JOY – JOY – JOY… My Bro. BLU mantra couldn’t be any more appropriate than with this first scripture from Zechariah 9:9-10. Israel’s (& eventually ours) Savior is coming! Notice these attributes: Rejoice – Joy – Meek & Just.!! “Thus says the LORD: Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion, shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! See, your king shall come to you; a just savior is he, meek.” Jesus also displays His Power for goodness with: “He shall banish the chariot…and the horse…the warrior’s bow. He shall proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion shall be from sea to sea, from the river to the ends of the earth.” We have so very much to look forward to, Peace primarily, when our Christ arrives again!
Responsorial Psalm: I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
St. Paul’s letter to the Romans 8:9-13, is just “Loaded” with encouragement. To me it reads and sounds like a coach giving a halftime ‘pep’ talk to his team which is way too blessed, for the score to be this close. They’re not in the pee-wee league anymore, this is the ‘Big-time”. “Brothers and sisters: You are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you.” ****The Holy Spirit is everything. That’s why she’s called the “Advocate’. Her presence in our soul constantly supplying us with love, joy and passion for God, consistently refreshes our eyesight so we can see ourselves the way God sees us. WE…ARE… God’s children.! Why -o- why would we not strive to live up to that reality?
Matthew’s Gospel 11:25-30, This morning speaks of two ‘precious’ facets of our Christian faith. First is Gratitude, then Matthew eases into confidence in our Realization of Christ’s Love. “Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones. **Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”
**That’s US. Jesus has been revealed to us by the Father and the Holy Spirit. The whole Blessed Trinity is revealed to us by Jesus as the Christ. We are grateful.
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart. You will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
**So, we sit, we rest, in complete Shalom, confident peace and love. It is a warm and all-encompassing feeling whenever we arrive at the realization of how completely we are loved. **Oh boy, that’s nice, like a warm hug. ***Thank you for reading these thoughts. MARK GATES, aka: Bro. BLU… JOY- JOY- JOY!!
