In the three years that Jesus preached, healed the sick, and brought the dead back to life. He lived a consistent holy life. I believe this is why in such a short period of time Jesus was able to attract so many people to Christianity and His new Church.
My brothers and sisters, we are all here today because we are attracted to the love of Jesus and His teachings. Over two-thousand years later His messages in the Gospels are still showing us the way to live a holy Christ centered life. Jesus and the lives of the saints show you and I the peace and joy of living a truly holy life.
Jesus tells us in the Gospel of John; “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.”
I recently read something from the book of Exodus that caused me to think about the end of Lent. Moses spent two forty-day periods in the presence of God and when he came down from the mountain at the end of the eighty days his face glowed from being in God’s presence. So much so that he had to put a veil over his face to reduce the fear of the Israelites. As we near the end of our first forty days of Easter and approach the next fifty-days of the Easter season, how will we prepare for the second half of the journey.
The question we have to ask ourselves is; What are you and I going to continue to do for the next fifty-days and beyond that will keep you and I in the presence of Christ? What are you going to do starting on day forty-one that will allow others to see the glow from the love and joy of Jesus within you?
The source of our sorrow is our sins. Our sins are the cause of Christ’s suffering. The source of our joy is Christ’s love. His love is the very reason Jesus was willing to suffer and die on the cross for each of us. The least we can do is follow His commandments so we can bask in His love and joy.
My fellow disciples, may you and I continue to grow in our love of Christ and live a Holy life following the will of God and attracting others through our glow to the love of Christ and His Church.
