How often do I say that I desire Jesus to be the center of my life? For Jesus, God, his Father, was the center of his life. I think the agony in the garden is why Jesus drew strength from his Father in conversation - we only have the Words of Jesus but what a lesson for us in how to pray.
Last night we had our monthly reflection group. As we are reading and reflecting on Albert Nolan's Jesus Today: A Spirituality of Radical Freedom our lively conversation after prayer centered on Jesus and our need for some quiet in our busy lives to listen to him. We spoke more from the heart than from the book. Since I had a few favorite passages that I did not share, I will put them here as they will help me to reflect today.
Nolan says that "it was by loving people that Jesus brought healing to them. He loved everyone..." Jesus had many close friendships but his friendships were never exclusive. For Jesus, "each individual person was unique and important. That is why he could speak of leaving the ninety-nine others to search for the one who was lost(Luke 15:3-6)
Nolan says that "the healing effect of Jesus' preaching and teaching can hardly be exaggerated. In turning the world right side up he must have brought untold relief to those who felt overburdened and disadvantages by the system of the time. With parables and sayings Jesus was trying to open the eyes of his contemporaries to see the world differently, to see it as it really is--right side up--and above all, to see God as our loving and forgiving Father, our abba.
Jesus is still trying to make us see the world as it really is and to see God as our loving and forgiving Father, our abba
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