Good Morning Friends,
Today’s question is about things getting better and stronger when we are in harmony with others and especially the Divine. And that condenses down to loving people in a way that forgives them so we each might be set free from the bondage of resentment. There are consequences of being connected. Today’s Gospel reading does not use the word forgiveness but when we are talking about those things we release on earth as in heaven, that to me is about forgiving and not attaching our anger and anxiety to another’s behavior. But it is also a warning about destruction and an edict of sorts on acceptable behavior and how we are to deal with actions outside of the boundaries of the community of love God envisioned for us. So, it is about discipline too and choosing an identity related to what is done on earth and in heaven and embracing a process of reconciliation. So, What Act Of Forgiveness Will Free You?
Scripture: Then he cried in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, “Draw near, you executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand.” And six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand; among them was a man clothed in linen, with a writing case at his side. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar. Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to the threshold of the house. The Lord called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his side; and said to him, “Go through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of those who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” To the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and kill; your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. Cut down old men, young men and young women, little children and women, but touch no one who has the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were in front of the house. Then he said to them, “Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go!” So they went out and killed in the city. Then the glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the house and stopped above the cherubim. The cherubim lifted up their wings and rose up from the earth in my sight as they went out with the wheels beside them. They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the Lord; and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. These were the living creatures that I saw underneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubim. Each had four faces, each four wings, and underneath their wings something like human hands. As for what their faces were like, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the river Chebar. Each one moved straight ahead.
Ezekiel 9:1-7; 10:18-22 (NRSV)
Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.
Romans 13:8-10 (NRSV)
“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”
Matthew 18:15-20 (NRSV)
saying, “Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have marked the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the people of Israel:
Revelation 7:3-4 (NRSV)
Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let anyone with understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person. Its number is six hundred sixty-six.
Revelation 13.16-18 (NRSV)
Therefore the showers have been withheld, and the spring rain has not come; yet you have the forehead of a whore, you refuse to be ashamed.
Jeremiah 3:3 (NRSV)
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:35 (NRSV)
Message: We are better together and stronger together too. But during times of stress, such as a pandemic, and protest, conflicts can occur. When we walk in harmony with our brothers and sisters, we have a stronger impact for the Kingdom of God. We are to have peace and purpose but there are boundaries to the behavior we are to have and in today’s scripture I think we are marked by them. I am sure you have seen people with markings to denote whose side they are on. Some even have tattoos, telling their life’s story including the number of people they have killed and even the number 666 on their forehead. The significance of the forehead might be because in was associated with the mind and the process of making decisions. But in addition, it was associated with the spot where Aaron’s golden plate was placed on his turban in a positive sense and in a negative sense the place where the insignia of a harlot was worn. But the real deal is not an outward sign, but an inner faith manifested in actions that glorify God. Various scripture indicates that Christians will be known by their love, fruit, words, deeds and spirit. These identifiable characteristics are the true marks of a Christian. They are important because they all are ways of agreeing with God. In a way they all are prayers of agreement, that produce power and, in that power, help us to survive that which would be our demise otherwise. You see, when doom falls as it does in today’s passage from Ezekiel, God’s will for those who have opposed the evil in that reality is not just for their safety but their redemption. The passage mentions a mark on those saved. And many times, in the Book of Revelation there is a mention of those marked…some good and some evil. But today’s passage, reminds me more of ashes put on the forehead of a believer on Ash Wednesday. I suppose we may also compare the marks to the sign put on Cain to prevent him from coming to harm or the Passover blood on the doorposts and lintels which protected the inhabitants of the house in Egypt from the plague of death. As we consider the signs of being Christian the issue of discipline and forgiveness becomes relevant for Jesus desired reconciliation for the called-out assembly of God too. When we look at the church today, we see a lot of problems with discipline. Many church assemblies have been torn apart over fractured personal relationships. Jesus desires reconciliation in the church. But offenses, if they are offenses, cannot just be swept under the rug. They need to be dealt with in a spirit of love, and the hope of resolution. If we take into the consideration the seventy and seven times standard, we are to forgive those who offend against us, it seems that the benefit of the doubt should go to the offender. This is in the very next passage, so we need to see it as part of our consideration of today’s. Here Matthew brings Jesus’ desire for reconciliation to the forefront. It is clear that Jesus would rather see two brothers reconciled than have the most expensive gift laid at the altar. So, we have to see reconciliation as the purpose of discipline and of the Gospel itself. Jesus has said that His mission was not to destroy, but to seek and save the lost. As times get increasingly difficult for Christians on this world, we need, all the more, to be both united and disciplined. We must have boundaries. But we need the discipline of Christ and the power of Christ to sustain us. When we are disciplined, it reminds us we are part of God’s family. The thing is that Christ will discipline us, either directly, or more often through the Spirit. This discipline will carry us through unto the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ because it is intertwined with forgiveness if we forgive ourselves.
