Week 18 Daily Dose of Love
#120 (4/30)
Hidden from
the Wise
Matthew 11:25-27
At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was
your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except
the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
Luke 10:21-24
At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for
such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who
the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
Then turning to the disciples, Jesus said to them privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what
you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and
to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”
“Wise and intelligent” thought take different directions. Love
sees the whole picture. Those who are seen as wise and intelligent can view a loving response to the problems
of our time as naive and unsophisticated. The wisdom of the world emphasizes short-term satisfaction and
gratification of self-interest, which obscure the power and importance of love in our lives. The worldly
wise are likely to argue that being loving is a nice thing to do but it is not what works in the “real world.”
Intelligence can create a narrow view of reality that distorts
the true meaning and value of life. Infants are born into the world ready to love and be loved.
Jesus tells us that an infantile view is more accurate and real than that which can be justified by the most intelligent
and sophisticated arguments. The simple, basic logic of love reaches out to life as a young infant reaches for its mother
and father. And our father in heaven is always ready to take us into his arms.
Reflection/Discussion:
How can we recognize when our knowledge
and intelligence may be limiting our perspective and capacity for love?
Principles of Love:
Humility; Opening; Vision; Learning
Pray Through the Day:
Help us be humble
So we may love
#121 (5/1)
Rest with Jesus
Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying
heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and
humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
There is no deeper
rest than to rest in the love of God. The full realization that we are fully and completely loved by the
source of all love can bring comfort and respite in life’s most difficult circumstances. When the eternal
stream of God’s love gently and persistently flows through our hearts, course and direction become clear. There is no
need to struggle against the current. When we let go of worldly cares that weigh us down, we are able to
float on the surface of God’s loving stream and no longer need to fight to keep our heads above water. Love is our true nature. It is where we come from and where we are headed.
To fully rest in God’s love is to be at home wherever we are, however we feel.
Reflection/Discussion:
How can resting in the assurance of God’s
love become part of our daily routine?
Principles of Love:
Nature; Opening
Pray Through the Day:
We were created
From God’s love
#122 (5/2)
God’s Chosen Servant
Matthew 12:15b-21
Many crowds followed him, and he cured all of them, and
he ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
“Here is my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased. I
will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not wrangle or cry aloud,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. He will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering
wick until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope.”
Jesus did not fight
or struggle, push or shout. Love was his means and his end. The world tells
us to set specific goals and then figure out how to meet them. Destructive means are often justified because
they lead to ends that we believe are worthy. The
worldly approach may seem to work in short-term, limited circumstances. People have achieved great power
and accomplished incredible feats through means that bring harm to innocent people. It is viewed as “the
cost of doing business” or “collateral damage.” But we cannot harm another person without
at least partially closing our hearts; no lasting good ever comes from that.
Martin Luther King said, “Destructive
means can’t bring constructive ends.” No empire that was built on violence and war in past centuries
still exists today. People who achieved power and esteem through unjust means are ultimately viewed by
history with derision and disdain. Jesus is building an empire on love. Love is the means to our fulfillment
and it takes us to a place that is wonderful beyond our comprehension. Reflection/Discussion:
When are we most tempted to use destructive
means to achieve what we believe are just ends?
Principles of Love:
Opening; Vision
Pray Through the Day:
Open our hearts
To your love
#123 (5/3)
Sinful Woman Anoints Jesus
Luke 7:36-50
One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him,
and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. And a woman in the city, who
was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment.
She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair.
Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had
invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman
this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.”
Jesus
spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Teacher,” he replied, “speak.”
“A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When
they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon
answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And Jesus said to him, “You have judged
rightly.” Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered
your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.
You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not
anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.
“Therefore, I tell you, her sins,
which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”
Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” But those who were at the table with
him began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” And he said to the
woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Paul Tillich defines sin as “a state of separation.” When we sin, we separate ourselves from God. Forgiveness
is the grace of reconciliation that heals that split. The
woman who anointed Jesus experienced the full depth of her separation from God. She opened her heart and
experienced the profound emptiness and anguish that results from being separated from the source of life. The
depth of her pain deepened her capacity to love, and her heart was filled to overflowing with gratitude when she met Jesus.
