What's Love Got To Do With It?

WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?

From the very beginning, God emphasized the love of neighbor. Nearly every prophet repeats that. Jesus came then, and not only preached love of neighbor, but lived it, up to and including, forgiving his killers. Still the human race makes a face and says, “He doesn’t mean those people does he?”  

If you look at the people whom God chose to represent Him on earth you know quickly that God knows how to pick them.  Moses, David, Isaiah, Peter, all handpicked and all dedicated to His will.  So when it came to explaining what he meant by love your neighborhe chose Paul of Tarsus. 

In his letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 12:31 thru 13:13, Paul lays it out for all to see.   This passage is commonly used at weddings, but the simple truths expressed in this passage are the recipe for loving your neighbor, not just your spouse.  It’s almost as though someone had asked Paul about how they should love because he begins by saying: 

I shall show you a still more excellent way.

Love is patient.  At home, in traffic, in the airport, wherever.

Love is kind. To strangers, to the poor, to people you don’t like.

Love is not jealous. Because someone has something you don’t.

Love is not pompous. Because you have something they don’t.

Love is not inflated. (Not sure what Paul means by this)

Love is not rude. This ought to be bumper sticker!

Love does not seek its own interests – above others.

Love is not quick tempered. Anger management, anyone?

Love does not brood over injury or rejoice over wrongdoing.

Love rejoices in the truth. Truth is still truth and it shines like a beacon. 

Love bears everything.

Love believes.

Love hopes.

Love endures.

Love never fails. 

It can’t, it simply can’t be any clearer than this!  God is not asking the impossible.  He does not command that you like everyone or that you never avoid people who bring out the worst in you. He does not say you should leave yourself vulnerable to attack or insult.  What he does ask is that you live by this code and remember that the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference.  He asks that you keep love foremost in your heart and mind so that His love can be extended to the world. What’s love got to do with it?  Everything. 

May God be with us as we strive to love one another. Amen

Carol Lemelin, OPA

TODAY'S HEADLINE

TODAY’S HEADLINE

“ACTIVIST, JESUS OF NAZARETH, LOSES IT IN THE TEMPLE PRECINCTS.”

This afternoon while merchants were selling their wares to visitors in town for Passover, Jesus of Nazareth, already known for his unorthodox behavior, took a whip to the moneychangers and merchants.  During his wrathful explosion, tables were overturned, money cascading on to the floor, animals crying out in fear and people scrambling to get out the way of that whip.  It must be noted that Jesus did not actually strike any person, just the tables.  He cried out a quote from the book of Jeremiah; “You have made of my father’s house a den of thieves.”   

The temple guards were summoned, but somehow Jesus was able to escape capture, although no one actually saw him leave the area.  The High Priest and the president of the Sanhedrin conferred privately, but no announcement was forthcoming.  It is known, however, that the Sanhedrin is deeply troubled by the presence of Jesus of Nazareth due to his insistence on recognition of the rights of sinners and his attacks on the establishment.  

The High Priest said at his press conference; “His insistence on consorting with tax collectors and street people sets a very bad example and threatens the stabilization of the nation. There is even a story of his having spent time in the company of Romans. The nation does not need another rabble rouser and we will do all we can to keep him from disrupting the peace.”

EDITORS NOTE: 

“With all due respect to the High Priest, we would like to recommend that you go and find this Jesus and listen to what he has to say and make your own decisions.  We do not say this lightly because we have seen and heard him and we note that his message cuts through the red tape of government and concentrates on what Yahweh demands of us, which is to love one another.  This Jesus is no rabble-rouser, but a compassionate man who brings the message of God’s love to everyone, whether high or low in society.  He appears to be the one Scripture says, “Will reveal things hidden since the beginning of the world.”It is our opinion that the world will never forget Him. “  

Times change, but people don’t and Jesus would get the same reception if he came in our century as he did in his.  The wonderful thing is, the message is the same then and now, and means as much to world as it when it was first proclaimed. The best way to share the faith is to live it. 

May God bless as we try to fulfill Jesus’ call. 

