May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our mind,
so that we can see what hope his call holds for us. EPH 1:17, 18
JAMES 1:19-27 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
Many in the world who ascribe to no faith insist they are spiritual, not religious. Paddling in the shallows they do not put out into the deep because the price of sacrificing one's personal and malleable definition of truth on the altar of unchangeable, eternal Truth is far too demanding and challenging.
Many who consider themselves good Christians prefer to gloss over the epistle of St. James because it makes them uncomfortable. They prefer to think of his ideas as culturally incompatible to the present age because he insists that in order to be a bonafide Christian one must be Christlike. We are urged to talk less and listen more. To control our anger. To give up all immoral and impure habits and to constantly examine our lives in order to root out any evil that is still lurking in us.
He urges us to accept the Word and to submit to it. This requires humility and obedience. We are called not only to hear the Word of God but to do all that the Word demands in all things - in season and out of season whether it is convenient or not. Most people believe in doing so that they give up their freedom but the contradiction is that one is never more free than when one freely gives up one's own selfish will to embrace God's will. True happiness is guaranteed when we sincerely seek to know God's will and do it.
Pure, unspoilt religion, in the eyes of God our Father, as St. James assures us, is to continually seek the good of the other, put their needs before our own and keep ourselves from being uncontaminated by the world.
MARK 8:22-26 ©
The blind man was cured and could see everything dist
The blind man was cured and could see everything dist
My Soul's Beloved,
Some people brought a blind man to You and begged You to touch and heal him. We do not know their motives, we do not know whether they were from Bethsaida or not, we do not know whether or not they knew the blind man, or whether they had faith that You could heal him, or whether their only motive was to see You perform a miracle.
As for the blind man, we do not know whether or not he had heard of You, whether or not he knew the people who brought him to You, whether or not he believed You could heal him. What we do know from the Gospel text is that You did touch him and not only did You touch him, You took him by the hand and led him outside the village of Bethsaida away from gawking eyes who had perhaps only gathered there to watch the spectacle.
You then put spittle on his eyes, lay Your hands on him and helped him to begin his faith journey one step at a time. "Can you see anything?" You ask. He sees but not clearly but faith is now awakened in him. You laid Your hands on him again and he was healed not only of his physical blindness but his spiritual blindness as well. He could now see clearly and distinctly. You urged him to go home and to avoid even going into the village. and You sent him home urging him to avoid entering the village. Once we have encountered You, Beloved, there is no going back to old ways for we are now a new creation in You.
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