Kissed by the Spirit

“The days are coming, declares the Sovereign Lord,

“when I will send a famine through the land—not a famine of food or a thirst for water,but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.”

Amos 8:11 (NIV)

The scripture above refers to a spiritual hunger that leads to faith in God. It is this scripture that inspired a minority of devout Christians in Sweden to pray for their nation a few years ago. The Lord is now turning their country back to Him. 

It all began with a spiritual famine  among the youngest generation, who are looking for meaning through social media. They are finally looking upward to God, seeking the spiritual food that lasts eternally. 

Generation Z, are young people who were born between 1997 and 2012. Sweden has been a secular society for decades, but now due to social media, the gospel is drawing an entire generation to Jesus. In the past four years, church attendance has doubled to 34% among Gen Z.

The interesting thing is that this spiritual renewal has been reported on both Catholic and Protestant Christian news networks. Christianity is growing among young people in England, Ireland, the US, Algeria, Iran, China, Africa and now in Sweden. Jesus is working in the world by sending a spiritual famine, which awakens people to Him.

In Sweden’s past decades, the grandparents and parents have been secularists who were not interested in religion. They were not baptized nor did they baptize or teach their children about the Christian faith, but a few years ago, something changed and millennials and Gen Z are now leading in church attendance. They are now the ones believing, being baptized, and sales of bibles have doubled since 2021. The secular trend of Sweden is reversing, and Jesus has been given the title of ‘influencer of the year.’

I would have asked ‘What’s an influencer?’ That’s because it’s a millennial and Gen Z social media term. An ‘influencer’ is a creator of websites who has established a trusted audience and can shape opinions within a specific niche. Influencers are usually national celebrities, athletes, actors or singers but in Sweden it’s Jesus!

God is all knowing and all powerful, and He is using modern technology to build His church.

In Muslim dominated nations, where other religions are forbidden, and missionaries are banned, God is using the internet to spread the gospel message of His son. Maybe this is why the devil is trying to destroy internet access, as the news has been recently warning of. They are predicting an ‘AI takeover’ of the internet within 6-12 months unless something is done to stop it.

I believe that the gates of hell will not prevail against the saving message of Jesus, offered via the internet. God is still in control, and we need to pray for people of all nations, who have a spiritual hunger, that only Jesus can satisfy. He is the Bread of Life, who feeds all people with eternal food.

Lord, in every nation, whoever hungers for you, open their hearts to the great love and truth of who Jesus is. Amen 

“At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Matthew 9:36 (NAB)

This scripture reveals the passionate heart of God the Father, through the words of Jesus, His son. Jesus was moved with a heart full of pity as He looked at the crowd in front of Him. He saw individuals, looked at their faces, and into their eyes, and knew who is troubled, misguided, or abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. 

I wish I had the capacity to see crowds the way Jesus did. I tend to see a crowd at first as either being an obstacle in my way, or ready to cause trouble, but Jesus looked at a crowd and saw every individual in it, because God always looks at hearts. Samuel the prophet said, ‘Man looks at appearances but God looks at the heart’. (1 Samuel 16:7)

 It’s so easy to forget to see people as individuals, and not view them as part of a group with a label. Jesus was moved with pity for individual troubled hearts and every lost sheep in the crowd that day. It’s a potent reminder that God is filled with  unconditional love and pity towards all people, not just those who align with His ways. 

I will never forget the words of my friend, Helene, who passed away. She always stressed not putting labels on people or groups. It’s hard to do sometimes, but her words still remain in my mind, because they are true.

Since Jesus didn’t do it, we shouldn’t categorize people either. There’s a tendency to label people in groups, based on their political or religious ideologies. There’s many troubled hearts in every crowd, and that’s what Jesus sees. He doesn’t care if they are at the far left or the far right of politics or religion. They are His sheep, and whoever is lost, He is determined to seek them out. He sees the crowd through the eyes of a very Good Shepherd.

I was once one of those lost sheep, whose way of thinking was far from God, but He saw me in the crowd and pitied me. I was rebellious but also clueless of who or what God is all about. In His pity, He reached out to me and by His grace, I am still following Him today.

The same pity that He showed me, He expects me to show toward others in the crowd. If we want to follow Jesus, we must look at the crowd differently, to see individuals through His eyes, because there are troubled hearts in each crowd. 

