Tags
Acts of the Apostles, go deeper within, Jesus, John, love, Ordinary Time, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality
We are moving swiftly toward “Ordinary Time” – the season after Pentecost when we are left to our own devices, when Jesus leaves the earth for good and tests our trust in the Holy Spirit for faith and inspiration. The lectionary readings today are full of “foreshadowing” and are mixed between miracles with St. Paul in prison (Acts16) and Jesus in his disturbing message to the apostles (JN 16) where he says things like: “It is better for you that I go.” I can hear myself responding to that with “NO! You can’t go! What will we do without you? How will we know how to live in this confusing time?”
As I wrote that last part, I was reminded of the commentary on the news last night on MSNBC about all the unbelievable political issues and the violence in the world. So I ask again of Jesus: “How are we to live without your presence?” and I get the same difficult answer: Go deeper. Love as best you can and trust that I am with you. You need to find me in your best selves, in the evidence around you: the light that returns every morning without fail, the burgeoning of springtime, the kindness of strangers…everything that speaks of the good in the world.
Think of the best person you know and consider why that person is “best.” Make a list of all the good things in your life. Watch internet videos of babies interacting with one another…Do anything that shows the goodness in life. And trust in God, hoping against hope that God is, in fact, truly with us. And never stop doing your best to love one another as Christ loves us.