tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838698329757338280.post3351084316961411102..comments2017-12-01T10:52:19.431-08:00Comments on Sunday Bible Study by ParishWorld.net: "Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6838698329757338280.post-86777474393713321732013-04-04T09:50:16.344-07:002013-04-04T09:50:16.344-07:00“I was hard pressed and falling,
but the Lord came...“I was hard pressed and falling,<br />but the Lord came to me as savior.”<br /><br />Once again we visit this powerful psalm<br />of praise and thanksgiving. This time the<br />verses stress the enduring love that God<br />has for us – so much so that despite the part<br />we played in crucifying his Son, God went<br />ahead and carried out His plan to save us.<br />Jesus’ risen presence among us is living<br />proof of God’s enduring love.<br />“God’s mercy endures forever.”<br /><br />We may be 'hard pressed and falling,' or<br />we may be spiritually sick and weakened<br />by sin. Are we really any different from<br />those Dr. Luke speaks of in our 1st reading,<br />any less desperate or in need of the Lord's<br />healing power and presence in our lives? <br /><br />Fortunately the Lord comes to us as Savior,<br />as our psalmist says. And the Lord is present<br />to us when we are frightened, as he was present<br />to those frightened disciples in the upper room.<br />Who would have been more hard pressed and<br />falling than they were before Jesus appeared<br />to them and blessed them and extended his<br />peace to them? That same source of strength<br />and might the psalmist speaks of is available to us –<br />all we have to do is believe and open our hearts<br />to receive his saving grace. <br /><br />As the psalmist says, the Lord is our strength.<br />He is present to us, just as He was in those early<br />days of the church described in our 1st reading<br />and in the Gospel. We may not have the awesome<br />experience Thomas had of physically putting our<br />hand in the Lord’s side and our fingers into the<br />nail marks on his hand, but He is with us.<br />“The Lord comes to us as Savior.”<br /><br />We are victorious over death. The Lord’s<br />deliverance is cause for joy. Just when we were<br />down, the Lord raises us up. “I was hard pressed<br />and falling, but the Lord has been my Savior.”<br />“The joyful shout of victory is heard.”<br />We are on firm ground after all.<br /><br />When Thomas put his fingers into the Lord's<br />side, it was clearly a moment of victory for him<br />and for us. Thomas was struck with awe, and<br />came to believe, in that upper room, with those<br />other righteous men. What does it take for us,<br />though we have not seen, to get down on our<br />knees and say, 'My Lord and my God.”<br /><br />Christ has become our cornerstone, as our<br />psalmist reminds us. Christ has become a<br />source of strength for us, despite his apparent<br />weakness that day on the cross, when he died<br />a shameful death. <br /><br />Only the Lord could have done this remarkable<br />thing: “By the Lord has this been done; it is<br />wonderful in our eyes.” This is cause for rejoicing --<br />“This is the day the Lord has made.”<br />Along with the disciples and the early church,<br />“Let us be glad and rejoice in it.”<br /><br />AmenBarry Lamontnoreply@blogger.com