READINGS
Psalm 72
Luke 10: 21-34
REFLECTION: “Let's Imitate”
In the fifth chapter of Ephesians, Saint Paul writes, "Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ." If we are to do so, we have to discover what kind of example that is. In our reading from the eleventh chapter of Isaiah, we are given a blueprint of how the Messiah, Jesus, would root his ministry... trusting in the Spirit of God to empower him.
He would reach out with the Spirit of Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Might, Knowledge, and Fear. He would, in other words, accept the whole counsel of his Father as he carried out his ministry, even to the cross, the grave, and the skies.
So often today, we feel that we know very well what God wants of us. But when they are not rooted in a Spirit-filled and Spirit-dependent following of God, we fall short. Yet we often fail to recognize this fact. Why? Because we believe ourselves to be wise and clever.
Brothers and sisters, if we are to imitate God in Christ Jesus, we must be simple and childlike in our embrace of God's Spirit, his mission, and his individual call upon our lives... otherwise we will never fully realize in ourselves what God is seeking to work... and far from flourishing, we will find ourselves thirsting in the desert, and hurting. This is not what God wishes for us... not at all.
Where do I need to become more childlike in my faith, that I may more fully imitate God as he has revealed himself in Christ Jesus?
He would reach out with the Spirit of Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Might, Knowledge, and Fear. He would, in other words, accept the whole counsel of his Father as he carried out his ministry, even to the cross, the grave, and the skies.
So often today, we feel that we know very well what God wants of us. But when they are not rooted in a Spirit-filled and Spirit-dependent following of God, we fall short. Yet we often fail to recognize this fact. Why? Because we believe ourselves to be wise and clever.
Brothers and sisters, if we are to imitate God in Christ Jesus, we must be simple and childlike in our embrace of God's Spirit, his mission, and his individual call upon our lives... otherwise we will never fully realize in ourselves what God is seeking to work... and far from flourishing, we will find ourselves thirsting in the desert, and hurting. This is not what God wishes for us... not at all.
Where do I need to become more childlike in my faith, that I may more fully imitate God as he has revealed himself in Christ Jesus?