Carol Lemelin OPA

UNTANGLED

UNTANGLED 

I was in a small store not too long ago and as I was waiting to be cashed out, I noticed a basket of bracelets and necklaces on the counter. I saw one I thought I would like, so I picked up one strand and the entire bunch came with it!  The clerk apologized and said they had been so busy they had not had time to untangle them. I asked if they would mind if I tried and she said they would be thrilled. It only took about 5 minutes and I had them all straightened out. As I worked, I was thinking about how much fun that is for me to figure out what goes where, what’s twisted here, what should go the other way. 

That led me to thinking about our personal relationships and how twisted up they can get. How one day of misunderstanding can ruin an entire relationship. The worst part is we tend to leave the mess in the basket and not try to sort it out.  In fact, sometimes we actually nurse that kind of grudge. As we age and look back, we realize that one twist, one effort, one word, or gesture could have untangled the whole mess, but we didn’t do it. It’s not nice to look back on that. Fixing it now is often impossible. 

The sisters of Lazarus, Mary and Martha, had a little contretemps over preparing dinner.  Jesus took Mary’s side and that had to hurt, but these women were disciples of Jesus and if they learned anything, they learned to love one another.  Chances are good that they solved their issue quickly because of His influence. 

What about us?  Does Jesus influence our behavior?  The dictate to love one another includes forgiving one another. We speak of skeletons in closets.   That doesn’t always mean crimes; it can mean grudges.  It means those big grudges, lifetime grudges that we take out and pet and feed and keep alive.  I might go so far as to say that this is a disease like alcoholism or drug addiction. We have to have it. In a sick kind of way, we enjoy it.  No one can truly love and follow Christ and still carry something like this around. Everyone knows that the person holding the grudge is more burdened than the object of his or her anger. What’s worse, and, frankly ridiculous, is that the object often has no idea about the grudge against them.  

When we carry a grudge, we shut Jesus out.  The sad thing is, Jesus is the only answer to ending this.  Jesus is God, and God is love and there is no room for grudges. Prayer will help in finding the strand that will untangle the whole thing. 

I know whereof I speak. I carried a grudge for years.  I prayed constantly for Jesus to relieve me of it, until the day I realized it was up to me to find the strand that would unravel the whole thing.  Once I did, the peace promised by Christ was mine. 

Blessings, 

Carol Lemelin OPA  

A TWO-WAY STREET

A TWO-WAY STREET

MARK 6: 1-6

He came to his native place accompanied by his disciples.

Going home to visit is often a mixed bag of emotions and experiences, but most people look forward to seeing old friends and visiting places full of memories.  It probably was something like that for Jesus.  It’s possible he went back to Nazareth because of the carpentry shop or to share his stories and bring news of his cousin John and certainly to see his mother.  

As was the custom when someone came back, they were invited to read in Synagogue, which Jesus did. You can imagine how he felt when he decided to tell them who he really was, part excitement and part worry.  He was wise to worry, because it did not go well when he said, “Today, these words have been fulfilled in your hearing.”  Their reaction was negative to the max.  Their actions and words prompted Jesus to say, “A prophet is without honor in his own land.”  

The thing the townspeople apparently found the most objectionable was that Jesus healed so many in other places and yet had never healed there.  It is at this point that Jesus reveals the most important part the healing process.  It is a two way street.  It is not enough to expect to be healed, it is essential that one believe healing is possible and to understand it is God who heals. 

The people of his town did not honor Jesus.  They questioned all the testimony in his favor because they knew him from childhood and would not accept that he was special. They were, to put it simply, jealous, jealous because Jesus was held in high esteem elsewhere.  Jealous because he came to them changed, enlarged as it were, and beyond them in every possible way, and they were angry because his fame brought nothing to them.  This got so bad they tried to throw him over a cliff.  So much for homecoming. 

By and large the people of the world look on God as a last resort when their lives get out of hand and they suddenly realize there is one last place they can look for help.

That usually ends badly, just as it did that day in Nazareth.  People are not willing to accept the responsibility for their own choices, but instead, blame God when things do not go their way.  

In every case, when a person was healed, Jesus said, “Your faith has saved you.” 

When we call on God, it’s imperative that we understand the dynamic.  First, God knows what you need before you ask. Second, what you ask for is not necessarily what you need.  Third, the Holy Spirit is with you to guide you to accept whatever answer you receive. Fourth, and most important, God loves you with a depth you cannot imagine. Believe it. 

Blessings,

Carol Lemelin OPA