Hughs reflection on the readings for Sunday, October 19, 2014 Isaiah 45:1,4-6 Psalm 96:1,3-5,7-10 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5 Matthew 22:15-21 If only all our paths were as clear to us as it was to Jesus that day, wouldn’t life be grand? It isn’t that way though is it. We struggle with the big questions of life and more times than we care to admit, even with the little questions of daily living. I must admit also, that sometimes I would rather wrestle with the small questions as a way of avoiding the hard ones. It is a form of avoidance and one of the many successful tools of the evil one uses successfully all too often. It is also not unknown for him to use an apparent good to goad one toward an evil end. It wasn’t going to work on Jesus, however. He could see into the hearts of those bringing their questions, something we can only guess at our own peril. Did you notice, by the way, Jesus did not answer the question of the Pharisees. He knew the “…malice in their hearts…” so, he answered the question that mattered instead of the one they asked and it turns out that it is an important question for us all. What is in our heart? As the current turmoil of the pre-election circus and troubled impact of much of the world news surround us, it is easy to become paralyzed in the chaos. We would do well to ponder anew how we sort out what we render and to whom. Time is a precious gift which we are given to spend (or squander). My suggestion is to use some of it, praying through the question of what is in our hearts. Do compassion and truth govern or do passion and secrecy? Jesus offered as a response once, the great commandment including the insistence to “…love your neighbor as yourself.” It was a command all should follow, a ‘golden rule’. H. Richard Niebuhr reminds us, “…(that command) by no means places God and neighbor on a level as though complete devotion were due to each. It is only God who is to be loved with the heart, soul, mind and strength; the neighbor is put on the same level that the self itself, occupies.” That may seem to be one way to think of ourselves. Do I love my neighbor as I do myself? Do I try to consider the way I might feel if someone ignored my plight in similar circumstances? Do I measure my compassion by a yardstick I draw? Compassion is a gift. When it moves your heart, it may be God doing it. As I try to rationalize that my neighbor is loved as I loved myself, Neibuhr tells me, and I think truthfully, to think again. Jesus, he reminds us, changed that commandment in the fourth Gospel for those who believe in him. He told us to love one another “as I have loved you”. How do you think Jesus loves you? Think/pray about this question personally and sift out the movement of the Spirit within you in light of this: He is Creator loving his creation. We are to see each other through the eyes of God, for that is who Jesus is; then, now and forever. We pray to God, weak and sinful. We lift each other up as Jesus does, seeing the heart. The call is to see not with our vision, but from the perspective of the Creator and love the way He does. Don’t lose the perspective…remember to render to God…all he asks is everything. God Bless, Hugh
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 10:11:57 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015