The Unforgiving Servant

Jesus Calls for Justice and Mercy

The Unforgiving Servant

Matthew 18:21-35 The Message

A Story About Forgiveness

21 At that point Peter got up the nerve to ask, “Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?”
22 Jesus replied, “Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven.
23-25 “The kingdom of God is like a king who decided to square accounts with his servants. As he got under way, one servant was brought before him who had run up a debt of a hundred thousand dollars. He couldn’t pay up, so the king ordered the man, along with his wife, children, and goods, to be auctioned off at the slave market.
26-27 “The poor wretch threw himself at the king’s feet and begged, ‘Give me a chance, and I’ll pay it all back.’ Touched by his plea, the king let him off, erasing the debt.
28 “The servant was no sooner out of the room when he came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him ten dollars. He seized him by the throat and demanded, ‘Pay up. Now!’
29-31 “The poor wretch threw himself down and begged, ‘Give me a chance, and I’ll pay it all back.’ But he wouldn’t do it. He had him arrested and put in jail until the debt was paid. When the other servants saw this going on, they were outraged and brought a detailed report to the king.
32-35 “The king summoned the man and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave your entire debt when you begged me for mercy. Shouldn’t you be compelled to be merciful to your fellow servant who asked for mercy?’ The king was furious and put the screws to the man until he paid back his entire debt. And that’s exactly what my Father in heaven is going to do to each one of you who doesn’t forgive unconditionally anyone who asks for mercy.”

For Reflection

The servant did not find that point in his heart that was touched by his King.  Although the King forgave the servant's debt, the servant was not transformed by the King's mercy. The servant was not corrected for his first transgression.  That was forgiven.  The servant was corrected for his second transgression, his lack of compassion and mercy.

Pray

Pray, "Lord forgive us our debts [transgressions] as we forgive others." Pray so that you are the first to forgive unconditionally.

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Keep Forgiving Each Other

Jesus Calls for Justice and Mercy

The Unforgiving Servant

Luke 17:1-4 Amplified Bible

Instructions

17 Jesus said to His disciples, “Stumbling blocks [temptations and traps set to lure one to sin] are sure to come, but woe (judgment is coming) to him through whom they come! 2 It would be better for him if a millstone [as large as one turned by a donkey] were hung around his neck and he were hurled into the sea, than for him to cause one of these [a]little ones to stumble [in sin and lose faith]. 3 Pay attention and always be on guard [looking out for one another]! If your brother sins and disregards God’s precepts, solemnly warn him; and if he repents and changes, forgive him. 4 Even if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him [that is, give up resentment and consider the offense recalled and annulled].”

For Reflection

The act of forgiveness embodies the whole of the Gospel. It reflects the essence of love that passes all understanding and which transforms the nature of humanity.  God forgives our transgressions against God and each other. It is as though we had not transgressed at all. God accepts us as we are. If we err God corrects us and we start anew with no resentments. God does not keep score of our faults.  Nor does God hold a grudge. God is pure love and forgiveness is the ultimately loving act.

Pray

Pray by forgiving as Christ forgave his executioners.

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Forgiving and Consoling the Offender

Jesus Calls for Justice and Mercy

The Unforgiving Servant

2 Corinthians 2:5-11 The Message

5-8 Now, regarding the one who started all this—the person in question who caused all this pain—I want you to know that I am not the one injured in this as much as, with a few exceptions, all of you. So I don’t want to come down too hard. What the majority of you agreed to as punishment is punishment enough. Now is the time to forgive this man and help him back on his feet. If all you do is pour on the guilt, you could very well drown him in it. My counsel now is to pour on the love.
9-11 The focus of my letter wasn’t on punishing the offender but on getting you to take responsibility for the health of the church. So if you forgive him, I forgive him. Don’t think I’m carrying around a list of personal grudges. The fact is that I’m joining in with your forgiveness, as Christ is with us, guiding us. After all, we don’t want to unwittingly give Satan an opening for yet more mischief—we’re not oblivious to his sly ways!

For Reflection

All churches struggle with discipline. Here Paul gives guidance and reassurance to a congregation that is struggling with a person who has grieved them in some way.  Perhaps the first inclination for resolving their problem was to punish the offending believer. But exercising punishment is only the beginning of reconciliation. It is not the end, but rather the beginning of a correction. The way of Christ is to forgive the offender and encourage him to repent. When one in the congregation grieves for Jesus sake the whole congregation grieves.  When we suffer for Jesus, it works to heal us all, the offended and the offender. Punishment corrects and forgiveness and encouragement heal us all.

