – 3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by its cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

Cast out the beast under the bed! Do not be deceived by the wiles of the Devil or the fawning of the demons. We must suit up in the Full Armor (← Check it out!) of God and get in there and fight on our knees. The beast is real, dear ones. Don’t let The World convince you otherwise. Do not confront it with your anger. You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone [in the Church] be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Banish the beast. REPENT AND PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL BY LIVING IT.

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 – August 20, 2021 – Love and Marriage

August 20, 2021

2134AFC082-21 – Love and Marriage

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.

     Ephesians 5:28-32 – 28 In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church.

Revelation 21:2 – 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

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. Some of us “of a certain age” will remember a 1955 song with lyrics by Sammy Cahn and music by Jimmy Van Heusen called “Love and Marriage.” We may also remember it was recorded by Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore, and Peggy Lee. When I was in the fifth grade, I was “volunteered” to participate in a musical dance number  with seven other students to that tune at the Denver Coliseum as part of the Denver Public Schools Folk Festival (I think that was the name) which featured groups from elementary schools in the Metro Denver Area. It was one of those childhood experiences that I dreaded because I was so clumsy and shy, and never could remember all the steps. I can still visualize the colored spotlights and hear the music echoing across the crowded floor. Even today when I hear that song on TV or the radio, I’m swept back to that moment when I finally got to escape from the lights and noise, find my parents, and get out of there. Still, the lyrics are fixed solid in my mind – especially the phrase “like a horse and carriage.” They do indeed go together.

We have quite a few phrases like that in our idioms – go together like bread and jam, bread and butter, cheese and crackers – and sometimes the phrase goes the opposite direction as in goes together like oil and water or like cats and dogs. Marriage has always been one of those states in life that attracted me. Although I was extraordinarily shy, I remember wanting to “get married.” Naturally I had no idea how complicated married life could be. I just thought it was always going to be wonderful. My parents seemed very happily married, and we spent lots of time with families from our church who seemed happily married. The moms and dads loved each other, they loved their kids, their kids loved them, and we all loved each other. It seemed like being married was the most natural goal for every boy and girl. As I grew older, the luster of that conclusion tarnished and faded. I remember the first time I heard about one of the couples we knew and visited often getting divorced. It was incomprehensible to me. Why would anyone want to do that? It saddened me that something I cherished so deeply could turn out to be so painful to my childhood friends and their parents. That sadness also strengthened my determination to get married and stay married.

Since marriage and family life was something like “The Prime Directive” for the Christian families we associated with, we heard about it often in Sunday School Lessons and sermons. Some of those messages connected marriage to the relationship between God and the Church – more specifically the Church as the Bride of Christ. Here are some examples of what came up:

     Revelation 19:7-8 – 7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready; 8 to her it has been granted to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure” — for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

Revelation 21:2 – 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Revelation 21:9 – 9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.

Revelation 22:20 – 20 The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

2 Corinthians 11:2 – 2 I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

This takes us back, then, to our Key Verse today at Ephesians 5:32 – 32 This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church. Sometimes it is difficult to follow the Apostle Paul’s comparisons. Here he is saying the relationship between Christ and his church is like the relationship between a married couple; they go together like a horse and carriage, bread and wine. In fact a successfully married couple can and do live as one because they were made by God for each other. As the Apostle Paul says, it is a union prepared for us and preferred by God. He instituted marriage and approves it. The reunion of humanity with God is seen as the marriage of Christ as the Bridegroom and the Church as the Bride – another perfectly natural fit prepared for us and preferred by God. We continue the comparison with this:

29 For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, 30 because we are members of his body. Christ loves and nurtures his Bride the Church. And who, what, and where is The Church? That’s us, folks. We are the Church. We are the Bride. We love and serve the Bridegroom and look forward eagerly to eternity with our Spouse. We are, in this correlation, “one flesh,” one bread, one body, one cup of Blessing, one hope, one faith, one Spirit, one baptism, serving one Lord and Savior of us all just as a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. In this same chapter we find some words to which certain sectors of modernistic thinking have vociferously protested. As you read this, you will know what I mean. I will attempt to clarify the intent momentarily.

Ephesians 5:21-24 – 21 Be subject* to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22 Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior. 24 Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands.

* hypotassomenoi I submit, put myself into subjection e.g., properly, “under God’s arrangement,” i.e. submitting to the Lord (His plan). Note: It is a voluntary submission, not forced, because we can choose to rebel.

This passage, and others like it, are bandied about in today’s Cancel Culture with rancorous vigor – perhaps justly in some times and places, but nonetheless result in a fallacious argument because the rancor is derived outside of context. In the fifth chapter of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul is admonishing the membership of The Church in Ephesus as a model or image of the worldwide Church. There were some problems there, and he sought to correct them by emphasizing the principle of Unity in Service to Christ and to each other as the Church. His advice centers on mutuality. Read Ephesians 5:21 again carefully: Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ. It does not say Be subject to one another out of gender dominance. The Apostle Paul says that wives defer to their husbands, but not – as any husband can tell you – without expressing her views, needs, wants, and expectations. In like fashion he adjures husbands to care tenderly for their wives even as Christ cares for his Church. A very similar passage is found in Colossians 3:18-21 – 18 Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is your acceptable duty in the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, or they may lose heart. The tone and purpose of mutuality is the goal. The intentions and actions of domineering subjugation are antithetical to the Apostle Paul’s “Rules for Christian Households.” Why is that important and what does it have to do with The New Jerusalem and the Bride of Christ?

