Aloha Friday Message – March 23, 2012 – Fifth Friday in Lent

March 23, 2012

1212AFC032312 – Catholic Letter Series

Read it online here.

KJV 1 Peter 2:4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, 5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

NIV 1 Peter 2:4 As you come to him, the living Stone– rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him– 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

NAB 1 Peter 2:4 Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God, 5 and, 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.

Aloha nui loa, Beloved. Today we are going to look at a beautiful letter attributed to Peter, also called Cephas (KAY-phus) which means Rock in Aramaic and is also a Greek word for rock Κηφᾶς.

In this letter, Peter gives us many beautiful images, draws many examples from Old Testament writers, and presents a wide array of topics that address many aspect of life in the early Church. The one I chose for the open in this message is one of my very favorites. In this he makes a connection between Christ, “the stone which the builders rejected,” and believers who have become “living stones,” that is to say like Christ in that they are to be Holy, submissive to God, and to build a holy dwelling which will be a Holy Nation serving God. The word for “living” used here is ζῶντα zaonta {dzah’-on-tah} from za,w zao {dzah’-o}. za,w is the verb “to live,” and ζῶντα is “living.” But it carries a much deeper connotation that being “merely alive.” One example is in the term “living water.” This is water that has “vital power in itself and exerting the same upon the soul.” It is living that is fresh, strong, efficient, active, powerful, and efficacious. We come to Christ as living stones animated with the same capacity for holiness found in the Apostles because that holiness comes from and through Christ. What a mighty image that brings to mind!

Peter tells us Christ was “chosen by God and precious to him.” Christ, the Messiah is “called ‘elect,’ as appointed by God to the most exalted office conceivable.” And we are called to that same life as his servants. We are called the elect, the chosen because “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes” (Ephesians 1:4) This word is ἐκλεκτός eklektos {ek-lek-tos’} and it denotes the best of its kind or class.

As living stones, we are to be built into a “spiritual house,” a family for generations, offering up ” spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” WOW! That is such a powerful statement, because it describes not only our calling, but also the fulfillment of that calling.

In 1 Peter 1:8-9 Peter tells us, “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” What is that inexpressible joy and how do we feel it? How do we recognize it? It is the power of his love as delivered to us in and through the Holy Spirit that makes our hearts and minds leap for joy as we raise hearts and hands and voices to praise god for his generous love, unfailing promise, and awesome presence in our lives.

In 1 Peter 2:9 Peter tells us the reason God has fashioned us a living stone. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” God is Light. We are called to live in the Light, to let our Light shine, to be the Light shining in the darkness. In John 8:12, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

There are dozens of power-packed images like that in this single short letter. Scholars generally agree that it was written by Peter, with help from Silas (who may have been a “professional writer,” helping Peter achieve a very polished Greek text which might have been a bit out of Peter’s reach normally). The letter is addressed to churches planted by Paul and his fellow sojourners in Asia Minor: Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. That may have been the order in which a courier might have delivered the letter to those churches.

The letter mentions persecutions, suffering with Christ as we daily take up our cross, even dying under persecutions for the Gospel and for the joy we have of being so close to our Savior and God. I looked at several analyses of how this letter is put together, and here is a listing based on those reviews:

1 Peter 1:1–12: The JOY we have in knowing God loves us so much he provided a Perfect Sacrifice for our salvation – his only begotten son.
1 Peter 1:13–2:3: God’s love should inspire us to v-be some much like him that we strive mightily to be holy as he is holy.
1 Peter 2:4–12: Israel, the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, was the People God chose to be distinctly his own, the People of the First Covenant. Despite the many times they ignored that, God honored his promises, and not only made Abraham the father of many nations, he also us part of Abraham’s descendants through Jesus sacrificial suffering.
1 Peter 2:13-23: We can share in, identify with, and submit to persecution and suffering with Jesus and for the Gospel. Whenever we do so, we die a bit to ourselves and to the world, but we also glorify God.
1 Peter 2:24‐25: Jesus’ expiation (The complete reconciliation of God and humans brought about by the redemptive life and death of Jesus) of our sins is a powerful, awesome, incomprehensibly valuable gift – it is a gift given through the Grace of God, and that brings us back to the “Shepherd and Overseer” of our souls – our Creator, God. How can we begin to measure how grateful that can make us feel?!?
1 Peter 3:1‐7: God is community as the Trinity. He established family as a community through the sacrament of marriage. Husbands and wives can honor this sacred vocation by honoring one another, loving one another as God has loved them. Dishonoring one’s spouse is point-blank dishonoring God.
1 Peter 3:8‐22: This passage begins, ” Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.” Peter goes on to say that under no circumstance or persecution and suffering should we seek to harm those who bring about that persecution and suffering. If we suffer for doing what is good, that is so much better than suffering for doing evil!
1 Peter 4:1‐11: The World wants us to be like them, and constantly entices us to live “in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.” They make fun of us for being “religious nuts,” but when Judgment comes, they will have one hell of a time coming to them. As for us, we are to ” keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins (theirs and ours). Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another. Jesus blood cleansed you of your sins – the ways you have hurt yourself, your community, and your God; is blood also cleansed the sins of those who hurt you, hurt your community, and offend our God. His sacrifice covers all completely, permanently, eternally.
1 Peter 4:12‐19: “No matter how you struggle or strive, you’ll never get out of this world alive.” And struggle and strive as we might, we will always be facing situations where our suffering persists. Rather than wail and gnash or teeth, we can rejoice because are blessed, in that suffering when “the Spirit of glory and of God rests” upon us. ” Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.”
1 Peter 5:1‐6: When the World sees us acting this way – joyous in serving, joyous in suffering – they will want to know more about our joy and more about our shepherd. Those who are chosen for servant- leadership through the gifts of God will serve gladly, equitably, humbly – as did Christ. I probably will never be easy, but Peter tells us ” after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
1 Peter 5:7‐14: God will do all these powerful and wonderful things to and for us because of his intense, eternal, infallible LOVE. No matter what Satan tries to do to us to destroy our relationship with God, that relationship is always restored when we reconfirm our alliance with God and rejoice in the wonder of his uncompromising love and care.

Share-A-Prayer

M&PC wrote to tell us, “We are praying for whole world for peace, safety, and wellbeing everywhere.” What an excellent prayer intention. Maybe you can add it to your list of intentions. So many places around the world are experiencing terrible weather, terrible acts of evil, terrible acts of violence. Pray that Peace will rule the planet, and let it begin with you.

Please continue to pray for the family of Baby Cheyanne. She lost her battle with multiple health problems. It has been so difficult for Mom and Dad, and for the whole family. They know Cheyanne has found 100% healing in the Light of His Glory and Love. The loss of that sweet child, however, was a hard blow. Pray for them to return to the joy they anticipated the moment she was born.

Pray for those who suffer for their faith. You would think that “in this day and age” religious persecution – even to the point of martyrdom – would be nonexistent. But it is not.

