Search
-
May 4, 2024Reflection for 6th Sunday of Easter: May 5, 2024
Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48: At its beginning, this passage reminds us that the source of all miracles, wonders and graces is God, alone. Our Most Blessed Trinity uses raw materials(common apostles and other faithful people) as instruments for performing miracles and wonders; but the glory and credit for the incredible healings and other miracles always has to be attributed to our God, alone. To God alone belongs the glory!
When Peter refocuses Cornelius’s gratitude towards God, Peter also stresses the message that God is impartial; desiring and willing to assist and be approached by any believer from any nation, who has reverence for God and confidence in God’s power to heal, forgive, save and restore her or him. This encouragement still applies to all of us, today!
Psalm 98: “The Lord has revealed to the nations His saving power.” Now, appropriately, we sing a hymn of glory, praise and thanks to God for saving all of us who approach our God for forgiveness, healing and/or Salvation. The second verse of today’s psalm proclaims Israel’s precedence with God as a “favored nation,” but simultaneously praises God’s open invitation for all of the “children of God,” all over the world, to approach God with adoration, worship, petitions and gratitude for help received.
This psalm is a great choice for inviting all people to join together in a unified Church, where all feel loved and included; as if each individual person, all over the world, is important to God. Let’s take courage and confidence in this meditation and proclamation of our God’s impartial goodness!
1 John 4:7-10: This Sunday’s readings coalesce into a beautiful invitation and mandate to strive for Christian unity. This simple passage holds the “key” to achieving unity. Love is the thread that will sew and bind us all together; into one faith, one hope and one realized dream of unity and peace! Love is the very essence of God; so… since we desire to experience and know God more fully, we must pray to be filled with greater love.
If we ask sincerely to be filled with a greater love for our brothers and sisters; especially those we have difficulty with, God will certainly not refuse. With deep, sincere prayer, we can find ourselves loving and feeling tenderly towards those whom we may have considered before, to be our enemies.
John 15:9-17: As Jesus proclaims, His love for us is like the Heavenly Father’s love for Jesus. This love is intense, familiar and “familial;” very intimate and personal! How great and how loving is our God, the Most Blessed Trinity! The only way we can be filled with God’s love and know our God, His Son, Jesus and the Holy Spirit is to obey God’s Law and to do God’s Will.
We can’t know God unless we unite our will with God’s Will. It’s only by conforming ourselves to God’s Will and obeying God’s Commands that we can know and enjoy God’s Peace. We mustn’t try to convince ourselves that we can or should settle for anything less than the most perfect unity with God alone!
In God alone is our Peace and all Love!
Deacon Matt
