Contemplate What God Has Done for Us - Homily 5th Sunday of Lent

(Readings)

Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote this from an Alabama jail cell, “There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair.”

We know despair. Despair from injustice heaped upon people by failure to respect human life. Despair from fear of war, terrorism, and civil violence. Despair is thrown at us by television, radio, and the internet. Every day, abysses of despair are experienced in work, family, and personal crises.

Despite all this despair in the world, people still love -families, friends, and communities. Yet, they wonder - Why?

“There comes a time when men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair.” The opposite of despair is hope and as God’s servant, Dr. King knew the importance of hope.

No one can live without hope.

People look for hope in their communities, support groups, or something that promises peace and refuge from a chaotic world. They look for hope in worldly techniques and secular personalities. They don’t think they need God, or Christ, or his Church. People turn to Oprah Winfrey for hope instead of God.

Catholics and Christians know hope is found in Jesus Christ.  Pope Francis said “Jesus made Himself like the grain of wheat that falls to the ground and dies to give life. Our hope springs from that love-filled life.”

Some Greeks came to Philip and asked him, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.

I don’t think these Greeks were looking for the savior of Israel; they were looking for the savior of all the world, the messiah of hope.

Today, we are Christ disciples in the world. We are to bring people to Jesus. We are the Church. For those searching for hope, we bring a fountain of hope, the source of eternal life, Jesus Christ.

So this Easter as we welcome new believers and converts to our family, the Church will offer the world a message not its own.  It is the message of God's self-revelation in Jesus Christ.

A message written on hearts…... A message forever new and renewing; a message received, celebrated, and lived today.

It is the message that from despair can come hope in an encounter with the living God - “When I am lifted up, I will draw everyone to myself."

God speaks to the world through the Church’s message that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the true message of hope. We proclaimed by Holy Spirit that Jesus Christ is the source of eternal salvation.

God brings us together by the Holy Spirit as his Church. God is present in his Church that lives the example and teaching of Jesus. God is present in his Church as “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”

During RCIA, the priest asked my son-in-law what coming into the Church meant to him. He said the Church is like a hospital. We all have times that we are sick and need healing, so we go to the best doctors.

That young man recognizes that the Church is the healing messenger of hope in Jesus Christ. The Church is where we find our great physician, Jesus Christ and come for his healing.

“Whoever serves me must follow me….” So, contemplate what God has done for us. He gives us hope.

My brothers and sisters, hope heals.

Hope heals the despair of personal crises the substance and wisdom of the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. Hope heals the despair of violence as we find the face of Christ in every life.

In the abyss of despair of war, injustice and disrespect for the dignity of human life, the healing of hope is the promise of Jesus Christ who makes all peoples one with him.

Jesus said - for this purpose I came …. the salvation of the world, truly a source of hope.  

Be good, be holy and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ that brings hope to the world by the way you live and love. Amen.

Jesus Understood It Well - Homily Friday Mass/Way of the Cross

(Readings)

In this time of preparation for the LORD, ask: What holds me back from doing God’s will? What keeps me from taking it on?

Maybe it’s fear. Jesus understood it well.

St. Paul tells Timothy “…if we want to live a Godly life we will be persecuted….” The Book of Wisdom says this is how we will be persecuted–

• Let us beset them, because they are obnoxious to us and against our doings
• Let us put them to revilement and torture testing their gentleness and trying their patience.
• Let us see whether their words are true and find what will happen...
• Let us condemn them; their own words are that God will take care of them.

Maybe, we think our voice will not be heard. Jesus understood it well.

• Jesus cried out in the temple as he was teaching, "… I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true. I know him, I am from him, and he sent me."

Maybe the thing, which holds us back, is the reality of human nature. Jesus understood it well.

• Jesus traveled within Galilee but he didn’t want to go to Judea; the Jews were trying to kill him.
• Jesus would not trust himself to them; he knew them all and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself understood it well.
• They tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand upon him, his hour had not yet come.

What holds us back from doing God’s will?  Christ Jesus knew and experienced the same.

Yet, He did God's will. He took it on for us? - AMEN.

