Love the Imperfect

The WORD today (see http://usccb.org/bible/readings/041117.cfm) reminds me that God loves us despite our imperfections. 

People learn from their mistakes. Well, we should. When we experience a setback, we do our best not to experience it again. We adjust. We improvise. We improve. This is true with regards to people as well. When someone does not deliver on what is expected, we stay away from the person or get someone else who we think can deliver. To avoid further setbacks, we sometimes do not give another chance and instead look for someone else. We look for someone better.  This may be true for human beings, but not for God.

God loves us so much, that despite knowing our weaknesses, he still has faith in us.

In the gospel, we see that Jesus knew Peter will deny him three times. Yet, he still entrusted the keys to heaven to Peter. He still trusted in Peter. He still gave responsibilities to Peter. He had faith in Peter, that he can change and can become better. And we know that because of that love and faith of Jesus, Peter became better and served God until death.

God sees us not for what we are right now, but for what we can become.

We too are very imperfect, weak and sinful like Peter. However, God loves us so much nonetheless. His love will not be stopped by our weakness. He sees beyond our weakness and sees what we can become when we just allow him to love us. His love can transform. His love equips. When we allow him to love us, when we feel his love, we will be transformed – not magically, but because his great love cannot go unnoticed. As we feel and experience his love, it will move us and transform us to be better individuals. When we allow him to love us, when we allow him to live in us, we too can do great things for God – for all great things are done out of love for God, which we want to do to thank him for loving us.

May we always remember how special and loved we are, and may we allow God’s perfect and transforming love to be in us.

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live. Thank you for the reminder. Thank you for the gift of life. Lord, I thank you for loving me so much, despite all my sins and weaknesses. I thank you for seeing the goodness in me, especially when I cannot see them in myself. Thank you for having faith and believing in me, especially when I find it hard to believe in myself. Lord, I allow you to love me. I allow you to use me. I allow you to transform me. As I feel and experience your love, I know I become closer to the person you created me to be. As I experience your love, I know that in my own little way, you can use me to share that love to others and make you more alive in this world. amen.

Blessed Holy Tuesday!

In Christ,

-g-

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April 11, 2017
Tuesday of Holy Week
Lectionary: 258

Reading 1 Is 49:1-6

Hear me, O islands,
listen, O distant peoples.
The LORD called me from birth,
from my mother's womb he gave me my name.
He made of me a sharp-edged sword
and concealed me in the shadow of his arm.
He made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.
You are my servant, he said to me,
Israel, through whom I show my glory.

Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,
Yet my reward is with the LORD,
my recompense is with my God.
For now the LORD has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
That Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
And I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 71:1-2, 3-4a, 5ab-6ab, 15 and 17

R. (see 15ab) I will sing of your salvation.
In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me, and deliver me;
incline your ear to me, and save me.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
For you are my hope, O Lord;
my trust, O God, from my youth.
On you I depend from birth;
from my mother's womb you are my strength.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
My mouth shall declare your justice,
day by day your salvation.
O God, you have taught me from my youth,
and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.
R. I will sing of your salvation.

Verse Before the Gospel

Hail to you, our King, obedient to the Father;
you were led to your crucifixion like a gentle lamb to the slaughter.

Gospel Jn 13:21-33, 36-38

Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified,
"Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me."
The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant.
One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved,
was reclining at Jesus' side.
So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant.
He leaned back against Jesus' chest and said to him,
"Master, who is it?"
Jesus answered,
"It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it."
So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas,
son of Simon the Iscariot.
After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.
So Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly."
Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him.
Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him,
"Buy what we need for the feast,"
or to give something to the poor.
So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.

When he had left, Jesus said,
"Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself,
and he will glorify him at once.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
You will look for me, and as I told the Jews,
'Where I go you cannot come,' so now I say it to you."

Simon Peter said to him, "Master, where are you going?"
Jesus answered him,
"Where I am going, you cannot follow me now,
though you will follow later."
Peter said to him,
"Master, why can I not follow you now?
I will lay down my life for you."
Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me?
Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow
before you deny me three times."