Passion Sunday, April 7th, 2019

Fifth Sunday in Lent, commonly called Passion Sunday, 

April 7th, 2019

We have all known smart people.  We are impressed by their knowledge and how smart they are.  If you are like me you might even turn on the game show "Jeopardy" and ask yourself, "How do they know all these things?"   But in regards to the Bible, certainly Solomon comes to mind in regards to people who are wise.  We hear in the First Book of Kings 3:5 that "the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee."  Just imagine if God would come to you or me and would ask us this same question.  What would we ask for?  Would we ask for riches?  Would we ask to made powerful in the eyes of the world?  Would we ask for a great mansion with all the luxuries known to man?  What would we ask for?   Well, in Solomon's case, he asked for wisdom.  Solomon responded to God by saying:  "Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad; for who is able to judge this thy so great a people."  (I Kings 3:9)  This answer pleased God that Solomon would ask for wisdom instead of riches or power or even comfort in life.  What does this have to do with Lent, you may ask.  What does this have to do with Passion Sunday or Lent, you may ask.  Solomon asked for wisdom because he was chosen to become king after David his father.  As such, he saw that there was great responsibility to look after God's chosen ones:  Solomon speaks to God, saying:  "And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.  Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad; for who is able to judge this thy so great a people." (I Kings 3:8-9)  So it was not only the case that Solomon asked for wisdom, we also have to look at the reason why Solomon asked for wisdom:  so that he could rule the people that God had chosen.   So, too, Our Blessed Lord did all that He did on behalf of God's chosen people.  This includes you and me.  Christ chose to become a human being so that He could spend time with us.  He became a human being so that He could teach us about Our Heavenly Father.  He chose to come to earth as a human being so that the "human" and the "Divine" could be fully united like never before.  Solomon chose wisdom to better serve God's chosen people.  Christ chose human nature to save God's chosen people.   In this sense, we too have choices to make.  We can choose to serve ourselves or we can choose to serve God.  We can be selfish in our choices or we can think of others.  God thought of us when He sent His Only Son into the world.  Christ thought of us when He chose to take on human form.  The Holy Ghost chooses to come into our hearts if we let Him.  But it is up to us.  We must make the choice.  

St. Margaret Church gathers every Sunday morning to hear the Word of God and to worship Our Heavenly Father.  We are a traditional church.  We use the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Mass begins at 9:30 AM.  We celebrate at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Please join us and dedicate an hour of your week to God.  Return home to Him, the God Who waits patiently for your return.