Ordinary Time: Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Old Testament Lesson

Genesis 3:1-24

There are so many things that we can talk about in the story of the fall. But, I want to reflect upon the response of everyone involved. God asked Adam, why? He said, not my fault, its the woman that you gave me. Then God asked why? She said, not my fault, its the snake. So, I guess it is nobodies fault?

And so it begins. The passing of the buck that continues to this day. Sometimes we feel like the easiest way to try to get out of trouble is to pass the buck to whoever we can. But, that doesn't solve the problem. It just keeps the cycle of blame and sin going.

Sometimes in our mistakes, the hardest, but the most essential thing to do is to say, I messed up. I made a mistake. Through God's grace, I'll do everything to keep it from happening again. Adam and Eve never did that. May we have the grace to do it when we make a mistake.

New Testament Lesson

Hebrews 2:1-10

We see in the end of this passage something interesting. The author said that God should make the pioneer of salvation perfect through suffering. What does this mean for us? We can learn something through everything we go through. Every experience in life can teach us something. Sometimes the lesson can be as simple as don't do that again. But, in all of life, we can learn.

Even through the hard parts. Event through the sufferings. Today, in all that we do, may we learn something for our good and God's glory.

Gospel Lesson

John 1:19-28

One of the important things to remember in life is that we all have a task. We all have a purpose. We all have something that God has called us alone to do. Sometimes it is something glamorous. Sometimes it is something fun. Sometimes it is something that we might not what to do. But, in every case, we must remember why we do what we do. We do it for God's glory and we do it for His plan.

Today, John did what he was called to do. His job was not to be the savior of the world. His job was to make ready the way for the savior of the world. Today, we each have something we were called by God to do. May we be faithful in that.