Today’s Scripture: Luke 13:34-35 NRSV

“Just as I have loved you, you should also love one another” V34

This Advent we have been exploring some of the core characteristics Jesus taught his disciples as guidelines for living.  He called upon them to exhibit compassion for others, to feel gratitude for the blessings of their lives, and to treat all people with respect.  Today we conclude our reflections by his message that we are called to exhibit love for each other in our daily living.  For Jesus, embodying the love of God is not to have a particular emotion.  Love for Jesus was a verb; it was the actions he did that demonstrated the love that was incarnated in the baby of Bethlehem.  From simple actions like listening to a troubled person to his death on a cross, Jesus revealed the many ways we can exhibit love. And we are called to love others as he demonstrated what that means.

Recently there was an incident reported in the news that I think demonstrates this in a dramatic fashion.  An automobile accident on an intestate out west resulted in the driver being pinned underneath the car.  An EMT pulled over and, seeing the problem, asked several other drivers who had stopped to help him lift the car off the man, which they did without hesitation.  Certainly, they acted in away that demonstrated love as behavior. 

While we may not be involved in anything so dramatic, still the lesson is the same.  As we encounter various people each day, the salesclerk in the store, the greeter at Walmart, the person struggling with small children as they are in the check-out line, etc., there are many small actions we can take to make life easier for them such as friendly greeting or having patience in the checkout line.  Love can be demonstrated in actions both large and small.  And certainly, our world needs all the love we can give.

Today’s Scripture: John 4:1-30 New RSV

“They were astonished that he was speaking to a woman…”Vs 27

Jesus lived in a time in which women were considered, at best, second- or third-class individuals. The typical woman of Jesus’s time was married as a teenager and was valued only by producing children and tending to the daily needs of her husband.  A man encountering a woman would simply ignore her.  So, it is no wonder that when the events recorded in this story are related, the disciples are amazed that Jesus was holding a conversation with this woman.  In addition, she is a Samaritan, a people considered as second class citizens by the Jews which makes his dialogue with her even more astounding.  He’s not only talking to her but listening and responding to her theology with his own unique point of view.  In short, he is treating her with respect.

There are many stories of Jesus holding conversations with those who were considered social outcasts.  He talked to lepers [Luke 5:12-16], Tax collectors [Luke 5:27-32], and the mentally ill [Luke 8:26-39].  And while there are many points to be made by these stories, the one key ingredient of each of them is that Jesus treated everyone with respect.  He looked upon each of them as human beings deserving respectful consideration even when their sinfulness was obvious.  And in so doing he asks each of his followers to treat all people with respect regardless of their behavior or ideology.  It is his challenge to us today amid a society that appears to have lost this common ability to relate to others.  As his disciples, let us embody this important element of interpersonal relationship in all our interactions with others.

Today’s Scripture Lesson: Luke 17:11-19 New RSV

“So where are the other nine?” Vs 17B

Last year I was introduced to a practice I had never considered before.  The challenge was to start each day by noting three specific things for which I was grateful.  Sounded simple enough so I set my timer on my phone for three minutes and before I did anything after getting dressed for the day, I took those minutes to reflect on three things for which I was grateful.  It proved to be a humbling experience precisely because I came to realize how much of my life I take for granted.

In today’s story of Jesus’ encounter with ten Lepers, it appears that at least nine of them suffered from a similar mindset to my own.  Having been “cured” and told to go show themselves to the priests, by which action they would be allowed to reenter society, they simply accepted what happened and moved on without reflection.  All, that is, save one who after doing the required social action, returns to Jesus to thank him.

So let us take from this story the challenge to be thankful for the many blessings we each have in our lives but which we have come to take for granted.  I invite you to take the challenge for starting your day by considering three things in your life for which you are thankful since all of them are the gifts of life given to us by our creator. 

Today’s Scripture: Matthew 25:34-40 New RSV

“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these                                                brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.” Vs 40

As we enter this Advent season we do so in a troubling time.  Huge numbers of our fellow citizens face hunger and the possibility of not being able to have health insurance.  And our government seems to have lost its moral guidance.  Thus, I believe this is a season not only to celebrate the birth of the Christ but to do so by recalling the essential lessons of living that he both embodied and taught to his followers.

