The other day, I went to my local Aldi store to do my grocery shopping for the week.  As I approached the entrance, a minivan quickly pulled up beside me.  The driver, a man in his 40’s, rolled his window down and quickly got my attention by exclaiming, “Hey!  Hey!  Hey!”  I replied, “Hey?”  The man enthusiastically responded, “the watermelons are great today!”  Wow. It’s been awhile since I have experienced such passion for a vegetable!  But, let me tell you, the first thing that I did when I got into the store was to buy a watermelon.  I had to find out for myself what the source of all that passion was all about!

Passion.  What are you passionate about?  Gardening? Fishing? Golf? Hockey? Travel? Reading? Cooking? Politics? Work? Family?  In my conversations with folks, these are just a few of the things that arise as objects of passion.  And while all of these activities are commendable, I wonder whether we Christians have a commensurate passion for the good news of Christ Jesus and for the Kingdom about which he spoke.

As I read through the book of Acts, which is an account of the early life of the Church, I see followers of Jesus who are passionate.  Many of these early Christians gave everything they had for the sake of God’s Kingdom.  The writer of Acts tells us that those early believers held all of their possessions in common and they would freely give of what they had to take care of those in need.  That’s passion.  Peter, almost certainly an illiterate follower of Jesus, has the temerity to stand before learned Jewish teachers and proclaim the good news of Jesus.  That’s passion.  A man named Stephen, when brought up on false charges of blasphemy, recounts boldly the work of God in Jesus, and then gives his life as a result, being stoned mercilessly by those who fear the loss of power. That’s passion.  And then, there’s Paul… persecuted, alienated, tortured… all on account of his faith.  That’s passion.

But how do we stack up against these heroes of the faith?  How does our passion for walking the Way of Christ and living lives of Love compare to that of these early believers?  I don’t know about you, but I don’t do so well.

The good news is that God never gives up on us, and always provides us with opportunities to reignite our passion for the love of God in Christ Jesus.  I like to think that that’s a big part of what we’re trying to do at St. John’s.  Together, we are trying to be a community that is passionate about living the Way of Jesus.  Our Pray/Grow/Serve programs throughout the year are all designed to remind us of the life God has given us and to offer us ways that we may respond to God’s love with generous lives.

Now, I’ve got to tell you… the watermelon… it was indeed soooooo good!  But that watermelon is nothing compared to the life in Christ that God offers us each and every day.  Now that is something to become truly passionate about!

~Father Art