Last Sunday, the homily was delivered by a young man on his way to a new adventure.  He was going away to college.  Leaving the small rural Vermont town that he has called home for eighteen years and traveling to Washington, D.C.  Wow!

Zach explained his decision-making process to the congregation, noting that he had three choices:  the state university which is about 20 minutes from home, a Massachusetts university-4 hours away and the D.C. school which averages 8-10 hours from Vermont on a good day.  This was a tough decision for him.

However, in the simplicity of youth and the wonder of true faith, he prayed.  He asked for guidance from God, in whom he has explicit trust.  Jesus has advised us to become as little children in Matt 8:3:

  “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless you repent [that is, change your inner self—your old way of thinking, live changed lives] and become like children [trusting, humble, and forgiving], you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” bible.knowing-jesus.com/Matthew/18/3

Zach noted Sunday’s Gospel lesson (John (6:56-69).  Jesus said, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.  His trust that God abides in him and he in God gave him the confidence to make the difficult D.C. choice. 

Earlier in John’s Gospel, there is the following citation which may have inspired Biblical scholar Henry Francis Lyte to write his famous poem “Abide in Me.”  The words were later put to music by William H. Monk, among other composers.  It is a hymn of outstanding popularity in an otherwise secular world.

John 15:4 -7 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

This is an awesome promise!  What if we took Jesus at His word and trusted in His unconditional love?  He has promised to abide in us, if we abide in Him.  Would the Son of God lie to us?  No!

Terri