S1 E13: Do You Love Me?

Transcript

Carol Vassar:

From SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut, I'm Carol Vassar, and this is Living in Faith, Hope, and Love. Each week, our Pastor, Father Mark Suslenko, delves into Scripture, shares insights from the saints, prophets, and theologians, and discusses practical ways to cultivate faith, strengthen hope, and embody love in the world around us. Through his reflections and spiritual encouragement, this podcast aims to inspire you to live your Catholic faith with joy and purpose. Welcome. 

“Do you love me?” It’s the question that echoes today’s Gospel reading for the Third Sunday of Easter, which is from Chapter 21, verses 1-19, where Jesus asks the question of Simon Peter, again and again, not to shame, but to call forth trust. In his homily, Father Mark invites us to expand our image of God, not as someone we keep in our pocket for emergencies, but as a living and constant presence, woven into each nanosecond of our lives, loving and trusting us, and asking the same in return. Here’s Father Mark Suslenko: 

“Do You Love Me?” by Father Mark S. Suslenko, Pastor, SS. Isidore and Maria Parish, Glastonbury, Connecticut

Father Mark Suslenko:

Our image and impression of God is going to determine to a large extent how much we see God's revelation in our lives, how much we see God sparkling throughout the course of our days. For many of us, our image of God is very narrow. In fact, God can even fit into our pocket; that image is so narrow. And if God can just fit into our pocket, then we pull him out when we need him. So, if we're going through a struggle, our image of God tells us God can be part of that struggle. 

If someone we love is going through a difficult time, we pull God out because our image of God tells us that he can be present to us during that pain. If we're going through a tough time at work or working through a conflict, our image of God tells us that he can be a part of the inspiration for a solution, so we pull God out of our pocket again. But in reality, God is present all the time and everywhere and in every fabric of our lives, every moment, every breath that we take. Do we ever stop to think that God really does care about what we had for breakfast? That God really does care about what we do with the course of our lives, the choices we make, how they unfold, who we are, and who we become.

You know, any of the good, solid relationships in our lives are all based on an intimacy that comes from the ability to tell our story to another person. And God is very interested in our story: the good, the bad, the successes, the failures. He wants to hear about us: who we are, who we wanna become, what our struggles are, and the list goes on and on. As in any good intimate relationship, two people need to come together in an openness of understanding. One, to truly listen to what the other is saying, and number two, to be open to receiving what the other is saying. And when this interchange happens, a bond occurs, and we begin to see God in every fabric of our lives in every moment of our day. Then, as our lives play out, we're more attuned and attentive to God revealing himself in the ordinary stuff of life, in the beauty of creation, as our opening hymn brought to light today. While we're having our bacon and eggs in the morning. While we're cleaning the house or as we're attending to the tasks of our work, something can come along and surprise us, and be an occasion of a connection with our creator.

A creation is a wonderful source of God's revelation because God's story, the story he wants to share with us, plays out in what he has made. And so all we really need to do is simply look around and allow God to teach us about who he is. 

This hit home for me several years ago when I literally stumbled upon a tree. It was a huge, big pine tree. Now, if you saw this tree and you didn't pay much attention to it, and you gave it a first glance, your conclusion would be that it is simply dead. And you would probably say, "Why are you looking at a dead tree?" But if you study it further and you allow yourself to be captivated by it, you realize that it's really not dead at all, that something is still happening with this tree. 

Now, the shape of the tree is not what one would expect out of a tree. For whatever reason, in its growth period, its branches didn't grow as branches were supposed to grow. They became kind of twisted, convoluted, bent. Some of them really have no particular design at all, or a sense of connection to the bigger piece of this tree. But, nonetheless, they are part of this tree. And if you look even closer to those branches that are seemingly dead, you begin to realize that they're not dead at all; that there's still a spark of life, of green, coming out through the end of those branches. And studying this tree closer, you realize that there still is more life in this tree; life that continues to grow as the seasons change; life that continues to develop. In addition, over time, a very beautiful ivy has begun to wrap itself around the trunk of this tree, enveloping what appears to be dead in a lushness of green, new life. 

As I study that tree, lessons are learned about how God works in our own lives as well. You know, I think most of us, if we look at our lives and we're honest with ourselves, we'd like to grow up as very lush, beautiful trees. We want all of our branches to be straight. We want all of the pieces to come together. We want to present a perfect self, and we want others to look at us as strong, life-filled, vibrant, and growing and growing and growing. 

 But in reality, that's not who we are at all, because every one of us has twisted branches. We haven't grown up in the way perhaps that we would've liked to have grown up, and life hasn't brought us the easy path that would always allow for flourishing and new growth without any conflict or without any hesitation. And so, as we look at ourselves, our lives are filled with crooked branches. We hit our dead spots. We confront our mortality. Life causes us to change whether we want that change or not. We encounter hurdles that we didn't expect to encounter, and we're forced to deal with situations that are often very difficult. 

So as I study that tree and I look at what is before me, in and through all of that, with the eyes of faith, God asks a question. And he asks the question of each one of us as we place ourselves in the beauty of creation and the cycle of death and rebirth that's around us. And the question is, “Do you love me?” Because underneath that question is the question of “Do you trust me?”

Do you trust that I am not finished with you yet? That even though you may encounter some rough patches, or you have to deal with these twisted branches, do you not trust that I can still bring new life; that it can still transform? Because this Easter season reminds us that what God does best is bring new life where there is death. 

And when we begin to realize that God is very active in the twisted branches and in the imperfections of our life, that our imperfections are not meant to be left behind, but they can be incorporated into the greater vision of God's plan. They're all part of that picture, of that puzzle. And when we realize this, we stumble upon that incredible virtue of hope deep within our soul. And that virtue of hope begins when we realize that all of life, including our very selves, the very soul that gives us our identity and our direction, and our purpose, is all held together by this indestructible power of love: the power of God, and that nothing can destroy that. Nothing can take it away.

 That virtue is what allows us to forge ahead, to place ourselves in God's hands, as Simon Peter did, willing to trust and to allow God to do with us what God does best. And to trust. In the end, we will be brought where we need to be. And that's the message of today found in a very simple question that has profound answer. God says to you and to me, "Do you love me? Do you trust me?” 

Carol Vassar:

Father Mark Suslenko is the pastor of SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut. If you like what you've heard today, please subscribe to Living in Faith, Hope, and Love on your favorite podcast app and take a moment to leave a review.

SS. Isidore and Maria is an active parish community, so whether you’re a long-time parishioner or are just getting to know us through this podcast, we welcome you to join us at Masses or any of our other community events and services. Visit our parish website - isidoreandmaria.org - for a full schedule of Masses, services and other happenings. That's isidoreandmaria.org. We're also active on Facebook and Instagram.

On behalf of Father Mark, I'm Carol Vassar, and we thank you for listening to this episode of Living in Faith, Hope, and Love.