He replaces our anger or indifference with pity and compassion. He takes us forward one step at a time. Once we are able to see a person without labeling them, then we know we’re doing what Jesus expects of His church.

Lord, help us to see individuals in the crowd with the grace as you see them, and give us your heart of pity and compassion for those who are not easy for us to understand. Amen

“What is mankind that you are mindful of them, or human beings that you care for them? 

You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.”

Psalm 8:4-5 (NIV)

David may have had some faults but he sure knew one thing solidly. He knew that God loved him and wants an intimate relationship with all people. It says that we were made a little lower than the angels and crowned with glory and honor. To be crowned with glory and honor is another way of saying we are crowned or sealed with the dignity of being created in God’s image. 

We are His adopted sons and daughters, sealed with dignity, but we may not always live in that awareness. I think it’s a daily struggle to maintain a self image of being sealed in dignity, over the many inferior or self critical feelings we often deal with. We are all broken in some way, due to sin, trauma or sorrow, but Jesus lifted us up when He was nailed to the cross, and that’s where our dignity was restored once and for all, by His atoning blood. We need to daily reclaim our dignity in being our Father’s redeemed children. 

When we think about what living with dignity means, it’s taking all our cares, our questions and all anxiety to the Father. God welcomes our questions, but never promised to answer every one, but He did send Jesus who promised to give us His peace. His peace is a peace beyond having all answers or understanding. 

He also gave us the community of faith which is the church. If we live like an island, separated from any community, it takes a toll on our dignity. I know this personally from the year I was a full time caregiver for my late husband. I never went to church at all and I felt everything but dignity. 

Jesus built His church to be His spiritual body and presence here on earth. He meant for us to pray for one another to maintain His presence and unity in the church. I experienced the power of this unity yesterday, when I had a doctor appointment to have an injection in my hip joint for pain. I mentioned it in prayer to my morning coffee group of friends who meet every day after church to pray and talk. Then I went on to the Nursing Home to visit Jon and the friends who sit with us at our table. Martha, Andy’s mom, asked when I was having the injection. 

It was scheduled at 2:45 so I said I would be leaving by 1pm that day. 

Martha asked the whole table of residents to pause and pray for my injection. I didn’t expect it, but it was so kind of her, and then the young resident with cerebral palsy, offered to lead in prayer. The body of Christ is one of the benefits of being a child of God, living in the dignity that Jesus sealed for us, at the cross.

On the way to my appointment, my niece called, thinking I had the injection last week. I told her I was on the way to it, as we speak. She said she would be praying for me. I knew it was no coincidence that she called at that moment. The Holy Spirit is the person guiding and inspiring His church, as He speaks through many believers from different backgrounds and traditions, who pray for each other. 

By the time I was called in to the procedure room, prepped and feeling at peace, while waiting for the doctor, I later realized the injection was placed at 3:00 pm, the exact time that Jesus died on the cross. 

My injection was made at the time He bore our griefs, our pain and our sorrows on the cross that day. I didn’t suffer pain from the injection, and was thankful for all He did.

I have no pain today in walking and I thank all the people who prayed. God has given His Church many gifts, and the gift of crowning us with dignity is a tangible gift and state of mind that is possible to maintain, once we remind ourselves we are a child of God. Whoever comes to the cross of Christ in faith, is crowned with dignity. His church is His spiritual, living body ministering on earth, every day, through people like us who believe. 

Lord, thank you for your peace, your church, the power of prayer and the unity of faith. Give each reader a renewed sense of their dignity which you sealed us with at the cross. Amen 

“Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.”

Ruth 1:14 (ESV)

The last words of a young father who put his four year old son on a school bus on the morning of 9/11/01, were, “Say goodbye again.” The father felt a mysterious urge to call him back for a second goodbye hug and kiss. That moment was planted in his son’s heart, as a cherished memory after his father went to work that day, at the Pentagon, but never returned home. 

When a hijacked plane was forced to fly into the Pentagon building that morning, 184 lives were lost. I saw a brief interview with his son, who is now 29 years old, who still cherishes the memory of his father asking him for that second goodbye.

The whole story got me thinking about all the routine goodbyes that we say each day, whether to friends, loved ones or acquaintances. We never know when the simplest goodbye moment might remain as a sacred memory to someone as a gift that lasts forever.