Here's Your Sign - Homily 4th Sunday of Lent

(Readings)

Lynn Malone of First United Methodist in Monroe, LA, tells this perspective – “If I could kick the behind of the person who gives me the most trouble, I couldn’t sit down for a week.” It is a good thing to remember.

Lord, let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!

Before cell phones….

Before  Facebook….

Before social media….

Before people ranted to the world on the Internet.....

There was this (Hold up sign) - This sign and the guy waving it seemed to show up, everywhere.

He showed up at ball games both college and professional games. If it was a televised event - golf tournaments, World Series, NBA championships, and even the Super Bowl. He and the sign showed up.

The television cameras always found the John 3:16 guy. It may have been because he usually had on a rainbow colored wig. This was way before people actually wanted their hair to be those colors.

Tim Tebow, as a college football player and Heisman Trophy winner, wore eye black that proclaimed - John 3:16.

And the words of John 3:16 are “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life.”

Now instead of this cardboard sign….. (Hold up sign)

The messages the world gives are abominations polluting God’s people. Abominations of the world keep us from loving God and loving our neighbor. In the absence of that love, we fail to listen to God’s word and God’s message. And, we do wrong. 

Many ignore the word of God. Many forget the message of John 3:16. Many want to forget God

In these, enemies are still attacking God. The enemies of God are attacking the house of God. The enemies of God are attacking the temple made up of true believers.

In the modern world, the enemy is not some distant king; but, it is the people around us who have become the enemies of God. They reject His love and His mercy. They choose exile from him - instead of eternity with him.

In our world the physical defines who we are, what we are, what we believe. It can be difficult to believe anything else. People will say this-  that I can touch and feel - that I can see -  that I can smell or taste – that makes me feel this way - is the most important thing to me. This is my god.

In the wickedness of their god, they cannot believe in the goodness and love of God.  Jesus said whoever does not believe has already been condemned. God the father does not condemn. The Son does not condemn. Those who choose the darkness condemn themselves.

Light has come into the world; but, people preferred darkness to light….

Look around. How many people do you see holding up the message of God? How many are holding up the sign that says I believe. (Hold up sign)

Instead you will probably see other agendas. Abominations that are a perverse understanding of God that is not about love. These scandals can exist even in those who call themselves Christians.

Those who worship the things of the world add infidelity to infidelity. Everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light. Those who choose the darkness condemn themselves.

I am not pointing fingers at any one person, because we are all always just one choice away from darkness. The line that divides the light from the darkness passes right through the middle of our heart. Every choice we make moves us closer to heaven or to hell. Every choice is either for the light of the world or for darkness.

For those who have problems with belief, for those fighting darkness, and for all of us in middle – Here’s your sign. (Hold up sign)

Remember - We are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus. God is always open to our change: ready for our repentance in His kindness to us in Jesus Christ. It is by grace we are saved.

Lord, let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!

Be good, be holy and preach this Gospel. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life.” Amen.

Barber Shop Preaching - Homily Reflection 3rd Sunday of Lent

(Readings)

We know the 10 commandments. We’ve learned them since childhood. Most of the commandments are the moral compass of humanity. I say most, one commandment troubles many people, I, the LORD, am your God. You shall not have other gods besides me.

We talked about this at the barber shop, Friday.

My barber is a good barber. He went to barber school not beauty school. His barber shop is a haven of manly discussion: sports, hunting, fishing, the garden, family and acquaintances, and politics.

His barber shop has a television, the daily newspaper, and old magazines; but, next to the barber’s chair is a worn and well-read bible. On the occasion I am the only customer, the discussion turns to the Bible and I experience this man’s passion for God, salvation, and his interpretation of scripture.

Raised Catholic, he has not been to mass in quite some time. He has problems with Church, with all churches; yet, he passionately seeks God. Under-neath his rebellion against the Church, his catechism still shows; so, I invite him to mass.

Friday, the conclusion he arrived at in our discussion was the Church doesn’t preach about Hell enough. I didn’t want to disagree; he had scissors in one hand and a razor in the other.

It’s hard to preach hell in a short homily; but, the Catholic Church has never stopped and will never stop preaching the perils of sin, which is hell.

Hell is real. God predestines no one to go to hell - in freedom they make the choice to willfully turn away from God. It is there in the commandments. I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for wickedness of those who hate me.... Mercy for those who love me.

