Scarlet Reflections

What do my favorite colors say about me?

How has God used color to grab my attention?  To soothe my soul?

What does the Bible convey by using red?

Am I bold in my faith?

Have I died to myself?

Do I wear my faith for all to see?  Or do I just blend in?

Do I witness to the scarlet cord of my redemption?

What hope have I found in Rahab?

Do I trust God..and wait?

Am I bold like Rahab?

Do I take a chance on God?

Ask Ellen: What Are The Sacraments? How Many Are There? Fifth Grade Student, PA

The sacraments in their most basic sense are meetings or encounters with Christ.  We cannot encounter Christ and remain unchanged.  The sacraments give us grace, a “share in Jesus’  everliving and lifegiving” (CCC 1116) nature.

Jesus instituted the sacraments and entrusted them to the Church.  They show us who Christ is and allow us to share in communicating Him to the world.

The sacraments help us to live godly lives by infusing us with grace each time we receive them.  Some are received only once, others can be received daily.

There are seven sacraments.  Baptism and Confirmation are sacraments of faith that we receive once.  Baptism initiates you into the Church.  Confirmation makes you a full-fledged member.

There are two more that are only received once as well:  Holy Orders and Matrimony.  These are sacraments of vocation.  Holy Orders transforms a man into a priest.  Matrimony unites a couple as one.

There are three sacraments that can be received more than once.  Anointing of the Sick is a sacrament of healing that is celebrated in times of illness.  Reconciliation can be celebrated anytime we are in need of God’s forgiveness, which for me could be on a daily basis.

The summit of all that we are and do as Catholics is the Sacrament of the Eucharist.  This is where we encounter Jesus in His bodily form.  We receive His actual Body and Blood.

The sacraments are beautiful gifts that Jesus gave to His Church.  We understand that Jesus is present in them and beckoning us to come.  How can we not?

Hang Your Cord

Yesterday we focused on the scarlet cord.  Today I want to focus on our sister, Rehab.  Read Joshua 2:1-22.  

Read Joshua here 

Rahab’s story is one of hope and faith.  She was a harlot who was redeemed from her sinful life by the scarlet cord.  She is proof that we cannot outsin God’s love and that there is hope for all of us.  But this redemption wasn’t easy for Rahab.  She hid the Israelites and risked her own neck.  She heard what God had done for Israel and she took action.

But Rahab was also one smart sister.  She had street smarts. (those had to be learned given her occupation)  She cut a deal with the Israelites.  She told them that they owed her protection for what she had done for them.  This is where the scarlet cord fits in.

Rahab had to make her faith evident to the outside world.  She had to hang a red symbol for all to see.  Then she had to trust God…and wait….

Are you feeling like Rahab?  Are you feeling like you’ve gone out on a limb for God and you are waiting for Him to deliver you?  Take heart, my Friend!

If you haven’t felt like Rahab, I ask why.  Are you too beige?  Are you trying not to make your faith evident?  Are you trying to blend in?  Wake up. My Friend, because redemption is passing you by.

The most excellent part of Rahab’s story is that she becomes part of Jesus’ family tree.  A harlot becomes a forerunner of Christ!  Why?  Because she took a chance on God.  What is stopping you?

Frankly, My Dear Scarlet.....

I like the color red.  It is bold.  It makes a statement and it shows off my dark hair..  But what does God convey through the color red?  It certainly evokes a bloody image many times in Scripture.  Red is seen on the lintels of doorways at Passover and in the Cup Jesus gave us at the Last Supper.  But today I want to focus on the scarlet cord in the Book of Joshua.

Rahab is instructed to hang a scarlet cord in her window so the Israelites would pass over her house during the invasion of Canaan.  Why do you think the color mattered?  I think it represented blood and in essence a dying to self.  Rahab needed to make a statement of faith and it needed to be bold.  She had to hang a cord that no one would miss.  She had to risk being “found out” as a believer.

Aren’t we called to the same?  We as believers are called to make a statement with our lives and its supposed to be bold.  We are not called to be beige.  We are not meant to blend in with the world around us.  We have been “passed over” by the scarlet cord of Jesus’ death on the Cross and His Resurrection.  We are called to witness that to the world.

Find a way to express your faith in bold red today.  Because frankly, my dear Scarlet, you should give a darn!

What Is Your Color?

http://www.bhg.com/bhg/quiz.jsp?quizId=/templatedata/bhg/quiz/data/whatsyourcolorpersonality_10232003.xml


Complete today's quiz to see what color best suits your personality.  Mine is blue.  What is yours?

Scarlet Podcast

Click the Gracenotes link above to listen to this week's podcast.

Sabbath Sayings

"For the Lord God said, 'it is not good for man to be alone.  I will make a helper suitable for him.'"  Gen 2:18