Obeying The Rules

Have you ever watched someone make an illegal turn in the road and wished to yourself that a police officer were nearby to witness it?

There's something of the policeman in most of us. Perhaps it comes from being given so many rules as children — and so many of those little ‘talks’ from parents, teachers, and others about the importance of obeying rules. The fact is, of course, laws and rules can be liberating. They can make life safer and more secure, and they can free us from having to think much about lots of ordinary things. But they can also be spirit-killers.

That was the case in the first generation of Christians, when converts from paganism to Christianity were also required to observe all the religious rules and regulations of orthodox Jews as well. It was a huge burden, under which most of Jesus' contemporaries had been spiritually crushed or had simply given up. And it was so unnecessary, so utterly besides the point of Jesus' teaching, which was to bond to the Lord and to one's neighbours in self-giving love — to love as one wants to be loved.

But old habits die hard, whether they make any sense or not, and it took the Apostles a long time to eventually see the truth. When they did see, they set out to set the people free.

Isn't that what we really want to do for one another — set one another free from the things that don't matter, the things that can't give us life?

Try today to be a liberator rather than a policeman!

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Christ Jesus, You have set us free in spirit to grow not only as individuals but as one within Your family. May we always dance within the light of Your love, rather than in the darkness of oppression. Because of You, we are truly free! Amen

posted for fr bill

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Keep Your Eyes Open

When Jesus says, ‘Keep your eyes open, for you know not the day or the hour,’ He’s not talking mainly about dying. He’s talking about God, the groom in the parable, who keeps showing up when you least expect him. God is always with us, but He shows himself more clearly at certain unforeseen times and He speaks important words to us at odd moments. There’s no telling when that will happen, so Jesus says we just have to be watchful.

Sometimes God speaks to us through nature, its immensity and grandeur, its delicate and subtle beauties, the softness of an invisible breeze, the sweet smell of a hidden flower or the majesty of the seas. God is there, reminding us who He is and what a blessing life is.

Sometimes God shows His face reflected in the faces of His good people. Some of those faces are very tiny, some are old and wrinkled, some have big smiles and others big tears. But shining through all those different good faces is God’s face, showing us His goodness and reminding us we’re not alone.

Sometimes God cries out to us through human voices racked by pain or despair, voices weeping and voices laughing. God speaks to us through their voices and tells us where we’re needed, where our light needs to shine.

Whether in light or in darkness God shows Himself and speaks to us continually every day, comforting, blessing, encouraging, challenging, and always wrapping us with His love. So keep your eyes open. This is something you really don’t want to miss! Be quiet with Him. Listen and watch. You’ll be amazed!

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God our protector, You hear us in our whispers and in our cries. Help us to see You in each and every thing You’ve created for us. Amen

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