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Weekly Reflection
Keep on Pouring God!
5/6/21
O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Sixth Sunday of Easter BCP 225)
"Pour into our hearts such love towards you..." Keep on pouring God! Oh wait, our hearts are already full! If you pour it will simply overflow and we won't be able to hold that. We need to empty our hearts of all the other stuff we put in them so that God can pour love into them, and then we can share that love with others.
I definitely feel like my heart has gotten way too full this last year. I am slowly trying to process everything that has happened and what it means for me. As I do so, I am able to empty out a little bit of my heart, and I hope God will pour more love in there instead. The love which God pours into our hearts is not just God's love for us, which we very much need, but also God's love towards others, which helps us be in relationship with others.
Despite my fullness, I continue to pray, "keep on pouring God!" because hopefully I'll be able to hold God's love. Every time I catch a little more of God's love, I can share a bit more of God's love too. This world so desperately needs God's love. I pray we can all hold out our hearts to be filled with God's love.
God Blesses us With Rain
4/29/21
Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Fifth Sunday of Easter BCP 225)
"Rain, rain, go away, come again another day..." I am not sure why we tell rain to come again another day in this well-known children's song. We rarely want rain to come. Rain makes everything soggy and dampens moods. It puts outdoor events on hold and makes the sky look dreary. With all these side effects, why would we want rain to come again?
Thankfully, rain does come again. Because we need the rain. We need the water for our environment, we need the break in our own hectic pace, we need the reminder to water ourselves (whether with literal water or those things which make us spiritually full). We need all the good benefits of rain, even if we have to put up with the annoying ones.
Spiritual times of rain are usually marked by sadness or a lot of upsetedness. They come to us frequently when we don't want them, but they provide lots of good benefits for our continued growth. Rain gives us a time to pause and reflect. It gives us motivation and nurture for the road ahead. It also gives us blessings in disguise. To quote another children's rhyme, "April showers bring May flowers." Perhaps the rain in our lives will help seeds blossom into beautiful flowers.
Follow the Leader
4/22/21
O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people; Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Fourth Sunday of Easter BCP 225)
Follow the Leader is one of those really easy children's games we have all played. It takes no equipment, just the children themselves and their imagination. Everyone gets behind the designated leader and follows them around mimicking what they do. If you mess up, you have to sit out for a while until someone wins and the games starts all over again. It may sound like a silly game, but it teaches children some important motor and life skills. Even as adults, we all have days we need to follow a leader.
Whether at work or at home or at the gym, there are situations we all face in which we need to follow someone's lead. Being a follower isn't always easy. If you don't trust the leader, questioning and rebellion can take over. When we get in the habit of not following anyone else's lead, we fall into the trap of thinking we always know what is best. In the prayer for this coming Sunday, we pray that we can follow Jesus' lead in our lives.
For many of us, following Jesus' lead is really difficult. We may think this only applies to our spiritual lives, but that is simply not true. God's call on our lives involves our whole lives, which means we need to follow Jesus' lead in every area of our lives. Honestly, sometimes when I think I am following Jesus' lead in my life, it can feel like following a child in a game of Follow the Leader. It doesn't always make sense to me, but with trust in Jesus, I know I am going in the right direction. As we pray this Sunday's prayer together, let us examine who we are following, whether it is Jesus or ourselves.