To know the unmet

Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Gospel: John 8:31-42
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040925.cfm

The gospel of John highlights what it means to be a follower. John references how Jesus came from the Father and represents the Father. Jesus’s actions show that he’s from God. Similarly, being a child of God is through one’s actions, not tied to ancestry or blood relation. To be God’s chosen is to choose God and act accordingly.

This evening I met with a charity organization. We had some conversations that showed our differences as we also had discussions that showed our shared mission and faith. The name of the organization is the Colleen Nesbit Foundation. The organization is named for a young woman. People say that she exuded love and care and didn’t have a judgmental bone in her body. She was accepting of everyone. She passed too soon from health complications.

Someone in the group started a conversation about what they imagine it’s like to be received into heaven. Each of us had a similar image where people we love greet us and welcome us home. They all started talking about what it would be like to see Colleen again. All of them knew her in life except for me. I imagined myself meeting Colleen for the first time in heaven but already knowing her. I know her through the love of those that knew her and how she impacted their lives. Now they’re impacting mine because of her so she’s impacting my life through them. We know Jesus in a similar way. We know Jesus through how the love he shared with others has been passed down and been given and shared with us.

May we continue on this tradition and reflect the divine as Jesus did. Let us continue to share in this love so that when we return home, we are meeting those we’ve never met but already know. May we likewise be counted among those who others will meet for the first time but are already known.