In our baptismal promises to love God above all and all that He has created as Jesus loves us, we often lose focus because we confuse becoming a responsible Christian with a need for personal attainment. When we do this, we fall into a type of entrapment in which sin overtakes our good intentions. It is at this juncture that more than ever we need to ask God’s forgiveness, let go of whatever led us astray and follow Jesus by emulating what He taught us while he walked this earth.
The Prophet Baruch in our first reading is trying to bring comfort to the Jews who were conquered, deported and exiled to a foreign land. They had lost hope and needed to be reminded that God has not forgotten them when Baruch writes: “Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God forever…for God is leading Israel in joy by the light of His glory, with His mercy and justice for company.” Don’t we have times in our life when we believe we are abandoned by God and humanity? No matter what we try, nothing seems to work and we forget that God is here for us, even if we don’t acknowledge it.
St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians reminds us that whatever is happening in our lives, God’s love knows no bounds and expects nothing in return. He writes: “Your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ…”
That is how true disciples are when they trust in God. They become selfless when they allow God to love through them. They are sacrificial by forgiving all those who hurt them and by putting people before them. They are complete when they don’t qualify their love by setting conditions, but instead give fully of themselves. We have the opportunity to do the same everyday by allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our lives.
John the Baptist’s mission as the precursor of Jesus was to proclaim a Baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins so that people would return to God. St. Luke’s Gospel is a reminder to us that we should emulate that same message of hope, love, freedom and peace to others. We need to model for others how to prepare for the second coming of Jesus as our King who will judge all by how they lived their lives in obedience to the will of God. It also is an exodus for all from the bondage of sin if we live in hope of seeing the salvation of God.
Let us take this week to reflect on how we are being called by God to love Him and His creation. Are we willing to focus our energies on being present to those in need by placing them first so they can see the path to which God is calling them? Can we let go of our sinfulness by truly offering repentance with love, mercy and forgiveness as our path to return to God’s ways? If we can say “yes” to these questions and act upon them as needed, we can share our love with God and others as He intended us to do and be the disciple we promised by letting go and letting Him.
Reading 1: Baruch 5: 1-9
Reading 2: Philippians 1: 4-6, 8-11
Gospel: Luke 3: 1-6
No comments:
Post a Comment