Category Archives: Jesus

Small seeds of love

Love in a pot

Love in a pot

God has planted the seed of unconditional love in each of our hearts. We watch that seed grow and spread and provide shelter as we practice forgiveness instead of resentment, patience instead of irritation, generosity instead self-seeking, awareness and compassion towards those in need instead of indifference to the cries of the poor, lonely, homeless, depressed, heartbroken, elderly, and abandoned.

 

[Jesus said to the crowds:] “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and through it all the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how.” Mark 4:26-27

The cup of Love

© José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro / , via Wikimedia Commons

Capilla de Corpus Christi, Catedral de Burgos
© José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro  via Wikimedia Commons

As a unique, significant member of the Body of Christ, each of us is privileged to share in the unconditional Love that is the New Covenant between God and the human family.

This covenant of Love teaches me to open my eyes, ears, hands, and heart to welcome each of my sisters and brothers in God’s human family; to let go of judgment, resentment, and fear; to give thanks for the grace to learn the way of peace and reconciliation from the Master of Compassion, who is Jesus, who has once and for always healed our brokenness into unity and harmony.

Then [Jesus] took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. Mark 14:23

 

In the presence

Lucia Wiley (1906-1998) Trinidad

Lucia Wiley (1906-1998)
Trinidad

When I wonder if my life has meaning and purpose, I remember Jesus is with me always. How can my life lack meaning if I am at all times in the presence of the Lord?

[Jesus said to them,] “I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20b

A force of nature

A force of Nature

A force of Nature

Wind and fire are forces of nature that command our attention. The Holy Spirit is a force of God’s nature that demands our attention.

The Holy Spirit pushes us, compels us, directs us, and sets us on fire to imitate Jesus. The Holy Spirit fuels our passion for justice, our desire to forgive, our impulse to reach out with compassion, and our commitment to love.

Be swept away by the wind. Feel the heat of the fire. Trust the movement of the Spirit in your life.

And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:2-4a

Seeing God

JESUS MAFA. The Ascension, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48398 [retrieved May 17, 2015].

JESUS MAFA. The Ascension, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. [retrieved May 17, 2015].

Looking at Jesus, we see that God forgives, touches, heals, listens, welcomes, serves, and walks with people from all stations in life.

Looking at Jesus, we see that God seeks to fulfill the law of Love: love of God, self, and neighbor.

We see God by studying the person of Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit in us, we have been given the grace to imitate Jesus and so give others a glimpse of God.

No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us. 1 John 4:12

Pruned

Cixi_Vines_with_fruit

Empress Dowager Cixi, 1838-1908
Vines with fruit
ink and water color on silk, first half of 19th c.
Warsaw, National Museum
via Wikimedia Commons

If my heart remains open to and my mind stays focused on Jesus’ teaching to love God, my neighbor, and myself, I can count on being pruned.

Pride, arrogance, selfishness, self-centeredness, shame, low self-esteem, self-pity: these are traits God will prune in order that the fruit I bear in the world ripens into compassion, kindness, acceptance, forgiveness, peace, faith, and love.

[Jesus said to his disciples:] “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.” John 15:1-2

 

Lay down your life for a moment

Anton Mauve, 1838-1888 Shepherd and Sheep oil on canvas, ca.1880 Cincinnati Museum of Art

Anton Mauve, 1838-1888
Shepherd and Sheep
oil on canvas, ca.1880
Cincinnati Museum of Art
via Wikimedia Commons

Sometimes I lay down my life for a while when a friend is in need. I put aside my own chores, amusements, or quiet time to listen and encourage. When the time is right, I take up my life again and go on.

Sometimes I lay down my life for a while when my elderly father needs an advocate. I make phone calls, ask for information, and get some answers on his behalf. When the time is right, I take up my life again and go on.

I have the power to lay down my life for the moment and help others. I have the power to take up my life again and move on without having lost myself. It is my privilege and calling to exercise this power in a way that reflects the example of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

[Jesus said:] “No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father.” John 10:18

Peace

Jacek Andrzej Rossakiewicz (b.1956) Jesus Appears to Thomas (St John Passion - 13), 1990 oil on canvas

Jacek Andrzej Rossakiewicz (b.1956)
Jesus Appears to Thomas (St John Passion – 13), 1990
oil on canvas

Do not be afraid when your heart has closed down. Do not worry when your mind races in panic. Do not resist the darkness of confusion. The Lord finds his way through every obstacle to bring you peace.

Be at peace. He is here with you now.

Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” John 20:26b

Forsaken

TN_0cDo not be afraid of human weakness. Do not be afraid to call out to God from the depths of vulnerability.

Blame, anger, despair, abandonment: give voice to it all. Bow your head and give it all to the Lord.

We have our model in Jesus.

And at three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”
which is translated,
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Mark 15:34

Apprenticed to Jesus

Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937) Nicodemus and Jesus on a Rooftop, 1899 oil on canvas Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts via Wikimedia Commons

Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937)
Nicodemus and Jesus on a Rooftop, 1899
oil on canvas
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
via Wikimedia Commons

God so loves us that he trusts us to be his hands, voice, eyes, ears, heart, and compassion in the world.

In order that we learn how to become more like God, he apprentices us to Jesus. Ours is not academic learning; it is experiential learning where we practice by watching and imitating Jesus.

Heal, eat with sinners, speak out against injustice, serve the poor, pray, love your enemies, lay down your life for others.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…” John 3:16