Old Testament Lesson
Proverbs 8: 22-30
This passage is originally talking about wisdom. That is one of the gifts that Proverbs, as well as the Old Testament praises and desires the most. Wisdom is not knowledge, wisdom is not trivial. Wisdom is about sight; it is about perspective. Wisdom is about seeing and understanding not through our eyes, but through God’s eyes, through the perspective of God. And wisdom comes only through God, only through the Holy Spirit. Sure, experience can teach us things, but how many of us know folks that have went through a lot, but still have learned nothing. How many of us know children that have a way of cutting through the clutter and getting to the heart of the matter. That is wisdom.
Dr. WE Knickerbocker, in a class on Benedictine Spirituality in seminary, taught us to read the Old Testament, through, not just for its original meaning, but to read it looking for Christ. So, in that understanding, the text today is not just talking about wisdom, but about Jesus. He was there in the beginning, He was at the right hand of God during creation, He was the one that that knows all. And He is the one that became a babe, to teach us to love and to show us love; through His words, His actions, His death, and His resurrection. Let us not just seek wisdom today; let us seek our savior.
New Testament Lesson
1 John 5: 1-12
Love is the mark, the mark of a Christian. If we are in Christ, then we will love. That is our command. And this passage reminds us that the commands of God are not burdensome. In fact, they are life giving. God does not give us “busy work” like in school. Everything is for a purpose. Every command is for a reason. We are not to love merely for love’s sake. We are to love, because love changes us, and it changes the one we love. Is there someone you don’t like? I mean, really don’t like? Be nice to them. Do something kind and loving for them. Take time to lean about them. Don’t see them as your enemy, see them as Christ. And you will change. If you will truly allow Jesus to unlock the door of hatred in your heart, you will change. But first, we must want change. We must want life and love; we must want to let go of old (or new) grudges. And this is life. Those that have the Son and His love have life. Those that do not, do not. Do we choose life today? Do we choose to follow today? Or do we choose to stay bound in our sin and hatred today? His commands are not burdensome; in fact they are the way to life.
Gospel Lesson
John 13: 20-35
In the Gospel, we see Judas leave to betray our Lord. What a fitting passage following Christmas, for the cross is never far from the manager. Jesus was not merely one that came to teach us love, but he showed us love in that He laid down His life for ours; He paid a price we could not pay. He talks about his command of love after Judas leaves. Love is not easy. Love is not just an emotion or a feeling. Love is often hard. Love is often a tough choice. Love may cost us. Love may cause us pain. Love is not easy. And if we love only out of feeling, that will pass. Even in marriage, studies have shown the “warm fuzzies” are gone after about a year. Love is a choice to do right, to think of others first, to place others above yourself, to think of their good before your own. Love is not selfish or prideful, that’s what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13. If you love only based on a feeling, it is not love. Love is commitment. Just as Jesus was committed to us above even His own life, in the same way are we to be committed to each other, and to Him.
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I like your thoughts about love in your Gospel post. As I meet with young people before I marry them, I try to convey the fact that the infatuation that they may be feeling now is most likely feeling. And if they want this romantic love to last, they will have to work at it. I was told a long time ago that we only have real love in our marriages after we've been together for a while and can't stand to part even after we know all the bad things about the other person.
ReplyDeleteLove is a committment and can be something that is hard at times. But it is the greatest thing in the world to have, to share and to receive. It is the gift God gave to us and the only one that will satisfy our souls.