Friday - Looking outward with Jesus

Prayer:  Holy God,  Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal One,  we love You.   Holy God,  Holy Mighty,  Holy Immortal One,  we give You thanks every day.   Holy God,  Holy Mighty,  Holy Immortal One,  we know that Jesus is alive in the heart of the Church when we give our lives for our brothers and sisters and work towards creating a loving world.   May we be the face and hands and heart of Jesus this day.  Amen.

Read  St.  Luke  6:  26

The Message translation of the Bible interprets this passage as “There’s trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them.  Popularity contests are not truth contests – look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors!  Your task is to be true, not popular.”

Our task is to be true.  True to what?   True to living a life in Jesus.  Instead of looking inward at ourselves all the time and seeking approval of others, we need to look outward at Jesus.   

Jean Vanier,  in his book I Met Jesus,  says, “Jesus is alive at the heart of his Church.  He remains with us and in us.  With Jesus we love one another.  We create community.  We learn to forgive and to celebrate.  We welcome the poor.  We give our lives for our brothers and sisters and we work towards creating a loving world where we are the face, the hands, and the heart of Jesus”.    (Vanier, Jean.   I Met Jesus,   Paulist Press, 1987). 

Over the past two years,  the Presbytery of Winnipeg has been in dialogue with First Nations Bands 37,  39,  and 40 concerning the old Cecilia Jeffrey Residential – Camp Prescawa land in Shoal Lake ON.   The dialogue got stuck for a while until one man came forward and said, “God is calling me to turn the land into a land of healing”.     What a fantastic idea.  Then there was a lady on a Missions Committee in a congregation in Ontario that said, “We want to do a Mission project… do you know of any Mission projects in Canada?”    And so  the dialogue continues on land that will be used for healing.  What a wonderful witness to  the way God called these two people and they were inspired to help with this project.    These two people didn’t seek approval of others for themselves  but were called by God to a task of helping the community.     Amazing! 

Prayer:  Lord Jesus,  you said:  Ask and you will receive,  the door will be opened. Give our hearts such love that our whole lives be inspired by it, in all that we do,  and that we never tire of praising You with the Father and the Holy Spirit now and for ever.  Amen.

(Taize  “Praise in all Our Days”  Mowbray, 1981  pg 171).