Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119)
Acts 11, 1-18 To follow Jesus into the abundant life God designed me to live, I need to always be prepared for new adventures in mercy. Peter learned this definitively when God revealed to him that instead of ignoring the Gentiles living amongst them, the Jewish apostles were to actively and generously extend God’s Glad News and mercy to the Greeks, the Romans, the Caesareans and all other ‘strangers’ who asked for their ministry. Like me, Peter and his fellow believers were astounded to witness the Holy Spirit of God moving like fire among a group of people they thought were outside God’s purview – the Gentiles -and anointing them with gifts of the Spirit at once unique and similar to their own. Like Peter and the early Apostles, I too am not to get ‘hung up’ on what I consider to be unclean, and beyond God’s view. I am instead to focus on proclaiming and pouring out the Holy Spirit of God, that is the mercy of God, to anyone who asks, without distinction, without judgement. Who am I that I would hinder and try to control, the out-pouring of God’s grace on anyone? Holy Spirit, teach me how God’s mercy is at work beyond our perspectives. O send your light and your truth, let them lead me. (Psalm 42: ) God is not in the habit of refusing a good gift to those who ask for one. St. Ambrose Listen to “the best explanation of Psalm 23” by Ray Varden Laan from “Walking with God in the Desert” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIrS3h7cH_A www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei
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John 10:1-21 Holy Spirit help me hear Jesus calling me by name to abundant life... God’s intended relationship with each man, woman and child is one of great intimacy and liveliness. Witness how often Jesus connected intimately with anyone who came to him during his ministry on earth, and then sent them on their way refreshed if not healed in heart, mind, soul and strength. By casting himself as the ‘Good Shepherd’ in his teachings, Jesus further illustrated God’s intended design for our relationship with our Creator. Like a shepherd with his sheep, God with his Son by the Holy Spirit, knows us as the whole, unique, and complete individuals that we are; he calls us by name; he is the only authentic gatekeeper of our lives; he accompanies us as we come and go in our lives; he knows where to find good and nourishing food and drink; he keeps us safe from thieves and wild beasts, that is the deceits and diseases of the world, that would distract and destroy us; he notices when we have wandered off; he rescues us when we wander away from him and cry out; and etcetera.** There is no doubt that the purpose of Christ Jesus is to lead us, as our ‘Good Shepherd’, into life – life in all its fullness. Do I really want to have abundant life? Do I realize how good a ‘shepherd’ Jesus really is? Holy Spirit of God, help me hear Jesus calling me by name to abundant life. The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want... he leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. (Psalm 23:1,3) Security begins when we love God with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength, and our neighbour as ourselves. Catherine Doherty. Living the Gospel Without Compromise ** Listen to “the best explanation of Psalm 23” by Ray Varden Laan from “Walking with God in the Desert” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIrS3h7cH_A Listen to a Rabbi’s interpretation of the 23rd Psalm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z_1dING_uI Listen to W. Philip Keller, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa2-hrnZJWM www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei |
AuthorBeverly Illauq lives in Kemptville, Ontario, where she greets each morning by seeking the Gospel Mystery of the Day - the Word of the Lord for direct and practical application to the specific challenges & joys of the day. Archives
March 2024
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