Dec 31 2018

Dec 31 2018
You judge by human standards; I judge no one.

Jesus is talking to Pharisees, a group which was a political, social and religious powerhouse at the time. They studied the Torah, upheld its law, taught the people. They were doing their best to be God’s people, as they understood it.

I do the same. I try my best to be a person of God as I understand it. I follow what I believe to be the ‘right’ teachings. The problem with doing that though, is that if there is a ‘right’ teaching, there is inherently a ‘wrong’ teaching, isn’t there?

I don’t get to decide that this doesn’t apply to me; that my ‘right’ is really the true ‘right’. And their wrong is just.. wrong. I don’t get to think that my outlook on the world, my interpretation of the Gospel, my politics or my life choices are any more right than those who do the exact opposite. That’s judgment.

Maybe it’s not specifically what the Pharisees were talking about that Jesus (aka God) refutes. Maybe it’s the fact that as a people of faith, the Pharisees had drawn such a bright line in the sand to differentiate themselves, they’d forgotten that all people are people of God.

As humans, I think it’s safe to say that if we judge at all, whether it’s ‘right’ politics, ‘right’ actions, or ‘right’ beliefs, we are judging by human standards. We need to give up the judgment part and live our lives. My way isn’t right. It’s just my way. There is no us vs. them. There is no ‘right’. At least not to Jesus. Maybe someday we’ll all be judged. I’ll leave that one alone. I’ll live my life and live out my faith as best I know. More importantly, I’ll let others do the same.

Dec 30 2018 Hebrews 2: 14-15

This morning, I am struck by a few lines in the New Testament reading for morning prayer from the letter to Hebrews. It's written in lengthy run-on sentences, so here's my paraphrase:
The power of death is the power of the devil. Jesus came, died and rose (or un-died)  to free those from the fear of death (or the devil).
I'm struck that it's so clear that in this writing that we are freed not from death, not from the devil, but from the fear of death or the devil.
This resonates with me.  What I take from this is that yes, there is death. And yes there is evil. But through a God that can beat death, we are called to not be afraid. Not be afraid of death, of illness, of evil.  God wins.  Love wins. 
Sometimes hard things happen, and maybe it's the devil. Maybe it's politics, or dictators, or climate change, or the human body gone awry.  But we are called to not be afraid.  It doesn't win.