Ordinary Time: Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Old Testament Lesson

1 Samuel 15:24-35

It is interesting the explanation Saul gives for his sin. He says he feared the people and they would do. We've all been there, right? That's something we call peer pressure. But there is something that is of great importance here. Who should we "fear" more? Others or God. Saul was more afraid of what the people wanted instead of what God wanted.

That is a place we are sometimes caught in. We feel torn between what we know the world wants and what know that God wants. Saul went the wrong way, and it got him in trouble. That's ultimately what sin does. It destroys that relationship between us and God, and between each of us as well. After this, Saul's relationship with God was destroyed, so was his relationships with others. That is ultimately what sin does. It destroys these things.

New Testament Lesson

Acts 9:32-43

We see the main purpose of the miracles that Paul performed today was not so that he could look great or holy, but it was so that people would turn to the Lord. That is the reason for the good that we do. We do good to help those in need. We do good to alleviate suffering, to make life better for those less fortunate, and to give from the blessings that the Lord has given us.

Jesus told us to do our good works before others so that they would praise our Father above. Remember, we are just the vessel. Any good done through us, God deserves ultimate praise. But, how awesome is it that He wants to use us!?! Of all the ways that God could have chosen to change the world, He wants to use us. That is a high calling, and a high praise that we have. Let us live lives worthy of that calling.

Gospel Lesson

Luke 23:56b-24:11

It was at this point some of what Jesus told them began to sink in. We are told here after they are reminded of what Jesus said that they remember. This makes me feel much better. We don't always get what God is trying to say the first time around. We don't always understand what He is doing. Sometimes we aren't listening, or we aren't understanding.

Don't feel too bad. Neither did they. They stayed faithful, they obeyed, even when the didn't understand, and eventually, they understood. We're not going to always understand what God is doing. But, there will come a time in the life of faith when we slap our heads and say, Oh, now I get it! Today, the women understood what He had said. It took the guys a little longer, but eventually they all understood.

One day, so will we all. So, don't lose faith, don't loose hope. If you don't understand or get what God is saying right now, you aren't the first, you won't be the last. Hold fast, you will soon see what He is doing.