September 3, 2020
Dear Friends,
It’s a picture of heaven, really.
Imagine a life where you were never selfish, where you never hesitated to do good, where you never paused to wonder whether this or that will benefit you. Imagine a life free from the shackles of sin, free from the desires of your flesh which set you against your neighbor and against God, free from guilt and condemnation.
That is the life which Jesus wants to give you abundantly. It is a life of perfection and beauty. It is a life of peace and joy.
He has promised you that life in eternity. By his sacrifice on the cross, the victory over sin and death has been won. His blood covers all your sins, and he binds you to himself, so that you may be raised in a resurrection like his.
But it is not just a life for the future. It is a life that he urges you to live even now. To live it now involves repentance, putting off your old self, turning away from sin when it rears its ugly head, receiving again and again the promise of salvation, and bearing the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
The lawyer in our Gospel for Sunday wanted to inherit eternal life. He misunderstood his role in salvation – he thought he should do something to gain God’s favor. And he also misunderstood eternal life. What is it? It’s a life that you are called to live even now as you become a neighbor to those around you in need. When you love and show mercy to those afflicted by sin and injured by its consequences, you are living even now the abundant life of Jesus.
Some day you will live that life perfectly. Let us hope for that day and await it with eager anticipation.
God bless and keep you,
Pr. Buchs