Deacon Larry Jesmer

1ST Reading: Zechariah 9: 9-10
2nd Reading: Romans 8:9, 11-13
Gospel: Matthew 11: 25-30

One afternoon, a little boy was playing outdoors. He used his mothers broom as a horse and had a wonderful time until it was starting to get dark. He left the broom on the porch and came back into the house.

As his mother was cleaning the kitchen she noticed that her broom was missing. She asked the little boy where her broom was. She then asked him to go and get it. The little boy informed his mother that he was afraid of the dark and did not want to go out and get that broom.

His mother smiled and said; “The Lord is out there too, do not be afraid.” So the little boy opened the door just a little, poked his head out the small opening and said; “God, if you are out there, could you please hand me the broom?”

Here is a little boy, afraid of the dark. What does he do? After the assurance from his mother that God is out there, even in the dark of night, he opens the door and asks God for help. Without that assurance from his mother I really doubt that he would have even opened the door.

The little boy looked to God for assistance not only to get that broom but also to protect him from the dark of night. Jesus says; “Come to me, all who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest”. In a way, the little boy in our story accepted Jesus’ offer. I really feel that is how he got the strength to get that broom, despite the darkness.

As we go through life we are able to share our joys, our triumphs, our failures, our sorrows, even our fears, with others. It could be a parent, a

2 brother or sister, a spouse, a grandparent, a friend, a co-worker, and even our pastor. The point is that we do not travel this road called life alone. As the little boy experienced, we do not travel this road called faith alone. The boy was burdened with his fear of the dark but he most likely overcame that fear by calling out to God in the darkness, the very place he feared the most.

On the face of it, life is not easy. We all have our fears, our problems in this life. We have our sufferings, our daily worries and anxieties. There are addictions, addictions to drugs, pornography, the internet, addictions for electronic games and even T.V.

We experience times where we deal with the loss of loved ones in death. I cannot imagine the anguish of losing a spouse after being married for decades, or a parent who has lost a child. Yet through all of this, our Lord is offering Himself to us. Jesus says; “come to me all who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”

So, what is being said here? How are we to understand it? In Jesus’ time there was the stress of the “Law” put on the Jewish people by the Pharisees and Scribes who made the implementation of God’s word a burden. Jesus brought to them the way to live; by loving God and neighbor and how to do that.

Jesus says “Come to Me” and here Jesus speaks with divine wisdom, as the giver of rest and comfort, extending this invitation to all those who are laboring through life.

But the Jews in Jesus’ time were waiting for a king, a savior, one who would lead Israel to military victory over Rome. They were not looking for a lowly and humble savior, riding on the foal of a donkey.

They could not conceive of a suffering savior, who offered Himself as the sacrifice for sinners, yes, you and me included, taking on the burden of sin on Himself, easing our burden.

Jesus is offering us the opportunity to get to know the Father through a companionship, a partnership with him. Jesus goes on to say, “take my yoke, for my yoke is easy and my burden light.” In Jesus’ time a joke was put on the shoulders of cattle so that together they could plow as one.

When Jesus asks you and me to take his yoke, he is offering Himself as our partner, our companion. To take on His yoke is to associate and identify ourselves with him, our destiny with his destiny, our vision with his vision, and our mission with his mission.

It is to know that we are not pulling the yoke alone and by our strength, but together with Jesus and by the strength that comes from the gift he offers each of us through his body and blood in the Eucharist. It is to know that Jesus is not just a teacher who gives us homework but a friend who helps us do it.

In taking on the yoke of Jesus, our trials in life are not taken away. We still will face illness, anxiety, the burdens of human life, however, Jesus will help us and ease our burden by being with us as we move through them.

This frees us to continue Jesus’ work on earth, his mission of spreading the good news of the gospel. We can accomplish this by living our lives in Jesus Christ. Through our actions, words, and deeds do we bring Jesus to others by simple acts of kindness. In the stained glass of some of our windows we can see the corporal works of mercy. Acts of kindness to others they are. Do you know them?

They are to Feed the Hungry, Give drink to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked, visit the captive (prisoners), visit the sick, bury the dead. Another act to continue and that Deacon Bob Huber held so close to his heart, was to protect and defend the basic human dignity for all people through Catholic Social Justice issues.