The story of Naomi in the Old Testament is probably the best bible story about saying goodbyes. She lost her husband and her two adult sons, though scripture never explains how they all died. Naomi most likely said a routine goodbye to them one day, and they never came home. This story from the book of Ruth begins with a dismal reality of an elderly widow, who has no family left, except two widowed daughters in law, and no grandchildren. 

Since her two daughters in law were young enough to remarry and have a family, Naomi encouraged them to return to their home towns and live their lives. Naomi said goodbye to her two gentile daughters in law, and planned to move on to Bethlehem, where relatives of her husband’s tribe dwelled and shared her same faith in the God of Israel.

After saying goodbye, Orpah, her one daughter in law, kissed and hugged Naomi, and left, but Ruth, her other daughter in law, clung to Naomi, refusing to leave her. Naomi said ‘goodbye again’ to Ruth, trying to let her go, but she kept clinging to her, speaking words of loyalty that are still recited as part of the Jewish wedding ceremony to this day:

“Wherever you go I will go, 🎵

wherever you lodge I will lodge.

Your people shall be my people

and your God, my God.” (Ruth 1:16)

Naomi’s attempt to say a second and final goodbye to her daughter in law, changed both of their lives forever. Ruth insisted in staying with her mother in law and accompanied her to Bethlehem. Naomi and Ruth arrived in a new town to begin a new life, and God gave them hope for a new future. Ruth ended up marrying Naomi’s relative, Boaz, and they had a baby boy named Obed. 

Naomi and Ruth had a family again, and Obed, Naomi’s  grandson, was the joy of her life. Whatever life brings, it’s never too late to find the good purpose God has for those who trust in Him, who turns our mourning into joy.

Ruth’s son, Obed, grew to become the grandfather of David, the writer of Psalms, who ruled Israel for forty years. David was an ancestor to Jesus, according to Matthew’s gospel. Because of Ruth’s love and loyalty to Naomi, she is forever a part of the geneology of Jesus. Second goodbyes can go a long way.

Just as that young man kept a 25 year cherished memory of his father’s second goodbye on that September morning, we may have cherished memories of our loved ones. Each generation becomes a new and living hope of the previous one, and in some mystical way, love lives on through them forever. 

The best advice I ever heard for those who suffer a premature loss of a loved one, is,

“There is still somebody out there who needs your love.” 

Naomi didn’t know at the time that a future grandson would be blessed by her love as his grandmother. Ruth learned that life didn’t end with her widowhood, and both women found that saying goodbye is not the end, but an introduction to new beginnings.

Lord, give us the heart of Ruth and Naomi, to see your purpose in trials, to be ready to offer our presence, friendship and love to those you bring into our lives. Amen

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

John 1:5 (NIV)

Speaking of light that shines in the darkness, it’s difficult to look back on September 11, 2001, but there are still many untold stories of heroes, who shined their light on a very dark day in history. A man named Darin was a Secret Service agent, in the building across from the World Trade Center on that fateful morning. He was at a meeting with other agents in their headquarters, when the building began to rumble and shake. They heard a loud noise and ran to look outside, witnessing the first tower that was just hit.

Darin and two other agents ran outside, tending to the wounds of people on the street, who were injured from falling debris or burned from flaming jet fuel. The agents then ran inside the tower to see if they could rescue anyone.

While inside the tower, Darin was surrounded by smoke, rubble and pitch black darkness. He could not see a thing, and without a flashlight, he listened for the voice of any survivor, in order run toward them in the pitch black darkness. He found an injured woman, but couldn’t see to find his way back out. He started praying, and suddenly he saw a ray of light that shined enough to lead him toward an exit. After bringing her out to paramedics, Darin saw that his agent friends also made it out safely. 

Once outside, a fire chief was telling his crew, “Grab your gear, we’re going back in !” Minutes after those firemen rushed back into the tower, there was a loud noise that sounded like thunder and metal screeching at once. Darin and his friends watched in horror as the entire tower came crashing down, floor upon floor, like pancakes stacked upon one another. 

He and the two agents grabbed a fire hose from the firetruck, and tried to put out the fires, since they were standing by the truck, while every fireman was inside the tower that had just collapsed. 

