Scripture: Matthew 7:12
In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.
Thought for the Day: As you might guess, I read a lot of Christian bloggers and religious sociologists and still others who are sitting on the fringes/frontiers of spirituality. There are plenty of folks who I find intriguing, folks who push my thinking. There are others who leave me scratching my head. It’s not that they are so deep that their writings are beyond your average thinker. No, it’s that there appears to be no connecting point between what they are writing and the writings of scripture. In Matthew’s Gospel, we find Jesus doing another summary – bringing it down to the basics. The prophets were a magnificent, harsh, unnerving group of writers and speakers, but amidst it all, they were calling people (especially those with power) to treat people as you would want to be treated. This is a little like the Love your neighbor as yourself from last week, but it appears to be suggesting what we might call basic respect of others…something we’re not so good at.
Prayer: Merciful God, you have treated us better than we might deserve, but you see things so differently than we see things. Help us to get a better view of life and relationships and the need for us to learn the basics of respect. Amen.
THIS SUNDAY
Filling in the Blank with: To Respect
