Who Guides Your Heart?

First Reading: Ephesians 4:1-6

Brothers and sisters:
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the spirit
through the bond of peace;
one Body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4AB, 5-6

R. (see 6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

Gospel: Luke 12:54-59

Jesus said to the crowds,
“When you see a cloud rising in the west
you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does;
and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south
you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is.
You hypocrites!
You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky;
why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

“Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate,
make an effort to settle the matter on the way;
otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge,
and the judge hand you over to the constable,
and the constable throw you into prison.
I say to you, you will not be released
until you have paid the last penny.”

NAB

In the early days of motherhood it happened almost every day. Now, a little less often. My children would take a nasty fall, but before letting the tears fall, they would first look around to see if they should rub some dirt in it, or succumb to the tears.

But here’s a newsflash: grownups do it, too.

We find ourselves in a situation, often tricky, but before we react we look to those around us to decide our reaction. Maybe it’s at Bible study, when the gossip about a member starts. You know you should walk away, but the girlfriend next to you chimes in, so you follow her lead. Or, perhaps your child makes a questionable post on social media, just like his friends, but none of the other moms say anything, so you remain silent. That last girls’ night out, the group starts making plans to see 50 Shades Darker. You hesitate and before you know it, you’re joining the group.

Y’all. You KNOW the truth. You FEEL His love. Yet, you doubt. We all do it. We all look around at the secular world for our reaction when really, we should be looking upward and inward. If the Holy Spirit created you, He resides in you. Never doubt your instinct, it’s almost always divinely inspired.

I’m not encouraging you to be the righteous police. Lord knows we have enough of those. I’m encouraging us all to do one simple thing.

Lead with love. Always.

As Saint Paul urges us in the First Reading today, “[L]ive in a manner of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love . . . . ” When you let your love of God reside within, you’re slower to criticize, quicker to praise and poised to love.

When you let your love of God reside within, you're poised to love. // @kwhitaker96Click to tweet

Today, go be the light someone needs. Not because you’re holier, but because your Beloved loves you.

Kathryn Whitaker and her husband, Scott, have 6 awesome kids, teen to toddler. She is a former public relations consultant turned freelance graphic designer, party planner, organizer, and preemie advocate who hails from the Lone Star state. You can find out more about her here.