Retiring as a Goat?

There is a wonderful statement which says, “do something today your future self will thank you for.” Our readings today change the egocentric focus and want us to “do something today your heavenly Father will thank you for!”

The first reading is often seen as a direct contradiction to what we know how to do without thinking about it.  We are selfish and believe “it’s all about me.” God needed to remind us there is something beyond our imagination. God has a wonderful dream for you.

Jesus came to dwell among us to show us how self-emptying love transforms all eternity—God’s dream for him. The radical choice to act with love instead of reacting with selfishness is the basis of Jesus’ incarnation.  We don’t “do” these things just because it helps others, but because we fulfill God’s desire for us all to be healthy and joyful. God intends all of us to be part of the Kingdom of God. The question we are left with, “who is the least of my brothers and sisters?”

No one in Jesus’ parable wants to be a goat. So, how do I get more sheepish? The wonderful time of Lent calls us into the sacred space of holiness. You are holy! Let it out. We are created in the image and likeness of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This makes us interconnected. As Pope Francis says in Gaudium Evangelii, we are all invited to a new encounter with Jesus or at least the possibility of Jesus finding us. Make room today to be found or to find God. Find a retreat, speak with a confessor, get a spiritual director. Fast on egocentrism, feast on witnessing to God’s love to the vulnerable around you!

Fr. Brian Terry, SA is the Minister General of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, an order of men dedicated to restoring unity with God, with others and with oneself. http://www.atonementfriars.org/discern