We freely choose to love God and to be united with God. We cannot love God in sin against him, against our neighbor or against ourselves. To die without repenting and accepting God's merciful love is to remain separated from him forever by our free choice. This self-exclusion from God is "hell."(CCC1033)  Gehenna, the unquenchable fire, reserved for those who refuse to believe. (CCC1034)

Our sin is idols; the things other than God, we bow down and worship. Even the Bible can be an idol.  

The Bible is a great tool. It is the story of salvation history. The Old Testament points us to Christ. The New Testament is the explanation of God’s salvation through Jesus Christ. Many forget it’s a tool, a book of inspired writings meant as instructions, and make it an idol to worship. 

It is the same of the rosary, the image of the cross, and the corpus. They are great tools to reflect on the mystery of God; but, people tend to make them idols.

Friday night, as we experienced mass, prayed and reflected during Stations of the Cross and Adoration, the Holy Spirit put this in my heart.

After three days, Mary and Joseph found Jesus in the temple. His mother said to him - Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

So, I will disagree with my barber. The problem is not preaching Hell. The problem is not preaching Jesus Christ. Too many have transposed the temple of God onto the Bible.

It is a product of our world. It’s a problem of television with superstar preachers that preach their interpretation of the Bible. If they preach that God’s will is their need for a jet pane - send money. They do not preach Christ crucified.

Jesus found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money changers. He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, and he said, "Take these out of here, and stop making my Father's house a marketplace."

We must know the consequences of sin. But, we need the Church. Many don not understand the importance of God’s the temple. This Church is a temple of God. It was built to house the throne of our Lord, the tabernacle. 

We look for Jesus in so many places, but in his own words: Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house? 

Christ is in the temple. It is the same Jesus Christ who sends believers out to proclaim the Gospel of the Lord.

We proclaim “Mercy for those who love him. We proclaim Christ crucified. We proclaim the Lord is our God; and, that is a stumbling block for so many.

My brothers and sisters go out into the world, the market place, the barbershop, beauty shop, and proclaim the good news. Invite them to Our Father’s house and the real presence of Christ. Invite them to mass.

Do this by being good and being holy.

Each of us is called to preach the power and wisdom of God, the gospel of Christ by the way we live and love. Amen. 

Abraham Had a Knife - 2nd Sunday of Lent

(Readings)

Have you ever watched a river? The river keeps coming, just like life.  

Like the river, life brings different things with it thoughts, emotions, and experiences.

Our thoughts come floating down. Those thoughts say, “Think about me. Think about me. Think about me.”

Our emotions and feelings come down the river. “Feel me. Feel me. Feel me.”  Or maybe it’s an experience of love or tragedy, “It’s about me. It’s about me. It’s about me.”

Some are good and some are bad. All we see is what is on the surface, thoughts, emotions, experiences of love, and tragedy that can bring fear and doubt.  

We don’t see everything, only see what is above the surface, the part we experience. We fail to see what is pushing it to the surface; the good or bad or both.

We live our lives on the surface. It is the same with faith because our life mingles with our faith like the waters of a river. 

It carried the call of God to Abraham.  Not knowing where life and faith would take him, Abraham listened and obeyed. God blessed him.  

Abraham was following God blind. All Abraham saw was what was on the surface. He knew the promise God made: An abundant blessing with descendants as countless as the stars of the sky and sands of the seashore.

 Abraham still had thoughts “Think about me. Think about me. Think about me.” And emotions – “Feel me. Feel me. Feel me.” And, he had life experiences of love and tragedy, “It’s about me. It’s about me. It’s about me.” He was told "Take your only son Isaac, whom you love, and offer him as a holocaust.”

Abraham’s life and faith came at him like a river. Even though he only saw the surface, He followed God in faith until God allowed him to see what was below the surface.

That river of life and faith kept flowing on the path of salvation. Soon, Peter, James, and John and the rest of the disciples are sitting and watching. They’re following one baptized in a river Jordan, the man called Jesus.   

Jesus told them he would go to Jerusalem and suffer, be killed and on the third day be raised. The disciples saw only the surface.

Thoughts - “Think about me. Think about me. Think about me.” Emotions - “Feel me. Feel me. Feel me.”  Experience – “It’s about me. It’s about me. It’s about me.”   

