Father God, refresh my mind to discern your will …

Gospel Mystery of the Day              Tuesday, Sept 5, 2023
                                                       
Good Morning!      
Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119)
 
Romans 12:1-2 & Matt 16:21-27 & Luke 4:16-30
Father God, refresh my mind to discern your will …
 
When a page on my computer browser becomes unresponsive, fragmented or nonsense, I press the ‘refresh’ button, and then I can continue.  Similarly as a human being with amazing powers of imagination, thought, and understanding, when I get carried away with my own programs, I feel that God is unresponsive, my version of Truth becomes fragmented or tangled, and “Love” ceases to make sense. It is then that I need to refresh my relationship with Father God, and my Redeemer, Jesus, allowing the Holy Spirit of God to activate my life drivers, comb out tangles in my relationships, and bring the bits and pieces of my knowledge and love of God together. Then I can again dwell deeply in his Grace and Peace. Two scriptural cases in point underscore this principle of renewal.  When St. Peter protested Jesus’ explanation that he would be tortured and killed and then rise again, Jesus had to rebuke Peter and  refresh his understanding of the (often surprising!) will of God, and purpose of Christ’s ministry. Because Peter accepted Jesus’ correction,  he was able to better discern God’s will going forward through the next two decades, fearlessly proclaiming the Truth of the Gospel and helping millions over millennia to understand the Grace of God. In the reading from Luke, the people of Nazareth clearly needed to press “Reset” as well. Leaning on their own understanding, they thought they ‘knew’ Jesus the carpenter, the son of Joseph, and violently rejected him from their faith community.  I wonder if perhaps one or two Nazarenes, who were present that day, finally did allow God to ‘refresh’ their minds so that they were able to discern the will of God proclaimed by Jesus, that which was good and acceptable and perfect for both God and humankind? Perhaps going forward, they devoted their lives to the Truth, to Jesus, by taking up their own crosses and following Him. Will I wait on the Lord by prayer to allow the Holy Spirit to renew my mind to know – and do – God’s will?  Father God, refresh my mind to discern your will. 
 
Indeed you love truth in the heart. In the secret of my heart teach me wisdom. (Psalm 51:5)
 
God’s perspective can change and heal ours.
Anonymous
 
Soli ad gloriam Dei
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