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Advent Around the World
We invite you to worship with us each Wednesday, beginning November 30 at 11:00 a.m. (CST) Read More
Rose Schrott | Read John 14:23-26
While John 14 graces us with a blessing of peace, it also holds us accountable. Before Jesus speaks of peace, before he promises the Spirit, he reminds his followers that truly knowing and loving God cannot be separated from actions: “Those who love me will keep my word.”
So, as we near the end of our Easter celebration, we see a glimpse of the answer to our question, “What’s next?” It is not an easy answer, but it is an answer nonetheless: We, the church, are to be the incarnational presence of God in the world. We are to love God and love one another—not just with our words but with our actions.
This is not easy work. There are constant temptations and setbacks. But it is inescapably our work. As Jesus teaches us in John 14, this means that our words and actions must be in sync. We cannot believe in the love of God and act out hate, even of the smallest kind. We cannot believe in God’s grace and withhold grace from others. We cannot believe Jesus came for everyone but exclude a person or group.
Love means love. And love cannot be compartmentalized. To love God is to love others. To love others is to love God (see John 13:34-35).
Thankfully, we are not left alone under the weight of this call to integrity. We have the Holy Spirit to teach us and encourage us. As Jesus reminds us, when we proclaim our love for God in harmonious word and deed, the Trinity abides in us in the person of the Holy Spirit. And perhaps, with the Spirit’s help and God’s grace for our failures, we can hold together the gift of God’s grace with the call to act it out.
God of love, we give you our attempts and failures at living lives full of integrity. Transform us, abide in us, that we may be your loving presence. Amen.
As we near the end of our Easter celebration, we begin to wonder: What do we do when the party is over? God meets us in this place of uncertainty by offering transformative blessings through this week’s readings—a word that grounds us in our God-given identity while calling us to a greater purpose in the world. This divine mystery asks us to hold in tension the grace of God, who gives us gifts we do not earn, and the call of God toward action. Psalm 67 bestows on us the blessing and call of God’s radiance. John reminds us of the blessing of peace and the call of integrity. The conversion of Lydia in Acts invites us to create space for mysterious interplay between the divine and human action. Revelation reminds us of the blessing of life and reconciliation. Holding all these things is made possible through the Holy Spirit, who plays a prominent role in many of the readings this week.
Read Psalm 67. How do I radiate the blessing of God? How do I share this light and experience the brilliance of others?
Read John 14:23-29. Think of a time when you were able to hold peace and pain together. How did you recognize the Spirit’s presence with you?
Read Acts 16:9-15. What does it mean to you to be sent by the Holy Spirit?
Read Revelation 22:1-5. How do you experience the blessing of living water? Who do you believe is beyond saving? How do you think of them in light of the blessing of reconciliation promised in Revelation 21 and 22?
Respond by posting a prayer.
Whitney Simpson offers a wide-open doorway into embodied practice and awakens us to the long-held wisdom of our tradition that our bodies are sacred places where God meets us and dwells. Fully Human, Fully Divine is a true Christmas gift!”
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