They saw everything Jesus did: preaching, miracles, and casting out demons. They saw the surface and failed to realize what was underneath.

But, they knew something was there. On the surface, the apostles knew Jesus was a man. They knew him as the son of Mary. They knew he lived and shared their everyday life. They knew He was something more.

Jesus took Peter, James and John to pray on the mountain. God opened their eyes to see below the surface. On the mountain, Jesus was transfigured before their eyes. On the mountain, they learned He was the Son of God. They learned He was the messiah. They learned He was God himself.

God the Father repeated the words said at a river: “This is my beloved son, listen to him.”

Stop living on the surface - look deeper.  

The disciples still looking at the surface questioned “what rising from the dead meant.”

Today our faith is no different. Too many want to live life and faith only on the surface. Many forget God said listen to Jesus. That would mean look to see more than just the surface. It means ignore “me thoughts and me emotions and me experiences.”  

Listen to Jesus. Look deeper. Recognize there is good and there is evil. There are thoughts, emotions, experiences, love, and tragedy that bring fears and doubts. 

Abraham had a knife in his hand. The Apostles ran away.

Remember, watch the river in life and faith pray “Here I am Lord.” Our Lord, Jesus Christ who is at the right hand of God will indeed intercede for us. Remember, God is with us. If God is with us, who can be against us?

Yall be good, yall be holy and preach the gospel by the way you live and love. Amen.

Tied With a Bow - Reflection 1st Sunday of Lend

(Readings)

Julian of Norwich was 13^th Century Catholic Theologian and Mystic. (Link) During a vision of Christ’s pain and suffering, she wondered why sin and evil happened. The world would be better without it.

“But Jesus, who informed me of all that is needed by me, answered and said: ‘It was necessary that there should be sin; but all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.' ”

There has always been evil in the world. In Genesis it is the reason given for the flood:  The earth was corrupt in the view of God and full of lawlessness. The LORD saw how great the wickedness of human beings was on earth, and how every desire their heart conceived was always nothing but evil….

As always, a good and holy person can make a difference. Noah found favor with the LORD. Noah walked with God.

Because of His love for Noah, God saved us by the Ark and efforts of a good and holy man. Noah listened and followed the word of God.

God made a promise to this faithful man and his descendants.  It was a sacred blood promise, a covenant - tied with a (rain)bow.

The Gospel of God was this, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants and every living creature that was with you. There shall not be another flood to devastate the earth

It was necessary, but all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.

But, there has always been evil in the world.

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan.

Jesus overcame temptation and proclaimed the gospel of God:  “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."

To fight the evil that is in the world Jesus tells us to repent, to change our minds from the way of thinking of those around us.

But, there has always been evil and lawlessness in the world.  Evil still exist, it is all around us. School shootings, murders, human trafficking and slavery, violence and attacks on human dignity. Evil attacks all of God’s creation.

Evil has always found a way to attack us in the world. How do we fight evil?

Find a new way of thinking. Proclaim the Gospel as Peter did – repent and be baptized. Baptism, which saves you, is an appeal to God for a clear conscience.

Baptism calls us to a new way of thinking, a clear moral conscience found in the salvation of Jesus Christ. Proclaim the Gospel. Repent the kingdom of heaven is at hand, believe in the gospel.

How do we fight evil? Listened and follow the Word of God. Follow Jesus.

Jesus walked with God. Jesus Christ is the word of God. Christ Jesus is God. He is the new sacred blood promise, the new covenant tied with the bow of the cross. He is the promise of eternal life. Christ suffered for our sins, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God.

We will always wonder why there is sin and evil in the world. 

To that answer, Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser, President of the Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio Texas, writes, God, being so unimaginable in love and power, is able to draw good out of evil, happiness out of suffering, and redemption out of sin in ways that we cannot yet grasp.

It is hard to grasp how good can come from the evil we see in the world. Evil blinds us from knowing how truly great God is; but, Jesus Christ is God’s healing against all the sin and evil in the world.

God’s healing transforms human beings and all of creation that groans in the pains of evil in a world awaiting the salvation of God.  Repent and believe in the gospel and all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.

