Tag Archives: Being Doers of the Word

Doers of the Word

Advent

December 20, 2022

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 52:7-10
How beautiful upon the mountains
   are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news,
   who announces salvation,
   who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’
Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices,
   together they sing for joy;
for in plain sight they see
   the return of the Lord to Zion.
Break forth together into singing,
   you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the Lord has comforted his people,
   he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord has bared his holy arm
   before the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see
   the salvation of our God.

We believe in a God who is always with us. We believe that God was manifested to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We believe in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Yet just as our ancient ancestors in faith, we continue to long for a Savior. In the scripture above Isaiah describes in the present tense God who is here, available to us now, if we would only seek the Holy One. The Lord has already provided us with the work we must do to address those realities in our world from which we need to be saved. We, however, are like the rich young ruler who followed all the rules but wanted to know if that was enough for him to gain eternal life. Jesus’s response in Mark 10:21-22: Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. The young man left grieving, but we are not told what he eventually did.  We are that young man wanting to be saved from troubled waters but not knowing whether we are willing to take the actions that will save us, save our neighbors, our nation, and our world.

As we move closer and closer once again to being astounded by the grace of God that can to us as a tiny baby, open our hearts and our minds to accepting God’s call to re-form the world in accordance with his great vision of love.

Prayer: Lord, makes us doers of the word not hearers only, (James 1:22) 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.

Being Doers of the Word

Living in the Spirit

August 27, 2021

Scripture Reading:
James 1:17-27

But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, ongoing away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.

If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. –James 1:22-27

The great thing about God is God created each of us with diverse skills and talents. These many attributes allow us to complement each other’s gifts as doers of the word resulting in wholeness, oneness, and justice for all God’s children. Diversity is sometimes messy. It requires us to love one another enough to recognize, enable, and celebrate our varied ways of serving God. Micah’s instruction, perhaps admonition, provides good guidance.  

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
   and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
   and to walk humbly with your God? –Micah 6:8

I do not think one can intentionally be humble. Humility is a state of being that exists when one is truly at home with being the person God created them to be while fully appreciating the role of others in God’s scheme of life.

Prayer: Help us look for and appreciate the gifts of all people as we work together doing your word.  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.