Away from the Tombs.

 In this weeks Gospel Mark 5:1-20 Jesus and his disciples travel to the territory of Gerasenes.  When they reached by boat they met a man who was possessed.  They say this man was living among the tombs and couldn’t be restrained.  He actually  had broken out of shackles and chains. He was absolutely uncontrollable.  When this man saw Jesus he screamed “ What have you do with me Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me”  Jesus spoke to this man and in a few  moments was able to cast out the demons.  When Jesus freed this man the demons  were sent into nearby swine where they ultimately met their death.  This man was finally  free from the unclean spirit that had reduced  him to living his life in  shackles and chains. As a free man he wanted to be with Jesus and travel with him but Jesus wanted something else. Jesus wanted him to go out into the world and tell people what happened. That is exactly what he did. He went and told  the people in the cities nearby that Jesus had freed him and they were all amazed. 

    This Gospel is another example of what Jesus came to do for all people. Jesus came to free us. Free us from the chains that society and the world can place on you.  I think in many ways people of today are possessed. They don’t know it but they are possessed by a world that isn’t thinking Christ like. When someone is possessed  they lose  themselves.  You can argue that many of us have lost ourselves especially over the last 2 years.  We have picked up new habits, some good ones, some bad ones. We have grown scared to be with one another. Many of us consume so much news that we forget about our own lives. We watch the media and wait for updates on how we are supposed to live. I fear that many of us are possessed by the traps of the world. When you’re possessed you  lose sight of why God put you on earth.  In many cases you  end up living among the tombs.  The tombs of negativity, hatred, jealousy to name a few.   You live a life in isolation away from Christ, away from the church.  A life without Christ is very much a life in the tombs. You may be alive but you're  living among  the dead.  That is the condition of man without Jesus. What Jesus does in this Gospel is what he came to do.  Free us from sin and recapture our souls. Jesus came to free man and woman from a life in the tombs. We all experience life’s highs and lows but it is in the low points when Jesus is  most clearly there. He is there to pick us up and wipe us clean.  Jesus  heals the broken.  He makes the weak  strong.  So in my weak moments I ask for God’s mercy so I to can be free from my life in the tombs.

        Have you been down before?  Have you ever  asked “ What have you do with me Jesus?”    Each time, you have persevered. You preserver according to God's will. Each time God brings you back up it is  according to his will and not ours.  When he does this what are we called to do?  I believe Jesus wants us to do what he asked the free man to do. Go out into the world and share what he has done for us. That is our work, go out live a life. Live a life that is free from the tombs and amaze the world with your new life in Christ. 

Today

"Today", Jesus said to those in the synagogue, the scripture was fulfilled in their hearing.  Jesus said that He was the one about whom Isaiah had prophesied.  Jesus said that He was the one who would give sight to the blind and let the oppressed go free.  And no longer was this prophecy to be fulfilled in the future; it was fulfilled "today".

For thousands of years, the Jewish people were a people of "someday", when it came to their messiah.  They were a people of prophecy and expectation.  Now, they had a rapid acceleration and "someday" became "today".  But they had a hard time seeing it.  They had a hard time seeing Jesus for who He was.

We can be blind to the "today" part, too.  We can think too much about Jesus being only in our future.  

However, He is here right now.  We just have to be open to seeing Him.  And perhaps the first step in seeing Jesus is believing that we are worthy of His great love.  And we are.  He tells us so.

Know this: God would have sent His only son just to save you.  If the only person to be saved in the entire universe was you, God would still have sacrificed His only son.  And Jesus would still have come to be sacrificed. For you.  And He did. 

And He is here for you, today.

Peace be with you.

- The Older Brother

 

NEW WINE

John 2: 1-11

Sunday, January 16, 2022

As autumn approaches, each year I engage in a labor of love.  I make wine and have been doing so for thirty years.  I have made wine in basements, garages, and sheds, whatever was available.  Let me say now that I am hardly an expert vintner and consider myself to be more like a perpetual novice. Making wine is a straightforward process and this popular hobby has been with us for centuries. Fermentation is the conversion process whereas the sugar in the grape is converted to alcohol.  Winemaking is much like other life processes.  It requires time, patience, and love. And done correctly, one might just be lucky enough to produce a wonderful elixir that is appreciated by all who taste it.  One of my greatest satisfactions of making wine is giving it away as a gift and yes, even boasting a bit about how I made it from scratch. 

Now to the Gospel reading.  Of the various interpretations, there is one that intrigued me more than others.  We know the backdrop is a wedding ceremony.  Christ is present with his mother and neophyte disciples. Then something unexpected happens.  The wine vat runs dry and Mary prompts Jesus to save the day by turning water into wine. Initially, Jesus resists her suggestion, but Mary will not have any of it.  “Woman, that concern is that to you and me? My hour has not yet come.” (JN 2: 4-5) The more Jesus resists, the more Mary insists. Finally, Jesus succumbs to his mother’s wish and “poof” the first of many miracles occurs.  The celebration continues.  I gather the old, adage applies here, (even to Jesus).  “Never argue with mother.”

We now witness the first miracle or what I see as the first “great reveal.” Surely, God has a sense of humor and uses unique relationships to reach out to us.  The interpretation mentioned earlier appears to associate the new (perfect) wine with the new (perfect) Messiah.  The One destined   to arrive has now gone public.    

For those of you who are wine-makers or those who enjoy wine, may I suggest that the next time you imbibe, “Raise your glass, and toast the Master-winemaker with gratitude.”  All praise and glory to almighty God for His desire to quench both our human and spiritual thirst.  As I continue my journey, I leave you now with a quote you might be familiar with, “Stay thirsty my friends.”

The Pilgrim. 

 

  

 

 

The Baptism of Our Lord

It is clear in reading the scriptures that our Lord intends for us to be one with Him. We are, after all, "One Body in Christ." The name announced to Mary by the angel Gabriel - Emmanuel - means "God with us." So many places in scripture drive this point home; As Jesus Himself prays during the Last Supper: 

"I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me." John 17:20

And again:

"Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him." John 14:23

My prayer for each of you my brothers as we begin the new year is this: May we share in the communion that is the Love of our God, and may we become a reflection of our Lord Jesus Christ - so that God our Father may look upon each one of us, as He does upon our Lord and say  “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

                  + Theophilus