Tattered kingdom

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“Jesus’ tattered kingdom included those who came hoping for a handout, those who were depressed by death and destruction, those whom everybody considered nobodies, those for whom life was all about doing what was right, those who saw needs in the eyes of others, those whose hearts thumped with crystal-clear goodness, those whose war was to get waring groups back together again, and those who sat at Jesus’ table but were battered and bruised because they followed Jesus.” (p 78)

Why have you come to the Kingdom?  Why do you stay?

 

Fired by …

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McKnight now turns to the “Sermon on the Mount” and believes, “…the Sermon on the Mount expresses a discipleship fired by love for God and love for others.” (p 77)

If we remember anything about the Jesus Creed this statement should not surprise us at all but think for a few moments about “a discipleship fired by ….”

What fires your discipleship?  What gives you energy to follow where Jesus leads?

Charles

{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

 

Day 14 – Love the Needy

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“If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,’ and yet you do not support their bodily needs, what is the good of that?  So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”
James 2:15-17

“For I was hungry and you gave food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’”
Matthew 25:35-36

Facing the Day: Listen with the ears of Jesus, look with the eyes of Jesus, and touch with the hands of Jesus.

 

What we love about the church

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“If we expect the church to house only perfect people, perhaps we’ve come to the wrong table…. perhaps our problem is that we love our idea of the church, and what it ought to be rather than the reality of the church and what it is.” (p 66)

This reminds me of a Peanuts cartoon where Linus said, “I love mankind, it’s people I can’t stand.”

This hits home to me and challenges me to examine my “disappointments” with the church.

Day 13 – Love God’s People

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“And [Jesus] replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking at those who sat around him and he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers!  Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.’”
Mark 3:33-35

“So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all people, and especially for those of the family of faith.”
Galatians 6:10

Facing the Day: We can love Jesus’ family as a hospital for the wounded and not a haven for the perfected.

If you listen ….

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“If you listen to the persons who are special to you and observe them, you will learn what makes them tick, what they most like, and what God has made them to be.  Now you can commit yourself in God’s power, with patience and only with their cooperation, to love those persons as yourself.” (p 63)

I fear I don’t listen to well sometimes.  My prayer today is “Lord, give me listening ears.”

Charles

{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}