| "May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to You, Oh Lord, My Rock and Redeemer." Psalms 19:14 Angel of God, my guardian dear, To whom His love commits me here. Ever this day be at my side To light and guard; to rule and guide. Dearest Lord of my being, Thank you for blessing me with all that I need to be the best that I can be. I am so grateful for your love, light, and peace. May I always be aware of your presence and may I love and honor you above all things. I need you in my heart, in my soul, and in my life now and forever. Amen MEDITATION |
| astrologizing.net Sabbath Devotionals The Sabbath; January 6, 2010 |
| Jefferson Bible Reading Chapter 2:17-19 17 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 18 Neither do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a lampstand; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 19 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. |
| HOMILY: Letting Your Light Shine Jesus tells us to let our light shine before everyone so they may see our good works. Doesn't that sound like we may be a bit boastful in letting everyone see our good works? But, then Jesus continues, "...and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Metaphysically, light is higher consciousness or intelligence. Heaven represents the spiritual realm. Since these verses came directly after the Beatitudes, Jesus is telling us that in order to be of the heavenly realm, we do "good works" which are the nine beatitudes beginning with, "Blessed," the "good works" that everyone will see. These are: Humility, penitence, meekness, spiritual longing, mercy, pure heart, peacemaking, and persecution for the Lord's sake. (Keeping a smiling countenance doesn't hurt either). Let us learn these "good works" well so that we can glorify our Father in heaven. Let it SHINE! |
From: "You are the Light of the World"
By Archbishop Cyril Salim Bustros
What does mean “to glorify God”, or “to give glory to your Father who is in heaven”? To glorify God means to
be the living proof in this world of the existence of God. God is not someone, some “big brother”, who lives
outside the world. He is present in this world; He is the Holy transcendent dimension of this world. That is the
profound meaning of the Incarnation. “The Holy, the Son of God” (Luke 1:35), “the Word of God, who ‘was in
the beginning with God”, He “through whom all things were made”, He in whom “was life, and the life was the
light of he world” (John 1: 1-4), came “to dwell among us” (John 1:14) to “make his home with us” (John 14:
23).
By our holy deeds we manifest his presence. There is a difference between “the existence” and “the
presence”. To the atheists who don’t believe in God, we cannot prove the “existence” of God somewhere in
the sky, but we can manifest his “presence” in us by our holy deeds. We are called to be the continuation of
the Incarnation. In Him Who is the Son of God we also become sons of God, in Him who is the light of the
world we become the light of the world. We are responsible of manifesting the presence of God in this
world. There is a permanent battle between atheism and faith, between darkness and light. And in this
battle, the destiny of the world depends on us. God has overcome darkness when He created the world, as
we read in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the
earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a might wind swept over
the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light” (1:1-3).”
http://www.melkite.org/Bustros/06aftPent.htm
By Archbishop Cyril Salim Bustros
What does mean “to glorify God”, or “to give glory to your Father who is in heaven”? To glorify God means to
be the living proof in this world of the existence of God. God is not someone, some “big brother”, who lives
outside the world. He is present in this world; He is the Holy transcendent dimension of this world. That is the
profound meaning of the Incarnation. “The Holy, the Son of God” (Luke 1:35), “the Word of God, who ‘was in
the beginning with God”, He “through whom all things were made”, He in whom “was life, and the life was the
light of he world” (John 1: 1-4), came “to dwell among us” (John 1:14) to “make his home with us” (John 14:
23).
By our holy deeds we manifest his presence. There is a difference between “the existence” and “the
presence”. To the atheists who don’t believe in God, we cannot prove the “existence” of God somewhere in
the sky, but we can manifest his “presence” in us by our holy deeds. We are called to be the continuation of
the Incarnation. In Him Who is the Son of God we also become sons of God, in Him who is the light of the
world we become the light of the world. We are responsible of manifesting the presence of God in this
world. There is a permanent battle between atheism and faith, between darkness and light. And in this
battle, the destiny of the world depends on us. God has overcome darkness when He created the world, as
we read in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the
earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a might wind swept over
the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light” (1:1-3).”
http://www.melkite.org/Bustros/06aftPent.htm