A couple of years ago, I started using a laptop at work instead of a desktop. This provides me with more flexibility to take my computer wherever it needs to go – the youth room, retreat centers, offsite meetings, etc. It also allows me to take my laptop and sit and pray and write these bulletin articles. As I write these words, I’m tucked in the back of our Main Church on a quiet Tuesday morning – just me and Jesus working together to bring you the words He wishes to speak to you this week.
The Church, in her abundant wisdom, gives us three readings and a psalm every weekend that are interconnected, allowing us to dive into more of scripture – not just one or two verses on any given Sunday. Sometimes their connection is more veiled and sometimes their connection is a bit more obvious.
Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.
These words are found in both our first reading and our Gospel today, revealing a pretty obvious connection! The commandment to love the Lord is one that is continuous from the time of Moses, to the time of Jesus, to our time now. These words are proclaimed not once – but twice – this weekend and are meant to affect our lives. We, the people of St. Peter’s, should love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength for the Lord our God is Lord alone!
As I sit here in the quiet of the church, these words fill my heart with joy. AMEN! The Lord our God is Lord alone! It fills me with enthusiasm and excitement – you Lord are God! Praise you Lord! Here I sit ready to love the Lord my God with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my strength.
The reality though is that, just outside the doors of this quiet and sacred space, there is a long to-do list, circumstances outside my control, and a little girl waiting at home who is embracing all the joys and challenges of being two. Here in the quiet it feels so easy to love the Lord with everything I have, but outside these doors there are things that make me feel less like I’m loving the Lord and more like I’m trudging through the day to day moments of life.
But then I remember: love is not a feeling, it’s an action. Loving the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength doesn’t mean I have to feel one way all the time. It means I have to choose the Lord, to put him first, to do those things on my to do list for His glory. I must trust in Him in the circumstances I can’t control. To see the gift He has given me in my persistent little girl, as I enter into the battle for naptime.
And sometimes I fail. I choose to love this world, or myself, more than the Lord. I stumble and fall. But I am not without hope – for our second reading tells us, “Jesus is always able to save those who approach God through him.” So I get up, run to Jesus and His mercy, and I try again.
May we all strive to choose to love God in each moment and not despair when we fall. Let us allow Jesus to save us and encourage us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our might and with all our strength.
For the Lord our God is Lord alone.
Blessings,
Elizabeth
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