Pray for everyone who suffers poverty, injustice, hunger, loss of work or loss of income; for those who suffer through illnesses like cancer, mental illness, chronic disease, acute or chronic pain; pray for those whose family are falling apart and for those whose families are just beginning or just beginning to heal.

Finally beloved, pray for one another. You know there is a Daily Intercessory Prayer List. Whenever you pray the MBN prayer, that short prayer includes all of the intentions in the Intercessory prayer list – over 100 now.

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved.

chick

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Aloha Friday Message – HOSANNA! – Sixth Friday of Lent

April 15, 2011

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Happy Hosanna Friday, Beloved!

Today I am thinking about Jesus Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. What a wonderful story is there. We’ve heard it before, maybe seen it enacted in a movie or a play, and we have a pretty good idea of the events. I want to look at some of the characters and symbols in this story. In Matthew it goes like this:

Matthew 21:1 When they drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tethered, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them here to me. 3 And if anyone should say anything to you, reply, ‘The master has need of them.’ Then he will send them at once.” 4 This happened so that what had been spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: 5 “Say to daughter Zion, ‘Behold, your king comes to you, meek and riding on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.'” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them.

7 They brought the ass and the colt and laid their cloaks over them, and he sat upon them. 8 The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and strewed them on the road. 9 The crowds preceding him and those following kept crying out and saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest.” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem the whole city was shaken and asked, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds replied, “This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

And in Luke 19 we have these details:

29 As he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples. 30 He said, “Go into the village opposite you, and as you enter it you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 And if anyone should ask you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you will answer, ‘The Master has need of it.'” 32 So those who had been sent went off and found everything just as he had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying this colt?” 34 They answered, “The Master has need of it.” 35 So they brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks over the colt, and helped Jesus to mount. 36 As he rode along, the people were spreading their cloaks on the road; 37 and now as he was approaching the slope of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his disciples began to praise God aloud with joy for all the mighty deeds they had seen. 38 They proclaimed: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.” 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He said in reply, “I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out!”

In Zechariah 9:9 we read: Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. So the fact that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey was, in part, a fulfillment of scripture. But there’s more. In Jesus day, and in many Eastern cultures, a donkey is seen as symbol of peace. A king who rides in on a donkey is coming peacefully. A king who rides in on a horse is coming in war. It is also significant that the colt Jesus’ disciples borrow is one that has never been ridden. Here the King of Peace is so gentle and so humble that even a young colt never before ridden submits to Jesus’ presence. Instead of bucking him off, the colt meekly carries a full-grown man. It is interesting to me that the disciples who went to fetch it did so without question, and then they put their own cloaks on the back of the colt to make a more comfortable seat. I think it might have also been more comfortable for the colt! And you know, I think that colt’s mama walked next to him on that journey. Read it again and see if you think so, too. But how did this come about?

How did the owner know it was OK to lend his animal to Jesus’ Disciples? The gospels don’t say, but as often as Jesus traveled through that area, he sure must have had more friends than just Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Since this must have been shortly after Lazarus was raised, maybe the guy who owned the colt had told Jesus, “If you ever need anything at all just let me know. It’s yours!” Just speculating about that is kind of fun, but really, we don’t know exactly what happened in that part of the story.

Jesus was in Bethany, close to Bethphage (“Place of new – or unripe – figs”) somewhere perhaps around the Mount of Olives. He gets on the colt in Bethany – about 2 miles from Jerusalem, and heads into town. On the way people who have seen him, who know him – some intimately, some only be reputation – get excited about seeing him, and they begin to remember Zechariah 9:9. They start pulling down palm fronds and laying them on the path in front of him or waving them in the air. The palm was a symbol of victory – even Holy Victory. In addition people were laying their cloaks down in the road and letting the little donkey pass over them. A similar event is reported in 2 Kings 9. [They hurried and took their cloaks and spread them under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet and shouted, “Jehu is king!”] Elisha had just anointed Jehu (“Yahweh is He”) as King of Israel, and had ordered him to go avenge the murders committed by Jezebel’s forces when she had the prophets slaughtered. The king, Ahab, had permitted this, and Jehu was told to destroy Ahab as well.

Spreading cloaks or other object to “pave the way” was a common demonstration of respect for the dignity and power of a person – a King, a general, even a prophet. So now we have Jesus on a baby donkey (my mind keeps hearing the Christmas Carol “Little Donkey, Little Donkey, With a heavy load,”) and everyone is shouting and happy and cheering and dancing and running ahead and coming back and just going nuts over what Jesus is doing. He is finally defining himself as the Messiah, the Ruler of Israel, The Son of David! And, they surely thought he was about to kick the Romans out of town as the Rightful Ruler.

But, he was on a donkey, not a horse.

Can you imagine what’s going on in Jesus’ head? He’s going to Jerusalem in just six day to celebrate Passover for the last time. Then he will die a most horrible, terrifying, painful death. And he will be forsaken by his Father. On the way into town he looks out over Jerusalem and sheds tears because of what they have missed out on while he was with them, and then He just goes into town and busts up … Not the Romans! The Temple!!

Whoa! That was a surprise! And from there on, things sort of unfolded into The Last Supper, The Garden of Gethsemane, the pavement at Gabbatha, and finally Golgotha. In less than a week he went from “Hosanna” to “Crucify him!”

Now you know a little about the story. When you are holding your palm branches Sunday, think about that little donkey and what a privilege it was to carry Jesus. Beloved, you can carry him too; in your heart, not on your back. Spread out your best things for him and invite him to have a seat. Carry him wherever you go and once in a while, just for the sheer JOY of it, shout, I said SHOUT, “HOSANNA!!”

Share-A-Prayer

• A special request from WT to pray for J. Joseph who was admitted to the hospital in her continuing fight with cancer. Pray for hope, healing, and health.
• Our MBN friends I Haiti report that many of the children and the workers too are ill. Sounds like a virus is sweeping through their numbers. Pray for return to health, and that the many new infants they have with them can stay hydrated and be strong enough to recover.
• Thank you for your prayers over the past few weeks. Please go back and look at the prayer requests from the beginning of Lent. I believe as you take the time to look at them, God will move your heart to make a special effort to embrace one or more of those requests.
• Thanks for the family of EW for sharing the news that E had gone to meet his Lord. He was – and still is – a remarkable man. You might remember him here.
• Thanks also from KV who reports prayer has been working for her and she feels pretty darn good!

Thanks everyone. Next week the message will be about Good Friday – sort of. Please watch for it on a computer screen near you!

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

chick

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Posted in Aloha Friday Messages, Prayer Requests
Tags: For sharing, Prayer Request, Scripture study, Series

Aloha Friday, August 10, 2004 – The Fruits of the Holy Spirit

August 10, 2004

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Aloha, dear friend! Another week comes to an end. For so many people, this has been a week of severe testing – Florida, Iraq and Afghanistan, Sudan and Indonesia. For some it has been a struggle in their own homes, and for others a deeper struggle in their own bodies, or their hearts and minds. How are we supposed to respond to all of this? It is, in all honesty, overwhelming.

