Still don’t believe me?….Than “buckle up and fasten your seatbelts” - “The road” is going to get real rough!

Today at Holy Mass in the first reading Moses gives his people instructions that he heard from God and believe it or not, the people respond…..”When Moses came to the people and related all the words and ordinances of the LORD, they all answered with one voice, We will do everything that the LORD has told us”….Shocking - They “figured it out”!…When the people of God are united, life is so much better and EVERYONE thrives…Division is something that does not come from God…..Are we aware and do we ever think about the reality that if we are fortunate enough to enter the Kingdom of God…All the people will be of one mind and one heart….Is this something that interests you?…Why do I say that?…If we do not start “thinking” as God thinks and living as God wants us to live NOW, what makes us think we would be happy in heaven?…..Think about that…In the Lord’s prayer Jesus said these words…”On earth as it is in heaven”…..That means we ALL share in the mind and heart of God - That begins now!……God who is a good father gives his children instructions not to punish them, but to help them thrive…..But the choice is ours…..It’s all about One Team & One Dream…And God is the coach of “that team” - I will ask the question again - Are you interested in “that team”?…..If not, what makes you think you will even want to be in heaven then?

“Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls”

What is it that makes some people think that God is some kind of ogre? - Who tells us things to punish us - To make our life miserable?……That mindset more times than not stems from wounds….God is a father and many times if people have been betrayed by their own parents, especially their biological father, they have a difficult time having faith in God the father…..Time does not heal all wounds - If we do not address certain hurts, they only get worse in time…..Have you ever come across a person that perennially does the wrong thing and is deeply impacted by their actions in a negative way only to repeat the same behavior over and over again?…..This is what I am talking about when I say, not all wounds heal with time - They fester and because they do, the people who suffer from these wounds “act out” more times than not in ways that impact their own life in a negative way - And the cycle continues over and over again!…..Jesus is known by many names, one of those names is “The Divine Physician”…Story after story are told to us in the Scripture about Jesus healing people who no one else could heal…The same thing can happen and does happen to this day - Christ heals!…..Life will not improve unless you equip yourself to succeed…That means addressing what needs to be addressed…Doubling down and tripling down on bad decisions are simply symptoms of old wounds that have not been healed….Don’t you think its time to bring those wounds to the “The Divine Physician”?……..There is a story in scripture that to this very day baffles me….A man who was suffering is brought to Jesus…This man was terrorizing the people of a town and when Jesus heals this man, the people instead of celebrating, they ask Jesus to leave the town!….What kind of crazy behavior is that?!!?…..I will tell you what that is all about - These are people with wounds that have not been healed and when “issues” have not been addressed, people behave in illogical and irrational ways, many times not even acting in their own interests - Sound familiar?…..God is our father but if you think your father in heaven is the “bad guy” and what is good has been inverted into what you believe is bad…How are you going to thrive? - The answer to that is - You are not

“Moses then wrote down all the words of the LORD and, rising early the next day, he erected at the foot of the mountain an altar and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel”

Today in the first reading from Mass we hear that after Moses instructed the people, they all were in agreement - Hallelujah!!!…..How did they get to this point?…..If we are familiar with Scripture, we know that the people of Israel went through a lot in the Old Testament....To put it bluntly, they suffered and as a result of their suffering they got to a point where they were “open” to the words of God - As people in religious circles often say - The Israelites became "teachable”…..More times than not, that is the story of the human race….Exodus and Return - Exodus and Return - Exodus and Return......But why does it have to take suffering to believe that God is not an ogre?…..I can not answer that question for you. All I can tell you is God surely is not an ogre and the instruction he gives to us through Sacred Scripture and through his Church will only help us thrive here on earth…..Still don’t believe me?….Than “buckle up and fasten your seatbelts” - “The road” is going to get real rough!