A writer by the name of Nelson Henderson wrote; “The true meaning of life is to plant a tree under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” This says it all. We do these acts of kindness as Jesus did, for the love of the Father, not expecting a reward or any other

kind of benefit and we do these acts of kindness with humility and grace.

There is another saying that says ” Success in life is not measured by what we leave behind etched in stone, but what is woven in the lives of others.” When we share the yoke of Jesus we become Him in a world that needs the Fathers love so badly. When we share the yoke of Jesus we share in his mission to take care of all our neighbors. When we share the yoke of Jesus we come to know the Father in an intimate way.

When we do this we will not focus on what is missing from our lives but we will see and be grateful for the abundance of God’s gifts present…….allowing us to experience heaven on earth making our lives easier and our burdens light.

1st Reading: 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
2nd Reading: Ephesians 5: 8-14
Gospel: John 9: 1-41

One day, a man went to visit a church. He arrived early, parked his car, and got out. Another car pulled up near him and the driver told him, “I always park there.” “You took my place.”

The visitor went inside for Sunday School, found an empty seat, and sat down. A lady from the church approached him and stated, “that’s my seat.” “You took my place.” The visitor was somewhat distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing.

After Sunday school, the visitor went into the church sanctuary and sat down. Another parishioner walked up to him and said, “that’s where I always sit.” “You took my place.” The visitor was even more troubled by this treatment, but still said nothing.

Later, as the congregation was praying for Christ to dwell with them, the visitor stood and his appearance began to change. Horrible scars became visible on his hands and his sandaled feet. Someone from the congregation noticed him and called out, “what happened to you.”

The visitor answered, “I took your place.”

I never get tired of this story for it reminds us how we can be at times when looking at others. Do we really look at others and see them for who they are? Do we really know there stories: Why we see them only once in a while at mass or why they seldom receive the Eucharist, why they never get involved in the parish life? Do we really know what is on their minds, or for that matter, what is in their hearts? Do we tend to judge?

This is what is happening in our gospel story for today. The Jews were blind for not seeing the great healing of the blind man by Jesus. The Pharisees believed that Jesus broke the Jewish law by healing on the Sabbath which made him a sinner and the blind man, according to Jewish culture, was blind because of sin or was blind because he was born of sinful parents. Jesus’ disciples thought the same.

You would think that the parents of the healed blind man would step up to defend Jesus and their own son but they were afraid of being banned from the synagogue for seeing Jesus as the Christ and saying that is was Christ who healed their son.

We at times, can relate to the parents of the healed blind man. How many times have we stepped back when hearing others talking about Jesus in fear of being challenged with questions about our own faith?

How many times have we allowed our humanness to overtake our spiritual lives causing our own blindness?

One thing is clear in this gospel story. The blind man’s faith came gradually. He knew that Jesus healed him but he is trying to understand who Jesus is. Maybe that person we tried to judge was in somewhat the same situation. We need to understand that we are gradually coming to know Jesus. That is the beauty of our Christian faith.

The more we know Jesus, the more we are drawn to him, the more we search out to be like him, the more we want to live as he lived here on earth, and the more we want to love as he loves.

We sometimes think we know what is best but are we always right or are we blinded by what we can’t see or understand? Samuel in our first reading thought that he knew who was to be the king of the Jews. However, he saw what he could see physically. He judged by appearance only and in turn, God reminded him so.

We will remain spiritually blind if we hold onto earthly things that keep us from reaching out to God and that prevent us from living a life in Jesus Christ.

There was this little child who would not let go of the pieces of shells that she collected from the beach that lay clinched in her hands. While standing on the shore the little child, still clinching on to those pieces of shells, looked up and saw a beautiful starfish floating on the top of the water just out of her reach. She looked at her parents who in turn gave the nod of approval to wade in the water to get that beautiful starfish. The child stepped into the water and immediately turned around and set foot on the shore.

The parents went over to the child and told her to try again. “You can do it” they said. “Get that beautiful starfish.” So the child entered the water again wading knee deep only to turn around again to seek dry land. The parents, concerned for their little child and knowing that she really wanted that starfish, gave her words of encouragement saying, ” We have faith in you, we know you can do it. Get that beautiful starfish.”

