<p>Polarization is the path of least resistance in our contemporary American society. Todays reflection invites us to forego going with the angry flow and commit to the hard work of loving our neighbors. Concretely this means caring for and understanding all the individuals in our circles especially those with whom we may disagree!</p><p><strong>May 5 2024: Sixth Sunday of Easter</strong></p><p>Acts 10:25-26 24-25 44-48</p><p>Psalm 98:1-4</p><p>1 John 4:7-10</p><p>John15:9-17</p><div><div class=titan__email-divider>&nbsp;</div></div><h1><strong>The Wideness of God's Love<br></strong></h1><p><em>A reflection by Thomas DeVoyd<br></em></p><p>One of the things that I always liked about Peter is his humility. This is a person who does not see the greatness that God put on him. Peter did not let Cornelius bow before him because he everyone as equal in Gods eyes. What God wants is for all of us to reflect on the Scriptures and act accordingly. I do wonder what Peter would have thought about social media. This is a place where opposing viewpoints can get you cancelled or at least hassled by those who disagree. There are many people who say God does not exist and the Bible is a fairy tale. I also have seen people say Christians are cannibals because we receive the body and blood of Jesus. To most of us this has no relevance but their voices can be loud and disconcerting. It is very hard in this technological age not to want to yell or at least say that you have the only opinion that needs to be recognized. But God still wants us to love each other. In this reading from Acts Peter gave the gift of the Holy Spirit to all and not just those that were circumcised and some men who others might have considered pagans were baptized at that moment. God wants all of us to follow the Word. This includes people that we may think will never follow God.&nbsp;</p><p>In the second reading from Johns First Letter we hear of the gift of expiation for our sins. I will admit I did have to look up the word expiation. It means atonement or forgiveness of all sins. We have never received a better gift. We can confess our sins to God and be forgiven. There is no cost other than the humility it may take to admit our mistakes. Speaking of admissions I prefer to confess directly to God. I know that is not totally in line with the Catechism (which I am listening to currently). But God knows our hearts and wants our love and fidelity in return for this gift of atonement. So I guess I just go to the source. Getting back to the reading God invites us to love each other. This can seem unattainable. Perhaps it is. I think of this invitation as calling me to love everyone but not necessarily having to invite all of them to Christmas dinner. There will be people that will challenge our ability to love and we must strive to overcome that challenge.&nbsp;</p><p>In the Gospel of John the theme of loving comes full circle. We must love God and each other. Jesus loved God and kept all the commandments. Jesus calls all of us friends. That is such a blessing! Through Jesus we know everything that God seeks from us. We are no longer slaves. If you look in the Hebrew Scriptures there are many references to the faithful being enslaved or captured. God sets them free through the prophets. In Jesus we have already been set free. We are Gods friends. We need only to follow Gods commands and we will live in grace.&nbsp;</p><p>This weeks readings focused on love: a theme I can get behind! There is so much hate in our world. We should try to love everyone. This work has a positive effect on others and on us. As the Responsorial Psalm says: Sing to God a new song for all the wonderous deeds Love has done!</p><div><div class=titan__email-divider>&nbsp;</div><div class=titan__email-divider><img src='https://www.dignityusa.org/sites/default/files/tom.png'></div></div><div class=mobile-full><div class=mobile-full><div class=mobile-full><div class=mobile-full><div class=mobile-full><div class=mobile-full><em><strong>Tom DeVoyd</strong> is a nurse in long term care and works with resident with Dementia. He is an advocate for his residents and has a Masters Degree in Nursing in Adult Psych/ Mental Health. He is also an advocate for the LGBTQI+ community. Tom currently lives in a small town in NH with his partner of years Phil. He enjoys reflecting on the scriptures and focusing on the world of when the scriptures were written.</em></div></div></div></div></div></div>