Good Morning Friends,
Yesterday’s lectionary was on love and the sermon and songs we sang in church as well. And today’s scripture is about love too, including table etiquette in the Kingdom and conforming to the unity of God in community…something during election time that seems very far removed from the norm. These things though are connected, for where love is, so too is unity and the work of extending the circle of who are helping neighbors are as we continue our recovery from Hurricane Ian. So, Won’t You Be My Good Neighbor?
Scripture: If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:1-4 (NRSV)
He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Luke 14:12-14 (NRSV)
Message: The sermon on Sunday was about love. But here on all Hallows Eve Day, I think it points to the topic of who we consider our neighbors. And it reminded me of the fact that Mister Rogers, the Presbyterian minister, and former children’s program host on the PBS channel, was from the same community outside of Pittsburgh where a massacre of a worshipping Jewish community occurred a few years back. In fact, the violence took place in the late Fred Rogers neighborhood who once said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'” Friends, if we focus on the needs of others, and the fellowship of believers, we will have little time for our selfish, self-serving desires. Yes, we are to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. Our Lord set the table for this work and the example of repeatedly humbly serving others. He had us in mind as He bore our sin and endured in our place on the cross for Jews and Gentiles as well. He was not there for His benefit, but for all of us. And if we love God, it only seems logical that we would want to glorify Jesus by emulating His Way. So too today, On All Saints Day Eve, we are to join in a celebration that is also like life. And for some it is about having a winning costume. For others it is about scaring the hell out of us as we confront in a way those who have died for the cause and face up to what we have done and not done to save others. But I think it also can be a sweet treat of a childlike character. So, I am not going to focus this devotional on a day of mourning the dead or scarring the bejesus out of people, but on a day of celebrating the growing life we have in Christ, and a chance to look ahead with hope at the joys and surprises before us in communion with the saints as children of God who all become winners. Sure, our emotions can take the joy out of the moment. But I still believe divine love transcends time…all time…even this time as we look to a future without tears. So, on this day I seek to aspire to a growing holiness and winning attitude that can face evil.
And So, let love motivate our attitude, our mind, our will, and belief. Trust and obey in the love of Christ. Know the truth about the trials of life. Get up and take the next step with Jesus. We do not need to be anxious. We can succeed through faith in Christ during the trials of our lives and in the grace of a loving heart that witnesses the comfort and encouragement of the Spirit in us. And yes, we are to aspire to this holiness even in the face of evil.
Pray we live and love as our Lord. Pray we love our neighbors as ourselves. Pray we realize the importance of unity in any community. Pray we embrace the practical and relevant truth and lasting value of unity and its connection with love. Pray we share a common vision and work together toward fulfilling the work we have been given. Pray we bring our needs to Jesus. Pray we realize that Christ alone can provide the wisdom and inculcate in us the desire to walk together in unity. Pray we realize that a house divided cannot stand. Pray that we are moved to love sincerely, honor graciously and serve zealously…always abiding in Christ Jesus. Pray we are never lukewarm when it comes to our love of a life in Jesus.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 