july 2005photo newly emergedbutterfly

 

July 17 2006

Mt 10:34-11:1 Jesus said to his Apostles: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother,and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s enemies will be those of his household.“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.Whoever finds his life will lose it,and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.“Whoever receives you receives me,and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward,and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple—amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples,he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.

The Word of God speaks to me tonight as saying that to have division in a household is to be expected. To be a disciple means to stand fast with Jesus first in all things and to not allow the heart that is being tugged by man against father, daughter against mother to pull me off the path of light and life with faith in God. "one’s enemies will be those of his household"...how challenging, how sad and yet how human.

To be Christian is to be willing to leave the self, death to selfish wants and to embrace the way of the cross as the way to life in Christ. To be a disciple, a prophet means to not be beloved by all people but more likely scorned, mocked, turned away from. But my steps and my life is lived in love and love of Christ above all it is all for the good. Sometimes I am so strongly seeking stillness and peace that I forget the soil needs to be stired when a seed is planted. God calls me to go beyond who I have been and what I have done before. It is a threat, a challenge and an opportunity for growth in the spirit and life in Christ. The graces given are boundless. To whom much is given much is expected.

The times when I think I can not go one more mile or that I can not do what God is asking of me are when I need to remind myself to get out of myself, to let go of my wants and needs and let my soul be freed to different way of being with trust and no looking back or worrying about the future. To embrace the loving will of God each day is a constant challenge and blessing. I am grateful for the strength for the journey. I pray this evening for any person who is in need of healing and a special intention for someone close who is sick.