FRIDAY, October 16 (Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, and Thomas Cranmer)

I am so grateful for having been on this faith journey for over 35 years. Through studying the Word early in my journey, I was able to learn about the "Godness" of God..........best thing I could learn for my journey! It has been the foundation for my faith to grow on and to help others on their journey as well. Yes, it is a struggle to accept His "goodness" at times but when I move my faith to the level of His "Godness" and contemplate the awesomeness of THAT fact, I have an easier time trusting in His goodness.

The essemce of my struggle with the author of the meditations for October is best exemplified by the meditation for today. What I find so difficult is the lack of context or inadequate signalling of the take off from the passage to the meditation. Today's passage is Christ's answer to John the Baptist's question, "Are you the One or should we seek another?" Surely, John the Baptist is familiar with all the teachings of the prophets as to what to expect or look for in terms of qualities in the Messiah. And if not, he surely must remember the account his mother, Elizabeth, would have shared with him of her visit with Mary. So if John is asking a much deeper question, such as, what lies at the heart of "Godness?", then we don't get that sense from what the author of today's meditation has written.

Dear JoAnn, Sister in God.

Let us not be to hard on our fellow Christians. We are all on a Journey. Perhaps yours is of a more literal path. I see the authors meditaion as one of inspiration. There may not be a direct tie in to the quote, but this is, in my view the beauty of meditation. I look at the meditation for what it is. The author's inspiration after reading this quote was dynamic and insightful. What a wonderful insight that God is not what we define him to be --"good", "love"-- but rather love is God.However, I actually do see a tie in. When we help others with our love, or healing or outstreached hand that is a manifestation of God's love. In the quote for today it refers to Gods healing, ressurection, and good news. The author takes the quote and shows us how we can manifest the love of God through our love of others. Dear sister in Christ, let us not be hasty to criticize. But to see the God in all things.

Grace is the essence of God.

I had to read both the reading and the meditaion more than once (which is not rare for me) and every time I did a connection got clearer or another one emerged. What I see now is that John and his followers had been looking for Messiah sent from God. His question to Jesus is "are you Him?" Jesus reply is more than a yes, it is proof of who He is. Using the teaching of the prophet, Jesus points out that His actions and God's good work through Him are exactly what the prophet said to expect. And what is God's Messiah, but God Himself taking an active part in his Creation to bring about it's redemption and restoration. God's creation is good and God is Good and His ultimate intent is to restore His creation to the total good in which He created it. As the meditation was pointing out (at least in my mind) is that this statement doesn't mean God IS Good like the phone on my desk here IS black. It means God is Good as in Good is God or good has it's existence because God exists. Jesus has brought Good into the world and He is in reality God Himself working God's good in the world and this is what you are witnessing as the prophet said you would. And, as the meditation was also pointing out to me, that Good is here in the world now still and always will be and it is what we see and take part in every time we act and live in the way Jesus did in and through these actions that, again, were proof of who He was.

I didn't mean to write that long, but I hope that made a little sense.

Here is Jesus answering us when we ask, who are you? What do you bring to my
life? What can you do for me?
Listening and seeing the things made possible when God is always at the center of your life - possible for Jesus; our attempts last but minutes. We are called to put God our center of our lives so that all things are possible. The wars will end, the sick will be whole, the poor will have all they need, and no person will be without value. Our words are not the describers of God; our actions bring us closer a description of God to the world. We can do the small daily things and join in community to work on the larger things. Please look and listen then act with God at your center.