Chúa Nhật IV Mùa Vọng A

[hoangvu]

CÁC BÀI ĐỌC CNIV MÙA VỌNG A

BÀI ĐỌC I: First Reading: Book of Isaiah 7:10-14

Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.
Then Isaiah said: "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.

ĐÁP CA: Resp. Psalm: Ps 24:1-6

The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it,
the world, and those who live in it;
for he has founded it on the seas,
and established it on the rivers.

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
who do not lift up their souls to what is false,
and do not swear deceitfully.

They will receive blessing from the Lord,
and vindication from the God of their salvation.
Such is the company of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob.

BÀI ĐỌC II : Second Reading: Epistle to the Romans 1:1-7

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, To all God's beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

PHÚC ÂM: Gospel: Matthew 1:18-24

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us."
When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife.


SUY NIỆM LỜI CHÚA

TÌNH THƯƠNG MẦU NHIỆM
CN4MVA: (Mt 1: 18-24)

Trước những kỳ công của Thiên Chúa, đặc biệt trong việc yêu thương nhân loại, khi mà chúng ta không thể hiểu nổi, chúng ta gọi đó là những mầu nhiệm. Có những mầu nhiệm gắn liền với thân phận nhân loại, như mầu nhiệm Nhập Thể của Chúa Giêsu, hoặc mầu nhiệm Cứu Chuộc nhân loại của Ngài. Mỗi mầu nhiệm đều là những tin vĩ đại, những tin "động trời" của tình thương Thiên Chúa. Đối với chúng ta, qua mạc khải của Thiên Chúa trong Thánh Kinh, và qua các giáo huấn của Giáo Hội, con mắt đức tin mình được mở ra để xem như đón nhận một cách dễ dàng, tự động, đến nỗi hầu như "mù quáng" của đặc tính đức tin. Tuy nhiên, đối với những người đương thời với Chúa Giêsu, Đấng là hiện thân của mầu nhiệm tình thương Thiên Chúa dành cho con người, thì hầu hết rất khó hiểu tính cách bí mật của các mầu nhiệm, như có lần thánh Phêrô đã ngăn cản Chúa Giêsu đừng lên Giêrusalem để chịu chết... Chính Chúa Giêsu đã trả lời cho các môn đệ về nhiều vấn đề khúc mắc khó hiểu, chẳng hạn như việc người giàu khó vào Nước Trời như con lạc đà chiu qua lỗ kim, rằng đối với con người thì không thể được, nhưng mọi sự đều có thể đối với Thiên Chúa.

Phúc âm hôm nay cũng tường thuật lại một việc tương tự như vậy. Việc Mẹ Maria sinh ra Chúa Giêsu mà vẫn còn đồng trinh quả thực là việc không thể được đối với con người, nhưng lại dễ dàng đối với Thiên Chúa. Hai nhân vật vĩ đại trong câu chuyện là Maria và Giuse, vì là người, cho dù được Thiên Chúa chọn đóng vai trực tiếp trong mầu nhiệm Nhập Thể tình thương này, cũng hồi hộp, lo lắng và rất khó hiểu. Mẹ Maria thì hỏi thiên sứ Gabriel: Việc ấy xảy đến thế nào được? Còn thánh Giuse, khi thấy Mẹ Maria mang thai, thì lo lắng toan tính bỏ đi cách kín đáo. Tin Maria mang thai Chúa Giêsu, đối với Giuse quả là tin "động trời"; và Giuse chỉ hiểu được lý do khi thiên thần báo mộng là việc ấy do Chúa Thánh Thần. Mẹ Maria và Thánh Giuse, như thế từ khởi đầu của mầu nhiệm Nhập Thể, đã trở thành những mẫu gương đức tin đón nhận Tin Mừng tình thương của Thiên Chúa dành cho nhân loại. Riêng chúng ta hôm nay, cho dù đã phần nào con mắt đức tin như được mở ra trước các mạc khải của Thiên Chúa, cũng sẽ còn thắc mắc về tính cách bí mật của các mầu nhiệm mỗi khi mừng kính. Làm sao có thể đón nhận như Mẹ Maria chấp nhận lời thiên sứ, và như thánh Giuse chấp nhận đón Maria về nhà mình trong tình trạng mang thai ấy? Mãi mãi tất cả đều là những bí mật, những tin "động trời" của tình thương Thiên Chúa dành cho chúng ta trên hành trình đức tin của mình.