Pray

Pray so that you can forgive. Pray so that you can wipe away an offense and encourage the offender with the corrective power of Love. Pray so that you can receive the offender into the community of Christ with abounding joy.

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Forgiving and Consoling the Offender

Jesus Calls for Justice and Mercy

The Unforgiving Servant

2 Chronicles 7:12-16 Amplified Bible 

12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 If I shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or if I command locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence and plague among My people, 14 and My people, who are called by My Name, humble themselves, and pray and seek (crave, require as a necessity) My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear [them] from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land. 15 Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer offered in this place. 16 For now, I have chosen and sanctified and set apart for My purpose this house that My Name may be here forever, and My eyes and My heart will be hereperpetually.

For Reflection

Solomon's prayer was fully answered. It came as God's pledge that those who abide in God will forgive their digressions and lead them into a closer relationship with God. God's grace will follow God's people who express spiritual devotion as a result of God's revelation.  To those who desire to know God and understand God's will, God promises forgiveness and healing mercy.

Pray

Pray prayers of thanksgiving to God who frees you from sin and guides you into a loving relationship with God and with each other.  Praise God and follow the example of Christ.

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Joseph Forgives His Brothers

Jesus Calls for Justice and Mercy

The Unforgiving Servant

Genesis 50:15-21 The Message

14-15 After burying his father, Joseph went back to Egypt. All his brothers who had come with him to bury his father returned with him. After the funeral, Joseph’s brothers talked among themselves: “What if Joseph is carrying a grudge and decides to pay us back for all the wrong we did him?”
16-17 So they sent Joseph a message, “Before his death, your father gave this command: Tell Joseph, ‘Forgive your brothers’ sin—all that wrongdoing. They did treat you very badly.’ Will you do it? Will you forgive the sins of the servants of your father’s God?”
When Joseph received their message, he wept.
18 Then the brothers went in person to him, threw themselves on the ground before him and said, “We’ll be your slaves.”
19-21 Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid. Do I act for God? Don’t you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good, as you see all around you right now—life for many people. Easy now, you have nothing to fear; I’ll take care of you and your children.” He reassured them, speaking with them heart-to-heart.

For Reflection

Joseph's brothers lived by the rules of the secular world. As such, they expected Joseph to hate them and take vengeance for their attempted murder. Joseph lived by the laws of the spiritual world and contrary to their expectations wept with joy upon their arrival and forgave them.  Joseph saw their act as good because he believed God was good and he saw the good that resulted from being thrown into the pit. Joseph's brothers were prisoners of their secular world.  Because they could only see what they would gain by ridding themselves of their brother they saw no choice.

Pray

Pray so that you will have the freedom to choose a spiritual solution to life's troubling twists.  Pray so that you can see God's plan for you in selecting an option among conflicting choices.  Pray so that you find spiritual answers to secular issues.

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Entry into the Kingdom of Heaven

God is Just and Merciful

Jesus Teaches about Justice

Matthew 19:23-30 The Message

23-24 As he watched him go, Jesus told his disciples, “Do you have any idea how difficult it is for the rich to enter God’s kingdom? Let me tell you, it’s easier to gallop a camel through a needle’s eye than for the rich to enter God’s kingdom.”
25 The disciples were staggered. “Then who has any chance at all?”
26 Jesus looked hard at them and said, “No chance at all if you think you can pull it off yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it.”
27 Then Peter chimed in, “We left everything and followed you. What do we get out of it?”
28-30 Jesus replied, “Yes, you have followed me. In the re-creation of the world, when the Son of Man will rule gloriously, you who have followed me will also rule, starting with the twelve tribes of Israel. And not only you, but anyone who sacrifices home, family, fields—whatever—because of me will get it all back a hundred times over, not to mention the considerable bonus of eternal life. This is the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first.”

For Reflection

So how does one enter the Kingdom of Heaven?
1.  Believe in God
2.  Read Scripture
3.  Read Commentaries about Scripture
4.  Discuss the meaning of Scripture with other believers
5.  Let your understanding reside in your Soul and dominate your action.
6.  Pray about all things.
7.  Follow the example of Jesus.

