Sunday Gospel Reflection, August 25, 2013: I know their works and their thoughts

I know their works and their thoughts

God invites us daily, constantly, to relationship.  All we have to do is say yes!

When, in this Sunday’s Gospel from Luke, someone asks Jesus, Lord, will only a few people be saved?, Jesus does’t really answer the question directly.  Instead, he addresses a deeper issue:  it’s not about how many will be saved, it’s about whether you will.  And the answer to that lies in you, and what you are willing to claim, how you are willing to live, in this life.  Try to answer this question:  does the Lord know you because because of your relationship with him?  God knows your works and your thoughts, as he does those of the people of Israel in our text from Isaiah; God is aware of our investment in the relationship.  And God's own investment is total:  God’s steadfast loving kindness (Psalm 117) is constant gift to us; how do we respond?  Are we paying attention to that relationship?  Are we disciplined, as the Letter to the Hebrews exhorts us to be?  Do we endure our trials as they come, trusting in God, investing ourselves fully in the relationship even when it is difficult?  When we come to eat and drink in God’s company, are we there because it’s a requirement, or are we there to be fed by God’s love, to embrace the Lord and each other?  And once we have been fed, are we ready to proclaim God’s glory to all the nations, eager to go out to all the world and tell the good news, so excited about being in relationship with God that it's clear to everyone we know?

God saves each of us by offering relationship with God to us, inviting us to embrace that relationship and to live it, every single day.  And God’s joy is in the relationship, as our joy, too, can be – if only we open our hearts to God’s invitation to relationship, and live it as fully as we can!

This post is based on Fr. Pat's Scripture class.
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