Second Sunday of Lent

“This is my Son, the Chosen one. Listen to him.”

Ever since my personal Pentecost when I was aged 15, I have tried to listen to Jesus in the Gospels: his words and actions. The key texts through which Jesus Christ currently comes to me and underpin my spirituality – motivating me -  are:

1.Jn 15,15 “I call you friends” Yesh, in my relationship with him, my name for Jesus Christ  – God in our human vernacular - is my closest friend. I realise that  - as well as in my heart - Jesus comes to me in and through my friends.

2.Jn 10,10 He wants  me to live my life to the full. My vocation is to become the best version of myself – better than I imagined – through helping God make this world a better place where I can have an impact.

3. Lk 10,29-37.Yesh is The Good Samaritan  – ‘The Other’ “the Outsider”, who is here for each one of us. Including me. He is with us like gravity. Unseen. Undeniable. Though can be forgotten. Whenever I ask God for help, I know it is most likely to come through those around me: my friends,  and medical practitioners. God comes incarnated – as Jesus Christ - not in a spiritual vacuum.

4.Mt 25,40 “what you do to the least of mine, you do unto me.”  When I meet Yesh face to face, I will remind him how many times I did what was necessary while looking after my 92-year-old with severe dementia.

5. In this Year of Hope there is  Lk 23,43. As the Good Thief, heard on Calvary, ”today you will be with me in Paradise”  I too hope to be born into Divine Eternity, Paradise, the moment I die. 

How about you? If you had to choose five, which texts would you choose? Worth a discussion over lunch  - or a drink – with you friends? Together, we can learn a lot more  about ourselves than on our own.