Wednesday November 14th – Radical Love to all who turn and seek help

Morning: Psalm 119:97-120; Joel 2:12-19; Revelation 19:11-21

Evening: Psalms 81, 82; Luke 15:1-10

There was a time when I felt like such a failure and so unworthy of my calling that I did not know where to turn.  I sought help from a former nun, who trained people for spiritual care work in hospitals.  She heard my story, understood that I needed to make a fresh start, and she welcomed me.  I felt that she valued me and rejoiced over me so that I could begin anew.  From her, I felt again the radical Love that Jesus (and therefore God) extends to all who are broken and turn to him for help.

The cost of discipleship

Morning: Psalm 78:1-39; Joel 1:15-2:11; Revelation 19:1-10

Evening: Psalm 78:40-72; Luke 14:25-35

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German theologian killed by the Nazis because he actively opposed Hitler.  Bonhoeffer discovered that when Jesus said discipleship might mean letting go of family, possessions, and life itself, he spoke the truth.  The ongoing task of discipleship in our own troubling and rather dark times has not changed.  There are those still hell-bent on building walls and towers and fighting wars … How can disciples of Jesus faithfully call people to be obedient to their true nature – since we are all made for Love - when Love is so costly?  How can they not?

All are invited … who will come to the feast?

Morning: Psalm 80; Joel 1:1-13; Revelation 18:15-24

Evening: Psalms 77, 79; Luke 14:12-24

Jesus often uses parables about feasts, and the Gospels tell stories about Jesus at feasts.  On an everyday moral and practical level, these stories encourage us to make our tables inclusive and not just banquets for a select few … good idea.  On a ‘good news’ level, though, this story holds a vision of what many dream about on a larger scale … a society of fair balance. All are welcome at Jesus’s table.  Some may refuse. While they’re busy with other priorities, though, they may miss something amazing.  But that’s their choice … and ours.

Grace for those whom everyone else ignores

Morning: Psalms 93, 96; I Corinthians 14:1-12

Evening: Psalm 34; Ezra 10:1-17; Matthew 20:1-16

The parable of vineyard workers who all get paid the same whether they work all day or only for an hour is not a comment about social justice or union activity in the workplace.  Rather, it says God’s abundance is for everyone.  Jesus’s followers may feel their faithfulness entitles them to extraordinary rewards.  But Jesus says they deserve no more than everyone else – God’s grace is for all.  In fact, Jesus implies that God is not so much with the faithful religious folk as he is out in the square, welcoming and offering grace to those whom everyone else ignores.

Jostling for position doesn’t work in the end

Morning: Psalms 75, 76; Revelation 18:1-14

Evening: Psalms 23, 27; Luke 14:1-11

Jesus often confronts the human tendency to expect special privileges and advantages because you regard yourself to be more important, more righteous, or more worthy than other people.  Jesus, on the other hand, chooses to spend time with those whom society thinks are unimportant, unrighteous, or unworthy.  Ultimately, if we try to elbow our way to the front of every line, we will be humbled, and the humble will be served before us.

Jesus, the fox and the chickens

Morning: Psalm 69:1-38; Revelation 17:1-18

Evening: Psalm 73; Luke 13:31-35

The Gospel today reminds me of an Aesop fable … Jesus responds to threats from “that fox”, Herod.  The people are ‘chicks’ that the hen protects under her wing.  In farmyard fires, chicks have been found alive under the scorched wing of a dead hen, which died to save them.  Whether Jesus’s powerful, protective metaphor (‘like a hen gathers her brood under her wing’) is about saving people from ‘fox’ or fire, it shows Jesus is ready to give himself to protect the nation, its people and its faith.  He is the peace-envoy, whether or not all accept him.

One small action … multiplies

Morning: Psalms 70, 71; Revelation 16:12-21

Evening: Psalm 74; Luke 13:18-30

A child is born!  Or, from a tiny mustard seed, a tree!  A little leaven transforms 3 measures of flour … The new reality grows from small beginnings.  Still, Jesus says it’s urgent – like, ‘Don’t miss this open door (however small); don’t miss this moment.’  The metaphor of a closed door is not about some final cosmic outcome.  Jesus’s followers’ present situation is the one that matters most; ours too.  Even our small actions may usher in the very thing that is needed now.  And then come the next small actions … and the next …