Friday, January 29, 2021

When God Speaks, We Need to Listen And Take Action.

 




History teaches us that change is a norm not an anomaly.  Whether that history comes to us in nature, from humans or by God, all of them have the power to give, take or create a future that we desire or do not want.  What we do with it becomes the very life with which we live and die.

For those of us who espouse Catholicism, the Holy Trinity of one God with three persons, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is who we look to for spiritual guidance in this life and the next.  Since Jesus no longer walks the earth as a human, we receive His words through scripture.  Some say He also comes to us in dreams; others speak on His behalf and in signs or miracles we witness or read about.

What makes this so necessary is that not only does Jesus speak divine truth; he does it with authority as we hear about in Mark’s Gospel today.  What is important about this is that when God speaks, we need to listen and take action.  If we do, we are promised a future that will enlighten us to the ways of the Lord and bring us a promise of everlasting life of peace, joy and happiness.  If we don’t, we could be condemned to an eternal life of misery.

Our first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy comes with a promise that after Moses’ death God will still protect those He has chosen as His own.  God will appoint a prophet from their own ranks who will proclaim God’s message and to reveal the truth.  Of course, that person is none other than God’s only-begotten Son, Jesus, the greatest prophet of all time.  The challenge with that promise is that we listen deeply to hear God speaking.

In our second reading of the first Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul is addressing anxieties of both new and would-be Christians.  He wants them to refocus how they see the world so they don’t waste time on how to balance anti-Christian aspects equally with God’s promises.  Just like in the Gospel, he wants them to focus on what Jesus said and did so they can live the holy life they were called to by their Baptism.

None of us has ever heard Jesus speak or seen him in the flesh.  We can only imagine what He said and did was overwhelming to the people at that time.  But being a disciple calls us to have a faith that will accept Him from that time into present day.  The stories are based on people who witnessed all that He said and did.  If they believed enough to follow Him, some to their death, then we need to embrace that same divine truth.  God, out of His love for us, created us to be bonded with Him, both here and in heaven.  In doing so, we can make a difference for those who believe and for those who need to be saved.  That is how we listen, take action and make a difference when God speaks to us. 



Reading 1: Deuteronomy 18: 15-20
Reading 2: First Corinthians 7: 32-35
Gospel: Mark 1: 21-28

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