Sept. 1 Lectionary # 433 and correction of a false email sent with yesterday's blog...Sorry someone broke in on my computer.

Scripture: for Sept. 1. today. Lectionary # 433. I Cor. 3:1-9. Psalm
33:12-13.14-15.20-21. Luke 4: 38-44:

Luke entertains us with one of his great summaries of a day in the life of
Jesus. We observe Jesus teaching, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom,
healing, and casting out any evil spirit that may be bothering people. All
this includes us as we apply the reading to ourselves! We are encouraged
by Benedict XVI to make of our listening and reading Scripture a "Lectio
Divina"-- which is a spiritual pondering over the word of God slowly and
deeply. This enables us to apprciate Luke's day in the life of our Lord and
Savior Jesus.

Jesus probably is leaving the synagogue while it is near the end of the
morning. He makes his way to the home of Peter where he normally would
stay on his missionary journey in the closer villages surround the lake of
Galilee on the western side. He could also make a pop-in visit to see his
mother Mary in Nazareth if he were near her home. Peter's home is now more
convenient. Jesus discovers that Peter's mother-in-law is ill so he stands
near her and somehow through his power chases the fever from her. She then
gets up and gives them a typical light meal. Jesus probably is able to
have some moments of rest before more and more people come to be healed of
their infirmities of mind and body.

Demons are expelled and they shout out that they know why he can do this to
them. He is the Son of God. Their knowledge of who he is does not mean the
same as our experience of the living Christ who speaks to us through the
Scriptures. Jesus silences them and does not want to be known as the
Messiah among the crowds. In Mark this secrecy of Jesus about who he is
called "the messianic secret." In Luke, this is not developed as a secret,
but rather as a caution for Jesus not giving himself over to be attacked or
made into a military type of Messiah who is going to free Israel from the
Romans.

The very next day, Jesus takes up the same pattern but insists on moving on
to towns and villages where he has not been able to meet people and teach,
preach, and heal them. Again, in early morning, he starts in the synagogue
or the place where people gather for prayer as well as for socializing and
learning about what is going on among them.

We, too, have definite patterns to our week days and even our weekends may
tend to have a certain programmed schedule of things we like to do or
places to visit. There is a certain routine to our lives. As the hours
pass on we have some moments where we can rest and reflect upon our life
and how Jesus fits into it. These short pauses are prayer and help to make
our day more in tune with the presence of Jesus within us. At the end of
the day we realize we may have healed someone spiritually or just made them
feel better about themselves. It was then a good day and we brought Good
News to them and not bad news. Jesus was there for us and we were there for
him. Amen.