Clothe yourself with Love Col. 3:14

An Archbishop of Canterbury once wrote that we should embrace joyfully the love and forgiveness of God at all times---and allow God’s forgiveness to change us. I picture this as a journey with a destination to God’s immense love and forgiveness. Nothing in the Bible says that this journey is comfortable, but it’s the safest one. It’s fascinating that Paul’s words are painting the same profile picture of someone in the direction towards God’s embrace. What does such person look like? I don’t mean tall or short or fair skinned. God doesn’t look at that. I mean the character of Jesus’ follower. Why should we care about Christian character in our lives? What’s at stakes here? I will tell you: If our lives are not measuring up, we should know. The word of God is the plumbline. 2 e.g., of ignoring the stakes: The writing on the wall was destined to a King obstinate in his ways. Nothing scared him: it read: You have been weighed and came up short/ didn’t measure up. He died. I also thought o...

In the confusion of tensions between Rome and Israel’s leaders, the Pharisees and Scribes were looking for a scapegoat accusing Jesus to be a spy in league with the enemy. Jesus’ reaction is still just amazing to me: (You know like when the garbage is being tossed around, keep moving, don't focus on it!) Jesus simply went on to do His Father’s work: to prepare his disciples for the most extraordinary Mission: the wonders of God Almighty! The Hebrew word used in Genesis 18 is [Pala] to mean wonders or miracles. Sara was laughing in her tent thinking: “how can I give birth at this age” because she was afraid. God told Abraham: Why did Sarah laugh? Is anything too difficult for me? In other words: “Do you think those wonders/miracles are too hard for me?” This question from God is in our faces as well this morning. I am sure you all have an urgent prayer request you would submit to God. Is that too difficult to God? Today’s Gospel invites us join Jesus’ extraordinary mission, to show...

The feast of Tabernacles was at a time when Israel’s farmers wait in hope for the first rain and the start of a new and fertile planting year. New Beginnings just like at Pentecost! They celebrate the harvest and God’s promises to bless them, of which the Ezek. vision of a life-giving river flowing from the new temple, giving life to everything. This story is linked with Pentecost. Jesus had been watching the celebrations and on the last of 7days, Jesus offered an invitation. [I know that Jesus knew the troubles of each and every person in the crowds. He understood the weight/gravity of every burden] and then, shouted out: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let one who believes in me drink.” In other words, He says: Come to my fountain of life-giving water: if anyone who believes in me wants spiritual blessings, eternal joy no matter how fatigued you might be feeling carrying your cross, your burdens, your pain, I am your relief! Drink to your content! The Bible uses this ima...

Bond with Jesus Happy Mothers’ Day! Mothers and their children share a bond that is deep and hard to comprehend. How many of you mothers would donate your kidney to your child without missing a beat? Yes, that’s a strong bond! The way I see it, it’s as if God had put a chip in a mother’s brain to respond to the cries of the baby. They are that connected. Jesus talks about a similar connectedness: He says that on that day, of his departure: “You will know that I am in my Father and you in me and I in you.” It’s not just a feeling in your gut, but a deep connectedness of mutual indwelling between the Father and the Son and also between the Son and his disciples. This is just amazing for us encounter. Our calling is to become more than intimate friends with God; to be able to recognize and sense the beatings of the Father’s heart because we are deeply connected with the Son. It’s no surprise that the Son was sent into the world, into our chaotic dysfunctions, to gather us into a divine l...

Our OT lesson in Exodus 17 begins with the words: “From the wilderness of sin…” (Not a good place to be!) How fitting this is because Israelites were in quite a messy situation; I am afraid this is a situation we might be familiar with. Have you ever been in a situation where you were 100% sure that your plan was going to work out and it doesn’t? Total disappointment! It was kind of like that for Israel. They were now out of Egypt (God had led them through victory after victory so far!). Now they were on their way to the promised land but, as you know, patience is a virtue that is rare not only in our own families but also in Israel. This time, though, they were in dire straits! They faced lack of water. That’s like a death sentence in the desert, except that they were a people of faith. How did they react? Well, they looked at how bad the situation was and freaked out. They forgot they were people of faith. We fall into that! Many times! Jesus comes with a solution for us: your secur...

There has always been violence in the world. It has been estimated that 3180 out of 3357 years, have been years of war. From the year 496 to 1860, there were only 227 years of peace. The ratio has been 18 years of war to one year of peace. Today there’s more wars; no doubt sophisticated and more fatalities but, there is something different about the violence of our day: It is the silent violence accomplished using the law to our own advantage. The late Catholic Archbishop Fulton Sheen reckoned that this is because humans have despaired for losing their God-given purpose. Case in point: When we have more enthusiasm in being anti-something, more than we cultivates good moral values, good virtues in ourselves, this can be distracting because violence is not the only ill in our society! There are more unfortunately. The trouble is that, without God, all the paths we take lands us back in to the same troubles we were avoiding in the first place. I call this a loop of self-misguidance. In t...

Several days after the 1989 devastating 6.9 earthquake in San Francisco area, a young boy was seen rocking and swaying on the school playground. His principal asked him if he was okay, and the boy said yes, I am moving like the earth, so if there is another earthquake, I won’t feel it. He wanted to prepare himself for another shaking of the ground. We do the same in our lives especially when comes bad news on the phone, and when it rings again, we are quick to say, what else now? This sounds like a predictable behavior. Holy Scriptures are full of instances where God’s people were in these predictable behaviors. I will give an example: God rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt, and when things started getting tough in the desert on the way to freedom, they started craving for Egyptian food! Onions and Garlic, and for us, it would have been pizza, fried chicken and hamburgers! They complained for a piece of their old life of slavery. This is predictable behavior. God wasn’t impressed! W...