Or on the other hand:

1. Love as God loves.

Pray

Pray that your love of humankind drives your understanding of your role in this world.

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Two Responses to the Light

God is Just and Merciful

Jesus Teaches about Justice

John 3:16-21 The Message

16-18 “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.
19-21 “This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is.”

For Reflection

Many people who met Jesus saw in him the light of God's intention for humankind.  They saw God's love, compassion, grace, forgiveness and responded as one who thirsts for justice.  They found rest in Christ.

Others feared change and were wary of the offer for salvation which they considered irrational.  Instead of following the light, they opted for the darkness they knew. Are you growing toward the light or are you doubling down on the statusquo?

Pray

Pray so that you can respond to the light of reality and follow God's will.

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Blessed Are the Poor

God is Just and Merciful

Jesus Teaches about Justice

Luke6:20-26 The Message

You’re Blessed

17-21 Coming down off the mountain with them, he stood on a plain surrounded by disciples, and was soon joined by a huge congregation from all over Judea and Jerusalem, even from the seaside towns of Tyre and Sidon. They had come both to hear him and to be cured of their ailments. Those disturbed by evil spirits were healed. Everyone was trying to touch him—so much energy surging from him, so many people healed! Then he spoke:
You’re blessed when you’ve lost it all.
God’s kingdom is there for the finding.
You’re blessed when you’re ravenously hungry.
Then you’re ready for the Messianic meal.
You’re blessed when the tears flow freely.
Joy comes with the morning.
22-23 “Count yourself blessed every time someone cuts you down or throws you out, every time someone smears or blackens your name to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and that that person is uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—skip like a lamb, if you like!—for even though they don’t like it, I do . . . and all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company; my preachers and witnesses have always been treated like this.

Give Away Your Life

24 But it’s trouble ahead if you think you have it made.
    What you have is all you’ll ever get.
25 And it’s trouble ahead if you’re satisfied with yourself.
    Your self will not satisfy you for long.
And it’s trouble ahead if you think life’s all fun and games.
    There’s suffering to be met, and you’re going to meet it.
26 “There’s trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests—look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular.

For Reflection

Being at your wit's end with no hope of success, with no apparent possibilities for satisfaction is a good thing.  It is good because, at that point when you have tried everything that you know to do and not been successful, you are ready to accept a gentle nudge from that point in your soul that is uniquely you.  That element divinely placed to lift you closer to who you were meant to be and you experience, perhaps, for the first time the confidence and joy that results in giving yourself away and embracing tomorrow with unreasonable trust that the Holy Spirit will lead you to see the world anew.

Pray

Pray for confidence in God's love for you.  Pray so that you will see opportunities for a joy-filled life. Pray so that you satisfy your soul's desire to be one with God's will.

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Oppressors and Righteous Receive Justice

God is Just and Merciful

Jesus Teaches about Justice

James 5:1-6 The Message
Destroying Your Life from Within
5 1-3 And a final word to you arrogant rich: Take some lessons in lament. You’ll need buckets for the tears when the crash comes upon you. Your money is corrupt and your fine clothes stink. Your greedy luxuries are a cancer in your gut, destroying your life from within. You thought you were piling up wealth. What you’ve piled up is judgment.
4-6 All the workers you’ve exploited and cheated cry out for judgment. The groans of the workers you used and abused are a roar in the ears of the Master Avenger. You’ve looted the earth and lived it up. But all you’ll have to show for it is a fatter than usual corpse. In fact, what you’ve done is condemn and murder perfectly good persons, who stand there and take it.

For Reflection

Each of us was born with a desire to achieve.  However, when the need to achieve dominates our desires that need becomes idolatry and it corrupts us. One’s wealth is not the issue here.  It is the debilitating consequence of greed and oppression of others.

Pray

Pray so that your need to receive secular rewards is balanced by your drive for spiritual fulfillment.

