Monday - freedom of choice -- discerning God's will

O Divine Lord of all that exists,  illuminate within our hearts Your story of love.   Enlighten and direct our souls, our hearts, and our spirits. Guide the hands of Your servants so that we may worthily and perfectly portray Your great love, for the glory, joy, and life of Your Holy Church.
Amen.

 

Luke 23: 13 – 16

Pilate then called the Chief Priests,  the leaders, and the people and said to them that this Jesus is not guilty of any of their accusations.    Herod too did not find Jesus guilty.  Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate.    Pilate continues on to say that Jesus has done nothing to deserve death.  Pilate will flog Jesus and release him.     Pilate finds Jesus innocent of all charges.  But.  But,   we know that is not what happened.  

Jesus was not released as an innocent (we’ll read about this tomorrow).    How many times in your life have you plotted one avenue of your life only to have your life change so suddenly from your plans that you go “what happened?”     

Because of Jesus’  sacrifice,  we are given freedom of choice.  We can choose what we want to do each and every day.    As mature Christians  we learn to discern God’s  will in our lives.   But learning how to discern God’s  will is not an easy thing to learn.  It takes times of prayer  and centering oneself totally in God’s  care and love.   It means giving up of ourselves and handing ourselves over to God.   For a lot of people today,  handing our lives over to God is not an easy thing to do.

Discerning God’s  will does not mean praying for a parking spot to be vacant in front of the new Target store and then finding a parking spot.  That is called gambling prayers.  Discerning God’s  will means each and every day we begin our days focussing our lives in God’s  love.   We ask God to guide us through each day and to help us make positive choices that will bring the kingdom of God into our lives and community. 

Ministers and those who are servants in the Church especially need to discern God’s  will not only for their own lives but also for the spiritual leadership needed  for all God’s  people.    

It can all be summed up in one word.  Prayer.    

Prayer:   Great God and author of our faith,  have mercy upon us.   Each day as we rise from our slumber,  we put our actions and energies into Your care.  Open our minds to Your calling and to be obedient to Your will.   This we ask in Jesus’  name.  Amen.