May 15, 2009 - Friday Meditation (Clean Slate!)

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May 15, 2009 - Friday Meditation (Clean Slate!)

Sections - The Daily B.R.E.A.D.

Written by Bobot Apit

Wednesday, 13 May 2009 08:02

A lthough it is impossible to live life without making a mistake, we can wipe the slate clean and start over. This is what Jesus was telling Nicodemus when he said, "I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again" (John 3:5).

Acts 15:22-31
Psalm 57:8-9, 10 and 12

John 15:12-17 "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (13) Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (14) You are my friends if you do what I command you. (15) No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. (16) You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. (17) This I command you, to love one another.

* Meditation by Tom Shanahan, S.J.

I remember vividly one summer day in Chicago golfing with my brother Richard. We both had been hitting the ball fairly well and were pleased with our attempts at golf that day. At one point in the middle of the match Dick came over to me and put his arms around my shoulders and squeezed remarking, “That’s how God loves us!” It was a simple gesture but it was rife with meaning. We spoke about what he had said and done and it became clear to me the truth of what he demonstrated that day.

Today’s gospel may or may not have been the model for Dick’s action that beautiful day, but it is a clear demonstration of what Jesus says through St. John’s gospel: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” Actually he says it two times – in the first and the very last verses in today’s reading (vv. 13, 17) adding emphasis to the strong statement itself and to call into focus and emphasis what is contained in between.

The “in-between” verses in John, continue Jesus’ words and clarify how he looks upon his disciples. He calls them friends. He makes the disciples equal to himself: so that as HE is related to the Father, THEY are related to him. What a fabulous thought – no, even more, what a fabulous reality. “What I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you (v.15).” He literally puts us in the middle of God’s divine and abiding love for His Son Jesus.

The purpose of that magnificent gift is so that, like Jesus, we may first receive God’s love and then release that love for others. We’re to “bear fruit” just as Jesus’ life, death and resurrection bore fruit in terms of service: service that flows naturally from the fact that we have been made “friends” by Jesus.

Jesus takes the initiative in the way that he lived his life and he passes the spirit of that initiative on to the disciples (and consequently on us). What a gift and what an honor.

Jesus, I ask you to continue to remind me as my brother reminded me that summer day, that you are the very center of my life and you call me into action/service by your initiating love. Gift us all with the spirit that makes us Friends in the Lord and be with us as we share that love with one another.

Supplementary Reading
Born Again

For you have been born again . . . through the living and enduring word of God. – 1 Peter 1:23

In the early one-room schoolhouses, students had their own slates on which they did their work. The teacher would frequently ask them to hold up their slates to see how they were doing. Slates are easily wiped clean. So the metaphor of a clean slate inspires a feeling of hope and being reborn.

Although it is impossible to live life without making a mistake, we can wipe the slate clean and start over. This is what Jesus was telling Nicodemus when he said, "I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again" (John 3:5).

Have you been born again? If you have, then it's up to you to tell others about how they can have the assurance of eternal life. If you have not been born again, there's no time like the present.

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Each new day offers you the opportunity to start over with a clean slate. As you begin this day, thank God for giving you a clean slate and breathe in the hope and optimism that starting over offers you.

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Note: This excerpt was taken from the "Power for Life Daily Devotional"