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The Folly of Riches

God is Just and Merciful

Jesus Teaches about Justice

Psalm 49 Amplified Bible

The Folly of Trusting in Riches.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

Hear this, all peoples;
Listen carefully, all inhabitants of the world,
2 Both low and high,
Rich and poor together:
3 My mouth will speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart will be understanding.
4 I will incline my ear and consent to a proverb;
On the lyre I will unfold my riddle.
5 Why should I fear in the days of evil,
When the wickedness of those who would betray me surrounds me [on every side],
6 Even those who trust in and rely on their wealth
And boast of the abundance of their riches?
7 None of them can by any means redeem [either himself or] his brother,
Nor give to God a ransom for him—
8 For the ransom of his soul is too costly,
And he should cease trying forever—
9 So that he should live on eternally,
That he should never see the pit (grave) and undergo decay.
10 For he sees that even wise men die;
The fool and the stupid alike perish
And leave their wealth to others.
11 Their inward thought is that their houses will continue forever,
And their dwelling places to all generations;
They have named their lands after their own names [ignoring God].
12 But man, with all his [self] honor and pomp, will not endure;
He is like the beasts that perish.
13 This is the fate of those who are foolishly confident,
And of those after them who approve [and are influenced by] their words. Selah.
14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol (the netherworld, the place of the dead);
Death will be their shepherd;
And the upright shall rule over them in the morning,
And their form and beauty shall [a]be for Sheol to consume,
So that they have no dwelling [on earth].
15 But God will redeem my life from the power of Sheol,
For He will receive me. Selah.
16 Be not afraid when [an ungodly] man becomes rich,
When the wealth and glory of his house are increased;
17 For when he dies he will carry nothing away;
His glory will not descend after him.
18 Though while he lives he counts himself happy and prosperous—
And though people praise you when you do well for yourself—
19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers;
They shall never again see the light.
20 A man [who is held] in honor,
Yet who lacks [spiritual] understanding and a teachable heart, is like the beasts that perish.

For Reflection

"Oh, I am so blessed," I overheard one man bragging about the quality of his life. What was the implied meaning in his statement I asked myself? Is it the same statement that Job may have made before his suffering? Does the boaster think that God was the bestower of the quality of his material life?  Does he also believe that others who are not as well off are somehow punished for some unnamed sin?

I remember hearing another say, "I made my way. I worked hard for what I have. Those other losers just don't want to work hard." One thinks that his success is related somehow to a reward for his level of righteousness, a sign of God's approval.  The other thinks his success is due only to his effort. One is blinded by his stubborn self-determination and the other blinded by his spiritual point of view. Conversely, those that have little may blame God and jealously curse those who appear to have more than they and blame them for their predicament.

So listen, all you haves and have-nots. Abiding in God is not about the material world.  There is no inherent shame in wealth or poverty. There is no intrinsic blessing either. Living a life that God intends for us is about finding spiritual rest in God's desire for us to be good stewards of God's universe and each other. It is about God's desire for us to be perfected by mimicking God's love and grace.

"Have a blessed day," we say. What if we don't have a "blessed" day? I appreciate the sentiment, but have we used these phrases so often that we have lost the spiritual meaning of blessing? For me, I would rather see opportunities to love, to be humble, to be rich in spirit and a witness to the gospel as a blessing.

So for Heaven's sake, please don't bless my sneezing!

Pray

Pray so that your soul grows in humility and grace.  Pray so that you can be the one through which others see the love of God actively working for good.  Pray so that God can grab you by the collar, yank you into God's grace, and bestow God's blessing to you in the service of God's Kingdom.

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What Defiles Comes from the Heart

God is Just and Merciful

Jesus Teaches about Justice

Mark 7:14-23 The Message
14-15 Jesus called the crowd together again and said, “Listen now, all of you—take this to heart. It’s not what you swallow that pollutes your life; it’s what you vomit—that’s the real pollution.”
17 When he was back home after being with the crowd, his disciples said, “We don’t get it. Put it in plain language.”
18-19 Jesus said, “Are you being willfully stupid? Don’t you see that what you swallow can’t contaminate you? It doesn’t enter your heart but your stomach works its way through the intestines, and is finally flushed.” (That took care of dietary quibbling; Jesus was saying that all foods are fit to eat.)
20-23 He went on: “It’s what comes out of a person that pollutes: obscenities, lusts, thefts, murders, adulteries, greed, depravity, deceptive dealings, carousing, mean looks, slander, arrogance, foolishness—all these are vomit from the heart. There is the source of your pollution

For Reflection

Vomit from the heart.  Your heart, or soul, desires all things.  Our egos can drive us to greatness, but also, to darkness.  There has to be a balance in our souls that limits our need to desire selfish things and enhances our desire to become altruistic.  There is a point in our souls that cries to be united with God. God made us that way so that we cannot be contaminated and live our lives at the expense of others.

