Pray...Love...Be Perfect

~~~ Deuteronomy 26:16-19 ~~~ Psalm 119 ~~~ Matthew 5:43-48 ~~~

...love your enemies,

and pray for those who persecute you...

During this Jubilee Year of Mercy

we are invited to take this message 

from today's readings seriously.

It is contrary to love our enemies

 or those we believe are our enemies.

We often do not really want to love those unlike ourselves.

Is it possible that we could be mistaken

 in our perception of who our enemies really are?

Could it be a case where we assume someone to be our enemy

when in reality we do not know the individual?

Sometimes we even decide to consider an entire group

of people to be our enemies.

...pray for those who persecute you...

If we begin by praying for those we do not view as friends

eventually God will soften our heart.

It only takes a small change to transform our heart.

Consider the kaleidoscope...in one slight turn of the lens

 the entire picture changes.

By continuing to restrict your love to only those who love you

you may be depriving yourself of a whole different view.

A view that might be just as beautiful if not more beautiful.

So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.

We think of being perfect as totally out of our scope of possibilities.

Striving to be perfect is more about 

consistently challenging yourself to change your focus...

to turn the lens ever so slightly.

We are so blessed to have this ability to change...

we are not stone sculptures frozen in time.

Our faith would become dull and lifeless

if we could not strive to be more perfect.

Even the saints did not believe that were perfect;

they continued to make the decision to keep trying.

Let every day bring the intention

to love more..to strive to be more holy.

Let God fine tune your lens;

he alone can soften your heart toward your enemies.

He alone supplies the grace as we strive to be more perfect.

So be perfect...

You will be Blessed...It is good for the soul.

~~~Peace~~~

Who are My Enemies?

~~~ Deuteronomy 26:16-19 ~~~ Psalm 119 ~~~ Matthew 5:43-48

...today the LORD is making this agreement with you:

you are to be a people peculiarly his own, as he promised you...

Now is the acceptable time for us to renew

 our agreement with the Lord.

God gave his decrees to Moses and Moses 

passed them on to us.

Moses agreed on our behalf to keep these 

commandments of the Lord God.

Thus we too are in agreement...we will keep 

these same commandments.

Blessed are they who observe his decrees,

who seek him with all their heart.

Now is a very acceptable time for us to take inventory of our heart.

How well are we keeping up our end of the agreement?

But I say to you, love your enemies,

and pray for those who persecute you,

that you may be children of your heavenly Father...

In our society today I find it challenging to love my enemies.

First of all who are my enemies?

Are they the people we see on the news?

Are they the people who have different values than we have?

Are they the ones who pray to a different God.

How can we determine just who our enemies are?

Maybe we can pray for those who persecute 

our fellow Christians across the globe.

Is that what God means?

I cannot honestly say 

anyone is personally persecuting me? 

God wants us to seek out those 

who are difficult to love.

Those who want to be confrontational

 when it comes to beliefs.

God wants us to love those who constantly 

push us away whenever we even mention God.

So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.

To be perfect we have to see as God sees.

To be perfect means we must be blind to all things

 that appear to be contrary to what we believe.

We cannot take sides...

We cannot cast blame...

We can only be steadfast in our beliefs ...

We must look upon those who would persecute us 

with eyes of love and compassion.

The eyes of love and compassion 

that can only come from God himself.

We can only be perfect if we have the eyes and heart of God.

Blessed in times of persecution.

To be perfect is to love our enemy.

~~~ Peace ~~~

What Size Do You Wear?

~~~ Colossians  3:12-17 ~~~ Psalm 150 ~~~ Luke 6:27-38 ~~~

 

Let the heavenly celebrations begin.

Saints Paul and Luke provide us the perfect recipe

for a life filled with unbelievable joy.

At first glance we are all excited...

 

Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience...

 

When life is great and things are going well it is easy

to be kind and helpful to others.

If only there was this body suit we could 'put on'...

perhaps we could purchase it in just our size from the religious bookstore or

better yet order it online from the privacy of our home.

 

Perhaps it would come splashed with colors representing

 the qualities of being God's chosen ones.

What if you could custom design it...pick out your own color for compassion,

kindness, humility, and the others?

 

The day finally arrives when your very own body suit arrives...

made just for you to fit perfectly.

At first you are so excited to wear your new garment.

You are so happy to be one of God's chosen ones.

 

Do to others as you would have them do to you.

 

Little be little the colors of your body suit begin to fade.

People come into your life challenging

your commitment to acting holy and beloved.

Their words and actions begin to irritate you.

You do not notice the colors of your beautiful suit are getting dimmer.

Then one day you decide not to 'put on' this body suit you once wore so happily.

 

love your enemies and do good to them

 

It becomes harder and harder to love those who are your enemies.

Soon you forget what it means to have compassion for others...

soon you begin to believe gentleness is for the weak.

You begin to believe that you are entitled to better treatment than others...

that you are better than those around you.

 

 

Then one day, by the grace of God,

 you find it in your heart to extend a kindness to one

of those irritating people in your life. 

Little by little you begin to remember that day when you first 'put on'

your new body suit.

Something glorious stirs in your heart.

 

Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.”

You search in your closet and in the dresser drawers until you find it...

the beautiful body suit made just for you.

Even though it is faded you 'put it on' anyway.

You go about your day determined to treat others with love,

compassion, kindness, humility, kindness and patience.

 

You notice the change; the colors of your body suit

begin to revive themselves.

With each passing day as you treat others with heartfelt love

the colors return to their original intensity.

 

Of course this is just a fictional story I made up,

but it is so far from the truth?

I wonder.

Doing good for others encourages one to sing and dance with joy.

 

Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!

 

With gratitude in our hearts let us go forth today spreading the love of God.

Give it away freely; after all it was given to you freely.

 

'Put on' your body suit of brilliant colors and treat others well.

Do to others as you would have them do to you.

This will keep the colors vibrant and you heart will be filled with joy.

 

Blessings today in keeping your colors vibrant...

You were chosen by him for this task

to love beyond your comfort zone.

 

What size do you wear?

How Do You Love?

