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INTRO TO THE STUDY OF LUKE:
“Walking with the Word” is the name of our scripture program. We are studying the “Gospel of Luke”.
PERENNIAL HUMAN CONCERN: worry, anxiety, gut-wrenching fear, dread of the future
DIVINE RESPONSE:
“Do not be afraid!” (Lk 1:13, 30; 2:10) It is the Lord who speaks!
“With God, nothing is impossible!” (Lk 1:37)
Every human longing—even the need to be rescued from fear—resolves itself into the search for a person, a person in whom you can place your complete trust. [para. JPII]
The name Jesus means “one who saves”.
How can you, as a Christian, be delivered from anxiety and fear?
How can you “set the scene” for God to change your life?
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THEME FOR TODAY’S LESSON:
Our theme for today’s lesson is WISDOM :
“the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom” [Lk 2:40]
“And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man” [Lk 2:52]
Theophilus—(friend of God)—“that you may know the truth” [Lk 1:3-4]
-gift of the Holy Spirit
-Paul: put on the “mind of Christ” [1Cor 2:16]
-ultimate trust in Christ and his Church
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PART 1 OF TODAY’S LESSON (Lk Ch. 1 - 2):
For a good look at WISDOM (COURAGE, STRENGTH and STEADFASTNESS), open your Bible to Luke chapter 1:
Godly WISDOM is the MEDICINE given to us by Jesus Christ, the Divine PHYSICIAN. It strengthens human trust, our spiritual immune system. WISDOM brings TRUST. Trust drives away FEAR. Our soul can love God. We can wait on the Lord with patience.
What, then, does spiritual WISDOM consist of? What do Chapters 1 – 2 of Luke’s gospel tell us?
YOU GROW IN WISDOM WHEN YOU OBEY GOD:
-MARY: “I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word” [Lk 1:38]
-ELIZABETH: “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord” [Lk 1:45]
-Wisdom is the love and understanding of GOD’S IDEAS. God’s truth enables us to judge the things of heaven and the things of earth.
-wisdom brings about a believer’s proper respect and reverence for God and our Catholic religion
YOU GROW IN WISDOM WHEN YOU PRAISE GOD. Spend your time faithfully in God’s temple—the Church—praising God!
1. Mary’s magnificat [Lk 1:46-55]
2. Zechariah’s song [Lk 1:67-79]
3. song of heavenly angels [Lk 2:14]
4. Simeon’s song [Lk 2:29-35]
5. Jesus in temple [Lk 2:41-52]
YOU GROW IN WISDOM WHEN YOU SEEK AND FIND AND CLING TO THE HOLY SPIRIT:
-JOHN THE BAPTIST: “he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb” [Lk 1:15]
-WISDOM makes the soul responsive to the Holy Spirit
-wisdom is a GIFT from the Holy Spirit that enables a believer to contemplate the mysteries of heaven and eternity
YOU GROW IN WISDOM WHEN YOU RESPECT ALL HUMAN LIFE:
-from conception to natural death
-especially the weak, the helpless, the innocent
1. JOHN THE BAPTIST: “he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb” [Lk 1:15]
2. GABRIEL (GOD): “you will conceive in your womb and bear a son” [Lk 1:31]
3. ELIZABETH: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the FRUIT of your womb” [Lk 1:42]
4. ELIZABETH: “when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy” [Lk 1:44] ( mentioned 2X) (BOTH mothers & unborn children)
5. BIRTHS of JBAPT & JESUS: [Lk 1:57-80 JBAPT] [Lk 2:1-21]
6. ZECHARIAH: “you child...will go before the Lord to prepare his ways” [Lk 1:76]
7. ANGELIC HOST: “for to you is born this day in the City of David, a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord” [Lk 2:10-14]
8. MARY: “Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart” [Lk 2:19]
PART 2 OF TODAY’S LESSON (Lk Ch. 1 - 2):
YOU GROW IN WISDOM WHEN YOU SPEAK THE WORD OF GOD AND PURGE YOUR VOCABULARY OF ALL WORDS OF FEAR, COMPLAINING, and WHINING:
-you may be in distress, even great distress, but don’t surrender to dead and lifeless words. Don’t surrender to the Word of the World; instead, surrender to the WORD OF GOD.
