2550AFC121425 – Glad!  ← PODCAST LINK 😀  
2025 Advent #3

Read it online here, please. Reading it online allows the email version to reach many more subscribers. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often. And please, when you visit there, use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. (New for Advent 2025!) Don’t forget the (↔ Music LinkS) in the EndNotes.
Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Please forward this to them and ask them also to share it to others. All Key Verse Logos in this series are AI-generated using CoPilot.

Isaiah 35:1-2 – The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
    the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus ² it shall blossom abundantly,
    and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
    the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
    the majesty of our God.

Psalm 149:6 –
⁹ He protects the strangers who live in our land;
    he helps widows and orphans,
    but takes the wicked to their ruin.

James 5:8 – ⁸ You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.  

Matthew 11:6[i] (GNT) – ⁶ How happy are those who have no doubts about me!

This coming Sunday, December 14^th, the III^rd  Sunday of Advent, is often called “Gaudete Sunday” (gow-DEH-teh). The Introit (Entrance Verse) for Gaudete Sunday is taken from Philippians 4:4,5: “Gaudete in Domino semper” (“Rejoice in the Lord always”). On this Sunday, the Vestments can be rose-colored rather than violet as is usual during a penitential season (Lent and Advent). The rose color reminds us we have passed the midpoint of the season and things are brightening up as is indicated by the first word in the Introit verse which says, “REJOICE!”

That is such a great word – REJOICE. When I hear it I hear it as re-joys as in joys again, and again, and again. One of the best JOY words around is Hallelujah and its alternative Alleluia. We are to be an Alleluia People! What does that word mean? It means GOD BE PRAISED.

Rejoice with one another, Beloved. Praise God with one another. Pray for, with, and about one another. Be kind to one another, and be especially kind to strangers because The Lord does that. Remember what He said “I AM coming tomorrow.” Isn’t that a good enough reason to rejoice? I again want to share with you these biblical terms for REJOICE:

Samah – שָׂמַ֖ח – Jubilant, spontaneous dancing, signing (simhach) – 1 Chronicles 29:9
Alaz – עָלַז – Exult – Burst into leaping with joy – Habakkuk 3:17-18
Nagilah – נָגִ֖ילָה – Let us rejoice – Psalm 118:4Euphraino – εὐφραίνω – To gladden the mind – Revelation 12:12
Kauchaomai – καυχάομαι – Glory in success and boast against – 1 Corinthians 1:30-31
Sunchairo – a συγχαίρω – Rejoicing together, with others – Luke 15:6
Agalliao – ἀγαλλιάω – Rejoice Greatly, to exult; jump for joy – Revelation 19:6-8
Chairo – χαίρω – Rejoicing over experiencing God’s Grace; be glad in the Lord – Luke 15:32

There is so much JOY to be found in The Holy Spirit! We know about the fruit of the Holy Spirit. All of the things mentioned as the fruit of the spirit are things that make us happy. We can find them in Galatians 5:22-23 – The Fruit of the Holy Spirit

Love is service and sacrifice.
Joy is balance at the center of the soul.
Peace is good order.
Patience is the ability to endure whatever comes.
Kindness is attentive regard for the other.
Generosity is the habitual disposition to share.
Gentleness is courageous respect for one another.
Self-Control is a voluntary check on the appetite for success.

We’ve also explored the Gifts of the Holy Spirit (↔ Learning Link)  
The Word of Knowledge
The Word of Wisdom
The Gift of Prophecy
The Gift of Faith
The Gifts of Healings
The Working of Miracles
The Discerning of Spirits
The Different Kinds of Tongues
The Interpretation of Tongues

We have this fruit and these gifts to help us learn to be happy – to REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS! It’s important to remember what it takes to be happy, to be always ready to rejoice. We just have to remember the six simple rules to be happy: 1. Free your heart from hatred. 2. Free your mind from worries. 3. Live simply. 4. Give more. 5. Expect less. 6. Share the Joy as you pass The Word along. Joy isn’t completely fulfilled until it is shared. We can rejoice alone – and this often happens when rejoicing in the Spirit – but when there is someone to rejoice with us … that really is REJOICING. Now, imagine rejoicing with Jesus – in our houses, in our churches, in our cars, in our hearts – ALL THE TIME!!! l hark back to 1966 to paraphrase “We’re glad to be glad that we’re glad.” Being glad is great! Being glad to be glad is really great! Being glad to be glad that we are glad is phenomenal!! [Kudos to Nehemiah Curtis “Skip” James and Cream [i] ]

In our Key Verse from the Old Testament today, we see a reference to crocuses blooming. Those flowers seem to always be the first ones to poke up their heads through the snow. They are a sign of hope, a sign of new beginnings and they make us happy because we are glad that winter is nearly over. In Isaiah’s description of the desert bursting into bloom, we see resplendent beauty coming into an empty wasteland. The image reminds us how wonderful it feels when Jesus comes into our hearts. It’s like the lyric in the song. Whom all the world cannot contain // Comes I our hearts to dwell. [ii] [There’s a music Link in that endnote.] When Jesus comes into our hearts (↔ Music Link), the ENTIRE TRINITYcomes in! See The Catechism of the Catholic Church §258 (↔ Learning Link) where it describes that when one Person of the Trinity acts, They All act together.

In our Key Verse from Sunday’s Psalm, we see a short list of the persons who had little or no freedoms in Israel. They essentially had no legal standing, and had no one to depend on except themselves. We must recall that resident aliens (גֵּר gēr) – sojourners, a settled outsider living under Israel’s civil jurisdiction – had to conform to many laws, especially civil and criminal ones, with the principle being “one law for the native-born and the stranger” (Exodus 12:49, Leviticus 24:22), requiring them to obey Israel’s statutes and participate in religious life – like festivals and sacrifices –  to be fully integrated, i.e., assimilated, though they weren’t full citizens with tribal land inheritance, and yet they did face some specific restrictions on their rights. In this way, sojourners and native-born, full citizens could find gladness in sharing the richnesses of their cultures. Those statutory guardrails helped preserve the peace and promote harmonious living – GLADNESS! This stands in stark contrast to the second phrase in that passage – “but takes the wicked to their ruin.” Here we are again reminded of The Catechism of the Catholic Church §1021-1022 – The Particular Judgment we all face at the moment of our death.

Our Gospel Key Verse says a lot about our F.A.I.T.H. When Jesus comes into our hearts, we have that Light in our souls as floods of joy and gladness roll over our souls like billows on the sea. How happy are those who have no doubts about me! That childlike innocence of faith is the same J.O.Y. we feel when we cry out Μαρανα θα! Μαραν αθα! Maranâ thâ’! Maran ‘athâ’ Abba! Father! Jesus! Spirit! Come! We are GLAD to celebrate your Advent, Emmanuel! That is why many of us – hopefully all of us – can tell the World, “It’s OK to say ‘Merry Christmas’ to me. I am GLAD to hear it.”

What if we don’t feel like rejoicing? What if life is just so hard that all we can do is shout in pain and not shout for joy? How can we change that? How do we start over? No one can go back and make a brand-new start. Anyone can start from now and make a brand-new ending. God didn’t promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way. There are three things to rejoice about right there that we already have. The cool thing about rejoicing is that whenever we start rejoicing, more rejoicing comes. It’s almost kind of like getting the giggles – it’s hard to stop once we get started.

OK now, let’s go back to our Key Verse from the Letter of James. He cautions us to be patient, but it is an “expectoration” patience. (Yeah, I made up that word.) He exhorts us to fortify our courage by being steadfast in our faith, and fixing our hope on Christ’s return.the spiritual disposition will yield patient endurance for dealing with  whatever troubles arise around or within us.

In closing, I want to say a few words about today’s Key Logo. I’ve attributed all the key Logos for this series in Advent to being AI-constructed using MicroSoft CoPilot. Here is how that works: I write up a detailed description of what I want the key to look like and then the CoPilot AI (GPT-5) puts it together according to my instructions. If what comes up does not match my vision of the key, then we “collaborate” of how to amend it. In addition, we collaborate on a summary of the symbolism of the key. Here are my edited excerpts from that descriptive collaboration ~~

Advent Key #3 — Gaudete Sunday
Rejoice, for the Lord is near.
This third key in the Advent series is a celebration of joy breaking into expectation. Rendered in matte rose — the liturgical color of Gaudete Sunday — it stands out from the somber tones of the season, inviting us to pause and rejoice.

