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Theo Tigno•
5/17/2004 12:41 pm
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Monday, May 17th 2004 |
Acts 16:11-15
We set sail from Troas, making a straight run for Samothrace, and on the next day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, a leading city in that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We spent some time in that city. On the sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river where we thought there would be a place of prayer. We sat and spoke with the women who had gathered there. One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened, and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying. After she and her household had been baptized, she offered us an invitation, "If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my home," and she prevailed on us.
Dawg's thought:
Today's prayer intention is for an end to homosexual marriage and a greater respect and understanding for how God created each of us male and female.
Can you imagine witnessing this event? As I was reflecting on today's reading, I was struck with, "Didn't she fear for her safety because she was letting two men stay at her house?" Another thought that came to mind was, "Wouldn't others look at her as being promiscuous?" Yet, there was no fear in her invitation. Rather, there was love.
The same Holy Spirit of the early Church is the same Holy Spirit of The Church today for God is constant. The same God that overcame Lydia to open her home with hospitality without fear is the same God that wants us to put down our fears and welcome others.
Many people who read today's prayer intention would think that I am someone who is not willing to welcome the homosexual. Yet, how loving would it be if I allowed someone else to continue to live in sin because I feared their backlash or the backlash of those who support their lifestyle? God wants us all to get to heaven because He loves us and wants to welcome all of us, regardless of our brokenness.
We all struggle with something, and I pray that those who have homosexual tendencies pray for the strength and courage to remain chaste and abstain just as I have been called to be chaste and abstain until the day I'm married.
To all those who are struggling with chastity and abstinence, I welcome you to "come and stay at my Home", and my Home is The Church, where all sinners are welcome, and all sinners are called to be saints. Take care and God Bless.
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