iCrucified

40 Days Living the Jesus Creed [Day 23-25]

O God, who has given us the great and saving truths of Your gospel: grant us, we ask You, to live amid these things, to meditate on them and seek them; for one who goes on seeking, finds. Help us, therefore, to learn those things on earth, the knowledge of which shall abide with us in heaven. Grant this for Jesus Christ’s sake. [Amen] Give us strength with changed heart, O Lord, to love You with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength…and help us, O Lord, for Your namesake to love our neighbor as ourselves. [Amen]

“Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace-in peace because they trust in you.” (Isaiah 26:3)

“Scriptural living comes from trust in the Lord. When our eyes are fixed on the Lord Jesus and we trust in His word, we will be steadfast and mature.” Deep-Rooted in Christ; Joshua Choonmin Kang

“Your decrees are my meditation…” (Psalm 119:99)

LtJC – Day 23:

The church is a community where the weak are supported by the strong

Scripture Meditations: (Romans 13:8-10 and Romans 14:10-13 and Ezekiel 37:1-14)

Basil the Great: Homily 16-meditation from Ezekiel 37:1-14   “According to the same reasoning there should also be certain bones of the inner man in which the bond of union and harmony of spiritual powers is collected. Just as the bones by their own firmness protect the tenderness of the flesh, so also in the church there are some who through their own constancy are able to carry the infirmities of the weak. And as the bones are joined to each other through articulation by sinews and fastenings which have grown upon them. So also would be the bond of charity (love) and peace, which achieves a certain natural junction and union of the spiritual bones in the church of God.”

Jesus Creed Thoughts for the day…

• Love does no wrong…
• I will put no stumbling block or hindrance in the way of another…

LtJC – Day 24:

Urges us to practice “memory love” remembering our experiences for the benefit of others.

“You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” James 2:8

Jesus Creed Thoughts for the day…

• Convert your memory into a ministry
• Look for those who have fallen through the cracks

LtJC – Day 25:

“So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” John 13:14

Question: Is this statement by Jesus literal, metaphorical, or both?

Where do we see Jesus? I notice a couple of common recurrences when I talk to people about faith and Jesus. The first thing I notice is our propensity to yearn for the “big;” grand, extravagant, and miraculous encounters with our mysterious faith are what we long for. We equate Jesus with God (rightly so), and God with miracles; consequently, when we look for Jesus, some part of us is also looking for the miraculous. I don’t think our first inclination is to search out Jesus in the ordinary or “least-of-these” world. The second thing I notice is how many of my Christian family are slow to look for Jesus (imago dei) among the “least-of-these” circumstances. We don’t associate ordinary or less than standard with miraculous. I mean, why would we? By definition, ordinary and miracle are opposites. When looking for the miracle we are prone to turn away from the ordinary. Big mistake. We would miss Jesus.

The apostle writes that Jesus came to us in the form of a servant (Philippians 2:7). The prophet Isaiah tells us there was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance…nothing to attract us to him (Isaiah 53:2). A modern interpretation of the gospel description of Jesus’ upbringing reveals that he had a teen mother, a dad who wasn’t his biological father, he grew up in a blue-collar family, eventually leaving the family business to live as an unemployed vagrant who hung out with a bunch of outcasts. During the last years of his life, he was even thought of as crazy by his own family and ostracized by his closest neighbors and friends. Consider our view of the miraculous in this same scenario today and we (most likely) miss Jesus.

I believe our ability to “see” the miraculous is directly proportional to our love for the “ordinary.” I believe our “sight” is tested daily by our comprehension of “imago dei.” Who is and what is the image of God? Our answer to that question determines our ability to see Jesus. If we fail to see Jesus in the ordinary and “least-of-these,” we will fail to see Jesus anywhere else…we are blind. I think the same can be summed up with Jesus’ words from the gospel of Matthew:

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.  For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.  I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’  Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink?  Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing?  When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’  And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’  Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.  For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink.  I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’  Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’  And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’” Matthew 25:34-45

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