Good Morning Friends,
As I was reading today’s lectionary selections it dawned on me as I connected the dots that there is a process and vision here that God has given us a model, and we are to use it in expressing our emotions in our relationship with God but also each other. What we learn is that life and love is in the blood and that from a spiritual as well as a medical perspective it is the blood that gives us the ability to fight off those diseases and sins that would kill us. It also teaches us that we must learn together and that it is impossible to attain without Christ’s love. We are to have a collective impact in this regard. And central to the concept is the understanding that Christ Blood shed for us is what brings us life and the ability to experience positive outcomes in service and worship. So, Are You A Neighbor Bearing Fruit That Reflects The Sacrificial Love Of Jesus For The Community?
Scripture: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Leviticus 19:18 (NRSV)
One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’–this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.
Mark 12:28-34 (NRSV)
The whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Galatians 5:14 (NRSV)
But when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), he entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God!
Hebrews 9:11-14 (NRSV)
Message: During times of change and stress we especially need to take care of our own bodies…the temples of the Lord… as well as our spirit before we can show loving care to those God sends our way. The foundation of loving others is loving God and self. Jesus often chastised the religious leaders of His day because they could not read the signs of the times…because they failed to love…because they did not see the need for change. They struggled with change and love even as we do today. We resist love and change because it is an imposition on our territory and sense of power. We resist love and change because of a misunderstanding or a lack of trust. We resist change and love because of a lack of knowledge. We resist love and change because we have opinions and see and assess the costs and benefits differently. People struggle with love the same way they struggle with their neighbors changing. Jesus could figure out what made people uncomfortable about love and change and nudged them into an understanding of what matters most. When that same character of love is in us our spiritual batteries are recharged and we do not grow weary. Love creates the loop that sustains. So, friends, what matters most if it is not love? Is not love of our neighbor a natural outgrowth of our love of God? So, what keeps us back? What keeps us from reaching beyond and growing? Certainly, it cannot be more difficult for you and me than it is for orphans in Haiti, or children in a Kibera, Nairobi slum or children aging out of Foster Care. At least, we have we have some momentum to press onward to the future. So, friends, today whatever we are struggling to do, we need to know that we can face the challenges with faith and love for each other. Today we need to stretch in faith and find true worth and value through love, one for another. To serve God we must love.
And So, the New Covenant is manifested in the blood of Christ shed for our sins. For the Hebrew life was in the blood and stood for the very power of God. Perhaps we know too much of the chemistry of the blood to bestow on it hidden powers but from a very real spiritual sense life is in the powerful evidence of Christ’s sacrificial love. And indeed, it is superior to that of the sacrifice of animals and changes everything in regard to worship. No longer are we deprived the opportunity to be in the presence of God. Now because of the love of Christ we can use our head, heart, and strength to strategically work to create caring communities that bring good things to light and life in both service and worship. The hope of the message is that we would together begin to create self-reinforcing loops of better behavioral health which in turn creates healthier families, which in turn creates better outcomes for us all. Christ freed us for a purpose. It is to love not just power of prayer in the tent of meeting but collectively as a choir tuned for service.
Pray we envision ourselves as striving to love God, love people and love the truth. Pray we clearly see ways where we need to grow. Pray we believe that God will empower us to become all that we need to be. Pray we are enabled to love more fully. Pray we have a personal ownership of the mission. Pray with empathy that we feel something good about ourselves. Pray we forgive ourselves. Pray we are confident in who we are. Pray we stop comparing ourselves to others. Pray we realize that God gave us worth at our birth. Pray we become people that we can respect. Pray we become people who reach beyond our existence. Pray we open our lives and grow into the full and abundant life God wants to give each of us. Pray we discover the heart of the matter and share in kindness a response to the Great Commandment. Pray we are good neighbors for those at risk. Pray we realize that we too could be at risk anytime. Pray we develop fruit of the Spirit. Pray we do not marginalize others. Pray we dare to care about personal relationships. Pray we do not nurse grudges. Pray we are frank and honest. Pray we speak the truth in love. Pray we love our neighbors as ourselves…on our knees. Pray we live in peace as we experience His love and share it. Pray we have the courage to change. Pray that the character of God’s love is manifest in us.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 