Colleen Orchanian

I used to say that my dad had some rough edges. Don’t get me wrong, he loved God and served him well for many, many years. But he was still a little rough around the edges. If someone asked him to do something that he thought they should not have asked, he would tell me with annoyance, Why do they need that? I’m not going to do that. Of course, later he would go ahead and do whatever he was asked. It was like the story Jesus told about the two sons. The father asks each of them to do something. One son says he will do it but doesn’t, and the other son says he won’t do it but actually does it anyway. Dad was the second son. He often said what he thought, sometimes before thinking about it. That’s why I say he was a little rough around the edges.

My friend Joan has a gift of transforming what looks like trash into something beautiful. She found a rusty metal garden chair and buckets, and sanded and painted them. They now sit on her patio. She had an old Catholic missal, which is a book of prayers, and used the pages to create a piece of art. She has a wonderful gift. It's like she sees something and thinks, "I can work with that." I believe that God has the same thought about us. He sees our faults, our mistakes, even our sins and says, "I can work with that."

Each of us has the potential to be an envelope carrying a love letter from God to others in the world. We can be a plain Jane envelope, and beautiful wedding invitation envelope, or a dirty, damaged envelope that's been through the ringer. The important thing is the letter inside, the message of love from God. 

I used to have a job that I had held for many years. Over time, my responsibilities expanded well beyond what was in the job description. A new pastor arrived and noticed. He reined me in and forced me to stick to my job. He is very wise! I found that I have a tendency to try to get involved in things that are not my job  things like saving souls, fixing people, and solving other people's problems. I am learning what is not my job, and what is, so that I can better serve God as a witness in the world. 

The actor Jason Mamoa is a big, strong guy who plays the superhero Aquaman. A fan posted a picture with him and explained that he was hugging her because she could not stand on her own. He offered to hold her for the photo so her wheelchair wouldn’t be in the picture. She said to him, "Thanks, but I am kind of heavy." He responded, "That’s okay. I am kind of strong." That story reminded me of God. Sometimes we, like the Jason Mamoa fan, think we are too much for God. We don’t lean on His strength. We sometimes need to be reminded that God is not just kind of strong. He is the ultimate Strongman.

I saw a picture in my mind of a little child standing and facing a great army. I was the little child and the army I faced was the evil of the world. The evil was great and I was very little. And then I saw an even greater army of warriors behind me. They were strong and bright and confident and filled with God’s power. And I, the little child, stood up taller and with more boldness, no longer afraid or discouraged by the evil I faced.  I had God’s army behind me. And so do you!

Have you wondered if you are sorry enough for your sins? There are many reasons we might be sorry, and not all of them are perfect. I'm sorry because I got caught. I'm sorry because of the consequences. I'm sorry because I need something. How can we know that the sorrow for our sins is sufficient for God's mercy? 

There is a passage in scripture about Zacchaeus, a wealthy, very short man, and a tax collector. Jesus seeks out Zacchaeus and tells him that He will be staying at his house that day. Then, of course, the Jewish leaders begin complaining that Jesus is eating with sinners and tax collectors. Zacchaeus was rejected by the leaders because of his past: the mistakes he had made, the sins he had committed, his treatment of the people whose taxes he collected. But he didn't run away from his past, he acknowledged it and transformed his future. We can do the same. 

What is courage? Does it mean the person is not afraid? No. They may be very afraid. Courage is doing the right thing even when we are afraid. It is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. When do we need the supernatural courage of God? How can we overcome our human fears? 

In the original Blues Brothers movie, Jake and Elwood Blues were convinced that they were on a mission from God and they were going to do what it took to achieve that mission. What if I told you that you, too, have a mission from God? You and I are the laborers in His vineyard. How is that going for you? 

“Glory to God!” is a phrase we have heard and said a lot, but what does it mean? Glory to God in the highest! The angels sang it when Jesus was born. It’s in the Psalms. It’s in the Gospels. It’s in the letters of Paul. How can I glorify God? Am I doing it? Can I do it better?

In the Gospels, the Pharisees often ask Jesus for a sign to prove that He was the Messiah. Of course, he had already given many signs - they just didn't want to see them. Are we sometimes like that? Signs from God are all around us but sometimes we are blind to them. How can we recognize the Divine signs of God in our lives? 

God is always wooing us, trying to gain our love so that we can be married to Him. And why would he want us to be married to him? Because that would be the best thing for us and he loves us enough to desire our good. Jesus is our spouse and he woos us so that we can benefit from all that he has prepared for us – both in this life and the next.