• The rose color is for the liturgical meaning of Gaudete Sunday – REJOICE! The Advent Candle for this Sunday is also rose colored and stands for Joy. The previous two violet candles stood for Hope and Peace. The fourth candle will stand for Love, and the Fifth candle, which is white (the baptismal candle), will stand for Jesus.
• The heptagon bow (“handle”) symbolizes the Seven Churches of the Bible Book Revelation, a reminder that joy is communal, not solitary.
• The Roman numeral III anchors the Third Sunday, while subtly echoing the Trinity, whose presence guides the faithful.
• The Gothic façade within the bow evokes the Church: there are three pointed arches – each with a door – for welcome. There is a “rose window” – a stained glass window set in vibrant colors – which signifies God’s perfections and (facing east), as light comes through, signifying God’s Divine Light. There is a cross crowning the structure to remind us that Christ is above all in Heaven, on Earth, and under the Earth.
• There are 7 bits (including the key shoulder) and 7 CUTBEDS. The seven bits along the shank represent the Seven Cardinal Virtues. Here, each rounded nib indicates a mark of Grace shaping the Soul. The cutbeds between the nibs represent the Seven Cardinal Sins. Without the cutbeds, there would be no need for the nibs; then, both sides of the key would be perfect because they would be straight and uncut.
• The three grooves are more than mechanical — they represent the Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, guiding the key into its lock, ensuring it opens only where true Joy resides, which brings Gladness to the heart.

 
This is a Master Key in every sense — not just functionally, but theologically. It teaches that rejoicing is not naïve happiness, but truly the deep assurance that Christ, the Key of David, is near to unlock every door. HALLELUJAH! WHAT A SAVIOR! (↔ Music Link)

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Check out St John Paul II’s Prayer in her honor.

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

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

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

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

[i] See “I’m So Glad” as performed by Cream at Royal Albert Hall in 2005  https://youtu.be/iF-pMingp6A?t=66 (↔ Music Link)

[ii] Gift of Finest Wheat (↔ Music Link)

2549AFC120525 – Justice, Peace, and Good Fruit← PODCAST LINK 😀

2025 Advent #2

Read it online here, please. Reading it online allows the email version to reach many more subscribers. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often. And please, when you visit there, use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. (New for Advent 2025!)
Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Please forward this to them and ask them also to share it to others. All Key Verse Logos in this series are AI-generated using CoPilot.

Isaiah 11:1 – A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
    and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

Psalm 72:7 –
⁷ In his days may righteousness flourish
    and peace abound, until the moon is no more.

℟. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

Romans 15:4 – ⁴ For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.

Matthew 3:7-10– ⁷ But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Bear fruit worthy of repentance. ⁹ Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor;’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ¹⁰ Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Advent 2025 is progressing. The stores and online shopping sites are bulging with stuff, enticing us to be indulgent and buy a lot of stuff for family, friends, coworkers, and – of course – for ourselves. We want what we want when we want it which is now. So much is going on! Amid the Holiday Rush we also have catastrophes in nature, unspeakable acts of violence and hate, corruption in every high and low place, and somehow – in all the ruckus and racket – a voice is heard saying Μαρανα θα! Μαραν αθα! Maranâ thâ’! Maran ‘athâ’ – Come Lord! Our Lord has come! That, as we like to say, is “the reason for the season.” Some folks – including the President – announce, “It’s OK to say to me, ‘Merry Christmas.'” Some grouse about the commercialization of a religious holiday. Some of the same people brave the surging tides of shoppers on Black Friday which has now become a weeks-long event.

There are 75-foot-tall Christmas trees decorated with thousands of lights and ornaments. Some neighborhoods are lit up like a Las Vegas Casino with all kinds of colorful, often noisy and expensive displays of elves and reindeer, snowmen and candy canes, and even a laser projector tracing patterns on the wall of the house. Department store windows are filled with animatronics and “once-in-a-lifetime bargains.” Underneath and above and woven all through that in threads as thin as fine silk, we catch snatches of tunes about Bethlehem, angels, shepherds, and a young Jewish couple sleeping in a cave full of livestock where The Reason for the Season was born, the Prince of Peace.

Where is the voice that cries out in the wilderness? What can, or should, we do to better hear that voice? And where do we need to be, or go, so that we, too, can see the Infant who is the Prince of Peace? Come to think of it, that all happened 2,000 or so years ago. Why are we waiting for his coming and celebrating his birthday? If “Advent” means the coming of someone or something important, what in the world are we waiting for anyway? To answer that, we need to go back to the prophet Isaiah – about 700 years before Christ was born in a manger. You may remember hearing our opening topic-verse:

Isaiah 11:1 – A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, ← (Follow this link)
    and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

If you follow the link there, you’ll be whisked away to March 14, 2014 where there are additional details about this verse. In part, you will learn that olive trees can live to be hundreds of years old. As they age they become more gnarled and even hollow, but they still produce fruit – good fruit! Eventually, though, a tree stops producing fruit, and is cut down. The stump is left. The extensive root system that formerly fed the ancient tree is still in the earth. It continues to feed the wood in the stump. With careful attention, the stump can send forth a shoot that grows to be a new olive tree. It is tender and fragile like any sapling, but it has a tremendous advantage – an extensive, well-established, efficient root system! The sapling can be easily broken off, or perhaps munched by an animal, but if the one who tends the grove takes care of the shoot – it grows and produces excellent fruit often in greater quantity than before. That is Isaiah’s message. God is saying, “I’m going to cultivate a new tree from the roots of the old, and the new tree will give you everything the old one did and even more.“

This image used by Isaiah was something the people of Israel understood clearly. Isaiah’s poetry was largely a commentary on the historical changes in the nation during his life – the wars, the intrigue, the failures of leadership, and the eventual defeat of Israel’s enemies. A significant feature of that victory for Israel would be a victory for the whole world – even for the gentiles who had been their enemies. It would be the fulfillment of the covenant-prophecy of Salvation: The Messiah. Isaiah’s message kept coming back to the coming of the Messiah. We hear much from his beautiful prophecies during Advent Season. Another very familiar passage is in Isaiah Chapter 40. (← Check it out!)

The Ancient Root of Jesse is still in place, and the fruit from the New Branch (↔ Music Link) is ours. (See Zechariah 6:12 and Jeremiah 33:15) Everything that was old will be made new. It’s the most fascinating feature of the APP! We can see how this marvelous Truth is given to us unceasingly in Scripture such as Romans 15:4 – ⁴ For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.

A Voice Cries out in the Wilderness (↔ Music Link)

Isaiah 40:3-5 – ³ A voice cries out:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
    make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
⁴ Every valley shall be lifted up,
    and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
    and the rough places a plain.
⁵ Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
    and all people shall see it together,
    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Once again, Isaiah is using figurative language that would resonate with the Israelites years later when Babylon’s armies swept in and carried of tens-of-thousands away from Jerusalem and Judea as the beginning of The Babylonian Captivity. Why would he talk about leveling mountains and filling in valleys? Is that what the Israelites had to do to get back home? In a way, yes, they needed to prepare the way, but not in a physical sense. Here’s the “back story.”

Whenever Kings and Princes in the “Fertile Crescent” and even farther eastward would march into new territories, they would send messengers and soldiers ahead to “iron things out.” Obstacles that would hinder travel or complicate the conquest were removed to make it easier for that ruler and his retinue to travel. People, places, and things were torn down or built up so that movement across the territory, and its politics, would be easier. Sometimes these were enormous engineering projects and were very impressive displays of power and wealth. Isaiah is telling the people that they need to prepare their hearts to welcome back the Lord. They have abandoned him, and he will allow Babylon to take them away from what he has provided for them. They must humble the proud and build up the lowly so that in every place and every heart, the Lord alone stands on level ground in their hearts and minds. Only he is above all else and all others. That is also the message John the Baptist brought.

We read about John’s mission in Matthew 3:1-3. He is sent to help prepare the way for the King of kings and Lord of lords. The proud will be humbled and brought low, the meek and marginalized will be lifted up, wrong-thinking will be made right, and the violent will be gentled. In Matthew’s Gospel, we see how the “Keepers of The Law” reacted to this. They didn’t like it, not one bit. They didn’t realize that their misplaced self-confidence, nationalism and pride, and – worst of all – their hypocrisy, were obstacles that had to be removed to “make straight the way of The Lord.” John told them that they would be cut down (like an old olive tree) if they didn’t start producing the good fruits of repentance.

Let’s look at that whole passage, because it is instructive; it’s Matthew 3:7-10 – ⁷ But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Bear fruit worthy of repentance. ⁹ Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ¹⁰ Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Those fruits of repentance would lead them to their citizenship in the Kingdom of God. It would become for them the difference of bringing holiness and happiness. They would be twice-born and constantly-borne. Belovéd, we have the same choice. Like them, we are pulled two ways; secular and sacred, commercialized and consecrated, pleasantness and prayerfulness, busy or blissful. Our hearts, minds, and spirits need to be evened out so that when The King of Glory Comes (↔ Music Link), there is no person, place, or thing that stands in the way of our rejoicing.

