The Lord is my Shepherd....

I don't know about you, but it can be awfully difficult to follow.

I can't tell you how many times I sit with people who are having problems letting go of trying to control every aspect of their life. It's frustrating for them -- but they can't let go. They want to know what's going to happen to them, want to control what will happen to them. I think that's why the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd is a helpful one. The shepherd leads the sheep -- they just have to follow the shepherd to be lead to the best streams, the greenest grazing sites, the safest places to sleep.

We don't want to give that kind of control over ot Jesus, though. We want to keep it for ourselves. Don't we know better? Well, we think we do!

If we just let go of the need to control, different -- better things can come to us. We just have to take the first step and listen to the shepherd instead of listening to ourselves.

Peace be with you.

This Sunday we have another "Jesus sighting" -- once again Jesus comes among his followers and says, "Peace be with you."

I couldn't help but think about these words peace be with you as I sat waiting for my car to be repaired on Monday -- my last day of vacation. What was supposed to have been a 2 1/2 hour repair turned into 6 hours. It was at the end of the 2nd hour (when I thought I was in the home stretch of getting out of there) when I was informed that the main part they needed was out of stock, and would have to be brought in from another dealership. Couldn't they have figured that out in the first 1/2 hour of my time there? I wasn't feeling too peaceful at that moment! Yes, I was offered a rental car, but it seemed more hassle than it was worth, given my schedule for the next day. So, I sat and waited.

Peace was hard to come by. I was glad I had brought 2 of my DMin books assigned for this summer to read -- little consolation for the rise in my blood pressure.

It's a difficult thing -- peace. It can elude us when our nerves are short, we're tired, or we feel put out. Yet, it is there -- this peace.

One way I heard this peace explained is that it is the moment when whatever burden we have on our hearts -- any ill feelings we have towards others -- is removed from us. WE have to "let it go"-- we have to let go of whatever is burdening us, or we will never find or experience this peace.

I had to let my irritation go. In my heart I had to wish the technician God's peace -- for my own sake.

Is there someone in your life that you need to wish God's peace?

Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."

This Sunday we hear the story of Jesus' first post-resurrection appearance to his disciples. Although they heard from the women who found the tomb empty that Jesus had risen from the dead, the disciples hadn't seen him yet. I can't help but wonder -- if I were one of the disciples and my teacher -- Jesus -- appeared to me in a room that was locked to keep people out -- would I have fainted? Would I have screamed? What would I have done? We're told the disciples rejoiced -- I may have done that as well, but I think I would have fainted first.

There was one disciple who wasn't with the others -- Thomas. The disciples told Thomas that they had seen Jesus. Thomas refused to believe them. "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe" Thomas told the disciples. Indeed, he had the opportunity to see Jesus about one week later -- and then believed. "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe" Jesus told Thomas.

We are the ones who are blessed to have not seen, but have come to believe. We don't have the opportunity to touch the resurrected Jesus' wounds. Yet, we believe -- we believe because we see around us the fruits of living a life of faith. We may not be able to SEE Jesus, but we can certainly feel his presence with us. As we celebrate the Eucharist each week, we make Christ present. We share in communion with him and with each other. This is one of the most wonderful "seeing" moments we can have together!

Diane+

Welcome to St. Clement's by-the-Sea Blog!

Hello!
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