Why is it that we hear of Abraham, the father of many nations, but not Sarah, the mother of nations? It really does say that in Scripture. She will be the mother of nations and kings of peoples will come from her (Genesis 17:16). God did not neglect to mention Sarah; why do we? Both Abraham and Sarah face a promise from God which seems absolutely impossible - they will have a son. They question it. They struggle with it. Abraham even rolls on the ground laughing at the very thought. Even so, God doesn't change his mind about using Abrahm and Sarah as the founding parents of the covenant. Today's reflection question is: What promise has God made to us that seems entirely impossible? Let us pray. Father of impossibilities, open our eyes that we may see the fulfillment of your promises.
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God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground" (Gen 1:26). This one sentence opens up many avenues for exploration and wonder. Why does God say "Let us" instead of "Let me"? Is it an indication of the Trinity or just the so-called "royal we" of kings? If no one else exists, who is God talking to? What does it mean to be made in the image and likeness of God? What does it mean when God says, "let them rule over" (other translations have "let them have dominion over")? There have been a lot of answers proposed over the years to all of these questions. One that has been important to me concerns being made in the image and likeness of God. That assurance - of being made in God's image - has strengthened me countless times. What do we know of God's image up to this point in the story? Basically, we know that God is a creator. He has tremendous imagination. He creates light, sun, moon, stars, sky and land, fish, birds and animals, and men and women. He sets in motion time, seasons, days and years, plus an entire ecosystem with a vast planetary system. There is a lavishness to his creation and attention to detail that could be seen in the diversity of his creation in the skies and on the land. We know much more about these now due to microscopes and telescopes, but even in the beginning God's creativity was evident. So, being made in God's image and likeness, must include being creative and imaginative. But there is more. We are able to create and imagine things and systems, as does God, but we are also able to create and imagine life, new and perfect and whole. That is to be like God. What do you think of any of the questions raised above? Your comments are welcome. Let us pray: God, creator, thank you for making us in your image and likeness. Thank you for lavishing your love and your Spirit, your creativity and imagination upon us. Thank you for allowing us to join you in creating and imagining. Any time we talk about God's plans for us we get into the discussion about predestination and free will. If God has plans for us, where is our free will? If we don't want to go along with God's plans, what happens to them? Well, I believe God has plans and we have freedom of choice about whether or not we participate in them. We are always free to say no and God can look for someone more amenable. Psalm 138:8 says, The Lord will fulfill his plan/purpose for me. That's a twist we may not often think about - God working out his plans on our behalf. It's not all our responsiblity. God is helping to see that everything goes right. Sometimes you hear it said as, "If God called you to it, He'll see you through it." It's a reassurance that helps to keep us going. If you are walking in God's plan, he'll help; he'll walk with you. Verse 3 of Psalm 138 provides another assurance, When I called you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted. To all the bold and stouthearted people of God, carry on. God is with you to work out his plan on your behalf. Thanks to NASA and the Hubble telescope we now have pictures that more adequately represent the universe than we ever had before. Who would have thought that there were so many galaxies, or that black holes existed, or that there were such complex designs? They show us how amazing God's creation is - the extravagance of his creative power. And what are we compared with that? We are specks on one little planet in one galaxy. Yet he thinks of us. We are of great value to him, and he has given us responsibility over his creation. In response, let us pray with the Psalmist, O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! Every Sunday is a little Easter, so today we have a joyful Psalm in praise of God and his mighty power. "The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice," begins Psalm 97. It ends with "Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name." In between, though, it's primarily about his awesomeness - his lightning lights up the world, clouds and thick darkness surround him, righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Even the mountains melt like wax before him. Part of the Psalm, though, is about God's judgment. Fire consumes his foes; those who worship idols are put to shame. This is where football comes in. It's Super Bowl Sunday and how many people will worship at the throne of football for 4 or morel hours today? How many of those same people spent 4 or more hours today worshiping God? I'm not anti-football or relaxation. Sunday is a day of rest and lots of people find football relaxing (although you probably couldn't prove it by their blood pressure readings). Of course, football is not the only culprit in taking up large blocks of time. Lots of things threaten to become idols in our lives - our jobs and money probably more so than anything else. Social media may be the next big threat to spending time with God. How much time do we devote each day to Facebook, Twitter, online games, emails, phone