Lm. Raphael Xuân Nguyên



4th Advent Sunday
Is 7:10-14; Rom 1:1-7; Mt 1:18-24
Eyes of faith (John Walsh)
Jesus, Our Ladder to God (Patrick Rogers)
Promise and Fulfilment (Anthony O'Leary)
Believe that God is with us? (Peter Briscoe)
A Female Figure With A Child (Liam Swords)
Knowing our place before God (Jack McArdle)

Introduction: Our Lady played a unique role in our salvation. We honour her especially at Christmas when she gave birth to our Saviour. Our world mocks the virgin birth. We accept it on faith and in the fullness of Christ's mysteries.

Eyes of faith
(John Walsh)

In the second reading today, which is the introduction to the Letter to the Romans, St Paul describes himself as “a servant of Christ Jesus who has been called to be an apostle, and specially chosen to preach the Good News that God promised long ago through his prophets.” We might consider the question, where in the scriptures can we find this promise of God? To do this we should bear in mind that there are two ways in which we can get to the meaning of a passage in scripture. There is, first of all, the literal sense, or what message the author wanted to convey when writing it. And then, there is the message which the Holy Spirit wants to convey to us as we read the passage.
The first reading today from the prophet Isaiah, which is known as the Emmanuel prophecy, is one of the most famous passages in all the Old Testament that illustrate the two senses in which scripture may be understood. Taken literally, it shows Isaiah urging King Ahaz to have faith in God, that the royal line of David will survive, because the newly wedded queen will give birth to a son, a promise fulfilled in the future King Hezekiah. But if taken in the hidden sense, as St Paul obviously does, as well as St Matthew in the gospel reading, this passage from earliest times had a message also from the Holy Spirit. It can be seen as a solemn promise from God that a Redeemer will be born of a virgin, and that his name will be Emmanuel, meaning “God with us."
The challenge of all three readings is that of a call to faith. In each a chosen individual is being asked to make an act of faith. King Ahaz was called upon to have trust in God, and not try God's patience. St Paul became aware, again by faith, that his mission was to preach the word to the gentiles, and this, by the way, only after many years' reflection on the message imparted to him after being struck down while on the road to Damascus. Finally, St Joseph, as we see in today's gospel reading, was the first living person after Mary, who was asked to make an act of faith in Christ. He was called upon to believe that the child Mary was carrying was of divine origin - a most difficult thing for him to do, since it seemed to run counter to his marital rights. Indeed the mystery of a virgin birth must have been a far greater stumbling block for him than for us who have become so familiar with it. We have come to accept that God works in mysterious ways that confound human wisdom, ways demanding reflection and faith. Perhaps Joseph was helped by reflecting on God's promise to Abraham, one most unlikely to be fulfilled, that he would be the father of a great people, even though he was an old man, and his wife Sarah had been sterile from her youth. Yet fulfilled it was.
Perhaps we too should ask ourselves, what particular act of faith is God asking of me at this time. Part of the answer is to be found in the New Testament where it states that what makes a person acceptable to God is not obedience to the Law, but faith in Christ Jesus (Gal 2:16). This faith is not merely intellectual assent; it is an entrusting of ourselves to Christ, uniting ourselves with Christ. For we believe that, at the first Christmas, not only did the Blessed Trinity come down to us in visible form in God the Son made man, but that in and through the Son made man it has been made possible for us to be drawn into the glorious intimacy of the most holy Trinity.
For us Christmas should be a time of joy, not so much because Christ became one with us, as that he made it possible for us to become one with him. Yet the whole significance of St Luke's account of the birth of Christ is that the people of Israel did not receive the “expected one” when he arrived. We get hints of this from the utterances of the two great prophets of the Old Testament, Jeremiah and Isaiah, who lived several hundreds of years prior to the birth of Christ. He was treated like an alien by his own people, like a traveller, as Jeremiah puts it, who has stopped but for a night. Again, according to Isaiah, the ox knows its owner, and the ass its master's manger, but Israel rejected its messiah; there was no room for him at the inn. Do we close our hearts to Christ? We must listen to St Paul's last words to his converts at Corinth, “Examine yourselves to make sure you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you acknowledge that Jesus Christ is really in you? If not you have failed the test” (2 Cor 13:5) We can put Christ back into Christmas by putting him first into ourselves.






