Living in the Spirit
July 3, 2022
Scripture Reading:
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’ He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’ –Luke 10:17-20
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. –Romans 8:38-39
Church lore passed on by word of mouth, reports that Luke was martyred–hung from a tree. We will probably never know if he died for his faith. He certainly lived for it. We, too, are called to live our faith. I think Luke is speaking with the understanding that by faith we live on a higher ground where God’s love supersedes any harm we may encounter. Paul’s statement, quoted above from Romans, describes that plain. I remember several years ago an elderly couple was kidnaped, probably for their car and money, at a shopping mall and found later by the side of the road dead. I remember vividly the couple’s son in a TV interview, saying his parents would have done anything for anyone, they probably tried to help their assailant. They died knowing that God was with them and that gave the son comfort. They lived on that higher plain.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, churches in the USA veered toward emphasizing individual salvation creating a reservation in heaven for eternity. That played well with the increasing emphasis on profit-making, where our actions are defined by determining what is in it for me? Indeed, there is nothing more important in our lives than our salvation through Jesus Christ, but it is a beginning, not an end. It is available to everyone as Jesus called us to be one and to strive for a world ruled by love. God’s greatest worship moment will be when all his children strive first for the Kingdom of God—God’s beloved community.
Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we stray from our duties of loving our neighbors as we love ourselves because we think we are better than our neighbors. Open our hearts and minds to building your beloved community. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.