Scripture:

"Then He asked them, " Who do you say I am?
Simon Peter answered, ' You are the Messiah (Christ),
the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16: 15,16) NLT

Reflection:

That is quit an answer to an obviously important question.
The power that this Christ has had for over 2,000 years
is unbelievable. The belief in Jesus has withstood
that same question all this time. And we still ask the
question "Who is Jesus of Nazareth?", and you know
something, everything, I mean everything, depends
on our answer!
Peter didn't leave the answer that Jesus is the Messiah,
he further stated that Jesus the Messiah is the Son
of the living God! In a world which asks the question
is God alive or dead, this is quit a response. Peter
certainly didn't try to give a water downed answer.
He answered a direct question with a direct answer.
"You are Christ the Son of the living God." Peter
really didn't understand the whole meaning of his
statement, But I think he certainly made a great start.
Please know this, that if you love Him with all your being,
you will not lose in the end, but will receive a great
gain. Are you ready to make that start in your life,
to give your entire being to Jesus the Christ the Son
of the living God. I hope so, because you are in for
the greatest experience of life, the experience of
Jesus Christ.

Prayer:

Father God thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ.
I want Jesus in my life, I want to experience the
fullness of Christ. I want to experience Jesus
Christ the Son of the living God. THANK YOU
GOD FOR BEING GOD in the name of Jesus
Christ the Son of the living God AMEN!

Quote:
Jane Addams Advocate for the Poor and Homeless
Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (1860-1935)
"The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain...
until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life."

O Guardian of Israel,
Our shelter and shade,
Stir up in us that flame of justice
That Jesus incited on this earth,
That rages in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

O arouse in us
That very flame of righteousness
That enticed Martin
To be a living sacrifice of praise,
To seek freedom for all God's children.

O to you, God, ever faithful and true,
Be glory for ever and ever.
Amen.

- Attributed to J. Glenn Murray, SJ

EPIPHANY SUNDAY

Gospel
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’“

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
—Matthew 2:1-12, NIV

Give the gift of wise rule to the king, O God,
the gift of just rule to the crown prince. Maye he
judge your people rightly, be honorable to your
meek and lowly. Let the mountains give exuberant
witness; shape the hills with the contour of right
living. Please stand up for the poor, help the
children of the needy, come down hard on the
cruel tyrants. Out last the sun, outlive the moon-
age after age after age. Be rainfall on cut grass,
earth refreshing rain showers. Let righteousness
burst into blossom and peace abound until the
moon fades to nothing.
kings remote and legendary will pay homage,
kings rich and resplendent will turn over their
wealth. All kings will fall down and worship, and
godless nations sign up to serve him, Because
he rescues the poor at the first sign of need,
the destitute who have run out of luck. He
opens a place in his heart for the down-and-out,
he restores the wretched of the earth. He frees
them from tyranny and torture- when they bleed;
when they die, he dies. (Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14}

Prayer of Adoration:

O God, the source of eternal light:
Let you unending day open upon
all of us who watch for you, that our
lips may praise you, or lives may bless you and
our worship glorify you. Through Jesus Christ
our Lord, Amen.

Scripture:

"Jesus said to her, I am the One Who raises the
dead and gives them life. Anyone who puts his
trust in Me will live again, even if he dies. Anyone
who lives and has put his trust in Me will never
die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25, 26) NLT

Reflection:

Wow! what a statement, can you believe the arrogance.
To actually tell people that if you trust in Me you will
live forever. How can the man expect me to believe
something like that? Well I do. You see I trust Jesus
Christ. It's hard not to believe in the Son of God. As
you read the scripture you begin to realize that
this Jesus was not just a prophet, not just a teacher,
not just a priest. He was God incarnate. We just
celebrated Christmas, when God became man.
Maybe it's time to sit back and really think about
what we believe. It seems to me that belief is
centered around trust. I really can't believe unless
I can trust. Well I put my trust in God. I trust
God's Son, Who died for me so that I now will
live forever. How about you do you trust in God,
do you trust His son, Will you live forever?
These are important questions. I really hope
and pray that you believe. Because I want to meet
you in heaven!!!!!'

Prayer:

Oh God my Father thank You for Your Son, I trust
You and I believe. Thank You for eternal life. THANK
YOU GOD FOR BEING GOD!

Quote-

"War may sometimes be a necessary evil. but no matter
how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good"

Jimmy Carter

Prayer

God of our forebears and our God, who has summoned women and men throughout the ages to be thy witnesses and sometimes martyrs for thee, we bow before thee this day in remembrance and thanksgiving for the life and legacy of thy servant, witness and martyr, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We thank thee for his time among us, for his words and for his deeds, and for the quality of his living witness which eases the pain of recalling the brevity of his years. We rejoice in his example of obedient faith and the scenes and stations of his life which inform and enrich our own faith journeys. And we beseech thee this day for the strength, steadfastness and courage not only to remember but also to obey.
- Dr. Randolph Nugent Christian
source: United Methodist Church
At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When notified of his selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement.

On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city, he was assassinated.