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Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Meditation
Matthew 8:23-27

Have you ever felt so fully loved by someone that you thought nothing could ever go wrong again in your life? We often hear stories about the brave young knight who rescues the princess and whisks her away to live happily ever after with him. We see newlyweds who are so caught up in each other’s love that the whole world is new for them.

As beautiful as these images are, experience tells us that fairy tales are just fairy tales and that all married couples face steep challenges as well as times of complete joy and security. But while we are all flawed and bring our flaws with us into marriage, God is not flawed. He is perfect. He is the brave young knight who rescues us. He is the perfect lover of our souls. As idealistic as it may seem, God loves us completely, unconditionally, and passionately. His love has the power to drive away every fear, remove every worry, and heal every wound. That’s what this story of the storm at sea is all about.

Jesus was able to sleep through the storm because he knew that no matter what happened, his Father loved him and would not abandon him. The disciples, on the other hand, feared for their lives because they had yet to learn how deeply God cared for them. Jesus asked them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26), not because he was angry with them but because he wanted them to see the contrast between his reaction to the storm and theirs. He wanted them to see that it was a matter of faith, and not foolishness; a matter of trust and not recklessness.

God wants us all to have the faith in his love that Jesus has. He knows it doesn’t come automatically, and so every day he gives us opportunities—both large and small—to trust him and to let him prove himself to us. He knows that the more we take steps of faith the greater our trust will be. And, the greater our trust, the more peaceful we will become—to the point where we will utterly amaze those who have yet to discover the treasures of the Father’s love.

“Father, I abandon myself to you. I believe that you hold me fast, whatever situation I may face. I know that I can rest secure in your love.”

Genesis 19:15-29; Psalm 26:2-3,9-12

One Bread, One Body

<< Tuesday, June 28, 2005 >>

St. Irenaeus

Genesis 19:15-29

Psalm 26

Matthew 8:23-27

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TOUR GUIDES

Jesus “got into the boat and his disciples followed Him.” —Matthew 8:23

After the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus decided to take the disciples on a tour with Him. It was a healing, miracle, and deliverance tour. The disciples saw a leper cleansed, the centurion’s servant healed of paralysis, Peter’s mother-in-law healed of a fever, a storm stopped, two men delivered from demons, a paralytic cured, the daughter of Jairus raised from the dead, a woman having hemorrhaged for twelve years cured, two blind men given sight, and a mute delivered of a demon and enabled to speak (Mt 8-9). What a tour!

The disciples were sightseers on this tour. At its conclusion, Jesus asked His disciples to pray for tour guides, that is, workers for the harvest (Mt 9:38). They became the answer to their own prayers and were given the authority to do what they had just seen Jesus do.

Jesus has given us “authority to expel unclean spirits and to cure sickness and disease of every kind” (Mt 10:1). Yet most Christians don’t believe Him. We should first go on tour with Jesus and see His mighty works. Then we will believe His promises. Jesus is arranging a miracle, healing, and deliverance tour. Obey Him. Come, see, conquer.

Prayer: Jesus, give me a series of personal experiences of Your almighty power and love.

Promise: “You have already thought enough of Your servant to do me the great kindness of intervening to save my life.” —Gn 19:19

Praise: St. Irenaeus was one of the first Doctors of the Church and vigorously refuted heresy in the early Church.