WATCHWORD:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.” 1 John 4:16
For now, we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face-to-face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:12-13
Meditation:
Squirrel!
Children’s sermon — Pastor: “What has four legs, scampers around on tree limbs, and has a big bushy tail?” No answer from the children. A clue is offered, “It likes nuts!” Finally, after a lengthy period of silence one small boy tentatively raises his hand and says: “I know the answer is Jesus, but it sure sounds like a squirrel to me.”
Preconceived notions on full display. Despite information to the contrary, the small boy was trying to see Jesus in that information. How much like us. We have a fixed meaning for a word or a passage, so don’t try to change me!
There are times when I am surprised by good people who read meanings into scripture passages that seems out of context or, that simply runs counter to how I would interpret the passage. Not that I’m a theologian or anything, but how can they possibly come to that conclusion? It’s clear to me!
Some of that misunderstanding stems from the history of how God’s Word has been passed down to us. When we dig into the meaning of certain passages, even to the point of researching Hebrew, or Greek or Latin, we are confronted with multiple definitions of the same word. What is one to do when the conflict between my understanding and your understanding is based on differing, but factual, definitions?
Take for example the word love. In the Greek, there are four meanings of the word: Philo, or companionable love. Agape, or God’s love for his creation. Storge, or an abiding feeling of well-being or happiness caused by something or somebody close to you. And then there is Eros, or erotic love, passionate love.
To complicate matters, in Latin there is a word, Ludus, which could mean a form of love. This word has multiple meanings, including school, sport, and stage productions containing comedy. My favorite meaning of this word is “play” or playfulness. This, to me, is love that carries within it a sense of humor that is shared with another.
Jesus spoke in parables, stories that carried a moral or a deeper meaning. If we treated all details in the stories as literal, we run the risk of missing the true meaning that Jesus intended.
For example, the story of Jesus and the rich young ruler which appears in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Jesus is asked by the young man: “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus’s answer ends with: “One thing you lack, go and sell all you possess and give it to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven: and come follow me.”
The rich young ruler was saddened by these words, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property. Did Jesus literally mean for the young man to make himself a pauper? Or, was Jesus pointing out to the young man that he worshiped his wealth and it was this worship of his wealth that he needed to leave behind in order to follow and worship Christ?
Here is another slant on the subject. It is possible that we focus on reading Scripture, and getting it right, when we should be letting the scripture read us. What I mean by that is, that we take the meaning of the scripture into ourselves and in the thoughtful digesting of a passage it changes us. Even though he wrote Bible commentaries, Martin Luther argued against the use of Bible commentaries because he thought they removed God’s personal message to the reader. Reading, with an open mind to meaning, would be a good approach to scripture study. (I’m still going to use my commentaries! Sorry, Marty.)
We would find it hard to even contemplate the possibility of God having limitations. But, it is our limitations in the reading and understanding of His word. It is not just multiple meanings of words that can lead us astray, it is our assumptions or cultural dictates that assigns meaning which often confuse us. When we believe that we are created in God’s own image what does that mean? Does that mean that God looks like physical human beings? I think not. For me, God is spirit and therefore at our very core, we are Spirit. Anyway, that’s what I think…check your commentary.
Bulletin Board:
On their sixtieth anniversary Sean and Mary took a walk back to their old high school, holding hands all the way. She school building was not locked, so they entered, and wandered around the corridors and classroom, reminiscing about their happy schooldays together. On their way back home, an armored car passed them, and a bag fell out, practically landing at their feet. Mary quickly picked it up, but not being sure what to do with it, they took it home. There, she counted the money. The bag contained €50,000! Sean said, “We have to give it back.” Mary said, “Finders keepers.” She put the money back in the bag and hid it up in their attic. The next day, two garda detectives were canvassing the neighborhood looking for the money and knocked on their door. “Pardon me”, the detective said, “but did either of you find a bag that fell out of an armored car yesterday?” Mary said, “No.” Sean said, “She’s lying. She hid it up in the attic.” Mary said, “Don’t believe him, he’s getting senile.” The detectives question Sean, “Tell us the story from the beginning.” Sean began, “Well, when Mary and I were walking home from school yesterday…” The first detective turns to his partner and says, “We’re outta here.”
Morning Prayers:
Good morning, Lord, Jesus, today is Your day, and I want Your will to be done. So, whatever happens, hold my hand and let’s face it together. Precious Savior, it’s a new day, a chance for a new start. Yesterday is gone and with it any regrets, mistakes, or failures I may have experienced. It’s a good day to be glad and give thanks, and I do, Lord. Thank you for today, a new opportunity to love, give, and be all that you want me to be. Amen.
