Week 44 Daily Dose of Love
#302 (10/29)
If Anyone
Serves Me
John 12:26-27
“Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves
me, the Father will honor. Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me
from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.”
The only way to serve Jesus is to follow him.
Following Jesus is a process of opening our heart to everyone we encounter, even if it leads to pain and suffering.
Jesus shows us how to follow him by the way he responds to his Father. Love is more important than
self-preservation, more important than pain and suffering, more important than life itself. Love is the reason we come to this hour.
Reflection/Discussion:
How can we learn to accept pain and suffering?
Principles of Love:
Suffering
Pray Through the Day:
Use our pain
To deepen our love
#303
(10/30)
Believe in the Light
John 12:28-36
“Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify
it again.” The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An
angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine.
Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I
am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to indicate the kind of
death he was to die. The crowd answered him, “We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains
forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” Jesus said
to them, “The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake
you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe
in the light, so that you may become children of light.”
Light is a perfect metaphor for love because both light and love allow us to see what
is real and true. We cannot see where we are going or what is in front of us when we stumble in the darkness
of self-interest. Love opens our eyes to the true reality of our creation.
Every person we encounter is a child of our loving father. Every situation we face presents an opportunity
to unite us in his love. When we act in the light of God’s love, we help fulfill the purpose of creation
and clearly see how Jesus is drawing us to himself.
Reflection/Discussion:
What would we see if we brought the light of God’s love to our daily tasks and interactions?
Principles of Love:
Vision; Nature
Pray Through the Day:
Open our eyes
To deepen our love
#304
(10/31)
The Unbelief of the People
John 12:37-43
After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them. Although he had performed so many signs
in their presence, they did not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word spoken by the prophet
Isaiah: “Lord, who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
And so they could not believe, because Isaiah also said, “He has blinded their eyes and hardened
their heart, so that they might not look with their eyes, and understand with their heart and turn—and I would heal
them.” Isaiah said this because he saw his glory and spoke about him. Nevertheless
many, even of the authorities, believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, for fear that they would
be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human glory more than the glory that comes from God.
The glory of God is hidden when
our eyes are blinded and hearts hardened while the glory of humans is always available, at least in our imagination.
This passage asks if we will open our eyes and hearts to what is real and lasting, or if we will try to grasp and hold
on to what is fleeting and ultimately unsatisfying. We glorify God by loving him.
We love God by loving each other. We may need to overcome worldly attractions and temptations and
dig deep into the hidden recesses of our hearts to find that love, but it is always there. Reflection/Discussion:
What fears might limit our ability to
act on our beliefs?
Principles of Love:
Humility; Acceptance
Pray Through the Day:
Help us be humble
So we may love
#305 (11/1)
Not to Judge But to Save
John 12:44-50
Then Jesus cried aloud: “Whoever believes in me
believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I
have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness. I
do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve
as judge, for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say
and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just
as the Father has told me.”
To believe in Jesus is to believe
in love. When we see the love of Jesus, we see God. Jesus makes it very clear that he
did not come to judge but to teach us about his father’s love. Love
is the ultimate judge of our actions. Did we follow the words and actions of Jesus and his commandment
to love God and each other, or did we follow something else?
Reflection/Discussion:
Where is there need for more belief in love in our lives?
Principles of Love:
Opening; Vision
Pray Through the Day:
Open our hearts
To your love
#306
(11/2)
The Anointing in Bethany
Matthew 26:6-13
Now while Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very
costly ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table. But when the disciples saw it, they
were angry and said, “Why this waste? For this ointment could have been sold for a large sum, and
the money given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the
woman? She has performed a good service for me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not
always have me. By pouring this ointment on my body she has prepared me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever
this good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.”
Mark 14:3-9
While
he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly
ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head. But some were there who said to one another
in anger, “Why was the ointment wasted in this way? For this ointment could have been sold for more
than three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they scolded her. But Jesus said,
“Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me. For you always have
the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me. She
has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial. Truly I tell you, wherever
the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.”
John 12:1-8
Six
days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There
they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took
a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled
with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray
him), said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?”
(He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to
steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it
for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
Loving action always
trumps generous giving. The woman who anointed Jesus opened her heart and honored him in a pure expression
of love. She clearly saw who Jesus was. Those who complained about the expense of the perfume also saw what was happening; but
from a very narrow perspective. They make a logical point but totally miss the loving action of this devoted
woman. Love opens our eyes to see beyond
narrow analysis and self-interest so that we too can clearly see Jesus and honor him through loving action.
Reflection/Discussion:
How might our perspective on how others
honor God be limited?
Principles of Love:
Vision; Opening
Pray Through the Day:
Open our eyes
To your love
#307 (11/3)
The Plot to Kill Lazarus
John 12:9-11
When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was
there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So
the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting
and were believing in Jesus.
The chief priests thought they were acting in the best interests of the people in plotting to kill
Lazarus. They justified this decision in order to prevent a violent reaction by Roman occupiers to a potential
uprising. We can logically justify virtually any action, no matter how cruel or hurtful, to achieve an end we
believe is worthy. This works in the world of self-interest that we create in our minds, but in the world
that God created from his love, the end never justifies the means. In God’s world, love is both the
means and the end. Reflection/Discussion:
When might we be tempted to think the end justifies the means?
Principles of Love:
Humility; Learning; Opening
Pray Through the Day:
Help us be humble
So we may love
#308
(11/4)
The Plot to Kill Jesus
Matthew 26:1-5
When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, “You
know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,
and they conspired to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. But they said, “Not during the festival,
or there may be a riot among the people.”
Mark 14:1-2
It was two days before the Passover and the festival
of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him; for
they said, “Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.”
Luke 22:1-2
Now
the festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was near. The chief priests and the scribes
were looking for a way to put Jesus to death, for they were afraid of the people.
There are times when love requires profound
courage. Jesus knew that he faced betrayal, humiliation, torture, immense suffering, and death.
He also knew that he had other options. He could easily have left Jerusalem and taken his message
elsewhere. There is only one reason Jesus didn’t leave:
He loves us.
Reflection/Discussion:
How would we feel if we knew someone was plotting to kill us for our belief?
Principles of Love:
Suffering
Pray Through the Day:
Use our pain
To deepen our love
