Not All Rainbows and Unicorns

Acts 5:27-33; John 3:31-36

 

Our God is a God of love. Indeed, the author of 1 John reminds us that God is love itself (4:16b)! But just as true human love is a lot more than romance, living in God’s love as a disciple of Jesus is not all rainbows and unicorns. Jesus concludes his conversation with Nicodemus by saying that believing in and obeying the Son of God is a matter of life and death—eternal life and death. 

It was that belief that motivated Peter and the Apostles to stand up to the religious authorities and elites of their day and steadfastly insist that they would continue to proclaim the gospel and the resurrection of Jesus. It was that same faith that motivated St. George in 4th century Palestine and St. Adalbert in 10th century Europe to give their lives as martyrs.

That belief also moved Bl. Giles of Assisi to become one of the first followers of St. Francis of Assisi, who insisted that the first rule of the Friars Minor was to live the gospel. Giles said, “It seems to me that the religious life of the Friars Minor was given to the world for the great benefit of mankind. Woe to us if we are the kind of men we ought to be.”  

We could say the same about life in Christ. Woe to us if we are not the kind of disciples and the kind of church we ought to be. 

- Capuchin Friar John Celichowski