Today’s scripture speaks of the need for those of us who are his disciples to remember that at the core of the life we are called to live is compassion.  And it is not compassion as an emotion but compassion as a behavioral response to those less fortunate than us.  We might take the time to consider some simple action such as taking food to a foodbank or donating to a homeless shelter or time permitting, volunteering at one of these places.  Consider asking someone who is giving you a Christmas present to take those monies and donate them to one of the above.  These are but a few of the ways we can celebrate God’s gift to us in the birth of the Christ child through acts of compassion. May this be a season of renewing our commitment to live a life of compassion for those less fortunate than ourselves.

Today’s Reading: Matthew 7:15-19 and 21:28-32 New RSV

“You will know them by their fruits” Matthew 7:16a

[And the son said to his father], “I will not, but later changed his mind and went” Matthew 21:29

What we have here in these two passages is Jesus teaching a simple but vital truth.  A life of faith is measured not by what we think or say but by what we do.  As the old adage states “It’s not what we say but what we do that counts”.  Being a Disciple of the Christ is not about theology or preaching but about embodying and expressing the love of God in our relationships with others.

We are living in a time when many voices declare how things are going to improve.  But as Jesus observed there are many false prophets, and the true test of their validity is their actions.  When we see compassion enacted then we can listen and hear and believe.  The true prophet lives out the values they proclaim.  Their actions bear witness to their truth and produces “good fruit”.  The false prophet produces “bad fruit”.  So, we are called to “wait and see” before we support the person.

As we conclude this Lenten Season with the celebration of the Resurrection we are exposed again to this truth as God expressed it.  The risen Christ is the fruit of God’s actions in our world. It is the promise that we can experience the love embodied in this event time and time again as we face the many kinds of death we experience in life [losing a job, divorce, an actual death of a family member or friend, etc.]  Thus, are we called to seek first the Kingdom of God within our hearts and then live accordingly.  Let us celebrate this love by allowing it to live in us and be expressed by what we do that we might bear “good fruit” with our lives.

Today’s Reading: Luke 10:25-37

“Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise”

The old saying goes “the devils in the details.  In this story from Luke, Jesus is asked by an “expert in the law” just who is my neighbor after hearing that life that is lived by eternal values includes loving not only God but also your neighbor.  We don’t know what motivated the question, but it is not difficult to imagine that the lawyer was hoping that the field of who that included would be narrowed down to a group he could accept.

The response from Jesus is the familiar story of the good Samaritan where a person who has been beaten and robbed is ignored by the professional religious [think clergy] and the Levite [who were the ritual caretakers of the Temple – think pious layperson].  Instead, the wounded individual is taken care of by a Samaritan [think of a group that the Jewish people considered guilty of idolatry and hence probably reviled by the lawyer who asked the question].   

But the point Jesus makes is clear.  It is our actions not our theology that reveals our true faith.  Loving our neighbor means nothing less than treating all people with compassion even when we disagree with their theology [think politics], Jesus simply doesn’t allow us to pick and choose those whom we will treat with the love we have received from God.  We can hold people accountable for their actions just as Jesus is holding the lawyer accountable for his actions.  But he challenges us to do that with mercy and compassion even then.

Today’s Reading: Matthew 13:44-46 and Matthew 22:34-40 [see also John 12:44-46, 1 John 4:7-8]  NRSV

“The Kingdom of God is like treasure…”

In these two parables Jesus proclaims that the Kingdom of God is worth investing all of oneself in living within it.  And all his parables speak of this Kingdom as something we can experience through focusing one’s life on its presence.  Yet many people miss what that Kingdom is, thinking that it is something that can only be experienced after our mortal death, i.e. the Kingdom of God is “Heaven”.

The problem with this definition of the Kingdom is that all of Jesus’s actions and illustrations of living in the Kingdom define a life lived now, not in some future state.  He proclaims that those who have seen him have seen the Kingdom embodied – the Word made flesh.  The Kingdom of God is a relationship between a person and God in which God’s Spirit, as it lives in them, guides their living.  The Kingdom of God is the presence of God within each of us and Jesus calls us to recognize that this is something of ultimate importance, worthy of our total investment in it.

What that means for each of us as his followers is to take seriously the ultimate importance of our spiritual journey.  Seeking to develop a living relationship with the transcendent, and seeking guidance from that source of life, is when the meaning of our lives is fulfilled.  We are a miracle in that we embody the Spirit that created the universe and the fulness of our living is found in discovering and developing this Spirit of God within us.   So, what does this mean?

Jesus explained it to the disciples as simply the Great Commandment – to love God with all our heart and mind and soul and to love our neighbor as ourselves.  Living in the Kingdom of God is to embody the love God that we see in Christ by loving God with all our being and to spread that love to others.  When we are doing this, we are living in the Kingdom of God.  And that is indeed a treasure worth our total investment of self.

