Lectionary: 229But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
If we consider the Enormity of Original Sin during Lent, as I did in this blog yesterday, we must also consider the Enormity of God's mercy. The Mercy we find in the Holy Trinity is so rich and superabundant it cannot be contained within God but must overflow into our attitudes, manners and behavior:
Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.Christian mystics have often spoken of this indwelling of God in our humanity. We may be possessed by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit who take up residence in us; but never in an unpleasant or unfree sense. The Christian remains, like each Person of the Trinity, absolutely free. Nor might it be considered fun or enjoyable; nothing so crude at that. Rather, God's indwelling is blessed and the Servant of God is content to move in the Spirit.
In that Spirit she hears the Lord's word, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. Meeting hatred she may feel sorrow for her enemies but cannot take it personally. It has nothing to do with her. Meeting opposition she persists as the Lord persists, or she waits as the Lord waits. She has all the time in the world. Missions unaccomplished will be accomplished in God's time and in God's way. Nothing worth doing can be accomplished by one person in one lifetime.
The blessed see beyond the horizons of religions, denominations and sects "for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust."
These matters, too, are beyond human scrutiny. Our concerns are much simpler:
...like the eyes of servants on the hand of their masters, like the eyes of a maid on the hand of her mistress, so our eyes are on the LORD our God, till we are shown favor. Psalm 123
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.