Thursday, April 23, 2015

Sunday Gospel Reflection, April 26, 2015: See what love the Father has bestowed...

What can faith teach us about intimacy?

When, in this Sunday’s reading from John’s Gospel, Jesus tells the Jewish leaders that he is the good shepherd, he is setting himself in stark contrast to them.  Unlike the authorities who are unsettled by his teachings because they themselves fall short, Jesus is the image of perfect love, ready to lay down his life for his sheep; although he is all too aware of his followers’ faults, he loves them still, and invites them to enter into his life, and to share his life, his intimacy, with the Father.  The profound love that compels Jesus to the cross is the profound love into which we are baptized.  To be open to that love is to recognize that Jesus is the Messiah, sent to bring salvation to all; faith, then, is about acceptance of that love, a love that fosters deeper connection, profound intimacy, with the God of love.

Because they know that intimacy of connection, we see in Acts, Peter and John are able to heal, as Peter tells the Jewish authorities, in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean.  Jesus is their cornerstone, their foundation, without whom intimacy with God, love, and salvation are impossible.  They know the profound love the Father has bestowed on us, know the intimacy that is theirs because they are children of God (1 John).  They can therefore, like the author of Psalm 118, give thanks to the Lord before the Jewish leaders, knowing God’s mercy is theirs, trusting in the intimacy of profound love that is their refuge.


Do we have their faith in the gift of intimacy, 
in the promise of God’s profound love for us?

This post is based on Fr. Pat's Scripture class.
Image source: Wordle

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