We are waiting for The King to come to “hearts humble and free”; we are also waiting for his promised return when The Glory of The Lord will be revealed. We are waiting for the New Shoot to bear good and abundant fruit. Then, as our faith is deepened by knowledge and understanding of his Word, Wisdom will grow like a new shoot sprouting up from the ancient roots of the Faith God alone inspires, sustains, and blesses so that Peace can flourish in our hearts. It is Fruit worthy of Repentance. God’s Immutable Justice gives a Just Reward to each and every soul. For those who recognize their sin and repent, there is the Just Reward of eternity with God. For those who fail to recognize their sin and do not repent, there is the Just Reward of eternity without God. Repentance is essential to Peace. Because why? Because Repentance is Metanoia, WE CAN CHANGE which is what God wants. We can CHOOSE to change instead of choosing to sin. Talk about a Peace Plan! That’s the path between Justice and Good Fruit – Peace with God when we change our sinful ways!

Repentance is the precursor of Mercy, and it is Mercy that brings us Hope. Remember the Circle of Life (↔ Click Link)  

Where there is Life, there is Hope.

Where there is Hope, there is Love.

Where there is Love, there is integrity.

Where there is integrity, there is Truth.

Where there is Truth, there is JUSTICE.

Where there is JUSTICE, there is Mercy.

Where there is Mercy, there is freedom.

Where there is freedom, there is Life.

Thinking back to 2547AFC112125 – Our Preeminent King we recall “Perfect Integrity, Endless Mercy, Everlasting Love, Eternal Salvation, Immutable Justice, Irreproachable Wisdom, and Incomparable Grace.” Because of those things, the Righteous will see Peace flourish forever. The unrighteous will not. As we wait for the Lord of Peace this Advent, we pray together, that – when Jesus returns – we will be found to be living in Faith, repentant, and ready for his Justice to Reward us for our Good Fruit. And so we pray …

Μαρανα θα! Μαραν αθα! Maranâ thâ’! Maran ‘athâ’ – Come Lord! Our Lord has come! Even so, come Lord Jesus!

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

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

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

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

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

2548AFC112825 – Going, going, GONE! ← PODCAST LINK 😀

Read it online here, please. Reading it online allows the email version to reach many more subscribers. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often. And please, when you visit there, use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. (New for Advent 2025!)
Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Please forward this to them and ask them also to share it to others.

Isaiah 2:3 –
³     Many peoples shall come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
    and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
    and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

(See Also Michah 4:2-3) (↔ Music Link, not Scripture Link)

Psalm 122:1 –
¹ I was glad when they said to me,
    “Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
℟. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord! (↔ Music Link)

Romans 13:11 ^c – For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers (↔ Music Link)

Matthew 24:40-41 – ⁴⁰ Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. (↔ Music Link)

May the God of Peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ as we anticipate the celebration of his birth during this season of Advent. I’m going to include this image in each post just to help us remember what each of the Advent Candles represent. The Key Verse icons will be the same colors as the vesting and liturgical linens – this first Sunday will be violet. The Key Verse logos are all AI generated using CoPilot. *

Now, let’s get right into the readings. We recently mentioned Psalm 121 – Let us go up to the house of the Lord – and this passage in Isaiah is the connection for that verse. It is important to remember that going up to the house of the Lord was not merely an annual religious exercise but also, and especially, a time to learn. It says “That he may teach us his ways.” We might ask why it is important to be repeatedly taught. The answer appears frequently here: We forget. We require frequent reminders about God’s stipulations for us, and those requirements boil down to being able to “walk in his paths” i.e., to be obedient. And then the Psalmist tells us, For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Ah-Ha! There is the messianic Prophecy in this passage. The Word, the Logos, will go out from Jerusalem and instruction will come forth from Zion, Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, the location of the Temple, the house of the God of Jacob. This is a foreshadowing of Jesus’ mission to “do the works of my Father.” Recall that he often told his followers that he did only what the Father told him. “The Father and I are One.” We indeed need to remember to keep going up to the house of the Lord. sometimes it is and uphill Struggle to get up that hill to the temple, but we must not forget to go so that we will not forget God.

Fittingly the responsorial song is Psalm 121. I’ve included the response which is “℟. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord! There’s a point here for a short digression. We often hear things like’ “there are two kinds of people in the world.” One of my favorites goes like this:

• There are two kinds of people in the world – Christian and non-Christian.
• There are two kinds of Christians in the world – Catholic and non-Catholic
• There are two kinds of Catholics in the world – Active and dormant
• There are two kinds of active Catholics – happy and unhappy.

The happy Catholics go to Church because they love to be in the presence of God as part of the body of Christ who are all worshipping with other Catholics (happy and unhappy!). The unhappy Catholics go to church because it is their only way to fulfill their Sunday obligation. Most of you know that I grew up a very happy non-Catholic, but in 1968, the Lord lifted me up out of a dissipated life and put me into metanoia mode. He shuttled me out of the Draft, and into the USAF where I was warmly mentored by a whole group of happy Catholics. My heart and my mind had already begun the initial process of conversion, and being in their fraternal care concluded it. In April of 1969, I received three wonderful Sacraments – Baptism, first communion and – two Weeks later, matrimony. To this very day I marvel at how God managed to re-form my life, especially when I regard my lovely wife Crucita.

The reason for all of that is found in today’s Key Verse from Romans: For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers. I can never remember a time when I did not know that my life would continue after my time on earth. All I can really remember from my childhood about the afterlife is that everybody talked about it as if it’s always going to be there. I have never had any reason to believe anything less. If you’ve been a reader here for some time you know about my decision to give my life to full-time Christian service at age 10. Even at the lowest points in my life I have never given up that promise, because I know with absolute certainty that today I am closer to ending this life and beginning the next than I was yesterday. How about you?

In fact, as do many of you, I often reflect on that moment by moment … except when I forget! And, some may think this to be creepy, but my screen-saver is

Some of you may recall the incident (← Check it out!) when our Parochial Vicar at St Catherine of Alexandria Catholic Church, Fr. Rex Rilveria, started his homily by asking, “How many of you want to go to Heaven?” Scores of people raised their hands. “Very good,’ he said, “most of us want to get there! How many of you are ready to leave NOW?” Can you guess who was the onliest guy in the entire assembly to raise a hand high? This is not morbid thinking; it is cautious humility guarding Hope. We hear all the time – “Ya never know …” Even Jesus said in Matthew 24:36-37 – ³⁶ “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³⁷ For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. And in Acts 1:7 he said, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.” Jesus voluntarily RESTRICTED HIS KNOWLEDGE as God until that Time when the Triune and Only-Living God acts. Good enough for me! My bags are unpacked and I’m ready to go – which is purely my Pride talking isn’t it? God alone will decide when I’m ready to go, and then he will call me. As near as I can tell he still has quite a lot of work to do to finish me up. That brings us to the Gospel Key Verse.

The passage I chose is one of those controversial passages that people love to debate about. Some of you may have read the book series Left Behind. Once I caught onto the premise behind the series, I elected to just pass by without really getting into it. It’s based on a very common theological point that I don’t quite agree with; but then I’m not a theologian either am I? Here’s the reason Jesus made it vague, I believe. It is because the Trinity foreknew that it would be better to keep all of that out of our hands. They’d already seen what we could do with the Tree of Knowledge and decided to take away The Tree of Life. Giving us a little bit of a guess about what’s gonna happen first seems to fit the pattern. The question is who really is going to go first.

The book series of course was based on the that the righteous would be taken up into Heaven first and leaving all the unrighteous to suffer through whatever was going to happen before the end of the world. So in the book and in the movies they had people disappearing out of airplanes and buildings and taxi cabs and what all, while a few apparently innocent looking people stood by with mouths open. Those were the persons left behind, the unrighteous. The other point of view is that the unrighteous will be taken away first, leaving the righteous to live on Earth during the millennial reign of Christ the King. I happen to like that idea better. Most of the argument for the other is based on the Book of Revelation, but I’d like to share with you a few things which might help you think about it differently. Let’s begin with some other Scripture passages that talk about the evil being taken away from the good.

The most obvious is the promise of the Promised Land. Once the Hebrews got to Canaan, God’s directive was to remove – as in annihilate – all the residents of that land because they’d had 400+ years to get their act together and find Truth. Other interesting passages include –

Proverbs 25:4-5 –
⁴ Take away the dross from the silver,
    and the smith has material for a vessel;
⁵ take away the wicked from the presence of the king,
    and his throne will be established in righteousness.

and

Proverbs 10:30 –
³⁰ The righteous will never be removed,
    but the wicked will not remain in the land.

and

Psalm 37:9 – (GNT) [1]
⁹ Those who trust in the Lord will possess the land,
    but the wicked will be driven out.

and

Psalm 101:8 –
⁸ Morning by morning I will destroy
    all the wicked in the land,
cutting off all evildoers
    from the city of the Lord.

