RBWords

     One of the challenges of Christian living is that we must live in the present with an eye to the future.  Critics of that "future" call it, "Pie in the sky by and by!"  St.Paul calls it "glory."  But we did not create this world or the universe in which we are located.  We are gifted with a heritage of faith which enables us to make sense of history while knowing that history is only for this life.  

     What seems clear from that heritage is that our future depends largely on how we live our "present."  We have some clear instructions from Jesus about how we should treat our neighbors.  The God that has given us continual love expects that we will share that love with others.  The Gospels, especially the Gospel of John, say that by sharing that love, we create a kind of heaven on earth - an early sharing of eternal life.  Given this heritage, the terrors of war, hunger, homelessness, domestic violence, etc. can create a "present" that is overwhelming and tempt us to give up in the present and look only to the future for God's love.  This is a terrible mistake, as those very sorrows demonstrate.  As all three scriptures  for today indicate, our "waiting" requires tremendous patience.  God's word will prevail (Isaiah); God's revelation will transform us (St. Paul) and we must continue to sow the seed of God's word, even when the results may seem small.

     We can do little about the past, but we can do much in the present, which can be shaped by what we hope for in the future.  God's grace will guide us in the challenges ahead.  AMEN.