Jesus, Our Ladder to God
(Patrick Rogers)

l. What's in a name? Does it tell you anything about the person who owns it? Not very much, unless it happens to be a well-chosen nick-name. Helen, Peter, Sharon or Jason are useful names for distinguishing various members of a family; still, they don't say anything of importance about the people themselves. The name doesn't usually give information about a person's place in life. With some names in the Bible, it is different: (e.g. Abraham “Father of a great people” Gen. 17:5; Moses “Rescued from the Waters” (Ex. 2:10.) Our Lord has names which tell us everything about him: “Jesus” means “God saves” “Christ” means “Anointed Messiah sent by God,” and the name “Emmanuel” mentioned in today's Gospel, means “God in our very midst."
2. How important is Jesus, really, for our religious belief? Be honest. Ask the man in the street what Christianity all about, and what's his answer? Something to do with loving your neighbour; keeping the law; going to church on a Sunday? Not often will there be a direct mention of Christ, who is at the very centre. Ghandi once said, If you Christians took your Christ to heart, the whole world would be Christian.
3. Nowadays, one of the most hopeful trends is towards community, sharing efforts and experiences with others, real desire to be reconciled with long-term enemies. In a word, bridge-building among mankind. The greatest bridge-builder of all, who spans the gulf between us and God, is Jesus Christ. (High-Priest: Pontifex.) “No man has ever seen God; the Only-Begotten Son, who is closest to the Father's heart, has made him known” (Jn. 1:18.)
4. At Christmas we will concentrate on the simplicity and poverty of Our Lord's birth: how human he was, born of a young woman, not in luxurious comfort, but in the discomfort of a stable. That shows him as one of us, the human side of “Emmanuel.” The gospel however mentions the divine origin of Jesus. Although he has a human mother, he has not a human father, but was conceived in Mary by the power of God. This unique way of coming into life, with God as father, and the virgin Mary as mother, underlines who Jesus truly is: both God and man, one Of ourselves and yet one with the eternal God.
5. If this mystery seems too deep for our minds, remember that it was also most puzzling for St Joseph. Close to Mary as he was, and yet seeing her pregnant without any action on his part, Joseph could only accept in faith what God's messenger told him, that the child was in Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. With great patience and humility, Joseph accepted the part for which God had chosen him, as human foster-father to the Saviour. This faithful acceptance is just what is required of each of us, when Christ comes into our lives, as “God-with-us.






Promise and Fulfilment
(Anthony O'Leary)

The theme of promise and fulfilment is very much present in today's readings. There is a line of continuity in the mention of David's kingship in all of the three readings. But it is not a linear development. The events of the gospel are a quantum leap in God's plan, since the son of David is not any merely human descendant, but is the very Son of God. The career of this man led him to the glory of the resurrection when he became the source of power for all God's children. One could take up some surprises that people have got, surprises that were pleasant in that they exceeded their expectations. The examples would have to be fitting to the local situation. From this he might draw out the form that God uses to surprise us and bring about things for our good. God did surprise Joseph.
Another line of development is offered by concentrating on the presence of God in ordinary things. This is very much a theme in Matthew's gospel, when he gives us the pledge of Christ's abiding presence in Matthew 28:20 and tells us that this presence is available in the Christian community, where two or three are gathered in his name (Mt 18:20.) The birth of a child was the sign of God's enduring presence for Isaiah and his contemporaries. Everyday events can communicate something of the Lord. We can see his goodness in the kindness of others; we know something of his happiness in our own joy and peace. Beyond these times when we are aware of God's presence, there are occasions when we do not seem to be in touch with God at all and despite our insensitivity to his presence he is closer to us than we are to ourselves. Sickness can be an example of this. Christmas time can give an example in that it is a celebration that brings families together and that can tune us in to the love that underlies all human love.
A third option for a homily theme could be the great value of human life. The gospel and the first reading centre on the birth of a child that gives hope. A baby is full of hope and mystery in that no one can predict what will become of a baby. The mystery and the hope of a human child make people wonder. One could bring people to reflect on the wonder of their own lives, to think of the good things that they have received, the achievements they attained, the ways in which they have enriched the lives of others. It is not just in the human life of Jesus or of the Emanuel child that sacredness and blessing is to be found, but in every human being, even the one I know best, myself.






