Fifth Sunday after Trinity, July 1st, 2018
Human beings are amazing. We have qualities that are amazing, quite frankly. You find people that are loyal and dedicated and will remain your friend through thick and thin, through good times and bad. You will find people that will give you the shirt right off of their back for no other reason than you need the help and they want to do their part to help. You find amazing fathers and mothers who will stay dedicated to their families and will work two jobs to support their family. You find amazing volunteers who not only give of their time but they give of themselves. Like I say, the world is full of amazing people and I am quite sure that you can come up with your own list.
On the other hand, the world is filled with people who could care less about anyone or anything . . . . . other than themselves, that is. Just turn on the nightly news if you can't think of any examples that you know personally. What about the people that try to pull scams on unsuspecting senior citizens? How about people that steal from charities? How about people that steal from their own families, for that matter? How about people that abuse children? Or animals? Or spouses? Again, we could go on and on and on in regards to this list as well. We either know people that could fit this description or see them on the news.
We have described both good and bad but let's be honest. All of us have qualities of each to one degree or another, don't we? I mean let's face it, none of us is perfect. We can be extremely caring and giving one minute but selfish and only focus on ourselves the next minute. I am sure that everyone who reads this short essay can admit that they have done wrong things in their life. I know I have. St. Peter fell down at Our Lord's feet and said to Him: "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man" (St. Luke 5:8) St. Peter recognized the greatness of the Lord. And in so doing he was suddenly confronted with the fact that he was sinful compared to the man Whom he was in the presence of. And yet Our Blessed Saviour chose him to be one of the Apostles. Our Lord used St. Peter to help build His Church here on earth. Despite the fact that St. Peter was, in his own words, a "sinful man." Despite the fact that St. Peter would still mess up and say wrong things and still do wrong things. Our Lord chose him as Our Lord chooses us.
As human beings we will never be perfect. As human beings we will make mistakes from time to time. As human beings we will do the wrong thing sometimes. So the key is to always keep our focus on God and not on us. "If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us." (I St. John 4:12) God sent His Son into the world to save us. He sent His Son into the world to not only preach the love of God but to show the love of God. We are called to do this as well. Although we will often do it imperfectly, the key is to focus on the love that God has for others. Typically when we focus on ourselves only, this is based on selfishness. Yet, when we focus on others we have the opportunity to love and to show love as Christ did.
St. Margaret Church meets each and every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM. We worship at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis. We use the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Come join us as we listen to God speak to us through His Word. At Communion time, we receive the Precious Body and Blood of Christ to nourish us and give us strength for our journey called life.
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