{"id":21776,"date":"2024-03-11T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-11T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/urc\/urc-daily-devotion-monday-11th-march-2024"},"modified":"2024-03-11T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-03-11T06:00:00","slug":"urc-daily-devotion-monday-11th-march-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/urc-daily-devotion-monday-11th-march-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"URC Daily Devotion Monday 11th March 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

St Mark 12: 28 – 37<\/span><\/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. 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, \u201cThe Lord said to my Lord, \u2018Sit at my right hand,  until I put your enemies under your feet.\u2019\u201d David himself calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?\u2019 And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

I recall walking through the gates of my local URC and being stopped by a curious (Christian) onlooker:<\/span>
 
\u201cWhat kind of church is this?\u201d <\/span>
\u201cThe United Reformed Church.\u201d<\/span>
 
\u201cWhat kind of church is <\/span>that?\u201d
\u201cA Christian church.\u201d<\/span>
 
\u201cWhat Bible do you use?\u201d <\/span>
\u201c<\/span>The Bible.\u201d
 
\u201cDo people speak in tongues?\u201d<\/span>
 \u201cWe don\u2019t actively seek for it to happen \u2013 but if it did, great!\u201d<\/span>
 
A puzzled expression\u2026<\/span>
 
\u201cSpeaking in tongues is <\/span>one of the gifts of the Spirit \u2013 but the greatest gift is love.\u201d
 
Further puzzlement!<\/span>
 
\u201cThe Bible says only two things are required \u2013 love the Lord your God\u2026 <\/span>
and love your neighbour as yourself.  That\u2019s it!\u201d<\/span>
 
\u201cTHAT\u2019S IT???\u201d<\/span>  An expression of sheer incredulity. 
 
I suggested that we both go away and ponder.<\/span>
 
I don\u2019t understand the compulsion to believe that everyone else must believe <\/span>like us.  Who gave any of us a monopoly on truth?
 
Whenever I hear the words <\/span>\u2018As Christians, we believe\u2026\u2019, I brace myself for the latest lesson in why I am not a Christian. <\/p>\n

Why do we make so complex that which God apparently makes so simple? <\/span>
 
And what if I share my conviction that adherents of other faiths do not need to be converted to Christianity to be alright with God?  (There\u2019s that look of horror and incredulity again!)<\/span>
 
We are commanded to love God \u2013 and love our neighbour.  Is that only possible within the context of Christianity?  Only within the context of Christianity as understood and practised <\/span>by me \u2013 me, with my human limitations, biases and prejudices? 
 
And is it<\/span> truly loving someone if my agenda is to change them – regarding faith, culture, sexuality\u2026 (I could go on)? 
 
Surely, claiming to love God, whom we cannot see, is meaningless until we actively commit ourselves to loving the people God has gifted into our midst.  And surely, if we <\/span>truly practised loving our neighbours – in all their complex, challenging, confusing diversity \u2013 our world would be much closer to the place our One God created it to be.
 
 
Prayer<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

God who <\/span>is Love,
Call us to love.<\/span>
God who is One,<\/span>
Call us to be one \u2013<\/span>
Not a self-focussed \u2018oneness\u2019<\/span>
Requiring others to be <\/span>\u2018like me\u2019,
But an open, self-giving, other-receiving love<\/span>
In which all your children<\/span>
Have space to live and breathe,<\/span>
And be the selves you created them to be. <\/span> Amen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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; you shall love … <\/p>\n

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