The Sunday Readings: Deuteronomy 4: 32-34, 39-40, Psalm 33, Romans 8:14-17, Matthew 28: 16-20
Why is it that so many people today attack Christianity?
What are they so afraid of?
Is it because the Church is perceived as an authority figure bent on depriving us of personal freedoms, especially that of choice?
Is it because it is seen as an institution that deprives rather than as a life choice that fulfills?
For it is a choice.
God gave us free will which we can exercise as we please. Since choices have consequences, we need to be well informed before deciding.
God gave us his Holy Word as a means of helping us to make an informed choice. A thoughtful examination of this week’s Sunday readings points to reasons why inviting God into our lives could be considered a good choice.
The first reading portrays a powerful God, generous in spirit, going out of his way to demonstrate his love for his people. In Deuteronomy 4: 32-34, 39-40 Moses reminds the Israelites of all that has been done for them: “Did anything so great ever happen before?” referring to their miraculous release from slavery in Egypt. God intervened directly, raising a leader in Moses to take the people to a new land and a new life. The subsequent commandments of the Lord that Moses presented to the people were meant for their well-being, to ensure that they “may prosper” and have “long life.”
Does it sound like these people were being deprived?
The second reading from Romans 8:14-17 spells out the benefits of choosing God clearly: we are no longer slaves but children, heirs to a great fortune–a meaningful (though not trouble-free) life on earth and eternal life in paradise.
Children are disciplined and schooled, guided into adulthood by the love of their parents. We have the privilege of calling the Omnipotent God, the God we cannot see or ever hope to understand “Abba,” Daddy!
Slaves are deprived; children are privileged.
Spreading the word
With this in mind, today’s Gospel from Matthew 28 shows Jesus sending his disciples forth to spread the Word, the Good News, to inform the world that we can choose to be children; and not to be slaves.
We are fortunate in Massachusetts to have several chapters of WINGS, an organization dedicated to gathering together women of faith in an effort to support and deepen that faith.
I am pleased to announce that my very first book, River of Grace: Creative Passages Through Difficult Times will be released this Fall, published by Ave Maria Press!
A memoir with life application
River of Grace is part spiritual memoir and part life application, offering true and hopeful stories of growth and transformation after hard losses.
Father Robert Reed, president of CatholicTV and author of Renewed writes of the book:
“If you, like me, have experienced failure or loss and can’t quite find your way out of the darkness, Susan Bailey offers gentle reflections with graceful tools that bring light, creative renewal and a fuller Christian life.”
Amy Belding Brown, author of Mr. Emerson’s Wife and Flight of the Sparrow (which I reviewed last year) writes:
“Susan Bailey’s powerful and beautifully-written book is much more than an insightful spiritual memoir. River of Grace is also a brilliant reflection on the connections between creativity and grace. Deeply grounded in a profound Christian faith, the author chronicles her personal experiences of loss and shows how they were transformed as she learned to accept and respond to new challenges. This wonderful book also includes a valuable assortment of exercises that will enrich your spiritual life and gently guide you to confront your own difficulties and deepen your relationship with God. Anyone who seeks to discern God’s purposes in life’s most challenging situations will find this book one to cherish.”
Seasons of loss
Just about all of us can cite a time in our lives whether now or in the past, where we have lost something precious to us.
Perhaps it’s been the death of a parent or a child.
Or, you yourself are suffering through a long illness.
It could be a long stretch of unemployment causing financial difficulties, even the loss of your home.
Maybe you’ve lost a best friend due to a falling out.
Perhaps you’ve recently put down a beloved pet.
These are all serious losses that tear at us, causing grief or anxiety or anger. Where do we find the strength to pick up the pieces and carry on?
Could a serious loss signal a new life, even a transformed life?
This is what I write about in River of Grace, beginning with the loss of my parents and then my singing voice. Through the means of a kayak and my love for Louisa May Alcott, God led me on an amazing, joy-filled and sometimes crazy adventure within his river of grace, leading up to this book and beyond.
Stories and tools
River of Grace is not just book of stories. I provide practical tools so that you too can go on your amazing adventure. These “Flow Lessons” appear throughout the book and will also be available on this website.
In the weeks to come, I will share quotes and stories from River of Grace. Please spread the word to everyone you know who has gone through a season of loss or is just looking to jump start their spiritual and creative lives.
Available in many formats
River of Grace will be available as a print book, e-book and audio book (through Audible.com and iTunes). Just this past week I started the process of recording the book. My thanks to producer extraordinaire Ron Zabrocki for his expertise (he produced several of my music CDs).
Here is more on River of Grace:
Writing River of Grace and having it published by such a well-respected publisher has been a dream come true. I would definitely classify it as a “crazy adventure!”
Please share this post on Facebook, on Twitter, on Pinterest, through email with anyone whom you think would benefit from reading my book. Feel free to share the book cover. Your recommendation is the best way to get the word out.
Life is full of transitions. The longer we live, the greater the number of our years, the greater the number of transitions.
Some transitions are rather universal like adolescence and leaving home, marriage and childbirth, illness and aging, or separation through death. Other transitions feel as if they are thrust upon us like the loss of a job or an unwelcome medical diagnosis.
In every case we’re forced to look at life anew in order the rebuild our lives.
In this week’s gospel Jesus’ disciples are struggling to deal with his departure from this world. They will be forced to let go of their former ways of relating to him. In the future, Christ will be present to them, albeit in a new and different way.
Sorting all this out is something the disciples will have to do together. So Jesus prays that “they may be one.”
It has been said that most people belong to two families:
One family is your biological family. These are the folks with whom you share a common bloodline, genetics, DNA.
The other family is your psychological or spiritual family. These are the people that care for you, love you, stand by you. These are the communities that give you strength and hope when you need it most.
Biological families and spiritual families are sometimes the same. But frequently, they are not.
The disciples needed a community of faith to get through the transition.
We, modern-day disciples need spiritual families to navigate and find strength through the changes and upheavals of life. The big transitions of life are not meant to be travelled alone…
Who are the people that make up your “spiritual family?” Who are you a “spiritual family” to?
How are you traveling life as the years (and the transitions) add up? Traveling alone? Or, with companions?
We pray for the grace to have and to be, faith-filled, hope-filled and loving travel companions.
I am pleased to present this guest post from 
Be as One 