All of a sudden, she raised her head, looked at her parents and released those broken pieces of shell from her hands letting them fall to the shore. The little child went back into the water going waste deep and grabbed that beautiful starfish and came back to shore to show her parents that she did it. She got that beautiful starfish.

What can we learn from this little child on a beach? Our lives are very similar. When we are blind, we hold onto those broken pieces of our human life: our judging others, our envy, our greed, our selfishness, our idea that we know what is best for others when we can’t even figure out what is best for us, giving in to the temptations of sin. Then our lives are like those broken pieces of shells fragmented pieces that cannot make a complete shell.

When we allow the gift of God’s Spirit through Jesus Christ to enter our hearts, we can now open our eyes and see and our lives start to become whole. We can now reach for our savior, who heals our blindness to allow us to see and to be the children of the light not of the darkness and he gives us Himself for strength to stay in this light.

St. Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians, : “you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” We are to live seeing in the light of Jesus Christ and being light to others in a world that seems to be full of darkness. We are being charged to be light for others by good works and by loving others as we love God and ourselves.

We have been given many opportunities to live the gospel message. Just look around you and around the world, ones that need help; People who need the comfort of a smile to ward off the pain of illness or a friendly visit to those confined in a prison or jail, or people who need the basic necessities of life because of natural disasters such as the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, or those homeless sleeping under our local freeways and those who hunger for a bite to eat coming to our local food bank, to those who suffer because of the atrocities of war and injustice.

Father Rick mentioned in his homily last week about how the woman at the well initially saw only physical water and not the living water-Jesus Christ. When we open our eyes and see with deep conviction the love shared by our God our thirst and our sight remains in Jesus Christ. We see Jesus in others. We see the equality of God’s image and likeness in all humanity. We see Him.

My brothers and sisters, now that we can see, I would like to leave you with this final thought: An English football player named Michael Bridges wrote: “When our eyes see our hands doing the work of our heart, the circle of creation is completed inside us, the doors of our souls fly open, and love steps forth to heal everything in sight.” How far can we see?

1ST READING Deut. 11:18,26 – 28,32
2nd READING Romans 3:21 – 25,28
GOSPEL Matt: 7:21-27

This is the last weekend in this period of Ordinary Time and this coming Wednesday is Ash Wednesday and the start of our Lenten season which is my favorite time in the Church year.

What most likely comes to many Catholics minds when they hear the word LENT is; what do I give up this year? What can I give up that is not as hard to give up as this or that? I probably should go to “CONFESSION” at least once; I’ll see what happens when the time comes! I can’t eat meat on Fridays. What a drag!!!!

Lent is not a time of confusion in what to give up, or what to do, as some people find it is. Lent is a time to look at ourselves, to look inward at our most deepest thoughts, to see our souls. Lent is a time to reflect and to contemplate on our lives and if we have built a solid foundation for our day to day lives by accepting the Father’s will which leads us closer to him.

And so, we gather here today to hear God’s inspired words, to hear the stories of people past on their journey in this earthly life. We hear of their trials, their sacrifices, their shortcomings, their blessings in order that we might see ours knowing that God is always here for us as he was and will be for all of humanity, past, present, and future.

When we hear God’s inspired words in scripture, de we accept God’s will for us by letting him transform us bringing us ever closer to him? What happens if we do? What happens to us if we don’t?

To have a solid foundation is to accept God’s love. Like Fr. Rick stated last week, we need to let go and trust Him. God’s love is the only foundation that is rock solid and is manifested and revealed to us through His words and in the word made flesh, Jesus Christ.

This brings us closer to God as we journey through the Lent and Easter seasons and beyond this earthly life until we are with Him in paradise.

In the first reading today Moses is setting before the people two very distinct paths: that of a blessing or that of a curse. It is their choice.

They are heading into their future, the land promised them, the land of Canaan. But they will have to keep remembering by keeping the traditions and activities which have and will continue to form them.

And so, the long trek of forty years through the desert has reached its conclusion. Moses would not be going into the Promised Land himself, so he has to impress upon the chosen people God’s love for them, brought to lite in God’s fidelity to them through the Commandments he gave them, not only etched in stone but hopefully in their hearts.

Since God guides us toward what is truly best for us, God’s Commandments are like a key into the storeroom of God’s blessing.