For each of us, all shall be well, tied with the bow of our baptism.

Be good, be holy and preach the gospel by the way your live and love. Amen.

Lent: A Quiet Secret Place - A Reflection to Begin Lent

Readings

Some people make amazing Lenten Penances. Two of my favorites are: I am giving up Facebook for Lent posted on Facebook. Another one, I giving up Coke, I’ll drink Pepsi until after Lent. These are funny but true.

The words that begin most of our Lenten journeys are these: "Remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return," as the sign of the cross is traced on our foreheads.

Calling attention to the temporary state of our body reminds us that Life is not about you, you’re about life.

Lent brings reality and humility to our lives - Life is not about you. "Take care not to perform righteous deeds so that people may see them.” Putting extra effort into a life of faith is great, but, don't advertise. Don’t brag of penance.

Lent is a quiet secret place. Keep secret our self-denial and self-examination. Keep discreet what has been missed and attempts to recover what has been lost.

Remember, you’re about life. Jesus says if you're going to fast, wash your face, look as if you're blooming, and smile - don't let on that it is a struggle.

If it's true about fasting, it's true about giving and praying - silence and study - reflection and meditation - compassion and encouragement - and whatever else helps develop and strengthen our faith.

Faith is not strengthened in outward bragging about our differences. Faith grows in the realization of our inward journey of intention, motivation, love, compassion and more. Inward things found in a good life shared.

These are not look at me - outward differences. Self-denial isn't self-denial if it’s an object of attention. “Do not let your left hand know what your right is doing.” Out-ward talk doesn't contribute to the truth of our inward self.  

If someone says, Deacon I loved your homily! I love it; but, talk does not make me grow nearer to God. Instead, talk feeds my ego; empty talk feeds a life about me.

In trying to live up to those words, actions can become an insincere performance. Growing closer to God is not a performance. So avoid doing righteous deeds just so people see them.

But, Jesus doesn’t say forget about it - 'don't fast' or 'don't pray' or 'don't give alms.' Life is not about you, you’re about life. He says, ‘give alms, pray, & fast.' Do these and more, but don't make a big show. Do these things from a quiet secret place.

Lent is a quiet secret place, maybe in the quiet, we find God.

This Lent be about life and do something. Take something on. Give something up. Give more. “Remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return."

Friends, we are about life; may God bless that life.

Life, Love, and Compassion – Made in the Image and likeness of God (Bishop’s Appeal Sunday)

Readings

(I heard this story on the radio as I was traveling this week.)

 A young mother picks her six year old daughter up from school. The little girl is in tears. Someone was picking on her at school and it totally broke her heart.

Her 3 year old brother is in the car and asks his mom, why is she crying. The mother answered “Someone was mean to her and now her heart is hurting.” The little boy then began to cry as well. The mother asked him, “Why are you crying?”

He answered, “My heart hurts because her heart hurts.”

A simple story that reveals truth; we are created in the image of God. Our inner self is the reflection of that image of God.  The image of God we are to show to the world is our life, our love, and our compassion.

The world screams against this. It doesn’t want us to believe it. There is no scientific study that proves this. Yet, for believers, the only thing needed to prove we are made in the image of God is our faith. Even the youngest of child can realize it.  “My heart hurts because their heart hurts.”

Moved by sorrow and compassion for the lepers suffering and misfortunes, Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him….

For believers, the fact that we are made in the image of God is simply a stepping stone to an awareness of God. Life is not about you; you are about Life.

The Bishop’s Appeal is about life. Bringing life to our family, not only our immediate family, or the immediate family of this community, but the entire community that is the Church in our Diocese, and even the community of the entire world, to which we bring the presence of Christ.

Just as Jesus did, reach out and touch someone…

The appeal supports our seminarians. Young men who have found the image of God in themselves and have pledged their life to Christ, to the Church  and to you and me for the next  40-50-60 years.

It is with compassion and love we take care of the retried and infirmed priest. These are men that have been part of our lives. In love and compassion, they have embraced us celebrating marriages, burying our loved ones, hearing our confessions, and sharing with us the Eucharist.  Supporting these men who gave their life to God and to us is a necessary responsibility.