calls and texts? How much of it could be curtailed so that we could spend more time reading Scripture or even doing something else good for us? I admit that I don't find it easy to turn everything off and devote time to God, or exercise, or other things that are good for me. But when I do, I am better for it. I never regret it. A little motivation from Psalm 97: Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. Usually, at the beginning of the year, I see an influx of new people at the gym for exercise because their New Year's resolution was to work out. However, this year I only noticed a couple of newbies. What about you? Did you make a New Year's resolution? Has it gone by the wayside already? Often by the end of January, lots of people have given up. I thought it might be a good idea to make a monthly resolution instead of one for the entire year. As we go into February, my proposal is that we read a Psalm each day. February is a short month; Psalms are short readings. Let's go for it. Read any Psalm of your choosing. I would be happy to have your thoughts posted here on the Psalm you read that day or you can even post a verse or two of it. Let us encourage one another this month of February with a Psalm. Clematis vines have tendrils which cause them to cling to the fence or wall on which they grow. I don't know what they are called, but they are extremely hard to disentangle from the fence when you want to move the vine or trim it. In fact, when I first tried to disentangle a clematis that was growing over adjacent plants, rather than growing up the fence where I wanted it to be, the plant nearly died. It seemed that every part of the vine I touched turned brown. I pried those tendrils loose ever-so-gently, but still they died. Recently I've had it in mind that we need those same types of tendrils to cling to Jesus. We need to be hard to separate from him. I realize that in this image Jesus is the fence and we are the vine - not quite what Jesus said about him being the vine and us being the branches. But I think the image of the clinging vine has some merit. Anyway, the message is cling to Jesus, be hard to separate from him, and, as always, keep close to him in prayer. (And I hope you enjoy the photo of the clematis vine from my backyard.) "Don't worry; be happy" has become a familiar refrain the last few years. Remember the Bob Marley tune, "Every Little Thing Gonna be Alright"? Strangely enough, St. Paul says the same thing to the Philippians: "Rejoice. Do not be anxious" (chapter 4:4-6). Paul wrote the letter as a thank you for the gift they had sent him. Paul himself was in prison in Rome. So, yes, Paul, while in prison, is writing to other people - Don't worry; be happy. It's all good.
i would guess that most people in prison are not able to write such upbeat, encouraging letters to people on the outside. But Paul knew that he had his Lord with him in all situations. And if God is with you, then you can still be happy. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Phil 2:6-7) If we have Jesus, we can bear anything that comes against us. Remember the story of Joseph in the Old Testament? Joseph's jealous brothers sold him to traders in a traveling caravan passing by. Those traders sold him to Potiphar in Egypt to work in his house. Potiphar's wife tries to seduce Joseph. When Joseph refuses her, she cries "rape" and Joseph is put in prison. In all these situations, Scripture says, "And God was with him." Joseph not only survived, he thrived. He became the most powerful man in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. You too can not only survive, but thrive. No matter your present situation make your requests to God. Draw on his strength; rest in his presence in your life. Don't be anxious about anything for God is with you. Rejoice! The flag outside my window is taking a beating today. Hurricane Sandy is whipping it so hard I can even hear it over the sound of the wind. I wonder why they (the American Legion Post) raised the flag today knowing it would be subjected to such abuse. As I say, it sounds like a whip. The sound of a whip always reminds me of Jesus, how he was whipped and crowned with thorns on a day that evidently turned stormy. Such unnecessary abuse (not that abuse is ever necessary). Torture before killing. Depravity. What happened to the soldiers who whipped Jesus? Were their lives destroyed by what they were told to do? Did they suffer from PTSD like soldiers today? Or were they chosen for the job because they liked inflicting pain? I don't know. Jesus forgave them. Can I? How big will the tent be? I don't know. But beginning September 25 and continuing through the election on November 6, a tent will be erected on the Ellipse. The purpose is to offer 24/7 praise and worship to our God leading up to the election. Continuous prayer will be offered for our nation for over 40 days. When the group sponsoring David's Tent sent in the application for a space to meet in DC, they expected to be placed at McPherson's Square, where the Occupy DC movement had been camped. Instead, they were offered the Ellipse. The Parks Department realized that something sacred was being done and placed them on the Ellipse. No one has been able to hold anything on the Ellipse since 9/11. So I think God is at work in getting this house of prayer right in the center of our national government. If you live in the DC area or you are visiting our nation's capitol, I hope you will drop by the tent for a time of prayer. There will be music for worship during the day, but at 9:00 each evening, the music and amplification will stop. For further information check out: http://www.davidstentdc.org/ Hope to see you there. |
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
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