Epiphany II 2010
Reflections: “Bless those who curse you; bless and do not curse” One of the qualities St. Paul describes is this amazing ability to bless those who persecute you and curse them not! Actually the Greek says “stop cursing them.” “Be blessing them instead.” There’s always a lot of un-stopped cursing going on in many of our hearts. Interestingly, much of it is directed at some part of the church that folks have experienced. Maybe it’s an entire denomination. Maybe it’s a pastor or priest, a bishop even. Whatever, the ill will deep in the heart continues, and spiritual lives are being distorted and reduced. I don’t think our salvation is in jeopardy when we all fall short as we all do … but we do become crippled and disabled. It’s a great compassion that the church has lots of handicapped access for us spiritual cripples.
Blessing means to release whomever and whatever into the Will of God. To bless means to pray for God’s will, God’s blessing, to happen in that person’s life. It doesn’t mean wishing good or bad for them, even though your heart may strain for good or bad. All that ultimately matters, is being in God’s will. So how ever we’ve been hurt or disappointed, we are to desire and pray for that person to be within God’s purpose for them. It’s all that we can ultimately do anyway. If we cannot do that, then we end up in opposition to God’s will … that he would rule over all. However much we have been hurt by whatever unrighteous person or deed, we must release them to God or else the wound causes us to be alienated from God. And we begin our journey to hell, alienation from God, regardless of what happens to our persecutor. It can seem very hard to be hurt terribly and then have to pray for God’s will, which may be mercy, for that person, that betrayer, that wretch, that monster, that ungrateful one. But that is what we must do in order to avoid being sucked into the cycle of evil ourselves. It is really spiritual survival.
“Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem.”
A Bible memory verse: St. Mark I, ”Thou art my Beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.”
Wednesday: SS Fabian and Sebastian, Evening Prayer 5:45, Low Mass 6pm, and Bible study 6:45 on the Gospel of St. John (picking up at John 3:27).
Next Sunday January 24th, Third Sunday after the Epiphany (Comm St. Timothy), Morning Prayer at 9:30am; Choral Mass at 11am.
Thank you so much to everyone who has responded with your pledges.