Order: “Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you.” (Phil 4:9)

Reflection:

“Therefore I say to you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.” This is the last verse from our Gospel reading for the 1st Sunday of October, Year A, otherwise known as the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time. It is clear from the words of Jesus that God expects results from us. He expects us to act on His words and to be faithful and fruitful. It pleases Him the most when we bear fruit, because as we do, we glorify God.

On the other hand, He reserves the severest judgment for those who are unfruitful and are deaf to His words and His calling, like the fig tree in Mt.21:19: “May you never bear fruit again. Immediately the fig tree withered and died.” Israel as a nation lost its privilege because of the people‘s unbelief and unfruitfulness.

Our Community Word for the month of October speaks of fruitfulness as a gauge of our love response to the Lord. He is the landlord who calls us to work in His vineyard, and whose stamp of ownership is upon us, for we are truly His own. As a community of believers, ‘Open in spirit to God,’ we express our allegiance to Him by adhering to our Community Values, Norms and Culture, and by responding in love to the Community Vision and Mission, because BLD is a vineyard, whose cornerstone is Jesus, and we are guided by His Word and inspired by His Holy Spirit.

In community, we find avenues for growth that lead us to fruitfulness. Once a month, our ECSL (Executive Council of Servant Leaders) spends time in prayer, pondering the Word of God, waiting on Him to give to the BLD Community the Word, Order and Direction, Theme and Promise for each week of the month, which serve as the basis of our Corporate Worship and Word Sharing Circles. If we are sensitive to the leadings of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we will find these directions to be lampposts guiding our everyday lives. There is no way we cannot bear fruit, individually and as a community, when we look at these as the spoken words of God to us, leading us to know Him more deeply, to see Him more clearly and truly taste the goodness of His love. Philippians 4:9, says, “Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you.” This is our Order for the month, meaning, as a community, BLD is ordered, commanded explicitly by God to persist, persevere, and be faithful in keeping and obeying His word. As servants in His vineyard, we follow the voice of the Master, trusting that as we do, we will reap good fruit.

In the 1st week, there is the call to gratefully surrender to the will of God, act on it, and trust that as we do, His peace will surround us. God knows what is best for us; He sees far beyond what we can see. As we learn to entrust our will to His, we are better able to experience His love and care. As the cornerstone, Jesus leads us to greater understanding of things, allowing us to see more clearly the purpose of our calling, thereby guiding us to make better decisions. Our call is not mere words or a passive mindset but one that requires positive action – “Go and bear fruit that will remain”.

The 2nd week speaks of preparedness. We have been called and for us to stay in community is truly a blessing because we know that Jesus is the cornerstone of BLD. Through the years, following His directions, we have grown to what we are today, from one to 51 districts worldwide, and we continue to grow as His love breaks through to all continents of the world. We are not a perfect community, but God has showed BLD the immensity of His love and faithfulness, as a true Shepherd guarding His flock from the snares that could lead to destruction. In community, we continue to grow in wisdom and learn what joy it is to share the love of God, especially with those who do not know Christ. As we respond to our mission call, we experience all the more the presence of God in our midst. All our longings, all our fears are set aside because of the assurance of His loving presence that strengthens us to do mighty works for Him and His glory. As we pursue the purpose to which we are called, our plans, our wills become synchronized to His, allowing us to decrease as he increases in our lives. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me…My God will fully supply whatever you need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Ph4:13 &19)

From the time of our LSS, the reality of who we are in God’s kingdom has been drilled into our consciousness, and it is reassuring to know that we have an inheritance in Jesus, because we too are God’s children. The 3rd week speaks of this, because it is important for us to know who we are, and to appreciate our identity as children of God, so that we can give our loving Father what is due Him. He is God, the Almighty Father and even though He gives us the freedom to do whatever we plan, ultimately, He is sovereign and it is His will that will be realized and nothing can foil His plans. As we recognize the lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives, we give of ourselves to the work that we do to proclaim His kingdom with hearts full of love and gratitude for what the Lord has done for us. It is for His glory and honor and not ours to claim or assume. All glory belongs to Christ Jesus. It is important that we focus on Him and attribute everything to God, making Jesus the true cornerstone of our hearts. In Him we live, move and have our being. Our community vision tells us that we get our inspiration from the Holy Spirit, and that all our actions, the work that we do as a community, lead us to be transformed continually into the likeness of Christ. That way, we glorify Him in our lives.

The 4th week brings us to the greatest commandment of all – love. Jesus summarized all the 10 commandments given to Moses in the OT into two – Love God above all things and love your neighbor as yourself. Our call to proclaim the Good News is actually a call to love. God wants all to be saved and be given the opportunity to experience His love. It is a tall order and a daunting task but Jesus assures us that “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him and we will come to him.” Our mission statement defines the many areas where we can carry out this commandment of love. Whenever and however we respond or participate in the mission activities of our community – whether through hospital visitations, prison ministry, at Encounters as sharers, teachers, or shepherds, or at BLD-GK activities, or as tutor or benefactor of the SOH, and in whatever way we serve the Lord in the poorest of the poor – we share in the mission of Christ, work in His vineyard, and become fruitful. Our gifts from the Holy Spirit will be put to good use and surely, His fruit will grow in us too.

Humility is one fruit of the Holy Spirit that is vital in our spiritual growth. The witnessing of our lives should be that of Christ in us and not the self. God deserves all our reverence as we fulfill our mission with integrity and faithfulness. We bring Christ to the poor because He is the answer to all of man’s longings and pain. He is our hope of glory. We share Christ humbly to those in need because we are the people who have received mercy from God’s merciful heart. It is not our own selves we bring. It is Jesus we bring, and the power of God’s love that healed our brokenness. This is what we talk about in the 5th week. Humility is when we do not exalt ourselves. “The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever humbles himself will be exalted; whoever exalts himself will be humbled.” (Mt 23:11-12).

 

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Categories : Reflection