Divided Kingdoms Lk. 11:14-23
Where do wars and insurrections and revolutions come from?
The human heart.
They all come from a divided heart.
When a heart is divided
Then no family, no house, no nation, no church can stand.
And what divides the human heart?
Bitterness, greed, jealousy, anger and lust.
Only when these are cast out
Can the human heart be at Peace
And the human race!
The Laws of God Deut. 4:1-9
Every government makes laws for its citizens,
For the betterment of society.
Every parent makes laws for their children,
For their betterment and growth.
So why should God not make laws as well.
The 10 commandments are not hard.
There is only 10 of them!
And when we follow them,
From keeping the Lord’s Day Holy,
To not coveting your neighbor’s possession,
We become better people
And grow in holiness.
And become great in the Kingdom of Heaven. Mt. 5:19
Unless you Forgive Mt. 18:35
Forgiveness is a gift that can only be “given” away.
One cannot keep it or save it for a rainy day.
Jesus tells us that those who fail to “give”Forgiveness
will not “receive “ forgiveness.
And it must come from the heart. Mt. 18:35.
For only the heart can “give” forgiveness
For it is the heart that is always hurt
And therefore only the heart can forgive.
God likes Surprises. Lk 4:24-30
We Will never box God in.
Because sometimes God likes to think outside the box.
As when He healed Naaman the Syrian and the widow of Sidon.
They did not belong to the Chosen People.
They did not make sacrifices in the Temple in Jerusalem
Nor did they keep the Sabbath.
Yet God healed Naaman and fed the Widow.
This is because God’s Mercy knows no boundaries
And surprises us when and where we least expect it.
The Paschal Mystery
Lent is a time to prepare for the celebration of the Paschal Mystery.
So if I were to ask you “What is the Paschal Mystery?”
What would you say?
The word “Paschal” comes from the Hebrew “Pasch” which refers to the Passover.
At the Passover, the Lamb was slain.
His blood was put on the doorposts of the homes of the Israelites
and the Angel of Death “Passed over” their houses sparing them from death.
While inside they ate the Passover Lamb for their journey to the Promised Land.
Jesus is the Paschal Lamb Who was slain.
Whose Blood frees us from slavery to sin and death,
And Whose Body Strengthens us for our journey to the Promised Land.
The Paschal Mystery is our “Christian Passover.”
Whereby through the death and resurrection of Jesus Who is the Lamb of God
We experience our own Passover.
Life is a continuous Passing.
A Passing from childhood to adolescence, to middle age and old age.
A passing from one love to another;
From one job to another;
A passing from what was to what will be.
A passing from this life to the next.
The Paschal Mystery is the ultimate Passing Over
Where the death and resurrection of Jesus, enables;
Our Pasch, our Passing over from all that holds us down and holds us back;
From Sin and Death to Freedom and Eternal Life.
Betrayal of Brothers Gen. 37:3-28
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One can only betray a friend.
This is what makes betrayal so painful.
For if an enemy had done, it would be expected;
But when it is done by a friend or a brother,
It is unexpected.
Joseph was betrayed by the jealousy of his brothers.
They saw that Jacob loved him best and their jealousy got the best of them.
So they threw him into a well and were going to kill him but decided to sell him as a slave instead.
What a friend we have in Jesus,
And when we sin, we betray Him,
And rather than throw him in a cistern as Joseph’s brothers did,
We throw Him on a cross.
What do you trust in? Jer. 17:5-10
Where do we place our trust ?
In Ourselves? Someone else?
In Money, power, popularity?
Jeremiah says “cursed is the man who places his trust in anything other than God.”
They are like a bush in the desert.
Dead and bearing no fruit.
But those who Trust in the Lord
Are like a tree beside flowing water.
Unafraid of the heat of day
Bearing fruit and thriving even in drought.
Before you start you day and go out to face the world
Always say, Jesus, I trust in you!
