Clothe yourself with Love Col. 3:14

  Back home there is a song about a young bride who lost her mother at a young age. Before her mother died, she gave her a necklace that was passed on from mothers to daughters, many generations before, she knew she needed to take great care of this precious family heirloom. Unfortunately, on the day of her wedding, while busy, she lost it. The song is about her lamenting and waking everyone up so they can help her look for the lost necklace. At some point, she cried out asking even airplanes in the sky to land immediately so everyone can help her find her necklace. Do you know what I identify with in this story? the desperation! Been there, Done that! Losing something special sometimes can put us in a down spiral, it’s not a good place to be. Jesus tells us in our Gospel reading today, that it becomes an experience of passing from desperation to great joy when the lost item finally, is found. When the prodigal son returns home; or when a sinner turns towards the light of Christ.

  We all have intentions! Whether we are aware or not, we do have intentions. We can decide to do many things in life: You could say you want (1) to lead by example or (2) to forgive others and yourself or (3) love someone in your life unconditionally . All this begins deep in our hearts, with an intention as our driving force. We are built to protect ourselves, to project ourselves ahead! Our culture tells us to be assertive! Take the first seat! Be noticeable! it’s in our DNA. It is the way to success! Jesus seems to look at this idea differently. He was invited into a Pharisee’ s home and some of the guests rush to better seats. I am not sure if Jesus was the guest of honor but Jesus words sounded to me like a rebuke. I felt like saying: Right! Tell them Jesus! They should not think so highly of themselves ! Oops, He might be talking about me too! There is a reason why we love places of honor, to be honored/ praised/valued. This may be us trying to fill a void that is meant f