Love
Fourth Week of Advent
Sunday December 22, 2013
Read: Isaiah 33:17-22
For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our ruler, the Lord is our king; he will save us.—Isaiah 33:22
The Sunday before Christmas is probably a good time to take stock of who rules in our lives. It gets pretty hectic in December for many with all the shopping, decorating, parties, even serving at a homeless shelter or providing gifts for the needy. We sometimes lose sight of what is important and what is not. For others the closer it comes to Christmas the sadder they become. The loved ones they once cherished are no longer with them. It is an interesting reality that for some, depression grows more serious at the holiday season.
The lord is our ruler and will save us because God loves us. Loving us so much, God sent Jesus to us as a reconciling force driven by love, filled with grace. What possible response is there to such a gift as this? We have journeyed these past few weeks through hope, toward shalom, to joy, and finally have found love once more. We are never alone and we are always loved. Praise God!
Jesus said we were to love God in return and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. It is really hard sometimes to love ourselves but it is where we must start, if we are to fulfill our response to God’s love. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 that Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Do we apply these traits to ourselves? Are we patient with ourselves? Are we willing to face truths about ourselves that might hurt but by facing them we can overcome them?
One of the routine safety instructions given when we travel by air is if you are with someone who needs assistance in putting on the oxygen mask, put yours on first so that you will have enough oxygen to help the other. This is good advice for those of us who are seeking to love God and love our neighbors. We need to fill our whole beings with the love of God so that we can be conduits for that love.
Prayer: God of love, fill us with your love that we might love you and others even more. Amen.
All scripture passages are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version.