Monday, 15 April 2002

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do no claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceabley with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I repay says the Lord." No, "if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them soemthing to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:14-21



This is the same text as Friday. It is one of those very "full" texts that is hard to imagine. It is so full of the image of people who are blessed with the love of God and graciously embraced for all time - without condition. In other words, it is talking about all of us who claim to be followers of Jesus. "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Usually when that is said, there comes the litany of reasons when we need not include this in the vision. In fact, there are always reasons for not letting ourselves live as though the above vision suits us just fine. There are always exceptions. "But what if..." If you are like me, there can be an exception held up very quickly. In the final example in the text, it is often said that if we attempt to overcome evil with good, we will become the martyrs of the faith...is that what our God wants of us!?! But then when I think about that question, the answer is a yes. Our God does empower us and encourage us by the power of the Holy Spirit so that we will trust that God's love for us in Christ, Jesus is enough to shape and bring us a new life...and we will be a living witness to that new life. For anxious and fear filled people like me, it takes the blessedness of a community of faithful witnesses (martyrs) to nurture the resurrected life of our Lord within my day.



Connection: Keep giving yourself the time to consider - prayerfully consider - new ways to act. Even if those actions will be contrary to the prevailing winds of the day and filled with the gracious love that is known in the life of Jesus. Some part of our day will give us the opportunity to be such a witeness.



Blessed are you O God Most High for you invite us to trust in your unconditional love for us and then you bid us to walk as though that love does indeed shape who we are to those within our lives. Encourage us O Lord to live in your light. Amen