Reflection

We hear things, see things, smell things, touch things, taste things everyday…we just kind of “go about our daily tasks” without giving much thought to them, these various senses, that connect us to the world around us…

Every once in awhile, something or someone stops us from our mindless wandering….and leaves us speechless…

In today’s reading from Acts, Saul is stopped in his tracks…He has been so busy looking for ways to persecute followers of Jesus…he has been so intent on depending on his own voice of reason and judgment…his heart has been so hardened against other fellow human beings that don’t think like him, or believe like him… that any sense of connection or relationship to them, is clearly not there..

Saul, is stopped in his tracks…by an unmistakable light and voice…

A light so bright, that it is blinding for a moment…a light that overpowers him and us with a sense of love and compassion…a light that calls us to stop…stop talking…stop judging and persecuting others….and listen…listen and hear what the voice of the Lord has to say to us…listen to what Jesus wants to say to us…listen, look, and pay attention with all of your senses…and you will notice…that following Jesus…is worth it…following Jesus means following a way of life that boldly proclaims love…love of God, love of neighbor, love of all of creation…

A love that is meant for all people…

Prayer for today… God of light and love….help us today, to stop…and use all of our senses to get to know you and our neighbors, to love you and our neighbors - transforming all of our lives, by uniting us as one family, strengthened by the power of your light and love. Amen.

Rev Julie Platson