Notes from the Pastor

The Word of the Lord is spirit and life. It is spoken with sincere love and concern for our lives. Through His Word, God calls us to be holy as He is holy. Through His Word, God forms us to be His people. Through His Word, He strengthens us. We must be open to listen to His Word and to accept it into our hearts. In doing so, we receive the blessings that strengthen us to fulfill its commands and teachings in our daily lives. As God’s Word takes root in our daily lives, we manifest the presence of God to the world. This Living Word of God leads to eternal life.

n our First Reading today (Genesis 16:2-4, 12-15), God gave the Israelites bread from Heaven to sustain them on their Exodus journey from slavery in Egypt to the freedom of the Promised Land. The manna appeared on the ground each morning near the place where the people had camped. They could gather only what they needed for that day. If anyone tried to hoard more than a day’s portion, it would spoil overnight and could not be eaten the next day. Only on the sixth day (Friday) could they gather and save enough Manna for two days so that they could observe the Sabbath rest on Saturday and avoid the work of gathering Manna on the Sabbath. This manna truly was their daily bread, and God provided it in this way so that they could learn to trust that God would look out for them and provide for them.

In the Old Testament, the prophet Micah spoke of the expectations of the Lord God that were not only applicable in Old Testament times, but in our times as well. In Micah 6:6-8 it is written: “You have been told, Oh man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.” And yet, throughout salvation history there has been a tendency on the part of human beings to ignore God, or at best, be complacent in their relationship with God.

Jesus was often surrounded by crowds. They followed him through the countryside and gathered around him in the cities. They pushed their way into homes where he was staying. In one instance, they even tore away the roof tiles to reach him that he might cure a paralytic.

Do you remember being out a recess during school and teams being picked for baseball or dodgeball or some other game? It could be scary, thinking about how it would turn out. Will I be the last one picked? Will everybody laugh at me? Will I be good enough? Many of us may approach our faith and relationship with Jesus the same way, asking whether or not God will choose us; whether or not we are “good enough.” The Good News for each of us today is that God has already chosen us, and send us out on a mission that we can accomplish through his grace, power, and authority.

Today’s passage from the Gospel of Mark (Mark 6:1-6) is quite revealing. Those who had gathered in the synagogue that was located in Jesus’ “native place” clearly were familiar with Jesus because they began to name his family – Mary, his mother; his brothers, James and Joses, Judas and Simon. They even mention his sisters. It is important to note that this identification as brothers and sisters must be taken within the context of the culture and language in which in which Jesus was living. These “brothers and sisters” would be more like extended family, perhaps cousins. This passage in no way contradicts the truth that Mary conceived Jesus by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit and that she remained ever-virgin, having had no other children.

One important message that we hear in today’s Scripture Readings is that God created all things for good. Still, we cannot deny that there is evil in the world. Illness, poverty, injustice, and war are frequently in the news, but these things do not come from God. Pain, violence, and death came into the world as a result of sin – of man’s disobedience and belief in the lies of the devil.

Today we celebrate the Nativity (Birth) of Saint John the Baptist. In all four Gospels, the descriptions of St. John the Baptist are of a man who understands that his task is to prepare, and then to fade away from the scene, careful at all times not to distract from Jesus, whom he describes as the Lamb of God.