Love Makes the World Go 'Round

~~~ Acts 6: 1-10 ~~~ Psalm 100 ~~~ John 15: 18-21 ~~~

Throughout the days and weeks between Easter and Pentecost the church nourishes our faith; providing numerous accounts of how the number of believers grew.

"Day after day the churches grew stronger in faith and increased in number."

We are also given the history of our own path to Christianity. If the early believers had not been open to the urgings of the Holy Spirit we might not be Christians.

It is good that we hear these stories each year as our faith is built upon the faith of all those who have gone before us.

Psalm 100 says,

"Know that the Lord is God; he made us, his we are;

his people the flock he tends."

God has been with us and looking after our well being throughout all of the ages. We were always a part of the divine plan. God uses his people to accomplish his works on earth now just as he did in the early church.

Less we forget; we do not belong to the world...we belong to God. We are only here for a short time. Our home is in heaven with God. We belong to him and he will call each of us home when the time comes.

Jesus says, "I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you."

 The world is wrought with evil and filled with temptation. Daily we are faced with the opportunity to confess that we do not belong to this world. This world cannot bring us true peace or joy because those only exist in their pure form in heaven.

In this world we settle for what we know as peace and joy, even though this satisfaction falls short of what is in store for us in heaven.

Because God loves us he has granted us bits of consolation in this world through those who love us. We too have been commissioned to extend this same measure of consolation through loving others.

The greatest commandment is to love.

Love makes the world go 'round.

In 1965 Burt Bacharach  composed a song titled, "What the World Needs Now; one of the lines says 'love is the only thing the world needs more of'. I think intuitively many know that love is the only thing that makes this world inhabitable.

So today as I celebrate my fortieth anniversary with my husband, I stand to give testimony to the power of love. With love it is possible to make marriage commitment until death parts us.

I am happy to have the love of my husband and my family.

Look around you today for the signs of love this world can provide.

Perhaps it is the softness of a baby's cheek.

The Master Dreamer

~~~ Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a ~~~ Psalm 105 ~~~ Matthew 21: 33-43, 45-46 ~~~

Sibling rivalry is alive and prosperous in the Old Testament. The story of Joseph being left in the desserted cistern is just as well known as the Cain Abel story. Is it fairly common for brothers and sisters to play tricks on each other. Usually it is all fun and games, but in this case Joseph's brothers were not playing a game. Thet were serious about getting rid of their borther. A person consumed by jealousy becomes a non human creature. 'They hated him so much they would not even greet him'.

Imagine your own family members not talking to you.

Imagine how Joseph must have felt.

In today's society Joseph would probably have been the victim of bullying; from his very own brothers. The brothers were operating much like a close knit gang. Young Joseph was eager to be with his older brothers. He had the innocence of a child. Like most young children they want to be with their older brothers. They want to do everything that the older ones get to do. So Joseph was super excited to be sent out to join them.

From a distance the brothers plot to kill their own borther. They were filled up with hate. Their hearts were blackened with sarcasm, 'Here comes that master dreamer'. They were not referring about the dreams of our sleep. For some reason they thought Joseph spent much of his time 'day' dreaming.

How do you feel about being a dreamer? Do you ever 'dream' about things in your life? Do you ever dream about harmony within your family? Do you ever dream about the perfect spouse or friend? What do you dream about?

Jesus had a 'dream' too. His dream was to have us learn how to love like him. He too was betrayed by one almost as close as a brother, Judas.

Joseph was stripped of his special tunic made especially for him by his father. Jesus was stripped of more than just his tunic.

The only way to silence the 'dreamer' is to kill him, but in the case of Joseph God had a bigger plan for him. There is no way his brothers could have ever guessed that this very brother would later be the very one to save them from starvation. They just wanted him out of the picture at any cost, so they sell him for twenty pieces of silver.

and we know of course that Judas also sells Jesus for close to the same amount.

There are no coincidences in the divine plan.

Much later in the life of Joseph he is presented with the opportunity to show great mercy to his brothers and bring great joy to his father. The 'master dreamer' was able to pour forth love that had been taught to him by his father Israel. 'Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons...the child of his old age'.

The evil plot of the brothers was not able to silence the goodness in the heart of Joseph, the master dreamer. Killing Jesus did not stop him from acomplishing his mission, in fact his death was necessary for us to be saved. Just as it was necessary for Joseph to be sold into slavery in order for him to save his family,

even those who plotted to kill him.

The mercy and forgivness of God is way beyond anything we could dream...

either awake or asleep.

In your prayers today choose the one person you most need to forgive and pray for them...just for today...join the 'master dreamer'.