Eastertide

April 20, 2023

Scripture Reading:

1 Peter 1:17-23
If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.

Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.

The news is flooded at this writing with stories of questionable judgments. A man who has spent 19 years for a murder he did not commit, was freed by one court but the appeals court sent him back for what reason I could not understand except that someone did not cross all the t’s or dot all the I’s, hardly impartial judgment. Dominion Voting System sued Fox News because of lies Fox News kept repeating about the 2020 election that could have destroyed Dominion, but more than that permanently had a negative impact on our election and the candidates running for office. Money was the decisive factor in that case, not impartiality.

We are called to live our lives not as our culture judges us or our wealth, but as God’s impartial love judges us. When we examine ourselves in our daily communion with God, we have the opportunity to make vital corrections that can help us maintain the higher ground Christ called us to embrace in search of the Beloved Community God envisions for all.

Prayer: Lord, help me to differentiate what is your judgment criteria from that of the world and help me align with your guidance and love. 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.