Naked, but at Peace.
Jesus continues, "Neither do I." Her universe crashes. A sense of relief only to be mixed and confused with a sense of unworthiness. "Go and sin no more." With these simple words, Jesus dismisses her. What could have been the worst day of her life has turned into the day of her salvation. Not only has she been saved by this encounter with Jesus, she has been changed for greatness. She has been called by Christ to move out of her sinfulness, told she is worthy of being shown mercy. Jesus, with eyes filled with eternal self sacrificing love, looks deeply into her soul, He sees her sin, her woundedness, her scars, her pain, her turmoil, her self loathing, her guilt, her shame. He sees it all, and He loves her. He sees it all, there she stands naked before her God, and He sees it all. And yet, He loves her, forgives her, and calls her to follow Him all the more.
Catholic Mardi Gras.
The floats in the Mardi Gras Parades would traditionally be built to represent the pagan gods, yet they would be 'boarded' by the Christians who would throw their treasures to the Christians in the streets below. This would symbolize the newly visible God was the Lord of lords and God of gods. That the Christian God was indeed to the Master of all the cosmos.
Help Me!
In your life, work as if the wolrd depends on you, but pray like it dfepends on God. Begin your day, every day in Scripture and in prayer. Read the Gospel for the day, let God speak to you about that Gospel, tell God what you have that day and ask for His guidance. Allow the Lord Jesus to be your savior, do not attempt to take that job onto yourself.
Dry January?
It seems to me that the concepts of Dry January and Meatless Monday are praiseworthy in concept, but misguided in practice. It is good for a person to practice things of self mastery and self denial such as fasting and Abstinence. Yet, it is more powerful when practiced for a sound reason. Fasting from alcohol after overconsumption, while good is not ideal. Abstaining from meat for the sake of creation is good, but not ideal. Catholic have had practices like this for millennia.
How do I ‘Hear’ God?
In a world where there is noise, distraction, corruption, turmoil, greed, and straight deception, we must learn to hear God and sort through all the noise and false teaching that surrounds us. Learn to read and pray with Scriptures.
Praying with Audacity.
Our relationship with God is more important than anything we experience in relating to another human being. Take the time for prayer, not just to be passively aware that He is there, but take the time to get to know Him. Go back to the Advent books and learn to sit in silence with the Scriptures and hear Him. Spend at LEAST 10 minutes each day doing nothing other than praying. Yes, pray when you drive, garden, shower, work around the house, and go about your day, but also pray for and with intimacy.