Gayl’s Buoys – Our Family – 1973 – 95 – Centerboard Yacht Club – Portland Harbor
Our Post is inspired by the Holy Spirit.
We are using the alternate readings for today.
For who is greater:
the one seated at table or the one who serves? Luke 22
I have always found this statement by Jesus very interesting and demanding.
Interesting because Jesus asks a very easy question, “Who is the greater, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves?”
The obvious “Wordly” answer is the one who sits at the table.
We have low esteem in our country for those who serve at the table, and yet after careful thought, the one who serves really controls the agenda.
Think I’m kidding?
If the one who serves doesn’t serve, the one who sits at the table doesn’t eat.
Once again I had never thought about this statement before this blog.
I love working with the Holy Spirit.
I recently read that dock workers in various parts of the world are refusing to unload Russian ships. No politician set up this embargo, just the dock workers.
The “Spirit World” answer which Jesus is establishing by His life, Death, and Resurrection is the “One who serves.”
This is very contrary to all that is held true by many in our society. People who have spent a lifetime building up their image, for example, leaders of countries and companies who put their needs before their employees, and yes even religious leaders who put their ideas before what God wants them to do.
It’s easy to cast stones, especially when someone feels the stone they are throwing is right, and I have been very guilty of this sin.
But,
Jesus gives us an obvious challenge to change our life and outlook.
I read a book written by a Catholic Monsignor years ago in which he spent the entire book telling us all he had accomplished. About halfway through the book, I asked the question where is God? Every chapter was I did this, and I did that. About three-quarters of the way through the book he said he was stumped and asked for help from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit did give the help requested, and the next paragraph went right back to the I’s.
I am not condemning this man because I have fallen into the same trap, which is why every chance I get I say we, not I.
I was encouraged, by the Holy Spirit, to read The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis. In this book, Lewis, a top Christan Theologian, told of all the ways satan attacks you and me. One trick is to get you to believe that it is your life, your car, your house, your money, and your life should be built around your needs first and then those who need your help next.
Jesus came and turned that philosophy upside down.
In contrast to the Monsignor I mentioned earlier, I read that Mother Teresa was at a meeting of top people in New York, and was asked to speak later that night. The person reported that while all the others were mixing and pressing the flesh to get some kind of advantage, Mother Teresa sat in a corner saying the Rosary.
What did Mother Teresa do?
She simply was moved by the Holy Spirit, to provide dignity to those who were very poor in their last days of life.
And the words very poor don’t even start to explain the poverty she and her fellow sisters encountered every day. What’s also very interesting to me was she did this service for Non-Christians.
God took care of Mother Teresa and the people who were associated with her.
I know of two women who went to spend a summer with Mother Teresa, and I was shocked to find out that even though Mother Teresa knew they were coming they had to find their way from the airport through Calcutta to where they would be working, secure their own apartments and get to the job every day by themselves.
God took care of them!
Both came back changed people because they were serving as opposed to being served.
I, and in this case I mean I, have a hard time letting go and letting God take me where God wants me to go. I, yes I mean I, once again have a hard time doing God’s will not mine. As I have grown in our relationship it is becoming easier.
We did report in an earlier blog about the Pineland Christmas party, what we experienced that day was life-changing for me and all the teens and their parents who participated in that party.
Actually, if you think of it, thank God the Father for your life, and your chance to imitate His Beloved Son by being one who serves.
“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:
For a long time, I have been confused by the words in the Our Father, “ Lead us not into temptation”
Every time you say the Our Father, you pray these words, “Lead us not into temptation”
When we wrote A Journey with The Holy Spirit Revised Edition, we did a short breakdown of the various parts of Our Father.
Everything went well until we got to “Lead us not into temptation.”
A thought that went through my mind was, Holy Spirit, God leading us into temptation, I don’t think so.
If God is leading us into temptation, then how can we be sinners?
It makes no sense.
God doesn’t lead us into temptation,
satan does!
The question that was raised in my mind was, what words could be used to replace, “Lead us not into temptation?” Remember any words that I or you might use wouldn’t have been said by Jesus.
I was intrigued when I read that Pope Francis had the same question.
The Kindle bible I was reading daily had so many highlights that the Kindle I was using couldn’t process going to different parts quickly, Holy Spirit working in my life,
So,
I ordered a new Kindle Bible, New American Bible Revised Edition 2016.
When we got to Matthew 6, the Our Father, I read, “Do not subject us to the final test,” in place of “Lead us not into temptation.”
I was reminded by the Holy Spirit that in Luke’s Our Father, the last line in Luke’s Our Father is “Do not subject us to the final test.”
So,
These were words, according to Luke, that Jesus spoke.
I was very surprised to find out that the New American Bible Revised edition that we use online is also the 2016 edition. The heading only says New American Bible (Revised Edition) NABRE but doesn’t say the year it was last revised.
The New American Bible by the way is the official Catholic Bible.
We also said in an earlier blog that for lent I read the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults. In the chapter concerning the Our Father, they had the full prayer with the new wording, at the beginning of the chapter, and then when they explained each section of the prayer, they skipped “Do not subject us to the final test,” and explained instead, “Do not lead us into temptation.”
Interesting.
Why are we spending time on this topic?
When we pray we can never just say the words without thinking about what they mean.
The Our Father for me is a powerful prayer that summarizes all we would want to know about God our Father, and how we develop a relationship with God the Father.
Below is the revised Our Father copied and pasted from the NABRE
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread
and forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors;
and do not subject us to the final test,
but deliver us from the evil one. Matthew 6
Well, it’s six years since this change, and how many of you have heard about the change at Mass?
I haven’t heard it yet.
What’s also interesting to me is how slow the churches in our area are in adopting this new wording.
Change is hard!
And this is a great example of how hard change is.
But change we must!
Note, we had a big response to getting information on the Gel. I believe, and hope, we responded to everyone. If for some chance you didn’t get a response, write a comment again. I respond on Thursdays because in this case, we had twenty-seven responses on Wednesday and thirty- five on Thursday. Thirty-two asked for the name of the Gel.
Since thirty-two people asked for the Gel, maybe, the thirty-two people will start praying for their brothers and sisters to be healed. Prayer is far more effective than a Gel as I, we, have already explained.