Still in their business suits, without protective equipment, the three secret service agents put out fires, managing the fire hose until other firetrucks arrived. They never  imagined, as they got dressed that morning, and headed to work, that they would finish the day with torn, singed clothes, the soles of their shoes partially melted from the heat, concrete dust on their face and in their mouth, while putting out fires with a fireman’s hose. Their training was to protect high ranking officials from threats of violence, but nothing like the violence that occurred that day to innocent citizens.

Over 400 first responders died that day, doing what they were trained to do, and those three secret service men survived, by doing what they were not trained to do. Heroes arise from all different backgrounds, but they all have one thing in common. They are lights shining in darkness, running toward a hellish situation, to save whoever they can, at any cost. 

God shines His light in the darkness in different ways. He shined His light in the darkness, to lead Darin and the injured woman out of the tower safely. He shined His light on those first responders who saved lives, then bravely rushed back in to save more. Heroes don’t think about rewards, only what action they can do next. They are living definitions of self sacrifice, saving lives at the cost of their own life, or as Jesus called it, 

“There is no greater love than to lay one’s life down for a friend,” 

(John 15:13) and they did it for total strangers. 

The lesson for us is that whatever dark situation we face, God will shine His light in some way, to show that He is with us, and to lead us on the right path. He does it sometimes by shining His light through heroes who save lives. He might use us to shine a light figuratively, into someone else’s darkness. Whatever type of darkness it is, God’s promise is that darkness will ‘never’ overcome His light. 

Lord, today we honor all the heroes of 911, who laid down their lives for others, for the 3,000 total lives lost that day, and we pray for your light to shine upon this nation and in our lives forever. Amen

“Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called “the friend of God.”

James 2:23 (NAB)

God has called people His friends throughout Biblical history. Abraham was the first person in scripture to be called a ‘friend of God.’ The next person to be called God’s friend was Moses. (Exodus 33:11) It says that God spoke to Moses ‘face to face as a friend.’

It’s incredible to think that Almighty God, the Eternal one, Creator of the world, would call two human men, ‘His friends.’ Then came Jesus, who said many times, that all those who do His will and remain in Him, are His friends. (John 15:14-15) 

I think we can safely say that God desires our friendship, and friendship with Jesus, comes by discipleship. 

Jesus had many followers, but not all followers were disciples. A disciple is one who stays close and remains in Him, which requires a lifetime. A disciple imitates Him, doing as He did, and receives correction, always learning through a steady friendship with Jesus.

People have tried to define the difference between a disciple and a follower. By today’s standards, a follower could be defined as anyone who taps the ‘follow’ button on a social media page. There’s virtually no commitment required to tap a button. Discipleship was intended by Jesus to be a life long commitment, a mission of remaining in Him, and learning by His love.

Peter, James and John were the only three disciples to be with Jesus at key moments of His ministry, like the Transfiguration, the healing of Peter’s mother in law, and the only three who went into the house when Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead. They were also the select  three who were with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, even though they fell asleep. 

I used to assume that those three disciples were special, but the more I read, the more I realize they were very human and had the same faults as the average person. The brothers, James and John, were nicknamed ‘sons of thunder’ because of their tempers, and Peter at first, refused to include gentiles into the church. 

It goes to show that God loves us as we are, faults and all, and desires our friendship as long as we permit Him to disciple and keep teaching us. Abraham and Moses were corrected by God at times and yet they were called friends of God. 

A disciple doesn’t ask Jesus to bless whatever they do, but instead, they seek to do what Jesus has blessed. The first disciples went wherever Jesus went, and did what Jesus said to do, learning from their mistakes as they went along. It’s no different today. If we are doing things Jesus said to do, and learning as we go, then we are His disciples and friends. 

I once heard a true story about Gandhi, that he took an interest in Christianity at one point, and wanted to see what a Christian church service was like, so he decided to visit one. As he approached the front door of a church, two men, (guards) stopped him, telling him that this church was only for white people and high caste Indians, so Gandhi was turned away. 

Perhaps a follower of some sort might make mistakes like that, but they would learn from it and change, if they were a disciple or a real friend of Jesus. Those men might have known about Jesus, but they didn’t know Jesus. His disciples and friends would have gladly invited Gandhi into their church. That was a sad story, but even sadder if those men didn’t learn from their mistake. All disciples make mistakes, but are corrected and discipled along their journey. They go from being followers to being disciples, which leads to true friendship with Jesus. 

