Epiphany
Celebration of God
Manifested in the World
February 11, 2015
Scripture Reading: Psalm 50:1-6
Our God comes and does not keep silence,
before him is a devouring fire,
and a mighty tempest all around him.
He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
‘Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!’
The heavens declare his righteousness,
for God himself is judge. — Psalm 50:3-6
It’s interesting how much time people spend doing other peoples’ jobs even when they have little if any credentials for the work. We’ve got the Monday morning quarterbacks, what I would call recliner politicians, make-it-fit theologians, and judges who lack the blindfold of justice. What all these have in common is that they understand the world from a self-centered viewpoint. The most entrenched truly believe that theirs is the only viewpoint. It is like the flat-earth people who could not accept that the earth was round or that the earth revolves around the sun rather than the other way around.
To function in societies throughout history, it has indeed been necessary for we humans to develop a keen ability to discern right from wrong, what is just and what is not, and how to deal in community with those whose self-perceptions differ to varying degrees from our own. I believe a large part of our salvation through Jesus Christ is the gift of helping us see past the limitations of our individual tunnel vision and giving us glimpses of what our universe looks like through the eyes of its Creator who is Love. Thus being equipped with love as the foundation of justice, Jesus’ coming freed us to love like he loved as a means of discerning how to live in community. God is responsible for ultimate judgment. Jesus stated it thusly, You judge by human standards; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. (John 8:15-16)
Prayer: Thank you Lord for freeing me from the task of passing ultimate judgment on others. Enable me to love and help me to understand that that is the foundation of all interaction. Amen.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.