3.6.11 - 9th Sunday - Blessing and Curse - outline

Anyone who has had a child baptized will remember

Questions at Baptism:

What name? What do you ask of God’s Church for?  Responsibility of training him in faith – do you accept this responsibility?  One more time: Is it your will?

-         slows it down a little – are you listening

-         Moses says: “Take these words of mine into your heart and soul.  Bind them at your wrist as a sign, and let them be a pendant on your forehead.”

-         Some took these literally – but wearing them does you nothing unless you follow them

-         Take these words seriously – let them penetrate our innermost being.

Again Moses says: “I set before you a blessing and a curse – a blessing for obeying the commandments of the Lord; a curse if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord.”

On my vacation this past week – I passed through Reno – none of us were gamblers but I jokingly said: “If you want to win big, you have to bet big” – There is a gamble in our faith.

The blessings that God promises are countless – but most especially the reward of eternal life in heaven – the curse is the possibility of hell – especially for those who receive God’s full assistance.

Responsibility as parents: You’ve probably heard that parents who do not teach the faith …

But the reverse is also true – if we pass the faith on, even if not apparent – great blessing for us.

Of course – Moses what Moses is saying is more than just about responsibilities as parents.

Also ourselves – particularly by our own baptism we possess this blessing and curse.

Jesus says: not everyone who says: Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven – lip service.

Goes on to say: “Many will say … Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?  Then I will declare to them solemnly ‘I never knew you, depart from me, you evil doers.’” 

We can do things in the name of the Lord – yet somehow be a stranger to him.

A person could go to Mass every Sunday, but in some Christ is missing in his heart.

A mere confession on one’s lips in the name of Jesus is insufficient.

Jesus says the one must listen to my words and act on them:

Sounds simple, we come to Mass and have the three readings read to us.

Danger of presumption

Blaise Pascal – “The person who is searching for God has already found him.”

Not just hear the word of God – but we listen to it and let it transform us.

That is how we continually search for God throughout our lives

If we stop searching, we are merely pay lip service, but if we constantly search, as Jesus says we build a strong foundation that will last against the storms that come.