|
Reflections
for Sunday, January 12, 2014
The Holy Spirit is our focus today as this Spirit comes down upon Jesus.
Once the Holy Spirit has come upon the Lord Jesus, then the Lord Jesus
begins His public ministry. It is the Spirit that drives Jesus into the
desert and the Spirit that He gives to us when He dies.
Already in Isaiah 42, the first reading today, we can sense this deep
longing for a savior who will have the spirit of God guiding him. All of
us want to be saved when we find ourselves in difficult places of life. We
are invited to meet the Lord Jesus as our Savior. Isaiah reflects the
longing of the people and in time the Savior comes who brings light into
the darkness.
Jesus can bring light into our darkness if we let Him do that. It is
important that we come to see how we deal with the darkness around us.
What do we do when we feel conflict, when we are aware of our own
brokenness, when we are tempted to things not good for us? Quite often we
do nothing until we find ourselves with problems in our lives because of
our actions!
What do we do when others cause problems in our lives? What do we do when
outside circumstances create difficulties for us? What do we do when we
lose a job, when we don't have enough money, when life seems impossible?
Looking at how we respond to life tells us about our belief in a Savior.
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles today tells us that whoever fears
him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him. Do we even think of God? Do
we ask the help of God? Do we have a confidence that God will get us
through every situation? We are invited to live in the Spirit as Jesus did
and begin to trust completely that God will walk with us and show us the
way!
The Gospel of Matthew today shows us the baptism of Jesus. The life of
Jesus changes from this point forward in a way that we can see. Jesus
walks with God and begins to relate to others, proclaiming the Kingdom of
God. May we come to rejoice in our own baptism and to know that we are
changed. May we live our lives as people called by the Lord to proclaim
His Kingdom. We can only do this if we are completely open to His help, to
a complete conversion, to an awareness that nothing else in life really has
meaning outside of the Kingdom. My sisters and brothers, let us walk in
the light of the Lord!
Readings of the day:
First Reading: Isaiah 42.1-4, 6-7
Second Reading: Acts 10.34-38
Gospel: Matthew 3.13-17
| |
Reflections are available for the following Sundays:
|
