Reflections

  Sharing the Good News Luke 1: 39 – 45 V41“When Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with Holy Spirit”. Having received the divine disclosure from the angel of the Lord regarding the birth of the son of God through her, Mary hastened to share this good news to Elizabeth, her elderly relative who lives in the far away hill country, a town in Judah. Mary and Elizabeth were facing similar but very distinct experience in their life. Mary being a virgin and Elizabeth being considered barren were not supposed to conceive. Nevertheless, God uses their womb to bring hope and redemption to the people in darkness and despair.  REASON FOR MARY'S VISIT  The reason of Mary’s visitation is not clearly specified here. We could simply speculate that Mary wanted to avoid the embarrassing situation from her neighborhood when they come to know about her pregnancy. More possibly, her journey was to witness the extraordinary sign that Gabriel ha

  Sharing the Good News  Romans 10: 9-17 V15 "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news". 1.) Those who are saved and experience Christ can share the good news (vs9-13) Jesus Christ is the good news or the gospel. We have to ask ourselves and confess with our tongue, believe in our hearts that God raised us from death and we are saved. If we trust in the Lord, we will never be put to shame. When we call upon him, he will richly bless us. 2.) Spreading the good news (vs14-15) When we have believed firmly that we are saved our only duty is to preach. We are to preach the good news under the sky with no limits and no boundaries. Nothing on earth should stop us from becoming the disciple of Christ. We can become a witness in our places of work; our action must attract others to Christ. Sharing our testimony great or small will help us to spread the Gospel. "How beautiful are the feet of those who walk for the Lord". 3.) The God of Magnificent Miracles (vs1

  Thanksgiving Day St. Luke  17: 11-19 Luke  17:15-16 “… When he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet…”                                       FROM KYRIE ELEISON TO HALLELUJAH Martin Luther when asked how he would describe the nature of true worship. His answer was the tenth leper turning back. This passage speaks of the healing of ten lepers by Jesus Christ on his way to Jerusalem. The ten lepers approach Jesus with a broken heart requesting him to be merciful in supplying a very pertinent need of theirs - To be healed of leprosy because of which they have become outcasts. Jesus responds with compassion that aids in their healing. However one of the leper, a Samaritan, returns in haste to the one who healed him. His response teaches us that experiencing God in our lives should lead to a faithful response.   In contrast to the general understanding that our healing is a response to our faith, here we see faith bei

  Sharing the Good News Genesis 18: 1-15 V: 10” Then the Lord said,” I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son”. In this Old Testament passage, Lord is sharing the good news with Abraham. St. Paul in Romans 9:9 emphasizes this divine promise of the Lord - For this is what the promise stated: "At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son."  Abraham had two sons one out of his servant Hagar, but that is of flesh and the son of Sarah, Isaac, is by divine promise (Galatians 4:23). In Matthew 1:1–17, we see that Jesus Christ son of God was born as a descendant of Isaac. Thus we see Isaac and Jesus Christ are by the intervention of Lord the God. Devine blessings are always with the chosen, nothing is impossible for the Lord (Genesis 18: 13)    Parallel to Genesis 18: 10, in the new testament the Risen Lord Jesus give a message, the great commission, to his disciples “ (Mark 16:15) And He said to them, “Go into all t

  Understanding the Law to Appreciate the Promise Galatians  3:15-22 10 “Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the Lord.  Today’s passage may initially feel challenging to understand because references to the law and distinctions between singular and plural forms of a word are not our usual topics of conversation. However, Paul also repeats the word “promise” throughout the passage, so it seems like he is trying to drive home a message. Promises can be either conditional, based on upholding an agreement, or unconditional. I remember making many conditional promises to God when I was younger, which often happened during times of trouble. My condition was usually to read my Bible more regularly or pray more fervently in exchange for God providing a good test score. Unfortunately, I would inevitably revert to my old habits despite all my best intentions to fulfill my promise. As an adult, I am more cautious of making promises because I am

  Prophecy or Prediction Zechariah  2:10-13 10 “Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the Lord.  Harold Camping was a Christian radio broadcaster who served as president of Family Radio. Camping is infamous for issuing a series of failed predictions for the second coming of Christ. Camping first predicted that the judgment day would occur on September 6, 1994. When it didn’t occur, he changed the date to September 29 and then to October 2. In 2005, Camping once again made his fourth prediction with a date of May 21, 2011, and that "there would follow five months of fire, brimstone, and plagues on Earth, with millions of people dying each day, culminating on October 21, 2011, with the final destruction of the world." It is now November 2021 and we are still here. Five incorrect predictions of the second coming of Christ is the legacy of Harold Camping.  Today’s passage is about the vision of the prophet Zechariah, one of a hand