There may be other references, but I think you catch my drift. Naturally there will be some people that will argue that I’ve totally missed the point but still, I believe that God’s form of action seems to be cleaning up the mess before taking care of the restoration. I really don’t care anything about pre-Tribulation or Post-Tribulation or Pre- or Post-Millennial. What I understand is that God takes out the weeds and leaves the garden, else why would we not have access to Eden? Whose horses, chariots, and charioteers were lost in the Red Sea? If any would wish to pursue it further, look up the word παραλαμβάνεται paralambanetai for “taken” and ἀφίεται·aphietai for left (as abandoned). I happen to have landed on the side of the Catechism of The Catholic Church, especially paragraphs 668-682 and 1038-1041. I didn’t know that until I enrolled in Ascension Press’s Catechism in A Year podcasts with Fr. Mike Schmitz. Available wherever you get your podcasts or in The APP Store and Google Play.

OK! That’s a wrap for today. Please be sure to go back and read all of the information in the hyperlinks, and also look for the music links. It’s been a pleasure serving you today See you again next week same time same station. Meanwhile I’m going, going, and hope to be GONE!

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

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

For more information please see 1948AFC112919 – Ready! Set! WAIT!, and 1648AFC112516 – 1^st Advent 2016, and of course 2248AFC112522 – Guess who’s coming to the Banquet.

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

*Copilot is Microsoft’s AI-powered assistant that helps users with tasks ranging from web browsing and content creation to coding and business productivity. 

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

2547AFC112125 – Our Preeminent King

Dear readers, I apologize for this being so long. It is an important subject and much must be told about it.

Read it online here, please. Reading it online allows the email version to reach many more subscribers. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.
Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Please forward this to them and ask them also to share it to others.

2 Samuel 5:3-4 – ³ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel. ⁴ David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.

Psalm 122:4-5 –
⁴ To it [The House of the Lord] the tribes go up,
    the tribes of the Lord,
as was decreed for Israel,
    to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
⁵ For there the thrones for judgment were set up,
    the thrones of the house of David.

Colossians 1:13-20 (GNT) [1] – ¹³ He rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us safe into the kingdom of his dear Son, ¹⁴ by whom we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven.

The Person and Work of Christ [Who is Preeminent over All]

¹⁵ Christ is the visible likeness of the invisible God. He is the first-born Son, superior to all created things. ¹⁶ For through him God created everything in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen things, including spiritual powers, lords, rulers, and authorities. God created the whole universe through him and for him. ¹⁷ Christ existed before all things, and in union with him all things have their proper place. ¹⁸ He is the head of his body, the church; he is the source of the body’s life. He is the first-born Son, who was raised from death, in order that he alone might have the first place in all things. ¹⁹ For it was by God’s own decision that the Son has in himself the full nature of God. ²⁰ Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to himself. God made peace through his Son’s blood on the cross and so brought back to himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.

Luke 23:35-38 – ³⁵ And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” ³⁶ The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, ³⁷ and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” ³⁸ There was also an inscription over him [in Greek and Latin and Hebrew (that is, Aramaic)] saying “This is the King of the Jews.” 

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. Well, Adelphos, we’ve done it again – worked our way through another Liturgical Year. This coming Sunday is the Solemnity of Christ the King, the “last Sunday of the year.” The Sunday after this one will be the first Sunday of Advent. Then comes Christmas, New Year’s, and not long after, Lent. But let’s not get too far ahead here; so, why is Jesus our Preeminent King?

Let’s work right-to-left here: Why is Christ a King? His Disciples believed that, as the Meshiach, the Messiah, he was the One Promised by God to occupy the Throne of David for all eternity, the One to restore Israel and defeat all her enemies. Now these days, we know that’s not the case. Jesus did indeed come to be a king but he did not come to be the kind of king that they expected . He came to be the King of all the Universe because that’s what he was since before time began.

Now moving left again , we have preeminent. Previously we’ve talked about preeminence , and what that means is that whatever it is we’re describing gets top priority no matter what. It is preeminent in that nothing else can be elevated to its level. Jesus is preeminent in all things, because God has given him a name that is above all other names. Now, that might seem a little tricky if you’re thinking about the Trinity, because Jesus is God. Nonetheless. God the Father gave God the Son Preeminence and a name that was above all other names when Jesus completed his mission of Salvation.

Lastly, we move to the word “our.” We say “our” because just as God is our father, Jesus is our King. Certainly if we were to think of Jesus as being the King of the Universe, and obviously, since we are part of the universe, He must be indeed our King.

Now that takes care of the obvious. Let’s see how all of that connects up with today’s Key Verses. We start with the nation of Israel coming together with David at Hebron. The implication here is that it was the entire population that came together with David at Hebron and there they committed themselves to be his subjects. In the same way, when we accept the Kingship of Christ, we become subjects of Christ. That is why they call us “Christian.” The suffix -ian means “people of,” so Christ followed by ian means “People of Christ.” When I was a teenager we were told that the IANS stood for “I am now saved” following Christ. I think that’s also a pretty good way to remember it. We can recall that David had been anointed ha-Mashiach by Samuel in front of his father and all his brothers. Now, we should also note that they came together before the Lord. This was like a religious conclave held in the presence of God. Those who were to be governed chose and accepted the king by acclamation of assent. Recall that the nation of Israel was new to the idea of having a King. Like little children, they were saying, “everybody else has got a king, so we want one too.”

Today, when we say Christ is our King, The King of the Universe, we also choose him to be our King. But, there is an important difference. Jesus is the King of the Universe whether we acknowledge that or not. However, for him to be our King, we must also claim him through the same acclamation of assent. Because God loves us so much that he gave us the gift of Free Will, we have the capacity to reject Jesus as our King. This, too, is presented to us in the history of Israel. Throughout the Old Testament, Israel rejected God as their King by their disobedience.

In our Key Verses from the Psalms, We have a passage from the beautiful Psalm 122. I learned the beginning of that Psalm when I was a kid. It says, “I was glad when they said unto me “Let us go up to the house of the Lord.” It wasn’t until I was an adult that I learned what it meant by “Let us go up to.” Jerusalem is on a mountain and there is no way to get up to the top of the mountain unless you go UP to the top. Well, duh! Add in our Key Verse we also read, “as decreed by the Lord.” Recall that all of Israel was to go to the Temple in Jerusalem for certain of the Feast Days. When I applied that to my own life, I rejoiced that I could be in the company of other believers, and we congregated – literally – to praise and worship the Lord. Going back to the content of the Psalm, that it is “decreed to “give thanks to the Lord.” then we have a phrase that must be read more carefully – For there the thrones for judgment were set up. Set up, that is, for the Judges of Israel. In the Bible, these persons were military leaders called by the Hebrew word שָׁפַט shaw-fat’, which means to judge as in to administer justice, govern, vindicate, punish. They were the Sheriff, if you will, or perhaps like Marshall Dillon who kept everyone in line. You can find out more about them in 2513AFC040425 – Spirit and Life.

The duties of the King were based on the traditional duties of a father, the head of a household like that of our Old Friend, Abraham. They were the spiritual leader, the Priest if you will, of the family, leading them in worship. They were the teachers and law-givers for the family in their role as Prophets who spoke the decrees of God. Lastly, they were the rulers as kings and their duty there was to govern and defend the family – in David’s case, the entire nation of Israel – against all enemies as the military leaders. The “thrones of judgement” described there allude to the ultimate and preeminent authority of God as we described last week in 2546AFC111425 – Immutable Justice. Our El Shaddai-Olam is the Beginning and the End of Governance of THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE, i.e., all of Creation.

Now we begin to see how these Key Verses are related to the title of this post as well as the title of the Solemnity – The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. As an aside here to those who state, “I’m a very spiritual person attuned to the Universe.” It is important to remember that the Universe is not God. God created the Universe, but the Universe is not God, and God is not the Universe. God is “outside” the Universe but permeates it in every Time and Place. There is no place that we can be that God is not already there to welcome us. BUT WE FORGET! We must not forget to remember God in all situations, seasons, circumstances, and times – we might say his Name in prayer, but do we remember Who he is and remember his Love and Faithfulness? (↔ Music Link) We can know all the names and attributes of God and be replete with information about him, but it is essential that our Deposit of Faith is not merely informational; it must always be TRANSFORMATIONAL! I’ll insert another little something here that will look familiar:

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

We know God is Light, but we also know there is a shadow of darkness on this old World of ours. There is no shadow without there be light, therefore, we must learn to pray in every season of Life. Efficacious prayer will never be closed to WE who learn to pray in all situations, seasons, circumstances, and times – AND THEN DO IT. Not only that alone but we will also be able to weather every storm. I’ve used this image is several writings, so I will use it again here because it demonstrates another point-of-faith we must not forget: There is no shadow without there be light – The Darkness shows us where to Find The Light. It surrounds us and fills us because we are Children of Light, not of Darkness. Sure, I can dig the ”spiritually aware mantra “we’re all made of stardust.” True that. But Stardust and we ourselves are made in the likeness and image of God. Every time we forget that, then we participate with the Darkness, not the Light. We are Baptized into the roles of Priest, Prophet, and King. In each AND all of those roles we are called to [1] follow God and [2] lead “at home, at school, at play” (↔ Music Link) all day, every day, ‘til by death we depart. That’s our God-given job, and it is very much like the job God gave to Jesus.

