10/09/2025

Wednesday of Week 23 in Ordinary Time

In today's first mass-reading St Paul writes to the community of believers based in Colossae, another city close to the Ephesus of St John and Our Lady, as was nearby Laodicea. It is only some thirty years since the Resurrection and less than that since he was called to announce the Good News, but he is now detained in Rome more than a thousand miles away by land, awaiting an audience with Nero. 

To be able to do "God's Will on Earth as it is Heaven" we too have to set our minds on things that are above and reject all that is worldly. We pray for the needs of each day and most importantly of all we have to avoid all that could lead us into sin.

Everything that Paul preached about Christ he had learnt, as do we, from the Apostles and Evangelists. He had been through the action of Providence, however, a devoted servant of IAMIAM, a scholar and follower of the Law and even after his personal Epiphany which had blinded him into the pure light of faith in the risen Lord he remained a Jew.

Yesterday I heard on TV another Jew declaring that Jews are to be treated by the whole world as if they were the supreme rulers of mankind. 

Everything that God has revealed about himself to mankind has been revealed through Jews. IAMIAM chose to become a Jew in the humanity in which he sacrificed himself on the Cross. I am a Christian and know that Our Lord and his Mother and most of his first disciples are forever Jews but also know that the Incarnate Son stretched out his arms on the cross to save all the races of the world. 

After, the life, death and Resurrection there is not "Greek, and Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free. But Christ is all in all".

When Paul wrote his letter to the Colossians these words were true and, even though they have been largely ignored by the deeds of men throughout the centuries, they are still as true as "My kingdom is not of this world", also largely ignored, declared thirty years prior to this letter, at his trial before Pilate by Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Mary.

Dear Lord, help us all to listen and take into our hearts your words of Love for it is only by each of us avoiding sin that the evils that disfigure past time can be avoided creating more hate-filled history today to be confronted by our descendants. Your Mercy can forgive all human errors but you did warn us that we can commit an unpardonable sin. We cannot accuse God of responsibility for our sins!