Daily Office Readings for Monday of Proper 15: Year 2
Morning, Psalm 106; 1-18; Evening, Psalm 106; 19-48;
Judges 17:1-13; Acts 7:44-8:1a; John 5:19-29:
“Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” (John 5:28 and 29)
We Christians believe that Jesus will be the judgment of God for all humanity as our Lord Jesus was God participating in human existence. No matter what, there is a resurrection for each and every human being. The outcome of our resurrection is determined by what we believe as it is made manifest by how we conduct ourselves commensurate with that belief. That is, that we believe in the love of God. and live out that love in our relationships with our neighbors.
This resurrection belief and accountability is made manifest in the last part of my personal creed which says. “I Trust in the Creating Word through the Holy Spirit of the Incarnate Word, in whom we live and move and love and have our being, and to whom, we must give an account.” The part that says “and to whom we must give an account” reflects the resurrection piece.
My beloved of the Lord, we all will come before the judgment seat at the end of our days. There is no getting around this fact. However, being before the judgment seat dose not necessarily mean a trial. Just as sure as death is to come for all people, so too is the resurrection to the afterlife. I believe that on this side of our being some of us believe in Jesus as Lord. On the resurrection side, all will more than just believe, we will all know that Jesus is Lord of both the living and the dead.
But our Lord Jesus is also the Lord of love and mercy. Where we mortals often want to hold a grudge against people who differ from us, our Lord Jesus just wants to love us, all of us. We do not belong to ourselves, we are the Lord’s. How we live out our lives in relation to our fellow persons is crucial. If you take nothing away from this post but one thing, let it be this; Love God and one another no matter what. This does not mean to let others walk all over you, it simply means for us to recognize and respect their humanity and to refrain from quick judgment. Struggle to find love. It’s who we are created to be. Love people, don’t judge their harmless differences. Your name will be called on the other side and you will find yourself before the throne. And even as we come before the judgment seat, “Lord, do not bring us to the time of trial.” (Luke 11;4)
As always, please keep Ukraine in your prayers.
As we listen to what the Spirit is saying to us, let us live to love, to serve, and to teach, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John
onewhoponders 