St Peters RC Church Hamilton

“ ‘Let all the world look to Me for salvation! For I am God; there is no other. I have sworn by My own name; I have spoken the truth, and I will never go back on My word.” (Isaiah 45 v 22, 23 NLT)

We learn all this to be true when we accept Christ Jesus as our Forever Saviour, the living and abiding Word of God, Your most precious gift to us, dearest Father. Jesus too, is the great ‘I AM,’ like You and the Holy Spirit.

What power of true love and mercy are there for us to plumb the depths of Your riches, as an all powerful, ever loving, tenderly forgiving Trinity of mercy. Your love makes all the difference in the world to us.   

So then, as we have accepted Christ Jesus, the Saviour of the world, as our own personal Redeemer, we “…must continue to follow Him,” (Colossians 2 v 6 NLT) so as to successfully combat satan.   

We must, inspired by the Holy Spirit of Christ Jesus “Let our roots grow down into Him and let our lives be built on Him. Then our faith will grow strong in the truth we were taught and we will overflow with thankfulness.” (based on v 7)

 We are given a vital warning: “Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high sounding nonsense that comes from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.” (v 8)  

Do we not see and hear this frequently, advertising in particular being full of false messages, pandering to the falsity that ‘we are worth it.’  We are worth nothing unless Christ Jesus is alive in us.

“For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So we also are completed through our union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.” (v 9, 10) May the Holy Spirit make us wise about this and ever alert us to the danger of satan lurking, waiting to pounce on any ill informed victim.   

We must live by the Word of Life, going to Him for shelter and safekeeping, running away from all that is evil. In Christ Jesus, as we pray, we discover ever anew the riches and treasure of wisdom and truth which are holy.   

Let us prayerfully study the written word of sacred Scripture, packed with wisdom for our daily life. “Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.” (Romans 15 v 4 NLT)

This fulfilment is up to us. We must claim the conquest love over satan as made by Christ Jesus at the †. Lord God, merciful Father, we ask You to give us “…patience and encouragement, helping us to live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.” (based on v 5)  

Accepting the love that is shown to us in all that Christ Jesus says and does, we must love each other in return, so as to show our love for You, Father God, giving You all the glory of our rescue from satan and all that is evil.   

We are ongoing good works in progress, according to the true love You offer us in Your Son, by Your Spirit, that we have an unbeatable allegiance to You.  

Thank You that the invaluable gift to our faith of the written Word, the living Word and holy, sacramental Presence, all come directly from You, Eternal Father, Life Giver, hope, peace and joy established for us in our friendship with Christ Jesus.    

It is fascinating to the read the sacred Scriptures, always with the hope of finding elements to Your truth that the Holy Spirit knows we are now ready to receive, whereas previously our mind and heart were not prepared.

All the necessary preparation is Your gift of love and mercy offered us in Your Son, by Your Spirit. We are blessed to be in receipt of the Word of Life and the Spirit of Life, that we be made holy. 

As we pray, asking to hear, understand and follow the biblical teaching, especially as this is verified by the example of the Lord Jesus, may we become a witness to the life of hope, where peace is experienced and we are frequently surprised by joy, as Your love unfolds before us.

Saint Jerome tells us that “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ,” but we need to discover this for ourselves through personal experience of a life without knowing, loving and serving You through our Brother and the Holy Spirit, compared with when the Spirit impacts upon us, making Jesus’ friendship invaluable. 

Let us ever extol the mystery of Christ made Man, living, dying, rising again for us, that we “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,” (2 Peter 3 v 18) never looking back now we have turned our hand to the plough, working with faith in the Saviour.

The call of holy love once heard, cannot be ignored. May we no longer be deaf to the Spirit’s promptings, pleading, persuasion and warning, all given for sound reason and our protection, especially as the sacred Scriptures become an actual breath of life to us.   

 “If there is anything in this life that sustains a wise person and helps to maintain serenity amid the tribulations and adversities of the world, it is the meditation on and knowledge of the Scriptures” (St Jerome) as Christ Jesus, the crucified and risen Saviour, is at the centre of the narrative.

 The wisdom and truth we learn here is truly life giving, life sustaining, enlarging and invaluable godly  guidance, leading us into all truth. We need to know the truth of who we ae and all we mean to You, Father. We have to learn also who we can become in Christ Jesus.   

He is the living Word, the Healer, overcoming difficulties between us, injuries we cause through hostility and enmity. His love is the healing balm You offer us mercifully. When broken by evil, we can be put together again by Christ working with the Spirit of love. 

The call of holy love, like the cause of holy love, is urgent, insistent, important. Let us not ignore this, be deaf to the plea, or fail to work for love’s completion. For we serve a most holy Trinity, almighty in power and the supremacy of holy love.    

Let then, all thanks ever be expressed to our Father, through God’s Son, Christ Jesus alive in us by the Holy

 Spirit of love gifting us new life. To God be all the glory, both now and in the immediacy, and eternally. I ask in the name of Christ Jesus’ holiness, for this is the love held out before us. Amen.