Our Lenten journey is rapidly coming to its destination. The destination of our journey has been a renewed heart...to have allowed Jesus to shine his healing light into the dark corners of our hearts so that the light might drive out any darkness within us; so that we might come to reclaim our true identity as the "beloved of God"!
While it may sound all warm and fuzzy...the truth is the journey often takes us through dark woods and dangerous landscapes to seemingly deserted places.
The Scripture readings over these last weeks have tried to call us back into a deeper relationship with God. They have attempted to help us understand that no matter how far away from God we think we have traveled...no matter how lonely the road may have seemed...God has been with us all along the way.
The point of many of the readings has been God's steadfast love for each one of us...even in the midst of our turning away from God...even in the midst of our worst sin...God has loved us, deeply and passionately, without limits. Why? Because we are God's beloved!
Jesus' frustration and, quite frankly, anger was precisely because the religious leaders and elders of the people had either forgotten that they were the beloved of God or they had refused to believe it in the first place. They had forgotten or refused to believe that love of God and love of neighbor was what all of the law and the prophets hung upon.
Jesus' preaching of the Reign of God, the forgiveness of sins and God's deep and passionate love for each one of us threw the religious leaders into fits...that just didn't fit into their vision of the world. What about "The Law"? How could this man from Nazareth know more than them? They were, after all, the religious leaders and they knew all about God! Or so they thought they did.
As we race toward the end of Lent, let's take some time to reflect on being "the beloved of God"! How would deeply claiming my identity as "the beloved of God" change my life? What would I do differently...how would truly embracing this identity affect my relationships with others? How would it affect my personal and civic sense of responsibility to and for others...especially the poor, the outcast and marginalized of our society? How would embracing my identity as the beloved of God impact what and who I prioritize as most important in my life? And, what would I need to pick up or lay down in my life to live from this identity of the “beloved of God”?
Lenten blessings,
Fr. Tim
While it may sound all warm and fuzzy...the truth is the journey often takes us through dark woods and dangerous landscapes to seemingly deserted places.
The Scripture readings over these last weeks have tried to call us back into a deeper relationship with God. They have attempted to help us understand that no matter how far away from God we think we have traveled...no matter how lonely the road may have seemed...God has been with us all along the way.
The point of many of the readings has been God's steadfast love for each one of us...even in the midst of our turning away from God...even in the midst of our worst sin...God has loved us, deeply and passionately, without limits. Why? Because we are God's beloved!
Jesus' frustration and, quite frankly, anger was precisely because the religious leaders and elders of the people had either forgotten that they were the beloved of God or they had refused to believe it in the first place. They had forgotten or refused to believe that love of God and love of neighbor was what all of the law and the prophets hung upon.
Jesus' preaching of the Reign of God, the forgiveness of sins and God's deep and passionate love for each one of us threw the religious leaders into fits...that just didn't fit into their vision of the world. What about "The Law"? How could this man from Nazareth know more than them? They were, after all, the religious leaders and they knew all about God! Or so they thought they did.
As we race toward the end of Lent, let's take some time to reflect on being "the beloved of God"! How would deeply claiming my identity as "the beloved of God" change my life? What would I do differently...how would truly embracing this identity affect my relationships with others? How would it affect my personal and civic sense of responsibility to and for others...especially the poor, the outcast and marginalized of our society? How would embracing my identity as the beloved of God impact what and who I prioritize as most important in my life? And, what would I need to pick up or lay down in my life to live from this identity of the “beloved of God”?
Lenten blessings,
Fr. Tim
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