Joseph Osho

Monday of the 2nd week of Lent  Daniel 9:4-10 Psalm 78(79):8-9,11,13 Luke 6:36-38   During Lent, we focus on prayer, fasting, and good works. The first week's readings highlighted prayer, and this second week emphasizes good works—being compassionate, forgiving, and generous. The Book of Daniel tells us, “But yours, our God, are compassion and forgiveness!” written 300 years after the stories, offers hope through Daniel’s faith during Israel’s suffering.  Daniel’s actions prove that God and His people are united. Our failures humbly remind us of God's compassion and forgiveness. We can see ourselves in the actions of the wayward Israelites, and searching our hearts is essential. We must guard against being hardened by sin and drifting from our first love.  As this week begins, remember God’s generosity and strive to imitate Him through good works. Amen.  

  2nd Sunday of Lent  Genesis 12:1-4 Psalm 32(33):4-5,18-20,22 2 Timothy 1:8-10 Matthew 17:1-9 A GLIMPSE INTO THE ESCHATON  Today's gospel passage presents us with a very vivid picture, but perhaps a rather surprising one for Lent. We tend to think of Lent as a rather gloomy season, but today what exactly has been revealed in the transfiguration? From the moment of his birth, Our Lord's divinity has been hidden behind His humanity. But slowly, Jesus has been teaching His disciples the truth about who He is and why He has come, and they have been gradually grasping some of what He was teaching. This understanding reached a climax when Peter said, 'You are the Christ'. As soon as Peter said this, Jesus immediately made the first prophecy of His passion and death, and told His disciples that they would have to take up their cross and follow Him. That was the mood of the group against which the wonderful event of the transfiguration took place.    The disciples were...

  Saturday of the 1st week of Lent  Deuteronomy 26:16-19 Psalm 118(119):1-2,4-5,7-8 Matthew 5:43-48 The Book of Deuteronomy recounts how Moses reminds us that the Lord, our God, calls upon us to observe His commandments. In return, God will glorify and praise us, and bestow upon us numerous blessings.  Our psalm response affirms this by declaring, ‘Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord.’ In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus instructs us to ‘love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.' By adhering to His commandments, we can attain a state of spiritual completeness, reflecting His perfection

  Friday of the 1st week of Lent  Ezekiel 18:21-28 Psalm 129(130) Matthew 5:20-26 The Lord Jesus tells us in today’s gospel that the kingdom of God     demands a higher level of righteousness. Calling someone a 'fool' or 'renegade' is insulting, and Jesus teaches us about treating others with respect, love and care.   To rediscover Christ's path of righteousness—beyond human understanding requires faith—remember it's about God's kingdom, which opposes and clashes with worldly values.  Christ, who emptied Himself to serve, we must humble ourselves, embracing obedience, service, innocence, and dependence on God. Are these virtues in you? Let us be mindful of our words, as our virtue must surpass human wisdom.    The higher righteousness is ultimately Christ Himself living within us. May He continue to be gracious and merciful to you in Jesus' name. Amen. 

  Thursday of the 1st week of Lent  Esther 4:17 Psalm 137(138):1-3,7-8 Matthew 7:7-12 “Ask and it will be given; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened.” But often, it doesn’t seem to add up. We beg God and get no answer, or see others’ prayers answered while ours aren’t. We blame ourselves or God, questioning our faith or how to please a God who gives sparingly. Jesus promises that God will give good things to those who ask, meaning what we receive may be what we need, not necessarily what we want. God knows the difference and always answers prayers. Jesus wants us to be honest with him, asking for what we desire, even though God knows our hearts. Verbalizing our needs helps us trust God to filter out what’s unnecessary and give us what we truly need. To stay connected with God, we must continually ask, seek, and knock—sharing our lives and listening for God’s responses. Life includes sadness and loss, but God will provide what we need to face it with grace...

  Wednesday of the 1st week of Lent  Jonah 3:1-10 Psalm 50(51):3-4,12-13,18-19 Luke 11:29-32 Jonah was a reluctant and paradoxical prophet. Instead of obeying God’s call to preach to the people of Nineveh, he flees in the opposite direction and even asks for death multiple times, showing that fear is not his main struggle. After being thrown overboard and swallowed by a great fish, Jonah is given a second chance. Though he appears unwilling and uninspiring, his warning leads the Ninevites—even their king—to sincerely repent and turn from evil. This story parallels Jonah’s emergence from the fish with the resurrection of Jesus Christ, emphasizing that God is a God of life who brings hope and renewal. If the Ninevites responded in faith, then people today have even greater reason to repent and believe. God’s grace has no limits. He equips those He calls, and no one is useless in His eyes. Nothing can separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:38). We too are urged to repent, cooperat...