Dcn Anne Strong
My dear siblings in Christ:
Through prayer and hard sought wisdom I have come to believe that all which enters our lives is a gift….AND….it is our task to discover the pearls. Thanksgiving is near and I am glad. This holiday blesses me with an attitude of gratitude! It is a great way to view our world. I am too easily persuaded how tough I have had/have it; I am sure that my life’s a lot more tough than others I interact with on a daily basis . My intentional act to acknowledge my good fortune ( and stop being a victim) has many benefits:
I have more fun..with and without others
My self esteem is not as easily battered
I feel cared for
Empathy comes easily
Self awareness escalates; I am in sync with all of myself ( I have long believed that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit)
In the Feast of Christ the King, we are filling all of ourselves with Jesus (hence feast), Our Christ, Abba, Beloved, Lord and Messiah. In John 18:37, today’s Word, Jesus. shares His commitment to His raison d’être (reason of being) “You say I am a King. For this I was born and for this I came into the world: to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
Jesus accepted this office (Augustine of Hippo) and we were given a gift…a gift of servanthood… a mystical blend of gentleness and strength. We all see the futility of “super power” politics; its reliance upon dominance. The “velvet and steel” of the enduring love of Jesus through His servanthood is gentle enough to cradle the cosmos in patient care and strong enough to outlast and forgive all assaults on its compassion.
It is for Jesus, and for all of you, that I seek an attitude of gratitude. I pull myself out of the way, to become humble in the truest sense, of knowing my place in the order of God’s creation.
With and in God’s love,
—Dcn Anne