Matthew 5:1-12 – Peace with Justice Sunday

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Matthew 5:1-12 – Peace with Justice Sunday

Peace with Justice Sunday is one of the six special Sundays designated by the United Methodist Church to bring awareness to special needs in our own communities, our country, and globally. Peace with justice is a faithful expression of shalom in the Bible.

We believe that in loving both God and neighbor, we must pursue God’s command of justice, liberation, and flourishing for all people. We must work for the civil and human rights of every person. By following Jesus’ commandments, we can be His hands and feet in helping to establish Peace with Justice.

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James 1 – Slow to Speak, Slow to Anger

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James 1 – Slow to Speak, Slow to Anger

The key to fully appreciating James’ urge for us to be slow to anger is being able to first recognize our emotions and the emotions around us and then understand how everyone’s feelings are responses to our environment. Wrapping that in prayerful conversations with God can lead us to managing our anger (and other emotions) so that we’re motivated in a positive way to fulfill what James calls the purest definition of religion: caring for the most vulnerable people in our society (in his case, widows and orphans).

How can our anger at social injustices motivate us to be quick to listen to the needs of our community, to the cries of the vulnerable? How can we then speak out for their needs?

By listening quickly, speaking slowly, and acting with great compassion, we can be God’s loving, transformative presence for our community.

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John 9 – Seeing with New Eyes

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John 9 – Seeing with New Eyes

Awaken... It’s an action-oriented word. It’s a word focused on looking forward, not back. It’s a word that calls us to be intentionally mindful of our immediate surroundings. When Jesus healed the blind man, his newfound eyesight awakened him to new realities, new possibilities, and a new understanding of God’s presence and power.
To what is God trying to awaken each of us?

Make no mistake, this whole eye-opening, awakening stuff can feel overwhelming – much like seeing color for the first time. Once God reveals something to us, we can’t unsee it. This is when the power of a faith community is so important. We NEED to discuss what we hear and see (what God “puts on our hearts,” to use churchy language) so that, together, we can better understand the world around us and how we should respond to it.

Consider adding this simple request to your morning prayer, “Lord, help me SEE Your presence around me more clearly today. Help me SEE Your presence in other people. And help me BE Your presence to people who need to hear, see, and feel Your love, Your grace, and Your peace.”

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John 8 – Dignity Instead of Shame

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John 8 – Dignity Instead of Shame

Without naming the crime, Jesus acknowledges the woman’s transgression and immediately offers her God’s love, grace, mercy, and compassion. When I read verses that talk about God judging us, I think about this brief exchange between Jesus and the woman. Today’s story is a powerful reminder of God’s ceaseless, tireless efforts to deliver us out of shame and into dignity, out of despair and into renewal, out of judgement and into blessing. Surely this is how the redemptive Kingdom of God operates. Surely this is the theology, the philosophy... the way of living into which God invites us.

The only question for us today is how can each of us offer the people we meet God’s love, grace, mercy, and compassion? IF each of us sincerely makes an effort to share those aspects of God’s nature with others, we will become better and better at loving God, loving ourselves, and loving others.

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John 7:1-39 – Looking & Living Beyond the Superficial

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John 7:1-39 – Looking & Living Beyond the Superficial

Jesus directly and bluntly challenges superficial thinking and judging. His words prod us to consider what stereotypes or prejudices we have within us and how those thoughts and feelings prevent us from seeing God’s Spirit within people we meet and – even worse – prevent us from sharing God’s love with others.

It is SO easy to judge. And we all have 100 reasons to judge everyone we meet – for better or for worse. But can we dig deep to find one or two reasons to put aside our assumptions for the chance to see God in others and share God’s love with others?

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John 6:47-60 – Flesh & Blood, Power & Life

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John 6:47-60 – Flesh & Blood, Power & Life

If our sacred texts – the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament – provide the bones of our faith, and Jesus’ ministry of words and deeds provide the flesh, the Holy Spirit that ran through Jesus and runs through us today is the life-giving blood we all depend upon to live from one moment to the next. The skeleton gives structure; the flesh gives power; the blood give life.

Our Sunday worship services are a spiritual meal shared among friends, a time together meant to be savored and shared, like the steak and wine meal.

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That’s Not Fair!… Or is it? – Matthew 20:1-16

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That’s Not Fair!… Or is it? – Matthew 20:1-16

Today’s parable lets us know that everyone, no matter when they come to embrace God’s love, is welcome in the Kingdom of Heaven. They come not by their works or how long they have believed, but by God’s Grace.
Do we rejoice or are we envious of new members? Many people we don’t expect to see in the Kingdom will be there. The criminal who repented as he was dying (Luke 23:40-43) will be there along with people who have believed and served God for many years.
We need to focus on God’s gracious blessings to us and be thankful for what we have. When we look at God’s generosity to others, we can see His love at work. We can spread the love by being His hands and feet in the world.

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