LIFE is a GIFT

     Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something back by becoming more.

THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING OF KNOWLEDGE

     Life is a gift from God and not the work of our hands. It is very valuable, short, and should be nourished and cherished. Yet, life is not the highest of values. Life can be sacrificed for a higher cause. Herous freely choose to lay down their own lives for the sake of their country. Martyrs and saints choose to die rather than forsake their faith. For the martyrs of the church, life is valuable but there is a higher value, the kingdom of God.

     The essential sadness is to go through life without recognizing creation as the gift of God, man wanders into those boundless wastes where he can heap riches upon riches, sexual experience upon sexual experience, forgetting that it must all be accepted as God’s good gift. All if life’s sensuousness and it’s joy, is the good creation of God. But when man is absorbed in all the richness of created life and forgets who gave it, he is then putting the “flesh” in the flesh which belongs to the creator of all flesh, to God and his Spirit.

     Life never becomes a human possession, but always remains God’s property. God exhales and his breath puts life into his creatures. God inhales and his breath is withdrawn from them and they die. Wherever life is awakened, it is the work of God’s breath or Spirit. But where death occurs it is their breath or spirit that departs.

 WE SHOULD PRAY TO THE LORD

     On the last day, Jesus will say to those on His right hand, "Come, enter the Kingdom. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was sick and you visited me." Then Jesus will turn to those on His left hand and say, "Depart from me because I was hungry and you did not feed me, I was thirsty and you did not give me drink, I was sick and you did not visit me." These will ask Him, "When did we see You hungry, or thirsty or sick and did not come to Your help?" And Jesus will answer them, "Whatever you neglected to do unto one of the least of these, you neglected to do unto me!" As we have gathered here to pray together, I think it will be beautiful if we begin with a prayer that expressed very well what Jesus wants us to do for the least. St. Francis of Assisi understood very well these words of Jesus and His life is very well expressed by a prayer. And this prayer, which we say every day after Holy Communion, always surprises me very much, because it is very fitting for each one of us. And I always wonder whether 800 years ago when St. Francis lived, they had the same difficulties that we have today. I think that some of you already have this prayer of peace - so we will pray it together. 

The way to God is by our selves.