Alex Swain

Beloved,

In today’s epistle (1 John 2:18-29) the author uses the term “abides” 6 times (in the NRSV translation, of course!). It’s one of those words that feels welcoming, comfortable, and warm to me. We are extolled to have the Gospel of Christ abide in us, and that through this we will “abide in the Son and and in the Father” (2:24). We are reminded that the Gospel is to rest in our hearts, and minds, and souls, and by doing so draw us ever more into the fold of God.

I currently experience this abiding in 3 general ways - namely through contemplation of Christ’s life, prayer, and action (service). As we abide with the Gospel, our lives, inevitably, begin to be shaped and molded by proximity to Christ. Folks much more experienced and saintly than I have pondered many more ways to abide with the gospel, but for me these 3 practices - contemplation of Christ’s life, prayer for God’s graces, and service to others - ever more draw me to God.

So let us evermore strive to abide with God and the Holy Scriptures, letting our contemplations and prayers and actions rest in God’s transformative power in our lives, hymning thy kingdom come each moment of each day.

Amen!

Alex Swain

Alex was a member of the first cohort of Beloved in the Desert (‘19-’20). He now works at the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona as their Volunteer Services Supervisor, and works closely with Mtr. Taylor and the Beloved program. He is a postulant in the Diocese of Arizona and will attend seminary in the Fall of 2022.

For more information about Beloved in the Desert, click here. To support this ministry financially, click this link and select “Give to Outreach: Beloved in the Desert.”