The 6th Sunday After Pentecost
Scriptures: Colossians 1:15-28; Luke 10:38-42
Key Verse: “Through Jesus Christ God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:20)
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Hello, This is Jade.
Welcome to Yi.kigai
A space for all to explore the intersection between faith and daily life
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When my daughter was about one month old, she started acting fussy. She didn’t get better even after we held her more, fed her on time, and checked her diapers constantly, so my husband and I took her to see her pediatrician. We learned that the food I had been eating affected my milk, which caused her discomfort and bloating.
I was too focused on healing my own body without taking into account how my diet affected her. That was my first lesson of being a mom in terms of self-care and other-care. It’s a little bit more complex than the concept of just putting our own oxygen mask on first before helping others. After consulting with my family doctor on the kind of food that was good for both of us and adjusting my diet, she wasn’t fussy any more and instead was a joyful healthy baby.
Have you heard the term "recovering Catholic"? It is used by some former Catholics who had negative experiences in their faith community and are still in the process of recovering from those experiences. I have gotten to know a few recovering Catholics who didn’t stop believing in God but became inactive in the life of church. It is a challenge for them to either return to the Roman Cathlic Church or join a different denomination, depending on what really bothers them, whether it's the integrity of the church leaders, the theology, ecclesiology etc.
I’m not sure if there is also a term “recovering Christians”, but without doubt, there are numerous people who identify with this. While the churches in many denominations are sharing good news that nourishes and nurtures new believers, the church-self is constantly in a healing process. It is healing from wounds caused by conflicts among ourselves, lack of trust from recovering folks, or biases against Christianity in general.
St. Paul wrote in Colossians 1:20 that God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things through Jesus Christ, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. In order to heal the relationship between God-self and all things on earth and in heaven, God has to make peace not only with the existing believers, the Jews, but also with non-believers who didn’t see any reasons for ‘making peace’. Many of St. Paul’s letters were written exactly for explaining those reasons and dealing with conflicts between Christians of Jewish origin and gentile Christians.
Jesus Christ is the best remedy for the current healing and unseen healing down the path so that the peace from God may become a reality for all. On behalf of God, Jesus Christ shed his blood and gave his body for the priceless peace that the world can’t give. Being the Word of God (John 1:14), Jesus nourishes and nurtures our existence (John 6:35), shines our path (John 8:12) so that we all can follow his lead on the way to be with God (John 14:6). Like Mary in Luke 10:42, may we choose the Word of God that no one can take away from us to practice self-care and other-care for the wellbeing of God’s Kingdom.
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May your coming week be blessed by God’s grace
As together we explore the intersection between faith and daily life
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