Reflection/Discussion:
How can we learn to fully experience the
pain that results from our sins?
Principles of Love:
Acceptance; Nature; Opening; Forgiveness;
Suffering
Pray Through the Day:
Not my will
But yours be done
#124 (5/4)
Women Who Support Jesus
Luke 8:1-3
Soon afterwards he went on through
cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some
women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and
Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources.
Love opens doors
as well as hearts. Sharing our resources becomes a natural, spontaneous response when our hearts are open. The concept of “mine” leads to a closed heart. Everything we
have of value was created by God and, in most cases, through the efforts of other human beings. It makes
no sense to hoard possessions once we fully realize that.
Reflection/Discussion:
What possessions or resources do we have that might be difficult to share with Jesus and his
friends?
Principles of Love:
Opening; Compassion; Nature
Pray Through the Day:
Open our hearts
To your love
#125 (5/5)
No Kingdom is Divided
against Itself
Matthew 12:22-30
Then they brought to him a demoniac who was blind and mute; and he cured him, so that
the one who had been mute could speak and see. All the crowds were amazed and said, “Can this be
the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the
ruler of the demons, that this fellow casts out the demons.”
He knew what they were thinking and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and
no city or house divided against itself will stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself;
how then will his kingdom stand? If I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own exorcists cast
them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons,
then the kingdom of God has come to you. Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his
property, without first tying up the strong man? Then indeed the house can be plundered. Whoever is not
with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
Mark 3:19b-27
Then he went home; and
the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out
to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” And the scribes who
came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.”
And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If
a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot
stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without
first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.”
Luke 11:14-23
Now he was casting out a demon that was
mute; when the demon had gone out, the one who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed. But some
of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” Others, to test
him, kept demanding from him a sign from heaven. But he knew what they were thinking and said to them,
“Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls on house. If Satan
also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? —for you say that I cast out the demons by Beelzebul.
Now if I cast out the demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your exorcists cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you.
When a strong man, fully armed, guards his castle, his property is safe. But when one stronger than
he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his plunder. Whoever
is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
If we do not love, we become an obstacle to
love. It’s one or the other. Being neutral is not an option. Our hearts are either
opening or closing. We are either becoming more or less loving. Love is the
most powerful force in the universe. It comes from God who created everything that is real and lasting.
There is nothing stronger than love. A man can become very strong, he can develop
armor that seems impenetrable but love can take away that armor. All the defenses and attachments that
tied up our lives in a fruitless drive for worldly security, esteem, and pleasure can be undermined and overpowered by love. Ultimately,
love will win - the only question is whether we will share in that victory. Reflection/Discussion:
When are we most likely to be obstacles
to love?
Principles of Love:
Decision; Nature
Pray Through the Day:
Help us always
To choose love
#126 (5/6)
Sin against the Holy Spirit
Matthew 12:31-32
“Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit
will not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks
against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”
Mark 3:28-30
“Truly
I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the
Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— for they had said,
“He has an unclean spirit.”
Luke 12:10
“And everyone who speaks a word against the Son
of Man will be forgiven; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.”
The Holy Spirit is the power of
love in our world. It is the vehicle for forgiveness. Anyone who condemns the Holy Spirit
has slammed his or her heart shut. They have closed themselves off from the process through which they
could be forgiven. Sinning against the Holy Spirit involves a complete rejection of love, a total separation from God.
It is a sin against our true nature, a separation from our future. The
consistent message in Jesus’ teaching is that there is always hope, that the possibility for forgiveness is always open.
It makes sense that someone who sins against the Holy Spirit out of ignorance or impulsiveness likely hasn’t
closed their heart permanently. This passage appears to be a warning to those who seem to be coming very
close to taking a permanent step away from love that they may not recover from.
Reflection/Discussion:
How our thoughts or actions turn us away
from the Holy Spirit?
Principles of Love:
Forgiveness; Nature
Pray Through the Day:
Lord Jesus Christ
have mercy on us
