Just Say It (04/03/2024)

I still recall the huge lottery jackpot that was nearing expiration because the owner of the ticket hadn’t redeemed it yet. The jackpot was there. A winner existed. The world waited for someone to just say “I won.”

Our world right now is a lot like that. We have been given the greatest gift of all, salvation from the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit. Jesus Christ, Son of God, came among us and assumed our human nature, lived for us and died for us, atoning for our sins upon the cross even though He was without sin, was buried, and on the third day rose. Dying, He destroyed our death; rising, He restored our life. This salvation already is but it requires our acceptance, our embrace, our uttering the truth that has the power to save us. Can we just say it?

Our entire lives hinge upon our ability to see what is and to acknowledge it in faith, with hope, because of love.

I recall the first time I actually uttered “I love you” to my husband. In saying it out loud, in acknowledging what is, I not only spoke of all I’d found in him but in who I am because of that. That is what actually proclaiming out loud the kerygma does for us; in uttering the words of truth and acknowledging the essential, we not only speak of what the LORD has done for us but who we are because of the LORD’s unfathomable love. We are daughters and sons of our Almighty Father, we are brothers and sisters in Christ and disciples of Jesus Christ, we are living temples of the Holy Spirit.

And when we can just say it, we find the next step not only logical but compelling – living it. As Christians who believe, we cannot just lift the image of Christ up, we are compelled to live Christ in our every moment, to love the Father and one another as Christ taught us and showed us. And it begins with just being able to say it.

What do we really believe? Let us spend time this day in the Octave of Easter trying with all our might and all our love to put into words that which we know to our core. And let us utter those words of faith that form the basis of our hope because of love. Let us claim the gift given to us from Love itself, through love, and in love.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.