These difficulties are so prevalent that we can sometimes feel – and see – hope is defeated. Not so. If you look at the terrible and difficult things that are happening in the world and in our lives, it sort of follow that old Pareto rule, that 80/20 thing. Pareto’s rule states that a small number of causes is responsible for a large percentage of the effect, in a ratio of about 20:80. Expressed in a management context, 20% of a person’s effort generates 80% of the person’s results. The corollary to this is that 20% of one’s results absorb 80% of one’s resources or efforts. And we could extrapolate that to say that 80% of the things that try our spirits are caused by 20% of the things that happen. Or maybe even that 20% of the things that we view as catastrophic are natural physical events – like volcanoes, tornadoes, hurricanes, lung cancer, plagues of locusts, and the like. The other 80% might be spiritual like war, terrorism, pornography, crack and speed, infidelity, hopelessness, depraved indifference to human life from the moment of conception to the moment of death, and so many other things that often make being alive more difficult than it should be for so many millions of people.

What can we do about all this? Perhaps we can choose to live a spiritual life at home, at work, at school, at play, and even (incredible!) at church. Here’s a little quote from NIV Bible:

Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Well, at least there shouldn’t be. We find ourselves confronting those “unwritten laws” that say living a spiritual life is not acceptable; we are out of touch with reality if we believe such things really make a difference. In the world’s views, that is. In God’s view, these things ARE life. And they’re not so difficult to live with either. In a recent article that appeared in THE CATHOLIC HERALD the diocesan newspaper for the Diocese of Honolulu, Fr. William J. Byron, SJ, had this to say about these seven gifts of the 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 other.
Self-control is a voluntary check on the appetite for success.

We are created in God’s image, and part of the heritage of that image is the gift of self-determination. If we choose to remember what these things actually mean, we can bring that choice, that spirituality into our lives, our world, our 80/20 mix. Here’s the thing: It’s also true that 80% of the good things in this world come from the 20% of our spiritual gifts we share with each other. Today I challenge you to go for 21%. Print out this note, or cut and paste Fr. Byron’s examples into another document you can print out and hang on your wall (I made a really pretty one with fancy lettering and images). It’s just a reminder, but it’s also just a way to change the world and maybe even the future population of heaven.

Love in Christ,

Chick

PS: Here’s a bonus just for you. http://m11.t3media.net/t/15274/8554348/694/0/

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Posted in Aloha Friday Messages

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

April 19, 2024

2416AFC041924 – Because we know him ← 😊 PODCAST LINK

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Passover (Pesach)
Unleavened Bread (Chag Hamotzi)
Firstfruits (Yom Habikkurim)
Pentecost (Shavu’ot) The Feast of Weeks or Festival of Harvest
Trumpets (Yom Teru’ah)
Atonement (Yom Kippur)
Tabernacles (Succoth)

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

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

This is an excellent description of the intimate relationship between sheep and their shepherd. The shepherd knew each animal by name, and all of them knew her/his voice. One solitary shepherd might tend to a dozen sheep or several hundred sheep. Sheep are fairly obedient – although we tend to think of them as dim-witted and unwise – but they are easily spooked, too. When they are frightened, their tendency to bolt makes it difficult to keep them under control. That is why the familiarity between the shepherd and the flock was so important. The shepherd definitely needed the sheep, but most certainly the sheep needed the shepherd even more. They depended on each other and could do so because they knew each other. That is how we understand the meaning of Jesus’ declaration that he is the Good Shepherd. He names us (I have called you by name), he calls us (come to me … ), he leads us (“If I do not go to prepare a place …), and he loves us as God Loves us ([Heavenly Father,] “you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”), and most importantly we read in John 13:34-35 – ³⁴“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. ³⁵By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (↔ Music Link) We also tend to think of sheep being driven, like other domesticated herd animals. But sheep are better led than driven. The shepherd is at the head of his flock. He knows what they need, goes where they are going, and gets there just before them. He’s gone ahead for us, too.

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

Seven I AM Statements

I AM …

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

April 12, 2024

2415AFC041524 – A Show of Hands ← 😊 PODCAST LINK

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Peace be with you. (↔ Music Link)

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

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

Let’s take another show of hands.

Anyone up for a day of Rejoicing?

BONUS (↔ Music Link)

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

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

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) Good News Translation^® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition)^© 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible

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

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Aloha Friday Message – April 5, 2024 – Envisioning Mercy

April 5, 2024

2414AFC040524 – Envisioning Mercy ← 😊 PODCAST LINK

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have Mercy on us for we are sinners!

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

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

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

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

March 29, 2024

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

The Road to Jerusalem Series #7

Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.
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Today is Good Friday. Today I am thinking about what happened on Good Friday in Jesus’ life. I am thinking about how and why it happened. I am thinking how you, how I, how we might have connections to that moment of Jesus’ crucifixion. It is not a pleasant subject, but it has been laid on my heart since before Lent began to cover this topic, the connection between Love and human depravity.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We did that. We were there.

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

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

March 22, 2024

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

The Road to Jerusalem Series #6

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

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

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

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

Philippians 2:6-9 –
⁶who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
⁷but emptied * himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
⁸ he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death —
even death on a cross.

⁹Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Next we move to the Gospel Key Verses.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Aloha Friday Message – March 15, 2024 – Why didn’t we listen?

March 15, 2024

2411AFC031524 – Why didn’t we listen? ← 😊 PODCAST LINK

The Road to Jerusalem Series #5

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

Jeremiah 31:32-32 – ³²It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord.

Psalm 51:12-13 –
¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
¹³Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.

Hebrews 5:8-10 – ⁸Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; ⁹and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, ¹⁰having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

John 12:25-28, 31-33 – ²⁵Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

Jesus Speaks about His Death

²⁷“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say — ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. ²⁸Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
[Jesus replied …] ³¹“Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. ³²And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” ³³He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

Today we will be examining how well we have listened to those who have authority over us. We will look at a very specific question which all of us have heard – perhaps from our parents, or a teacher, or a judge, or anyone who is trying to speak to us. The question is, “Are you even listening to me?!?!” As I sit here staring at my keyboard wondering what I should write next, I am receiving this answer: “Do whatever he tells you.” (↔ Learning Link) Well, Belovéd, what he is telling me is “LET ME DO THE TALKING.” Consequently, most of what will be included here is Scripture – or sometimes a link to Scripture that we should follow, but which is not transcribed to this study. There is a very good reason for this study which was presented by The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans when he was teaching that all who call upon the name of the Lord can be heard.