Today’s dissident voices might say, “God would never make us live in a patriarchal society where males are considered intrinsically superior.” Perhaps in feminist theology that is true, but such theology is of Worldly origin, not Divine origin. In our Scriptures, God (here again I am citing “Trinity” as God) presents as male. Without that, pretty much none of the content of Scripture has any coherence or meaning. Perhaps some among us don’t like that outcome and want to rewrite that content to better suit our choices in life – and we are perfectly free to do so because we have been given the remarkable Gift of Free Will. That means we are also perfectly free to be completely wrong. If we were to go through the Bible cover-to-cover, we could find hundreds of incidents where that was the outcome – the participants defy God’s Absolutely Perfect Plan (the APP) because they believe they are right and God is wrong. Now, to me, that sounds ludicrous; but then I remember my own sinfulness and realize I, too, can be just that stubborn, just that stupid, just that forgetful that God made the rules that govern the universe and I had nothing to do with creating it. What a pretentious little doofus I would be if I thought I was God and could change the way Life works! Come to think of it, I might have tried that a few times with disastrous results. For me, Life works so much better if I just stick to the APP. Here’s an example.

My childhood dream of being married came true! I have had the same wonderful, beautiful, talented, supportive, and One True Love for 19,116 days as of today. Most of those days have been wonderful days, a few have been troubled by illness or other unexpected changes, but – whatever came to us – we always tackled it together. It is, was, and always will be just the three of us – Jesus, Crucita, and me. As I see it, that’s even better than a horse and carriage. It’s more like that surrey with the fringe on top. The reason is simple – PRIORITIES. We know in whom we believe,(↔ Music Link) and we know we are right because he is Right. Some of the folks that listened to Jesus chose not to believe him and so they dismissed him as a mere novelty and walked away. That’s the content of Sunday’s Gospel in John 6:60-69(↔ Click Link). It is a continuation of the Bread of Life Discourse. I encourage you to go back and reread John 6:48-60, but this time with the “foresight” of what came afterwards – the meaning of The Bride of Christ, the powerful image of Divinely Instituted Marriage, and the importance of knowing and believing in The APP well enough to trust and obey our Creator who has given us who believe in his only begotten Son (↔ Music Link) the Gift of Eternal Life by the union of Christ and his Bride, the Church. It’s a marriage made in Heaven. We stay in that union because there is nowhere else to find Eternal Life. It’s a Love thing.

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 – August 13, 2021 – Just Say YES

August 13, 2021

For the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

2133AFC081321 – Just Say YES

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.

     Luke 1:35-38 – 35 The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 ” 38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:41-45 – 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

All of this led to this exquisite moment in history when Jesus was soon to be sleeping Away in a Manger. That “YES” from Mary can be likened to the point where the two loops in this infinity symbol cross. Everything that had been planned in the first loop came to fruition in the second loop and infinity never changed. It just kept going and everything that was there is still there. That’s the whole idea behind Contemporaneous Concomitance. Nothing is begun until nothing is unfinished so that everything is completed once everything is begun.

All it took to get it working like that is one simple – but very great – YES. It reminds me of another very simple but very great YES by Abram. God told him to go to a place Abram had never seen, and he said YES. He kept doing that until there was a whole Nation of his descendants. Later God changed his name from Abram (father) to Abraham (father of nations). Looking back at that infinity symbol, I see Abraham is also standing right at the pinch between the two sides of forever. That means two of my good friends are right at the moment of change – Abraham and Mary.

I thought about how to approach this weekend’s readings and decided to tackle the Catholic-Christian and non-Catholic-Christian similarities rather than differences. Catholics know that some non-Catholics think we are idolaters, that the Pope is the antichrist, and that we have no concept of what’s in the Bible because we never study it. Truthfully we don’t worship statues, but we do surround ourselves with images of people we love. We do refer to the Pope as the Vicar of Christ, which merely means he has the responsibility to carry out the obligation given to Peter by Jesus “feed my lambs” … “tend my sheep” … “feed my sheep.” Jesus was passing on to Peter the shepherding responsibility he instituted in his own ministry. As for the Bible, there are 6-9 Scripture passages used in daily Masses, the entire Catechism of the Catholic Church includes literally thousands of Scripture references, and many Parishes (including ours) have structured, in-person Bible studies as well as Religious Education Classes (Crucita and I have been catechists most of our married lives), and faith-based, live-streaming educational and entertainment resources. I think where things get really unclear is deciding what to do about Mary.