~~~ Hosea 14: 2-10 ~~~ Psalm 81 ~~~ Mark 12: 28-34 ~~~

I have had students who could recite back information but not understand the meaning of the words. Several birds can learn to speak very clearly what they hear. A parrot speaks without comprehension of the sounds it makes. Young children can use words heard from their parents without having a clue as to what they mean.

The scribes come to Jesus inquiring about the most important commandment. Jesus responds, "...you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength."

How can we make this kind of love more than just mere words? How do we love the Lord with heart, mind, soul, and strength? I think if we look at love as an action word and not an emotion; we will have something more tangible. Love is a decision you make each and every time you 'feel' love. Yes it is true there are certain chemicals released into the brain when two people are 'in love', but those chemicals eventually dissipate throughout your body.

Love is not dependent on the words you choose to say. Love has more to do with your actions. Are you living your life in a loving manner? Do you consistently treat others the way you hope to be treated? God has placed into each heart the desire and capacity to love him.

When I witness the loving interaction between a mother and her baby I am reminded of the way God wants us to love him. But more than that it is the model for how God wants us to love others and how we are to ultimately love ourself.

If we want to grow in fulfilling this commandment of love we should consider how we choose to love those around us. It is easy to love those we feel in harmony with, that is not the issue here. It is those 'other' people that we do not 'feel' like loving that Jesus is directing us to love. This is where strength from God is a necessity. It is so much easier to dismiss those we would rather not love; those who do not fit into our picture of who we are willing to love.

We rarely have our picture taken with those we do not already love. Browse through your photos sometime and see if you find any which include a person you do not love. If you do find such a person included, ask yourself 'Why?' Pause a moment.
Say a brief prayer for that person's welbeing.


Jesus continues, the second is this, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

I know some people who do not love themselves, sad but true. If you cannot love yourself then this commandment probably makes little sense to you. In fact this commandment might make you feel uncomfortable and angry. If you do not love yourself why would anyone else be worthy of your love?
Why would you want to love anyone else?

I believe we were put on this earth to love.
How you accomplish living this love is up to you.
As always you do have a choice. Choose to Love with your whole heart, your whole mind, your whole soul, and with all your strength.
God loved us first. He loves you!

Beloved and Cherished

Samuel, the one who anointed Saul and David, is now dead. To escape Saul's insanity David flees to the land of the Philistines in refuge. Saul pursues David...visits a soothsayer...and learns of his fate  and of his son Jonathan's as the spirit of Samuel reveals it to him.  The sad story continues like a tragic series of falling dominoes until finally Saul and Jonathan are both killed.

David is now in mourning over the death of Saul and his son. David composes a beautiful elegy for them which he sings. Music brought comfort to Saul when David first came into his service. Now David sins to bring comfort to himself, "...Alas!...how can the warriors have fallen!"

It is striking that in spite of all the times Saul came after David he was still able to hold in his heart affection for him. "Saul and Jonathan, beloved and cherished...", verse 23.

Beloved and Cherished

Beloved and cherished are two of the most beautiful words to me. God calls Jesus his beloved son only twice; once at his baptism and again at the transfiguration. Beloved is a special term of endearment; it means dearly loved. How could David continue to think of Saul as beloved? This is some example of loving your enemies. We have difficulty loving those who reject us for whatever reason, but Saul was activiely trying to kill David.

It is unbelievable to me when a victim of a terrible crime can reach out to the person who harmed them. Without saying the words of forgiveness their actions speak for themselves. The Amish community come to mind first. After the murder of so many in their community. They did not want to harbor hatred in their hearts.

David shows forgiveness to Saul through this beautiful musical tribute. David had several opportunities to kill Saul and each time he turned and removed himself from the  situation.

David can inspire us to walk away from our enemies. David can inspire us to think differently about our enemies. I am not trying to pretend David was perfect because we know he has his flaws as well.

As a woman I want to feel cherished. Cherish means to hold dearly, to treat with affection and tenderness. When you cherish someone like a family member you can overlook all sorts of hurts.

Who do you cherish most in your life? Is it your spouse? Your children or grandchildren? Your friends? Some even cherish their home land.

For years songs have been written about the word Cherish. Kool and the Gang had a very popular song titled Cherish, before that the Association and more recently Madonna.

Beloved and Cherished together are the pillars of a lasting relationship. In David's case even if the person wants you dead.



Cherish Moments...Cherish Living

Original photo of a single white daisy.

This kaleidoscope image captures the pure beauty of being cherished and beloved.