Remembering to Live

“My brothers, if one of you has a word of exhortation
for the people, please speak.”

Acts 13:15b

Memories are so unique and so powerful. Think about it. A simple memory can evoke such strong emotions within us, sometimes good and other times bad. Sometimes they motivate us and other times they paralyze us. Memories and emotions are so intimately linked. Jesus told the Apostles, “Do this in memory of me…” Memory. St. Paul was moved to speak one day and he reminded the people of who they were and how God has walked with them all this time, from freeing them from slavery and leading them out of Egypt to providing for them in the wilderness and delivering their enemies into their hands and giving them the land He had promised them. He also reminded them of the leaders God has placed in their midst - from the prophets and kings to St. John the Baptist. All this St. Paul said to remind them of how much God has loved them and how faithful God has been even when they have not been so.

Brothers and sisters, I think you will agree with me when I say that we are far from perfect. We’ve all made mistakes and said or done things we regret. Standing here right now in the present, in the here and now, and looking back, how can we but not be moved with gratitude? How far have we come? How far has the Lord brought us? We didn’t do it on our own. It was God’s hand that guided us along the way and led us to this day and pulled us up when we were in the pits of despair and sin. When we look back and remember all this, we must be moved to continue forward, living life as God intended, having life to the full.

Set Apart

"I have something for you!" "There's something very special in store for you!" Those are two statements that may rouse up inside of us feelings of warmth, love, and over all feelings of being recognized as someone important and special. When we were younger teachers may have done something similar to us when they tried to encourage us and motivate us, "Tommy there is a very special mission for you! You have been called to be a special agent to bring this very important letter to Mrs. Wheatland in the 6th grade. You must do it with top secret!" Tommy would usually have felt very much encouraged and would take this task very seriously and execute it with the utmost care. Have you ever experienced that before? Or, have you ever used that with someone before?

Whether you have or have not in the past, we are being asked to go on a very special, important, and urgent mission right now. Just as Saul and Barnabas was set apart by the Holy Spirit, so are we. We have been called to proclaim the Good News to others. We have been called to shine the light on the truth and to bring others to it. We have been called to live in the light and to lead others to do the same. Though the mission may be the same, the way about which we have been asked to do so differs and to whom we have been called to serve is also different. The Lord endowed us each with special talents and gifts that are particular to us, and we have been called to make use of those gifts to carry out this important and urgent mission. We must bring the love and mercy of the Father, the peace of the Son, and the encouragement and wisdom of the Holy Spirit to others so that they too may know they have been called. You have been set apart. You have been set apart for greatness and and a task of great urgency. It's time to get moving.

Father, thank you for having called me and help me to recognize the gifts and talents you have given to me, and teach me to use them to carry out this calling and mission to which you have called me. Lead me to the light, envelop me with Your love, and clothe me with Your truth.

Unifying Name

“For a whole year they met with the Church
and taught a large number of people,
and it was in Antioch that the disciples
were first called Christians.”

Acts 11:26

After the people were scattered, they preached the Good News wherever they were. Some preached only to the Jews. Others to the Greeks and Cyrenians. Here we can see the beginning of the universality of the Church. But there was still something that divided them. Instead of Jews or Greeks or Cyrenians or Antiochians, the disciples of Jesus were now called “Christians.”

This was the name that unified the people. The name that they called themselves reminded them who they represented and who they were to bear witness to: Christ. This name meant that the Holy Spirit was with them and that they were born again by water, that which flowed from the side of Jesus on the Cross, and the Spirit, that which Jesus promised to send. We are Christians, and this means that we have been reborn. We have been born into a life that is eternal, a life that is stronger than death, a life that is Christ Himself.

Do we see this? Do we believe that we have been born into a life that has been forever transformed? We are Christians and that means Christ — life, and God Himself, dwells within us.