Recognizing the Lord

The Roman Catholic Lectionary for today sets the stage for the question of our experience of recognizing the Presence of the Lord. Paul addresses the Thessalonians about the second coming of Jesus and the consequential "end of the world". The apostle reassures them that they live as children of the light and the end will not surprise them. Those who are asleep, who have not tuned the indwelling Spirit to resonate with the Divine Spirit may find the end comes "like a thief in the night". The psalmist praises the intimate relationship of David with the Lord. In this relationship, David is confident that he will "see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living". This great phrase is proclaimed during Christian funeral rites to speak loudly of the gift from God of the reassurance of the Eternal Presence in relationship with God. The Gospel of Luke places Jesus with in the synagogue in the Gentile region of Capernaum. The authority of His teaching stirs the evil spirit within one of the attendees. The Presence is detected by the spirits in opposition to God. The "stronghold of my life" proclaimed in the psalm is the power to overthrow the grip of the evil spirit in the one possessed. The detection of the Presence is available to all. Our spiritual tuner may need some attention