Guard your heart ... take care to be light-hearted

Morning: Psalms 26, 28; Isaiah 5:13-17, 24-25; I Thessalonians 5:12-28

Evening: Psalms 36, 39; Amos 7:10-17; Luke 21:29-38

“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down ...” says Jesus. The Book of Proverbs urges ‘heart health’, too (4:23-27): “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” The idea of being on guard over your heart is unusual but very appealing ... being sure that your heart is not weighed with heaviness so that you drown in drink or worry. Think about this: Jesus teaches light-heartedness. It has never occurred to me before, but I think the saints I have known have been light-hearted souls. Let me be light-hearted too!

 

Encourage one another and build up each other

Morning: Psalm 25; Isaiah 5:8-12, 18-23; I Thessalonians 5:1-11

Evening: Psalms 9, 15; Amos 7:1-9; Luke 21:20-28

The New Testament says the end times will be chaotic and cataclysmic. Since there is chaos and upheaval in every age, there are always a few who think, now this must be the end. It may be, but rather than focus a lot of energy on that, it is more helpful to imagine what is important for living well; it might even help to improve things. St. Paul urges that, in chaotic times, it is best to “encourage one another and build up each other.” Good idea! Discouraging one another and running each other down only adds to the chaos.

 

The true path ... let justice roll down like waters!

Morning: Psalms 20, 21; Isaiah 4:2-6; I Thessalonians 4:13-18

Evening: Psalms 110, 116, 117; Amos 5:18-27; Luke 21:5-19

Walking at night can be dangerous ... headlights are sometimes so blinding that you cannot see where you are walking! Prophets point out humanity’s blind spots.  The prophet Amos says God tires of celebration while others are suffering. Instead of feasting, “let justice roll down like waters.” Centuries later, some are admiring the Temple, but Jesus says there will come a time when it will be destroyed. For God is not honoured by temples, but by actions. Passionate devotion to one particular way can also blind you to where the true path lies.

 

Our gifts our not just for us; they are for the world

Morning: Psalms 16, 17; Isaiah 3:8-15; I Thessalonians 4:1-12

Evening: Psalm 22; Amos 5:1-17; Luke 20:41 – 21:4

Jesus calls us to use well our gifts. Some are very gifted but squander their treasure and miss life’s opportunities. Some receive relatively few gifts, which they focus and develop, nurture and refine, and use generously. One who starts out with little, but who values her gifts and gives abundantly, lives more fully than one who starts out with much, but fails to appreciate that her gifts are treasures to be shared. Unused gifts gather dust and are lost. The secret is this: our gifts are not just for us; they are for the world.

 

How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

Morning: Psalm 18:1-20; Isaiah 2:12-22; I Thessalonians 3:1-13

Evening: Psalm 18:21-50; Amos 4:6-13; Luke 20:27-40

In medieval times, scholastic theologians were challenged about their absurd arguments, with this question: ‘How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?’ Some religious folk came to Jesus with equally absurd questions, trying to catch him out ... Like, if you have had more than one spouse in this life, to whom will you be married in the next life? Jesus had no time for these absurdities, except to point out how ridiculous it is to waste time and brain-cells debating a reality that is beyond your comprehension. Better to get on with living in this world.

 

What’s the matter with our attitude to taxes?

Morning: Psalm 119:1-24; Isaiah 2:1-11; I Thessalonians 2:13-20

Evening: Psalm 12, 13, 14; Amos 3:12 - 4:5; Luke 20:19-26

“Give the ‘emperor’ (read, ‘the state’) what is the emperor’s, and give God what is God’s.” Some people (often the wealthiest) pay as little tax as possible, even none at all ... It’s a game - they overlook the connection between what they owe and what it is for, which they also enjoy - education, roads, services, healthcare, infrastructure, etc. Jesus’s challenge goes further; he offers no middle ground, like, ‘keep 90% for yourself.’ What does not belong to others is God’s! All of it! Jesus leaves us to figure out what to do about our attitude to these things.

 

If you had made the world ... ?

Morning: Psalms 5, 6; Isaiah 1:21-31: I Thessalonians 2:1-12

Evening: Psalms 10, 11; Amos 3:1-11; Luke 20:9-18

If you had made this beautiful earth, would you not be dismayed at how some mistreat both the earth and those who want to care for it - like indigenous peoples, so-called ‘tree-huggers’ and ‘liberals’, green new dealers, environmentalists? Would you not be angry at what is happening to all that you made so beautifully and so well? Then you would understand the wrath of God depicted in Jesus’ parable of the vineyard. The parable suggests that what God has made may turn against those who damage it, and perhaps God will, too? If they don’t shape up. Wouldn’t you?