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“Happy are those who saw you and were adorned with your love!”

December 11, 2021

Psalm 80:1-3,14-18, Sirach 48:1-11; Matthew 17:9-13

Well, gosh I want to be happy, I sure would like to be adorned with God’s love…how do I get me some of that?

So, there was a time, when I thought God’s love had to be earned. Spoiler alert…I failed miserably at “earning” God’s love. No matter what I would do…I was always falling short on living up to what I needed to do to be worthy of God’s love. There just was no way I was going to be able earn God’s love. 

My real failing was that I was making God’s love conditional…that was my mistake. I now truly believe God’s profound and unwavering love is always present, whether I see it, whether I acknowledge it, whether I feel I need it, whether I want it or whether I feel worthy of it.

Although I am not always successful, I try to be mindful of looking for God’s presence in all things…and these past 640 days (the day we went into our initial lock down) have presented many opportunities to do just that. A few of examples include…being able to share my life with my Gary, being a part of the St. Luke’s community and the life enriching friendships that have resulted, our adult faith formation zoom sessions, “Chippy”, the little chipmunk that found a home on and under our deck, the Stop & Shop delivery people who brought food to our front porch, the science that brought us the vaccines and health care workers that care for us all…to name just a few. My heart is filled with gratitude for all of these moments and many more, when I saw and experienced God’s love.

This Advent may we look for and see God’s face in the mirror, and in the faces of those we come in contact with…even if the face is still wearing a mask.

Peace,

Joseph Gomes