Our blog is inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus entered the synagogue.
There was a man there who had a withered hand.
They watched Jesus closely
to see if he would cure him on the sabbath
so that they might accuse him.
He said to the man with the withered hand,
“Come up here before us.”
Then he said to the Pharisees,
“Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?”
But they remained silent.
Looking around at them with anger
and grieved at their hardness of heart,
Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”
He stretched it out and his hand was restored.
The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel
with the Herodians against him to put him to death.
Emphasis mine Mark 3: 1-6
We are now back to Extraordinary time; notice we didn’t say ordinary time.
I say Extraordinary time because you and I are blessed to be born after the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
My function is to imitate my Brother by doing the will of my Father, by listening to the whisper of the Holy Spirit.
By doing this, I change my life from living in the “world” to living in the Love, Joy, and Peace of the “Spirit World.”
Living in the “Spirit World” is Extraordinary!
Jesus’ time as fully human and fully divine was and is Extraordinary.
At Mass one day, Msgr. Henchal explained that St. Mark’s Gospel shows the emotion of Jesus, at times, in His ministry.
We had an example of this last week when Mary and His brothers and sisters came to bring Jesus back home because they felt He was off the reservation.
After we posted last week, some of you might need help understanding what we discussed.
Mary, His brothers, and sisters remained outside and asked Jesus to come to see them so they could take Him Home.
Jesus refuses to come out and explains to the assembled that those who do the will of His Father are His brothers, sisters, and Mother. Wow, this is a hard statement.
But,
We need to hear this because Jesus is referring to us!
Now today’s reading.
Looking around at them with anger
and grieved at their hardness of heart,
Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”
He stretched it out and his hand was restored.
If you think, as I did for far too many years, that Jesus was somehow above the fray, that He could be run over and it didn’t bother Him, then you have just learned this wasn’t true.
Jesus felt anger, righteous anger, but anger. Jesus grieved, and this won’t be the last time, and this helps us to know that Jesus was fully human.
Jesus being fully human is very important because now, for you and I, it is tough to believe, as the Muslims do, that Jesus didn’t die on the Cross.
Speaking of the death of Jesus, we are only at chapter three of Mark,
And,
The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel
with the Herodians against him to put him to death.
When I grew up, there was a consensus that the Jews killed Jesus and should be held responsible for His death.
NOTHING could be further from the truth.
The Pharisees and Herodians were trying to protect the Jewish faith from imposters.
But,
They closed their eyes to the healing that Jesus did in front of them after He said, “Stretch out your hand,”
Before you get too puffed up and condemn the Pharisees and Herodians, are you blind to all that is taking place in your life by an active Triune God that wants you to know and love Them?
I was!
For far too many years, I never gave God credit for the difficulties and blessings God filled my life with. It was luck or something else but never God.
Recently I was with people who didn’t know or believe Jesus is God’s Son. They inappropriately used His name. I’m sure you have experienced the same thing.
Question?
Why can we misuse the name of Jesus and at the same time not acknowledge that He is God?
We don’t misuse satan’s name. If something goes wrong, people don’t say satan!
Why don’t we use the name Pete, for example, if something goes wrong? People don’t say “Pete!” The only name used to make a strong negative statement is Jesus.
Question?
In their statement, are they acknowledging Jesus as God’s Son?
When I hear the name of Jesus used inappropriately, I say to myself, “Blessed be His Name,” and it changes the statement in my mind.
In our society today, the condemnation of God continues just as it did when Jesus was alive.
And
If you searched your life carefully, you would have to conclude that God has asked you to “Stretch out your hand” more than once.
Grow in the Joy of knowing a God that wants only the BEST for you and has been and is working to lead you to find and love a God of Outrageous Love.
“The nine” We pray you will grow in the Love, Joy, and Peace of the Holy Spirit by growing in Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.
Sidebar:
The Joy of letting the Holy Spirit take over this blog happened this morning. I, yes I, had been thinking about today’s Sidebar and had a few great ideas.
Ryan sent me an email which I will alter for clarity where clarity is needed.
His letter was a Godsend because it tied right into today’s blog.
You guys (Holy Spirit and I) did it again! I saw the rainbow (Carol Earle’s picture) and instantly thought I knew where your blog was going; I was wrong! I again got the gut feeling to stop and read it, but I was working and neglected to hear the Holy Spirit, and I am reading it tonight. Fred, it’s so weird. I was talking with a friend in CCJ (Cumberland County Jail), a God Fearing man who knows his Faith well. I told him I was happier in jail and that only a handful of people would understand. You are one of them. The outside world is just so me, and it’s like they forgot about God. I told you once that my stay in CCJ was the best vacation of my life, better than St. Maarten, The Dominican by faaaaaaaar. It was a one-on-one vacation with God. Fred, I used to listen in your class and met people unsure of God, or they didn’t believe because of a personal tragedy in their life, etc. I’d make sure I’d give them a cross (which Ryan made by folding paper; he made me one, which I still have) with a verse that contextually aligned with their struggle and then pray for the Holy Spirit to marinate in their soul.
May you guys be surrounded by his PEACE and LOVE as a force field around you wherever you go. I still thank God for the struggles that are in my life; I know he’s refining me as silver and gold to produce Patience and Heavenly Faith. And Satan get behind me. Psalm 91 has become probably my favorite Psalm. I still pray that upon you and others, EXTREMELY POWERFUL.
With Love,
Ryan
TEAM JESUS
When we first met Ryan, he was in the dumps and had a BIG anger problem; Now, it is tough for me to believe that he was once the angry person I first met.
We are printing parts of his email because of the term Team Jesus.
I love it!
Ryan’s use of the term was the first I had heard of this term.
God is working in my life!
And
Look how all of this came about.
Carol Earle sent a picture that set off Ryan’s email. Ryan and I hadn’t communicated for two years, and we’re going to lunch this Saturday.
Maybe you will join Team Jesus,
Learn “the nine;” tell satan to get behind you, or pray “Come Holy Spirit” to fight your way back into the Love, Joy, and Peace of the Holy Spirit. Thank God for the Difficulties God has ALLOWED in your life and the blessings God has showered you and your family with, and lastly, pray Pslam 91 for the safety of you and your family.
Easy,
As we said before, all Jesus said was, “Stretch out your hand,” and the man’s life changed forever.
Ryan chose to “Stretch out his hand” and find a new life when it was presented to him in the Cumberland County Jail.
Jail is and was an interesting place to find Jesus.
Extraordinary times!
Picture:
Niagra Falls at night, the picture was taken from the Canadian side. Picture by Cecilia Carpenter
Interestingly, your pictures have significantly impacted our readers and me.
Keep Snapping!
Remember, if you want to submit a picture, no people, please, because we have to get permission from that person to use their photograph; in the comments section at the bottom of our blog, tell me you want to submit a picture, and I will send you my email address in our reply on Thursday.
