Dear Lord God, thank You for today, for Your love and the love of my family, You have blessed me so! Your love is a healing love and that is the love which You blessed me with today. O Lord, teach me and help show others by example of the power of this love, Your love. A love that I need to receive to be able to release, and in releasing receive. Dear Lord God I know I am not worthy, but I have learned to love and obey out of that love. For it is as St. Bernard proclaims today, we should love You God because You are God, and the measure of our love should be to love You without measure. And as the Psalmist sings, behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear You, on those who hope in Your steadfast love. And it is in this that You have blessed me indeed, for in and through Your love I have learned to fear You Lord. Not like the fear of the dark, but the fear of the light, a fear of being separated and without You, and in that a loneliness that I do not ever want to return to. For while I struggle in the light, stumbling and falling often, I rise with You. Dear Lord God continue Your work within me, I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord, my Savior. Amen
We should love God because He is God, and the measure of our love should be to love Him without measure.
— St Bernard
1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists murmured against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the body of the disciples and said, "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brethren, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." 5 And what they said pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Proch’orus, and Nica’nor, and Ti’mon, and Par’menas, and Nicola’us, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands upon them. 7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.
Bible Study: [1-7] The Hellenists . . . the Hebrews: the Hellenists were not necessarily Jews from the diaspora, but were more probably Palestinian Jews who spoke only Greek. The Hebrews were Palestinian Jews who spoke Hebrew or Aramaic and who may also have spoken Greek. Both groups belong to the Jerusalem Jewish Christian community. The conflict between them leads to a restructuring of the community that will better serve the community’s needs. The real purpose of the whole episode, however, is to introduce Stephen as a prominent figure in the community whose long speech and martyrdom will be recounted in Acts 7. [2-4] The essential function of the Twelve is the "service of the word," including development of the kerygma by formulation of the teachings of Jesus. [2] To serve at table: some commentators think that it is not the serving of food that is described here but rather the keeping of the accounts that recorded the distribution of food to the needy members of the community. In any case, after Stephen and the others are chosen, they are never presented carrying out the task for which they were appointed (Acts 6:2-3). Rather, two of their number, Stephen and Philip, are presented as preachers of the Christian message. They, the Hellenist counterpart of the Twelve, are active in the ministry of the word.
1 Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. 2 Praise the LORD with the lyre, make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! 4 For the word of the LORD is upright; and all his work is done in faithfulness. 5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD. 18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, 19 that he may deliver their soul from death, and keep them alive in famine.
Bible Study: [Psalm 33] A hymn in which the just are invited (Psalm 33:1-3) to praise God, who by a mere word (Psalm 33:4-5) created the three-tiered universe of the heavens, the cosmic waters, and the earth (Psalm 33:6-9). Human words, in contrast, effect nothing (Psalm 33:10-11). The greatness of human beings consists in God’s choosing them as a special people and their faithful response (Psalm 33:12-22).
16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Caper’na-um. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea rose because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat. They were frightened, 20 but he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." 21 Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.
Bible Study: [16-21] The fifth sign is a nature miracle, portraying Jesus sharing Yahweh’s power. Cf the parallel stories following the multiplication of the loaves in Mark 6:45-52 and Matthew 14:22-33. [19] Walking on the sea: although the Greek (cf John 6:16) could mean "on the seashore" or "by the sea" (cf John 21:1), the parallels, especially Matthew 14:25, make clear that Jesus walked upon the water. John may allude to Job 9:8: God "treads upon the crests of the sea." [20] It is I: literally, "I am." See also the notes on John 4:26 and Mark 6:50.
/ raangulo
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