Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

I’m a sucker for hopelessly romantic movies, fairytales, rose-colored glasses, and of course the glorious Disney ending. What I have noticed, however, is that love is something that we easily “fall” in and out of. “Falling in love” if you think about it seems like an accident doesn’t it? And “falling in love” gives “falling out of love” some sort of likely excuse, like I never planned to fall in love so I just found myself out of love one day. Where are those rose-colored glasses now, Jen? My point is that love is a decision and once we find ourselves in it, we have a choice to remain in love or not. Every good romantic comedy has that quintessential montage in the middle when both “in love” people are separated by whatever challenge their romance is facing and we have the super sad and poignant song in the background while we watch each sad lover go on with their lives. If there isn’t a scene of one of them looking out a rainy window curled up on their pajamas from a window seat, then it isn’t a real romantic comedy. We enter into their sadness of pondering life without the other and we feel every single “I miss you” and every single “what if?” with them. These montages usually remind each lover why they “fell in love” in the first place and they either resign themselves to a sad life without the other or they decide passionately to pursue their love with new resolve and fervor. In the end, obviously, “falling IN love” wins because that is the kind of ending we all crave. 

I’ve been down with bronchitis for the past seven days, like down, like in bed down, unable to work, or do any sort of shenanigans, or talk, or sing, or be charming, or even be sarcastic! I was living my own movie montage and God even gave me a couple of rainy days to just stare out the window and ponder life without the love of my life, which if I’m being honest, the love of my life is…”striving”. Yep, I am in love with striving. I think I need to earn love, from people, from myself, and from God. My down time this past week was my break up with “striving”. I just couldn’t imagine my life without the doing something to earn the love. God gave me a beautiful time of being literally unable to “do” anything and so I had my literal “come to Jesus” moment of coming to him empty-handed, empty-headed, empty-hearted, and empty-willed. How is that even a thing? Well, guess what, in today’s gospel Jesus tells us, “remain in my love.” There is no falling in and out of love, remain in that which you were created, in that which you have always been in, in that which you are, in that which can never be removed. Stay. Be still. Don’t do anything but remain! 

Cue sappy love song, cue rainy window scene, cue walking solo on the beach, cue cuddling up with the dog, cue slow motion running scene into your beloved’s arms, cue letting love remain on you, in you, with you, before you, beside you, and because of you. Jesus reminds us what remaining in love looks like, “I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete.” Abiding joy shows our remaining in love. Let that be our gage today. Is my joy complete? Cue happy Disney ending with the words of Jesus, “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.” We are chosen, we are loved, we are friends, we are appointed, and we are to bear the fruit that remains. “Dear Striving, it’s not you, it’s me…” I choose to remain in love today. It is well with my soul. 

Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle
Lectionary: 564

Reading 1 ACTS 1:15-17, 20-26

Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers and sisters
(there was a group of about one hundred and twenty persons
in the one place).
He said, "My brothers and sisters,
the Scripture had to be fulfilled
which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand
through the mouth of David, concerning Judas,
who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus.
Judas was numbered among us
and was allotted a share in this ministry.
For it is written in the Book of Psalms:

Let his encampment become desolate,
and may no one dwell in it.
and:
May another take his office.

Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men 
who accompanied us the whole time 
the Lord Jesus came and went among us,
beginning from the baptism of John
until the day on which he was taken up from us,
become with us a witness to his resurrection."
So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas,
who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.
Then they prayed,
"You, Lord, who know the hearts of all,
show which one of these two you have chosen
to take the place in this apostolic ministry
from which Judas turned away to go to his own place."
Then they gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon Matthias,
and he was counted with the Eleven Apostles.

Responsorial Psalm PS 113:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

R.(8) The Lord will give him a seat with the leaders of his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise, you servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
both now and forever.
R. The Lord will give him a seat with the leaders of his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
From the rising to the setting of the sun
is the name of the LORD to be praised.
High above all nations is the LORD;
above the heavens is his glory.
R. The Lord will give him a seat with the leaders of his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Who is like the LORD, our God, who is enthroned on high
and looks upon the heavens and the earth below?
R. The Lord will give him a seat with the leaders of his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He raises up the lowly from the dust;
from the dunghill he lifts up the poor
To seat them with princes,
with the princes of his own people.
R. The Lord will give him a seat with the leaders of his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Alleluia SEE JN 15:16

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I chose you from the world,
to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel JN 15:9-17

Jesus said to his disciples:
"As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father's commandments
and remain in his love.

"I have told you this so that my joy might be in you
and your joy might be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one's life for one's friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you:  love one another."