The Last Chapter is Not the End

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 28:16-20, 30-31 ~~~ Psalm 11 ~~~ 

~~~ John 21:20-25 ~~~

Typically Peter exhibits most of our own human characteristics.

This is one reason it is so comfortable to identify with him.

Peter is a tad jealous of the apostle John.

He tries to compare himself to John, but Jesus 

quickly puts him in his place.

Jesus says to Peter...you should be focused on the role I have given you.

It is your job to follow me and do what I have asked 

just as it is John's job to do what I have asked of him.

What concern is it of yours? 

Those words must have been harsh for Peter to accept,

but Jesus never tries to sugar coat his message.

It was important for the history of Christianity that John 

live longer to record this Gospel message.

There are also many other things that Jesus did,

but if these were to be described individually,

I do not think the whole world would contain the books

that would be written.

There is no need to 'read between the lines' here.

It was impossible to write down all that Jesus said 

and did while he was here.

John seems to believe that there would not even be 

enough books to contain the information.

The amazing truth is that between the four Gospels 

just enough was written

 to keep alive the message of Jesus.

John ends his Gospel writing not as a closed book.

but rather he leaves it open for us.

By leaving it open we can observe in our own life

 the infinite possibilities of the workings of God, 

especially now when we are about to celebrate the Holy Spirit.  

John's Gospel ends, but the works of God

 through Jesus and the Holy Spirit

is never-ending.

We are Blessed to know that even when we close the covers of the Bible

we are not closing the works of the Lord.

John recorded what he could, but he had witnessed so much more.

Be open to every possible way God is present and active in you life.

What we learn from the writings in the Bible is only the tip of the iceberg.

There is so much more...

~~~Peace~~~

"Do You Love Me?"

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 25:13B-21 ~~Psalm 103~~ John 21:15-19 ~~~

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.

In the early days of courtship/dating,
 either the woman or the man poses an important question...
"Do you love me?"
We often need the reassurance.
We are looking for concrete signs
 of the existence of the other person's love for us.
The over used words of 'I love you' have become so generic.

Jesus poses the same question to Peter in today's Gospel.
“Simon, son of John, 
do you love me more than these?”

Jesus wants a comparative answer...do you love me more....
How do you answer such a question?
Is it ever possible to gauge another's love compared to yours?
What would be the unit of measure?

Love cannot really be competitive
because there is always room to love more...
more deeply...more completely...and more individuals.

Jesus continues to question Peter each time raising the bar.
If..........then......
Jesus is telling Peter; if you love me then you must do these things...
feed his lambs, tend his sheep, and feed his sheep.

In other words if you love me Peter,
 you must do as you have seen me do while we were together.

To love Jesus is to care for those he loves.

Jesus found so very many ways to show his great love.
We could hardly compare, but he wants us to keep trying.
To love him more is to follow him;
and to follow him is to love others more.
We can never exhaust our supply of love.
Jesus is the constant supplier.
The well of love can never run dry.

Blessed to be given the opportunity to stretch our capacity for love.

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.

We can best love Jesus if we also love those he loved.
Follow in his footsteps of love.

This is how to answer his question...
'Do you love me?'
Peace

Who is God's Gift to You?

~~~ Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr ~~~

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 22:30; 23:6-11 ~~~ Psalm 16 ~~~ John 17:20-26 ~~~

I pray not only for these,
but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
so that they may all be one...

We should always remember that Jesus is never far from our side.
He sometimes sends the most unusual person to represent himself.
In the case for Paul in today's reading,
 the very ones who were holding him prisoner
become the ones sent to save him. How unlikely is that?
When God keeps his promise to protect he uses all means at his disposal...
and since he is God anything is possible.
The commander had to protect Paul
because his own Scribes and Pharisees were fighting
among themselves....about their own differences.

Jesus says...
Father, they are your gift to me.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
that they may see my glory that you gave me...

Have you ever considered yourself to be God's gift to Jesus?
Have you ever prayed this prayer for one of your own loved ones?
Who in your life is God gifting to you?
Are you able to look upon this person as a gift?
Can you imagine telling your family...
'You are God's gift to me'?

Jesus loves us, his gift, that he wants us to be with him.
I have some people who love their pet
so much that they would not consider going anywhere without it.

That pales in comparison to how much Jesus wants us to be with him.
Jesus says, I want those you have given to me to be with me,
that they may see the glory you, the Father, has given to me.

I will make it known,
that the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them.

God sent his Son down to be one of us; he literally falls
so in love with us he want us to stay with him.

He cannot take us all at the same time up to heaven when he goes,
so he makes perfect arrangements for us to follow him.
One day we can all be together...all of his 'gifts' will be with him.

Could we be any more Blessed?
Filled with his personal love.
I think I like being his gift from the Father.
Peace.

We are 'Aliens'

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 20:28-38 ~~~ Psalm 68 ~~~ John 17:11B-19 ~~~

...they do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.

For all you readers out there who are science fiction lovers;
it is official we do not belong to this world.
If we do not belong to this world then we must be 'aliens'.
We were placed into this world by God.
Even though most of us rather like it here;
this is clearly not where we belong.
Jesus tells us today that we do not belong
here any more than he belonged here.
He belonged with the Father in Heaven.
Can we assume that is also where we belong?

I do not ask that you take them out of the world
but that you keep them from the Evil One.

Jesus was on Earth for thirty-three.
Most of us remain here for many more years.

Even when Jesus was here the 'Evil One' was also present.
According to Scriptures Jesus was tempted by this one called 'Evil'.
Jesus asks the Father to keep us safe from this 'Evil One'.
Jesus longs for us to be safe,
because he wants us to be reunited with him someday.
We do not belong here...
Since we do not belong here it makes us a target for this 'Evil One'.
When something or someone doesn't belong they
look out of place...they are easy to spot.

Jesus was sent here by the Father to save us,
but along the way he showed us how to live here too.
He showed us how we could love
even though we were not of this world.

...As you sent me into the world,
so I sent them into the world.
And I consecrate myself for them,
so that they also may be consecrated in truth.

We have been consecrated in truth..
become life long seekers of the truth.
As the saying goes the truth will set you free.
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

We are blessed to have Jesus protecting us from the 'Evil One'.
We are blessed to have Jesus guiding us on the path of truth.
It is his truth that we desire; not the so called truth the world offers to us.

Peace
fellow aliens.

One with the Heart of God

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 20:17-27 ~~~ Psalm 68 ~~~ John 17:1-11A ~~~

Now this is eternal life,

that they should know you, the only true God,

and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.

To know God is to love him and to love him is to have eternal life in him.

What if eternal life is not restricted to a location with boundaries?

What if our whole understanding of eternal life is just a tad off center.

In the world of science just one small miscalculation

 can completely change the outcome.

Here we are speaking about something that we really know very little about.

It is this promise and belief of eternal life that keeps us faithful.

What if eternal life actually happens

 when we enter into full communion with the heart of God.

The heart of God is where the fullness of life resides.

He is the source...eternal life is being fully integrated

 into the source of all love and goodness.

Sounds like heaven to me.

Jesus came down from heaven to save us.

He says he is going to make a place for us.

He says he and the Father are one.

We are loved and saved because of the Father.

He wants us to be with him in heaven

 for all of eternity.

He wants us to become one 

with his tremendous love, 

in order to do that

 we must become one with his heart.

The Blessings he has waiting for us in eternity

 are far greater than we could bear to receive while here on earth.

