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    Reflection for Wednesday, April 11, 2018: 2nd Week in Easter.

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    Author
    McClure, Scott
    Date
    2018-04-11
    Office/Affiliation
    former faculty member

    Reading 1
    Acts 5:17-26

    Psalm
    Psalms 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

    Gospel
    John 3:16-21

    Lectionary Number
    269. Year II, Easter.

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    Reflection:

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    If you have ever watched sports on television or attended a major sporting event, chances are rather good that you have seen a sign (if not multiple signs) bearing "John 3:16" held by a fan in the stands. Amidst the noise of the contest, concessions, and crowds, there surfaces this quiet reminder of God's great act of love for humanity and all of creation. What are we to make of this in the moment?

    I find that what we make of it has much to do with how inclined we are not only to receive but also to recognize the giver behind the gift that we receive. Here, I think of Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree.

    Chronicling the relationship between an apple tree and a boy through his life and into old age, this children's book episodically shows the tree's love for the boy through its self-gift. While the boy always receives the tree's gifts, however, he seems not to grasp (as he ages) the tree's love for him that is both the source of the gift and the gift, itself.

    I wonder how often I am like the boy in this story, receiving God's gifts without recognizing that they come from him, or why they come from him. And if I am prone to this even as one "who believes" then what about those who do not believe?

    John reminds us that Jesus did not come to condemn but to save. And while God's love is dependent neither on our reception of it nor on our recognition of him as the giver, we are still called to recognize his presence in our daily lives. Therefore, this Easter season, let us each make an effort to live our lives as prayers of thanksgiving in recognition of God's enduring and unfailing love.
    Link
    Go to the Daily Reflection web site

    Persistant link to this record
    http://hdl.handle.net/10504/117664
    Context
    View the Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer (Archived Version)

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