My
reflection today made me ponder how the world receives the Good News of Jesus
and the diversity of those who spread (and receive) that Good News. In the Acts of the Apostles, there’s a
litany of early believers. Jewish,
Greek, male, female, circumcised, uncircumcised, from Lystra to Iconium to
Jerusalem. A diverse lot (Acts
16:1-10). A Psalm proclaims, “Sing
joyfully to the Lord, all you lands.” (Psalms
100:1-5). And in the Gospel of John,
Jesus warned the disciples that, because Jesus had chosen them, the world may
hate them. “They
will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know
the one who sent me.”
(John 15:18-21). Jesus doesn’t promise a
rose garden for those who follow Him.
As I write
this, I’m surrounded by pictures of my family.
I love them with all my heart, but I know they aren’t perfect. If they were perfect, they wouldn’t need my
love. If they were perfect, my love for
them would cost me nothing. But they
aren’t perfect. They have troubles,
quirks, problems, needs, wounds and scars. Just like me and just like every other human
being on the planet. And this means, in
order for me to love them, it’ll cost me.
It will require some sort of sacrifice.
My hope is that my love and sacrifice will be life-changing for them.
In addition
to the pictures of my family on the wall (in fact, it’s in the midst of the
pictures), I have a retablo which holds a small figure of Christ carrying His
cross that my daughter Sarah bought for me in Ecuador. As I look at the cross right now, I think,
“what an incredible gift we’ve been given!”
Christ’s sacrifice wasn’t because
we’re all perfect and deserving. It’s just
the opposite. If we want a fuller life,
this is something we need. This is the
cost of our joy. We are a people in need,
and this is the emblem of God’s love for us.
My prayer
today is for those of us who struggle to comprehend Christ’s sacrifice and how
to convey that Good News to a needy world.
No comments:
Post a Comment