January 7, 2019
(St. Andre Bessette, C.S.C. Religious)
Beloved: We receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us. Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit whom he gave us.
Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God, and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. 1_Jn_3:22–4:6
Believe in Jesus and love one another. Not really that bad, huh? But what happens when temptations come that tell us otherwise. ‘Well, if Jesus really existed then why do so many bad things happen to us?’ ‘Well that person had no right to cut me off in traffic, so I have every right to hate her.’
You see, beloved, John is telling us that those are exactly the “spirits” who are not from God. God’s Spirit tells us that Jesus exists to save us from the evil of the world, not to prevent it. It’s like complaining about getting wet if you jump out of the boat. It’s not the water’s fault. But it just may be the Spirit of Jesus that allowed you to be able to tell the story.
And maybe there’s something else going on in your travels other than just ME – maybe that person who cut you off is in a dire emergency and just wasn’t thinking about anything other than their dying mother in the hospital – so the Spirit of God tells us to pray for them instead of hating them. It’s really not ALL about me – it’s all about the love that I can share and the love that makes my heart sing instead of cursing! Not a bad choice!
Today, I mention the memorial of St. Andre Bessette, which was actually yesterday. But since yesterday was Sunday, the Lord’s day, we’ll mention him today, mostly because he’s one of my job-sake patrons, as a greeter and porter. And you know what, beloved, not only is it something we can all do, just for the fun of it, just for the love of others, but we have opportunities EVERY DAY to do such simple little things (like holding open a door and greeting with a smile) that could just make someone’s day, that could change a nasty day into glorious one – that may even make 100 other people’s days, just from the one. And there’s the work of God’s Spirit in action! There is Jesus working THROUGH us to prevent evil. If enough people Believed – just imagine the extent of the goodness that would surround us all, the unfathomable extent of God’s Spirit of Love!
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Whispers to the Wind 