Like the blind beggar in the Gospel reading, Louis’ blindness and poverty had not impeded his ability to see Christ’s loving presence in the midst of a world that was largely blind to Louis’s presence. And I don’t think his is merely a story of spiritual perseverance against unfavorable odds. Quite the opposite, I believe, that Louis’s poverty and lack of physical sight are deeply connected to his possession of spiritual sight at a level that can be difficult for many of us when our needs are over-met.
Read MoreYou see, Jesus isn’t there to simply heal or absolve her –he’s there to see her, know her, love her. To be in relationship with her. He’s there to draw her into the divine life. He wants to share his life with her. To share his life with each of us. A life of living water. A life without thirst.
Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done!” (John 4:28-29).
Read MoreJesus’ conversation with Nicodemus today shows us that Jesus’ invitation to deepening our faith is all about love. “For God so LOVED the world.” God so loved Nicodemus. God so loves you. God so loves all of us that God sent Jesus into the world to pierce our hearts with divine love. Nicodemus is beginning to experience that love when he knocks on Jesus’ door late at night. There is a yearning that draws him. Jesus looks at him and loves him. And he also challenges him, as a loving mother challenges her children. Jesus challenges with the voice of love, the love of a mother who cares for her child more than her own life. A mother who is willing to lay down her life for her child.
Read MoreIf only God would reveal himself to us –answer that question, that prayer, send that sign, grace us with that peace that passeth all understanding in our most desperate and anxious times.
If only God would clear up some of this confusion and make himself known. If only God would align God’s will with mine. If only. Then all would be well, and belief would be made more possible. And with belief, would come trust. And with trust, peace.
But that isn’t the way of God; that is the way of us. The way of God is less about belief and far more about belonging.
God who formed us from the earth; God who walked alongside us in the garden; God who is with us still –this God that we all so desperately long for is a God who wants us not so much to believe in Him but to belong to Him. To abide in Him. To live in the grace of His eternal love.
Read More“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
In the second story of creation in Genesis, God forms man from the dust of the ground and breathes life into him. And then God plants a garden for the man to till and to enjoy. The man is meant to be fruitful and live in harmony with God and all of creation. Everything is perfect, but that idyllic situation does not last long. Man thwarts God’s intentions, and becomes alienated from God. And ever since, mankind has been striving to get back to the garden, paradise lost.
Read MoreThis is the last Sunday of Epiphany before we enter into the season of Lent. If the season of Epiphany is about our first encounter with the living God, Jesus Christ, then Lent is about how that encounter brings about Christlike changes in our life in the forty days of penitence, prayer, and fasting leading up to Holy Week and Easter. Today’s lessons are intentionally curated to help prepare for the pilgrimage of Lent, which is likened to climbing a mountain in order to catch a glimpse of something that will leave us utterly transformed.
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