Romans 10:13-17 – ¹³For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” [See Joel 2:32] ¹⁴But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? ¹⁵And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” ¹⁶But not all have obeyed the good news, for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” [See Isaiah 53:1] ¹⁷So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. (My underlining). We see those words, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord,” and remember “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” (See Matthew 7:21-23) How, then, are we to “do whatever he tells you?” That’s a simple question which deserves a simple answer: Listen. And where is the best place to listen to what the Lord is telling us? For starters, the Bible. Second would be in the words our Pastors direct to us in Church. Third would be a trustworthy source of information based on Scripture, Tradition, and Magisterium – Catholic Answers is one such source, but the best Source is a “full-circle option:” Put your trust in the Holy Spirit to lead you to the appropriate information.

Usually when we are “out of sorts” with the Lord, it is because we have followed in the path of our ancestors and failed to live up to our part in the Covenant Relationships. We must always remember that a covenant is a relationship, and if we fail in any part of the requirements of that relationship, we have done like Israel; they broke the covenant even though God had cared for them as a husband should faithfully care for his wife. The Prophet Jeremiah tells us It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. The New Covenant is the Blood of Christ which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (See Matthew 26:27-28) We must recall that the Greek word pollōn used for “many” here means multitudinous e.g., high in number; see for example Matthew 4:25 and Mark 5:24. Other terms we might recognize are countless, innumerable, myriad, and immeasurable.

Now, we must look at that information and ask if we believe that Christ shed his blood on the cross for countless myriads and multitudes. Checkmark that! And we remember (↔ Music Link) and believe “as it is written, so let it be done.” That’s how it’s supposed to work, but if we look at the Psalm Key Verse for today, we can see how it sometimes happens with us. We listen to what the Lord requires and we tell him, Yes, Lord, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation.” Then we truncate the message where it says “and sustain in me a willing spirit.” It’s not that we don’t believe God can or will do that; it’s more that we are often not too keen on being willing to be obedient enough to avoid correction. We often confuse correction with punishment. To understand that better, we want to look at what The Apostle Paul has to say about Jesus’ obedience.

Given the option, we’d rather not learn obedience through suffering. That is a worthwhile and doable goal, but in order to achieve that goal the primary objective is to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God. (See Micah 6:8 – again 😊) The principal requirement for that is to know what God wants, and the best way to know what he wants is to listen to what he tells us. It seem to me that statement sounds a bit simplistic. Odds are that if you’re reading this, you know that already. So do I; but sometimes we forget (← Previously mentioned ad. inf.) You may have already heard of a “movement” called Intentional Discipleship. [1]

One of the most important things we can learn there is the importance of our relationship with Jesus and with his adelphos – his sisters and brothers in the Lord. And again, we come back to Jesus’ promise that we will learn what he learned in the manner he learned it – we will learn by suffering because, as our Lord said, Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.” Last week we answered “Where do we go?” The answer was “Calvary.” Jesus repeatedly told his Disciples he was going to die, how he would die, by whom he would die, for whom he would die, and what would happen after he died. None of them understood it until after his Ascension, and even then “some doubted.” (See Matthew 28:17) They had seen, they had heard, they had experienced and participated in miracles directly, and yet some doubted. Why didn’t they listen? We might also ask, “Why didn’t they believe?” Jesus commands us to listen. It is a challenge to our faith. Read about it here: Matthew 11:15, Mark 7:16, Mark 8:18, Luke 14:35 – each saying “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29, 3:6, 13, 22, 13:9 ← This is a fascinating collection. I encourage you to read the notes in the NABRE which is in the center column. Even in the Old Testament we read that God’s people broke their covenant again and again, yet God still called to them to return. We have an example of their response to his call in Zechariah 7:11 – ¹¹But they refused to listen, and turned a stubborn shoulder, and stopped their ears in order not to hear.

Many (yep, multitudes) turned away and refused to listen. We have a nice summary of Jesus teaching at the end of Chapter 12 in the Gospel of John:
John 12:44-50 – ⁴⁴Then Jesus cried aloud: “Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me. ⁴⁵And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. ⁴⁶I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness. ⁴⁷I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. ⁴⁸The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge, ⁴⁹for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak. ⁵⁰And I know that his commandment is eternal life. [YOLO-F] What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me.” WE know this, and still, sometimes, we forget to listen. When that Day of Reward comes and on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge, and we will perhaps ask, “Why didn’t we listen?”

Why indeed? Perhaps it would be best if we followed the command of Our Father in Heaven as recorded in Matthew 17:5 – This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” Again we must ask, who would want anything less, and why? We will have some answers to that next week when we ask, “Who has done this?”

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

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] For a guide to forming Intentional Disciples see this article (↔ Click Link) about forming Intentional Disciples. Also, look for information on Sherry A Weddell (Author) – Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus

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Aloha Friday Message – March 8, 2024 – Where do we go?

March 8, 2024

2410AFC030824 – Where do we go? ← 😊 PODCAST LINK

The Road to Jerusalem Series #4

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

2 Chronicles 36:15-16 – The Fall of Jerusalem
¹⁵The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place; ¹⁶but they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words, and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord against his people became so great that there was no remedy.

Psalm 137:1-2 – Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem
¹ By the rivers of Babylon – (↔ Music Link)
there we sat down and there we wept
when we remembered Zion.
²On the willows* there
we hung up our harps.
* Other translations say aspens or poplars. The image is of lush, green trees growing by a beautiful river as seen by captive families displaced from their homeland.

Ephesians 2:8-10 – ⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God — ⁹not the result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. [My emphasis added]

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Today we continue our journey to Jerusalem as we travel with Jesus and his Apostles. For Parishes with members of the Elect who will receive the Sacraments of Initiation, the readings will be as follows for Cycle A – 4^th Sunday of Lent:
First Reading – 1 Samuel 16:1b,6-7,10-13a – Samuel is sent to anoint David as king.
Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 23:1-6 – The Lord is our shepherd.
Second Reading – Ephesians 5:8-14 – The Ephesians are told to live as children of light.
Gospel Reading – John 9:1-41 (shorter form: John 9:1,6-9,13-17,34-38) Jesus heals the man born blind and reveals himself to him as the Son of Man. The final revelation and moment of enlightenment comes when the man born blind encounters Jesus again. Having heard the news of his expulsion, Jesus seeks out the man born blind and reveals himself to him as the Son of Man. In this moment, the man born blind shows himself to be a man of faith and worships Jesus.

In this weekend’s readings for Cycle B, we begin with devastation, lamentation, salvation, and condemnation. The kingdom of Israel has been divided since about 900 BC. Assyria has ravaged Israel – the Northern Kingdom of 10 Tribes, and Judah – the two remaining Tribes – beginning an about 720 BC. Babylon later conquered Judah – and the First Temple, the one built by Solomon, was destroyed. There were three deportations of Israelites from their homeland to Babylon in 605, 597, and 587 BC. They were held as captives in Babylon for 70 years – considered to be two generations. This is also the time where the Ark of the Covenant disappears from biblical history. No one knows what happened to it – whether hidden, captured, or destroyed, its presence is still a mystery (not withstanding Indiana Jones). Beginning around 538 BC when the Persian ruler Cyrus (← Back story here) rose to power, there were three returns to Judah and its capital, Jerusalem. It was around this time that the Second Temple was built by Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the Governor of Judah after the exile. The second temple was smaller than the one Solomon built, but God ensured that it was more glorious. The histories of our own lives often follows this cycle of devastation, lamentation, salvation, and condemnation. But, ultimately, it ends in YOLO-F.