Pray

Pray so that your life is not contaminated by selfish desire. Pray so that through the Holy Spirit, the divine point in our souls can grow and you can become one with God.  

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Call No One Profane or Unclean

God is Just and Merciful

Jesus Teaches about Justice

Acts 10:23-33 The Message
22-23 They said, “Captain Cornelius, a God-fearing man well-known for his fair play—ask any Jew in this part of the country—was commanded by a holy angel to get you and bring you to his house so he could hear what you had to say.” Peter invited them in and made them feel at home.

God Plays No Favorites

23-26 The next morning he got up and went with them. Some of his friends from Joppa went along. A day later they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had his relatives and close friends waiting with him. The minute Peter came through the door, Cornelius was up on his feet greeting him—and then down on his face worshiping him! Peter pulled him up and said, “None of that—I’m a man and only a man, no different from you.”
27-29 Talking things over, they went on into the house, where Cornelius introduced Peter to everyone who had come. Peter addressed them, “You know, I’m sure that this is highly irregular. Jews just don’t do this—visit and relax with people of another race. But God has just shown me that no race is better than any other. So the minute I was sent for, I came, no questions asked. But now I’d like to know why you sent for me.”
30-32 Cornelius said, “Four days ago at about this time, midafternoon, I was home praying. Suddenly there was a man right in front of me, flooding the room with light. He said, ‘Cornelius, your daily prayers and neighborly acts have brought you to God’s attention. I want you to send to Joppa to get Simon, the one they call Peter. He’s staying with Simon the Tanner down by the sea.’
33 “So I did it—I sent for you. And you’ve been good enough to come. And now we’re all here in God’s presence, ready to listen to whatever the Master put in your heart to tell us.”

For Reflection

There are many individuals in today's world that we would like to label profane and unclean. I suppose for preservation's sake it is necessary to make such judgments. But there is no need to judge all people by the example of one.  We are all different.  It is this characteristic of humanity which strengthens us. In a time when it is common for people to inflate their fears and blame their sufferings on others, the act of doing so decreases our security and reduces the effectiveness of our communities. Those who seek to divide us one from another, do so for selfish gain.  It is all about what they want and nothing about you.  The label they place on one group of people will be the label they put on you next. 

In Christ, there is no difference between groups of people. There is no East or West, North or South. We are all God's people.

Pray

Pray so that you will understand and believe in the goodness of all people.  Pray so that you will not find a scapegoat for your sufferings.  Pray, so you can see each other as God's sees.

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The Spirit Gives Life

Let Justice Roll like Water

God is Just and Merciful

Jesus Teaches about Justice

Amos 5:18-24 The MessageTime to Face Hard Reality, Not Fantasy
18-20 Woe to all of you who want God’s Judgment Day!
    Why would you want to see God, want him to come?
When God comes, it will be bad news before it’s good news,
    the worst of times, not the best of times.
Here’s what it’s like: A man runs from a lion
    right into the jaws of a bear.
A woman goes home after a hard day’s work
    and is raped by a neighbor.
At God’s coming we face hard reality, not fantasy—
    a black cloud with no silver lining.
21-24 “I can’t stand your religious meetings.
    I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions.
I want nothing to do with your religion projects,
    your pretentious slogans and goals.
I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes,
    your public relations and image making.
I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music.
    When was the last time you sang to me?
Do you know what I want?
    I want justice—oceans of it.
I want fairness—rivers of it.
    That’s what I want. That’s all I want.

For Reflection

If you are not speaking or working against injustice, then you are an accomplice to it!

Is your god so self-absorbed that god needs your adulations?  Does god need your gratitude? Does god need your supplications, your empty promises, your false repentance? Do you think that God created humans to fulfill God's desire to be idolized?

God created you and I so that we could live a life filled with the beauty and joy of God's essence. And all we have done is muck it up!

And yet, God has moved us forward. Although it may not look like it, we are drawing closer to our potential each day.  Through the capacities to create, wonder, and explore God's universe we have experienced significant strides. Our lives are much more comfortable now than they were one hundred years ago. We have shown that the awesome power of love can help us transcend our sufferings. Yet, we have not yet managed to distribute the progress equitably. There are still massive discrepancies in economic, social, and political conditions. For the love of God, let us create songs of justice and rivers of fairness.

Pray

Pray with your heart and your feet.

