Paul always began his letters with greetings and thanksgivings. His first letter to the people in Thessalonica is no exception. The purpose of the letter is to answer the questions of this young church but he begins with praise and encouragement. Paul assures them that he is constantly praying for them for he knows that they live in a city that is an international trading center with many non-Christian influences in their daily lives. Paul also knows that they have been under persecution because he himself had to flee not that long before he sent this letter back to them. And what does Paul recall about them? Their work produced by faith, their labor prompted by love, and their endurance inspired by hope in Jesus (1 Thess 1:3; see also 1 Corinthians 13:3). Faith, hope and love are the three theological virtues, supernatural virtues, given by God to help us live the Christian life, growing in love with God and others. Paul is commending them for already growing in these virtues even as a young church. For Reflection: Who needs to hear some praise and encouragement today? Could I be commended for my work produced by faith, my labor prompted by love and endurance inspired by hope in Jesus? Let us pray. Father, I thank you for my family and friends who encourage me. I thank you particularly for those who encourage me in faith, prompt me to love and inspire me to hope.
0 Comments
"Lay away" is a concept that has recently returned in the United States. People give the store a partial payment for a particular item. The store puts the item away until the person has made regular payments and paid in full. Then the person takes the item home. The apostle Paul had somewhat of the same idea when he said, "Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. . . " (Ephesians 1:13) We have the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, inside of us, if we believe. A deposit means we have been marked "sold" or "put on lay away." We belong to God. No one else can have us (see also 1 Corinthians 6:19). The Holy Spirit is given to us as a down payment, a deposit. That means there is more to come. A deposit or down payment is just the beginning. How much more Holy Spirit is there to come, how many more payments will there be? We don't know, but it will be fun to find out. A deposit can also be like making a deposit in a bank. The bank wants to get as many deposits as possible so that it can use the money to make loans on which it charges interest and so makes money. We may want to get as much Holy Spirit into us as we can so that we can use the Spirits's gifts (make loans). Using those gifts, making those loans, comes back to us for our benefit also, just like interest does for a bank. This down payment of Holy Spirit is also a guarantee. We are guaranteed the full inheritance of children of God, the largest inheritance of all. Let us pray. Holy Spirit, you are so generous. I love that you have been deposited within me. I love your guarantee of the full inheritance. "He'll have to change his mindset for this race," the speed skating commentator said as another group prepared for a qualifying race. The young people in the Olympics are often described as envisioning their entire routine before they take to the ice or the slopes. They've been taught to picture themselves perfectly executing their routine, their race, their downhill run. If they can't picture it, they won't attain it. To return to the sports world, for many years no one ran a mile in under 4 minutes. It was thought to be impossible, until someone did it (Roger Bannister). The bar was raised and runners began to think in terms of less than 4 minutes. We too can raise the bar of what we expect God to accomplish through our lives and in our world by putting on the mind of Christ and remembering that he can do more than we can ask or imagine Now that the Olympics are upon us we are inspired by the Olympians' dedication to training and competing in their chosen sport. They train and compete for years in preparation for World Championships and Olympic gold. They maintain a proper diet, a tough mindset and practice, practice, practice. Perhaps St. Paul was something of an athlete too because he used many sports metaphors in his letters. He wanted to encourage people to keep going on, moving forward, never giving up. Paul said, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training" (1 Corinthians 9:24-25). What type of training do God's people need in order to keep living the Christian life? Studying his word (the proper diet), praying (a tough mindset), and practice, practice, practice. For reflection: Today let us feast on a word that leads to a proper mindset and takes a lot of practice. "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things" (Philippians 4:8). Let us pray. For our prayer today, find in a quiet place, a comfortable position, and soak in the love of God. "Love keeps no record of wrongs," St. Paul tells in his first letter to the Corinthians (13:5). The verse comes in the midst of a description of what love is. Since our theme for a while is forgiveness, what does that have to do with forgiveness? What is unforgiveness but keeping a record of wrongs done to us? We can keep that record, reciting a litany of wrongs done to us ad infinitum. Or we can choose to forgive the person. I say "choose" because forgiveness is a choice and an act of the will. It does not depend upon our feelings finally being at a point where we can forgive. Forgiveness does not excuse what was done nor does it mean that what occurred was all right. It also does not give the person permission to hurt us in the same way again. For Reflection: In my experience of praying with people I have found many people say they have forgiven someone, but the hurt obviously remains. In that case it is best to forgive in detail. For example, "I forgive (name) for calling me stupid, for saying I was dumb, incompetent and worthless." This is different than just saying, "I forgive (name)." If we have forgiven someone and yet the hurt remains years later, we should forgive them specifically, in detail, for everything they said or did. The relief from the anger and hurt will come, usually quickly. Pronouncing the forgiveness aloud is helpful also. Let us pray. Father, when you forgive us you keep no record of our wrongs, you wipe the slate clean. Help me to pronounce forgiveness for those who have hurt me and to let the list of their wrongs be erased. |
AliceI started this website and blog on May 1, 2012. I am a Catholic who has been in ministry for many years. I first developed what I would call a close relationship with Jesus in the early 1970s. Ever since then I have been praying with people for healing and other needs. It is because I have seen so many of these prayers answered that I am so bold as to offer to pray for you individually through this website and phone line. Archives
July 2021
Categories
All
|