Loving God for the gift of this precious day let the spirit of this dear reader be thankful and blessed; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Our text for today comes from Matthew 11: 16 "How can I account for this generation? The people have been like spoiled children whining to their parents, 17 'We wanted to skip rope, and you were always too tired; we wanted to talk, but you were always too busy.' 18 John came fasting and they called him crazy. 19 I came feasting and they called me a lush, a friend of the riff-raff. Opinion polls don't count for much, do they? The proof of the pudding is in the eating." 25 Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer: "Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You've concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people. 26 Yes, Father, that's the way you like to work." 27 Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly. "The Father has given me all these things to do and say. This is a unique Father-Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge. No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does. But I'm not keeping it to myself; I'm ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen. 28 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. 29 Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 30 Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." (The Message)
I have shared with you before that my daughters' tastes in television shows vary just a bit from mine. There are some that I just will not watch, others that I have come to tolerate, and some that I actually like. One that I am not a fan of is "I Survived." As the name implies it is a show about those people who have had life-threatening experiences and have survived somehow. In recapping last night's episode my daughter did share something that was important; all the people in the different experiences said that they prayed harder than ever and all survived. Prayer is a basic teaching of the church and yet it is one that is being ignored and discounted more and more. In this gospel passage Jesus is talking about Who to know and what to know. The generation He mentions is out of touch with God, then He prays, and then He explains that in having a relationship (prayer) with God one learns the real stuff, the basic but powerful stuff that is needed to survive. Underlying that all is the simple message we also should be sharing: Never give up. Never give up on God for God never gives up on you.
Come into that relationship, turn over your biggest burdens to God and rest!
PRAYER: Loving God, bring me into the fullness of life through a relationship with You. Help me to find relief from the loads I have been carrying. Help me to trust You more. I ask all of this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
