Category:Lecture/Sermon

I talk to you and myself, which is why I internalize the message. Lots are in the readings. One question that stayed with me is the last line. If Christ comes will I have faith, which is the gift from God. Faith is connection to God to listen to God properly. St. James said that faith is dead if without deeds. Faith allows me to hear God. Sometimes we can see God. Prayer is listening and talking to God. Faith is planted in us. How do I find out what God wants? One of my religious education kids explained parables as stories with bigger stories. We can see God as the judge in the last reading, which is not true. I hope our attitude to prayer is not God will eventually act. Prayer tells us we are not alone. Perhaps we do not listen because we want a specific answer. God helps with what we need. God is not far from us. God answers but we do not listen because the answer was not what we wanted. So when we lose faith because God does not listen, we are not listening. My dear friends today is about understanding how to allow faith to exist so that god will see it. I will finish with this, we see the team effort in the first reading. With faith goes action. We forget we are the hands and feet of God in the world. We think too much sometimes. God has given us all we need to help. All people need sometimes is a smile. People may not know how to ask for help. I want us to remember, we need to look beyond our comfort zone. We should model Christ in the world. Ask how you can help. Let us pray to keep these things in mind, to be sensitive to those around us. All of us are connected. Let us accept the challenge, to be the answer to the prayers of others. Do not underestimate the power of God through you.