Living in the Spirit

June 3, 2023

Scripture Reading:

Matthew 28:16-20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

We are commanded to obey everything that Jesus commanded. Mark 12:30-31 records him as saying:

you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’

Easy to say, hard to do. Jesus did not leave us helpless. He left us with the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7, which I perceive as being a breakdown of Benjamin Franklin’s saying that prevention is worth a pound of cure. It tells us how to avoid getting caught up in the sins outlined in The Ten Commandments in the first place.  His parables give us examples to help us perhaps see ourselves outside ourselves. The stories of his own acts of love teach us the art of selfless service: healing, forgiving, and encouraging. I love the story of his encounter with the Syrophoenician woman, where he illustrates his recognizing his bigotry and letting it go.  (See Mark 7:24-30) He truly was fully human and fully divine, and we, too, can overcome our shortcomings because he came not only as an example but endowed us with his Spirit to help us on our journey.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for coming among us and leaving your legacy to guide us. 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.