Reading: John 15:1-17
Are you a spiritual glutton? We know a glutton is someone who overindulges, usually in food. Although we do say someone is a ‘glutton for punishment’. John of the Cross, a Spanish mystic of the 16th Century talked of the danger of being a spiritual glutton. That is, we get to the place where we desire to feel good more than we desire God. It becomes an overindulgence in what we think of as the good life. The reality is that life sucks sometimes. We all have hard times come to us once in a while, or perhaps often. A spiritual glutton is one who sees God a merely a means to fulfill our desire for warm feelings, easy living and spiritual energy. This is a temptation for all Christians, for faith is not all about feeling ‘spiritual’ and at ease. Sometimes it seems like God is far away, our way is dark and we feel isolated. John called this the ‘dark night of the soul’, but it is really a time of great spiritual growth as we move from feeling spiritual to being made alive by the Spirit of God. Like any deprivation this can be a brutal time, but it tests our faith. It brings us to the place of abiding in Christ. Jesus said, as recorded in John’s Gospel: “Unless you abide in me you can bear no fruit.” Abiding is resting in Christ, regardless of how we feel or how much we feel God’s presence. It is the reliance on what we hold to be true from scripture, from experience and from hope in Christ’s promise. Regardless of my fate, I will trust in you Jesus. One the practical side, mother Theresa reckoned that when you can’t see God, you can still see your neighbour and love that person, especially the most difficult one(s) to love. May you, in those dark moments, find new hope, fresh faith and bear fruit by resting in Christ. May you press on, trusting the God who calls is the one who can carry us through anything!
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