This appeal brings the love of God through Christ to assisting the Poor (CC and SVdP), prolife ministries, and developing a strong catechist program for our children, new believers, and even us seasoned soldiers of Christ. We should never forget the importance of our Catholic Schools, the Catholic Connection, and Hispanic Ministries which are supported by this appeal.

The Bishop has identified these programs are the life blood of the Church. It is providing for our family in life, love, and compassion. “My heart hurts because their heart hurts.”

My brothers and sisters we are called to imitate Christ. Just as Jesus did, reach out and touch someone…

In the gospel the leper realizing his healing in compassion and love the man went away and told the whole matter. He spread the report abroad. When we share our life, love, and compassion through the Bishop’s appeal we spread the whole matter to those who need it.

I end all my homilies with these words “Yall be good yall be holy and preach the gospel by the way you live and love,” and this weekend that includes sharing. Amen.

Share Your Faith - Homily Reflection 5th Sunday OT

(Readings)

Church attendance is falling. In 2014, the Pew Research Group said that of the 32% who identified as baptized Catholics, 41% are no longer practicing. In 1965, 35% of the children born in the US were baptized Catholic; in 2014 only 18%.

This is true in one way or another in every denomination.

How do we stop this? Listen to what the scriptures tell us today. They tell us about preaching the Gospel. They tell us about sharing our faith. They show us that we evangelize in everything we do.

Paul writes, “If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me and woe if I do not preach it.”

Most of you may say I can’t do that.

In a meeting with Vicar General for the Diocese, Fr. Rothell Price, earlier this week, I apologized for my failures as a deacon. He said, “Deacon I have it on good authority you are a good deacon. Not perfect, there was only one that was perfect, but a very good deacon.”

Thank you all, it could have only come from you; but, let me tell you the secret of being a deacon. It is living your life and seeing God in the everyday and telling that experience to the world. It is the same for all of us. I’m just ordained.

If we live our faith then evangelizing the goodness of Jesus Christ in our life is not an option. Living a Catholic Christian life and being alive in your faith is sharing the good news.

Most active Catholics evangelize. It is prayer with and for others, visiting the sick, and visiting strangers. It is inviting people to mass or parish activities, speaking well about the Church, the parish, the priest, and even your deacon.

In all these scripture readings about preaching (Job’s words of lament, Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, and Jesus telling Simon let us go so I may preach for that is the purpose I have come) most will overlook the evangelizing and sharing the gospel of the mother in law.

Simon Peter’s mother in law was sick with fever. Jesus took her hand and helped her get up, and immediately her fever was gone. She waited on them.

She got up and preached to everyone by her everyday life. And, the story spread. It spread fast; by evening the whole town was gathered at the doorway of Simon Peter’s house.  Everyone was looking for Jesus.

Everyone was looking for Jesus because of the mother-in-law’s story and how Jesus touched her life. She fed Jesus. She fed all those who heard her story. She continued to serve Jesus by sharing her story over and over and over.  The mother in law was preaching the gospel and winning people over to follow Jesus before Simon, Andrew, James and John even realized the truth about Jesus.

Sharing your personal story about God in your life is preaching the gospel. It is the simplest form of evangelizing: telling how you were sick or sinful or lost; telling how the Lord came to you; telling how Christ took you by the hand and raised you up.

Sadly, most only want to hear the bad in life. If all that is heard is the part of Job’s story saying “man’s life on earth is drudgery.” And “I shall not see happiness again.”  Not hearing the good news, many surrender to misery.

This is happening. Less and less people sit in the pews.

Less and less people are in the world praising the Lord.

Less and less know our God who is good and gracious.

Less and less people are sharing stories giving glory to Gold and telling of His presence in their life.

Now is our time to preach. Now we must share and witness the Gospel by our lived lives and experience. We must share so others will say that reminds me of a time in my life. Tell the story of Jesus in your life so others can see Jesus in their life.

The truth is that like Job’s not all stories are going to be happy; but, people need to see God even in their suffering, just as Job did.

In our world, church attendance is falling and people deny faith and belief.  

My friends, it is for us all to preach the gospel. Share your story. Share your beliefs. Win over as many as possible to save at least some.

Do this by sharing our faith: Being good, being holy, and preaching the gospel, telling your story by the way you live and love. Amen.