Scripture of the Day
May Gospel Reflections
May 1
John 10: 22 - 30 "It was the feast of the Dedication at Jerusalem. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." The Jewish feast of the Dedication is also called the Festival of Lights or Hanakkuh. This feast was held in late December. This is the time of the year when the day is shortest and the night longest. Jesus says in essence, turn to me ,your shepherd, in the darkness. We ought to have tremendous trust in Jesus our shepherd. The shepherd guards the sheep, leads them to the best places for feeding, drinking, rest and safety. Do you listen to and obey the voice of the Good Shepherd?
May 2
John 12: 44 - 50 "I have come as light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness." The darkness that Jesus helps us to avoid is the darkness of unbelief and rejection of the son who offers salvation and the Father who offers reconciliation through His son. In the scriptures light is associated with God's truth and life. God's word, Jesus, enables us with the eyes of faith to perceive the truths God's Kingdom. It enables us to grow in the life he offers us. Do you believe in the power of God's word to transform you and your life?
May 3
John 13: 16 - 20 "He who receives any one whom I send receives me." Jesus loved his disciples to the end and proved his faithfulness by dying on the cross. Through his death and resurrection he opens for us a new relationship and friendship with the Father. Those who accept Jesus accept the one who sends him, the Father. He then extends this principle to all who belong to him and speak in his name. To accept Jesus' disciple is to accept Jesus himself. Are you ready to bring Jesus to others?
May 4
John 14: 1 - 6 "I am the way, and the truth, and the life." Jesus knew that his followers could not find the way to the Father in heaven on their own. He came to us on a rescue mission to restore us who were lost and without a guide. Jesus made a statement only God could make; I am the way. God promised to guide his people in a holy way, a way of peace and blessing. Jesus fulfills this promise. Do you experience the peace and happiness of a life surrendered to Jesus?
May 5
John 14: 7 - 14 "He who believes in me will do the works that I do, and greater works than these will he do." Our knowledge of God is not simply limited to knowing something about God, but we can know God personally. To see Jesus is to see what God is like. In Jesus we see the perfect love of God. If we put our trust in Jesus and believe in him, God the Father hears our prayers and answers them. We become channels of grace and blessings for our world. Do you pray to God with confidence that He will answer you?
May 6
John 15: 1 - 8 "You are already made clean by the word that I have spoken to you." In this section of the gospel Jesus uses the image of a vine to help us come to a deeper understanding of our relationship with him. Jesus is the vine. We are the branches. The branch can only bear fruit if it is engrafted or attached to the vine. We must be united with Jesus to bear the fruitfulness of God's Kingdom. Fruitfulness also requires us to be purified, pruned, relieved, of that which diminishes our fruitfulness. Do you trust God's pruning, purifying process in your life?
May 7
John 14: 21 - 26 "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit will teach you all things and bring to remembrance all that I have said to you." Jesus prepares his disciples for his imminent departure by exhorting them to show their love for him by acting on his word. He promises the gift of the Holy Spirit to assist them by giving them instruction and consolation. The Holy Spirit opens our ears to hear and understand the word of God. Ask the Holy Spirit to ignite your heart with the love of God.
May 8
John 14: 27 - 31 "Peace I leave you; my peace I give to you." The peace of Jesus is more than the absence of hostility. It is the willingness to work for the sense of total wellbeing of others. The world's approach to peace is to avoid trouble and refuse to deal with unpleasant things. Jesus' peace helps us conquer our fears and anxieties. It is grounded in forgiveness and reconciliation. Do you live in the peace of Jesus Christ?
May 9
John 15: 1 - 8 "Apart from me you can do nothing." Today we reconsider Sunday's gospel. Jesus challenges us to confront our cultural principle "I did it my way." Radical independence is challenged by the words of loving correction. Possibly this attitude is one non-productive branch that the pruning, purifying process removes from us to make fruitfulness a possibility. Do you trust in the Lord's presence to prune your life?
May 10
John 15: 9 - 11 "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be full." Obedience and listening to God's word are connected in this scripture. Our love for God is a response to his exceeding mercy and kindness towards us. Jesus gives us a new commandment - a new way of love. Love others as I have loved you. True love is sacrificial. Our joy is to be found in sacrificial love. Do you carry the cross in your life
so as to surrender to love and God?
May 11
John 15:12 - 17 "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." The greatest act of love is the act of self-giving for the sake of another. Jesus defines friendship, the bond of trust and affection between two or more people, as the willingness to give totally of oneself even to the point of death for one's friends. God made us for love. It is our reason for being, our purpose for living and our goal in dying. God is love and everything he does flows from his love for us. God's love has the power to transform us so that we can be like him. Ask God to help you surrender your life to the way of his love?
May 12
John 15:18 - 21 "You are not of the world. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you." The word "world" in scripture refers to everything that is opposed to God and God's will. The world rejected Jesus and his followers can expect the same treatment. There is no middle ground for the followers of Jesus. We are either for him or against him, for the kingdom of light or the kingdom of darkness. We must make a choice either for or against God. Do you seek to please God in all your thoughts and words?
May 13
John 15: 9 - 17 "You are my friends if you do what I command you. I call you friends, for all I have heard from my Father I have made known to you." Jesus defines friendship as the willingness to give totally of oneself even to death for one's friends. True love is costly. God wants us to love each other the way he loves us, to love whole-heartedly and unconditionally. His love enables us to do this. Ask God to fill your heart with his love so that you may give yourself in loving service to others.
May 14
John 15: 26 - 16: 4 "When the Counselor comes, whom I shall send you from the Father, he will bear witness to me. I have said all this to you to keep you from falling away." The adversity mentioned in this scripture would have me change the words from "to keep you from falling away" to ‘keep you from running away.' "Anyone who kills you will think that he is offering service to God." Being a friend and follower of Jesus brings a death sentence with it. But we know, true friendship is strengthen in adversity. Jesus offers his disciples the truest of friends, the Counselor, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our Advocate who will bring us safely through the challenges we face in life. Do you pray for the Holy Spirit to strengthen you in faith, hope, and love and to give you courage?
May 15
John 16: 5 - 11 "And when he comes, he will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment." Jesus tells us about the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our Sanctifier. He makes us Holy as God is Holy. He does this first by convicting us of our sin and bringing us to the foot of the Cross. He then convinces us of God's love and forgiveness and our dependence on God for mercy and grace. We need the Holy Spirit to lead us from our sinful ways and to show us the way of love. Do you allow the Holy Spirit to make you aware of where you need God's mercy and forgiveness in your life?
Past Gospel Reflections:
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
