My Two Pence: Sunday January 11, 2015 A.D. Lectionary
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And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children—
“My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
or lose heart when you are punished by him;
for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves,
and chastises every child whom he accepts.”
Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline? If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and not his children. Moreover, we had human parents to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not be even more willing to be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share his holiness. (Hebrews 12:5-10)
If everything in our life is going hunky-dory then it is easy to forget about God, who made all things visible and invisible. We are legitimately His children and should start acting like it. #Thirdworldprobmlems is a hashtag used by 1st worlders to complain about low Iphone battery, no service on their smartphones, long lines at Zagat rated restaurants, too many channels to pick from on their television sets et cetera. People in the 3rd world should be able to complain just as much as people in the 1st world, but nobody should complain if we consider the steadfast love, mercy and loving-kindness of God Almighty. Jesus' eternally interceding and honorable blood purifies us from the debt of death we owe God the Father due to our transgressions against Him and our neighbors as it is written in the Law. That's mercy. That's love. When we realize this, the hardships that come our way are put into perspective. We deserve to smile, and let God discipline us for our good, that we may gradually become holier and holier and holier unto the ages of ages.
Simeon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. (2 Peter 1:1-2)
Jesus is God. Let no one tell you otherwise... so-called Christian or not. We should use the language of bondage in talking about what we do for God, but never forget to explain that it is voluntary bondage or our way of responding to His everlasting love. Our emails, our text messages, our sermons and our daily conversations should all begin with greetings. We jump into the substance of our talks way too early. Let us greet each other in this holy way that St. Peter, the arch-apostle, does. Let us always wish grace and peace to our neighbors. You will definitely be ridiculed by your peers for wishing them grace and peace, and perhaps even your elders will ridicule you, but you will receive a crown for being persecuted for the sake of the pure and undefiled church of God.
People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they sternly ordered them not to do it. But Jesus called for them and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” (Luke 18:15-17)
If there is one task that our church is skilled at, it is the persecution of the youth. We provide them with little to no liturgies, hymns (Spiritual Singer Zerfey Kebede is changing this), prayers or sermons for their spiritual growth. We shout at them with no counter words of encouragement. Researchers believe that you should compliment 5 times for every time you reprimand. That's a bit much, but at least 2 compliments for every reprimand might change the future of your parish, by making sure the youth want to return. Children are worthy of baptism in the name of the God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. Children are worthy of meyron (holy oil). Children are worthy of communion, the holy flesh and honorable blood of our Lord, Savior and God Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Children are worthy of repentance (let's teach them early).
All in all, we set the bar low for them, and they will only reach low heights. If we set the bar to the heaven of heavens, God's grace and goodwill will reveal to us the splendors He can work with babes and sucklings. Furthermore, we need to be as reliant upon God as sucklings are on breasts.
Lord God, grant us spiritual wisdom.
Furthermore, we must love each other.