Christ is the Lord and Savior of the Earth and there is no other

 

Dear Parishioners,

 I trust you are enjoying these balmy temperatures. Nice to have a break from the single digits. 

This Sunday also happens to be the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. Jesus is presented to God His Father in the Temple, and Simon the prophet declares Jesus to be “A light of revelation to the Gentiles and the Glory of your people Israel.” 

What was once shown in the homage of the magi from the East is now proclaimed by the prophet in the temple: Jesus is the savior of all peoples, men and women, rich and poor, Jew and gentile. The end of the 40-day Christmas cycle ends on a note which resonates with what Christmas had been teaching us, that Christ is the Lord and Savior of the earth, and there is no other. 

Like the sword of sorrow which Simeon predicted would pierce Mary’s Immaculate Heart, this truth of who Jesus is should pierce us also to the very core of our being. It is a joyful but also a painful thing; to admit that Jesus is Lord of our lives is something which fulfills us but also calls us to suffer. We must die to ourselves in order to acknowledge that we are not our own masters, or the masters of our own fates. Jesus is our Lord and master. Only through Jesus can we have eternal life and the forgiveness of sins. Only Jesus can show us the way to true peace and fulfillment and everlasting joy in Heaven. 

May Christ, the light of the world, continue to enlighten our minds and hearts with the joy and peace of God who has come into the world to save us from our sins and lead us to everlasting life. God bless you all, 

In Christ, 

Fr. Nick Ward

Pastor of the Immaculate Conception in Ozark, Ohio

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