Hello folks, it’s Mark “G” again. This time I’m filling in for Fr. Eke. That’s like the Super Bowl of ACM substituting, filling in for “Da’ Priest”. 😊 My friends, please read these scriptures in their entirety. They are long. I abbreviated them here so that this didn’t become a book and I felt a little homework never hurt. Well, I will begin with confusion. Are you afraid yet? I’m kidding.
My personal, little bit of uneasiness was, while under the advise of the Holy Spirit, in how does today’s scriptures make me feel about God. After approx. 5 readings I was naggingly unsatisfied. The words are self-explanatory enough, so why weren’t they clicking for me? So The Holy Spirit aided me. I was drawn to the wonderment of discovering a little more regarding the aspects and Joys of God. We can never know all of God while on earth, but He does allow us golden nuggets or glimpses along the way.
1 John 3:22–4:6 Beloved… We receive from God whatever we ask, because we keep His commandments and do what pleases him. And his commandment is this: We should believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as He commanded us. Those who keep His commandments remain in Him, and He in them, and the way we know that He remains in us, is from the Spirit whom He gave us.
We’ve heard several times before this specific writing of John’s, that God IS THE Blessed Trinity, but here, John is teaching the earliest of Christians (1st century) about this “aspect” of God. Also remember that Jesus said:” I am the good Shepard, I know my sheep and mine know me”. We live in Him, more on that later.
Beloved, do not trust every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, belongs to God, and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus, does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist. You belong to God, children. The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
They belong to the world; accordingly, their teaching belongs to the world, and the world listens to them. We belong to God, and anyone who knows God listens to us, while anyone who does not belong to God refuses to hear us. This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.”
I know that I’m preaching to the choir here, but this is precisely the point behind being a child of God… GOD is with us, in us every day. I immediately thought of my own children. I pray, I believe that I know God and I absolutely feel the Holy Spirit in my life and affecting my life. Some millennials don’t see the need to put the effort in to getting to know God. Satan has clouded their reasoning or put up a veil of darkness distorting their faith life. I will risk saying, that the same holds true for a good portion of the alphabet generations. Evil happens in the darkness, which is why Christ made us children of the light. The world needs our light. Being a lamp does not afford us the opportunity to walk around with pride-filled chests all puffed out, but rather, Christ’s light in us girds our loins and puts strength and steadiness in our steps! A lamp on a lampstand cannot be hidden. Let your light shine!!
Psalm 2:7bc-8, 10-12a I will give you all the nations for an inheritance. The LORD said to me, “”You are my Son; this day I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will give you the nations for an inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession.”” And now, O kings, give heed; take warning, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice before him; with great trembling, Rejoice!
To me, our Psalm declares a glad, wonderful 😊 conversation of God gifting to His Son all of the corners of the world. WE (2025) are gifted to be living in a world where the name and lessons of Jesus the Christ have made it into nearly each and every nook and cranny of the world. Sadly though, Jesus is not 100% accepted. I feel God should return, and repeat his phrase, “O kings, give heed, take warning!!”
Gospel Matt 4:12-17, 23-25 “When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled: “ Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death, light has arisen.””
This scripture goes on to describe Jesus’ preaching of repentance. In my faith life, I have rarely been satisfied with believing a dogma just because my parents, pastor, teachers or even mentors ‘told’ me. I want to experience Mary, as a parent, her Magnificat. I want to feel in my soul, our Eucharist, Christ’s Passion, the Power & sweet Tenderness of the Holy Spirit!! I want to know it deep inside my knower, soul! And I do!
God’s ways are above our ways but that shouldn’t stop us from being intentional and contented while we learn about our dear, sweet Love.
Happy New Year to all. May all of the love of God be yours!!
Mark Gates,