The Apostle Paul tells us, He rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us safe into the kingdom of his dear Son, by whom we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. That is the core of the Absolutely Perfect Plan – forgiveness of sin and restoration of our intimate spiritual relationship with God through the transformation of our lives in the Life, Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension into Heaven of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ of God who is THE King of the Universe. The Apostle Paul continues with Christ is the visible likeness of the invisible God. He is the first-born Son, superior to all created things. For through him God created everything in heaven and on earth. All the first-born children of our dear Old Friend, Abraham, are dedicated to God from the womb – that is, from conception to natural death. In Jesus, we, too, are adopted as first-born heirs of the Father. We are destined to be reunited with God as whole, resurrected, glorified beings – restored to our Oneness with God that existed in our First Parents before that Dark Liar came into our lives. Compatibility with our Creator, his Creation, and each other was lost through the Death of Original Sin.

And that is how it should be, according to the APP, because, as The Apostle Paul states further, Christ was present at creation For through him God created everything in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen things, including spiritual powers, lords, rulers, and authorities. God created the whole universe through him and for him. Christ existed before all things, and in union with him all things have their proper place. The Father generates, the Son is Begotten, and the Holy Spirit proceeds. Through the Irreproachable Wisdom of God (adding that to the list!), all things were ordered in perfect harmony until sin brought in discord. Leaders, rulers, Angels, spirits, all were ordered in perfect array. That orderliness will be restored, and – God willing – soon and very soon (↔ Music Link)

He is the head of his body, the church; he is the source of the body’s life. He is the first-born Son, who was raised from death, in order that he alone might have the first place in all things. For it was by God’s own decision that the Son has in himself the full nature of God. In Hebrews 1:3 [2] The Apostle Paul calls Jesus’ nature “the refulgence of his glory.” Jesus is literally the Life of the Church as its head. “That he alone might have first place in all things” is the declaration of preeminence because it is God’s own decision that the Son has in himself the full nature of God.

This is made possible only through the Incomparable Grace of God. If we add that to our list we get: God’s Perfect Integrity, Endless Mercy, Everlasting Love, Eternal Salvation, Immutable Justice, Irreproachable Wisdom, and Incomparable Grace. ALL OF THAT (and more) is in Jesus, our Lord and our God, the King of Glory (↔ Music Link) The King of the Entire Universe, The King of All Creation and that makes Jesus OUR KING because Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to himself. God made peace through his Son’s blood on the cross and so brought back to himself all things, both on earth and in heaven. That includes us, does it not? For that to happen God The Father required only one thing – the bloody sacrifice of his Only Begotten Son.

We think we know the story, but do we? Or did we, have we, do we join The World thus: And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him [in Greek and Latin and Hebrew (that is, Aramaic)] saying “This is the King of the Jews.”

The King has come. Marana tha! Maran atha! God’s Preeminent King saves!

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

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

[2] New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE) Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner. Used by permission.

2546AFC111425 – Immutable Justice

Read it online here, please. Reading it online allows the email version to reach many more subscribers. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.
Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Please forward this to them and ask them also to share it to others.

Malachi 4:2 – ² But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. *
In the NABRE, this passage is part of the continuation of Chapter 3

Psalm 98:9 ^c –
He will judge the world with righteousness,
    and the peoples with equity.

2 Thessalonians 3:10 – ¹⁰ For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat.

Luke 21:19 – ¹⁹ By your endurance you will gain your souls.

Luke 21:28 – ²⁸ Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.

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. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him.  In the past few weeks we have heard about one of the fundamental characteristics of our Amazing Triune God – Immutable Justice (← Check it out!). I should point out that EVERYTHING about God is immutable. You may also recall that we read several verses in which God himself states that he is unchanging. Even in this chapter of the book of the Prophet Malachi we hear: Malachi 3:6 – ⁶ For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, have not perished. This idea is also expressed in verses such as Hebrews 13:8, James 1:17, and Numbers 23:19. This means that God’s Perfect Integrity, Endless Mercy, Everlasting Love, And Eternal Salvation are all immutable. What do we mean in the word IMMUTABLE?

“Immutability” is a term often used in data management. Once something enters a “fixed state,” – fixed as immobile or unchangeable – no matter what happens to it or around it, it does not change, cannot be changed, and its status is permanent. These data have predictable behaviors. They have stringent protections for data integrity and compliance with functional requirements. When we think of this word in Theology we mean that God’s Will, his Character, his Promises, his Presence, His Grace, and his Justice – which is tempered with Mercy – never, ever, change. Whatever we can say about, or do with and for, God, his influence is always ultimate and superlative. I think this is why, when we are sometimes confronted with something immensely unusual, we sometimes exclaim, “GREAT GOD ALMIGHTY!” (As always, God hears that prayer.) With God, he establishes and lives by the rules because if any rule can be named, God is that rule; moreover, he is also every rule that we cannot know and therefore cannot name. All, indeed ALL, of that can be applied to God’s Immutable Justice.

Now, what do we mean by “JUSTICE?” Crucita and I watch a lot of those “true crime” and procedural drama shows on TV. In many of them we hear about “getting justice” for the person who was wronged, or injured, or killed. That aspect of judgement is vindication for the plaintiff and conviction for the defendant. If we apply that sort of template to our relationship with God, we can eventually come to the conclusion that God is the plaintiff, and we are the defendants. The upshot of that is that the Prosecuting Attorney is Satan, and the Attorney for the Defense is Jesus. However, God is also the judge, and it’s always a Bench Trial – no jury of peers is involved – and whatever the plaintiff’s prosecutor says, (yes, God did give that Old Dragon that job) it is God’s Immutable Justice which is applied. If God says, “You don’t Love me anymore,” The Accuser (ha-Satan) spews out a whole list of sins against The Law for which we must pay.

What is the penalty for sins against The Law? “Purge the Evil from your midst!” The penalty is Death. Our Defense Attorney approaches the Bench offering expiation and asking for exculpation for those sins. He gains a Judgement that causes each sin to be forgotten so the “death penalty is off the table”, but God’s justice also requires that the mortal, terrestrial consequence be imposed. We might ask “What does that mean?” That means that there are temporal consequences for everything that we do. The eternal consequences are taken care of so to speak through the death and Resurrection of Christ, there are still temporal consequences that need to be taken care of. “All right then, what are temporal consequences?”

Temporal consequences are those things which level the scales of justice. They are the so-called payment for the things that were damaged by our rebellion against God’s rules. We could say that it has its roots an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth in the Old Testament, but it is a more refined and nuanced form of restitution. It’s more refined because it requires the concept of metanoia – that complete change of mindset and heart that end up in a new Vision Of Life. It is the concept of confession plus repentance, we admit that we were wrong, and promise not to do wrong again. In this way the charges against us are either reduced, or, in most cases, dismissed.

In the Key Verse from the Old Testament for today, we have a promise from our God that the righteous – that is the person confined –  will receive freedom like “a calf leaping from the stall.” Some might ask, “Why would a calf be kept in a stall?” That’s how we get veal. Imagine being cooped up in a small stall for all of your life from infancy to early childhood. Freedom from that sort of limitation would be very liberating. That sort of liberty is what every soul craves; but, we are too bound and constrained by sin to possess that liberty. To gain – and  accept – that liberty, we are to revere God. To revere God means we admire, respect, venerate, worship, and obey God. Now, there is a sort of irony in that because if we do obey God, then we do so when admiring, respecting, venerating, and worshipping him. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” How should we Love him? Keep his commandments. How can we keep his commandments? By loving him and each other. That is righteousness – Doing The Right Thing.

That is how God judges the World, with righteousness and equity which is impartiality in dispensing Justice. One of those Eternal Qualities I keep listing is “God is Just and Merciful.” Those last three words are the way I think about how Grace works. Justice is getting what we deserve. Grace is getting what we do not deserve which only happens because of God’s Mercy. Here, we are reminded of the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy. One of the Corporal Works of Mercy we hear about lately is Feeding the Hungry. “Some” commentators have brought that up when talking about the SNAP benefits. “I thought Christians were supposed to be into feeding the hungry.” Hmmm. Take a look at what The Apostle Paul said about that: “If you won’t work, you won’t eat.”

