Hello friends,
This is Mark Gladman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighbourhood monk-in-docs,
And welcome to another day reflecting on the I Am Statements as we walk through Lent together.
And today is our last day reflecting on Jesus' statement,
I am the way,
The truth and the life,
In John chapter 14.
So as always,
I invite you to allow yourself to settle into the stillness of our time together.
Take a deep breath in and out,
Let go of the distractions of the day and open your heart to the presence of God.
Imagine with me Jesus looking at his disciples with tenderness,
But as he does you can see in his face the weight of his coming departure.
And it's heavy not just in his face but in the air as the disciples try and understand what's going on.
But despite that his voice is steady,
Filled with a quiet,
Unwavering confidence.
And he says to the disciples,
The one who believes in me will do the works I do and even greater works.
Pause for a moment and let these words settle within you.
Again,
Jesus says,
The one who believes in me will do the works that I do and even greater works.
Imagine yourself sitting among the disciples,
Hearing Jesus speak those very words.
He's not only talking to them,
Friend,
He's also speaking to you.
His eyes meet yours,
Full of love and expectation.
Can you believe what he's saying?
The one who believes in me will do the works that I do and even greater works.
Can you believe that?
That you through his spirit will carry forward his work in the world.
Now,
I honestly believe that we miss something here because our minds immediately jump to the miraculous.
Walking on water,
Turning water into wine,
Taking a couple of loaves and some fish and turning it into a meal for thousands.
But let's really get down to it.
Let's really hone in on what even the miracles,
But generally the works of Jesus are all about.
What are those works?
There was healing.
There was feeding,
Of course.
There was restoring.
There was comforting.
There was welcoming.
There was hospitality.
There was giving time.
Meeting needs.
Loving without barriers.
And loving without any conditions at all.
Jesus saw the unseen.
Jesus touched the untouchable.
And he embraced the outcast.
In essence,
Every action of Jesus,
In particular,
The miracles,
Were all about restoring someone so that they could be connected and brought into community again.
Lepers were outcast.
Jesus healed them.
Yes,
It took away the leprosy,
But it allowed them to rejoin their community.
Jesus healed the lame.
But what it meant was that they could rejoin society.
That they no longer had to beg.
That they no longer were looked at as outcasts and pushed off to the side because of their disability.
He healed the woman with the issue of blood who had been that way for decades.
And because of her condition,
Wasn't allowed to have interaction with other people.
He healed her.
And yes,
It got rid of her medical condition,
But it brought her back into community with others again.
And now,
Now Jesus invites you to do the same.
He's inviting you into the same life.
And we must no longer see this as an impossible burden.
We need to see this as a natural outflow of God's presence within us.
That it's not something we have to pick up,
An extra thing we have to do or achieve,
But that as God,
Through the life of Christ by the Holy Spirit,
Moves through our lives,
As we go through our day,
As we remain mindful and open to where God's leading and what God is opening us up to,
That's when we see the opportunities to do works.
Just like Jesus did among those that we interact with.
This is a natural outflow of the presence of Christ within you.
And I wonder,
Where in your life is Jesus calling?
Calling you to love as he loves?
Maybe right now you have some people or some issues that have come to your mind.
Maybe there's someone who needs your kindness or your patience or your understanding.
Maybe there's a place in your heart that needs to be softened and opened to grace.
Maybe the work that Christ is calling you to do is simply to be present with someone,
To listen,
To walk alongside someone in love.
Just take a moment just to see,
Hear the possibilities.
Again,
This is not about making a list,
It's about being aware as we go through each day of where Christ is calling us to make a difference in each day.
In each moment.
And we must remember that Jesus does not send us alone.
Jesus promises that his Spirit will be with us,
Empowering us,
Guiding us,
Working through us.
I think a lot of people miss the mark when they think about what this means,
Thinking that they've got to conjure something up to make this happen.
But friend,
The love of God is not something that you have to manufacture.
It's already living within you.
And it's already there for the purpose of not just doing something within each one of us,
But then allowing that wellspring to bubble over and pour out of us into the world.
Imagine,
Again,
Walking with Jesus,
Step by step,
You're following his lead.
You see as he sees.
You love as he loves.
You serve as he serves.
It's that simple.
So what does that look like in your life today?
I invite you to pray with me.
Jesus,
Let my life be a reflection of your love.
Help me to walk in your way,
To live your truth,
And to shine with your life.
May I trust that your spirit is at work in us,
Leading us into the greater works that you have called us to do.
And as we do this,
May we allow God to become visible,
Both in our lives and through our lives.
This day and every day.
Amen.
Take one more deep breath in,
Friends,
And out.
And rest in the assurance that God is with you now and always.
Amen.
Grace,
Peace and love.
Until tomorrow.
Bye for now.
