THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME A

[cappie]

Word and sacrament are at the heart of our worship and our life together as Christians. Today’s Gospel brings these two elements together in a very bold way. Our sacramental life together is given by God out of love for us. The Word of God is given to us so that we may know God more fully. Word and sacrament are at the heart of our worship and our life together as Christians. Today’s Gospel brings these two elements together. The Word of God is given to us so that we may know God more fully and our sacramental life together is given by God out of love for us.

Jesus, who loves us so much, gives us the sacraments so that we can know his unending love for us in a very personal way. They are also given so that we may share his love with each other and see his love in each other.

 As baptized Christians we are disciples of Christ, destined for holiness; spiritual beings; ministers for our Lord Jesus. The Eucharist, when experienced fully, is the Lord’s love offering. Evelyn Underhill, an Anglican, one of the early 20th century’s great writers on mysticism and Christian spirituality, described it this way.

She said that she had great personal difficulty in reaching an adequate understanding and, more importantly, a deep experience of the Eucharist. When she finally did experience it, she said it was so amesome, so beautiful, and so intensely personal that it was “quite undiscussible”.

Today in the Gospel we are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind. This is our mission in life. To know God in our heart by prayer; in our soul-as Mary says (Luke 1:46), our souls magnify the Lord (people see this through our deeds); and in our minds through learning.  Our mission in Jesus Christ is to learn the mind of Christ, to offer the prayer of Christ, and to do the deeds of Christ. In this way, we love the Lord with our whole being.

The Lord instructs us to love. Love is a verb. It requires action. To love is to do the deeds of Christ. Love is free. It cannot be bought; it cannot be sold. It can only be given. It does not expect anything in return. There are no attachments added. That’s how God loves and that how we are instructed to love.

In 1st Corinthians chapter 13, Paul says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Love never fails.”

The opposite of love is criticism.  To love is to attract. We are attracted to love and we can feel the love of others around us. To criticize is to repel. We can feel this, too. But criticism is not always bad and can lead to a new understanding. However, criticism without love is sinful. St Teresa of Avila said that a Christian, if one in anything more than name, will spend a short time each day contemplating their sins. This is not to condemn oneself for our sins but to help draw us closer to God’s love.

Sin separates us from God’s love. When we see our sins and confess them to God, we are brought back into right relationship with God. Leo Tolstoy, the Russian novelist and philosopher, wrote “Try not to hide the shameful memories of your sins in dark corners. On the contrary, keep them close to you and remember them before you judge your neighbor.” It is important to remember that we are all trying to get to heaven!

The Lord also instructs us to love our neighbors as ourselves.

It is not enough that we should love but we must show this love to others. The mystics, like Evelyn Underhill and St Teresa of Avila, are great lovers of God. Underhill wrote that true mystics prefer to keep their secret communion with God unknown. They see their time with God as very personal and sacred. We must also find time to be alone with Jesus. Before we can love our neighbour, we must love ourselves. Before we can love ourselves, we must know that Jesus loves us. Having a personal relationship with Jesus is how we know that he loves us.

 

 

 

 

[BarbTherese]

"No one lights a lamp to hide it under a bush"  We need to see the goodness in each other to understand that to which The Spirit is leading.  Of course, one can walk in darkness, in simple blind trust - and reach the same heights.  It is not long on the latter road before darkness becomes light, guiding light.  In choosing, cherry picking, now this now that, is ok.   Choice.

Thanks again, cappie  

    

 

"Suffer the little children not to come unto Me, for such is the Kingdom of Heaven"  GO TO HERE FOR FULL POST