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Wash Away Your Evil Ways

Jesus Not Believed in Home Town

God is Just and Merciful

Justice and Sabbath Laws

Matthew 13:54-58 The Message
53-57 When Jesus finished telling these stories, he left there, returned to his hometown, and gave a lecture in the meetinghouse. He made a real hit, impressing everyone. “We had no idea he was this good!” they said. “How did he get so wise, get such ability?” But in the next breath they were cutting him down: “We’ve known him since he was a kid; he’s the carpenter’s son. We know his mother, Mary. We know his brothers James and Joseph, Simon and Judas. All his sisters live here. Who does he think he is?” They got their noses all out of joint.
58 But Jesus said, “A prophet is taken for granted in his hometown and his family.” He didn’t do many miracles there because of their hostile indifference.

For Reflection

The people of Jesus's hometown recognized his ability and wisdom.  They declared him "good." But they were blinded by their perceptions. They saw Christ as a carpenter's son. They saw him as a child of the community and defined him by their cultural status. Even though they were impressed by him, they could not see him beyond what they perceived as reality, could not see the truth that was before them. What they saw was limited by there five senses, their history with him and the perception of themselves. They could not capture a picture of the mature Jesus. They were blinded by their false perceptions of reality.

Pray

Pray that you will not be spiritually blind because of environmental influences and outdated perceptions of the reality of Christ. Pray so that you can see beyond your temporal religious notions and into the reality of God's love.

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A Parable on Prayer

God is Just and Merciful

Justice and Sabbath Laws

Luke 18:1-8 The Message (MSG)

The Story of the Persistent Widow
18 1-3 Jesus told them a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit. He said, “There was once a judge in some city who never gave God a thought and cared nothing for people. A widow in that city kept after him: ‘My rights are being violated. Protect me!’
4-5 “He never gave her the time of day. But after this went on and on he said to himself, ‘I care nothing what God thinks, even less what people think. But because this widow won’t quit badgering me, I’d better do something and see that she gets justice—otherwise, I’m going to end up beaten black-and-blue by her pounding.’”
6-8 Then the Master said, “Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying? So what makes you think God won’t step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won’t he stick up for them? I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?”

For Reflection

The judge served justice to a widow.  He did not do so out of love, or mercy. He did it for selfish reasons.  He calculated his personal return on his action. So, Jesus suggests, if a man who does not know God understands the value of justice then how much more will God understand and act justly.  

Pray

Pray for justice, and God will show you the way to just action.

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Jesus Affirmed as Son of Man

God is Just and Merciful

Justice and Sabbath Laws

Matthew 16:13-20 The Message

Son of Man, Son of God

13 When Jesus arrived in the villages of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “What are people saying about who the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some think he is John the Baptizer, some say Elijah, some Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
15 He pressed them, “And how about you? Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter said, “You’re the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17-18 Jesus came back, “God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn’t get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.
19 “And that’s not all. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven.”
20 He swore the disciples to secrecy. He made them promise they would tell no one that he was the Messiah.

For Reflection

Who is this Christ, this Messiah? From the beginning of Judaism, God's people have been waiting for a messiah.  Several leaders have been called messiah. But this messiah, Jesus, was different. This messiah removed the barrier between God and humans.  This messiah did not save the people from their enemies. This messiah showed the people how to save themselves and free themselves from the darkness of their human condition.  Only Christ has demonstrated how to gain free access to God's Kingdom.  Only through Christ has God shown how to become equivalent in form to Him, free from the fear of living and fear of dying. Christ was and is now the archetype of human perfection. And only Christ has revealed the way to living in perfect harmony with God, God's creation, and each other.


That which Christ has revealed to Peter, he revealed to all of us. God made us complete in God's image.  Christ shows us the path to perfection.

Pray

Pray prayers of praise and thanksgiving for our God who is willing to share God's creation with and through us.  Pray so that you will see the light of divine wisdom and the beauty of following the example of Jesus. 

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God's Tree of Justice for All

God is Just and Merciful

Parables of God's JustKingdom

Ezekiel 17:22-24 The Message

22-24 “‘God, the Master, says, I personally will take a shoot from the top of the towering cedar, a cutting from the crown of the tree, and plant it on a high and towering mountain, on the high mountain of Israel. It will grow, putting out branches and fruit—a majestic cedar. Birds of every sort and kind will live under it. They’ll build nests in the shade of its branches. All the trees of the field will recognize that I, God, made the great tree small and the small tree great, made the green tree turn dry and the dry tree sprout green branches. I, God, said it—and I did it.’”