Now, of course there are tens-of-thousands on SNAP who are marginally employed. They’re doing what they can in their own circumstances to work and live a decent law-abiding life. For 2025, the national poverty line is $15,650 for a single person and $32,150 for a family of four in the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia. That’s $1,304 per month for an individual and $2,679 per month for a family of four. The hourly wage for that single person would be $7.52 and for the family, net family income per hour would be $15.46. As you know, I don’t understand money at all, but it seems like that’s how the math works out using 173.3 hour/month. The point is that there are thousands of jobs “created” every month (Historically, the average has been about 170,000 jobs per month), there are over 7 million unemployed persons, and virtually every business in every town has a sign out front saying “Now Hiring! Earn up to $25 an hour.” And yet you see people on the MSMOs saying it’s just impossible to find a job. Does that mean we don’t feed them?

Not really. The Apostle Paul is talking specifically about the adelphos, the members of The Church (called The Way at that time), but Social Justice (↔ Click Link) says we must also follow Jesus’ commands to feed the hungry, care for the sick, instruct the ignorant, and bury the dead, and all the other Acts of Corporal and Spiritual Mercy. That’s righteousness – which is following God’s rules as God intends them to be followed –  but not as we pretend to follow them. The fewer people who follow the rules and the fewer rules that are followed, the more and more we make ourselves vulnerable to those temporal costs of sin – disasters, wars, cataclysmic changes in sky, land, and sea. It’s enough to try our souls!

Those trials – which some of us mistakenly take so personally – are what Jesus is talking about in Luke 21. This is very similar to what we read in Matthew 24:3-44 – the destruction of the Temple, the signs of the end of The Age (this present age, the Age of the Church), all the persecutions and sufferings that follow because we are Christians, terrible sacrileges, and the return of Christ. The recent violent insurgencies and massacres in several nations in Africa and Asia remind us of what Jesus told us about being persecuted for his Name. In addition, we have had terrible earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and typhoons, signs and wonders in the sky (Northern Lights seen in Florida?!), famine, pestilence, mindless violence, unwarranted hatred, and a relaxing of moral standards that is utterly scandalous. Jesus has told us these things must happen first. The secular argument is that these things happen all the time; they’re just more frequent and more noticeable because news about them is shared almost instantly around the world. To that objection, Scripture tells us to take a posture of watchful waiting – even if we are the ones who are suffering or being persecuted, because By your endurance you will gain your souls. Nonetheless, we are also commanded to be witnesses – martyrs – for Christ because Jesus is merciful (↔ Music Link)

Another question we hear from both secular and religious persons is, “How can a just and loving God cause all this suffering?” Well, first, God does not cause this suffering but he does allow it. Why? To help us learn to turn to him in all things, first with praise, next with thanksgiving, and last with our petitions. God hears and answers all our prayers – yep, ALL of them. In these grim situations, it is difficult – but still very important – to maintain that “attitude of gratitude.” Gratitude is a prerogative made possible by being aware we cannot fill our emptiness with ourselves or by ourselves. Only God can fill us because only God created us. Sounds simple enough, but, when we let Pride and Greed get in the way … well, you know how that usually ends!

I believe the reason it is so easy to forget how this works (there it is again, “we forget”) is because of the magnitude and permanence of God’s Immutable Justice. It goes from Age to Age and includes every Created Thing. There is nothing that is not included in God’s Immutable Justice. That double negative means Everything That Can Be Named as well as Everything That Cannot Be Named is covered by that Immutable Justice. Not only that, but ALL the other things I keep bringing up – Perfect Integrity, Endless Mercy, Everlasting Love, And Eternal Salvation – have the same coverage. We earthlings aren’t used to that kind of permanent, total, unwavering, God-given protection. Yes, I say protection, because Immutable Justice is what protects us from the Prosecutor’s FALSE accusations. I’m going to include the rest of the reading from This Sunday’s Old Testament reading in Malachi ~~

Malachi 4:1-3 – ¹ See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. ² But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. ³ And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.

That is the Immutable Justice that awaits all those people you and I see out there doing everything from assassinations to child molestation to “shaving down there” to whatever-other-disgusting-things we see. We know, appreciate, and understand that. Our attention, then, must be focused not on our suffering at present, but rather on preventing others from suffering by letting them know we are Christians. Yes, our offering to God, our Sacrifice of Praise, is to be a Witness, to stand at the Foot of the Cross (↔ Music Link)  with Mary and hold on (↔ Music Link) to that which is right and good – Hope. Peace. Love. Joy. These are the rewards of God’s Immutable Justice. Seek and find. Ask and receive. Watch. Wait. Here comes the Judge!  The Day of Reward is one day closer today!! Alleluia!

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

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

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

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

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

Special Bonus for reading this online:

Why did I use a KEYHOLE instead of a KEY for our Key Verses? Because, Dear Reader, YOU possess the Key. The Key to the Mystery of Heaven is 

SCRIPTURE

2545AFC110725 – The Church’s Church ← PODCAST LINK 😀

Read it online here, please. Reading it online allows the email version to reach many more subscribers. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.
Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Please forward this to them and ask them also to share it to others.

Ezekiel 47:9 – (GNT) [1] ⁹ Wherever the stream flows, there will be all kinds of animals and fish. The stream will make the water of the Dead Sea fresh, and wherever it flows, it will bring life.

Psalm 46:4 –
⁴ There is a river that brings joy to the city of God,
    to the sacred house of the Most High.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 – ¹⁶ Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?* ¹⁷ If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
In Greek this pronoun is second person, plural.

2 Chronicles 7:16 – ¹⁶ For now I have chosen and consecrated this house so that my name may be there forever; my eyes and my heart will be there for all time.

John 2:21-22 – ²¹ But he was speaking of the temple of his body. ²² After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

E pili mau na pomaika‘i ia ‘oe a me ke akua ho’omaika‘i ‘oe, ʻŌmea! (May blessing always be with you and may God bless you, Beloved!) This weekend I’m posting something a little different from the usual. This coming Sunday is the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. It is a “fixed day” feast which means it must always be celebrated on November 9^th. Today I am sharing with you some background on this important building because we may not fully understand why it’s so important.

The photo above gives us an aerial view of this immense church, The Church of the People, The Pope’s Cathedral, St. John Lateran Bascilica. I want to share a few more photos with you before I attempt to give a brief (we hope!) history of this remarkable site. In this photo you can get an inkling of the immense size of this complex. The façade is Over 100 feet tall. and topped by huge statues which are over 27 meters tall. As you can see, the church is built in a cross shape, and you can see the transept farther back in the photo. Adjacent to it are other buildings which are used as residences and administrative functions.

Below is a photo of the Main Altar , and next to that image is a photo of the Tabernacle. Truly amazing, beautiful, and majestic!

(Please excuse my amateurish photoshopping without Photoshop) 

On the façade of the Church are the Latin words “omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput.” This translates in English as “The mother and head of all the churches of the city and of the world.” The Lateran Basilica is the first, oldest (over 1,700 years old!) and central Church of the Roman Catholic World. As mentioned above it is the Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome – the Pope. At this site there originally stood a palace owned by Plautius Lateranus in the early years of the first century AD. In 65 AD, it was confiscated by the Emperor Nero and Plautius was executed for conspiring against him. Around 313 AD, The Emperor Constantine donated it to the care of Pope Sylvester I. Construction began in 314, and it served as the Papal residence for over 1000 years. It was originally dedicated to Christ the Savior. Eventually it became the first Cathedral in Rome. It remained the principal papal residence until 1309 AD when the Western Schism took place, and the Pope’s move to Avignon France. Nearly 70 years later when the Pope returned to Rome, The building was in poor shape and it wasn’t until 1586 that It was fully refitted. After that time however it no longer remained the quarters where the Pope lived, but became the principal church of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Benedict XIII set the permanent feast day on November 9 in 1726.

The Basilica is more than just an historical and architectural monument. It is also a significant testimony to the freedom of faith and religion. Thanks to the Emperor Constantine, Christians could worship without fear of persecution, and that is the principal symbolic meaning for this fantastic edifice. We celebrate the feast on a Sunday every few years and this year is one of them. In the future, you may have an opportunity to recall why it is so important that this particular church, the Church of the Church, is celebrated. And now it’s time to turn our attention to the Scripture readings for this weekend which emphasize the importance of religious places and activities.

