DEACON TOM ANTHONY

Sunday, June 28, 2015







SUGGESTED READING: WISDOM 1: 13-15 2:23-24
                            MARK 5: 21-43

It is good to remember that this world was created with perfection. God’s vision was that of beauty, goodness, and love. This has never changed. Instead, it is our clouded vision and broken relationship with God that brought about a distortion of God’s intention. Our Holy Father Pope Francis just recently finished an Encyclical focusing on the abuse of the Earth and its natural resources. He observed that we were given the responsibility of being stewards of this planet and that we have failed in the task. He then linked our treatment of God’s Creation to our treatment of each other and the decline of morality in society. Ultimately, these are not separate issues but reveal a pattern of behavior that develops when God is not put first in our lives or when God is removed from his creation by the actions and thoughts of society and its peoples.

We are broken. We are lost. We are hopeless without the mercy and love of God. For most of our existence we have struggled to become closer to God and understand him while, at the same time, cherished our individuality so much that we ran away from the very thing that created us and loves us so much. There is no sin that is greater than another. All lead to the same result which is a separation from God and an absence of his love. Even though this is the case, the sin of Pride has many consequences beyond the basic results of sin. Pride is actually a gateway to sin. It enables us to put our thoughts and emotions above God’s and drives us to pursue that which is not healthy for us in the first place. Pride allows us to self-justify our actions and take command of our destinies; enabling us to exercise our free will incorrectly. Instead of recognizing ourselves as Children of God, we then claim to be gods ourselves. The results of these actions are clear in the way we have abused this planet and each other continuously throughout our long and sordid history.

A continuous and fundamental change is what is needed to reverse this trend. Faith in Jesus Christ as our redeemer, lover, and friend must be embraced so as to deepen our understanding of God and his love for us. When we experience this love we will naturally be transformed by his presence. The darkness that we encounter, along with the pain and suffering that appears to engulf this world and us will dissipate. What will remain are the Light of Christ and a loving presence. What was incorrect will be corrected and a new understanding of God and what he wants for us will develop.

The capabilities and abilities of God in our lives are endless. Through faith and trust in God we can come to a realization of this. It is through this revelation that things can and will get better. A complete trust and love of God is necessary. This might not occur immediately. As in most relationships, things like this take time. Take a moment to contemplate how long we have taken God for granted in our lives. A reversal of this trend will take possibly just as long in many ways. But in other ways, there will be immediate results and it is through the discovery of these results that we may obtain a strengthening of our faith that will allow us to continue forward.

We all have an investment in the future of this creation. This includes all of us. We are God’s Children and he loves us all.

Deacon Tom



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