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July 23, 2015

How come God reveals Himself to some people and to others he does not? Because it is God who chooses and not man. In the first reading, God chose Moses to receive the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai and not any of the other Israelites. He chose Israel to be his covenanted people, not because Israel was a great nation; he chose Israel because he loved them.

In the Gospel reading, Jesus reveals the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven to his disciples and not to the crowd coming to see him everyday. Why only to some, and not to all? God always chooses a select few because his teachings are sacred and not to be given to just any curious onlooker. He also chooses the humble ones, those who are weak and nobodies in men’s eyes, in order to confound the proud and the powerful. The choice of God is his and his alone. What we can do is to heed his call to follow him if and when he calls us.


40 posted on 07/23/2015 6:12:19 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

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All Issues > Volume 31, Issue 4

<< Thursday, July 23, 2015 >> St. Bridget of Sweden
 
Exodus 19:1-2, 9-11, 16-20
View Readings
Daniel 3:52-56 Matthew 13:10-17
Similar Reflections
 

GOD'S BACKING YOU UP

 
"I am coming to you in a dense cloud, so that when the people hear Me speaking with you, they may always have faith in you also." —Exodus 19:9
 

God manifested Himself in a mighty way to the Israelites at Mount Sinai (Ex 19:16ff), speaking to them both directly and through Moses, and giving them the Ten Commandments. Yet within a short time, they abandoned Him to worship a golden calf (Ex 32:1ff).

Jesus spoke to the Israelite people of the kingdom of God in parables (Mt 13:10), discourses (Mt 5:1ff), and in signs and wonders. Though Jesus gave them God's Word, they soon abandoned and crucified Him.

Jesus has sent us out to spread the message of His kingdom. The bad news is: if people won't listen to the Father, the Son, and Moses, why will they listen to us? The good news is that God wants them to listen to us, and He backs us up. God backed up Moses by appearing publicly in power in the dense cloud so they might "have faith in" Moses (Ex 19:9). He continues to back up with power all who proclaim His Word (Mk 16:15, 17).

Therefore, don't focus on the reception you get when you spread God's Word. Focus instead on the certain knowledge that God is with you, backing you up. "Do not be afraid. Go on speaking and do not be silenced, for" God is "with you" (Acts 18:9-10).

 
Prayer: "The Lord is my Helper, I will not be afraid; what can man do to me?" (Heb 13:6) Lord, I will spread Your Word in faith.
Promise: "Blest are your eyes because they see and blest are your ears because they hear." —Mt 13:16
Praise: St. Bridget served God as wife, mother, foundress, author, mystic, and saint.

41 posted on 07/23/2015 6:14:59 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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