Sunday March 30: The Scandal of Extravagant Love

To Practice

• Prayerfully re-read these passages again in the manner of Lectio Divina, reading them aloud to engage more of your senses and feel the vibrations in your body. Gaze at the image. What do you receive for your journey now?
• Resting in God’s Gaze: Find a quiet place where you will not be disturbed. Sit in silence, gently bringing to mind the image of the father seeing his son from far off. Imagine God gazing upon you in this same way—before you have spoken a word, before you have explained yourself, before you have ‘earned’ anything.
  • As you inhale, pray inwardly: “Be reconciled to Love.”
  • As you exhale, let go of self-judgment and simply receive God’s gaze.
  • Sit with this for a while, allowing yourself to rest in the reality that God sees and loves you just as you are. If distractions arise, return gently to the phrase: “Be reconciled to Love.”
    
• Practicing Extravagant Love: Consider how often we, like the elder son, measure out love conditionally. Over the coming week, commit to one conscious act of extravagant love—a forgiveness given before it is asked, an unexpected act of generosity, or a breaking down of barriers in a relationship. After doing this, take a moment in silent reflection:
  • What did it feel like to extend love without conditions?
  • Did it challenge any assumptions about fairness or justice?
  • How does this practice shift your understanding of God’s love?
  • Write down any insights in a journal, noticing how your heart expands when love is given freely.

If you wish, you may reread the full email reflection here: https://mailchi.mp/coutreach/2025_word-of-the-week-march30

“We are Christ’s ambassadors; God can work through us. If this is true, then our calling is clear: to see the world through the Father’s eyes, to hold others in a love that has no limitations and no end.”

This statement resonates deeply. God can work through me, regardless of what circumstances surround me. When I learn to see myself through The Father’s eyes, trusting more each moment I am held “in a love that has no limitations and no end”, I too can extend that love to those in my corner of the world directly, to the whole world by prayer. <3 linda

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