Jesus’ Ministry
February 13, 2019
Scripture Reading: Psalm 1
Happy are those
who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
In a world turned upside down how do we determine what is wicked and what is righteous? When peoples read the same scriptures and interpret them so markedly different how do we discern God’s ways? These seem such current questions, but they are as ancient as the days. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” asked Cain in Genesis 4:9. We perceive what we want to perceive, and we react the way we want to react based on our culture, our histories, and our perceptions of self unless we seek God’s ways intentionally with our whole hearts, minds, and spirits.
We apply the idea of restorative justice to return criminals to productive citizens. We need to practice restorative justice in all aspects of our lives. As we work toward wholeness in ourselves, we will be better able to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Perhaps our greatest challenge is first learning to love ourselves just as we are, just as God loves us. Such an idea seems counter intuitive in a world that grows rich selling unattainable beauty, strength, wisdom, and wealth. We are not whole unless our face or body is the right shape, we live in a house that is bigger, more lavish than others or we excel in the work that we do. God wants us to be fully the people God created us to be and God called us good. Instead of harvesting our full potential we invest much time, energy and resources in being what the world defines as better than good. Such a process demands winners and losers. Where is the righteousness in that?
We all have differing gifts. The outcomes of these gifts are necessary to live into a Kingdom ruled by love. We must fully develop our gifts while celebrating and supporting others, all others as they develop theirs.
Prayer: Lord, makes us whole, make us one, make us just. Amen.