The devastation we experience most often in our lives is the result of our sins. There is nothing we can to about our state of sinfulness – it is inherent in our nature; however, there is something we can do about our sins. The first thing we can do is to resist sin and the desire to be tempted. In our Act of Contrition (← examples here), we pray, “I firmly resolve with the help of Your grace to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin.” The “near occasion of sin” occurs when we place ourselves in a situation where we can “dip our toes” in a puddle of temptations we know could attract us to sin. The sign posted here to the left is another way of visualizing that. Now, we know our resolve will melt away sometime (many times), nonetheless, we promise ourselves and God that we will try not to lapse into sin. We stay away from minefields if we know what’s good for us, and we certainly must at least try to stay out of trouble. (We are reminded here that the best way to get out of trouble is to stay out of trouble.) This is where both Israel and Judah kept getting into the deep weeds – they simply could not sustain their loyal obedience to God, and – as we all know – there are consequences for disobedience.

Those consequences of our own actions can range from slightly annoying to greatly impairing. We tell ourselves, “All things in moderation,” but there are some of those things in which even moderation is excessive. A few examples: Anything in the 10 commandments for a starter. Adultery in moderation is just as sinful as “only a little” or “utterly massive” adultery. Same for dishonoring parents, dishonoring neighbors, dishonoring leaders, and worst of all dishonoring God. it is impossible to murder “only in moderation.” It is impossible to murder without consequences under the mantra, “my body, my choice.” Quantity, color (B/W), or quality of sin is irrelevant. Sin is sin, and even if the temporal consequences are minimal, it could turn out that the eternal consequences are humongous. We would not hold a church potluck in a minefield, nor should we deliberately choose to live in ways that endanger our wellbeing or the wellbeing of others. None of us is unaware that we have been frequently warned against doing foolish things because foolish things are wrong things.

When we are wrong and foolish we generally feel sorry for what we have done. We may even feel sorry enough to apologize, to repent, and to make amends. If the sin qualifies as a crime, we can also be punished, and our punishment is designed to help us – perhaps even make us – lament our foolishness. Perhaps the most foolish sin of all is to believe that we cannot be caught out in our sin because no one will find out about it. Perhaps you recall “The fool says in his heart ‘There is no God.’” (See Psalm 14:1) Like the song says, “everybody plays the fool.” We act as if there is no God and realize too late that we are absolutely wrong about that as well. When will we ever learn? (We remember that song, too.) In our lamentations over “the rotten luck that got us caught,” we remember the good old days when we weren’t in such a mess. “If I ever get the chance to do better I will not forget this lesson.” Until it happens again. So, what is the answer to this dilemma of sin? How do we finally make amends for being us?

The Apostle Paul has a delightfully comprehensive answer to this query in Galatians 2:16 ^b -20 – And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law. ¹⁷But if, in our effort to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! ¹⁸But if I build up again the very things that I once tore down, then I demonstrate that I am a transgressor. ¹⁹For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; ²⁰and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

We cannot break the Law of God to keep the laws of humanity, and we cannot rewrite the Law to justify our sins; neither should we remain silent when others do that. Do you know that France recently codified abortion into national law, and that our current POTUS and VP want to do the same HERE? Because of a misinterpretation of our constitution, abortion was considered “legal” based on the Roe v. Wade. Recently that changed in Dobbs v. Jackson. Some of us cheered that decision, others continue to promote, perform, demand, brag about, legislate for, and – as in France – codify. The lives lost belong to God as do the lives that cause those lives to be lost. There are consequences. Everything that is good comes from God and all of it belongs to God.

If everything belongs to God, then it follows that everyone belongs to God. Our life, our love, our worshiping, and honoring of God and neighbor belong to God. If we offer all that we have – body, mind, and spirit – to God and neighbor, what becomes of us and of our gifts? I believe the answer is in John 15:13 – ¹³No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. All Good things come from God, so whatever is Good in our lives comes from him, but who can repay him – and how? If we give him All That We Have (↔ Music Link), could it ever be enough? Could we give God and each other All That I am (↔ Music Link), and still come up short? We want to Love God for the Greatness of his Love, but in the Light of his Love ours is Only a Shadow (↔ Music Link). Still, I am certain you have felt moments in your life when you and God are very much in sync and you know firsthand that Great Things Happen (↔ Music Link) when God mixes with us. Salvation is the best of the best things that happen, and that Grace of Salvation – like all Good Gifts – comes from God. And still we rebel, refuse, and, eventually, regret; not altogether unexpected, we might say, considering the corrupt material we’re working with. Consider this:

Matthew 24:10-11 – ¹⁰Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. We so often seem to end up asking, “Well, just when do I get my bit?” The Apostle Peter handled that one for us: Mark 10:28-30 – ²⁸Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” ²⁹Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, ³⁰who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. Later on The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:10-13 – ¹⁰Now you have observed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, ¹¹my persecutions, and my suffering the things that happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. ¹²Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. ¹³But wicked people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived. ¹⁴But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it.

There is more to it than that. There is also this: Matthew 16:24-26 – The Cross and Self-Denial ²⁴Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ²⁵For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. ²⁶For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? Jesus knew he was on a one-way trip to Jerusalem. He also knew what was instore for him there as well as what would happen afterwards. You and I are going to Jerusalem now. There is no Easter without Calvary. We can walk this long road Home together, you and I. I’m certainly looking forward to those Golden slippers. That requires avoiding sin and the desire to be tempted. The consequences for choosing (it’s always a choice) not to do that is summed up in today’s Gospel passage. You know by heart the verse directly up the page from this:

John 3:17-19 – ¹⁷“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. ¹⁹And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.” Yes, it’s the same old story of devastation, lamentation, salvation, and condemnation. But there’s the old, old story (↔ Music Link) of Jesus and his Love. That story leads us directly to Jerusalem, the cross, and the grave. What lies beyond that is … for next week. We know that it’s always good in the end, so if it isn’t good yet, it isn’t the end yet! For us, The End will be GLORIOUS. That is, unless – like Israel and Judah – we look back and say, “Why didn’t we listen?”. Were do we go? To Jerusalem and the trek to Golgotha. Be sure to bring your M.A.P. and the APP.

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

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

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Aloha Friday Message – March 1, 2024 – What do we do?

March 1, 2024

2409AFC030124 – What do we do?

The Road to Jerusalem Series #3

Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.
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Exodus 20:5 ^b– 6 – I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, ⁶but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Psalm 19:8 – (GNT) [1]
⁸The laws of the Lord are right,
and those who obey them are happy.
The commands of the Lord are just
and give understanding to the mind.