Believe that God is with us?
(Peter Briscoe)

Moments of crisis reveal aspects of ourselves that we don't face up to very often. They can show where our real self lies. Do we react defensively or aggressively Out of self-concern, or are we able to see beyond ourselves to the care of others? Usually crisis is also a test of our faith; are we really convinced about God's care and support for us?
One could use today's first reading as a lead-in to analyse what true faith is. We are presented with king Ahaz who could not rely on God in the great political crisis of his life. He needed the support of military and political security systems. Is our faith much the same? Is the god we trust usually the power of this world, only turning to the true God as an extra insurance,” a guarantee of some-thing to look forward to when this world is over? The message of the scriptures is that such faith is inadequate. Real faith is the conviction of God's continual presence with us, and not just in those moments when human presence and support fails. Real faith accepts the reality of God in the strong as well as the weak moments of life, Real faith sees God as a dimension of all our experience, the Emmanuel.
This reality of God-with-us is admittedly a mystery, and faith in this mystery is a gift. However, to say that faith is a gift should not be used as a “cop-out,” a pretence that it is totally beyond us, a gift for the chosen few. We all have some dimension of faith in our lives, we are all offered some share in this gift. We are invited today to use what we have been given, to develop it through real searching for the truth in all things. We are also called to make the great decisions of our lives conscientiously according to the faith we have been given.
In bringing out this sense of responsibility for our own faith one should be careful not to create false expectations or exaggerated guilt. Faith as gift remains mysterious, and is confronted by many difficulties in our times. Faced with real doubts our faith needs confirmation, it needs some kinds of sign.
Faith may involve a leap in the dark, it may be the “conviction about things we do not see” (Heb 11:1), but seeking signs to confirm that conviction is not necessarily a testing of God as Ahaz would have us believe. It is only when we demand signs as a pre-requisite without which we refuse to believe, it is only then that the seeking for a sign is contrary to true faith (cf. Mk 8:11-13.) Signs can be sought legitimately and offered as confirmation for those who are truly open to the word of God and struggling to be faithful to what they know of him.
The sign that was offered to Ahaz was a sign of life continuing through and beyond the crisis. This new life would confirm that God was with his people. The promise and the sign were vindicated by the events.
Still, the promise that God is with us was not for Isaiah's time only, it is for all time. In the Christian era the sign of that continuing presence is another young woman and her child, the Virgin Mary and her son Jesus.
For Joseph the unexpected pregnancy of Mary was not a sign to confirm his trust either in her or God, it was a contradictory sign. In the hours of his darkness he found the enlightening Spirit of God, the Spirit who teaches us not to judge by what our eyes see or by what our ears hear (cf. Is 11:3.)
This gospel shows us that the signs God gives are not always the ones we would choose for ourselves. He gives signs for those who are willing to take on the darkness of doubt in openness and sincerity. There are no signs for those locked into the need for security only on their own terms.
Ultimately faith is obedience, the gift of response to him who is both son of David and son of God (second reading.) Christ himself in his life, death and resurrection is the ultimate sign of God's presence in our world. It is he alone who can evoke the fullness of that presence. It is in our experiences and encounters with those who reflect Christ and his gospel that we find signs of God to confirm our faith. “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, ever at the Father's side, who has revealed him” (Jn 1:1-18.)