-cast away all talk of hopelessness and negativity
-adopt God’s vocabulary of PRAISE. TRUST the God you praise. TRUST in the VICTORY that Christ has won for you. PRAISE God for the VICTORY that is yours by right as a Christian. The name Jesus means “one who saves”.
WHAT THEN IS THE DIVINE RESPONSE TO HUMAN WEAKNESS? YOU HAVE ONLY TO PICK UP THE WORD OF GOD, LUKE CHAPTERS 1 – 2 TO LEARN:
“Do not be afraid!” [Lk 1:13, 30; 2:10] It is the Lord who speaks!
“With God, nothing is impossible!” [Lk 1:37]
LUKE 1:46. And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord,
47. and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48. for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed;
49. for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
50. And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation.
51. He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts,
52. he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree;
53. he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away.
54. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
55. as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever."
How can you, as a Christian, be delivered from anxiety and fear? How can you “set the scene” for God to change your life?
Whatever form it might take, your search is a search for a person, a person in whom you can place your total trust. [JPII] That person is Jesus Christ our Lord.
God doesn’t die on the day when you STOP believing in him or when you live AS IF you didn’t believe in him. God doesn’t come alive when you START to believe in him. Rather, you DIE when you don’t believe in him. You LIVE when you do believe in him.
You can take this “to the bank”: A person’s faith in Jesus Christ is strong ONLY when he HEARS, RECEIVES, and ACTS on the TRUTH of Christ and his Church.
WRITE THIS ON YOUR HEART: You cannot separate the MAN from the TRUTH. To ACCEPT Christ means you must accept his TRUTH. You can’t have one without the other. To accept Jesus Christ ALL THE WAY means you must accept his truth ALL THE WAY.
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RECAP:
For a Catholic mother and father, the saddest words can be: “I USED TO BE CATHOLIC”. Think about it. Your faith or someone else’s. First comes a denial of the truth. Then comes the denial of Jesus Christ.
Every person has a name. I think every person’s SOUL should have a name. Each Catholic believer’s soul should be named THEOPHILUS which means “friend of God”. FOR WHAT PURPOSE: (not for entertainment or socializing in the name of worship) but “that you may know the truth”! [Lk 1:4] We call this wisdom!
MARY, the mother of God and mother of the Church is given to us that we may know that true wisdom only comes from God. This wisdom that sets the scene for the most PROFOUND AND WELCOME PEACE in the heart of man.
You LIVE when you believe in Christ with ALL your HEART, SOUL, MIND, STRENGTH. And you’ll live ABUNDANTLY and PEACEFULLY when you place your total trust in the person you have come to know as Jesus Christ. If you want to KNOW Jesus Christ in a personal and intimate way, LIVE IN his Bride the Church!
© Rev. Richard E. Barker 2006
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ADDENDUM:
LETTER TO FATHER BARKER:
“Walking with the Word”, Radio Maria, June 2, 2006
To: fatherbarker@adventuschristi.org
“I enjoyed you program yesterday very much. It spoke to me about not being afraid. I struggle with different kinds of fear (not big ones) and I wonder why a person who frequents the Sacrament of the Eucharist daily and does all the things "that we are supposed to do" can struggle with these fears as I do.”
Steve B.
Sulphur Louisiana
FATHER BARKER’S REPLY:
Greetings Steve--
Fear is a human condition in this broken world; it will remain a struggle for every person until Christ returns and puts this "enemy" at his feet. What God has promised is this--that we may be delivered from the deadly power of fear.
Yes, you will confront it, but you need not "receive" it. Nor be governed by it. Jesus confronted fear in the Garden of Gethsemane; he carried the sum of all our fears on his shoulders: "And his sweat became as drops of blood running down upon the
ground." [Lk 22:44]
He cried out: My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Jesus' words speak of our refuge when fear hangs close--Into your hands, Lord, I commend my Spirit.
WISDOM is a gift of the Holy Spirit. This gift, more than any other, is given to us as medicine. Its supreme effect is bringing welcome peace to the human heart. Just so, growing in the "mind of Christ" is hard work.
Attaining wisdom is the real human struggle. You may have to put up with harassment from fear at times. But you must struggle to grow in wisdom. Be a warrior whose great power is wisdom. And look up Ephesians Ch 6:10-17: "The Armor of God".
I will keep you in my prayers, Steve.
In the love of Jesus and Mary,
Sincerely, Fr Barker
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