The Lord is patient and merciful, and  hopes for all people to move past the follower stage to becoming disciples, so that He can guide, discipline and correct us in love, and call us His friends. 

Lord, we want to be your friends and disciples, so please show us what you want to teach and correct in us, and thank you for always loving us as we are. Amen

“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”

James 2:12 (NIV)

I was reading about someone who once stood the test, as this scripture describes. He is known as John of Avila, born in Spain in 1499. His ancestors were Jewish but had converted to Christianity a few generations earlier. It was during a time when Spain was just liberated from 800 years of Muslim rule, and then faced the judgements of the Inquisition. Christianity was going through changes and some clergy were not setting the best example. John, by contrast, was a breath of fresh air, for his culture and time. 

At 18, he was studying to become a lawyer, when he had a deep conversion experience and decided to leave law school. After taking time off for prayer and discernment, he switched his studies from law to theology and was ordained in 1526. Being the only child of wealthy parents, when his parents died, he sold their house and gave all the money to the poor. He never wanted to live lavishly as some clergymen were doing at the time.

During his ministry, those clergymen were offended by John’s preaching, and reported false accusations against him to the Spanish Inquisition. He was arrested and imprisoned, accused of teaching that wealthy people will not go to heaven, when he merely taught not to store up perishable treasures on earth, but to seek the treasures that last forever in heaven.

The Inquisition was quick to hear the complaint against him, and rushed to judgement. So John was sent to prison but his time in prison was devoted to prayer, study, and writing. A year later, since the Inquisition couldn’t prove the pathetic, weak charges made against him, John was released. His ministry touched all who came to hear his sermons. 

He preached and wrote about persevering under trial, forgiving our enemies, the power of gratitude and the hidden treasures that can be found in our trials, saying,

“I pray God may open your eyes and let you see what hidden treasures He bestows on us in the trials from which the world thinks only to flee.” 

He inspired the faithful who suffered while waiting for answers to prayers, telling them to keep crying out to the Lord, who commands the sea to be at peace and turns our mourning into joy. 

What a positive spirit he had for a man so misunderstood by his fellow clergy, then falsely accused and incarcerated. God did a beautiful work in his soul during that year in prison, more than all the years of his higher education. He stood the test, persevered under trial, and clung to Christ, as his greatest treasure. He chose gratitude, forgave his enemies, and was blessed with a heart big enough to receive even more of God’s love.

Lord, thank you for John of Avila and may we always follow his example of finding the treasures hidden in our trials, and always give thanks in all situations, as you calm the storms and restore our joy. Amen 

“When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod.”

Matthew 2:13-15 (NIV)

Joseph was living in complete trust and obedience to God long before he understood the details of the Lord’s plan. The story about the foster father of Jesus is too wonderful to reserve only for Christmastime. His life example is meant to meditate on more than once a year.

Joseph was engaged to Mary, and as virtuous as he was, he was still human, and became very stressed when he discovered that Mary was pregnant. He prayed about the situation but still worried, having many sleepless nights. His anxiety was caused by wanting to do the right thing, without putting Mary at risk of being stoned, a punishment for a woman presumed guilty of adultery, under Mosaic law.

We can relate to Joseph in praying about a problem, but still worrying about it, through many sleepless nights filled with anxiety. A marriage engagement in first century Judaism was permanent, a sealed betrothal, which could not be broken without a legal divorce. Joseph tried to think of ways to handle the problem of her pregnancy without putting Mary to shame, so he decided on divorcing her and sending her away, secretly. 

That night, an angel came to him in a dream, telling him not to be afraid and to go ahead and take Mary as his wife, because the child in her womb was conceived by the Holy Spirit. He didn’t understand it all, but he trusted God, by believing the unbelievable.  (Matthew 1:20)

God’s plan for our salvation resulted in the most difficult challenges Mary and Joseph ever encountered. Every blessing comes with a challenge, which ends up testing our trust in God. His plan was for an unwed virgin named Mary, to offer her womb to be the ark of protection and safety that nurtured God’s son during His prenatal days of life. 

God gave Joseph the job of keeping them both safe, and to be His protector, His earliest mentor, and the father figure that Jesus would grow up with, throughout His human existence. 

The infinite God of the universe, who asks us to trust in Him, entrusted His only incarnate son into Joseph’s care and protection. Joseph did what he was asked to do, so that Jesus could do what He came to do, which made it possible for us to be saved and receive eternal life. 