Use the key and the blessings flow. Ignoring God’s Commandments results in a loss of potential blessings, not as a punishment from God but rather the result of one’s own refusal to use the key.

As Moses reflects on their journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land of Canaan, he realizes one thing. God has always done his part. He has broken the power of Pharaoh and delivered them from slavery.

They faced annihilation at the Red Sea and the Lord rescued them. In the desert he had provided them food in the form of manna and quail. Even the rocks gave forth water when thirst was the enemy. This was their lesson; believe in the one true God and make the choice to live within His Commandments and he will always be there for them. He will be their solid foundation on which they will build their lives.

Now, Jesus comes on the scene. Jesus Says: “Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven”. It is easy to say we believe. But the blessings come when we live what we profess to believe!

This is the lesson Jesus gives us in the gospel today “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and ACTS on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.”

Jesus is teaching the importance of building one’s life on the solid foundation of hearing God’s word and putting it into practice. In order for this to happen we must accept God. And to accept God means to accept his love. And to accept His love is to accept His will for us by a life lived in the image of his son, Jesus Christ.

This is what Paul was telling his listeners in his letter to the Romans, that a new justification comes with faith in Jesus Christ, that this faith does not replace the law but brings a new grace to it through the redemption Jesus Christ has won for us through his sacrifice on earth which is really the sacrifice of love.

The Christian way of life , however, isn’t always the easiest and most attractive. More worldly life styles can be very tempting but are usually built on sand. The storms of life still come. How will we come through times of financial setbacks, health problems, marital difficulties, or the death of a loved one?

How will we and especially the generation coming of age deal with the lure of drugs, alcohol, pre-marital sex, and accumulation of material things? That will depend largely on the foundation which you have set for your life and as parents began and encouraged for your children and upon which they continue to build by their own decisions, their own choices.

And all of us here, whether we have had children or not, have a stake in all this. We, as the body of the church, have the responsibility to set the example of our faith built on a solid rock foundation by living what we hear every Sunday in scripture, taking it to heart by allowing ourselves to be transformed by the words, to live them out in our daily lives.

We gain the strength to do this by receiving Jesus in us through his body and blood in the Eucharist. Again, another reason to be here every Sunday.

We are not so different from the Old Testament nation of Israel who on their journey to the Holy Land of Canaan faltered along the way. We to falter along our journey to God all the while finding him there to help us, to save us.

At the beginning I said that Lent was my favorite time in the Church year. The reason is this: I find spiritual growth through the contemplation and reflections on my life. I learn much about my relationship with God. I also realize what I need to grow more, to make my foundation more solid in order to weather all that this life throws out.

But the most important reason for me is the realization that Jesus, on his journey, was alone. I have Jesus accompanying me on my journey which can lead me down roads I thought not possible.

What can be better than to realize there are more ways to God than what we have experienced so far. This life is a journey and one that, with faith and trust in God, building a solid foundation for our lives, will lead us to the promised land of heaven.

1ST READING: ISAIAH 58:7-10
2ND READING 1 COR 2:1-5
GOSPEL MATTHEW 5: 13-16

We are the “light to the world”. These words were spoken by President Obama in the “State of the Union” address just this past month. But what was his point? President Obama was saying that the United States with its democratic society, is an example for the world: That through a democratic way of life, freedom is obtained.
This way of life still has its problems, but it is the best thing going.

In today’s scripture we here Jesus speaking the words, “You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world”, and he spoke them over 2000 years ago, words that grasp not only the imagination but the heart of many believers. President Obama is calling on a nation, Jesus is calling on the world. But what does all this mean, especially in the Churches Ordinary time?

It seems as though we have been on a world-wind tour of life, moving so fast through the Advent and Christmas seasons landing into Ordinary Time. And even now, we are starting to look ahead at the Lent and Easter Seasons just a few weeks away only to end up again in Ordinary Time.

We are now in the 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time. So what does Ordinary Time mean? The more I read and the more I reflect, the more I see the wisdom of our tradition. Ordinary Time are the days in the Church year that are not in Advent, Christmas, Lent, or Easter. The longest part of the Church year, Ordinary Time, is so called not because it is set apart from the extraordinary times , but it is time ordered for, or ordained to, the every day living of a Christian life. This is clearer in the Latin title, “tempus ordinarium”, “measured time”.