~~~Peace~~~

Exhibition of Evidence

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 19:1-8 ~~~ Psalm 68 ~~~ John 16:29-33 ~~~

Jesus says...

 I am not alone, because the Father is with me.

I have told you this so that you might have peace in me.

In the world you will have trouble,

but take courage, I have conquered the world.” 

We tend to overlook the truth that Jesus himself 

drew strength from the Father.

As a human, there were certainly times 

when Jesus found it comforting

or necessary to tap into the strength of the Father.

He wants us to know that we are never alone

 just as he was never alone.

The Father is never far away from our side.

This should bring us peace, 

but somehow we can get overwhelmed with life and forget.

We need this reassurance particularly when life

 feels like it is crashing in around us...

when we feel as if we are being sucked into the abyss of the world. 

Paul came with the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit sweeps into their lives with a new energy.

...when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them...

Our Baptism with water is vital for our soul;

the baptism of the Holy Spirit 

may exhibit outward signs.

One is not more important than the other,

they are just different.

In a few days we will celebrate the exhibition of the Holy Spirit...

in the upper room the Spirit will come with

power and might.

People will be changed; it will be akin to a rebirth.

We have a choice either to receive and respond to the

blessings of the Holy Spirit or

we can dismiss them...turn and walk away.

What will you choose?

Allowing the Holy Spirit to take over your life 

can be a scary proposition.

Jesus says...

take courage, I have conquered the world.

Being led and fed by the Spirit can be an amazing experience.

Give it a try...

You have the rest of the week to prepare your heart to be open.

Do not be one who lets the Holy Spirit

 rush by you unnoticed.

~~~Peace~~~

Be Living Witnesses

~~~ The Ascension of the Lord ~~~

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 1:1-11 ~~~ Psalm 47 ~~~ Ephesians 1:17-23 ~~~

~~~ Matthew 28:16-20 ~~~

...why are you standing there looking at the sky?

...behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.

Those who witnessed the Ascension of the Lord

 experienced a moment of disconnect with the present.

Their eyes were fixed staring into the sky, but Jesus was no longer visible.

The form of his presence which they had become accustomed to

 was no longer evident.

He had returned to his rightful state of existence with the Father.

That day the disciples accepted their lives had been forever changed.

Fixing their eyes on heaven, the disciples came to understand 

that the presence they longed for in the person of Jesus

 would never leave them.

I will be with you...

Jesus is with us always...until the end of time.

We must release the old concept of what it means to have someone with you.

The Father gives to the Son all power in heaven and on earth.

When Jesus says,

"I will be with you always..."

He means it in a very real sense, even though we cannot see his face...

even though we cannot look into his eyes.

The day will come when we will come face to face with the Lord.

On that day there will be great rejoicing.

Now we must not stand motionless looking up to the sky;

we must go out and be living witnesses.

The day is near when we will experience

 once again the baptism of the Spirit.

Living in the Spirit we are convicted that Jesus is always with us.

He will never abandon us.

Wherever you go he will be with you.

Blessed with anticipation of the coming of the Holy Spirit.

The presence of the Spirit

 is the promised presence of Jesus.

...Until the end of the age...

~~~Peace~~~