Wednesday, October 28, 2015

God Dwells Among Us

See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes. Revelation 21: 3-4



God dwells among us! That's the good news!
Someone recently asked me if I really believed this. Do I really believe this? Of course I do! She said the death of a spouse would destroy most people. I thought a lot about that. Was she inferring that I was not grieving "enough" or that my faith was somehow "better" than the faith of others? I don't know.

But I do know this. On those days when life seems glum, or overwhelming, or simply dull, God usually pokes me in the ribs. Did you see that milkweed pod? Listen; there are sandhill cranes flying overhead! Who called you today? Is that the necklace Jean made for you? Did you see the card Gary sent you last year? It's on his bureau.

And then I remember. The home of God is among us.

All we have to do is pay attention.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Calling

Take heart; get up, he is calling you.
Mark 10:49


                             Sight to the Blind                           Brian Jekel 


When we are on our last legs, when we have all but thrown in the towel, that still, small voice of God whispers: “Take heart; get up, He is calling you.” We’ve all experienced it, even if we didn’t even pay attention to it. God whispers.

Often we think of this as an ecclesial act, a call to “do something” for the church, but the whisper of God, the call of God, can be entirely secular. It can be to a vocation or to a singular action or to change one’s direction. A call from God always shows itself through love and generosity of spirit and will be grounded in offering one’s self to the service of God and God’s creation.

Take heart; get up, he is calling you.

To what is God calling you?

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

The Difficult Question

 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  Mark 10:25





We live in the wealthiest nation on earth. Even if we consider ourselves poor, we as a people are still vastly richer than most people on earth.

So, does this mean Americans will miss out on the Kingdom of Heaven? On Salvation? Do we honestly have to give away all that we own to the poor to be "good" Christians?  Is that the ticket to heaven? I hope not. 

Jesus' words about wealth are difficult ones.                                                                           This week, as we meditate upon the rich young man's question to Jesus: "Lord, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 
consider how might Jesus answer you.