Prayer:
Good Lord, thank you for loving us so practically, for the air we breathe, the food we eat, the peace we enjoy, the friends we have, the future you promise, the sins forgiven. Thanks for be a God who delivers, not just talks. Amen.
Bible Reading:
Matthew 7:24-29
Silence:
One to two minutes
Reflection:
Who would you rather have around if you were to experience a respiratory arrest – someone who has read a CPR manual or someone who has done CPR? The answer is fairly clear – words and manuals are OK, but I’d bank on delivery for my life. Books, lectures, information all have their place; libraries, universities, classrooms are important; bibles, sermons, liturgies are valuable, but without the practice, the doing, the enacting there is no life in any of them, they yield no life. This hold true for nearly every human enterprise – from auto mechanics to Wall Street trading. Not surprisingly, Jesus suggests that it is also true in the faith world, and with dire consequences verifying its truth. Church people are more apt to be consumers than doers, a practice that is rooted in a variety of reasons most of which are related to fear. Fear is basically self-orientation, and generally the reason we remain in the “word” world and stay clear of the “doing”. If the logic of “other orientation” is not so compelling as to bring conversion, then maybe the Holy Spirit will use the actual test of the storms of life to reveal to us that our lives are built on sand, and we will turn us from causal consumers to “doers” of the word. Maybe, though, we won’t have to learn the hard way.
Action – Repentance and Creation:
Today, take one admonition of the Bible, like love your enemy, or show hospitality, or judge not – and instead of just thinking about it, do it. See just how you feel, from start to finish.