Today, we celebrate the feast of St Mathias. As we can see in today’s readings, he was chosen to be the replacement for Judas. He was the last addition to the apostles. How cool =)
It is fitting what God tells us in the gospel. Yes, it’s still about love (see related reflections below), about God’s love and sharing that love to others. However, Jesus tells us something else:
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
God wants us to bear fruit! It is not enough to know and feel God’s love. It is not enough to love others. We should also bear fruit… and bearing fruit does not come easy.
A seed has to die first before it can become a tree. A tree, out of the nourishment and nutrition it has, needs to give of itself to bear fruit. Tayo din. First step is to die of ourselves. We need to die and surrender to God. Let go and let God. We need to die of ourselves, our desires, and allow God to live in and through us. We need to allow God to use us and fill us with his love. That’s just step one.
After surrendering ourselves to God, we need to continually seek nourishment. We need to feed our souls. We need to seek him. That’s why prayer and the sacraments are important. IT helps us build an intimate relationship with God. It strengthens our faith. It readies us to bear fruit. When the time is right, when God sees we’re ready, we will bear fruit out of God’s goodness and greatness, and out of willingness and humility to allow God to use us!
Do you believe that God specifically called you to bear fruit? Am I willing to die of myself and allow God to use me? Am I bearing fruit? What stage am I in? What else do I need to do to bear fruit?
God is calling you today. Take it as a challenge as we start the day, as we start the work week. How can I, in my own little way, bear fruit for God?
Have a blessed week!
In Christ,
-g-
ps
See related reflections on love and loving
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