Eastertide

May 9, 2023

Scripture Reading: Acts 17:22-31

Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.’ –Acts 17:29-31

God overlooked the time of human ignorance. Being ignorant means being unaware of what is right and just. The Ten Commandments introduced us to what is right. Christ’s coming further set in motion the ability to discern what is right and just. It is very simple. We need to love God and love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Divine love includes intentionally choosing benevolence and having good will and esteem for all.  It begins with the understanding that God loves each and all of us and is willing to enable our loving others if we choose to love like God and accept his guidance. The constancy of the calling becomes a great challenge for humans. The world has many more complicated ways of being that attract. We, too, readily sacrifice simple acts of love for the world’s chaos. God’s heart breaks when we dive into to chaos of bigotry and hate. We are awash in the contagion of not loving but rather casting shame on others, perhaps so we can feel better about ourselves.  It does not work that way. We are each a child of God and loved by God exactly for who we are. Accepting God’s love enables us to love ourselves and to love all our neighbors.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we look to the world to find self-esteem when it was present all along in our very creation. 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.