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Call and Commissioning

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

1 Corinthians 12:12-13; 3:12-17 The Message 

12-13 You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body. It’s exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive.
12-14 So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.
15-17 Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God theFatherevery step of the way.

For Reflection

One principle that these two passages illustrate for me is that our arguments over orthodoxy (which at times are violent) may be the babble of fools. If our practice is worth the sacred robes of God's peace, then we cultivate the joy, wisdom, compassion, and justice that is the will of God.

Let us not only preach what to practice but live in the light, trusting God, following the wisdom in the life of Christ, and resting in the hollow of God's hands. 

Pray

Pray so that you may be more in tune and in step with God's intention that we live joyfully compassionate lives.

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