Lent
February 17, 2016

Scripture Reading: Psalm 27

Teach me your way, O Lord,
   and lead me on a level path
   because of my enemies.
Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,
   for false witnesses have risen against me,
   and they are breathing out violence.

 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord
   in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
   be strong, and let your heart take courage;
   wait for the Lord! –Psalm 27:11-14

The wisdom of this scripture lies in its plea for the Lord to teach us his way. While studying scripture is important, how we apply it is what really matters. Paul realized this is his words in
1 Corinthians 13:1-13:

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

I believe if we just do two things, we fulfill our call from the Lord: Love God and Love One Another. Of course, it helps to have the stories of our ancestors in the faith telling us how they did or did not do this and yes, I value the teaching of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount to his parables. Yet they all condense to these two actions, loving God and loving one another.

How did Jesus love? He did not judge, he usually responded to people by asking “What do you want?” or “What do you need?”. He did not determine what was best for others, he helped them to see that for themselves. This was his way.

Prayer: Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path. 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.