If you are any kind of Christian at all, you know Mary’s story. She was likely just a teenager betrothed to an older man – probably not greatly older – when she had a visit from Gabriel. After a brief exchange, she began carrying the fetus that would grow up to be Jesus of Nazareth, the Only Begotten Son of the Living God. There are contentious debates about her perpetual virginity, and of her Immaculate Conception so that she was conceived and born without the stain of original sin. “She couldn’t possibly deliver a child and remain a virgin, and no one but Jesus is sinless, That’s biblical.” Maybe that’s how it works in someone’s book, but in my book, the whole thing is a miraculous mystery. I have no idea how the Trinity made her pregnant. I don’t have to know. I just know that God asked her if she would allow that, and she said YES: “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Her presence in the Bible, in the history of Jesus, in the history of the Church, and in God’s eternal and Absolutely Perfect Plan (the APP for Eternity), teaches us Mary is real, essential, and undeniably Apostolic. Along with Abraham and Mary, we are part of the Family of God (↔ Click Link please), and like almost every real family we have a Father, a Mother, a Son and an incredible number of adopted siblings. That is mysterious, miraculous, but certainly not impossible For nothing will be impossible with God. Not all readers will follow that link, so I’m going to pull just a segment out of the context of that message because I want to be consistent in what I say:

It seems too impersonal to write someone off because they disagree with me about how my relationship with Jesus works. “Of course I have a personal relationship with Jesus,” I tell them. “In fact, I have a close, personal, and deeply satisfying relationship with the whole family – Father, Son, Holy Spirit, our Blessed Mother, and all the Angels and Saints.”

Perhaps it is unkind to respond that way, and I confess I have taken the wind from the sails of an occasional evangelizer by saying, “Yes I’ve accepted Jesus as my personal Savior. Have you accepted Mary as your personal Mother?”  I believe a personal relationship with Jesus is a very good and doable idea, and I do continuously reassess the relative distance between us.  It is the Trinity, however, to whom I gravitate. When I say, “God,” I mean “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” When I say, “God bless you,” I am asking the Trinity to bless you. They are, after all, three distinct Persons all in one Being. Because I am created “in the image and likeness of God,” I can see the same patterns in me.  This is why I Have Decided to Follow Jesus.

I have a small statue of Our Lady of Fatima in our bedroom. It reminds me of how much I love Mary because I know how much Jesus loves her. There are religious pictures and crucifixes in every room of the house. These are family pictures and remembrances that bring comforting, warming, hope to my day-to-day struggles with pain, with sin, with confusion about what’s happening outside my Christian life. Sometimes I wonder what is happening inside our Church when I hear some in the upper hierarchy saying it’s OK to distribute the Eucharist to people who are obviously, publicly, and unrepentantly living in grave sin. I rest my heart in the hope I have in Christ Jesus. I do not hold my Peace – I let loose on things like that from time to time (it’s a miracle I have any of my mind left! I’ve hurled so many pieces of it at others that exasperate me!) – but I am held in Peace. In our own right we are weak, but he is strong (↔ Music Link – it’s a POWERFUL one!) . When we hold our peace, we are held in peace. Many years ago I wrote a song called “Man of Peace.” It was so long ago that I can no longer remember all of it. However, this little scrap has existed for well over fifty years, and it still speaks to me.

I am a man of Peace. I own no other name.
I stand before you, gird about with gifts of Love.
You ask me of my Peace, and how I hold it so.
Good listener, I do not hold my Peace.
I am held in Peace.

It’s a mysterious miracle, or a miraculous mystery – take your pick – but the bottom line is we really never should be lonely even when we are alone because our entire Family is with us whether we’re walking in that long lonesome valley, or taking a seat on that slow train a-comin’. When I read Mary’s Canticle (song, often called “The Magnificat” because that is the first word of Mary’s Canticle in Latin), I identify with her lyrics:

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

  • ●●

He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.
This reminds me of Our God our Help (↔ Music Link)

In my heart, my mind, my soul I hear her speaking those words and to me they are the soothing words of a mother sharing her life story – my Mother. No matter where I am, the Hope I have in my eternal Family is “the Light that drives away the darkness and draws me and everyone I meet to God’s Perfect Integrity, Endless Mercy, and Eternal Salvation.” And how did I come to possess that light? John 8:12 – 12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” Jesus is Hope. Jesus is Light. Jesus is All because he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 – 21 For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; 22 for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. (↔ Music Link) I have, you have, we have that promise because Jesus took on every sin, every moment of pain, every abandonment and turned it into Glorious Praise to God Our Father.  Jesus did that …

F O R  O U R  S A K E.

Like they say in the movies, he took a hit for you. He took thousands of hits for us. It is explained in the post for August 11, 2006: The story of the Dart Test and the effect of taking out our hurt on others. Jesus ends up taking the hurt for us. Check it out at this link.

Get together in Church again with your family this weekend and with your Family every day. You, too, will be held in Peace as your “soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; [your] spirit rejoices in God [our] Savior.  Then you will know the meaning of “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” When God asks – and he will – just say YES.

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

 

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