Email from Church of the Redeemer

Morning Devotion for the Season of Easter

May 3, 2024

Invitatory

Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me, and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling. Psalm 43:3

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Matthew 7:1-12

‘Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgement you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s^* eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbour,^* “Let me take the speck out of your eye”, while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour’s^* eye.

‘Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.

‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

‘In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.

Meditation-Rebecca Northington

Wow-can you imagine if everyone actually pursued these lofty goals today, in America, and around the world? Each stanza is breathtaking in the potential it recognizes of humanity; what we could be to one another, how we could operate in the world. It seems basic to go through it stanza by stanza, but also as simple or as complicated as we want it to be. On the surface, it is aspirational Christian living. But just beneath, it is a commentary on human nature, and our resistance to the true grace of God’s presence in our lives.

Do any of us successfully go through the day without passing judgment on one another? From the way we drive to what we have in our grocery carts, to what we wear and how we behave, to our relationship with God and how we express it? How many times a day do we engage in this toxic behavior? We can now judge online from the comfort of our phone, or we can judge secretly in our minds. But nothing is secret from God, who calls us to remove the log from our own eye, blinding us to our own insufficiencies and shortcomings. We are so keen to see what is wrong with others, we neglect ourselves. We choose fear over love; the fear that maybe we are in fact not better than those around us, even though we pretend to be. Perhaps if we truly pursued all that is good and righteous for ourselves we would no longer notice what we find so irksome or inferior in our neighbors, allowing God to be the ultimate judge of their sincerity, and ours. If we can do the work of removing the log from our own eye, perhaps we can humbly help others to see the speck in their eye, without judgment or superiority-but with hope.

Moving on to the next stanza, Jesus comes to us to share what is holy and all-encompassing about our relationship with God, but not everyone will be able to hear this message and he warns us not to waste our time and resources on those who are cold or hostile to our genuine outreach. As you would not give something of great value to the lowest among us-pigs and dogs-we should not squander this liberating message of love and forgiveness on those who adamantly resist it. Not everyone is able to see the speck or log in their eye, and we can only lead a horse to water-we cannot force it to drink. Attempting to spread the Gospel is admirable, but forcing the Gospel onto someone who has no interest is squandering something precious.

So far we have been asked to resist the temptation to judge others, lest we forget our own sinfulness, and we have been reminded that just as we judge, we will be judged. We have been asked not to squander this great gift, this love that God offers us unconditionally, but to share it with those who are open to its grace and glory. Finally Jesus urges us to turn to God in prayer, not once, but repeatedly as we ask for God's help, search for God’s deliverance, and knock with expectation knowing the door will be opened to us. Simple-right? But do any of us really turn to God in our time of need? For one thing are we comfortable with our desires, before God? This begs the question of orientation. Are we oriented towards God when we judge others, when we think of the riches of the world, when we want something, or need something to happen? Or do we in fact turn to ourselves, with the false belief that we are in control-we have the power? One could argue that it is counter-cultural to turn to God as a loving father who wants to provide while asking us to be accountable to our wishes. But that is precisely what this passage demands of us.

Lastly this excerpt includes the golden rule: do unto others as you would have done to you. We finish where we started in this meditation. Can you imagine if everyone truly followed this rule in America today, and across the globe? Maybe the call to action is simply to try: to try and see others as God might view them, with a sense of hope that God sees the best in us as well. Maybe we are called to find and remove the obstacles in our own lives that prevent us from putting God first, while helping others to do the same; with love and compassion, not judgment and superiority; offering this miracle to those who are ready to receive it.

Lastly let us truly attempt to treat everyone in every interaction how we would like to be treated-or how we would like our mother to be treated. It sounds so simple, this call to action. But try it steadily for one day, and see how you do. If we put God at the center, and allow ourselves to be instruments of God’s will, always searching for God’s voice and direction in our life, we will find the logs in our eyes, we will help others to do so as well, and we will inevitably treat others better than we could ever hope to be treated. Because that, I believe, is God’s will for us.

Franciscan Blessing

May God bless you with discomfort,

At easy answers, half-truths,

And superficial relationships

So that you may live

Deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger

At injustice, oppression,

And exploitation of people,

So that you may work for

Justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears,