Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
“Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.”
What we hand out is what we receive.
How we treat others is how we will be treated. If we honor Jesus in the poor and troublesome we will be seen as being guided by Jesus.
If we react to offense with silence, love, patience as we would a loved one that is still on their journey. As we are. Then we will find God shows us his love and patience with us.
If we love God as we should, and others, these things should be natural for us. It should be our reflex to be patient and giving and see Christ in others.
But if it is not quite our go to reaction to be patient with other drivers, if we do not automatically give what we have available to others for food and clothing. If we haven’t yet got the hang of seeing Christ in others. It’s okay. We too are a work in progress.
And so what does not come naturally yet we do because God asked us to do so. We give and speak kindly and remind ourselves that all people are loved by God. He sends the rain on all and blessings on all. It is our job to help others use blessings and gifts wisely by showing them what Jesus taught us about giving and caring for others.
So we give because God gave us blessings first. We show mercy and love for all because when we were lost he was merciful and put us on track. He loved us before we loved him.
So we act out of gratitude. And gratitude is the starting place for spiritual growth and with grateful hearts else can always be sure we are on the right path to God.
This Lent as we fast and pray and give to others, let us do so with grateful hearts for we have a God that sent Jesus to show us the way home.
Deacon Tony Pynes 
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