Tag Archives: Love one another

Searching for Signs of Love

Lent

March 22, 2021

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 7:10-14
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. Then Isaiah said: ‘Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.

What do we make of signs?

And in the morning, “It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.” You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. –Matthew 16:3

The people of the first century depended on signs believed to be God’s supernatural power impacting the natural world. Today we see the sky turning red as an explainable meteorological phenomenon. Whether one could explain it or not, it was a valuable, dependable tool to discern what would happen.  Jesus counsels that if we can understand the weather by its signs, why can we not see that our relationships with God and one another are not working as God intended.

Isaiah, at a different time, was dealing with the same problem. Society is falling away from God and reaping the results of that separation. We Christ-followers read into the above Isaiah scripture a foretelling of the birth of Jesus, and it was, but it spoke to the people of his day. The Israelites were waiting for the Messiah for some time–the arrival of one who would set their world straight, bring righteousness to all. The problem then, the problem when Jesus was present on the earth, and still the problem today is we the people of God want to define our self-righteousness as God’s righteousness. In God’s history, that idea has never worked and will never work because righteousness for one excludes God’s intent for God’s children. Our world was created based on God’s justice, where all are loved and welcomed.  In God’s Kingdom, all are deemed people of worth. We humans seem to have a real problem recognizing that our value is not established by comparison with anyone else. While that may be difficult for humans to do, God is capable of loving everyone just as they are and just as they can become in the shelter of his care. God welcomes us to emulate this behavior.

Prayer: God of Righteousness, grant us the willingness to trust in your love as the key to all righteousness.  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.

God’s How

Epiphany

January 28, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Micah 6:1-8

‘With what shall I come before the Lord,
   and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings,
   with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
   with tens of thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
   the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?’
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 6:6-8

God’s priorities do not rest in our offerings, no matter how great, or our acts of repentance, even though we must face the consequences of our sins and seek forgiveness. These are included respectively in the prosperity gospel, which recognizes monetary wealth as a measure of our status with God, and the hellfire and damnation belief system bent on judging others. I often notice when religious groups identify sins, the behaviors they identify as the worst sins are often things related to others, not them.

Micah 6:8 is the seminal scripture for my life’s work as a child of God and a follower of Christ. Jesus provided the vision, the “what” elements when he commanded us to love God and love our neighbors as we love ourselves*.  Micah describes the “how.” I guess one could see that the other way around, but they are definitely interrelated.

God seems to be more concerned with how we treat one another than our personal salvation. Personal salvation is just the starting gate, not the finish line. That is a hard thing for those of us raised on massive doses of personal salvation to understand,. The finish line or more appropriately a new beginning is when God’s love is the norm for everyone throughout the earth.

Prayer: God of Justice and Mercy, instill in us the drive we need to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with you. Amen.

*Matthew 22:36-40; Mark 12:30-31 derived from Deut. 6:4,5 and Lev. 19:18

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.

Evil or Good

Living in the Spirit
September 2, 2018

Scripture Reading: Mark 7:1-8; 14-15, 21-23

Then he called the crowd again and said to them, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.’. .For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’ –Mark 7:14-15, 21-23

Doing good or doing evil are choices we make. Evil exists whether separate from human behavior or not, I do not know. It does not matter because evil cannot control us unless we let it. Mark describes a laundry list of behaviors that fit the definition of evil. There are more. Habitually doing evil begets more evil as does habitually doing good begets more good.

We also must deal with the consequences of all our actions, good and evil. Most of the laundry lists of behaviors above involve other people. Do we choose to spread evil or good? Are we the instigators or the followers? Why do would we choose to share evil?

Christ calls us to love one another, to want the very best for the other, to share God’s gift of love with one another. Habitually, intentionally loving one another begets more love and love grows exponentially as it threads throughout all peoples everywhere. Jesus calls us to do good, share love and grow a kingdom ruled by love.

Prayer: Lord, give us the strength to resists evil, do good, and love like you. 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.

Welcoming the Stranger

Living in the Spirit
August 28, 2018

Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11), 22-30, 41-43

‘Likewise when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a distant land because of your name —for they shall hear of your great name, your mighty hand, and your outstretched arm—when a foreigner comes and prays towards this house, then hear in heaven your dwelling-place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and so that they may know that your name has been invoked on this house that I have built. –1 Kings 8:41-43

Someone recently asked where in the Bible is the support for the idea that priest should not marry. My response was that Paul talked about it being better not to marry but there was nothing wrong with marriage. He may have been referring to the difficulties in having a family and being an itinerate preacher. Some point out that Jesus was never married but we really do not know that for sure. We know that Peter was married because Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law. I know of no other reference to the marital status of Jesus or any of his other disciples. Jewish priests are cited as being married and having children in several places.

It is interesting to me that various religious group do place much emphasis on rather tenuous practices and ideas from the Bible and totally ignore or even dispute some practices and ideas that have overwhelming support from Genesis through Revelation. The most apparent of those are loving one another and welcoming the stranger. Solomon receives instruction in our scriptures today about welcoming the stranger.

Much of the world is struggling to deal with a massive refugee crisis to which we may have contributed in some areas by engaging in war and in others by not working hard enough to stabilize our neighbors’ homelands. If drug lords did not have a market for their product they would not be entering our country to sell drugs on our streets. If businesses did not profit from being able to pay undocumented aliens less than citizens or documented immigrants, the undocumented would not be crossing our borders.

That said, the history of our country’s success has been driven in part by the contributions of strangers who became neighbors and combined their diverse skills and knowledge to create this progressive society. We are not perfect. There remains a lot to improve but we need to recognize good comes from those two basic Biblical teaching of loving one another and welcoming the stranger.

