Good Morning Friends,
Today’s scripture from 1 Corinthians are the words of Paul and not Jesus. Sure, they are inspired, but after 2000 years, the grounds for his advice have not materialized for most…at least not in the way we might at first think. Paul is being completely honest in his belief, for at the heart of the advice is the ethics of bringing a child into a world of tribulation and for him the difficulty of involving a woman in the perils and hazards of his missionary journeys. For sure there might be reasons to avoid marriage in challenging times. The reality is that the divorce rate for newlyweds is up 34% during the Covid-19 pandemic. But the issue is broader than that. As for the timing of Jesus’ second coming Paul was mistaken. So too, it is unlikely that Jesus will return before our death, but we can always pray that Jesus will return in our experience of death. But there is more here. The passage not only explains the evolutionary structure of priests and nuns in the Catholic Church but the nature of the commitment necessary for the journey of each individual disciple too according to their calling. So, perhaps for Protestants, we need to think about this passage in a more personal way instead of having the backdrop be a global event or even an institutional model. You see, Jesus is calling you and me right now to be disciples and we need to be responsive right now in all the little things of life for the appointed time in the scope of our earthly life is coming to an end sooner than what we might be thinking. So too that is what the Beatitudes are about. Maybe we do not have a Roman army breathing down our back but there are going to be challenges, there are going to be woes that we are going to have to face in many ways alone.
Friends, the importance of maintaining our ability to love in both marriage and missions, tribulation and tears should not be understated. So, Are You Blessed With A Healthy Heart?
Scripture: Now concerning virgins, I have no command of the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. I think that, in view of the impending crisis, it is well for you to remain as you are. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you marry, you do not sin, and if a virgin marries, she does not sin. Yet those who marry will experience distress in this life, and I would spare you that. I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.
1 Corinthians 7:25-31 (NRSV)
Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. “Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. “Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets. “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
Luke 6:20-27 (NRSV)
Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light;
Romans 13:11-12 (NRSV)
Message: Friends, the saints were all involved in a great ministry and while we are here on this earth we need to be engaged too. So, let us check our hearts today and realize that Jesus called us, to be a part of His great ministry of Salvation. For some of us it might mean jumping out of the boat and leaving the fishing to someone else. And the thing is that Jesus has called you and me personally. Jesus has called us to the same salvation as the disciples, so we had better get to the work at hand.
And we can go kicking and screaming into God’s service… we can be whining and complaining, or we can go willingly and immediately with enthusiasm and joy. The Bible is filled with examples of people who did not want to answer the call of God. We can say yes, or we can make excuses. I think Paul wanted to make sure we do not have any reasons to say no to the call. The example was a John the Baptist…a Peter…someone like Jesus, not a Jonah. So, today’s question is not about qualification for ministry but a question about priorities and the desires of our hearts, for we are all called to this work as individuals. And we as laity may think we are engaged and involved in mission, but few are all in. Success here hinges on the heart. Having a heart that is open to the things of God means that you also have a heart that is open to the people God wants to reach. Eugene Peterson put it this way in The Message Bible: I do want to point out, friends, that time is of the essence. There is no time to waste, so don’t complicate your lives unnecessarily. Keep it simple—in marriage, grief, joy, whatever. Even in ordinary things—your daily routines of shopping, and so on. Deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you. This world as you see it is on its way out.
And So, today’s words of scripture are for the disciples committed to Christ. The message is for the Saints and not those on the fence. They are words of encouragement for living through difficult times of persecution. The passage from the Sermon on the Mount relates too, for it is particularly engaging in what it has to say about blessings and woes. Many would question whether being poor, hungry or mourning are blessings at all, or their opposite a woe. For we think of blessings in the form of good health, success and a happy home. But if all those things are gone where do we find blessings? What Jesus is telling us is that we need to look for evidence of God’s blessing in the right places despite persecution, disappointment, disrespect and challenges. And get this, it is in response to this situation that Jesus tells us to love our enemies. Friends, Jesus teaches us how to find blessings in unusual places, but they all require a healthy spiritual heart. In fact, the focus is on a spiritual transformation that changes us physically. So, if I were to tell you that I was poor, hungry, sad, hated, excluded, insulted and rejected, you probably would not think that was good news. And yet that is when Jesus tells us that we can find a blessing of a spiritual nature. Friends, when physical blessings fail, we can be transformed by love. This is how we are to handle really difficult situations…all with the help of God.
Pray we wake up to the work of Jesus and realize that things are changing. Pray we live simply so others may simply live. Pray we trust in the Lord with all our heart. Pray we go from head knowledge to heart application. Pray we have humility of spirit to survive difficult times. Pray we keep our focus positive and simple. Pray we have prayers that heal our hearts. Pray that Jesus is in all our relationships and thoughts. Pray our prayers are heartfelt. Pray we do not have a broken heart or a fearful heart. Pray we do not have an angry heart or a hopeless heart. Pray we do not have a hardened heart or an unfeeling numbness in our heart. Pray our love never grows cold. Pray we cry out to God in our suffering for an exchanged heart. Pray in the Holy Spirit that God cultivate love in our hearts. Pray God breathe healing life into our hearts that spills over as love in the face of pain to expand the transformation into the lives of others. Pray we realize that respect is not required to change the world.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 