The Sunday Sermon Archive

The Holy Name of Jesus

Dear Friend,

The sinless Son of God shed for us the first drops of His Blood on this day. The Lord of all submitted to a Law of Moses.

This is the eighth day since the birth of Our Lord, and it marks the beginning of a new year in our secular calendar. It seems most appropriate that we should have the first drops of our Lord's Blood shed as we begin the new year.

Christ came to this world to sacrifice Himself for our sins, He came to shed His blood to the last drop in reparation for our crimes. And today as we start a new year He has likewise begun the sacrifice of His life for ours.

Because Jesus is God the smallest of His sufferings is of infinite value. These few drops of His Blood shed today are sufficient to redeem us from our sins. Yet, He continued His life for thirty-three years and only left it when He had shed every last drop of His Blood for our sins. His sacrifice was complete.

But, for the merits of this sacrifice to be complete within us it is necessary that we do our part. We are required to do much more than just "believe" or "accept". We must make our own sacrifice and unite it to His. We must become one with Him. We must take up our cross daily and come follow Him.

We must follow Him, mirroring His life in our own. Christ must be living within us and we within Him. Our lives are completed as we follow His life in our own. There are many who live out their entire lives but their lives are never complete because they have failed to deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Him.

Such poor souls leave this world with a terrible void in their hearts and souls that can only be filled by Christ, but because they have chosen not to live in Him, He will not live in them and they will spend all of eternity with this burning desire for God, and will eternally be repulsed. They have this natural desire to be with Him but because of their sins they cannot approach Him and they turn to anger and hatred. They hate God, themselves, and all that God has made. And will burn for all of eternity.

They are repulsed from the very One that they were created to be eternally untied to. But, all this need not apply to us. Christ has begun the Sacrifice, and we are called upon to begin ours with this new year. We are called upon to enter this new time of our life in the spirit of sacrifice.

We need not fear sacrifice, Christ has gone before us and is showing us the way. He gives us the example to follow; He gives us the grace to follow; and even will carry us along the way as we stumble and struggle. He will do all that He can to make it easy and light, but we must have the desire; we must will it.

He has shed His blood and shown us that no matter how much it may hurt it is not even worthy to be compared to the glory that awaits those who persevere to the end. The joys of Heaven are beyond our comprehension and dreams.

Our Creator humbled Himself and became one of us _ one of His own creatures. He submitted to the very laws that were given to regulate His creatures. We see that He submits to all authority, he shows us that there is truly nothing to fear in humble obedience.

Once we realize that all authority comes from God and in obeying any authority that is placed over us, we are in essence obeying God Himself, then we find the key to following Him.

His obedience was prompt and ready and so must ours be. He did not hesitate or draw back no matter how distasteful or painful it may be.

This obedience which only appears to be a restriction upon us is truly the means by which we become free. But, only those who willingly and freely choose the path of humility and obedience in imitation of Christ will find that freedom. The rest will be forced to comply by one means or another, but they will not be set free by it. On the contrary, they will find that they are slaves. The slave works and suffers but gains no reward for himself. The child of God works and suffers and gains an eternal reward in Heaven for himself.

The choice rests before us. Our New Year resolutions are ready to be made and fulfilled. Let us not fear the pain, or sacrifice that this year may demand of us, but rather let us look to the suffering of Christ and choose to willingly and readily embrace these crosses out of love for Him. In this we will find a happy and most prosperous New Year.

Franciscan Benefactor Seraph Subscription Vocations Have you remembered God?