Make your home in me, as I make mine in you,
says the Lord;
whoever remains in me bears fruit in plenty. JN 15:4-5
ACTS 15:1-6 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
Ever since the birth of the Church, there have been and there always will be those who hold tenaciously on to the way things were done, or to their notions of how things ought to be done and can either be close-minded or are so absorbed and enamored by their own personal take on Scriptural texts they leave no room for the wisdom of the Holy Spirit who has been operating in the Church since its birth at Pentecost.
Today we are given a glimpse of how some Pharisees are shackled to the Mosaic law that they are unable to make room for the Holy Spirit. You came to fulfill every aspect of the Mosaic law and the natural progression of the law of circumcision for all male Jews is no longer relevant as all believers are now grafted on to You by virtue of our baptism. The old law has passed. We are not made children of God through being baptized into Your Body.
Paul and Barnabas had long arguments with those who insisted they hold on to the tradition of circumcision while they insisted that it was no longer required in order to be saved and since neither party was able to make any headway they decided to take the problem to the Apostles and the elders.
This is the way matters were settled during Apostolic times and this way of settling problems concerning faith and morals has continued to this day and will continue until You return. The authority given to Peter along with the bishops to bind and lose comes directly from You. You established the hierarchy in the Church in order to keep her united. When Peter speaks we hear Your voice and we listen and obey whether we agree or not. We trust the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.
Satan is on active duty 24/7 ensuring that the divisions between Christians remain for only then can error flourish and as long as error flourishes can manipulate those who believe that Scripture is the sole arbiter of faith and practice. There are as many interpretations of Scripture as the number of people in the room - they can all be wrong but they cannot all be right.
You have given us one clear voice - she has been guided from the first by the Apostles and their successors. The Church listens to all her children as she listened to Paul, Barnabas, and the Jews and elders who held contentiously to the matter of circumcision but once Peter spoke the matter was settled and so it will be until time shall cease.
JOHN 15:1-8 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
To remain in You to the end is possible only when we are one with You. Grafted into Your Body we receive the life of the Holy Spirit that flows from You to us. We are fed on the Holy Eucharist and we are strengthened by the Sacraments You instituted and are able to remain faithful only because we remain in You.
But there is a very real danger that the Father, who trims all the dead branches can trim us from the Vine if we refuse to receive the life that You came to give and bear good fruit that will last.
We are constantly being trimmed and pruned by the way we live our lives, the choices we make, and the effects of those choices on us and those around us. As long as we remain humble and obedient and submit to the will of God and the plan of God for our lives we will remain in You.
We have Your Word, we have Your Church, in Her, the fullness of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty are found for the Holy Spirit makes His dwelling place in Her. We can choose to be a part of her or to be cut off from her, however, You make it abundantly clear to us that unless we make our home in You we will be barren. With You and in You alone will good fruit abound. Never let me be parted from You, Beloved, help me to remain faithful to the end.
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