Author: Episcopal Cafe

Constant contact with Jesus fills the day with endless opportunities to witness his love. In encouragement and assistance, in kindness and courtesy, in giving and sharing, we become one with Jesus. And as we draw closer to Christ, the spiritual gravity of grace draws those in the orbit of our lives right along with us towards God… the epicenter of love.

Yet, we still have our boundaries regarding who is in and who is out. Food no longer defines the borders of our community life. Now it’s sexual orientation, gender identification, socio-economic status, body size, being married, lifestyle choices, even being a woman can get you on the other side of the boundary in some places.

For all its lovely, lyrical beauty this gospel contains Christianity’s essential challenge in the starkest terms: Love the stranger and the inconvenient… love the ungrateful and the annoying… love the broken and the destitute… love the aged and the addicted… love the sinner.

The call is to see the divine spark even in those different from us, who are easily overlooked. That’s love in action in this moment right here.

In this week’s gospel Jesus assures us that we’ve got the right connections. We’re not on our own. We’re connected. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. He abides in us, and we in him.