1 Corinthians 1:22-23 – (GNT) ²²Jews want miracles for proof, and Greeks look for wisdom. ²³As for us, we proclaim the crucified Christ, a message that is offensive to the Jews and nonsense to the Gentiles

John 2:23-25 – ²³When he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he was doing. ²⁴But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people ²⁵and needed no one to testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone.

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and Peace to each of you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. Today we are continuing the Journey to Jerusalem, and in today’s readings for Cycle B, we hear the 10 commandments. The Psalmist chimes in with a song about the laws of the Lord. The Apostle Paul tells us about the core of his testimony – Christ crucified, something which makes the Jews distrustful and the Gentiles baffled. The Gospel finishes up with Jesus driving the moneychangers and vendors out of the Temple Area with a whip made of cords. When confronted with the questions, “Who are you to do something like this?” He gives a mysterious answer: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” No one but Jesus understood what that meant.

In parishes where there are catechumens elected to receive the Sacraments of Initiation, the readings will be from Year A – God brings water from the rock, The Apostle Paul tells us that For Christ, while we were still helpless, died at the appointed time for the ungodly. The Gospel is from John 4:5-42 – Jesus met the woman at the well in Sychar. In that passage, Jesus reveals himself as the Messiah, and many in that small village near Jacob’s well on a parcel of land Jacob gave to his son Joseph. This is the Sunday of the 1^st Scrutiny by which the elect – catechumens who have demonstrated their commitment to continue – begin a three-week examination of their commitment. This self-evaluation is supported by their community as well as the entire Church. The Scrutinies are rites commemorating repentance and conversion – turning away from whatever might serve as a hindrance to accepting the Love of God – and encouraging them to continue to draw closer to Christ.

We can begin looking at today’s Key Verses with the passage from Exodus. Some folks use this verse, and others like it, to say that God is vengeful and flawed because he describes himself as being “jealous.” Further objections are raised about punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation. These objections arise mostly out of “selective hearing” they hear what they want to hear and tune out the rest of what is said. The phrase immediately following this segment is of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. Let’s first deal with jealous.

The important distinction here is that this word connotes zeal, and God’s zeal is for his Chosen Ones. God’s omnibenevolent Love embraces everyone who will – in return – love and obey him. We love and obey, God Loves and protects. It is a jealousy of exclusivity, and the sense of it is “you shall not permit yourself to bow down to any gods other than me.” Does that sound familiar? “I AM the Lord, your God. You shall not have other gods besides me.” One might ask, “Why would God punish the children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren for the sins of their ancestors?” The answer is in the dichotomy between God’s illustrations. Correction – chastisement – lasts only a short while, whereas reward lasts until the thousandth generation. The purpose of chastisement is to instill wisdom and repentance. God zealously seeks to draw all men closer. (See John 12:32)

The Key Verse taken from this Sunday’s Psalm reinforces that Truth. The laws of the Lord are right, and those who obey them are happy. God is Perfect Integrity, Endless Mercy, Everlasting Love, And Eternal Salvation. As rational beings we can see that it is irrational to want anything less. That irrationality is the result of our own unwillingness to properly use the faculty of Free Will. This consequence of original sin is reminiscent of Genesis 6:5 [2]– (NLT) The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. That was God’s assessment before the Flood and before the giving of The Law, the guidance he gave to his chosen people.

Once God had chosen Israel to be “the Best among the best,” it was his expectation that they would be the exemplars of Love and Obedience so that all other nations would want to know, love, and serve the God of Israel. Moses described it well in Deuteronomy 4:7-8 – ⁷For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to him? ⁸And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today? Long story short, God says, “I chose you, now, you choose me in return.” If choosing God results in eternal blessedness and if rejecting God results in eternal penalty, I ask again, “Why would anyone want anything less?” Indeed, it’s a formidable mystery how we can be so oblivious to the obvious as seen in 1 John 4:16 – ¹⁶So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.

Regrettably, that is not enough for – I’ll go ahead and say it – most people. Fewer and fewer earthlings are convinced of the reality that God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, omnibenevolent, and with good reason expects us to know that. I say “with good reason” because we are created in his image and likeness, and therefore his own beloved creatures among all of his Creation. “Creature? How come you call me a creature when I am a child of God?” Go to Chapter 1, verse 12 of John to be assured (↔ Music Link) you are a Child of God only by virtue your Baptism “in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” When that happens to us, we become Children of the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and just as Israel was led through the desert by the Spirit of God in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, we will be led by the Power and the Light of the Holy Spirit. Only in the most general sense are non-Christians “children” of God because he created us in his image and likeness and put into us the breath of his own Life.

Do we really need miracles to convince of that Jesus is the Christ of God? The miracle of our own anointing as Priest, Prophet, and King evokes our family heritage. Do we need further insight into the Nature of God to be able to perceive his role in our salvation through Christ Jesus? Why do we preach “Christ crucified?” It was the death of Christ which accomplished our Salvation. It was the Resurrection of Christ which assured our reunion with God at the Day of Reward. If we choose – again choose – to make sense of that or to see proof of that, then that Old Serpent is having his way with us … again. God does not condemn those who have chosen to trust, Love and Obey him (See John 3:17-19) Why would anyone want anything less except that s/he chooses to reject that Gift?

While Jesus was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, “many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he was doing. ²⁴But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people ²⁵and needed no one to testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone. Whether the proof was wisdom or miracles, many in Jerusalem believed in him and his Name. That is what we do, we believe in Jesus and in his name, as in 1 John 3:23 – ²³And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.

Belovéd, we have gone from the Ten Commandments to the Command of Jesus – God the Son – and we know that what we must do is in Micah 6: 8 (GNT) – ⁸No, the Lord has told us what is good. What he requires of us is this: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God. That fits perfectly with Deuteronomy 6:5 – ⁵You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might – as well as John 13:34 – ³⁴I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. That is what we must do, because Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. (Romas 13:10) Jesus fulfilled the Law COMPLETELY. If we are doing what Jesus does, we are doing the right thing. (← Check it out!) That beautiful first Ten Commandments was the perfect instruction manual at the beginning of the Beginning of the B.I.B.L.E., God’s Absolutely Perfect Plan, and throughout that resource there is one constant theme: “Repent and Believe the Gospel” which is what we do because he created us to know and accept YOLO-F.

Perhaps we need to DO is decide on whom we should follow (↔ Music Link)

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

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

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

[2] Passages marked NLT are from the New Living Translation Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

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Aloha Friday Message – February 23, 2024 – What do we see?

February 23, 2024

2408AFC022324 – What do we see? ← 😊 PODCAST LINK

The Road to Jerusalem Series #2

Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.
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Genesis 22:1 – After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” (← This is like saying, “Behold! It’s me!” This link will show you a bunch of translations. My favorite – not shown here – is “READY!”

Psalm 116:9 – ⁹I walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.

Romans 8:31 ^b-32 – If God is for us, (↔ Music Link) who is against us? ³²He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?

Mark 9:9-10 – ⁹As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean.

