Scripture: Romans 5:10-11
For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Thought for the Day: The Dalai Lama offered a simple, yet pointed thought when he wrote: “In the practice of tolerance, one’s enemy is the best teacher.” This stands in bitter conflict with our human nature. We are taught to believe that our enemy has nothing to offer us. We often need to justify the person’s status as the enemy, and to do so requires devaluing and discrediting the individual. The tendency among human beings is to set up a world with clear lines of demarcation to define good and bad, friend and foe, righteous and unrighteous. We blindly hold to these boundaries because they provide us comfort, making us feel as if we have a pretty good handle on the general laws of the universe. Yet if we were to be honest with ourselves, we are all a mix…a confessional attitude by which we are better able to practice tolerance. In doing so, we just might discover by way of our enemy that the line we declared to be valid in fact never existed.
Prayer: I confess to you, O Gracious Lord, my failure to fully live as I should. And alongside this failure, I must confess my judgement of others as if somehow I was qualified to make such a determination. In your mercy, forgive me. Amen.
WEDNESDAY
Last Meeting
Noon & 6:30pm
Chapters 4 & 5
THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Joy Sunday
Special Music at all three Services