A Female Figure With A Child
(Liam Swords)

"When that the Eternal deigned to look
on us poor men to set us free,
He chose a maiden whom he took
from Nazareth in Galilee."
The English writer, Hilaire Belloc, came across an item in a newspaper in the early part of this century. It concerned a dispute between an Anglican vicar and his bishop. It appears that the vicar had decided to erect a statue of Mary, the Mother of God, in one of the niches of his church.
These mysteries profoundly shook
The Reverend Doctor Lee, D.D.,
Who forthwith stuck into a nook,
or niche of his encumbancy,
high on the wall for all to see,
a statue of the undefiled
the universal mother, she,
a Female figure with a Child.
Some of the parishioners complained to the bishop about it. Whereupon, the bishop
Wrote off at once to Doctor Lee,
in manner, very far from mild,
and said: “Remove them instantly,
this Female figure with a Child.'
The bishop, it seems, was “not satisfied with trying the patience of men, (or at least that of Dr. Lee) without trying the patience of God too.” He does not appear to have been familiar with today's reading from Isaiah:
The Lord himself, therefore will give you a sign. it is this: the maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son whom she will call Immanuel, a name which means “God-is-with-us."
From the beginning, faith in the virginal conception of Jesus has always met with “the lively opposition, mockery or incomprehension of non-believers, Jews and pagans alike.” It continues to be the one teaching of the church which attracts most contempt from unbelievers and most doubt from believers. It is pointless trying to placate the one or convince the other. It can be accepted only on faith and “in the totality of Christ's mysteries.” What separated the vicar from his bishop was faith.
The next time we meet will be at Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, to celebrate the Virgin Birth. It is too late now to send you a Christmas card. But I can suggest one to you. It is a simple line drawing of a “female figure with a child.” Underneath, is the little prayer Belloc concluded his poem with:
Prince Jesus, in mine agony,
permit me, broken and defiled,
through blurred and glazing eyes, to see
a Female figure with a Child.
Additional Bidding Prayers
We pray:
- that Mary will always intercede for us with her Son.
- that because of Mary we will always cherish single mothers.
- that society will accord mothers the rights that are their due.






Knowing our place before God
(Jack McArdle)

