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Deacon's Page |
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The Lord Before Us
Our hearts are glad, our souls rejoice, our
bodies rest secure! My dear brothers and
sisters, together, we enter the time after
Pentecost with great thanksgiving for our
Lord’s abundant blessings. He shows us that
He is with us, died to save us and is risen
for us, showing us the path of life. In His
presence, we have experienced the fullness
of joy that comes from our incredible life
in, with and through Him.
Throughout this year, we have experienced
that incredible life, praying through the
seasons of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent
and Easter. Through all our celebrations,
we have witnessed the birth, life, death,
resurrection and ascension of our Savior,
Jesus Christ. And we live in the hope of
His coming again, knowing that we shall be
raised to life eternal with God--the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Yet still, as we now celebrate the Spirit
coming down and bringing the Good News of
salvation to all in their native tongues, we
are reminded that our Lord Jesus Christ is
not only with us through the power of the
Holy Spirit, but He was, is and will be
before us always.
Yes, our Lord Jesus was before us. He is
the Word spoken to create all that we know.
As the Father spoke those creative words
during those six magnificent days of
creation, He spoke the Word that is Jesus,
who truly was before us, before the making
of Adam, the One who is the Alpha, the
beginning. And from that beginning, Jesus
was before us. He was before us as the
spoken Word of God, the voice of the Lord
guiding and directing the children of
Israel. He was before us as the Word who
came through songs of praise and words of
wisdom. He was before us through the voices
of prophets who were chosen to teach and
lead God’s chosen people. He was before us,
the Word always at the forefront of the
faithful believers.
Born of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Lord
lived a sinless life before us, ministering
to all in need at all times. And, before us
all, He proclaimed the Good News of love and
salvation, calling people to cure the sick,
raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out
demons and give freely without payment. He
called His followers to be ministers of His
Word, bringers of His truth to a world in
need.
Then, saving us from the sin in which we
live on this earth, our Lord went before
us. He went before us on the cross to die
for our sin and then He went before us from
the tomb to rise for our salvation. In His
death and resurrection, the same death and
resurrection that is ours through Holy
Baptism, our Lord shows that He is before
us, taking us to new life through His life.
He is before us, showing us that we may be
flawed in our own understanding but, through
the One who truly understands us, we are
given lifted hearts, resting souls and
secure bodies for His service.
As our hearts proclaim His gladness, as our
souls rest in His peace and as our bodies
are securely filled His Spirit, we bring our
Lord before the world that needs Him. We
bring Him before the world as we give thanks
in the Sacrament of the Altar, seeing Christ
truly present at His table. We bring to the
world His body and blood that heals broken
hearts, binds up wounds and opens us to
being truly loved. We bring Jesus before
the world that needs to hear the Psalmist’s
song: “I keep the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not
be moved.”
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let
us remain unmoved and unwavering, for Jesus
is before us. And, in that same love that
was before creation… in that same love that
came down for our salvation… in that same
love that is for all the nations, we see
that He shall be before us forever. For our
Lord ascended into heaven before us,
preparing our place in His glorious kingdom
so that we may live with Him forever. And,
as He prepares that place, He remains before
us, both in our present and in our
future--guarding, guiding, leading,
directing, teaching, opening and loving us
at all times. So, together, as we look
forward to His coming again, we hold fast to
the promise of our resurrection, where our
Lord Jesus shall be before us as Alpha and
Omega, our beginning and end.
Therefore, the words of the Psalmist’s song
become our words of prayer: “I keep
the Lord always before me; because he is at
my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul
rejoices; my body also rests secure. For
you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your
faithful one see the Pit. You show me the
path of life. In your presence there is
fullness of joy; in your right hand are
pleasures for evermore.”
My dear friends in Christ, let this
be your prayer. Let this be your Word of
truth. Let this be your understanding. Let
this be your hope, your life and your true
love, since in the great and steadfast love
of God, the Lord is before us always.
Blessings, peace and love,
Deacon Gonzalez |
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