Hello, I’m Jeff Cavins, and today, we’re looking at the readings for the third Sunday in Easter. You know, a number of years ago, I had the privilege of buying a brand-new car. It was a Subaru Outback, and boy, was I happy! It was a white Subaru, and I called it “the snow leopard” because it would go through anything. I ended up driving that car home and was sitting in the driveway, kind of proud of it, you know, as nice and shiny and polished as it was. I ended up driving that car for, you know, a week or two, something like that. I went to the mall, and I came out one day after shopping and noticed that there was a great big scratch on the side of my brand-new Subaru Outback. To be honest with you, it made me sick. “Oh man, this car is dinged now; it’s dented now!” And the days and the weeks and the months went by, and I continued to drive, and I continued to get dings and scratches in the car. I even backed into signs at the shopping center. Well, that made me feel kind of bad because I wanted that car back. I wanted that nice look back. You know, the same thing happens in our spiritual life where God has freed us from our sin. We’re baptized, and we’re pure, and we experience the righteousness of God. But then life kind of happens, and we end up sinning. We end up with the dings in our own life, we end up with the scratches on our own soul, and there’s something inside of us that says, “No, I want to go back to where I was.” And that’s the beautiful thing about confession. God has given us the opportunity to go back to his “body shop,” if you will, and allow him to work on our heart. You know, the scripture says, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” And I think that that is baked into our spiritual DNA. We want to be perfect, and we’re not comfortable with being imperfect. But I want to encourage you this week, if your soul has been dinged up like my Subaru Outback was dinged up, God is not through with you yet, and you cannot dwell in that place. This week’s readings talk just about that. “My children, I’m writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous one. He is expiation for our sins, and not only for our sins but for those of the whole world.” The way we may be sure that we know him is to keep his Commandments. Those who say, “I know him,” but do not keep his Commandments are liars, and the truth is not in them. But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. You know, as I brought my car into the dealership, and they ended up repairing the dents that were there, once again, I came back home, and I felt kind of good about that car. And in the same way, I want you to know that today God says, “If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father.” And if you’re experiencing that paralysis of sin, that remorse over what you have done, please know that you can take your soul to God’s “body shop,” and he will do a number on your soul, and you’ll return refreshed and filled with joy. God bless you.
Video Source:
- Title: God is Not Done With You
- Author: Jeff Cavins
- Source: YouTube: Sundays with Ascension
- Aired: April 12, 2018
- AscensionPress.com
Saint Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church 