Isaiah 35:1-10, Psalm 85:9-14, Luke 5:17-26
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RECONCILIATION HIGHWAY
"Some men came along carrying a paralytic on a mat." —Luke 5:18
Jesus does most of the work in reconciling God and man (see Is 35:4). He
travels the unimaginable distance from heaven to earth, bounding from His
heavenly throne (see Wis 18:15) all the way to our front door (Rv 3:20).
There His journey stops. To complete reconciliation with God, we have to
travel the distance from our seat to our front door to let Jesus into our
lives.
For a person to travel such a comparatively short distance to open up to
Jesus and reconcile with God would seem to be no problem at all.
Nonetheless, Scripture alludes to this path as a "highway" (Is 40:3). The
short distance we must travel to Jesus is still blocked by mountains and
valleys (Is 40:3-4).
Some people are unable to make this journey (Is 35:9) on their own. They
may be afraid (Is 35:4), feeble (Is 35:3), paralyzed (Lk 5:18), or blind
(Is 35:5). We who have already made this journey must help others do so.
Like the faith-filled stretcher-bearers (Lk 5:18-19), we must climb walls,
open roofs, level mountains, fill valleys, and bring others to
reconciliation and forgiveness in Jesus (Lk 5:20). Jesus not only accepts
our supporting faith (Lk 5:20), "He has entrusted the message of
reconciliation to us. This makes us ambassadors for Christ" (2 Cor
5:19-20).
"Get up!" (Lk 5:24) Bring others to Jesus this Advent.
Prayer: Father, use me to bring several people to Confession this month.
Promise: "Full of awe, they gave praise to God, saying, 'We have seen
incredible things today!' " —Lk 5:26
Praise: After virtually eradicating the Arian heresy in his diocese, St.
Ambrose also worked to do so in Milan and Rome.
(This teaching was submitted by a member of our editorial team.)
(Presentation Ministries is bringing the Lord to many through our
publications and retreats. Can you assist us? Spread the word to others
and bring them to one or more of our retreats this coming year.)
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Rescript: In accord with the "Code of Canon Law", I hereby grant my
permission to publish "One Bread, One Body" covering the period from
December 1, 2009 through January 31, 2010
†Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of
Cincinnati, June 4, 2009
The rescript is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be
free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have
granted ecclesial permission agree with the contents, opinions, or
statements expressed.
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