* Welcome God into each day by reading the Living Faith devotional before work (~1 min). Order at http://www.livingfaith.com/.
Now since the children share in blood and flesh, [God] likewise shared in them, that through death he might ... free those who through fear of death had been subject to slavery all their life. Hebrews 2:14-15
Devotions snippets: "It would seem that the message that Jesus comes to bring men and women with his presence on earth and his death on the cross is the abolishing of fear from our hearts. And this is Jesus' own final words to us: "Do not be afraid. I have overcome the world."" by Fr. Carlos G. Valles, S.J. Let Go Of Fear
Rich's comments: Today is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. This feast emphasizes Jesus' first appearance in the Temple. Jesus was welcomed in the Temple by two elderly people, Simeon and the widow Anna, who both acknowledge the infant Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. The readings this morning made me think of the lyrics to a Christian rock song on the radio, which says "in having You [Jesus] who shall I fear?" May we let go of our fears and hold onto Jesus. Amen.
LIFE Devotions blog: log in at http://www.blogger.com/.
* For faith networking, please fill in your blog profile (picture, profession, denomination, ministries, hobbies, etc).
* For faith sharing, please add a blog comment (link at bottom of devotions). If you are unable to access the blog, I will gladly add your comment (email me). The notifications are inconsistent, so please email me after you add a comment (to highlight in devotion email).
* Please sign up by clicking this link: LIFE Devotions blog.
LIFE Prayers blog: linked in the LIFE Devotions blog header.
* Prayer changes things, so let's strive to integrate daily prayer into our lives.
* For prayer support, please add/update a prayer request (and let me know by email).
* Please sign up by clicking this link: LIFE Prayers blog.
Through Christ Our Lord,
Rich
Romans 12:12
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I just returned from a Lenten Retreat today, where we were introduced to a method of prayer called Lectio Divina (latin for Divine Reading). It is a way of praying with Scripture that calls one to study, meditate, speak to God, and then listen to God's response. During the retreat, we were given the opportunity to practice Lectio Divina with the scripture John 20:11-18. In the scripture, Mary of Magdala finds Christ's empty tomb and is weeping. She sees two angels in the tomb who ask her why she is weeping, and she tells them, "They have taken my Lord, and I don't know where they laid him." She then turns around and sees Jesus there, but she does not know that it is Jesus. She thinks he is the gardener. It is not until Jesus calls her by name that she recognizes who he is. After meditating on this scripture in silence, I realized something about this story that I hadn't recognized before despite having heard this scripture hundreds of times in the past. I came to the conclusion that Mary was so overwhelmed by her own grief and fear (finding Christ's tomb empty) that she doesn't even recognize the presence of Christ. How many times have I allowed my own fears and stresses of the world blur my vision? Lord, may we not let our own fears and concerns blind us from seeing You. Amen.
Post a Comment