Week 5
(#29) 1/29
Jesus Leaves Judea
John 4:1-4
Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard,
“Jesus is making and baptizing more disciples than John” —although it was not Jesus himself
but his disciples who baptized— he left Judea and started back to Galilee.
There are times of danger when we want to go
home. Our true home is in the depths of our hearts where God resides always. It’s
the place to be whenever we sense danger. Principles of Love:Acceptance Reflection/Discussion:
How do we create a stable home for Jesus
in our hearts?
Pray Through the Day:
Not my will
But
yours be done
(#30)
1/30
Jesus Talks to the Woman at the Well
John 4:4-26
But he had to go through Samaria.
So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.
A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”
(His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is
it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’
you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir,
you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our
ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” Jesus said
to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give
them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.”
The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to
draw water.”
Jesus said to her, “Go, call
your husband, and come back.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said
to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have
now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” The woman said to
him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that
the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.”
Jesus
said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in
Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for
the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in
spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming” (who is
called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I
am he, the one who is speaking to you.”
Devout Jews in Jesus time had no contact with Samaritans. It was
not appropriate for men to have contact with women in public. The woman, who clearly had an immoral past,
came to the well at the 6th hour because her own people shunned her. Any self-respecting Jew would have
turned away from her with contempt.
Jesus shows us that the commandment
to love one another is more important than religious or cultural traditions. He opens his heart to a person
whom he has every reason to reject and shows us that the only way to worship in spirit and truth is to accept and love those
we may not be comfortable with.
Principles
of Love:Acceptance; Compassion; Opening Reflection/Discussion:
How does the decision to love someone we are uncomfortable with deepen our capacity to love?
Pray Through the Day:
Not my will
But
yours be done
(#31) 1/31
Disciples and Samaritans Come
to Jesus
John 4:27-42
Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking
with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?”
Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, “Come
and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” They left
the city and were on their way to him.
Meanwhile the disciples were urging him,
“Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know
about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?”
Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do
you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields
are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life,
so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another
reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered
into their labor.”
Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of
the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” So when the Samaritans
came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because
of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for
we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”
How does a woman who has been shunned
and rejected by her community then return and lead her people to Jesus? It is amazing that her people even
listened to her let alone followed her to meet a Jew when Jews traditionally scorned Samaritans. Clearly
the woman had been transformed by the love of Jesus. God
has sown the seeds of transformation in every heart that beats in every human being on earth. It’s
our job to help in the harvest by opening our hearts to touch the hearts of others.
Principles of Love:Opening; Nature; Acceptance
Reflection/Discussion:
What makes it difficult to open our hearts
to someone we have previously rejected?
Pray Through the Day:
Open our hearts
To your love
(#32)
2/1 John is Taken To Prison
Matthew 14:1-4
For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in
prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because John had been telling him, “It is not lawful
for you to have her.”
Mark 6:17-18
For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account
of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. For John had been telling
Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
Luke
3:19-20
So, with many other
exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people. But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him
because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, added to them all by
shutting up John in prison.
Herod turned away from love and chose to follow his ego, passion and desire. John
exposed this superficial illusion of love and was arrested. The prison surrounding Herod’s heart was far more restrictive than the iron bars
that held John. Herod was imprisoned by impulse, whim, selfishness and fear. John’s
movement was restrained, but Herod had locked away his own heart. We all have impulses and desires that can
be tempting and tantalizing when viewed from a narrow perspective. A point of view that is limited to our
own short-term comfort and gratification easily sidesteps difficult challenges that can open our hearts and deepen our love. The experience of people like Herod shows us that the short-term view can lead to a long-term
prison sentence for our heart. An open heart sees beyond temporary comfort, safety, and satisfaction to
our ongoing connection with our creator, which ultimately, is more comforting, safe, and gratifying than anything we can imagine.
Principles of Love:Vision; Commitment
Reflection/Discussion:
How can we make loving choices when strong
impulses pull us in the other direction?
Pray Through the Day:
Open our eyes
To deepen our love
(#33) 2/2
Jesus
Returns to Galilee
Matthew
4:12-17
Now when Jesus heard
that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by
the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
“Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people
who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.”
From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.
Mark 1:14-15
Now
after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The
time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
Jesus said: “The
kingdom of God has come near.” We are not there yet, but it is close by.
Jesus also told his listeners to “repent” which literally translated means to have a “change of heart” or to “understand something differently after thinking it over.” At
that time, Jews expressed their faith by strictly following the rules, customs, and rituals of their religion.
Jesus tells them that they may be near to the kingdom but they are not yet part of it. Joining the
kingdom of God requires a change of heart. It requires that we become open to God’s love.
Paul wrote, “If I have all faith to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” The kingdom of God is in our hearts. But we cannot experience it
if our hearts are not open. The kingdom is near but we are moving away from it if we are not opening to
God’s love. Principles of Love:Opening; Forgiveness
Reflection/Discussion:
How do we maintain an open heart in a
high stress culture filled with self-interest, stimulation, and distractions?
Pray
Through the Day:
Open our hearts
To your love
(#34) 2/3
Jesus Quotes Isaiah
Luke 4:16-21
When he came to Nazareth, where
he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll
of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: “The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me
to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year
of the Lord’s favor.”
And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant,
and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today
this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” All spoke well of him and were amazed at the
gracious words that came from his mouth.
What is the “good news” that Jesus brings to the poor, captives, blind and
oppressed? Quite simply, it is his love and compassion. Love opens us to the possibilities
of life while compassion deepens our understanding of the struggles we all face. Jesus provides
us with the means for opening and understanding. Opening to his love releases us from the captivity of
closed minds and hearts while helping us to see each other as God created us. Understanding the depth of
his love frees us to reach our full potential and fulfill our destiny of eternal life with our loving father. Principles of Love:Opening
Reflection/Discussion:
How can love and compassion become a greater
part of our daily interactions?
Pray Through the Day:
Open our hearts
To your love
(#35) 2/4 Word of Jesus Spreads
Matthew 4:23-25
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of
the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. So his fame spread throughout
all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics,
and paralytics, and he cured them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem,
Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
Luke 4:14-15
Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee,
and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues
and was praised by everyone.
John 4:43-45
When the two days were over, he went from that place to Galilee
(for Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in the prophet’s own country). When
he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the festival; for
they too had gone to the festival.
Fame can be a huge obstacle to love. A big head shadows and shrinks a loving heart.Jesus sees the larger picture and keeps his priorities straight. Fame
may be a temporary rush but love is an everlasting current that connects us with all of creation through all of eternity. Principles
of Love:Humility Reflection/Discussion:
How does seeking praise and attention interfere with our ability to love?
Pray Through the Day:
Help us be humble
So we may love
