All called to the table in faith

Often we have a belief that our faith is always dependent on what we do rather than on how we respond. There can be a tendency in which we put God to the test by believing that if we only had something more or were given a deeper insight that everything would fall our way. We can live as though God was not already present to us and our needs. If only we were able to discover the magic formula, the right words or the right actions we would be able to bend God to our every whim and desire. Yet the call is already placed on our hearts inviting us to serve at the table. This is not as the Gospel seems to imply that our lives are simply hard work and that God is a hard task master. It is rather a faithful listening to the voice of God which invites us to be present to what we can do and not what we can’t. The invitation is to see God in our everyday lives inviting us to the table of thanksgiving. By offering what we have rather than what we don’t, we allow God to bless the work we do perform with a sense of thanksgiving and generosity. God gives us the ability to respond in faith with our lives

God calls us out of our cocoons!

There are times when it is possible to cocoon ourselves away from the problems of the world. Our daily exposure can numb our sensitivity to others in great need. Even when they are on our doorstep we can pretend to ignore them or dismiss them as someone else's concern. We can tend to shrink our world to what interests us or offends us. Even worse we can try to move the offence from our sight by isolating the poor and people not like us from our consciousness. We can seek their removal from our communities just so that we can have a quiet life. There is a sense of the diabolic which sense the demons at war in our world but not within ourselves. Yet Jesus uses the story of the rich man and Lazarus to challenge us to a sense of solidarity with every person and especially with those living in poverty. He calls us to recognize our common humanity and that our Christian spirituality is deeply incarnate. Our call to justice is not just about doing good for others but seeking to live in a way which makes room for others to be at home with us so that we can be at home with them. 

Being faithful in small things

There can be times when our lives are driven by how much we earn and the bills we have to pay. This can cause anxiety for people especially when there seems to be more money going out than coming in. In an age of easy credit and the ability to respond instantly to purchase something off the television, the internet or even tap and go it is possible to quickly find ourselves trapped into patterns of behaviour which we would prefer to be free from. We do not simply work to pay bills. We are called to discover something which brings substance and meaning to our lives. When our lives become driven by something beyond our grasp or our decisions are based solely on what they cost we lose sight of the treasure that lives deep within and what truly brings value. The gospel calls us to reflect on this, we are called to be people who discern what God is calling us to and then see what is necessary to reach that end. When we allow money to be the sole determiner of what is good and worthwhile we lose a sense of ourselves and our calling to be formed into the image and likeness of God. We are called to use money not money using us!

God never abandons searching us out!

What consumes our time and energy shape our lives. When we lose something we tend to spend our time thinking about it and seeking it out. It can become all consuming and exclude every other activity. Accompanying this search are our feelings of guilt and loss. How could we have lost it in the first place? Where have I been where I might have lost it? Will my life ever be the same without it? Often these feelings accompany our ownership to material things but probably, more importantly, how we use these things to relate to others.
The search for the lost sheep and the lost coin, however, translates this into our search for God or rather God's search for us. There can be  times when we can feel lost or abandoned by God. There can be a sense that we want God to find us but we cannot stop running or be being concerned about many things. God can become squeezed out little by little that we do not notice the absence until we encounter a deep emptiness inside which no material thing, no activity or project can fill. We can no longer be distracted from becoming present to the God who dwells within. The Good News is that God never abandons searching us out and leading us back to the place where we can celebrate our lives with joy!