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Today we continue our series on The Road to Jerusalem. We will stray a bit from the assigned Sunday readings – especially in the 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th Sundays of Lent – so that we can draw from other passages in the synoptic Gospels that show different episodes of this salvific journey. We will see, along the way, how Jesus referred to his Passion and death, and no one seemed to catch on that he was talking about something that would completely change the World. Just a short way up the page from our Gospel Key Verse – in V. 2 – we read that Jesus was transfigured before them. This word is μετεμορφώθη (metemorphōthē) and it means to be completely changed in outward appearance whilst still remaining unchanged in identity. This word is related to our English word metamorphosis. If you’ve seen a kernel of corn grow into a tall corn stalk or seen a caterpillar morph into a butterfly, you have witnessed metamorphosis. Transfiguration caries a deeper sense of glorification into a divine form, in this instance perceptible to others.

Jesus, of course, knew what was coming, but I can only imagine how the three Apostles must have reacted. In chapter 8 of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus and the Apostles are near Cæsarea Philippi. A very impressive mountain is nearby, Mount Herman, and is usually designated as the site of the Transfiguration of Christ. At an altitude of 9,230 feet, it is nearly three times higher than any other mountain in the region. Our Scripture says that they “went up a high mountain,” so perhaps not all the way to the top. Nonetheless, you can see that it must have been a long and steep hike! I used to think this took place at night, but it would be all the more difficult then. We can speculate, perhaps, that the Transfiguration and the hike back occurred after dusk, but there’s no way of truly knowing. We do know that it was at or near Cæsarea Philippi that Jesus asked the Apostles, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” There follows the astounding profession of faith from The Apostle Peter, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” We see this in Matthew 16:13-20, and that passage also ends in Jesus telling them not to disclose his identity as the Christ of God just as he had told them not to tell others about his Transfiguration. You can find an interesting comparison of the three Synoptic Gospel account at this location (↔ Click Link)

It is also at this point in the Gospels that Jesus begins to inform the Apostles that “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” This is stated in Mark 8:31, 9:30-31, and 10:32–34. Please take a moment and read each of these as each is slightly different and more detailed. In Luke 24:5-7 and Matthew 17:22–23 there are additional testaments to Jesus’ awareness of what would happen to him in Jerusalem. Seeing Jesus portrayed as clueless about his Passion, as in “Jesus Christ, Superstar,” is utterly false. At this point in the road to Jerusalem, Jesus leaves the area of Capernaum in Galilee and travels northward with the Apostles to Cæsarea Philippi, a city in part of the region which was predominately Gentile territory. The Gospels do not say exactly why he made this journey but I see two reasons that may have prompted this decision.

First, this was shortly after the death of John the Baptizer. Although they were cousins, it appears they grew up quite separately as each does not know the other. Secondly, that region was less-densely populated, and would foster better opportunities to spend time together with way fewer interruptions. Jesus’ Miracles had generated quite a buzz in the towns of Galilee, and everywhere he went, everyone was looking for him to see what sort of amazing things he would do. They had relocated to Bethsaida right after the murder of John the Baptizer, but huge crowds followed him there so they withdrew to a “quieter” spot and spent some time together. I think of this time with Jesus as precious to him who, knowing what was coming, had this time to bond even closer with those he had sent out (See Matthew 10 and Luke 9).

Reflecting further on the conversation between Jesus and his Apostles there in Cæsarea Philippi, we also recall that Simon’s name שִׁמְעוֹן Shimoun Bar Younah – Simon son of Jonah – was renamed Peter, or Πέτρος, Petros ( made-up masculinized for Petra “Rock” ) in Greek and in Aramaic the name כיפה (pronounced “keifa”) also, of course, means Rock. This is truly the beginning of the Church, for Jesus has just named the head of his Church, when Jesus said, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” At this point in the Journey to Jerusalem, Jesus kept building on his instructions to the Apostles. Each day a little more was added, and each addition was – at the time – overwhelming, even confusing. Several times we read that the Apostles did not understand what Jesus meant, for example, “what rising from the dead meant.” When we look at that from our 21^st Century lens, we might wonder how they could be so dense; however, remember that everything in Jesus’ ministry was NEW – no one had ever heard or even dared to think of calling God “Father.” No one could understand how a man could be tortured to death and then rise from the dead three days later … no one but Jesus, that is.

We must now return to the title of this segment and ask “What do we see?” We see someone we know and love as Jesus the Christ of God traveling with cherished companions whom he sent out as Apostles (“Apostle” means one sent). We see an astonishing vision of Jesus, Moses, and Elijah discoursing together about Jesus’ “Exodus” – his coming Passion, death, and Resurrection – on a high mountain. We see a cloud overshadowing three Apostles and three Prophets of God, one of whom is God’s Only Begotten Son. We see the Prophets attentively listening and the Apostles fearfully prostrating themselves as this vision comes to a close. And God the Father’s Voice booms out “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Then we see The Apostle Peter, so shook up that he figures Moses and Elijah must be there to celebrate The Feast of Booths (↔ Learning Link) that he blurts out “‘Tis Good, Lord, To Be Here! (↔ Music Link) Let’s build tents for each of you!” Then, in a wink, just the four earthlings are standing on the mountain top. In my mind’s eye, I see Jesus picking his way among the brush and rocks going downhill to the villages below, and the three faithful followers whispering among themselves trying to fathom what had just happened and what Jesus could have possibly meant by telling them , again, that he was going to Jerusalem to die.

Belovéd even after 2000+ years, we still wonder at the Wonder of God’s Only Begotten Son willingly going to his death, a death so horrific that only Jesus could have chosen it. Jesus was and is The Perfect SACRIFICE. (↔ Music Link) We know that Golgotha was followed by Resurrection Day, but Jesus’ contemporaries did not, could not, would not have believed that. Even after they saw him in his Glorified Body they scarcely could take it in. We recall Thomas who said, in essence, “Seeing is believing,” and we see Mary Magdalene running back to the Cenacle with the news, the Good News, “He’s alive! I saw him, ALIVE!” But, ʻŌmea, all of that is farther down the road. We’ll pick up more of this Journey to Jerusalem next time when we ask, “What do we do?” All y’all come back, y’heah?” A hui hou! As we look toward living out these 40 days of lent, let our prayer be Transfigure us O Lord (↔ Music Link) Perhaps Jesus will invite us to stand with him and sing Let the Heaven light shine on me. (↔ Music Link)

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

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

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Aloha Friday Message – February 16, 2024 – How do we know?

February 16, 2024

2407AFC021624 – How do we know?

Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.
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Genesis 9:11, 15 – ¹¹I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” ¹⁵“I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.”

Psalm 25:4-5 (GNT) [1] –
⁴Teach me your ways, O Lord;
make them known to me.
⁵Teach me to live according to your truth,
for you are my God, who saves me.
I always trust in you.

