"So be perfect*, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." d. Matthew 5:48

Matthew 5:48 "So be perfect*, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." d.

*Perfect: in the gospels this word occurs only in Matthew, here and in Mt 19:21. The Lucan parallel (Lk 6:36) demands that the disciples be merciful.

d. [5:48] Lv 11:44; 19:2; Dt 18:13; Jas 1:4; 1 Pt 1:16; 1 Jn 3:3.

"The LORD said to Moses: Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the LORD your God, am holy.* a. 

Leviticus 19: 1-2

* [19:2] Be holy, for I…am holy: in the writings commonly attributed to the Priestly collection, Israel is called to be holy through obeying God’s precepts (11:44–45; 20:7–8, 24–26; Nm 15:40–41). Cf. Dt 14:2, 21; 26:19; and Ex 19:6.

a. [19:2] Lv 11:44.

perfect? holy? how can this be? 

only God is perfect. only God is holy. 

maybe in another life? 

maybe.

sharing vs. shunning

 blessed are they who share, for sharing is like the kingdom of God. ... then they asked the king "when did we shun you?" and the king answered "when you didn't share with your brothers and sisters." 

faith 

           hope 
                       love

City of God

 City of God dan schutte - YouTube 

in God we trust

faith is fearless. 

faith is patient.

faith is quiet. 

faith is calm.

faith is confident.

faith is humble.

faith is sincere. 

a faithful soul is a grateful soul. 

a faithful soul is a happy soul. 

a faithful soul is a selfless soul. 

a faithful soul always trusts God. 

a faithful soul always loves God.

a faithful soul perseveres.

our faith is God's gift to us. if our faith is weak, then it may be because people--including ourselves--distort our faith. only God is God.

psalm 119 33-40

 Psalm 119 33-40 - YouTube 

Matthew 17:20

"Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."   Matthew 17:20 

"The Parable of the Mustard Seed is one of the shorter parables of Jesus. It appears in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, it is immediately followed by the Parable of the Leaven, which shares this parable's theme of the Kingdom of Heaven growing from small beginnings." 

Parable of the Mustard Seed - Wikipedia 

City of God – St. Louis Jesuits [OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO] - YouTube 

City of God
John Michael Talbot

Awake from your slumber!
Arise from your sleep!
A new day is dawning
For all those who weep

The people in darkness
Have seen a great light
The Lord of our longing
Has conquered the night

Let us build the city of God
May our tears be turned into dancing!
For the lord, our light and our love
Has turned the night into day!

We are sons of the morning
We are daughters of day
The one who has loved us
Has brightened our way

Let us build the city of God
May our tears be turned into dancing!
For the lord, our light and our love
Has turned the night into day!

God is light

In him there is no darkness

Let us walk in his light

His children, one and all

O comfort my people

Make gentle your words

Proclaim to my City

The day of her birth

Let us build the city of God
May our tears be turned into dancing!
For the lord, our light and our love
Has turned the night into day!

Songwriter: Daniel L Schutte
For non-commercial use only.

God invites us to have faith in dark times. God's gifts are cost free. We accept them with our hearts--not with what's in our wallets. Faith, not religion, is our security blanket.

"Let us build the city of God

May our tears be turned into dancing!
For the lord, our light and our love
Has turned the night into day!"

does religion interfere with God's plan?

I'm a believer. I believe that God created the universe, and everything in it, from nothing. 

why am I here? God created me. some would say that I evolved. OK. but that doesn't explain what happened "in the beginning". the "stuff" of the universe (matter, energy) came from somewhere. that somewhere is God. with all that humans have "created", there has always been preexisting stuff (matter, energy) that humans "created" with and from. 

why did God create humans in God's image? to choose God. 

should religion (humans) interfere with our God-given right to choose? absolutely not. when religion tells other human beings what's good and what's evil (e.g. what's right, what's wrong, whose sins are absolved (see note), whose sins are retained (see note), who receives communion and who doesn't, who to vote for, etc.), then religion interferes with God's plan. 

NOTE: there are various translations and interpretations of Matthew chapter 16 verse 19. did Jesus really say "whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven. whose sins you shall retain, they are retained."? after all, only God can forgive and retain sins. there are instances where overzealous monks copying bible text may have inserted text, e.g. Luke 23:34.  If, in fact, Jesus didn't say "whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven. whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.", then this is arguably the greatest perpetrated scam in the history of mankind. 

Praise the Lord, my soul

Cantus Mundi: Praise the Lord, my soul (John Foley) 

cantus mundi = song of the world

WITH FAITH,

EVERY DAY IS A BRIGHT DAY. 

faith 

           hope 
                       love

 

Merry Christmas: covid and faith

question: do you believe in covid? 

answer: of course I do. 

question: why? you can't see covid. 

answer: of course I can. 

• I see people suffering from covid on newscasts. people all over the world are suffering from covid.
• I see statistics: 
• people who have been tested 
• people who have tested positively
• people who have been hospitalized
• people who have died

question: but, the newscasts are just other people telling you that covid exists and the statistics are the same. you haven't seen the actual virus, but you believe that covid exists?

answer: of course I do.

