GOD'S DREAM

Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world…I have seen and testify that he is the Son of God.

Clearly, these words refer to Jesus. Might they also in some way refer to us?

Are we not called to see and testify that we too are children of God? Are we not called to be like Jesus…to forgive each other’s sins?

I hope we believe it. I do. That’s why Christ invites us to this meal…to see, to testify, to become…what we receive…the Body of Christ...to be his presence and do what he did. 

That's what this Eucharist is all about..

This week we have the Presidential transition and we celebrate Christian Unity Week. If we're going to have unity it begins with the affirmation that we are all God's children - one family. Let us not be one who accuses and divides but forgives and invites reconciliation and unity

It is noteworthy that ‘Satan’ means accuser; ‘devil’ means divider. Sometimes the path of this world tempts us to judge and separate ourselves into 'us' and 'them' as we seek our own self-interest, comfort, and well-being. 

But Jesus invites us on another path…to be one...to forgive and to be inclusive...not just for our sake, but for his. In God, there is no 'us' and 'them'. All are loved equally.

As we wrestle with our human weakness to judge others, may we hold firm to his words, Let the one without sin cast the first stone.

Let us also listen again to the words of Isaiah, who reminds us today, The Lord formed me ~ formed us ~ from the womb.

We became God’s children in the womb…the womb of our mothers…the womb of God. Even now, like twins or triplets in a mother's womb, we are all still in the womb of God! Even now we continue to be formed by God…we continue to be as one with God as we were with our mothers in their womb.

What a wonderful image that is.

Monday we celebrate Martin Luther King’s birthday. It’s worth rehearing part of his speech in the Washington Mall…

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

Pope Francis echoed this dream, saying, I dream that being a migrant is not a crime. And…Anyone who only talks of building walls and not bridges is not a Christian.

These holy men speak of God’s dream…the dream Jesus expressed on the eve of his death sentence, Father, I pray that they may be one as you and I are one.

God has entrusted this dream to us, forgiving us time and again, and inviting us to do the same…to be one...with God...by being one with each other.

We want to. But occasionally our foolish pride gets the best of us. In the words of Roger Miller: Angry words spoken in haste, such a waste of two lives. It’s my belief, pride is the chief cause in the decline of [relationships].

St. Paul tells us today, We are called to be holy in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Lord of all; called to unity not division...called to make Jesus' last prayer a reality. That's how we become one body...Christ's Body. That is how we reveal his presence in us, and become holy. 

Then, we, too, with actions more than words, looking at each other and at ourselves, can say, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world; I have seen and testify that he is here in each of us.