Dear Friends,

Our readings again this Sunday speak of God's "abundance" and the ways in which this is manifested in our world. The Exodus story recounts the experience of the Israelites crossing the desert in search of freedom, and their mounting mistrust and anger at Moses who is "not delivering" the goods that they were expecting. They are terrified of the unknown and as Barbara Reid writing in this week's "America" notes, their attitude is much in keeping with our present day saying: "Better the devil you know than the one you don't know." (p. 46, July 20-27, 2009).

Their grumbling about food, reminds me of my days as chaplain at the residential hospice for people with HIV/AIDS where we were blessed (in my humble opinion) with a phenomenal chef. His artistically prepared nourishing and healthy food was not always appreciated by our guests, who had been known to grumble "he doesn't even know how to cook a hamburger". We rarely had fare as mundane as 'hamburgers', and it was at times a bitter pill for him to swallow, when a 'guest' would order in food from a local deli or a mom would critique his work and bring in her homemade favorite. Some simply couldn't 'absorb' the change in diet no matter how tasty and desirable it was to some of us.

Often, those who opted not to sample the fine fare didn't even know what they were missing. How apt a metaphor might this be for us and our spiritual lives? Do we know what we are missing? Most likely not..... It's "new" for many of us to think of God in terms of 'abundance' rather than judgment or perhaps measuringly sharing graces with us. It might be a challenge for us to 'absorb' all that God wants to lavish on us. I'm reminded of our granddaughter, Elisabeth, last month opening our birthday gift. Unlike the 'bigger kids' who's sizes and defined taste in clothes can be more costly, and because she is so small and her birthday comes at the end of a selling season, we were able to gift her with a number of 'little' articles of clothing. I remember her huge eyes as she pulled a 2nd set of pajamas out of the gift bag, and finally she looked up at her mom, eyes wide and said" "it's so much!" Yes, Elisabeth, it is "so much", but only a tiny representation of the love behind the gift. I think THAT's God's desire for us. God yearns for us to say "It's SO much"!

We invite you to come and pray with us at Spirit of Life and share in the experience of "abundance" which graces our time together. We are a Catholic community where every voice is heard, and women and men are unafraid to acknowledge the equality of women and men; and to embrace feminine as well as masculine….and beyond….images of God. As a community, we try wholeheartedly to "be Christ" to one another, to tend to the needs of one another, and to those in need in our world. Together, we celebrate our belief that we are being transformed by God's grace as we gather together in prayer. We warmly invite you to come and gather with us at our Table, and join in our experience of the "kin-dom" of God. We are an inclusive, open, affirming and interactive community, deeply committed to being a people of "justice and joy."

With prayers that you will know God's abundant love for you this day,

Find more about past weekly reflections and podcasts in our ARCHIVE PAGE.