Jl 2:12-18
2 Cor 5:20—6:2
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
I have noticed that when I am attempting to pour something, a liquid or something like salt or sugar, from one container into another, it always seems to go better if I take the top off of the container serving as the receptacle. As long as the receptacle remains closed, I just can’t get anything into it. Yeah, I know it seems silly and facetious, but sometimes the most obvious things are the things we need to be reminded of. You can’t put anything into something that is closed. The prophet Joel today asks the people of Israel to rend their hearts, not their garments. A traditional symbol of mourning was to rend, to literally rip open, ones clothing. Joel was calling on the people to mourn their sins by rending their hearts, by ripping them open. Only by rending their hearts, ripping them open, could the forgiveness, mercy, and love of God enter. You can’t put anything into something that is closed. Today, as we begin our journey of lent, let us hear the cry of Joel. All of us have much to mourn, all of us have sinned, failed to live the love that God so generously grants us. Rend your hearts, open them to the forgiveness that God is calling you to. In this holy season of Lent be open to the Holy Spirit that She may pour in God’s mercy, forgiveness, and love.
Deacon John
Ash Wednesday
Feb. 21, 2007
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Deacon John,
A few minutes before I got up this morning I had a dream. I found myself on flat land looking up at a large high mountain and at least two hundred feet up I saw a large opening then I saw an angel with wings come out and then fly back in. I immediately convinced myself that I could fly that high and take a look inside because I’ve had many dreams of flying during my pass. Anyway I flew up to the entrance and I could see a lifelike image of a very large angel on the ceiling and believed that there was a chapel inside but I could not get up from the edge that I was holding. I had no strength left to climb into the cage and started to think that I might fall then part of the mountain below me started to mold under my feet and it seem to be helping me into the cave. When I was inside, a faceless angel was beside me and the joy I felt was so heavenly that I could not keep myself from saying to the angel, “I Love you” and then our alarm clock went off and the only angel I could now see beside me was my loving wife.
Why are you sharing this with me you might ask? First of all I now know what they meant when they say that fools rush in where angels fear to thread.
Secondly I’ve now got enough courage and love in my heart to ask you why you would consider “The Holy Spirit” to be a SHE. I know that you did not say Holy but many good woman bishops and priest might consider your statement a kind of endorsement. It might be hard for some to believe that there is no hate or anger in my heart for any woman and God knows that I’m also not trying to bring them down. God knows that if I was a woman I would happily do what He would want me to do and that would not be to question His decisions.
Christ is as relevant today as He was when He walked the earth and told us all in so many words to repent because The Kingdom of God was at hand. The time we’ve accumulated then till now is less than a moment for God. Jesus was replacing Adam and He knew what He was doing. He would have had no problem recruiting anyone so why didn’t He recruit more woman?
It upsets me when any man think that they’re better than woman because of The Fact that woman came from “Man.” You must agree with me that we can’t please everybody and changing God to fit what we believe to be right in The Twenty First Century is Spiritually Wrong.
You’ll need to forgive me for probably blowing this out of the water because in your next post the spirit is neither He or She.
I heard on the radio this morning that someone will use D.N.A. to prove that Jesus really had a son. (LOL) What next?
I know that many will probably think that I’m an old spiritual goat but what counts for me is that God knows that I’m only One of His sheep.
God Bless you and I hope that you’ll keep praying for me but if we have to agree to disagree so be it.
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