Ordinary Time has two parts. The first is the 5 to 8 weeks between Epiphany and the beginning of Lent. The second is the twenty-three to twenty-seven weeks following the feast of Pentecost and concluding with the solemnity of Christ the King, the final Sunday of the Liturgical year. This doesn’t mean that Ordinary Time was nothing special however. Jesus performed miracles and ministered all year.

Can we be the salt of the earth that flavors this world with kindness, love, and peace? Can we be the light of the world showing the way to God in this so called Ordinary time? Yes, we can.

Our lives seem normal when everything around us and even our daily tasks become routine. Yet our lives have exceptional moments and seasons. There are births, baptisms, weddings, deaths. But these are certainly not life’s norms. There are highs and lows and in between all this, life is often a routine.

Life usually has a repeating rhythm, things that we do from day to day. We wake up, get that first cup of mountain grown coffee, or tall glass of fresh squeezed orange juice, maybe eat some breakfast, pop tarts or something quick I would imagine.

We walk out the door to catch the school bus, or jump in the car to go to work, there is laundry to do, grocery shopping that needs to be done, new shoes for the kids to buy, and just maybe a monthly manicure for the woman of the household that is long overdue. These are ordinary days when we do ordinary things.

When life throws at us soaring joys and deep sorrows, we tend to stop and reflect on our own life’s journeys. These great events, good or seemingly bad, and our reflection on them, are graced moments if we look hard enough.

The same is true for the Church seasons. However, it is in Ordinary Time, the days that do not celebrate events in our salvation history that we, as God’s people, work out life’s meaning. We strive to be Christians in the ordinary events of our lives: in our blessings, our struggles, our temptations, our relationships, our broken-ness, and our never ending search for joy and happiness.

It is in ordinary times, in the normalcy of our lives that we strive to be the people God calls us to be. So how are we to become the “Salt of the earth” and the Light of the World” in this troubling day and age?

The scripture readings today are very direct in the answer to this question. Isaiah tells us that the Lord cares about how we treat others. The Lord calls us to do the works of mercy: to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and to look after our family and friends.

We are called not only to care for others. Isaiah tells us that the journey to God begins with ourselves. We must rid ourselves of sin and its tendencies: gossip, jealousy, envy, pride, greed and much more.

Today’s gospel passage from Matthew shares this same theme of Isaiah’s. Jesus reminds us that, as God’s children, we are the “Light of the world”, we are the “Salt of the earth”. We matter. We are partners in God’s plan. God invites us to care, that we notice, and that we believe that we can be an instrument of God’s goodness to others.

And that is why we gather here week after week. We gather around the Altar of the lord so that the body and blood of Jesus Christ can feed us. This Eucharist is the source of the grace that gives the courage we need to be God’s people; God’s people who, in ordinary times of our lives, in our interactions with our spouses, our children, our parents, our neighbors and the strangers in the store, on the bus, in the chair next to you, have a mandate to be the “light of the world”.

Our spiritual lives are very parallel to our human lives. It is like a flashlight. When the battery starts to lose its charge, the light begins to dim until suddenly only darkness. Put in a recharged battery and, guess what, LIGHT!!!

It is the same with us. How can we expect to be the “Salt of the earth and the “Light of the world” if we do not recharge our inner selves. God has taken care of that. We are recharged every Sunday when we come to this place called God’s house, to gain the strength and grace to do what he wants us to do, coming together as his children, as Christ’s body, to receive his son in us.

This Eucharist, the greatest gift of love from God, gives us that inner peace, that inner strength, that inner light, to guide us along our way becoming the “Salt of the earth” and the “Light of the world”.

We will all struggle along the way and by the end of each week we will need that boost, that recharge for the coming weeks challenges. That is why it is so important to gather here each Sunday.

Sisters and Brothers:
As we receive this greatest of sacraments, may this Eucharist, which brings salt and light to us, enable us to move closer and closer to Jesus, becoming his hands and feet in a world that needs the good taste of the Father’s love and to bring the Light of Salvation to others even in this Ordinary Time.

Some friends went deer hunting separated into pairs for the day. And that night one hunter returned alone, staggering under the weight of an 8 point buck. “Where’s Harry?” asked another hunter. “Oh, he fainted a couple of miles up the trail” Harry’s friend answered. “And you left him lying there all alone and carried the deer  back?” A tough call, said the hunter. “But I figure no one is going to steel  Harry!”

