Church of the Ascension Church of the Ascension

We cannot travel this world putting our own needs or expectations first because we believe we have a right to something and then wonder why the world seems so dark and broken.  As Christians we cannot be entitled travelers, but instead we must embrace our responsibilities as brothers and sisters and mothers to all whom we meet. 

The sabbath is a gift that gives us the opportunity to reevaluate relationships. Jesus is not saying anything new this morning, he is just challenging us to reevaluate our
relationships. How do we feel when Jesus runs roughshod over those things we find in our lives that we thought were definitive of how Christians are supposed to act?” I find it challenging at first but in the end, I find myself loved up to a place of joy filled grace that leaves my heart full, and my soul refreshed.

When we know that love, when we live that love, then our worries can cease because we will know with every atom of our beingness that “every little thing’s gonna be alright.”

As we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit on this day what are the stars of distraction in our lives and who are the Northern Lights that guide us?  Who are those steady presences in our lives who visibly manifest the Holy Spirit to us? Who draws us into community and how do we open our hearts to these new gifts of relationship?

Every day, every moment of our lives we have a choice to follow the path of the happy or that of the wicked.  To choose the path of the happy is not to choose self-fulfillment or prosperity or wealth—we will not be happy simply by getting what we want.  To be one of those who are “happy” only happens when we choose to connect to the source of life…when we choose God. 

Peter’s love for Cornelius can only be mimicked by us when we love the other—one who is different from us in race, socio-economic condition, position, influence, whatever the criteria might be.  When we can see the other, not through our differences but in how we are the same, we can discover how to love them.