{"id":8274,"date":"2022-01-23T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-23T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/?p=8274"},"modified":"2022-01-08T19:50:58","modified_gmt":"2022-01-09T00:50:58","slug":"today-not-someday-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/today-not-someday-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Today! Not Someday!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<iframe title=\"Today! Not Someday! 1\/23\/22\" allowtransparency=\"true\" height=\"150\" width=\"100%\" style=\"border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);\" scrolling=\"no\" data-name=\"pb-iframe-player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.podbean.com\/player-v2\/?i=z4fwf-1173e94-pb&#038;from=pb6admin&#038;share=1&#038;download=1&#038;rtl=0&#038;fonts=Arial&#038;skin=1&#038;font-color=auto&#038;btn-skin=7\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Whether you\u2019re in college or are an adult living your adult life, we all know that eerily peaceful feeling of going back home.<\/strong> You go for a weekend to celebrate someone\u2019s birthday or you go home for the holidays.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This weird mix of feelings wash over you of\u00a0<strong>happiness<\/strong> at being home in familiar territory, and\u00a0<strong>sadness<\/strong> at how much has changed since it was considered\u00a0<strong>\u201c<\/strong>home<strong>\u201d<\/strong> and the oddly conflicting feelings at the end of wishing the trip wasn\u2019t over.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Yet it is exciting to go back to the new \u201chome\u201d you\u2019ve created somewhere else.<\/strong>The first few times you go home you don\u2019t really notice this, but that first trip back home can leave you feeling somewhat\u00a0<strong>sad<\/strong> and\u00a0<strong>confused<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is what St. Luke is getting at in today\u2019s Gospel as Jesus returns to his home town from which he had been gone for some time (Like 1:1-4; 4:14-21).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Some people remember him as a little boy. Some are curious to see what he turned out to be. Jesus is not just any hometown boy coming home. His reputation has preceded him. So he is a curiosity, if not a celebrity.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>So Jesus goes to his hometown synagogue where he sat as a boy.<\/strong>  As a visiting rabbi, they hand him the scroll of Isaiah. He opens the scroll and comes to the famous lines: \u201c<em>The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good tidings to the poor, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.\u201d<\/em> Jesus then said to them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201cTODAY<\/strong><em> <\/em><em>this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The word that startled everyone was\u00a0<strong>TODAY!\u00a0<\/strong>The people who were listening were all trained to look to the future, someday in the future. Like the song in Snow White:\u00a0<strong>\u201cSOMEDAY<\/strong><em> <\/em><em>my Prince will come!\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus is saying:\u00a0<em>\u201cThe Prince has already come. He is here\u00a0<strong>TODAY!<\/strong>\u201d<\/em>  Jesus claims the power to transform the present, to transform\u00a0<strong>TODAY.<\/strong> There are no better times coming. They are here now.\u00a0<strong><em>\u201cThe Kingdom of God is among you,\u201d<\/em><\/strong>  Jesus declares.\u00a0<strong>Did you know that 80% of all of Jesus\u2019 sayings talk about the here and now?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>God is breaking into your life\u00a0<strong>TODAY! TODAY<\/strong><em> <\/em><em>God is revealing himself behind every episode of your life<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>You have been given\u00a0<strong>TODAY<\/strong> to use as you will<\/em>. You can waste it or use it to do good for someone.\u00a0<strong>What you do TODAY is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it.<\/strong>  When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever. In its place is something that you have left behind. Let it be something good and of value to others.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>We give a bright toy to a child<\/em><\/strong> to hold and manipulate and cuddle and use. But\u00a0<strong><em>time passes<\/em><\/strong> and the toy is put on the shelf, put in a box, or thrown out.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then&nbsp;<strong><em>it\u2019s bright clothes<\/em><\/strong>, the exciting date, the fast car, the latest pop singer, and school. But&nbsp;<strong><em>time passes<\/em><\/strong>, and school is over, the date becomes a marriage, and there is a home and work to be done.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>It\u2019s the economic struggle<\/em><\/strong>, the security battle, the social circle, responsibility and deadlines. But\u00a0<strong><em>time passes<\/em><\/strong>  and the work is finished.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Old friends, one by one, slip away,<\/em><\/strong> and the world looks strange, and it\u2019s a struggle to keep occupied, to maintain identity, and to stay alive. But\u00a0<strong><em>time passes<\/em><\/strong>, and strength wanes, eyesight weakens, footsteps falter, breath shortens, the heart flutters, familiar objects grow dim and seem to float away\u2026..and the river overflows.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>One by one, greatly important other days dwindle into insignificance.&nbsp;<strong>All that is left for each one of us is TODAY.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus used the word\u00a0<strong>TODAY<\/strong> as he began his public ministry:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<em>\u201c<strong>TODAY this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus used the word\u00a0<strong>TODAY<\/strong> as he took his last breath on the cross:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong><em>\u201cTODAY you will be with me in Paradise<\/em><\/strong><em>.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>What do YOU need to do for YOU and YOUR SOUL that needs to be done TODAY?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>JESUS IS WORTH EVERYTHING THAT YOU\u2019RE AFRAID OF LOSING TODAY!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Whether you\u2019re in college or are an adult living your adult life, we all know that eerily peaceful feeling of going back home. You go for a weekend to celebrate someone\u2019s birthday or you go home for the holidays.\u00a0 This weird mix of feelings wash over you of\u00a0happiness at being home in familiar territory, and\u00a0sadness [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8275,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"qubely_global_settings":"","qubely_interactions":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"qubely_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/TODAY.png",287,214,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/TODAY.png",287,214,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/TODAY.png",287,214,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/TODAY-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/TODAY.png",287,214,false],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/TODAY.png",287,214,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/TODAY.png",287,214,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/TODAY.png",287,214,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/TODAY.png",287,214,false],"ocean-thumb-m":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/TODAY.png",287,214,false],"ocean-thumb-ml":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/TODAY.png",287,214,false],"ocean-thumb-l":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/TODAY.png",287,214,false],"qubely_landscape":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/TODAY.png",287,214,false],"qubely_portrait":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/TODAY.png",287,214,false],"qubely_thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/TODAY-140x100.png",140,100,true],"rpwe-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/TODAY-45x45.png",45,45,true]},"qubely_author":{"display_name":"Medard Laz","author_link":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/author\/medlaz\/"},"qubely_comment":0,"qubely_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/category\/weekly-messages\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Weekly Messages<\/a>","qubely_excerpt":"Whether you\u2019re in college or are an adult living your adult life, we all know that eerily peaceful feeling of going back home. You go for a weekend to celebrate someone\u2019s birthday or you go home for the holidays.\u00a0 This weird mix of feelings wash over you of\u00a0happiness at being home in familiar territory, and\u00a0sadness&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8274"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8274"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8274\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8277,"href":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8274\/revisions\/8277"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}