For Reflection

God created it all. Ezekiel, in these passages, tells us that what God has created is linked in a network of co-dependent relationships. The earth, the plants, and the creatures are inter-woven into a cosmic whole. Our existence is a beautiful melody, extravagantly orchestrated in a magnificent and complex symphony. God is the producer and Christ, the conductor, God's shoot, God made visible, the hidden truths revealed, the hope restored, the lost found, and the afflicted comforted.

Pray

Pray so that you will find rest in the shade of God's love.

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Rehearse the Deeds of the Lord

God is Just and Merciful

Justice and Sabbath Laws

Psalm 78:1-8 The Message 

An Asaph Psalm

78 1-4 Listen, dear friends, to God’s truth,
    bend your ears to what I tell you.
I’m chewing on the morsel of a proverb;
    I’ll let you in on the sweet old truths,
Stories we heard from our fathers,
    counsel we learned at our mother’s knee.
We’re not keeping this to ourselves,
    we’re passing it along to the next generation—
God’s fame and fortune,
    the marvelous things he has done.
5-8 He planted a witness in Jacob,
    set his Word firmly in Israel,
Then commanded our parents
    to teach it to their children
So the next generation would know,
    and all the generations to come—
Know the truth and tell the stories
    so their children can trust in God,
Never forget the works of God
    but keep his commands to the letter.
Heaven forbid they should be like their parents,
    bullheaded and bad,
A fickle and faithless bunch
    who never stayed true to God.

For Reflection

For all of us who worship God and follow Christ, there has been someone who has influenced our decision. It may be a single person that stands out or it may be many people to whom you can point that have mentored your faith. For over three thousand years, since the founding of a monotheistic faith the love and trust in God has been passed from generation to generation. Through out all of its permutations, the worship of God and abiding in God's grace has been consistent. We believers who are entrusted with this precious gift of God are also entrusted with its perpetuation.

Our commission is to know the truths of our God and to pass the sacred knowledge of God and God's will for humankind to the next generation so that they may abide in the Word and pass their commitment and fervor to others.

Pray

Pray by acting upon your faith.  Be kind so that our children know kindness.  Be loving so that our children know how to love. Be just so that our children know justice. Be giving so that our children know how to give. Make you life a sacrifice to the love of God so that our children are free to choose a God-centered life of joy.

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Deliver Justice for the Oppressed

God is Just and Merciful

Justice and Sabbath Laws

Psalm 10:12-18 The Message

12-13 Time to get up, God—get moving.
    The luckless think they’re Godforsaken.
They wonder why the wicked scorn God
    and get away with it,
Why the wicked are so cocksure
    they’ll never come up for audit.
14 But you know all about it—
    the contempt, the abuse.
I dare to believe that the luckless
    will get lucky someday in you.
You won’t let them down:
    orphans won’t be orphans forever.
15-16 Break the wicked right arms,
    break all the evil left arms.
Search and destroy
    every sign of crime.
God’s grace and order wins;
    godlessness loses.
17-18 The victim’s faint pulse picks up;
    the hearts of the hopeless pump red blood
    as you put your ear to their lips.
Orphans get parents,
    the homeless get homes.
The reign of terror is over,
    the rule of the gang lords is ended

For Reflection

Perhaps the key to understanding this Psalm lies in verses 15 and 16.  The psalmist is not talking about physically breaking arms.  The right arm is a symbol of giving to others. The left arm represents the act of balancing the altruism of the right arm. It is that act of a parent who helps a child learn to walk and has the wisdom to let the child fall during his first steps.

The psalmist is criticising those who falsely show concern for others but hide the self-indulgent motive behind it.  He is speaking about breaking those actions that manipulate the loving and merciful acts of helping and correcting. The wicked distort the truth to exploit one's desire to do good things in ways that will isolate one from the will of God.

Even though the wicked seem to go unpunished and the righteous suffer, God will not let those who seek him to be blinded by the temporal seductions of life. But through God's grace, those who choose the path of abiding in God's love will find peace even through the worst of times.

Pray

Pray, study scripture and build up your forces to resist false claims of pleasure.  Pray so that you will seek the treasures that God's has in store for you.