The writer of our epistle lesson today urges perseverance: “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” What word or phrase gets your attention in that scripture, that calls you to focus on what it means for you today? Perhaps it is “received,” or “Christ Jesus,” or “continue,” or “faith,” or “abounding in thanksgiving.” Take a few minutes to see what speaks to you; then reflect on it for a bit. You might be surprised about what comes.

“Rooted” is what calls out to me. It brings to mind Jesus’ parables of growing things, plants that need roots to live and grow. Take the mustard seed, for example, (Mk.4:30-32) growing from its tiny size as it is planted in the ground, where it spreads out roots, and grows into a large shrub providing shelter for others, or the seed that grows mysteriously until ready for harvest to feed others (Mk.4:26-29), or the parable of the sower (Mk. 4:13-20) which illustrates the importance of having good soil prepared to receive the seed if we want our seeds to grow strong roots in order to produce an abundant crop of God’s love in the world. Then there is Jesus’ metaphor in John’s gospel (15:1-11) of the vine and the branches. Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit because apart from me you can do nothing,” reminding us that, for our roots to produce fruit, we have to stay connected to the Source of all life, the Ground of our being as the late theologian Paul Tillich put it. Becoming rooted in the Divine doesn’t happen over night; it takes time, patience, diligence, as we focus on our relationship with the Beloved day by day. As we are rooted in Love, our roots grow deeper, broader, stronger, and we find our hearts awakened in gratitude, thanksgiving and praise for the infinite Presence of Love in our lives. Nourished by that experience, we can’t help but heed God’s call to love each and all, all God’s handiwork.

I wonder where your reflection led.