And So, God does not take us out of the agony of all events but calls us to enter into them with the Holy Spirit for a purpose. For God too is in suffering in our life trials and to be true servants of God we cannot ask for exemption from all the sad and even catastrophic events of the world. We are to accept our share of challenges so that we might work to turn them into something good first for ourselves and then in the community with which we are bound. During the pandemic, protest and politics, we currently perceive that people have become more stressed, in part because they are not in control of much of what is happening. Related to that people need to give themselves a gift and forgive the thoughts and stories in their heads that heighten anxiety. We need to forgive ourselves with the thought of releasing those feelings that are depriving us of health. So, relax. Breathe in God. Forgive yourself. Recover your sanity. The invitation is to respond to the forgiveness of Christ and understand how immeasurable and vast it is in restoring us into a relationship with God. We are to experience such love and forgiveness to change us on the inside. We begin to see that relationships are of higher value than arguments and in humility we forgive others as Christ has forgiven us. Friends we may cry for the fate before us whatever may come but we can also hope in our hearts that what comes out of it will be a new one that would not have happened had we never experienced the challenge in the first place. Friends, winning in these situations is best found in agreement with others. There is a process and it begins with prayer. Hunker down. Get on your knees. Our job as Christians is to be the Body of Christ and to do good community work as well as help support meaningful prayer with others. We are to allow Jesus to connect our hearing and doing of the Word in this regard and in support of what the Spirit is doing in the lives of others. We are to be missional in a Spirit that lives on and on. So, submit yourself to the family of believers and experience the joy and wonder of a supernatural community. That is how we win hearts. That is how we win minds. That is how we win lives. That is how God builds a community of love that lives on. This is how people are set free. This is how the promise lives on. The message is about aligning with God’s plan of redemption and identifying and acting in that hope by forgiving not only others but ourselves too.
Pray we come under God’s authority so that we can recover the promises that we have lost. Pray we realize that we have been delegated the authority to act. Pray we realize that the mission is to rescue people from their bondages starting with ourselves. Pray we redeem the power of the Holy Spirit in a way that brings hope to the future for ourselves and others. Pray we honestly acknowledge the conflicts we face. Pray we humble ourselves and seek a unity with God’s love. Pray we own the task of seeking reconciliation responsibly. Pray we listen to our breathing and release the thoughts that are plaguing us. Pray we take the first step in righting what is wrong. Pray we halt if we are angry or too tired but not wait long to seek a fair resolution to our problems with others. Pray we go directly to the other person with whom we are experiencing conflict and seek a timely reconciliation only engaging others to help mediate if necessary. Pray we use sensitivity. Pray we describe what disturbs us and how it makes us feel and the consequences that have occurred and what we would rather have happened. Pray we fight for the community of God. Pray we are known by the love of God reflected in our lives. Pray … remembering that what we do for God and others outlives us. Pray we call on the name of Jesus to help us.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 