Thus says the Lord: Observe what is right, do what is just; for my salvation is about to come, my Justice, about to be revealed.
I work parttime at a Deli and one of my co-workers keeps saying two things, 1) ” I got so mad 2) ” That’s not fair”.
We all love to complain, and I include myself in this assessment. Our God is a mighty God and He is consistant in the fact that He loves Justice and love to gather the faithful to Himself. The foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, ministering to him, Loving the name of the Lord, and becoming his servants. and again in Isaiah the scripture reads; Others will I gather to him besides those already gathered,
This all became important to me as I had a wonderful conversation with a young man who will become a priest. His name is Adrian, and he is an immigrant from Mexico going to seminary in the United States. He will be ordained in the Diocese of Tulsa in two years. This is his pastoral year at my parish church. He has led an exciting life on his way to becoming a priest. He was a lay missionary in Kenya for a while before he answered God’s call.
We spoke of the visas that he was under and because he is not in seminary for his pastoral year, he has to take courses at a junior college and covered by a student visa. When he goes back to seminary, he will be under a seminary visa and when he becomes a priest he will be under a religious visa.
I admired him for his dedication and perseverance to become a priest. His one comment to me caused me to think. He said that, wherever he goes that he finds family. I saw his point and admired him for his openness. It caused more thought as I read today’s scriptures. Sometimes family is unfair and makes us mad. Family, however, you define it is not perfect.
Thus say the Lord God, who gathers the dispersed of Israel: Others will I gather to him besides those already gathered.
Families are not perfect. Some are brave and some are cowards. Some are brave sometimes and cowards at other times. Look at the apostles. Jesus took imperfect people and joined them to a family and because they gathered for God’s purpose, they became the bravest and most successful family.
Myself, I do not see a perfect family anywhere. Even though there are some that look perfect. I have to believe that there are flaws. When God’s gathers our families, He makes us stronger. None of us are perfect. When we gather together those imperfections become minor.
Yes, sometimes families are unfair and make us mad. Isaiah says that one of God’s qualities should be one of ours. We need each other as family and we need to gather together with all our flaws because we are family.
We are stronger gathered together.
Please pray for our seminarian, Adrian, and all seminarians as we gather together during this holy season.
God Love You Always
Bob Burford
PS: Please pray for peace in the Ukraine. Please pray for Cancer victims and their caregivers.
