Abiding With God

Note:  Because this reflection from FAITH ND is so apropos, I've assumed that Fr. Ed Shea would not  object to being our guest author today. Bro. Rene

There is a great myth that is popular among many young people. I have heard some say that they are "spiritual but not religious." It seems to me that a person who is spiritual is also religious by necessity. In other words, no one can be spiritual in a vacuum; one needs some kind of expression of that spirituality, some concrete way to make that spirituality real. That is what religion does—it connects us to God through a community, and through ritual and prayer and song. These things make real what we believe. And we need those kinds of connections; we need to connect with God through habits and fellowship. Today's Gospel is focused on the seventh (of seven) "I am" statements in the Gospel of John. Over and over again, Jesus is essentially saying, "Whatever you need, I AM. Are you hungry? I am the Bread of Life. Are you in the dark? I am the Light of the World. Are you lost? I am the Gate and I am Good Shepherd, who will seek and find you and call you by name. Are you caught up in death? I am the Resurrection and the Life, and I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." Today Jesus says to us, "Are you disconnected? I am the Vine, you are the branches, and my Father is the vinegrower." In other words, we all fit together in God's world—this is where we belong and are connected, where we live and abide. Apart from that source, apart from that energy, eventually we cease to exist. "Abide in me," Jesus says, "as I abide in you." The word "abide" appears eight times in these few verses, so it is obviously an important concept in this Gospel. The original word is also translated as "stay" or "remain," and this is what prayer is all about. The challenge of prayer is to "stay" with God, to connect and remain connected. To rephrase an old dictum, "Don't just do something, sit there!" Often we find ourselves busy about many things when we are called to stop all of our activity and simply "abide" with God. In the end, as Jesus keeps telling us over and over again, all we really need is God. Father Ed Shea, O.F.M, ‘78