I chose to begin with 2 Chronicles 7:16 which is the Gospel verse – chanted during the Alleluia – and really sets the tone for the entire celebration. This passage comes from the Prayer of Dedication given by Solomon when he dedicated the temple that he had just completed. It also contains the famous passage frequently cited in social media which is 2 Chronicles 7:14 — ¹⁴ if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Verse 16 is spoken by Solomon during the vision where God appeared to him for a second time and told Solomon that the sanctuary he had built would be there forever as a representation of his Name and Power. That is why this passage is included in this weekend’s readings, because it speaks of a definite and permanent place of holiness where God is to be worshiped.

In Ezekiel 47:9, the Lord God is giving the Prophet Ezekiel a guided tour of the future Temple for Jerusalem. He is describing a river that flows from it in this verse. We here recall what Jesus said about “Living Water”: In John 4:10, Jesus told the Samaritan woman that if she had known who was asking her for a drink of water, he would have given her “streams of Living Water.” This, of course, refers to the Gospel and the works of the Holy Spirit. Just down the page is John 4:13-14, where Jesus says, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” The waters in Ezekiel’s vision keep getting deeper, broader, and swifter, and whatever they touched sprang to New Life. It is the same with the Living Water of the Holy Spirit and the Gospel as the Gospel grows out from the Basilica to all the world, growing deeper, wider, and stronger as it is spread throughout the world – originating at the Lateran Basilica. IMHO, that is pretty cool! Here’s how Ezekiel’s vision came to fruition in the Second Temple.

In Psalm 46:4, the theme of a river is again expressed. We can see here as well how this prefigures the M.O. of the Holy Spirit – There is a river that brings joy to the city of God, to the sacred house of the Most High. There is no greater Joy than the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the Church founded on the Corner Stone the Builders Rejected – Jesus, the Christ of God – and built on the foundation laid out for her by the Apostles, notably through the Holy Spirit’s use of The Apostle Paul and his associates. In our Key Verse from 1 Corinthians Chapter 3, The Apostle Paul is castigating the Corinthian church for their divisions. He explains how he carefully laid down a foundation on which others built up the church, and that they themselves are the True Church, the People of God. He tells them, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” We also recall the words of The Apostle Peter who wrote 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. WE are the living stones, fashioned unto the image of the Original Living Cornerstone. The Apostle Paul goes onto say, “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” He is telling us that our own sins which we retain and guard so fiercely sometimes can bring about the destruction of that Holy temple of God wherein the Holy Spirit dwells. We also recall his words in Romans 8:7-9 – ⁷ For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, ⁸ and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
⁹ But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. We can destroy the Living Stone that we are by disobedience which is the fruit of Pride. We come together in our church buildings as Church to humbly and obediently give God the worship to which he is entitled through and in Christ Jesus.

We call the buildings where we worship churches, but we all know that the Church is not a building of brick, mortar, wood, and steel but rather WE – Baptized, Confirmed, and consecrated to God through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit – WE ARE THE Church. The Lateran Basilica is our Church Home, the Church’s Church, but we are The Church of Jesus who is, was, and always will be the Christ of God. In and through Christ we have access to the Holy Spirit, the stream of Living Water. Jesus used this image again in John 7:37-38 – ³⁷ On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, ³⁸ and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” (↔ Music Link) I am reminded of Isaiah 12:3 – ³ With joy you will draw water from the wells of Salvation as well as Isaiah 55:1 – Ho, everyone who thirsts,
    come to the waters; indeed all throughout Scripture, Life in God’s Peace is flowing like a river. (↔ Music Link)

Lastly, in our Gospel Key Verse, Jesus has mystified his adversaries and his Disciples by telling them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Later, the Disciples – including us – understood that he was referring to the Temple of HIS body, which we might assume was certainly a Temple of the Holy Spirit. All of this comes together when we understand that Christ is the Head of the Body of Christ – that is, the Church – and that we are all One Body in him, who is the One Bread (↔ Music Link) come down from Heaven. And while we have one church that is the Mother Church of then Whole World – even of our non-Catholic brothers and sisters – we are all built upon a single foundation centered on the Corner Stone whom God chose to be the unifier of all who have fallen short of the Glory of God. The Lateran Basilica’s opulence is a reminder of the lavishness of God’s Grace. It serves as reminder that the Church has a place which marks and honors its inception, a place that is our Church Home, and a place that is The Church’s 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

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

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

2544AFC103125 – At Peace in The Lord  ← PODCAST LINK 😀

Normally the readings for this coming Sunday would be for the 31^st Sunday (←Please review) in Ordinary Time. this Sunday, however, is November 2, 2025, and the 2^nd of November is The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day). Today’s post will be based on those readings for that Commemoration.

Read it online here, please. Reading it online allows the email version to reach many more subscribers. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.
Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Please forward this to them and ask them also to share it to others.

Wisdom 3:6-7 – ⁶ like gold in the furnace he tried them,
and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them.
⁷ In the time of their visitation they will shine forth,
and will run like sparks through the stubble. (NRSVCE)
^5-6 Their sufferings were minor compared with the blessings they will receive. God has tested them, like gold in a furnace, and found them worthy to be with him. He has accepted them, just as he accepts the sacrifices which his worshipers burn on the altar.
⁷ When God comes to reward the righteous, they will blaze out against the wicked like fire in dry straw. [1] (GNT)

Romans 5:9-10 – ⁹ Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. *^{n 10} For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.

*ⁿ Ire, anger, indignation, vengeance; stretching out to grasp to deliver punishment; wrath as in justifiable abhorrence

Psalm 23:6 –
⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    my whole life long.

John 6:40 – ⁴⁰ “This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.”

Aloha nui loa, Adelphos! Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. This will be a different type of post. Something has happened to my right hand, and it’s very difficult for me to type. It could be a sprain, or a strain, or maybe some kind of carpal tunnel thing. So after praying about it, I’ve decided to make this just pretty much a music post. There will be several songs listed and hopefully you’ll enjoy having a little “hymn-sing.”

The whole point of this post was supposed to be “being at peace with the Lord.” In the Book of Wisdom quoted above, God has told us that we will be tested. What is the purpose of that test? The purpose is to purify the gold – and for us that’s purify the heart because that’s where the real treasure is in our lives. That purification is important because that is what will preserve us from the wrath of God. In your mind imagine God reaching out with his right hand toward all the souls gathered before him. He reaches to pick them up and gather them to himself. Then think of God reaching out with his left hand and gathering the souls before him, and then throwing them into the Eternal Fire. If you don’t think that’s going to happen, or that something like that is impossible, then you need to go back and read that passage about the sheep and the goats. (See Matthew 25:31-46 especially v. 33)

What we want is for our lives to be filled with peace as in Psalm 23 where David wrote “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell on the House of the Lord forever”. Now that’s what my plan is: follow the APP, and avoid the Trap!

And if we look at what Jesus said in the Gospel of John, then we know that we’re doing what God expected, we are following Jesus and he will raise us up on the last day.

Now if you’re wondering how I did this, I’m experimenting with voice to text! It is indeed a little easier than using my hands to type but considerably more frustrating because I’m not practiced at it. The next thing I’m going to do is give you several links to songs. Pick as many as you want. Play them all, or just play one that maybe you think you’d like to hear. Just know that I love you Adelphos, and hopefully things will go better next week. Peace be with you. Please pray for us, too. We’re being tested this week by a neighbor over a parking space. Lord have Mercy! 😀  

Here’s my “short list” ~~

Nearer My God To Thee

Abide With Me

IMMORTAL INVISIBLE (Try this. it makes a wonderful praise prayer!)

I Need Thee Every Hour

To God Be The Glory

More Love To Thee

For The Beauty Of The Earth

My Jesus I Love Thee

I should also tell you that today’s key in the key verse area was made through AI using CoPilot. There are twelve nibs – 5 on one side and 7 on the other – and those represent the 12 tribes of Israel, and also the 12 Apostles, and also the 12 gates into Heaven. At the top the bow (Handle) shows the gates of Heaven awaiting the key.

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

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

2543AFC1012425 – Praise, Humility, Faithfulness, and Service ← PODCAST LINK 😀

Read it online here, please. Reading it online allows the email version to reach many more subscribers. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.
Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Please forward this to them and ask them also to share it to others.

