Years or hours?

The Hebrew Midrash (commentary on the scriptures by ancient Jewish rabbis) has a saying, "One wins eternal life after a struggle of years; another finds it in one hour."  The journey of faith can be a long one that lasts a lifetime, with all of its twists and turns, and ups and downs, closeness and distance, doubts and awakenings, OR it can happen in the blink of an eye if the moment is right.  For the thief on the cross, you know the one, the guy next to Jesus that Good Friday, it was a matter of minutes for his faith journey.  "Remember me when you come into your kingdom," he said to Jesus as they were in their dying throes.  Jesus responded with compassion and mercy to his changed heart, "Today you will be with me in paradise."

But for others of us this faith journey has taken a lot longer!  Maybe that doesn't seem fair???  (Well lots of things aren't fair, so move on. . . )  For us who have been at this for awhile we know it can be a long, hard road. . . but we also know the joys of a life with Christ.  At the heart of our journey is a rich dwelling with the presence of Christ.  We get the pleasure of coming back to Jesus day after day after day!  We get the privilege of serving him and our neighbors in his name.  Not just for a few minutes as we near our death, but each and every day as we live, really live!!

Do you ever say to yourself, "I love Jesus!"  I really love Jesus!  My heart gets so filled when I think about it.  I know you love Jesus too; I see it in your eyes when you hear how much he loves you; I see it on your faces as you come forward for the sacrament and say, "Thank you!" or "Amen!"  or just smile that peaceful smile of yours.

Our hope is that we will get more and more years to devote to Christ, but if we only have a few minutes or hours left would we be any different?  Maybe, maybe not.  Either way, we are on a journey, a journey that might last a long time yet or a journey that may be nearing its completion.  Each day of that journey we dwell with Christ, fully in his presence, fully alive to him no matter what else may be plaguing us.

You love Jesus, I can see it in your life!  Amen.