The Nightmare Before Christmas. The one character that people love to hate is the Mayor of Halloween Town. The Mayor is smiling on the outside, but on the inside is absolutely selfish. This is the perfect example of what we see in the gospel with the Pharisee—the Pharisee, smiling on the outside, but absolutely selfish on the inside. The tax collector, who is literally sinning and a legal thief, Jesus is ready to forgive and bring the tax collector close. But the Pharisee Jesus can’t do anything with. Refusing to repent is the only thing that cannot be forgiven. Jesus can forgive any other sin in the book, including being a Green Bay Packers fan. The Bears. Bears. We can be like the tax collector, pour out our hearts and repentance, and Jesus welcomes us back with his divine mercy.
This is Spirit Juice. Peace.
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Get Up and Share The Gospel
My dad mastered the art of getting me out of bed when I was a kid. If I were sleeping in, my dad would rush into my room, jump onto the bed, tackle me, and say that it was time to get up. And the crazy thing is I never felt attacked. I felt safe and loved, and then I felt encouraged to get up. Jesus does something very, very similar in the gospel for this Sunday. He’s calling the disciples to get up, to get out, and to…
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Face to Face with Jesus
What happens when you come face to face with the God of the universe? You don’t want to leave.
At a recent retreat, students encountered Jesus in a powerful way and many of them said the same thing: “I don’t want to go. I just want to stay.” In His presence, everything else fades.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Peter, James, and John experience that same reality at the Transfiguration. Overwhelmed by glory, they want to pitch tents and remain there with Him.
This Lent, keep it simple: make space to sit in the presence of Jesus. Stay. Listen. Let Him meet you there.
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Happy Candlemas
So, this Sunday is so awesome. We are celebrating the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas. All of these candles will be brought into the church and blessed because we are celebrating the light of Christ coming into the temple for the first time. The people of Israel have been waiting for this moment forever. This would be like all of our churches having an empty tabernacle for hundreds of years…
