Peace, Love, Service
Lord, you have given so much to me;
Grant me one thing more,
A thankful heart.
Continue to remind me to give thanks throughout the day for the things I perceive as good. And with your grace I will eventually give thanks even for suffering and for unpleasant events, for they provide opportunities for growth and for making them redemptive by uniting them with the sufferings of Jesus.
And now I give thanks for writing this post.
See Luke 21:1-4
Observe this widow, how her back is bent
From years of toil to earn a scanty crust,
Washing the clothes of wealthy fops intent
On feasting grandly and the joys of lust.
See now these others standing tall and straight,
Their bodies bathed an oiled with utmost care,
Arrayed in garments for affairs of state,
With not an errant spot or speck or hair.
These of their abundance have given so;
She of her penury has given little;
But all their lavishness is but for show,
While she has given all, her every tittle.
Therefore I tell you she is greatly blessed,
For she has given more than all the rest.
What man among you with a hundred sheep
Would not, if he should find that one had strayed,
Enfold the others on the grassy steep
And seek that single one with heart dismayed?
And when he found it would he not rejoice,
Not check its limbs and feet with tender care,
Not soothe its trembling fear with hand and voice,
And then upon his shoulders homeward bear?
Arived at home he would his neighbors call
Saying “Rejoice with me, for I have found
The sheep which I had lost.” The angels all
Rejoice with me and make a joyful sound
Over a single sinner who repents
Far more than nine and noinety self-styled saints.
Luke 14:25-31. Jesus begins by making the point of this passage “If anyone would be my disciple he must take up his cross and follow me.” He then goes on to use hyperbole and parables to illustrate the point that discipleship must come before anything else, possessions, family, even one’s own life. That is what he did himself in service of the mission he had received from
the Father.
This is all Souls Day, which is celebrated in Mexico as the Day of the Dead. People visit graves of loved ones and care for them. This is a good custom. Most of us have moved away from our hometown. Fortunately I have a sister who lives in ours and will visit graves. Many religions, even Buddhim,
, have the custom of praying for the dead or even to them.