Love of Christ
Fr. Tony’s Midweek Message
June 17, 2021
“And this is God’s commandment, that we should trust in God’s Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that God has given us” (1 John 3:22-24).
“All that we owe is redeemed in truly loving God, for the love of Christ works in us; Christ is the one whom we love.” --Julian of Norwich
I sometimes feel inadequate, like there is not quite enough “there” there to be and do what God wants. In my priestly calling, in my care-giving for Elena, as a father to our children, as a friend to people I have known and loved for decades. I sometimes feel inadequate, and I suspect, from what I have heard from parishioners over the years, that many of you on occasion feel the same sense of inadequacy.
But here’s the thing: there is nothing that any of us could say or do that would make God love us one bit more than God already does. We are his creatures, and he knows us to the core. And he says again and again in scripture that he loves us.
This is not to say that everything we do is right or perfectly done. But it does mean that God loves us regardless. Jesus taught this on many occasions, and said that what really matters is not our conformity or disobedience to rules, but our how our heart is disposed.
That is why trusting in Jesus, trusting in who he is and what he did, and trying to follow his way of love, is so central. In so doing, we take on the heart of Jesus, and begin loving as he loved us.
Back in the 70s, there was a book of pop psychology “I’m OK, you’re OK.” I think that perhaps from the point of view of this truth of living in Jesus’ love, it should probably be “I’m not OK, and you’re not OK, but hey—That’s OK!” Living in the love of Jesus makes all things new, and covers a multitude of failings.
Grace and Peace,
Fr. Tony+
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