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 Isaiah’s description of “the peaceful kingdom” is a beautiful picture of a world where the Messiah has entered. Peace and harmony and righteousness are in full bloom. Even the animals are at complete peace. However, we all know the work of the Messiah in our world is not yet fully realized. We are called, as God’s people, to work toward that vision of things to come. youtu.be/2wuRXSEwjm0
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 For most of us, gratitude does not come easily. We look back and conjure up images of the pilgrims on that first day of Thanksgiving … images of abundance and prosperity and plenty. That was not the case. Theirs was an attitude of gratitude, not borne of things or possessions, but of the spirit of God. The truth is, gratitude is a spiritual attitude, a work the Holy Spirit of God works in our hearts as a response to the blessing of our greatest and only lasting treasure, our Lord Jesus Christ. youtu.be/rbz3xi2y074  Although contemporary Christians rarely face outright persecution, they can confront the evil in society. If persecution caused early Christians to renounce their faith, apathy can sap the faith of today’s Christians. God’s grace enables us to endure so that our faith grows. youtu.be/883kViiXgy0  God is not at all like an unjust judge, and that is why God’s answers to our prayers do not seem always readily at hand. Jesus bids us listen to the unjust judge. When we really look closely at this story, much is revealed about prayer and the nature of God’s response. youtu.be/ZHGsZaee-UI  The 10 lepers were separated from society not only physically, but emotionally and socially as well. Jesus bridged all those distances, making the lepers well and giving them the opportunity to acknowledge the power of God. Unfortunately, only one of those healed recognized how close God had come to him. We too, live in the presence of a God who is at once both far beyond us and nearer than our own skin. Because of that, we have unprecedented access to God through Jesus Christ. https://youtu.be/vHGW1gnoKmg  Things and people who are lost have some value in and of themselves, but greater value because of the one to whom to they belong. Today’s Gospel reminds us of the value we have in God’s eyes, even when we have turned from him. We are also challenged not to let others be lost to us. https://youtu.be/m7J0gxdp2Nk  When his disciples requested that Jesus teach them to pray like John the Baptist had taught his disciples, Jesus gave them the prayer we call “The Lord’s Prayer.” He taught this prayer as an example of “how to pray” and within it we find the simple rules to guide us in our daily conversations with God. youtu.be/dxTDH0nXeNo  Jesus’ treatment of women was a break with Jewish tradition of that day and an example of the radical power of the Gospel to set us free from tradition. youtu.be/2YJeZjM22gY  When Jesus has said that the greatest commandment is love for God and the second, love for neighbor, he is asked, “Who is my neighbor?” His answer is to tell the story of the Good Samaritan. What if he had been asked, “Who is my God?” The answer might be a parable that sounds quite a bit like the story of the Good Samaritan because the kind of thing the Samaritan did in that story also shows us the kind of God who is revealed in Jesus Christ. https://youtu.be/f2VHnPRMStk  The 70 disciples, sent out by Jesus in pairs, return astounded that the powers of evil submitted to them. Jesus assured them their success was no surprise. He’d seen Satan fall like lightning, removing the opposition from the playing field. The disciples’ task — our task — is to pass along the peace to a house, and from a center of hospitality create strong fellowships that can withstand adversity and drive out evil from the world. youtu.be/_LgF2dkg8jY |