Today’s Reading: Mark 4:26-29 NRSV

The Kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground …and the seed would grow, he does not know how…Mark 4:26-27

The story is told of a farmer who was standing beside his many acres of ripening corn, admiring the crop soon to be harvested.  A preacher came by and said to the farmer, “What a magnificent crop – how God has blessed you.” To which the farmer replied, “God has indeed blessed me, but you should have seen the field when God was working it alone.”

In this parable Jesus makes it clear that living in the Kingdom of God is a partnership between each of us and the Almighty.  We are called to plant the seeds of God’s love through our actions with the assurance that by doing so we will make a meaningful difference with our lives.  But like the farmer in the parable, the results will often occur without us understanding how that happens.  The actions of God remain a mystery that is beyond human comprehension.  We live in the Kingdom by faith alone.

Still, as the farmer notes, without our involvement, God’s actions are limited by the absence of faithful living.  So, the parable challenges us to deliberately seek the guidance of God as we work to live our lives as Disciples.  Our job is planting the seeds of the Kingdom each day by demonstrating the power of Divine Love through our relationships with each person we meet.  Even the smallest acts of kindness [remember the mustard seed parable] can make a great deal of difference in the life of someone we encounter each day.  Ours to plant the seeds knowing that God will ensure the growth.

So, today’s challenge: Where can I plant a seed today?

Today’s Reading: Matthew 13:31-32

“The Kingdom of God is like a Mustard that someone took and sowed in his field.”

In the movie, “Boyhood”, there is a scene in which a mother is talking to a young Hispanic man who is removing some drainage tile from her backyard.  As she starts to leave, she suggests to him that he is obviously a very intelligent person and should consider going to college.  She even suggests starting at the local community college since it is less expensive.  Some years later she and her family are eating in a restaurant when the manager of the restaurant, who turns out to be the same young man, comes to the table to thank her for the advice.  Having obtained his Associate Degree, he is working on his Bachelors in business which has led to him being the manager.

It is worth noting that every day we are influencing others around us by our attitudes and our behavior.  And while we may not realize it, we may be planting a seed that sprouts into a major life change for someone.  At a minimum we can impact how they experience that day as we affirm and support them through our interactions.

I have seen someone simply smile and thank a waitress for their service when they were obviously harried during a very busy rush hour, and they looked frustrated and exhausted.  Immediately the person’s whole demeanor changed. I know a woman who composes and sends messages in cards to people facing difficult times or celebrating a special achievement.  Small actions like the mustard seed but resulting in major impacts.

So, let us today reflect on how we might plant some positive seed of life and love, that which is the Kingdom of God, in the life of those we encounter.

Today’s Reading: Mark 4: 1-9 & 13-20 NRSV [See parallels in Luke 8:11-15 and Matthew 13:18-23]

“And he said, “If you have ears to hear, then hear.”  Mark 4:9

Many who read this passage read the interpretation and think it deals with the various types of soil into which the seed, i.e. the Good News of the Kingdom of God, is planted.  But when I was in seminary, I read a book about the parables that pointed out that in the Aramaic language [the language in which Jesus taught] each parable would have been introduced with the words “It is in the Kingdom of God as it is with … “whatever the parable focuses on.

Reading the passage with this perspective, Jesus makes clear that the focus of the parable is on the Sower, not the results of his efforts.  The disciples are to understand what happens to anyone who seeks to plant the seeds of God’s kingdom in the world.   That is what he wants the Disciples to understand.  They are to plant the seeds of the Kingdom by how they live, embodying the Love of God through their words and deeds, and doing so, they can expect a very mixed set of results.  They are to recognize the various kinds of results that will occur when they witness to God’s ongoing presence in the world, knowing that not all the results of their efforts will be positive.  In fact, the odds are against them given the various kinds of people who hear the Word. 

Today as his Disciples we are called once more to live a life that reflects the ongoing presence of God’s kingdom by how we act, seeking to embody the love that was in Christ Jesus.  And we are to recognize that our efforts will have mixed results.  We are simply told to keep working to live within the framework of the Love of God and not worry about the results.

In our lifetime we have seen how this works as we have witnessed the Civil Rights movement, the women’s movement, the LGBT movement – a lot of planting with mixed results but some extremely important positive ones arrived at with a lot of effort i.e. planting.  So, the challenge to each of us today is how and where we are going to plant the seeds of God’s love.