Thursday Morning Connection (my email server is still not functioning)

Today is Thursday, July 5, 2012.

Good Morning.

A thought for the day:

“Society has developed a billion dollar entertainment industry whose prime function is to provide an escape.”


The Church’s Gospel text for today: Matthew chapter 9 verses 1-8
… read this first if you can …


Having read this morning’s Scripture verses, imagine that you were one of those who brought that man to Jesus. Picture the hope that you came with for the healing you wanted for your friend. Then imagine your reaction when the first words Jesus spoke were, "Your sins are forgiven." What would you have felt?

I am intrigued by Jesus' comment to the scribes who objected to his actions. Which is easier to say, "Your sins are forgiven," or "Get up and walk"? These two phrases are descriptive of the kinds of ministry done by the church today. But I found myself wondering if we have put them in the same order that Jesus put them.

Which is easier to say: "Get up and walk" or "Your sins are forgiven"? Perhaps we have been so focused on helping people get up and walk, that we have neglected addressing clearly the emptiness which is filled only by hearing: "Your sins are forgiven." It would appear that the word "sin" does not seem to be relevant in a society that has become the healthiest, longest-lived, most comfortable, and most technologically advanced that the world has ever known.

"Your sins are forgiven." We still need to hear those words. They are words of hope for those whose lives are disfigured by discontent and frustration. They are words of purpose for those who have become warped by the drive to carve out a place in the sun on their terms. They are words of direction for those who have strayed from living the way God intended humanity to live.

They are the words which, over the centuries, have drawn people to the cross of Jesus Christ. In the shadow of that Cross there is a strange sense of peace. There we know that we are loved and accepted -- not because of our brains or wit or good looks or career -- not because we are better than someone else. At the foot of the Cross, His Cross, we know that we are accepted simply for who we are -- irreplaceable and infinitely worthwhile in the eyes of God!

God bless,
Father Pat