Rock Solid or Rock Bottom?

Today we journey into Jerusalem with our triumphant Savior, Jesus rides in to the holy city while their are chants to the King of Kings.  It is also the start of Holy Week; one of the most up and down, emotional rides  in one week. As I was meditating on this upcoming week, I thought about my lenten journey....did I keep my resolutions...did I go to the desert and strip away what was keeping me away from God?  Well, as I was praying, this is what came to mind and I would like to share it...bear with me...

The title of this post...is Rock Solid or Rock Bottom?  You see, all week I have been thinking about the reactions of the people around Jesus that culminated in his death and ultimately in our salvation.  They were everyday "Joe's" "Matt's", Tom's, etc....except some hit rock bottom  when it came to loyality, friendship, and sticking up for what they believed in.  Their faith and trust were shaken to the core....and some just fell apart.  They dropped the ball.... You see, they did not follow through on their lenten resolutions........they were asked to stay awake and pray..........nope........had to get some shut eye..could

not give just a little more time to prayer...yet...at the same time they hit rock bottom....Jesus was begging that this cup would pass from him.........yet......if it was the will of the father.......he would do what had to be done......die for our sins.............now that is Rock Solid......


This week we are going to go on the up and down ride of raw emotions as we read the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.  We will hear who was afraid, who betrayed a friend with a kiss, who stuck around and who ran away.....this week......we all need to ask ourselves.....What would we do????  Would we be the ROCK SOLID disciple or the ROCK BOTTOM one........Either way...His passion and death are about us.....the solid and the not so solid....the broken and the strong...
......HE DIED SO WE CAN LIVE........God Bless your Holy Week.

Stone Heart....another story

Today we heard one of my favorite Gospel readings from John.  It is about the woman caught in adultery about to be stoned.  I have written before that I believe Jesus was writing I love you in the sand, as this woman never really knew true love.  However, today I want to focus on the possibility of our Stone Heart.

The woman in this story was sentenced to die for her crime and her accusers were correct.  What you say?  According to the Law, she deserved to die - Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22.  The problem was....where was her partner?   Under the law...both were supposed to die for this sin.  One can speculate...was he part of the group trying to trick Jesus...was he able to escape?   I can only ponder this, but my point is this...When we sin, nobody really gets away with it.   For God sees and knows all things.  Sin removes us further and further from God.  It is a rock around our heart that continues to grow until we don't care....even the elders were involved in this setup. They tried to trip Jesus up with this situation...He reversed it and did not condone the sin or the law....He just asked if anyone was without sin...let that person or persons be the first to cast the stone.  You see the only one able to cast the stone was Jesus...for He was the only one free of sin.  Instead of judging her, He forgave her....He set her free. 

This is the fifth week of Lent...you still have time to be "set free"  Go to the sacrament of Reconciliation and fall into the arms of someone who loves you....your heart will burst open from the stone that has encapsulated it...you will feel loved and have "new life"   Remember, anyone can live for the devil....only real men and women live for Jesus...and He died loving you.

Remember Lent is about starting over not giving up....