2nd Sunday of Easter

Our readings for the second Sunday of Easter are:

1. Acts 4: 32-35
2. Psalms 118: 2-4, 13-15, 22-24
3. 1 John 5: 1-6
4. John 20: 19-31

• Stewardship
• I remember reading how the early disciples conducted themselves, and thought to myself how wonderful that all sounded, how simple, how clean, how focused.
• Do you ever feel as though you need to declutter your life in some profound way?
• What would you remove first?
• What makes you feel as though you could do without that?
• What is stopping you?

• God's track record
• In some ways, trying to predict God's actions is both a lost cause, as well as presumptuous.  Part of the thrill of following Him is that you never know what sort of new horizons He will open up in front of you when you least suspect it.  On the other hand, we do know a great deal about what motivates God, what His values are.  One of them is mercy.
• Have you ever been in a position to show mercy to someone else?
• How did you respond in that situation?
• Did they appreciate the mercy?
• Even if they did not, should that matter?

• Transformation
• Just about all of us are convinced at some level that Jesus will be victorious in the end.  We are just unsure about what path He will take between here and that eventual victory.
• What does victory look like?
• How does God triumph in this life?
• How has God triumphed in your life?
• Do you think that those triumphs make any difference in the long run?

• Jesus the gentle
• I took Thomas as my Confirmation name for two reasons: it was my father's first name, and I have an admiration for Didymus.  He always seemed very honest to me.
• When Jesus has led you into something new, something unexpected, how did that come about?
• Do you feel as though Jesus took you one step at a time, or was the invitation forward a total surprise to you?
• Why do you think that it went that way?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Where is God inviting me to let go?
2. Where is God inviting me to show His mercy to someone else?
3. Where is God ready to triumph in my life today?
4. Where is God calling me to new horizons?

Shalom!