A call to faithful responsibility

       I am going to return to that story of the man trapped in a flood. The man refused numerous attempts to save him claiming trust in the Lord. At the pearly gates the man is downcast that God did not save him where upon God enumerates the opportunities he had been given to be saved.

         Sometimes we look for God by simply going to church, that is wrong. Many people find fault with organized religion and abstain from church to 'find God' out in the world absent of those formal services, that is equally wrong. The fact is we are communal beings and as such we need a combination of communal services (Sacraments) with a capital "S". But as communal beings we also have to move forward in the world to find God in our fellow man and creations of God in other sacramental ways (small "s"). We cannot at any point deny that we are living in a physical , material world and God is as much alive there as in any church or formal service.

           God has given us enormous authority over ourselves and his created world.  I heard one poor soul deny climate change noting that God could easily fix it. Certainly true, God could. But God will not intervene in such a way as to take away our free will.  Our actions in life are perhaps more important that our actions in a pew.  God calls us to action, to use our brains and to be Her hands here on earth as a faithful people. We must be practical and intelligent in our faith and in our lives.  So you get it? This is a call to action. What am I calling you to do as a faithful person in the real world in light of our faith?

        Vote. God has give us a grace and an authority to live a life in a way consistent with the life of Christ. It is not hate, lies or misogyny. It is welcoming, loving the marginalized, KNOWING that all people are created equal and equally loved by God.  Take those notions and vote for the people that you feel will live up to our faithly goals. Do not shirk your responsibility and authority. Vote like you lives depend on it because the lives of many, if not your own, do count on it.

           There are no excuses, don't be the person at the pearly gates with that dumb quizzical look and say I didn't know or I didn't realize how important it was. Go out and Vote!

Luke 10:17-24

 The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’ He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’

 At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’

 Then turning to the disciples, Jesus said to them privately, ‘Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.’