Thursday of the 5th week of Easter year A
Theme: “Abide in my love”
In the gospel reading of today, Jesus invites all of us as his followers to abide in his love by keeping his commandments. Jesus continues to point out the need for us to be united with him in all that we do. In the gospel reading of yesterday, he told us that he is the vine, his father is the vinedresser and you and I are the branches; cut off from him we cannot stand. The emphasis was also about the need for us to abide in him, because we cannot do it alone. This simply points out the fact that a good relationship with God is a necessity in our lives as children of God.
In view of this, it will be good for us to reflect on our relationship with God. As a child of God, what type of relationship do you have with God? Are you proud of your relationship with him, or would you like to have something better? Whatever the situation is for you as a person, there is always room to improve on what we have already. The ability for us to build a good relationship with God, will make our joy complete. My brothers and sisters in Christ, it is important that we continue to make honest and sincere effort to build a good relationship with God. One of the easiest ways for us to build this type of relationship with God, is making out time commune with God in prayer and making honest effort to live our lives according to the imperatives of the gospel. I want you to know that it is a process, it is not going to be automatic, so when the result you are expecting is slow in coming, don’t be discouraged because it will surely come. We must all continue to work hard in matters of our faith and our daily lives if we truly want to abide in him.
In the 1st reading of today from the Acts of the Apostles, the Apostles shows objectivity and love in the handling of the issue that was brought before them. The issue of circumcision for the Gentiles was causing a serious tension between the followers of Christ and the new converts and it was brought before the Apostles. The assertions of Peter and James were able to convince the people and the issue was resolved. This shows us that in any human gathering there are bound to be disagreements, and when they are properly handled, it will be resolved amicably. The conclusion was that the issue of circumcision should not be allowed to bring division among them. In any given situation we find ourselves in life, always remember that what binds us together as children of God is more than what separates us. May the Lord bless his words in our hearts, in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. Amen. Peace be with you.