Prayer: Lord, open opportunities to practice our skills in loving one another and welcoming the stranger until we get them both right. 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.

Mustard Seeds

Living in the Spirit
June 17, 2018

Scripture Reading: Mark 4:26-34

He also said, ‘With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.’ –Mark 4:30-34

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has. –Margaret Mead

I always think of Jesus and the twelve disciples when I read Margaret Mead’s quote. We follow the same leader today. Jesus called us to be one; he did not call us to march goose-step together. Another of Margaret Mead’s quotes is: Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else. Surely God created our diversity to make the world a better place not to provide a forum for divide and conquer politics. I rejoice in the engineers who discovered how to provide clean drinking water while empowering local people through the Water4 initiative*. I have not a clue how the pumps work but I am glad they do. Or the women who founded Dress for Success** a global movement for change, empowering women to obtain safer and better futures targeted at ending poverty. What mustard seed of hope has God planted in your heart?

The oneness to which God calls us grows from the shared understanding of the vastness of following God’s command to create a world where love rules and that each of us has a unique role to play in creating a world ruled by love. It opens our eyes to see needs not being addressed, to do our part in filling the gaps, and supporting others doing theirs.

We must all identify our mustard seed and plant it. Better yet find others who share your vision and start a whole garden or orchard with them.

Prayer: Lord, enable me to grow your love wherever I may be planted. Amen.

*https://www.water4.org/
** https://oklahomacity.dressforsuccess.org/about-us/

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.

Do Unto Others

Living in the Spirit
November 3, 2017

Scripture Reading: 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work in you believers.
–1 Thessalonians 2:13

I fear we put a lot of words in God’s mouth. Thank God for the prophets sent to set us straight! It is also comforting to know that not everything depends on us getting it right when we share our faith. The spirit works to support us and more importantly to provide for those whose lives we touch a still small voice to help them ferret out what is of God.

Recently I read where Christians are creating atheist because our attitudes and interpretations of our beliefs are not something many find inviting. We sometimes say one thing and demonstrate through our lives another. It is hard to sell a God of love when we set ourselves apart as being better than others.

An experiment might help. Spend a week writing down the ways you have treated other people. Just simple honest notes. “Held the door for a woman carrying a baby.” “Avoided check out with the store clerk with purple hair and many piercings.” “Locked my car door when stopping at a light where youth of another race were waiting to cross the street.”

The second week observe how others treat you and how it made you feel. “Car cut me off in traffic, scared me.” “Woman in Bible study group spoke with great authority about something with which I disagreed, but I just sat their wish I had said something.” “ I was seated at an empty table when someone asked if they could join me. Made me feel good.”

The third week practice what you learned from the experience. Be intentional about how you treat others.

Prayer: Lord, guide us in our work of serving you more nearly through our interrelationships with others 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.

Love is a Choice

Living in the Spirit
July 7, 2017

Scripture Reading: Romans 7:15-25a

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

 So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin. –Romans 7:21-25a

Choices, God gives us choices. Made in God’s image, we must assume that God has choices also and God chooses to love all the time, every time. God’s goal for each of us and as importantly all of us together to come to that same conclusion choosing to love, all the time, every time. If it is not our choice, we are not loving. There is something about the nature of love that requires righteous or just engagement one with another.

Humans like to define love with adjectives—tough love, eternal love, erotic love, brotherly love, Agape love. Love in any sense is wanting the very best for another or all others. In the final analysis, we do not get to define what that best is. Blessed with a role model in the life of Jesus, we can start our journey in love by loving as Jesus did. That requires us to take the time to study his ways of being with others. He seemed to have all the patience in the world for some and routinely expected far better out of others, like the religious leaders of the day. He welcomed the stranger, extended open arms to children, mixed with the untouchables, enjoyed a good party, mourned with those in grief, shared his love of God with everyone and as Saint Francis suggests sometimes used words.

The devil never makes us do evil; we always choose to do evil. That does not mean evil is non-existent and not tempting us at every turn. It just means we need to grasp the better way with a tighter grip.

Prayer: Teach us to love each other as you would have us, 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.

Loving the Other

jesus-sending-out-disciples-2-by-2Living in the Spirit
July 5, 2015

Scripture Reading: Mark 6:1-13

Then he went about among the villages teaching. He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, ‘Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.’ So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.  –Mark 6b-13

I heard a news report regarding the results of a survey trying to determine what caused the shift in the United States among its citizens from being against gay marriage to supporting it. What they found was for most people their hearts and minds were changed not from protests or TV shows but from actually knowing someone who is homosexual and understanding his or her life situation better. Isn’t that what Jesus is addressing in our scripture today that we need to go into the world and actually get to know our neighbors. Learn the problems that they face, live with them through their unique issues.

Jesus was all about the way we live. He called us to a life of loving God and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. These are two basic principles from his Hebrew background, ancient in origin, nothing new at all, yet woefully missing from our practice. Any regular readers of my devotions probably think I quote them ad nauseam and I can promise you that is not going to change until I get it right and our society gets it right. I believe this is the repentance to which he instructed his disciples to introduce others.  He did not list a lot of “thou shalt nots” but these two “thou shalts” for when we get these “thou shalts” right the “thou shalt nots” are no longer needed.

Jesus calls us to get to know the people whose paths we most likely would never cross unless we make the effort to seek them and meet them and love them just as they are.

Prayer: Love that will not let us go, free us from the fear of opening our hearts and minds to others. Help us accept each other and let love be the ointment that brings us to wholeness, oneness, and justice.

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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.