Theme: The gospel sets the scene for the birth of Jesus. Mary was to be married to Joseph. In the meantime, the angel had appeared to Mary, she had said her yes, and Jesus was already conceived within her womb. Mary was wrapped in mystery, in something she humbly accepted as being from God, and something she herself couldn't possibly understand. Her role, the role of the humble servant, was to obey, and leave it to God to take care of the details. One of those details was how Joseph would react when he heard what had happened. He was a good man, and he was deeply troubled when he discovered that Mary was pregnant. He decided on an honourable course of action, when God stepped in, as Mary expected and, through the medium of a dream, all Joseph's troubles and fears were resolved. He, too, was humble, and his role was to obey and accept the directions given him by God.
Parable: I spent many years teaching in schools. One of those subjects was swimming, on two afternoons a week. The whole thrust of the exercise was to get the pupils to trust me enough to follow exactly all the instructions I gave. The earlier ones were simple, such as jumping in at the shallow end, holding the bar, kicking their feet, etc. Inevitably, after many visits to the pool, the big test always arrived. The pupil was now at the deep end, clinging to that bar for dear life. Letting go of the bar, and following my instructions, was a very real test of their trust in me, and their faith in themselves. The sheer delight on the face, when someone made it to the other side of the pool, was ample reward for all efforts invested. The reality, of course, was that any one of them could have let go of that bar, and swum the width of the pool the very day they came there. However, they were not ready yet. They still did not have enough faith either in themselves or in me. I was always deeply aware of the many many bars they would have to let go of during their lifetime, as each major decision came up. (Please excuse the pun, but many of them may have found it difficult, if not impossible, to let go of their local bar. I have met a few.)
Teaching: It is really very difficult for us to know our place before God. I know I speak of the impossible here, but imagine how you would feel if you could actually see yourself placed against the background of an infinite omnipotent God. Even the atom would look like a mountain by comparison with your own sense of nothingness. Humility is truth; that means, accepting things exactly as they are. Pride is frightfully destructive, and its expressions are obnoxious: arrogance, haughtiness, aloofness, disdain, sarcasm, etc., etc. My own father had a habit of correcting us by saying, “You don't seem to know your place.” I'm sure he was right, but I now ask my heavenly Father, through the action of his Spirit, to ensure that I always know my place.
Mary and Joseph didn't actually do anything. They said their yes, and left the doing to God. Obedience comes from the Latin word obedientia, which, literally means, to hold one's ear against. It was a matter of listening, when one really wanted to know what to do, or which road to take. It was always considered as part of the role of the prophets.
Whenever I think of single mothers, I recall that Mary would have a special place for them in her heart, because she came within a whisker of being one herself. The penalty for that, in her day, was to be stoned to death; so we have come some way from there, thank God. For her, of course, it was a very stark option between trusting the Lord, and facing the consequences, if her trust was misplaced.
Response: If all of this was too much for Mary to understand, what chance have you or me? In my younger days, it was customary to say a prayer which began with the words “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul.” That would be a lovely prayer to repeat, as we move towards the celebration of Christmas.
Speaking of prayers, what is prayer for you? Is it you talking to God, or God talking to you? “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening,” or “Listen, Lord, your servant is speaking?” If you don't listen, you'll never know what God wants you to do. If you ask him, be prepared to listen, and you will certainly receive the answer. The organ that God gave me with which to pray is my heart, not my tongue. If my heart is not praying, then my tongue is wasting its time. On several occasions, we are told that “Mary held all these things, and pondered them in her heart.” That was where she heard the answers.
Dreams were always accepted as one way through which God spoke to people. The Old Testament is full of examples of such. Without wishing to turn this into a dream workshop, let me put this thesis to you: When you are asleep, when your ego is off guard, your inner child has a chance to let its presence be known and that, in essence, is what a dream is. All the fears, frustrations, and struggles of that inner child are acted out in the dream. Sometimes the inner child wakens you up, which is what we call a nightmare, and it usually has to do with running away from something. There can often be things in our lives from which we are running away, or from which we should run away.
Practical: Joseph, we are told, was a just man. “Just” means being fair, treating people properly. One of the best comments I ever heard at a funeral was that “He was a wonderful human being.” Justice has lost its edge in today's world. People shouldn't have to fight for their rights. You have rights, even if others prevent you exercising them. How do you weigh on the scales of justice, when you look at your relationships?
Joseph was prepared to go to any lengths to protect Mary from embarrassment. We can be quite destructive in our careless use of words, in starting the rumour, in fuelling the gossip. Can you find one such example from your own life?
Did you hear about the priest who dreamt he was preaching a sermon, and he woke up, and he was? Even if you fell asleep during this reflection, did you hear anything that you can take into your day, and put it in practice? What does today's gospel say to you today? I'm sure that most of us will probably have at least one meal today and, perhaps, several snacks. The word of God here today is the nourishment, or the food for our souls, for our inner beings. “Not on bread alone does man/woman live,” says Jesus, “but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."
Story: The young monk was on his own in the chapel, and he was pouring out his heart to the Lord. He was having some doubts about his vocation. He was, by nature, somewhat insecure, and he was always looking for certainties, or for proof for everything. He kept repeating the same prayer, again and again.
"Lord, if I only knew that I would persevere. If I only knew that I would persevere.” Finally, the Lord spoke to him, and said, “and if you knew for certain that you would persevere, what then would you do? How, then would you live your life? Go and do that now, and begin living your life that way now and, in doing that, you will persevere."
In the mind, it is only mental assent; in the heart it is faith; and when it gets down into the feet, it becomes faith in action. And that is the kind of faith the Lord is waiting for, and it is in that faith that the presence and power of the Lord is seen, and experienced.