{"id":16456,"date":"2021-03-08T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-08T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/urc\/urc-daily-devotion-8th-march-2021"},"modified":"2021-03-08T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-03-08T06:00:00","slug":"urc-daily-devotion-8th-march-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/urc-daily-devotion-8th-march-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"URC Daily Devotion 8th March 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

Monday 8th March<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>St Mark 12: 28 – 37<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, \u2018Which commandment is the first of all?\u2019 Jesus answered, \u2018The first is, \u201cHear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one;  you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.\u201d  The second is this, \u201cYou shall love your neighbour as yourself.\u201d There is no other commandment greater than these.\u2019  Then the scribe said to him, \u2018You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that \u201che is one, and besides him there is no other\u201d;  and \u201cto love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength\u201d, and \u201cto love one\u2019s neighbour as oneself\u201d,\u2014this is much more important than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.\u2019  When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, \u2018You are not far from the kingdom of God.\u2019 After that no one dared to ask him any question.<\/strong><\/p>\n

While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, \u2018How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David? David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared,<\/strong>
\u201cThe Lord said to my Lord,<\/strong>
\u2018Sit at my right hand,<\/strong>
    until I put your enemies under your feet.\u2019\u201d<\/strong>
David himself calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?\u2019 And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reflection<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018All you need is love, love, love is all you need\u2019 So the Beatles first sang in 1967, as Britain\u2019s contribution to Our World, the first live global television link. It\u2019s an appropriate song to sing to the whole world, with words that point to the way in which love can hold people together, across boundaries and barriers. It is just as appropriate today, in the midst of the political tensions and fears across the world, and in the increasing polarisations between people of different views and understandings in a whole range of areas.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The words of the song resonate with Jesus\u2019 teaching about love, a teaching just as relevant today as two thousand years ago. Love is God\u2019s gift, flowing out of God\u2019s nature and being, and made visible in the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. In response to this gift, we are called to love, both God and one another.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus\u2019 words about love can feel mundane and obvious, easy to be overlooked in the need to get on with the important, demanding, and challenging activities that everyday life brings.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yet these words offer what can feel like the hardest challenge \u2013 a challenge that silenced Jesus\u2019 listeners. Loving God means building up my relationship with God in prayer and in taking time in the midst of a busy round to listen for God\u2019s voice. Loving my neighbour is not just about loving those like me that I get on with, but loving the stranger, the alien, the person with whom I feel I have nothing in common.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Love is not a simple and easy road. It leads to the way of the cross. It takes me to the point of reflecting on who I really am and seeing the barriers I put in place of being filled with God\u2019s love.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prayer:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Loving God, may I grow in my knowledge and experience of your love for me.<\/strong>
Take from me the barriers that I put in the way of being filled with your love.<\/strong>
As I grow in this love, may it flow out of my life to you and my neighbour.<\/strong>
Help me to love you with all of my being.<\/strong>
Help me to love my neighbour, whether friend or stranger, as you love me.<\/strong>
Amen<\/strong>
.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Monday 8th March St Mark 12: 28 – 37 One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, \u2018Which commandment is the first of all?\u2019 Jesus answered, \u2018The first is, \u201cHear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one;  … <\/p>\n

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