🦁 Lent 6-2
Readings: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29; Jeremiah 33:1-9; Philippians 2:12-18.
Reflection
Good morning. This is Tim Tribble, broadcasting from Sacramento, California. Today's readings come to us from Psalm 118, verses one and two and 19 to 29, Jeremiah, Chapter 33, verses 1 to 9, and Philippians chapter two, verses 12 to 18 and in our reading from Philippians today, it is entitled Do Everything without Grumbling. Here we go. Right now, I really gotta do this. Oh, I know.
We human beings, we love our grumbling. Yeah. Remember that sergeant comes in to do something? Uh, of course. You know, of course we the four Mafia. We were really good at hiding.
But this is talking about doing God's work, and we're not just in the prisons. What we do in the presence of someone. That's what we do in the presence. When people aren't around, do everything without grumbling or arguing. Verse 14 seem to become blameless, impure children, God without fault in the warped and crooked generation, then you will shine among them like stars in the sky. First 15.
And here we have some metaphors shine among them, like stars in the sky in the old world. And back then we did not have what is known as the light noise we have now. You try. You got to look at the stars here in the city, and it's much different than if you drive up a couple of hours east of here and get up in the mountains and Sierra Nevada mountains and look at the stars, the same stars. But because you have that light noise around you and the buildings and everything else, the stars are much brighter. The sky as much appears much darker.
So this was this was a big thing at night. This is this is showing the elevation and how you're going to be above one. We become blameless and pure. Do things without grumbling. Don't argue about it. Terrible things for us to do. Things we always want to do something our way. Get a little twist into it. Wouldn't it be better if we did it this way or, you know this? It goes round and round and round and round and we do God's work. We listen. That still small voice when we turn around and we say, What is it God wants me to do here? And we do it willingly. We don't grumble, we don't argue.
Years ago when I got out of the Army, I went back to college. So this is the very early nineties, very late eighties, early nineties. I was taking ethics class at the local junior college and our professor, this is in the spring session of Professor Van Patten and he came in class classes the week of Valentine's Day and he said you know he'd been asked by a group to give a speech on the definition of love. What is love? What does love me? So of course, he asked the students. And so again, I'm pushing 30 in the class of 18, 19 and maybe a few 20 year olds. So it was it was interesting because of the flowers and this and that, all these of the romantic everybody's caught in the romantic and the giving in chocolate joke. So we went around for a while. He came back and so he read us his talk in class.
What it ended with is something that stuck with me for the last 30 years.
Love is putting the needs, wants and desires of another ahead of your own willingly. That fits all four kinds of love. God does not give us chocolates and flowers. Okay, you say, All right, so hear the word willingly. We do everything without grumbling or arguing because this is love. Love each other, love one another as God loves. You know, love your neighbor as yourself. And there's all these in the New Testament, the New Covenant, and all of this. The new commandment is love, love, love, love, love.
The Episcopal presiding Bishop. Bishop Curry has made that his tenure last ten years. We're going to be electing a new bishop coming at the general convention.
And it's about love. And that changes the whole dynamic of everything we do as Christians and how we act. It's not trying to stay out of hell. That's the way I was raised. Being a Christian, all it was all about staying out, how he got to be. Oh, don't screw up. Oh, don't, don't, don't do this, don't do that. Everything. Everything is then everything leads to hell. Great way to live. Not so much.
But when we change the narrative of what is a follower of Christ, what does a follower of the follower? We said in the original, when Jesus went up during the Resurrection ascension, when he sent the 70 out, they were not known as Christians. That was called the way. Are you following the way? It was a sect of Judaism at that time, before the Jews said that wasn't. And then the Romans started persecuting one other story.
It's love and that love message to walk out to someone and tell them that their love to show actions of love to someone who's in a bad place, a dark place, changes lives. And now we can open up and people will turn to the way they will want to be Christians. They will want to be like us because they see how we are loving our neighbor. We love others as God loves us. You just it's all about love. So when we do everything without grumbling, do do everything without grumbling or arguing, we are doing this because we should be glad and rejoice and be glad and rejoice in the love of God. And we want to share that love with those around us. Now, I say it's easy. I'm not saying I'm good at it. I am saying that is our goal. So the challenge for today, let's go out and show someone somewhere some love on their.
