Today’s Readings: Psalm 75; Amos 6:1-14; John 12:9-19; 2 Peter 3:1-7; Psalm 118
It’s good to be back after a couple days of much needed vacation. My hope is that absence made the heart grow fonder and you’re back on board with joining me for my day reflections. As I was reading today’s Gospel text I was reminded of one basic reality: for many of us, it’s easier to connect with God during the good times than bad. In today’s Gospel passage, for instance, we see a community totally electrified in anticipation of Jesus’ arrival. And what contributed to that sense of anticipation? Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the dead. In the back of their minds, members of the crowd were probably thinking, “If Jesus can do that for Lazarus, imagine what he could do for me/us?!” It would be easy for us to stand back and call the individuals in the crowd selfish or self-centered for connecting with God in ways that were driven by what they could get out of the relationship. And yet, truth be told, many of us find ourselves in a same place. We get excited and nurture our connection with God when we want something (i.e. a healing or reconciliation) and greet God with cheers and waved palms. But what happens after we move through that place of anticipation and expectation? Are we still equally moved when we don’t stand in a position of want or need? Can we simply receive God on God’s own terms and joyously celebrate that? It would seem that is the goal of our spiritual lives – to rise above a relationship driven primarily by circumstance or need. Today I would invite you to explore the nature of your own relationship with God and see what that relationship is built on. In doing my hope is that you and I will arrive at a deeper and more mature relationship with our Creator – not a relationship where we are cheering one moment and shouting out “Crucify him!” the next. Til next time…
It’s good to be back after a couple days of much needed vacation. My hope is that absence made the heart grow fonder and you’re back on board with joining me for my day reflections. As I was reading today’s Gospel text I was reminded of one basic reality: for many of us, it’s easier to connect with God during the good times than bad. In today’s Gospel passage, for instance, we see a community totally electrified in anticipation of Jesus’ arrival. And what contributed to that sense of anticipation? Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the dead. In the back of their minds, members of the crowd were probably thinking, “If Jesus can do that for Lazarus, imagine what he could do for me/us?!” It would be easy for us to stand back and call the individuals in the crowd selfish or self-centered for connecting with God in ways that were driven by what they could get out of the relationship. And yet, truth be told, many of us find ourselves in a same place. We get excited and nurture our connection with God when we want something (i.e. a healing or reconciliation) and greet God with cheers and waved palms. But what happens after we move through that place of anticipation and expectation? Are we still equally moved when we don’t stand in a position of want or need? Can we simply receive God on God’s own terms and joyously celebrate that? It would seem that is the goal of our spiritual lives – to rise above a relationship driven primarily by circumstance or need. Today I would invite you to explore the nature of your own relationship with God and see what that relationship is built on. In doing my hope is that you and I will arrive at a deeper and more mature relationship with our Creator – not a relationship where we are cheering one moment and shouting out “Crucify him!” the next. Til next time…
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