DEACON TOM ANTHONY

Wednesday, May 6, 2015






Suggested Reading: JOHN 15: 1-8

We have all received the Word of God through Sacred Scripture, Divine Revelation, prayer, and our unique relationships within this community. We have also received it through our special relationship with God. Just the fact that we are gathered in Christian Fellowship and because what I have written is being read right now tells me that there has been an exposure of some sort to God. This exposure leads to a relationship which leads to what is known as the Christian Experience. This experience will develop and change every moment of our lives if we just surrender and permit it to do so.

We are the Christian Experience. Jesus tells us that he is with us always. When things in our lives are going well he is there. When we are encountering obstacles and tribulation he is there. Life is not like a motivational seminar where everything is happy and perfect. It is not a television commercial or a magazine advertisement where there are constant smiles. There will be challenges, sadness, and disappointments. As long as we recognize that Jesus Christ is the source of perfection and the path through the chaos we can persevere through all that is bad and achieve a higher awareness of who we are and what is truly important in life.

The branches receive their nourishment from the vine and it is through the vine that it receives the sustenance that is required to bring forth fruit which comes in the form of good acts, living rightly, and experiencing our existence with Christ in our lives. Christ is the single factor which will bring everything else in focus. He has the capability of overriding everything else that might present itself as positive or negative.

During our experience we will still suffer. As Christians, it is part of our birthright to suffer. That being understood, it can then be accepted more readily that this is going to happen. Instead of being overwhelmed by this suffering we can embrace it and recognize that Jesus Christ is shaping us all the more through what we encounter and how we overcome the challenges which we confront. When we succeed in what we do, we are forever changed by the experience. A new creation through Jesus Christ emerges and we can then understand more fully what Jesus wants from us.

We can all feel the presence of God. We know when he is with us and working actively in our lives. It is no secret. Our conscious leads us to where we have to go. We all truly know what we have to do to live rightly and peacefully through Our Lord Jesus Christ. All we have to do is listen. This is accomplished by dismissing all the noise and clutter that surrounds us so that we may become more receptive to God. God prefers to come with little or no fan-fair. He is here already.
Embrace and hold onto the presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Deacon Tom

Deacon Tom





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