God trusted Joseph and Joseph trusted God, which is what a relationship is all about. Mary and Joseph were probably the most misunderstood couple in Nazareth, as they trusted God, without knowing all the details of His plan for  them. We are also called to trust God, and remain in a relationship with Him, without knowing all the details.

They journeyed to Bethlehem, for a required government census, but as they arrived, Mary gave birth to Jesus. Joseph began to see that God’s timing was all part of a plan to fulfill prophecy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. 

(Micah 5:2)

Joseph was visited by an angel  again, and in a dream, was told to take Mary and Jesus, and flee quickly to Egypt. Herod was plotting a mass murder of all babies born within a two year period, believing they were a threat to his kingdom. Joseph did his part as protector of his family, while still unaware of all the details.

While Mary and Joseph lived in Egypt, it wasn’t easy for them as religious Jews of the first century. They were far away from their Temple, their family and friends of the faith, living as aliens and strangers in a foreign land.

Every decision Joseph made in caring for his family, was contrary to the normal lifestyle of his culture and time. It was not normal to marry an already pregnant woman. It was not normal for a devout Hebrew to live in Egypt, among idol worshippers, with no support of a faith community or family nearby. It was just Joseph and Mary, trusting God together.

Eventually, they were led back to  Nazareth, and provided a loving home environment for Jesus to grow in the security of family, faith and friends. Joseph is a role model for every Christian man who, by being faithful to God, found himself asking, 

“How did I get myself into this?” 

He is a role model for fathers, foster fathers, godfathers, and ministers who lead and guide others.  

Anyone who ever felt like they are living in Egypt, outside the norm, facing a situation that is out of their comfort zone, and too difficult to explain, should remember Joseph went through the same thing. God can accomplish anything without our help, but He chooses regular people to participate in His plans. 

He chose Mary and Joseph to do His will to fulfill the plan of salvation. There is no better place to be, than in the center of God’s will, and Joseph shows us how trust can keep us there. 

Lord, thank you for the example of Joseph and help us to trust you as he did, even without knowing the details of the plan.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.”

John 1:14 (RSV)

Many years ago, I was having a conversation with a doctor I worked with for many years in the operating room. He was a brilliant young man who lived a secular lifestyle, not religious at all, until he had a life altering spiritual experience that led him to return to his Jewish faith with passionate devotion. He never shared with me the details of what inspired him, but it was so intense that he eventually left the medical field completely, to devote himself to religious Jewish life and study of the Torah.(scripture)

We had a deep discussion one day, and knowing he was much smarter than me, I felt a little inadequate, even though we both had a passion for our own faith. Our discussion covered different topics and then progressed to the person of Jesus. I said that I believed Jesus was the Messiah, the human and divine incarnation of God. He politely stopped me and said, “That would never happen, because God would never become a man.”  

I asked him why he was so sure of that, and he said that the heart of all the commandments is to never make or worship a graven image, so God who is invisible, would never do what is contrary to His commandments by becoming a visible image.

I knew that Jesus was visible but not a graven image, so I mentioned the prophet Isaiah who foretold that a virgin would bear a child, who is called “God with us,” which points to a divine person born of a human virgin. He continued to shake his head no, saying that even if God could do such a thing, He never would do it, because it contradicts all His commandments.

It seemed that Mosaic law and the commandments blocked him from seeing that God is greater than His commandments and can clothe Himself in human flesh if He chooses to. The incarnation is a great mystery for any human mind to grasp, and our discussion ended there, but I still think about what he said.

If I could continue that conversation with him today, I’d say that God had the plan to send His Son into the world, since Genesis, long before the commandments were ever given. In the Garden of Eden, God warned the serpent that one day, he would be crushed by the ‘offspring of a woman’. That happened in one sacred moment of time, when the Divine merged with human DNA and Jesus was conceived. He is that ‘offspring’ who crushes the serpent, and Mary is the woman with the DNA. 

God is greater than commandments, as Jesus told the Pharisees that He is the ‘Lord of the Sabbath’ and the ‘fulfillment of the law.’ He is also the Son of the Father and second person of the Trinity. It’s the most profound truth for a human mind to process.

