Yesterday I invited you to read Luke 6:17-49. Please read it again for today.
This section is one of Jesus’ longest teaching sessions in the Gospel of Luke. Imagine you are part of the great multitude of people from all over who have come to hear Jesus and be healed by him. You came for a glimpse of this teacher and maybe even for healing and what you got was something so much greater. As you listened, Jesus kept saying things that challenged how the world works. He kept saying things that challenged your own behavior. He kept saying things that challenged you to go back to your everyday life a little different than how you live now. In a world where “an eye for an eye” was the norm, Jesus’ teaching was calling everything into question. His very identity was calling everything into question.
Love your enemies
Do to others as you would have them do to you
Do not judge
Forgive
Give
Take the log out of your own eye
Hear my words, act on them
As you read, try to hear Jesus’ words as if you were hearing them for the first time. Which of Jesus’ teachings is speaking to you at this moment? Which teaching is most challenging? Which teaching feels like a place God is calling you to grow? May we always be willing to sit on the plain and listen to Jesus, and may we let his words challenge us to live more fully into the kingdom of God.
In Peace, Pastor Ruth
Let us pray:
Living God, you confound the world’s wisdom in giving your kingdom to the lowly and the pure in heart. Give us such a hunger and thirst for justice, and perseverance in striving for peace, that in our words and deeds the world may see the life of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Friend. Amen.