I receive daily emails from Blessed is She, and occasionally I like to share one that truly touched a chord for me. This is one such. I hope you get as much out of it as I did.
By: Tricia Tembreull (from Blessed is She)
Like the people in today’s Gospel (John 10:31-42), we pick up rocks every time we see the “good works” Jesus does in our lives, yet we cannot recognize that He is God.
We pick up a jagged rock when we neglect to thank God for answered prayers, which we forgot we brought to Him in the first place. We skip stones over the water Christ recently walked on and pulled us out of when we began to drown. We do this when we no longer are in awe in His presence, or we don’t feel what we once felt in prayer. We see, but don’t believe.
Okay, so maybe you haven’t warmed up your arm lately to thrown a stone, but you’ve probably tried to arrest Jesus; and by arrest, I mean you tried to stop, restrain, or limit Him.
We arrest Jesus every time we listen to the voice of the evil one over His voice of truth.
We arrest Jesus every time we gossip or tear someone down versus notice Christ’s presence in them.
We arrest Jesus when we fail to accept help because our stubbornness gives way to pride instead of humility and compassion.
We arrest Jesus when we judge others and feel superior to them rather than see our brothers and sisters as equals made in the image and likeness of God.
Every time we fail to see, recognize, and accept Jesus as God, we are like the people in John’s Gospel. Jesus isn’t performing miracles so He will be seen; He works miracles in our lives so we will see and know Him.
I invite all of us to put down our stones and stop trying to find a way to arrest God. He performs good works, “so we may realize and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father” (John 10:38).
Take some time in quiet prayer today and examine your heart, bringing it to Him.
Tricia Tembreull is a California girl with a boundless passion for life. After two decades of ministering to teens and youth ministers as a trainer, ministry mentor, and speaker in Catholic youth ministry, Tricia now serves as Campus Minister at USC Caruso Catholic Center. She loves adventure and seeks it everywhere she goes. As an avid foodie, she enjoys testing new recipes out on friends and family, gathering them around the table to encounter Christ in one another and be drawn to the satisfying unity we crave in the Eucharist.
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