1 Peter 3:18-19 – ¹⁸For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, ¹⁹in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison [2]

Mark 1:12-15 – The Temptation of Jesus ¹²And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. ¹³He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry ¹⁴Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, ¹⁵and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Well, Belovéd, the Time has finally come. The season of Lent is upon us! In Cycle B, the Gospel readings are – for the most part – from the Gospel of Mark. You may recall that this Gospel is the oldest, and the one from which the Apostle Matthew and his followers borrowed, but then expanded upon, a good deal of material (without plagiarism). I really hope you read the above Scripture passages attentively because today we are going to hear several familiar themes, and probably a few definitions, too. Let’s begin with the word Covenant.

Last week we said:

God gave us himself In The Beginning – “I will be your God and you will be my people.” God gave us a Covenant – and exchange between persons – before he gave us Commandments. God formed and hallowed a Relationship before he gave us any rules about living that Relationship. God made us to be Eternal Beings like him (Yup. YOLO-F) and God made us to be wholly Holy like him as in Leviticus 19:2 – ²Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. Why would he do that to us? Why would he expect us to be Holy when it is clear we are sinners? So, Belovéd, how does a covenant work?

A covenant is an agreement between two (or more) persons. It is not a contract because in a contract, the establishment sets the requirements and rules and measures the workers’ compliance. The workers agree to adhere to the stipulations of the contract. In biblical terms, a covenant is a shared agreement between God and his chosen creations, namely, those who solemnly promise through their sworn oath to live according to the qualifications set by God. God sets forth promises regarding his future actions. He spells out the terms of those promises and the rewards (whether positive or negative) for compliance. The terms of a covenant between God and his chosen ones require a commitment of one’s life to the Covenant Maker. The Covenant Maker gives a Symbolon, an equal and equitable sharing in the benefits of the Covenant. The Symbolon was originally a physical object like a coin, a parchment or a token which was split in half and carried by each member of an agreement as a form of identification. Both participants agree to keep their part of the covenant, and can confirm their right using the Symbolon. Our Creed is the Symbolon for Christians.

The sacrifice is sealed in blood as part of the covenant holder’s redemption in faith – a full acceptance of the covenant. I’ll take a quote from Fr. Mike Schmitz here: “At the heart of religion is worship, and the heart of worship is sacrifice.” God promises to give us his Life in exchange for our lives. In the covenant set with Noah, God promised the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. Once was enough because enough was completely effective! On Noah’s part, the Symbolon of the covenant was the sacred sacrifice of the conserved animals. On God’s part, it was the rainbow. (Incidentally, folks, God wants his rainbow back and used for what he intended it!) what we really need is a source of learning about this covenant. That’s why we turn to the B.I.B.L.E., the teaching of God in his Church, and the traditions handed down to us by the Apostles.

God’s steadfast love (that means Mercy) is always available. (Remember Perfect Integrity, Endless Mercy, Everlasting Love, And Eternal Salvation?) Because that is true, the Psalmist’s words are also true: Teach me your ways, (↔ Music Link) Lord; make them known to me. Teach me to live according to your truth, for you are my God, who saves me. I always trust in you. That is F.A.I.T.H. in action! I remember the first time I actually listened to that passage. I was trying to figure out how to answer that perennial question, “What does God want?” Well, surprisingly he wants us; even as messed up and broken as we are, he wants us, and he wants to repair the damage we’ve done to ourselves so we can be more like him. Like the guy said, “Go figure.” That also applies to Noah and the Ark. How long did it take to build that thing anyway?

We know for one thing that it was a big enough project that it had to wait until Noah’s three sons (Shem, Japheth, and Ham) were old enough to marry. Shem was born when Noah was 500 years old (really!) In all the reading I could dig up, the best estimate is around 75 years to build that, get the animals and food on board, and gather together Noah, his wife, their three sons and their wives. There is no mention of Noah having daughters, and I have no idea how a five-hundred-year-old man could generate progeny. Those folks back in the book of Genesis had some amazing genes! Still, if it took 75 years ± a few, you’d think other people would notice. Apparently, everyone was just ignoring “that crazy old man and his whole tribe of loonies.” The whole story is available in Genesis 5-11. When I reflect on that long span of information there are a few things that stick with me every time:

First: it was a long time coming. In Genesis 5, we have a list of 10 generations between Adam and Noah. Second: there was plenty of warning before the beginning of the deluge, and only 8 people acted on those warnings. Third, it did not just “rain cats and dogs” (they were in the Ark 😉). You know the story – it rained HARD for 40 days and nights, and “all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened” so that the Earth was covered in water. Check out Genesis 7:11–24 – especially verse 16 – for a description of this. This was really – and literally – over the top. Every tall mountain was covered to a depth of 15 cubits (close to 23 ft or 7 m). It rained so hard that it took 110 days for it to run off and expose land. Fourth, after the total of 150 days, the covenant was fulfilled and remains in place to this very day. We know this because in many areas of the Earth, there are geologic layers that separate pre- and post-flood life. (See this link for an interesting look into this idea.) Fifth, and most surprising, God shut the door to the Ark after all he commanded to be preserved was onboard. Then everything that had breath in its nostrils outside the Ark died. That was God’s Absolutely Perfect Plan. There’s more!

The evil earthlings of the prior Earth were all dead, and some among them, we can suppose, might have not been entirely evil, and perhaps were only slightly less righteous than Noah. Then – after many more generations and a few other covenants – there finally came the Perfect Covenant, Jesus. You probably can recount many episodes of his life, his ministry, and his Passion. But after the Passion, what came to be?

Jesus joined the dead. He went to Sheol – Hell, Hades, the Abode of the Dead. How do we know? John 5:25-29 – ²⁵“Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. ²⁶For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; ²⁷and he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. ²⁸Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ²⁹and will come out—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. 1 Peter 3:18-19 – ¹⁸For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, ¹⁹in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison. 1 Peter 4:6 – ⁶For this is the reason the gospel was proclaimed even to the dead, so that, though they had been judged in the flesh as everyone is judged, they might live in the spirit as God does.

How do we know? The B.I.B.L.E. tells us so! (↔ Music Link) As we go through this Lenten Season, we will travel with the Lord on his way to Jerusalem. There’s a link at the top of this post that tells you the route we will take. All along the way we will be encouraged to use the M.A.P. (Follow this link) – your Measure of Actual Progress. We will think about the Three Pillars of Lent – prayer, fasting, and almsgiving; maybe not in that order and possibly more than once depending on what the Holy Spirit says about Living Lent. (←This is a really cool link!)

So, that’s how we know – Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and around 2000 years of the Teaching in both of those. We need all three in order to arrive at a stable and balanced knowledge and understanding of how God’s Absolutely Perfect Plan includes and affects – perhaps effects as well – every living soul with his breath in their nostrils. Next time, though, it will not be water but fire that cleans up our mess. Get ready for that! It might be closer than you think. YOLO-F!

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

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

[2] This short online article (↔ Click Link) at the Catholic Answers website give some additional information on the phrase in the Apostles Creed, “He descended into Hell.” See also CCC §631-637 (Follow this link)

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