How wonderful it is to know that we are all very precious and so loved by God our Father. Not it any abstract sense but in a very tangible way through His beloved Son our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ.
Yet there are many who seek to rob us of our heavenly inheritance. By poisoning our minds against God, His church and even one another. Some not realising that they themselves have been robbed by giving up their free will to choose to mock Him and His church. Then there are those who in the guise of a holy exterior lead others astray by their sullied thoughts, words and actions. They spread the modern day yeast of the Pharisees! Then there is the world at large who sells happiness for all, live and let live, never mind that it goes against moral laws or values. ‘Survival is for the fittest’ in this ‘dog eat dog world’ we live in. All these threats are real and if we do not ground ourselves in the Word and love of our Lord then, well there will be hell to pay.
We the faithful, have nothing to fear. For the promises of God our Father has been fulfilled through Jesus. And He is calling and gathering all who have been scattered back unto Him. To embrace us all with His love and to set us free from the bonds of sin. So that we no longer live as victims but as victors in Him our Risen Lord. Amen
First reading
Ephesians 1:11-14
You have been stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit
It is in Christ that we were claimed as God’s own,
chosen from the beginning,
under the predetermined plan of the one who guides all things
as he decides by his own will;
chosen to be,
for his greater glory,
the people who would put their hopes in Christ before he came.
Now you too, in him,
have heard the message of the truth and the good news of your salvation,
and have believed it;
and you too have been stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit of the Promise,
the pledge of our inheritance
which brings freedom for those whom God has taken for his own, to make his glory praised.
Gospel
Luke 12:1-7
Not one sparrow is forgotten in God’s sight
The people had gathered in their thousands so that they were treading on one another. And Jesus began to speak, first of all to his disciples. ‘Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees – that is, their hypocrisy. Everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. For this reason, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in hidden places will be proclaimed on the housetops.
‘To you my friends I say: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. I will tell you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has the power to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Can you not buy five sparrows for two pennies? And yet not one is forgotten in God’s sight. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. There is no need to be afraid: you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.’
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