Reading One: Nm 21:4-9;
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 102:2-3, 16-18, 19-21 ;
Gospel: Jn 8:21-30;
go to this page (for all three sections listed above on one page) And here's an audio file; & reflections (video)
Added some new pictures. Beauty every spring. God is great!
As Jesus gets closer and closer to the final leg of His journey on Earth as a man, he does His best to help people understand that He really is - the Son of God. For those who like books, and in this case, those people who were (and are) well versed in the old testament and Moses, he shares a parallel story of how Moses made a seraph serpent mounted on a pole to cure the Israelites who were bitten by the poisonous snakes, and how, likewise Jesus would be mounted on a cross. Unlike the old testament however - where all you had to do was look at it and you were cured, in the New Testament - you would have to believe, only your faith would save you, as it seems looking at Jesus on the cross would not be enough. His words are very cryptic if you are unfamiliar with the story of Moses as told in Numbers, but upon some reflection it is not rocket science to see the parallel. In John chapter 3, Jesus also mentions the story of Moses and the seraph serpent mounted on a pole to Nicodemus (verse 14, but read the whole chapter for context). It is fascinating to me - how so many people know the words of John 3:16, but have never heard of the story of Moses and the seraph serpent mounted on a pole, even though it is just two sentences preceding, and again mentioned in John Chapter 8 in today's reading. You can see one thing, but totally miss another clue as to how Jesus very clearly explains who He is, and why He came. As He explained before, Jesus said it would be harder for wise people to understand - for the simple, it was easy since they would believe without the need for intellectual consideration. But Jesus reaches out to the brainiacs, out of love and a hope that they might also come to believe. Certainly... to try to reverse engineer this whole story is beyond any logical assumptions of human nature and how people are. It is statistically implausible frankly.
Another message in today's reading comes from psalm 102, which tells how God is so close to the brokenhearted.
When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,It is very comforting to know He is so available to those who hurt, those who weep, to those who have exhausted their own means to save themselves, and come to God crying out for help.
and not despised their prayer.
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
Let this be written for the generation to come,
and let his future creatures praise the LORD:
"The LORD looked down from his holy height,
from heaven he beheld the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die."
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
For the past few days, I have shared a personal story of how God has made Himself present in my life. I know things like this happen to many others, so please rest assured I do not think of myself as anything special, just one of many children. He loves us all.
This story occurred on Dec 3 - the feast day of St. Francis Xavier and happened during mass. During the consecration, the moment during mass where the priest invokes an ancient prayer, and asks in all humility for the Lord Jesus to make Himself present in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the bread and wine, which becomes the Body and Blood of Christ during consecration. The word Eucharist - means thanks, and indeed we have so much to be thankful for such a kind, gentle and generous God. On Dec 3, I think the year was 2004 - a older friend of mine passed out and hit her head on the wooden kneeler in the small chapel where we celebrate mass. She was an older woman and she hit her head very hard. The priest, being obedient to what he must do continued the prayers as Terri and I went to her aid. Terri is a nurse and was taking her pulse, which was not registering at the moment as she shook her head and mouthed - nothing. Overwhelmed with the grief mentioned in today's psalm, I said a short prayer for my friend, and asked God, in a feeling of total helplessness - if it was His will, please let my friend spend Christmas with her family, but whatever Your will is Lord, let it be done. I felt something, similar to electricity, but nothing like a shock - it was some kind of power that came from outside me and nothing to do with me, but I felt it as sure as the sun comes up every morning and I feel the warmth on a summer day. My friend opened her eyes, and was back again. As I looked at her, I saw my dear Grandmother's face in her face. I was startled as I was not thinking about my Grandmother, it just happened. Later, when I went to work, I called my Grandmother to say hello as it had been several weeks since I had spoken with her. She was 102 at the time and a nurse answered the phone, and told me that my Grandmother was asking for me, hoping I would call. but she did not call me because she was concerned she might be bothering me at work. (ouch... did I put out this vibe - that I was too busy to speak with her, if so, I am terribly sorry for such a huge offense). I spoke with her for about 45 minutes and we each delighted in how deeply we loved each other. It was a wonderful call and I will never forget the kindness and love we shared. A few hours later, my Grandmother passed, and I felt so blessed to have been offered the chance to tell her one more time, how profoundly I loved her.
For her 100th birthday, my dear friend Frank - the guy in the post two days ago helped me make this video to honor such a wonderful lady. I was aided by everyone in my family, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews who provided pictures and stories, but mostly love. To better understand how much I loved my Gramma, watch the video below. But more important - talk to your family today - and tell them how much you love them. And thank God for your children, your parents and your grandparents while you are at it. Most important, tell God you love Him too - love Him with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul and all your strength.