****************************************************

question: do you believe in God?

answer: of course I do.

question: why? you can't see God.

answer: I may not be able to see God, but I know that God exists.

question: why?

answer:

• I pray to God and God answers my prayers. 
• I see God: 
• in the universe 
• in the earth
• in light
• in life
• in babies
• in other people who know and love God

question: but, you haven't actually seen God, but you believe that God actually exists?

answer: of course I do.

*****************************************************************

MERRY CHRISTMAS! May the God of light bless you and love you all the days of your life.

faith without religion

the pandemic has been a time for prayers and reflection. churches had to close. church services have been live-streamed. 

before our church reopened, the pastor made a video showing new rules for the reopened church. one way in, another way out. social distancing. everybody wears a mask. hand sanitizer. etc.

church services continued to be live-streamed. not everyone was wearing a mask.

months passed. we contacted the church through the church's website and asked to receive communion. no answer.

we don't know why the church failed to answer our request. we don't know why the church fails to accommodate those, particularly those in the high-risk group, who want to receive communion. many other churches accommodate those who wish to receive communion by having it brought to them in the church parking lot. 

our prayers and reflections during the pandemic have made us realize that God doesn't require middlemen. especially middlemen who ignore their flock. 

Jesus preached faith in God. He railed against the hypocritical religious leaders of His time. When He was questioned about fraternizing with sinners and failures of His followers to rigidly follow the hundreds of laws in the old testament, Jesus said that He came for sinners. He said that what a person has in their heart is more important than food. 

it's our faith that's important to God. not the religious dictates of merciless middlemen. 

U.S. Roman Catholic Church won at least $1.4 billion in coronavirus aid after lobbying

like so many others, I'm through with the catholic religion. on MANY grounds. but, NOT faith in God. every day I try to strengthen my faith. God is good. I am not. but, God's love for God's children is infinite. I want to believe this with all of my heart, soul and mind. but, alas. if I only had faith the size of a mustard seed...

faith is believing that God is omniscient and that God wants us to believe that God made us for a purpose--to believe in God. 

religion is mumbo-jumbo hocus-pocus. 

support

 I believe that on the night before He died that Jesus, Son of God, took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to his apostles saying: "take and eat. this is my body." 

more than 6 months ago the church that I go to ceased masses because of the pandemic. a few months ago the church announced that it was restarting masses in the church again. the pastor made a video in which he stated that everyone attending mass had to wear a mask. 

live-streaming masses continued. it was apparent that all persons attending mass were not wearing masks. 

I contacted the church and told them that I would like to receive communion, but, being in the "high risk" group, not in the church where some were not wearing masks. no response. 

the church isn't supporting me, so I've withdrawn my support for the church. 

excellent reflections and prayers

 

Prayers During the Coronavirus Pandemic 

romans 8: 10-11

who is a christian?

is a christian a person who gets their photo taken holding a bible in front of a church?

is a christian a person who professes to be a christian but lives a life of dissipation and debauchery?

is a christian a person who hates other people because of the color of their skin?

is a christian a person who riots and loots?

is a christian a person who can quote the bible but doesn't love his neighbor?

Jesus said: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

matthew 22: 37-40

faith 

           hope 
                       love

miracles

do you believe in miracles? is it a miracle when God hears our prayers? no, God always hears our prayers. do our prayers change the mind of God?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLXFRsWeDjA&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR1YXA-FaH-y_A5DgiVQFIk1phwH3BCsIh_jizanKLdxK5bWzIcyzdZFBFQ

faith 

           hope 
                       love

exodus chapters 7-13, plagues and deliverance

Plagues and Deliverance - Exodus 7-13 on Vimeo 

(https://vimeo.com/363403132)

The LORD answered Moses: Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. For by a strong hand, he will let them go; by a strong hand, he will drive them from his land.

Then God spoke to Moses, and said to him: I am the LORD. As God the Almighty I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but by my name, LORD, I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they were residing as aliens. Now that I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians have reduced to slavery, I am mindful of my covenant. Therefore, say to the Israelites: I am the LORD. I will free you from the burdens of the Egyptians and will deliver you from their slavery. I will redeem you by my outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God; and you will know that I, the LORD, am your God who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians and I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as your own possession—I, the LORD! But when Moses told this to the Israelites, they would not listen to him because of their dejection and hard slavery.

Then the LORD spoke to Moses: Go, tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to let the Israelites leave his land. However, Moses protested to the LORD, “If the Israelites did not listen to me, how is it possible that Pharaoh will listen to me, poor speaker that I am!” But the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron regarding the Israelites and Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and charged them to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

exodus 6: 1-13

do we know God today any better than the egyptians, pharaoh, moses or the isrealites?

something to think about...

faith 

           hope 
                       love

God loves you

what is the central message of the pandemic? whether: 

• you get covid-19
• your loved ones get covid-19
• you're afraid
• you're worried
• you're lonely
• you've lost your job
• you can't pay your rent
• you and your loved ones are hungry

know that God loves you.  

regardless of whether or not you feel all alone, you've lost your job, you can't pay your rent, you're worried, you're afraid, you and your loved ones are hungry, your loved ones die or you die, ALWAYS know that 

God loves you. 

faith 

           hope 
                       love

Ephesians 6: 10-17

Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

faith 

           hope 
                       love

serenity prayer

God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen. 

Serenity Prayer - Wikipedia

faith 

           hope 
                       love