Psalm 34:1 –
I will bless the Lord at all times;
 his praise shall continually be in my mouth. Praise

Luke 18:13 ^c – God. be merciful to me, a sinner. Humility

2 Timothy 4:7 ^c – I have kept the faith. Faithfulness

Sirach 35:14 – The one who serves God willingly is heard Service

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places! Grace and Peace to each of you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. These four short phrases from the coming Sunday’s readings seemed to me to set an outline of “a great way to live” because it encompasses “a great way to pray.” The Gospel for the 30^th Sunday in Ordinary Time is “The Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican.” The Pharisee, all full of himself, prays to be seen – not only is he putting on a show for his fellow Jews, but he is also literally “praying to be seen,” his prayer is that others will see him and recognize what a swell guy he is. All the while he is perfectly unaware, that God – Who sees everything, and everyone, all the time everywhere – can see what a fake he is. On a humility scale of 1 to 10, he’d score like a minus 2! Prayer requires humility. Without that prerequisite, it’s just empty words. (See Job 35:12-13)

On the other hand, standing well back from such a grand specimen of an earthling, there is the Publican, a tax collector, a collaborator with the enemy, Rome. His head is bowed and he is stooped over beating his chest and praying in humble honesty, “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” Jesus tells us in this parable that the prayer of the tax collector was favorably received and welcomed by God for the man’s justification. The Pharisee’s reward was as he prayed for – he was seen by others, and that’s all he gets. This story, and especially this image, always enters my mind and heart during Mass when we pray, “Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.” What an amazing prayer, and only one little part of The Perfect Prayer, the Mass!

We begin this post with the aspect of Worship that should be the beginning of all worship: PRAISE. In Judges 1:2 and Judges 20:18, we see God’s Will when the Israelites asked God which tribe should lead their forces against the enemies. God’s answer was “Let Judah go up first.” (← Check it out in those passages.). Many Bible scholars (and this passionate student of the Word) recognize that “Judah” means “Praise” { יְהוּדָה} so that the Scripture reads, “Let {Praise} go up first.” This is illustrated in The Lord’s Prayer, “Father in Heaven, your name is Holy.” We also recognize that Jesus’ name in Hebrew – Yeshua – means “Jehovah Saves,” or “God is Salvation.” Thus, by invoking the very name of Jesus, (↔ Music Link) we give praise to God. Jesus is “the refulgence (lustrous splendorous brilliancy) of God’s Glory, and so in praying or calling or speaking his name, we not only invoke God, but also we offer him Perfect Praise. Knowing, then, that God is God, we are not; knowing that Jesus is God and we are not; knowing that the Holy Spirit is God, and we cannot be; then we are disposed to approach in our prayers The Lord, the Giver of Life with at least wonder and awe, and hopefully with humility as well, and we could start with “The Jesus Prayer.”

Today, then, we will look in particular at one very special prayer. It is most often known as “The Jesus Prayer.” One common format is “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” There is a popular musical setting by Tom Booth The Jesus Song (↔ Music Link). I want to go back a bit and look at how this prayer is “put together.” This goes back to 2019, so you might remember it:
The Jesus Prayer combines three New Testament Scriptures: [1] The Messianic theological hymn of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians in Philippians 2:6–11 (See verse 11: “Jesus Christ is Lord”), the Annunciation as presented in Luke 1:31–35 (See verse 35: “Son of God”), and the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (Tax Collector) of Luke 18:9–14, in which the Pharisee demonstrates the improper way to pray (See verse 11: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.”), whereas the Publican prays correctly in humility (See verse 13: “God be merciful to me a sinner”). It takes humility to pray and humility comes to us by Grace and Grace is a gift from God, so when we pray we exercise (make use of) and Extra-Ordinary Gift from God – in short God prepares us to pray, and if we accept the Gift of Grace that elicits prayer, we respond to him by asking him to respond to us. God is always the initiator of every Grace because he is ALWAYS THE Giver of all Good Gifts. Many a day I think that Grace must be the goodest Gift God included in Creation. These two, Praise and Humility, make a good pair, yes? When I think about grace I consider it to be something like Justice tempered with Mercy that is gifted to all who will accept it. Who would not accept it? Persons like the Pharisee who cannot even fake humility in the presence of Almighty God.

It does indeed take humility to pray The Jesus Prayer. It takes nothing of conscience or spirit to recite this prayer. Recitation of prayers is a convenient trap for the devil to get into our heads and hearts. Now, let’s add to the list of “Praise and Humility” the concept of “FAITHFULNESS.” I have been prompted to dig into that a bit deeper. We all know what it means – or at least we all think that we do – and we also have a pretty good idea about what it should look like. Let’s begin with the Key Verse in 2 Timothy 4:7 ^c – I have kept the faith. In this The Apostle Paul attests to the example of his own life as evidence of believing in the Truth of the Gospel and living in accordance with that Truth despite having only incomplete knowledge and understanding of how that Truth is given to us through Grace so that we may claim it in fellowship with the Entirety of God in and through Christ Jesus. Now that’s a lot of words to say, “He walked the Talk.” Nonetheless, faithfulness is also one of those unfathomable Mysteries of God’s Perfect Integrity, Endless Mercy, Everlasting Love, And Eternal Salvation because of his Immutable Justice. (Wait for it!) It’s all in the APP, the Absolutely Perfect Plan. God, who is (as we have already seen) the initiator of all Good Gifts, is perpetually Faithful – so that we therefore have complete confidence that God will not ask us to do anything for him that he would not do for us. In fact, God always initiates and exemplifies everything we should do for him by doing all those things for us first. He keeps every promise he makes, so guess what? SO MUST WE. We cannot do that without praise, humility, Grace, faithfulness, and service.

We know that we can rely on God to receive our praise, to bless our genuine (not “Pharisaical”) humility, to encourage and bless our faithfulness, and in all of these Gifts he expects us to accept and use everything he gives us. Now, why would he do something like that? He would do it so that we will apply those gifts to our worship of him and to our faith and charity for others. Hmmm, what could we call that? it sounds a lot like the Fourth Pillar of Stewardship. What is the Fourth Pillar of Stewardship? The Four Pillars of Stewardship are HOSPITALITY, PRAYER, FORMATION, AND SERVICE. Sirach 35:14 – The one who serves God willingly is heard. Not only that but also John 13:34-35 – ³⁴ I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”(↔ Music Link)

Would it be fair to assert that Love CAN be the cause of our willingness to render service – service to God and to each other? Does that make any sense? Let’s think for a moment about our loved ones – parents, siblings, spouses, offspring, friends, fellow pilgrims and sojourners. When we Love them, it seems only natural that we would serve them. How? As an example, should parents serve their children? Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around?

“To serve” has roots in being a slave to someone else, to be devoted to another person or idea, or institution such as a religion. For those among us who are parents, were you devoted to your children so that it was your honor to provide them with all that they needed to learn how to Love and Serve God and others in their sphere of influence? Nearly all of us grew up knowing and loving at least one parent or guardian, one person whose centrality in our lives made life at least bearable, if not downright delightful. In a reasonable and caring climate, we are inspired to serve them, to make them proud, to give them the satisfaction of knowing that “the best that I can do” was good enough to bring out the best in us?

So it must also be with our Creator, The Lord God. I usually expand that title to “The Lord, the Giver of Life.” He is Jehovah Sabaoth which is translated as “the Lord of Hosts.” That is often applied to the concept of God’s Armies, but really it means everything that God is and all of his Creation. We could translate it as God of All or God of Everything. He is Elyon El – Most-High God, Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides. He is El Shaddai – God Almighty. He is El Olam, God Everlasting. He is Abba, Dad (↔ Music Link). How can that be? It is because, in that as in everything else, God Our Father acts first, and every time he does that, we are called by HIM, to respond with Praise, Humility, Faithfulness, and Service (and much, much more as well!). This Good and Loving Father wants to help us learn to Love and Serve him, and our neighbors, by transforming us into the image of his Son. And what might that accomplish? Let’s look at what The Apostle Paul says in Colossians 1:15-17 – ¹⁵ He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; ¹⁶ for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Here are a few other things to strengthen the case for the aspect of the APP:
Psalm 115:3 – ³ Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases.
Lamentations 3:37-39 – ³⁷ Who can command and have it done, if the Lord has not ordained it? ³⁸ Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come? ³⁹ Why should any who draw breath complain about the punishment of their sins?
You get the idea, I’m sure. Our God is Sovereign, and – “In the beginning” – we were to reign with hm. Through his Son, the Christ of God, he works to restore that relationship. (Here comes another redundancy.) More often than not, WE FORGET, and fight hard against his well-placed guardrails of Love often jumping over that “fence” only to fall from the cliff. In my experience its about half-and-half that he either catches us, or lets us bounce off the rocks to rock bottom. He even accepts our contrition when we say, “Sorry Dad. I forgot to Trust and Obey.”

Ahhh, Belovéd! What a GOOD God we have! In this Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time the Church offers four signposts along The Way to help us get up and get goin’. Let us respond in maturity of F.A.I.T.H. and show God our Praise, Humility, Faithfulness, and Service. That’s a good start. Perhaps a couple other prayerful questions could be addressed: To God we can ask, “How have you called me?” (↔ Music Link) and to one another we must ask, “Will you let me be your servant?” (↔ Music Link)

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

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

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

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