MONDAY, June 7

Galatians 4:12-20. What has become of the goodwill you felt?

Paul is struggling with the Christians in Galatia. He had put a lot of himself into these congregations, preaching the gospel to them. But now the passion and the love they exhibited at first is fading, and Paul is hurt and upset.

Growing up together as a community in Christ wasn't easy then and it is not easy now. Matters of faith go deep--to the very heart of peoples' lives and their identities. The struggles that occur within the church are always passionate. But that is why we all need to remember what makes the church unique. It is a covenant community. In Christ we make a commitment to one another, and we make every effort to keep the commitment. We do this so that we won't give up on one another as we struggle to understand our faith and its meaning in our lives.

A character in a film once remarked that "making new friends was easy, but making old friends took a lot of work." The same goes for the church. It's easy to fall in love with a new-found faith, but when the questions and struggles come, it takes commitment to hang in there with our brothers and sisters who are struggling too. (2000)

PRAY for the Diocese of Delhi (North India)

Ps 56, 57, [58] * 64, 65; Ecclesiastes 7:1-14; Matthew 15:21-28

View the daily Lectionary Readings at Satucket.com.
Or view the Bible passages at Biblegateway.com.

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Pluck my ear out

Jun 07, 2010 at 6:43 am

Written by Stephen,

Reading the whole passage in the Book of Galation, I could relate to the phrase "you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me" in reference to Paul's fading friendships with these people. I am what I call "musically autistic". In other words like many musicians that are members of the Episcopal Church if the music is not just right, I freak out. This tends to alienate me. If only I could "tear out my ears" so that I could get along better with my sisters and brothers in Christ. Of course God gave me these ears for a good reason.

Reconciling in Christ

Jun 07, 2010 at 12:51 pm

Written by Michael Shirley,

This meditation is very similar to the current situation in my sister Diocese of South Carolina and in many other parishes around the US. A lot of these parishes no longer want to be a part of the Episcopal Church in America because of controversial issues that have risen over the past few years; i.e. women and homosexual clergy. In times such as the present it is important to remember that we all have our minor differences, but we need to stick together as Christian Community to serve Christ and one another. If we leave a church body everytime something new is presented that we do not agree with, we would never settle down and accomplish anything. We all need to remember, including myself, that we are to love one another just as much as we love ourselves. This unconditional love includes loving each other's differences as well!

...

Jun 07, 2010 at 8:56 pm

Written by Sheri Christi,

The scriptures condemn a lot of behavior. Unlike Oprah and the modern gurus, Jesus did not preach a "feel good" unconditional love philosophy. I seriously doubt that Paul was writing about something like that, but rather a real committment to God through Jesus Christ. Paul was trying to start communities, so helping people live spiritual love and service was an essential. Paul wasn't a psychologist, but his challenge probably helped him develop that type of insight so that he could understand people's difficulties.

-1

comment about sc

Jun 07, 2010 at 10:36 pm

Written by south carolinian,

as far as the diocese of sc is concerned, while the bishop is exploring ways to expand relationships, they are as a whole still a part of the national church with the feeling that TEC has left them if you will, walking away from canons and values - many parishes are looking at leaving the diocese, but it seems better to effect change from within rather than from without - my prayer is that while everyone is seeking out which way TEC will go that they might find a way to be a better christian, not just a better episcopalian, and that they might follow God's will, not their own

-1

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