For God So Loved The World

 

 John 3: 14-21

Light has come into the world

¹⁴ Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

Here in the United States we have begun Daylight Saving Time, a practice begun in 1918 during World War I as a means of conserving energy by arranging the clock to give more daylight to the work day. Our Gospel helps us to focus on the Light, who is Jesus and urges us to live in the light of truth  It is reassuring to read that God so loves us that he sent Jesus to provide the Light that overcomes the darkness, which we continually seem to choose, and that this Light will always extricate us from the darkness that plagues us. On this Fourth Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday, (Rejoice Sunday), may we set aside time to reflect on how effective the Light has been in our lives and where patches of darkness remain. May the Light of Christ illumine our path as we continue our journey to Easter.

Bro. Rene

Have Mercy On Me

 Luke 18: 9-14

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹ To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Looking at the two men at prayer, which one would I choose to be?  The answer seems obvious, but I can be so blinded by my  "goodness", that I fail to catch myself  praying as the Pharisee. Often enough, observations and even outright criticism from others helps me to see myself as I really am,  not a pretty sight. We might all have this self-righteous bent, so to keep us on track, might we make the prayer of the Publican part of our daily prayer, not just once a day, but several times, as  a constant reminder of our need for mercy?  "O God, be merciful to me a sinner."

Bro. Rene

Divine Nudging and Patience

(Note:  Yesterday's Slice should appear with today's.  I missed the posting time by a minute, but all should be well today.)

 Mk 12: 28-34

The Greatest Commandment

²⁸ One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

²⁹ “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[c] There is no commandment greater than these.”

³² “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. ³³ To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

³⁴ When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

Like the teacher of the Law. we know the two great commandments, but the rub comes with putting them into practice. It's an age-old dilemma and one that will be with us till we breathe our last.  Lent is a time to make a special effort to restructure our thinking, our habits, our prayer life, so that we live these commandments a bit better on Easter and beyond than we did prior to Ash Wednesday. God is patient with us, forgives, and replenishes us when we fall short or run out of  "fuel" and nudges us forward each day.  May we be open to that nudging as well as being as patient with ourselves as he is with us.

Bro. Rene

 

Whoever Is Not With Me....

Luke 11: 14-23 

Jesus and Beelzebul

¹⁴ Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. ¹⁵ But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” ¹⁶ while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. ¹⁷ But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. ¹⁸ And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹ When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; ²² but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. ²³ Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Abraham Lincoln' s famous statement, "A House Divided cannot stand," as we read this passage.  We cannot claim allegiance to Jesus and serve the Father of Lies. We must be straightforward, "what you see is what you get."  A challenge, for it is much easier to "put on a front" then do as we please behind turned backs.  The Prince of Demons is always at hand to convince us that "fooling others" is worthy of a reward.  May we be beware of this deception and seek to live as well as preach the truth.  We cannot serve two masters.

Bro. Rene

 

Live the Commandments

Mt 5:  17-19

The Fulfillment of the Law

¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. ¹⁹ Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus summed up the Ten Commandments in the Two Great Commandments:  Love of God and Love of Neighbor.  Here he challenges us not only to put them into practice, but to teach them to others. We can do this by word of mouth, or even more effectively, by LIVING them  Elsewhere he says, "by their fruits you will know them" (Mt 7: 20) Nothing like putting words into action to convince others.  As we continue through Lent, let us make a conscious effort to make our good deeds speak louder than our words!

Bro. Rene 

 

Forgive From the Heart

 Mt 18: 21-35

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

²³ “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. ²⁵ Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

²⁶ “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ ²⁷ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

²⁸ “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

²⁹ “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

³⁰ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

³² “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

³⁵ “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

We all like to, need to, be forgiven,  but ironically have difficulty forgiving others.  This parable mirrors our behavior and serves as a wake up call on how not to behave. We need to ask God for  the humility to see ourselves as we are, so much in need of mercy and forgiveness, in order to extend that mercy and forgiveness to others. It's not an easy order, but one that will eventually help us to forgive from the heart and love  those who mistreat us, belittle us, or take us for granted.

Bro. Rene

Do I Accept Jesus?

 Luke 4: 24-30

No prophet is accepted in his hometown

²⁴ “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. ²⁵ I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. ²⁶ Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. ²⁷ And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

²⁸ All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. ²⁹ They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. ³⁰ But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

Again, Jesus faces "a tough audience," but he is in good company: Elijah and Elisha faced unbelievers no matter what wonders they worked.  Where do I stand at this point in Lent, in this point in my life in my faith journey with Jesus?  Despite all the signs and wonders I have seen in my own life, do I still fear that I am alone and unable to bear the stresses and demands imposed on me by others, or even my own expectations of myself?  Why do l continue to live with that queezie feeling in my stomach  when I know God is with me and will give me strength to bear with every challenge?  Open my eyes, Lord, stir up my faith and confidence that I may not let FEAR get the best of me!

Bro. Rene