We Are All Connected

Acts 8:5-8, 14-17

1 Peter 3:15-18

John 14:15-21

Divine Inspiration

Life is good when we can stay connected with others.  This is what Jesus is doing with the disciples in the gospel today – trying to tell them they will stay connected.  He will go to His Father, and someone (or something) will be sent from the Father – an advocate of sorts – to stay connected.  This advocate is the Holy Spirit.  It will always keep the disciples together.  And, it binds us to Jesus and each other in communion. 

This friendship and connection will never end, even in death.  We belong to the communion of saints.  It is a connection to all - living and deceased.  It goes on forever.  And, it gives us strength to continue Jesus’ work here on earth.  The Holy Spirit flows through this connection, guiding us, urging us to do God’s will.  It is always with us, always. We are never alone.  The Holy Spirit is part of God here on earth, loving us, comforting us.  And, we take that love and comfort so that we can give it to others, spreading the gospel and being filled with the Holy Spirit.  The connection we have with God through the Holy Spirit becomes the connection we have with all people.

Amen.

Readings and Divine Inspiration from Sunday, May 29, 2011

Choices

Acts 2:14, 36-41

1 Peter 2:20-25

John 10:1-10

Divine Inspiration

The gospel reading today celebrates the Feast of the Good Shepherd.  The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.  The key here is recognizing that the Lord is my shepherd.

Sounds simple.  But, do we really follow Christ?  Or do we allow our own perceived needs and wants to guide us?  Do we want something so much that it consumes our thoughts, our actions?  And, if so, are we choosing to be led by something or someone other than the Lord? 

God has given us free will.  He does not require that we follow Him.  In fact, that’s an example of His unconditional love for us – He loves us whether we follow Him or not.  He waits for us, gently (or sometimes not so gently) reminding us that He’s there for us, loving us, wanting to lead us.  It’s our choice to follow.  And when we do, when we make an active decision to, “Let go and let God,” everything falls into place.  Our worries and fears melt into the background.  They may not go away completely.  But, we, as God’s sheep, are better able to deal with them because the Good Shepherd is truly leading us.

Amen.

Reading and Divine Inspiration from Sunday, May 14, 2011

The Bond of Love

Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48

1 John 4:7-10

John 15:9-17

Divine Inspiration

Today’s readings are all centered around love.  How fitting, when today we celebrate our mothers and our love for them.  While we may all not be mothers, we all have or had a mother.  And, the love between us – mother and child – is deep, special and unlike any other.  It is a bond that can never be broken, regardless of the state of the relationship.  The love that God has for us is similar.  He is love, and He loves us all without conditions, regardless of the state of our relationship with Him.

In the New Testament reading, it is said that whoever is without love does not know God.  And, that is true.  But that does not mean that God does not know him or her.  God knows us better than we know ourselves, and he loves, warts and all, because God IS love.  The bond is there - He is simply waiting for each of us to wake up to that realization.  He will wait for as long as it takes, loving us unceasingly.  No matter how distant or far we may feel from God, He is always there, waiting for us, loving us, calling to us and welcoming us when we do wake up to the realization that we are living in the shining glory of God’s love.

Happy Mother’s Day, everyone!

Amen.

Readings and Divine Inspiration from Sunday, May 13, 2012.

Know God’s Love Through Serving Each Other

Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48

1 John 4:7-10

John 15:9-17

Divine Inspiration

Today is all about one of my favorite topics – love!  In the Gospel, Jesus gives us his famous and only commandment – to love one another as He loves us.  And in the new testament reading, John says let us love one another because love is of God.  There seems to be all this love swirling around!  But what happens when we don’t necessarily, “feel the love?”  It’s great to hear how much God loves us – that He sent His only son.  And it’s truly awesome that Christ loved us so much that He died on the cross for us.  So, if we don’t really feel it, truly feel it in our hearts, does that mean that we’ve somehow, by some weird twist of fate, been left out of the loop?  Could God have accidentally missed us?

There is a very important line in the New Testament reading.  It says, “Whoever is without love does not know God.”  Think about this.  It is not saying that God only loves some.  It is not saying that only some have God’s love and others don’t.  I’ll read it again.  “Whoever is without love does not know God.”  The accountability here is on us.  God ALWAYS loves us.  That never, ever changes.  Ever.  God has told us and shown us over and over that He loves us.  But relationships go in two directions, not one.  And it is up to us to say, “OK, God, I want to know You and I want to feel your love.”  And, even then, after we say it, we have to do more.  We have to talk with God every day, multiple times a day.  And then, we have to take it a step further.  We have to – MUST – love each other.  We must look for ways to serve and see God in each other.  Because, in serving each other, we are serving God and building that relationship with Him.

I have one final thought on loving and serving God through serving each other.  In the very first reading today, Cornelius, upon meeting Peter, fell to his knees before Peter.  Cornelius was honoring Peter, his way of loving.  And, Peter said, ‘Get up, I am also a human being.’  Peter, who could have fed his ego, chose instead to love and connect with Cornelius.  Peter even went on to say that ‘God shows no partiality.’  This is how we need to be with everyone we know and meet every day.  When we are complimented and honored by others, it is important to keep the ego in check and return the compliment, honor and love that are flowing our way to the person from whom it is flowing.  And, as we focus on loving each other, we will feel God’s loving arms wrapping around us, too.

Amen.

Readings and Divine Inspiration from Sunday, May 10, 2015