Daily Scripture:
Ephesians 4:29 Let no harmful language come from your mouth, only good words that are helpful in meeting the need, words that will benefit those who hear them. 30 Don’t cause grief to God’s Ruach HaKodesh, for he has stamped you as his property until the day of final redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, violent assertiveness and slander, along with all spitefulness. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted; and forgive each other, just as in the Messiah God has also forgiven you. (Complete Jewish Bible).
Reflection Questions:
When Wonder ended, Auggie received a medal for his courage during the year. He told the crowd in the school gym, “Be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle. And if you really want to see what people are, all you have to do is look.” Too often we see unkind words and actions tear down community and set people against one another. Today’s reading makes it clear that God cannot possibly find such unkind words and acts acceptable. Being kind requires letting God change the inner sources from which our words and actions spring. We aim to be a community in which we “Only say what is helpful when it is needed for building up the community so that it benefits those who hear what [we] say.”
- Scholar N. T. Wright wrote, “Living as a Christian demands that we grow up in our thinking: you have to learn to identify your own moods and behaviour patterns, to see which ones are going in the right direction and which ones in the wrong direction…. We should regard our moods, and the speech which flows from them, as we might a strong but willful horse, which needs to be reminded frequently of the direction we’re supposed to be going in…. People who are enslaved to anger and malice may think they are ‘free’ to ‘be themselves’, but they are in bondage. If we are marked out by the Spirit’s personal presence living in us, think how sad it makes that Spirit if we behave in ways which don’t reflect the life and love of God.”* When have you said or done something that hurt someone else, and asked, “Why did I do that?” What helps you better understand your “interior landscape” to keep you from rashly reacting in ways you regret and wish you could take back?
Family Activity: Follow Jesus by growing kindness in your lives! Read the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:12( Matthew 7:12 “Always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that sums up the teaching of the Torah and the Prophets.)(Complete Jewish Bible). Create a kindness bucket. Using small slips of paper, write 10-15 different ways your family can share kindness with others and place them in the bucket. Each day pull out one slip of paper and plan or discover a way to share that kindness on that day. As you share kindness with someone, say a simple, quiet prayer for that person. Stay aware of other ways throughout each day that you can be kind. Share kindness with people who might be sad, sick or lonely. Find people to thank or encourage. Remember kindness doesn’t have to be practiced in big, fancy ways! Every act of kindness makes a difference! Pray and ask God to help you be aware of ways to be kind to all people in every situation.
* N. T. Wright, Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, pp. 55-56.
Steve is a Congregational Care Pastor at Resurrection Leawood.
Ephesians 4:29. “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words give grace to those who hear.” (NRSV translation)
I was at a party a while back where “non-religious and nominally religious people” were having a few drinks. A couple guys began using rough language. I worked construction in my earlier years so profanity doesn’t trouble me. I did wonder if tensions were beginning to rise, but things quieted down.
The most vocal member of the group approached me. “Father, I need a blessing.” He was raised a Catholic but attending Mass was decades in his past. He knew I was a pastor; he was uncertain what to call me.
“Why?” I asked. “Because my life’s a mess,” he said and detailed some of his struggles. “I want you to bless me.” This is not a request I get everyday, to say the least. But I realized he saw me as his priest and had just made his confession. So I said, “Sure,” and made up a ritual on the spot.
I had no anointing oil, but I used my thumb to make the sign of the Cross on his forehead. He closed his eyes. “I anoint you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Then I put my hands on his shoulders. “May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you, and give you peace.”
He thanked me. Whatever he was seeking, it was enough. Simple words of grace. And his roughness was soothed. I have not seen him since and may never again. I pray every day for God to surprise me with unexpected people in need of blessing, that I might be used to help build them up.
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- Or download this week's printable GPS.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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