Friday, July 24, 2009

I Hope My Name Is On That List

I just went through Luke 10, and one phrase really gave me great perspective.

Jesus had sent out 72 disciples to preach the Good Word, and upon returning, they were ecstatic that even the demons were subject to them because of Jesus' name.

Jesus "Do not rejoice because the Spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in Heaven."

Wow! What beautiful words those are!

But aside from that, there is a very powerful message in there for them - and of course, for us.

Getting to Heaven is the ultimate goal for all of us here. No matter what worldly successes we have (even driving out demons!), none is greater than reaching Paradise.

As I reflected on all this, I realized the same applies to our failures here on Earth. Not sins, of course, but those things that feel important at the time but really aren't when compared to what awaits us in Heaven. Like making a mistake at work, or saying something stupid in front of a crowd. None of them matter as long as they don't get in the way of our journey to God.

They say perspective changes everything, right?

Well, I know what my perspective is.

Its got pearly white gates and St. Peter holds the keys.

God Bless.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Who Are These People Anyway?

I have a confession to make.

I used to gloss over all the genealogies in the Bible.

Take 1 Chronicles 1 for example. I would read Adam, Lamech, Gomer, Nemrod ... .and skip to the next chapter or book.

When it came to the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1 for example), I paid a little more attention. Maybe because it is a direct line to Jesus. Or maybe because more of the names are familiar to me. But I still ended up skipping every other name or so.

To be honest, I struggled mightily to figure out what I could learn from these exhausting lists. There was no teaching. No sign. No message. Just a list of people. Someone's family tree.

But Brian over at the Daily Audio Bible gave a very good perspective on these lists - one that has changed the way I look at them.

I'm going to paraphrase big time here, but he commented that while each person or family may look like just a name on the page, they were followers of God that helped perpetuate His kingdom here on Earth. They each played some role, even if it was to give us the next generation of followers. And that is as important as the other wonderful miracles and feats in the bible.

It made me reflect a lot about my life here on earth. If someone read my family tree 2,000 years from now, they would probably gloss over my name too. I haven't healed anyone or performed any miracles. I haven't parted any seas, or preached to the masses. I've just done little things here and there to promote the Kingdom. (It kinda reminds me of this post I wrote, reflecting on a wonderful post from my friend Carol at Charli and Me)

Anyway, I can't promise I will read every name from now on. But I can promise will take the time to think about how each of them did their part for God.

And I hope to meet them all in Paradise one day.

God Bless.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Kenya Believe This?

This weekend we had a visiting priest (Father Tom) from Kenya at our parish.

Showing us that God works in mysterious ways, Fr. Tom told us the story of how he became a priest.

When he was a little boy in Kenya, his friend told him he had seen a "white man" in their little town. Having never seen a "white man" before, Tom went running to find him. When he did, he learned the man was an Italian priest and missionary. To make a long post short, the Italian missionary took Tom under his wing and Tom became a priest after time in the seminary.

All because he had to see what a "white man" looked like.

What made the story even more beautiful, was that a German woman had sponsored Fr Tom's time in the seminary. He didn't have to pay a cent (which he couldn't have anyway). He said he hopes to someday meet this blessed woman to thank her and show her what a difference her contribution made.

He also told us that he recruited many other boys in Kenya to be priests as well ... many doing so only because they had him to go through the process with.

In essence, the German woman's contribution affected many people's lives - not just Fr. Tom's.

His homily took over 20 min (he said in Kenya it takes over an hour!), but it was well worth it to hear about how God's Kingdom is progressing in other parts of the world.

And it was beautiful to see how a little charity can make such a difference.

God Bless.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Happy 4th

Just wanted to wish everyone in the U.S. a happy 4th of July. (And for those of you outside the U.S., a blessed Saturday)

May God bless the United States of America, our leaders and our people.

May He bring independence to those who seek it, and to those who are oppressed.

And may He bring peace to a world that desperately needs it.

God Bless.