4th Sunday of Easter

So often we wonder what we mean to God, what He is doing with us or where He is leading us in our lives. Today's readings should give us hope. Jesus Christ should be the cornerstone of our foundation. The rock on which we stand. But when we want to move, where should we go? God has provided us a shepherd to guide us. The sheep do not lead themselves, the shepherd guides them to rich meadows full of grass to eat. He also leads them away from the dangerous predators who would kill or harm the sheep. But we are not sheep, and we know that. The second reading assures us who we are, which is the children of God.

Knowing these things is comforting, but still we wonder, “What is God doing with my life?” We can say, “Last year I did this good thing” or “Right now I am doing this.” or “One day, I hope to do that” but still we do not know what God wants from us. Today's second reading offers assurance. “Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed.” This letter to John assures us that we aren't supposed to know. Perhaps the accumulation of our life's work will be revealed to us in the end. The reading says, “We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” We will know where God led us, and what we did for Him when we see Him. Is this when we get to heaven?

In our entire lives, we have so many opportunities to do God's work. Sometimes it is easier to look for the big thing to do, the hurricane victim to rescue or the mission trip to go on, than it is to do the small thing, loving your neighbor or giving 35 cents to the homeless guy. Not everyone can do the big things, but all of us can do the small things. Will the most important thing we did in our entire lives be a big thing or a small thing or many small things? Perhaps the accumulation of our lives is to smile at that one person who will go on to change the world. Perhaps the $20 donated to the mission trip car wash fundraiser didn't seem like much, but it helped 25 students get that much closer to Honduras. In those 25 students, maybe one needed the trip desperately so God could crack their hard shell and shine His light into their life. Perhaps that one student became a priest who goes on to lead many parishes and speak to the hearts of thousands of people. That $20 doesn't seem so small now, does it?

We can all work for God, we may not know how our actions change others, but there is a change. If we live as God's children, let the Shepherd guide us, and stand on the Rock then we shouldn't worry if we are doing the right thing for God. He won't let us do anything else.