God knew that the best way to reach out and save us was to become one of us, which Paul calls the “mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things.” (Ephesians 3:9) 

I’ll never forget a different day while we were preparing the operating room for the next case, and another doctor I worked with, was in the room and asked me, “What is grace?” It was a strange thing to ask out of nowhere, since no conversation was taking place. He must have heard it mentioned and was thinking about it. 

I said “grace is unmerited favor.” He never said anything after that. It was an odd moment but also a Spirit inspired moment. Grace is the most profound message to share, since it leads to a better understanding of the incarnation mystery and who Jesus really is. 

God did become a man, and we know it based on everything Jesus said about Himself and His Father. He left the glory of heaven to be born a helpless infant and live a humble human life, all out of His abundant grace and immeasurable love for each one of us. 

Lord, thank you for your divine Presence, incarnated in the person of Jesus. We love you and pray that all people will embrace the beauty and truth of this mystery. Amen

“On that day Israel shall be a third party with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth,

when the Lord of hosts gives this blessing: “Blessed be my people Egypt, and the work of my hands Assyria, and my heritage, Israel.”

Isaiah 19:24-25 (NAB)

Israel is the holy land for three major religions, even though it is a very small country, about the size of New Jersey. God loves the people of every nation, as the scripture above refers to Egypt as ‘His’ people, and Assyria (modern day Iraq) as the work of ‘His’ hands. 

Israel, though small, is often the focus of world news, as people live in constant conflict, but it is a land, rich in the history of miracles. 

We’ve all heard the Bible stories of miracles that once took place there. The Sea of Galilee is where Jesus walked on water, a landscape that is still unchanged today. Jesus fed the 5,000 on the northwestern shore of that Sea.

David defeated the 9’9” giant, Goliath, in an area that is only 15 minutes from the Ben Gurion international airport of Israel. The Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem has one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in the country and is also next to where Jesus preached the famous Sermon of the Mount. In Jerusalem, we can still walk through the Garden of Gethsemane, and see the same trees that existed 2,000 years ago, where Jesus once prayed. It’s amazing to think of all the miracles that took place in a land that we can still visit today.

I believe that Abraham, the patriarch of Judaism, Islam and Christianity, is still overseeing the holy land from heaven, and would like to see his descendants of Isaac (Jews), of Ishmael, (Arabs) and Christians everywhere to dwell in peace and unity. Two very interesting and mystical occurrences involving Abraham, once happened in the 20th century, as reported by eyewitnesses who were there.

Right after the United Nations voted to declare Israel an independent nation in 1948, a coalition of five Arab nations attacked the country. There was a troop of Israelis who were down to the end of their supplies, on top of Mount Zion. A troop of Arab fighters approached them, and the Israeli troop saw that they were cornered and out of bullets, so they decided to pray. 

The Arab soldiers headed up the mountain, towards them, then looked up, seeing something that stopped them. Immediately the whole troop of Arabs retreated, but the Israeli soldiers never knew why, until nineteen years later. One of those Jewish soldiers met an Arab soldier and as they were talking, they realized they were both on Mount Zion that day. The Arab man told him that Abu Ibrahim (father Abraham) appeared to them on top of the mountain, waving his arms for them to stop fighting, so in a state of awe, they all retreated.

If this sounds too unbelievable, it happened again, 20 years later,  during the Six day war in Israel. A troop of Israeli soldiers were outnumbered but about to fight a troop of soldiers from Jordan, when the Jordanians saw something in the sky and shouted in Arabic, “Abu Ibrahim !”and then retreated. 

A Jordanian soldier later told an Israeli officer that they saw their Patriarch, father Abraham in the sky surrounded by a multitude of angels. Those Arab troops were blessed to witness such imagery, which God sent to them, knowing both Jews and Arabs revered Abraham. Many lives were saved because of those sitings of Abraham during the early conflicts. 

So, whether we are a Jew or an Arab, Catholic or Protestant, or people of any race on earth, God wants all people to come to Him and be united  in Him, as He sent an obvious message of unity and inclusion through today’s scripture. 

Miracles don’t happen every day but when they do, it’s meant to inspire us to find a common unity of faith, to trust in a God who is real, who loves all people, and who still intervenes in our lives whenever we pray to Him. 

Lord, we pray that you would make us instruments of your peace until the day that all people of any faith or race will see Jesus with open arms, and invite Him into their lives. Amen