Mission

Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and love; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command.

- From this week’s collect

What is your favorite thing to eat?

Is it good for you?

Sometimes it seems like the things we love best are not at all what is good for our bodies. Who doesn’t love an occasional ice cream Sunday complete with whipped cream and nuts, or a snack of crisp, greasy truffle fries with ketchup? But a steady diet of these things would eventually build up into some pretty bad health.

I used to love bread a lot - crusty bread dipped in olive oil, fresh baked bread with butter, croissants, scones, or muffins with jam. And then, I found out that I am allergic to wheat and I cannot have bread. My idea of “comfort food” was disrupted and I had to change the way I ate. It took many years until I no longer felt resentful that I could not enjoy the bread basket served before a meal at a restaurant, or dig into that delicious NY style pizza. I mean, I still miss those things, but I no longer resent it. Because I’ve learned that my life and my digestion is SO much better without wheat. Over the years, my tastes have actually changed. My comfort foods are now things that I both enjoy AND are good for me (at least, usually).

The same kind of thing happens in our lives of faith. The practices that bring us closer to God and neighbor are sometimes the ones that are more challenging for us to find time for. They don’t seem to ‘taste’ as good as sleeping in, doing what we feel like or avoiding sticking our necks out. The truth is, sometimes we don’t really love what God commands.

“Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and love; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command.” Help us to love serving you. Help us to reach that point at which our appetite changes and we actually enjoy the things that are right and good. (Kind of like: {Please make it so that a crisp, crunchy salad is more appealing to my palate than a bag of chips.)

Palates and habits can change. We can begin to really love what is good for us. It takes work, though. This kind of conversion takes practice. And it takes lots of prayer. Brother James from SSJE told me recently, The deeper our prayer, the deeper our mission. And the deeper our mission, the deeper our prayer. Discipline builds results, and results encourage discipline. O God, make us love what you command.

Our mission as faithful people is the theme of Giving Sunday this weekend. As people of faith, there is more than just coping with the ebb and flow of the continual cycle of exile and return in our lives. God calls us to return and then sends us out to serve others who are still lost in exile. As people of faith we are called to love and serve the world.

So we pray: Teach us to love what you command, so that we may obtain what you promise. And when we feel the faith, hope and love you offer us, give us the desire and energy to share it with others. May we strive not only to receive a future with hope for ourselves, but be sent out to share that hope with others.