Come Lord Jesus Come

My Beloved lifts up his voice, he says to me, ‘Come then, my love, my lovely one, come. For see, winter is past, the rains are over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth. The season of glad songs has come
Song of Songs 2:10-12

The Beloved seeks his true love and calls her out into the new season of expectant hope and joy.

God is seeking out his own, calling them, calling me, out from the cleft in the rock where I have been hiding. Winter has gone, Spring has arrived. There is new hope and mounting joy.

All today’s readings speak of mounting, expectant joy about to burst forth, culminating in Elizabeth’s loud cry to Mary,;

“The moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled”.

Christmas is just over the horizon. Joy is mounting. Let me be caught, be swept along with this irresistible surge of life and love. Come Lord Jesus come.

Come Lord Jesus come. You are my my love, my hope, my joy. Come Lord Jesus come. 

Entertaining Angels

Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is getting on in years.’ The angel replied, ‘I am Gabriel who stand in God’s presence, and I have been sent to speak to you and bring you this good news.
Lk.18:19

Zechariah is met by an angel in the temple and given a message. He and his wife Elizabeth are to have a son in their old years and he will be a great prophet. Zechariah’s incredulity on what he hears results in him being struck dumb.

Angels are messengers from God. Samson’s mother is met by an angel who foretells of his birth in today’s first reading. Mary is about to be met by an angel when the conception of Jesus is announced.

Angels exist. I pray to my guardian angel each time I cycle to work. There could be times when I am met by an angle but don’t recognise him or her. Today is a good day to be on the look out....

Thank you Father in heaven that you are concerned with the affairs of man. Help me recognise the messengers you place in my day today.
Little Flower, please pray for me. 

A Shepherd’s Heart

And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.
Mt.18:13

Jesus has just told the parable of the wandering sheep to illustrate God’s special attention and love for those who have wandered from him.

This parable has special meaning for me as I have been that wandering sheep. I guess it is also a reminder for me to stop judging the wanderers and show more compassion and effort to bring them back.

In a sense , every non-believer is a wandering sheep. All are born with a God space that is either nurtured by their upbringing or starved. The starved simply wander off looking for what appears as green grass elsewhere.

My immediate flock is my family. It is here that my shepherding is most required. If each man looked after his own little flock, then the whole farm would be a place of peace and nurture. Let my shepherding begin today...

Jesus, thank you for searching me out and bringing me back home. Give me a shepherds heart for those yo7 place before me today.
Little Flower please pray for me.

Founded on Rock

Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock.
Mt. 7:25

Jesus is tells the parable of the wise and foolish builders to highlight the difference between those who just listen to his words  and those who act. The time of test for both is not if but when the storms come.

We live in a fallen world where storms happen. When I read the Genesis account of the Garden of Eden before the fall of Adam, I picture a place of beauty and peace and life. No death, no disease, no tears. This is where I’m being called back to. It’s home.

Meanwhile, I’m living where death, disease and tears are part of daily existence. Acting on the Word of God, building on the rock is how I’m to live a life of hope and joy in the midst of this terror. I life so lived is a beacon to others to draw us all back home.

Lord Jesus. Sometimes your word takes me out of my comfort zone. Give me courage to act on your word . Help me build my house on the rock.
Little Flower, please pray for me. 

Mere Children

Filled with joy by the Holy Spirit, Jesus said: ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do.
Lk. 10:21

The seventy two  have returned from their first mission trip bringing reports of outstanding success. “Even the demons submit to us in your name”.  These first missionarys would have been simple, uneducated people. Jesus thanks God for what has happened through the work of “mere children”.

The message here is we don’t have to be great theologians to be effective in spreading the Good News. In fact, just the opposite is true. I think this is why children receive the Gospel so readily.

The Gospel is simple but covers everyone in every situation and so can be expressed in many different ways.

Last week I met a man who had just been told his heart wasn’t going to last much longer. The Good News I was able to tell him was, “This is not the end of your story”. On Sunday the Good News I could tell children at Children’s Liturgy was, “God loves you so much that he sent his son as a baby to lead you back to heaven”. In both occasions the result on hearing the Good News was great joy.

Keep it simple, keep it adaptable and be ready to say it when then opportunity arises.

Lord Jesus, your message of mercy and love brings great joy. Prompt me by your Spirit today when I can be the bearer of this Good News to people I meet. 
Little Flower, please pray for me.