This short story illustrates the problem we have in making a commitment to another person and off making excuses. W can find it hard to commit ourselves to following Jesus, and we come up with many excuses for not doing so.

Today’s readings challenge us to analyze and take a real hard look at our priorities and to examine the excuses we make not to answer God’s call to be his disciple.

In today’s gospel you almost can see an advertisement that doesn’t want to sell what is offered. The advertisement is “Come join our faith and suffer”. You see, Jesus was in a determined mind set to go to Jerusalem. We all know what that meant. It wasn’t like taking a day trip into Seattle to see the sights. Jesus was heading to his passion and death. And after seeing the movie “The Passion of the Christ”, it was nothing to be so determined about.

Jesus decided to go on the most direct route through Samaria.

And Samaritans and Jews were not the best of friends. Samaritans constantly hindered and even injured bands of Jewish pilgrims who attempted to pass through their territory. Jesus was most likely hoping to reach out a hand in friendship but the Samaritans blatantly refused. So rejection and hostility is often the price of discipleship.

Just imagine what all our good priests went through and in some cases are still going through, just because a handful of priests lost their way. All of us, in some way or another, have been touched in a negative way by this scandal in our Church, the hurt, the looks, the comments, the hostility, the rejection, however, we became stronger as a church.

Three would-be followers find out just how demanding discipleship is in today’s gospel. It can be a lonely journey. “The Son of Man has no where to rest his head”. We cannot let sentiment get in the way of the work that has to be done. We have to prioritize. We cannot be making excuses even if it means “let the dead bury their dead.”

One of the would be followers of Jesus requests that he be allowed to take care of one of the most sacred duties under the law, the burial of a parent. The urgency of the gospel supercedes this claim. Jesus’ saying means that those who do not respond to the gospel call will be spiritually dead; They will have time to bury the physically dead.

Elijah, in our first reading gave permission to his disciple Elisha to say good-bye to his family, but the call of the reign of God is more urgent than that. Even family ties have to be sacrificed for the sake of the kingdom.

A plowman never plowed straight furrows (rows) by looking backwards. Discipleship calls for a complete commitment, no looking back.

Now, all this sounds O.K. but what can cause us today in looking back, losing our focus on what is right? One point in Father Rick’s homily last week really stuck in this hard head of mine. As he put it “the things we own, the things that own us”. The things that can own us if we let them are greed, materialism, hatred, dishonesty, bigotry, unfaithfulness, not holding deep in our hearts the dignity of every human being from the womb to the tomb, and many more.

When we take action with these ideologies they become our owner we become the owned. This gets in our way and blocks us from discipleship, from hearing God’s call for us to love. And that is at the heart of discipleship, isn’t it? If we truly love then God gives us strength and by the power of his Spirit, we gain the wisdom, and by Jesus’  example of sacrifice through his love, we have what we need to be disciples.

You see, discipleship is hard, following Jesus is tough. The way to Jerusalem is tough. It is the road to crucifixion. Anyone wanting to follow Jesus must be ready for that. The journey is no joke. However, the rewards are greater than anything of this earth and it is in not expecting reward that you are given great things from God.

The point of today’s scripture is this: If you want to be a follower of Jesus, you have to be able to make a total commitment. No excuses! In fact, there is much common sense in what Jesus is saying.

When going after something we want, we usually put everything into getting it whether it is a new house, a new car, a new career. We seem to stop at nothing in achieving our goals. The same is for discipleship. For an example, there is no point in praying for change in the world without putting ourselves out to do something, as great or small as it is, to help make the change. As Jesus once said,  what is it if you say feed the hungry and you give them no food! Or say clothe the naked and you give no clothing.

In order to be a disciple, we will be inconvenienced, We must not be afraid to stand up for what we believe in and be counted. Through all this, Jesus will be at our sides guiding our way. We find strength through the body and blood of Christ to walk the talk. Join with me today in making a total commitment to follow the will of God. AS the old saying goes; “the pay is small but the rewards are great.”

This phrase I have always held in the back of my mind and every so often it pops up to the front. I leave you with this: Depending on the choice one makes determines what will be in the stage that’s soon to follow, for all ETERNITY”.