The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. from The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States "No fear in love" for Saturday, 21 January 2017Galatians 3:26 For in union with the Messiah, you are all children of God through this trusting faithfulness; 27 because as many of you as were immersed into the Messiah have clothed yourselves with the Messiah, in whom 28 there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor freeman, neither male nor female; for in union with the Messiah Yeshua, you are all one.
1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love. On the contrary, love that has achieved its goal gets rid of fear, because fear has to do with punishment; the person who keeps fearing has not been brought to maturity in regard to love.
19 We ourselves love now because he loved us first. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar. For if a person does not love his brother, whom he has seen, then he cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21 Yes, this is the command we have from him: whoever loves God must love his brother too.
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At the foundation of all Christian faith is the trust that God loves us, that God created human beings out of love and for love. This was (and is) quite extraordinary. Egyptians, Canaanites, Greeks or Romans—none of them believed their gods loved them. But Christians believe Jesus embodied that belief, and showed us how it shapes life for the better. And that belief makes a real difference in how we relate to all other people, those who are close to us and those who are “other.” Paul told the Galatians that in Jesus ethnic, economic/social and gender distinctions all lost their power to divide us and cause fear and separation.
• Why would perfect love drive out fear? Have you ever experienced a situation in which as love developed for another person, fear of that person decreased and disappeared? 1 John 4:20 got blunt, and may make us uncomfortable: “If anyone says, I love God, and hates a brother or sister, he is a liar.” To what extent do you agree that hate for human beings rules out genuine love for God? Why would that be the case? Can you think of practical steps that move you in the direction of caring about “others,” about people that you may see as dangerous enemies, as deserving of fear and distrust rather than of love?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, sometimes I find your ways appealing. Sometimes I find them hard. I need your grace to guide and energize me to more and more see everyone as a person you love, even the ones who frustrate or scare me. Amen.
Family Activity: Jesus served and shared God’s love with others in many ways. Martin Luther King, Jr. followed in the footsteps of Jesus and sought to do the same. How does your family work together to share God’s love with others? Select a way to serve others together. Ask an older child or youth to research some volunteer opportunities in your area. He or she could explore the church website (cor.org/serve) for activities in which your family can participate. Consider brainstorming about some less-structured ways you can serve others with God’s love, such as helping others in your neighbor or at school. At a family gathering, ask the child or youth to present these opportunities to the rest of the family. Pray for God’s guidance as you discuss the possibilities. Choose one or two ways your family can share God’s love with others.
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Dan Entwistle first wrote this reflection in February of 2015--but it fits today's Scripture readings so well, we're happy to share it with you again.
Let’s be honest. Some things in life are, well, disgusting. And when we become disgusted, it hits us quickly and shows on our faces—we turn down the corners of our lips, or shake our heads, or lurch with a sudden gag reflex, or we simply avert our eyes. It happens.
I've discovered that researchers are learning interesting things about our disgust responses. They are studying which parts of our brains “light up” when we’re disgusted. They’re exploring differences between cultures, between men and women, and even between people in different political camps when it comes to what disgusts us. They are working to better understand the psychology and physiology of disgust. How is it important to our survival? Were we born with a disgust reflex or is it learned over time? What societal underpinnings determine the objects of our disgust, and how does one culture become disgusted by something that another culture cherishes?
Often things that create a physical disgust response carry the risk of making us sick, or spread life-threatening disease. Putrid food, for instance, or disease carrying rodents or bacteria-laden waste … [Have I lost all my readers at this point?]
But disgust expands beyond guttural responses to food and bacteria. There is a moral component to disgust, and it is uniquely part of the human experience. It is shaped by culture, theology and our perspectives on morality. We have come to see certain actions as unclean, disgusting or revolting. Often our disgust is turned outward on the “other,” though occasionally it may be turned inward on one’s self. In either case, the pattern of what we find disgusting follows the lines of what we understand to be inside and outside the bounds of moral purity, drawing a distinction between what is clean and what is unclean.
In the Old Testament, the Israelites were given instructions about how to stand apart from their neighbors. They held to a code of behavior as a sign of faithfulness, and as a way of living as called-out people, a nation set apart from their neighbors. Now fast-forward to Jesus. We routinely find him spending time among those who were unclean, or untouchable. “Disgusting” people had direct contact with Jesus, not with him averting his eyes, or turning down the corner of his lips. He did not see the prostitute as disgusting, nor the leper, nor the tax collector, nor the blind or bleeding. They flocked to Jesus, and through the encounter, their spirits were transformed.
Is it any surprise that Jesus shifted the conversation about disgust? Luke recorded the parable of the two men who went to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. Who was the audience for the story? The story was told exclusively for the sake of the disgusted righteous people around him. Here’s how the story starts in Luke 18:9, “Jesus told this parable to certain people who had convinced themselves that they were righteous and who looked on everyone else with disgust.” The punch line at the end of the story– “Those who lift themselves up will be brought low, and these who make themselves low will be lifted up.”
Feeling disgusted? Yeah, it happens. But as a community that seeks to love deeply and earnestly, let’s put a lid on our disgust for people and allow our responses to be shaped by Jesus.
DAN ENTWISTLEDan Entwistle serves as a Managing Executive Director for Church of the Resurrection.
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Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• Tom Schmidt and family on the death of his mother Vernetta Schmidt, 1/6
• Katherine Van Horn and family on the death of her father Thomas Cosgrove, 1/5
• Jay Beller and family on the death of his father Jack Lee Beller, 1/5
• Ann Phillips and family on the death of her brother Richard Woods, 1/5
• Phyllis Moore and family on the death of her brother Jay Johnson, 1/5
• Kelly Williams and family on the death of her uncle Jay Johnson, 1/5
• Courtney Vialle and family on the death of her mother Trellis Howell, 1/4
• Brian Linnan and Joni Sliefert and families on the death of their sister Colleen Rabenberg, 1/4
• Friends and family of Marsha Kintzle on her death, 1/4
• Randy Denzin and family on the death of his father Everett Denzin, 1/4
• Michael Malone and family on the death of his sister Patty Malone, 1/2
• Gail Mealman and family on the death of her sister Betty Bailey, 1/1
• Joe Sevart and family on the death of his father Tom Sevart, 12/28
• Friends and family of Billee “Bee” Haley on her death, 12/24
• Gary and Tony Erisman and families on the death of their father Bob Erisman, 12/6
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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
913.897.0120
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