The first reading today reminds me of the importance of “reading the scripture” and reflecting on what Jesus said and did while on earth. “ The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to show his servants what must happen soon.” I am one of those servants that has been called to listen, to show others, and to be a spokesperson for God, learning much of what I know through the life of Jesus. As I continued reading Revelations the number 7 kept being used. I took a moment and googled “the use of the number 7 in scripture” and came across information from Biblewheel.com which stated that 7 represents fullness, complete, an oath, honesty and integrity. “God marked the Bible with #7 because it is the fullness of God’s revelation.” In Grant R. Jeffrey’s book, The Signature of God, the author tells us that the #7 is used 287 times throughout the Bible! Revelation is telling me that God has made a covenant with me and that I have received and opened the gift of faith, to guide my “life- decision- making.” Trusting in what I believe “my spirit” is telling me, takes some endurance and after a while I do find myself getting tired and complacent. Revelations reminds me to stay vigilant, grateful, aware and to remember to acknowledge my faith and decision- making as a gift I have received from God. The last passage also reminds me to share my insight with others as if it were the first time I had ever discovered God’s love. Four unique ideas pop out to me in the Responsial
Psalm:
“To delight in the law”/appreciate having this guidance. “Meditate on his law”/what do the words of Jesus Christ mean to me today? “In due season”/ God’s time, not mine. “The Lord watches over the way of the just”/ trust, all will be well. As I was reading the Gospel and imagining the blind man calling out and people around him becoming annoyed I thought, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease”. Why were those people annoyed? This man was not going to give up until he had the attention of Jesus, knowing that Jesus, as the Son of God, could indeed give him sight. This man had a ton of faith, we all should have that strength of faith and be like the blind man and not give up but rather; keep calling out to God. The blind man, who can now see, followed Jesus “giving glory to God” and, based on his earlier behavior, my guess is that he was not going to be reserved or quiet when speaking to others about the love, the power and the peace God can bring to one’s life if we continue to ask God to be a part of our lives and our life situations. |