GROOVE SPIRIT
  • Home
  • Know John
    • Out And About
  • Cosmic Wave
  • Window of My Soul
  • BUY NOW
    • Shop iTunes
    • Shop Amazon

the kingdom is at hand

2/3/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
In the gospel reading for Catholics on the last Sunday of January 2014, Jesus asks us to repent and announces that the kingdom of God is at hand.  If we take time to really look around at the world we can see God all around us.  Look at a beautiful sunset.  Hear the cry of a baby.  See the gaze of a loved one. 

When you get used to looking for God all around, it becomes hard not to see and feel God’s presence.  I believe that is what Jesus is trying to tell us in the gospel.   Pope Francis echoes Jesus words when he spoke of not just trying to find God in the future or the past, but to encounter the living God right now.  In the gospel of Thomas, Jesus is reported saying, “Split wood, I am there; lift up a rock, you will find me there”. The kingdom of God is at hand.  
 
How do we find this kingdom?  Jesus tells us to repent.  This does not just mean to get on our knees and confess our sins.  This is something deeper.  Jesus is asking us to change our lives - our ways of thinking - our ways of viewing the world.  A changed mind is essential.  Jesus’ conception of kingdom is quite different than what we typically conceive. Look at the cross and see that Jesus is talking about something very different.  In order to find this kingdom we must open ourselves up and make some
choices in our lives that will bring us closer to the kingdom.  It is somewhat like grocery shopping.  You enter a store and see all of the choices.  You can choose to fill your cart with things like fruit and vegetables, whole grains and lean meat or you can buy things like fatty meats, frozen pizza, sugar filled beverages and candy.  When we look at our lives, we can make choices about how we spend our time.  It may feel good to attain things in life like money, knowledge and prestige, but these things may not always serve us well.  We build ourselves up and our lives become so much about us there is no room for God.  

So the spiritual life seems to be more about letting things go than it is about building things up.  When we let go of ourselves we leave more room for God.  
  
This is not an easy task. 
Thankfully, God is patient.  

People are in different places on the journey and wherever you are God is there – waiting and loving us into real transformation.  Maybe Jesus is asking us today - what do we need to leave behind so we can better know God?  How can we better open ourselves to the presence of God all around us?  

Can we trust God enough to let ourselves go and make room for God in our lives?


0 Comments

    Life in the spirit

    Author

    John is a professional musician and a deacon in the Roman Catholic Church.  His blog will center around the arts in spirituality and how spirituality applies to everyday life.

    Archives

    August 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013

    Categories

    All
    Challenge
    Choices
    Creativity
    Death
    Essence Of Life
    Growth
    Kingdom Of God
    Let Go
    New Year
    Renew
    Resolution
    Resolutions
    Spirit

    RSS Feed

    Want to receive John's blog posts in your inbox? 
    Enter your email address below and they will be sent to you automatically!

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

connect today
​

email

johncalzavara@comcast.net

  • Home
  • Know John
    • Out And About
  • Cosmic Wave
  • Window of My Soul
  • BUY NOW
    • Shop iTunes
    • Shop Amazon