Topic: Love

Advent is a time of joyful expectation. Sometimes, we have to look a little harder and wait a little longer to find joy in our lives. The prophets remind us that our waiting is not dreary—it is filled with joy because God is near. And Advent reminds us of who we each truly are: A beloved child of God. God knows us intimately—our fears, hopes, and dreams. Our identity is not found in success or failure, but in being a beloved child of God. That identity fills us with joy, and that joy spurs us to action: to bring light to the darkness, to comfort the afflicted, to share the Good News that the true Light has come into the world. Emmanuel—God with us.

On the eve of his betrayal, Jesus speaks to us of the end of times. But while our human trials and betrayals may seem to foretell the end of times, God has a plan to bring us to an eternal place of hope, and light, and love through Christ.

We know that God’s grace and love are given freely to everyone, but sometimes we might wonder if everybody really deserves it. In the lost and found parables of Luke 15, Jesus makes it clear that there is great joy in God’s kingdom when anyone comes home to God–no matter what. That is cause for all of us to give praise and thanks to God for them, for our salvation and for the all-inclusive love of Jesus.

Luke 13:31-35 is a short passage packed with multi-layered meaning. Fr. Scott opens up this Gospel to reveal how Jesus overcomes evil with love in his day as well as in ours.

God sent Jesus to bring light and hope and love to those who need it most; not to the powerful and mighty, but to the poor in heart, the lonely and the downcast. And that love is revealed in our hearts when we least expect it.

From the Garden of Eden to the Rose Garden, there’s ample evidence that human beings are far from perfect. We tend to inflate our self-worth but amplify the shortcomings of others. But recognizing our own faults helps us more easily accept the imperfections of others. God, through the working of the Spirit, helps us grow in acceptance, forgiveness and love of others—and ourselves.

Pentecost isn’t the birthday of the Church, it’s the first day of school. The Holy Spirit was given to be our guide, our advocate and our teacher to learn the will of God and help us better understand the lessons taught by Jesus. Like a loving parent, our heavenly Father wants us to learn, grow and thrive in our faith, and in our love for God and one another.

God’s love for us is wild, boundless and — well — just plain crazy. Despite our brokenness, recalcitrance and just plain bad behavior, God loves us whole-heartedly and unreservedly. God loves us so much that he lived, died and rose for us. And God loves us so much that he wants to be together with us forever.

Fr. Scott explores Philippians 2 to help us understand why Jesus had to die for us. And the answer is love.