Be Faithful Like Jesus!

Jesus models for us how to deal in any situation, be faithful to God!

We read in the Gospel of St. John,

“If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there shall My servant be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.” John 12:26

We must look at this Gospel selection from the context that we are in liturgically. We are in the Season of Lent, the last days of that season and in the time called Passiontide. We are preparing our hearts for Holy Week.

In this time, we know that Jesus would experience some horrendous abuse of those in authority in His culture. Jesus would experience denials and betrayals of those near and dear to Himself. Jesus would ultimately be murdered on the Cross. Yet He remained faithful through it all. Jesus would be honored by Father God and He would rise again!

Jesus is the Model for us all!

Our entering into the Passion of Jesus is not just for the days leading up to the Glorious Resurrection Sunday. Rather, Jesus sets a pattern for all of us follow in how we to live as His followers.

We will rise again regardless of whatever we have to experience! There is no stopping a child of God!

Have a most blessed and fruitful Passiontide!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

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Become a Jesus Follower!

Happy Lord’s Day!

Becoming a follower of Jesus changes our whole perspective in our lives. We allow Jesus to use us wherever we are. We bring all of gifts, all the skills that we have, but use them now for the greater glory of God!

We read in the Gospel of Mark:

And passing along by the Sea of Galilee, He (Jesus) saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said he them, “Follow me and I will make you become fishers of people.”Mark 1:16-17

Simon and Andrew had a major life shift. They would be reworked as instruments of Kingdom Building! But they were still Simon and Andrew. They would use their knowledge base, their expertise in a new way, Jesus’ Way!

As followers of Jesus, we too make use of our knowledge base and our expertise, that does not change. However, what changes is how we use these gifts.

Let us reflect on the gifts that we have and discern how we are using them to bring the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth!

May we be the change that changes our world!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace

https://gofund.me/e7ad6a0b

Let God and Follow Jesus!

There are so many things in our world that may occupy our thoughts and actions. These things may have value or may be a distraction. We may be able to do something about them or maybe it is out of our control.

But what brings meaning to our lives?

What is the purpose of our lives?

The Disciples in today’s Gospel selection from St. John helps us to see what brought meaning to their lives.

We read:

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.

John 1:35-37

These two disciples were looking for something to make sense out of their lives. We can imagine that they had the normal concerns for people in their time, but something was missing.

This may be a reminder to us. We may be going through some situation that is occupying our lives. But if we follow these Disciples, and follow Jesus, we will find peace!

We may be in the midst of a stormy time, but do not focus on the storm, focus on Jesus and walk through the storm doing what you are able to do!

May we bring Jesus into our lives and TAKE BACK OUR PEACE!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace

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Be Your Best Self!

Follow Jesus!

“And I have seen and bore witness that is the Son of God!”

John the Baptist was truly a prophet! He knew himself and would be faithful, even unto death! He lived his true self! When he said that Jesus is the Son of God, he meant it with his life!

We begin again the new year, we will have challenges to deal with, how will we respond to these challenges? Will we respond like John the Baptist and possibly lose our heads , literally or figuratively, because we choose to be our best selves? Will we love those who hurt us?

Tomorrow, we in the United Stated, have a holiday honoring the memory and legacy of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He is a modern day example of someone who lived his best self and was murdered because of it.

How should we celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr?

Follow Jesus! That means love everyone, including those who hurt you! Be love!

Pax.

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