Thursday 22. January 2015
2. Sunday after Epiphany
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. (Romans 12,9-10, ESV)
The apostles devote a portion of their epistles to some practical application of the law in the lives of Christians. In Romans 12, the Apostle Paul exhorts us to love and show affection to one another.
The sentiments seem obvious on the surface and rather easy to follow, but we know from our own personal experience how difficult loving and showing affection to some people can be. At times it can be a real challenge; we might not even want to pursue such an attitude or action.
Consider the way the world is at the moment. More often than not, the news media reports to us stories of violence, hatred, abuse and other shameful and sinful events that question the very humanity of some people. We live in a world broken by sin inhabited by people broken by sin. Jesus entered this world and manifested Himself as the very Son of God in order to free us from the curse of sin and liberate us from the sinful world. He did this on through the cross and His resurrection. Now He sends to His Church and His Christians the Holy Spirit who empowers us by the gospel to love others as God loves us, to show affection to others as God shows to us. In this way we bring the gospel in imperceptible ways to our neighbors, often unnoticed by others, but life-changing for those we love and help. We do this for Jesus has done it for us.
Prayer: O Almighty God, Divine Providence over all things in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear our prayers and grant us Your peace through all our days. Amen. (Collect for the 2. Sunday after Epiphany, revised)
No comments:
Post a Comment