Daily Reading & Meditation
Saturday - Feast of the Apostle Matthias (May 14):
Receiving
the fullness of God's love and joy
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| daily reading and meditation NFCS |
Scripture: John 15:9-17 (alternate reading:
John
21:20-25)
9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my
love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love,
just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his
love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in
you, and that your joy may be full. 12 "This is my commandment,
that you love one another as I have loved you.
13 Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his
life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I
command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant
does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you
friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made
known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and
appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your
fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in my
name, he may give it to you. 17 This I command you, to love one
another.
Meditation: How does love lead to immeasurable joy? Jesus
tells his disciples that he is united with the eternal Father in a
perfect bond of love, unity, and joy. That is why the Son delights
in obeying the eternal Father who loves him with infinite love.
The Father and Son invite all to join in their eternal bond of
love and friendship. How can we enter into that unbreakable bond
of love and friendship? Jesus, the Word of Life, shows us
the way - keep my word, keep my commandments. If you abide in my
word you will know my love and that love will fill you with
immense joy - a joy which is unsurpassing, exalted, and unfading
(2 Peter 1:3,8).
A new command of love
Jesus' commands are not hard or burdensome for those who know his love and mercy. The Lord fills us with his Spirit and transforms our hearts to be like his heart. Paul the Apostle reminds us that "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment - a new way of love and fruitful service which is empowered by his Holy Spirit. We are called to love and serve others just as Jesus has loved us with heartfelt compassion, kindness, and mercy. Jesus proved his love for us by laying down his life for us, even to death on the cross. Our love for God is a response to his exceeding love for us through the gift of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. How do we prove our love for God? The same way Jesus did - by embracing the way of the cross each and every day. What is the cross in my life? When my will crosses with God's will, then God's will must be done. If we accept God's way of love, then we will discover the joy of loving, serving, and laying down our lives for others, just as Jesus laid down his life for us. Do you know the joy of abiding in Christ's love?
Jesus' commands are not hard or burdensome for those who know his love and mercy. The Lord fills us with his Spirit and transforms our hearts to be like his heart. Paul the Apostle reminds us that "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment - a new way of love and fruitful service which is empowered by his Holy Spirit. We are called to love and serve others just as Jesus has loved us with heartfelt compassion, kindness, and mercy. Jesus proved his love for us by laying down his life for us, even to death on the cross. Our love for God is a response to his exceeding love for us through the gift of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. How do we prove our love for God? The same way Jesus did - by embracing the way of the cross each and every day. What is the cross in my life? When my will crosses with God's will, then God's will must be done. If we accept God's way of love, then we will discover the joy of loving, serving, and laying down our lives for others, just as Jesus laid down his life for us. Do you know the joy of abiding in Christ's love?
A Friend of God
One of the special marks of favor shown in the Scriptures is to be called the friend of God. God called Abraham his friend (Isaiah 41:8), and God spoke with Moses as a "man speaks with his friend" (Exodus 33:11). Jesus, the Lord and Master, calls the disciples his friends rather than his servants (John 15:15). What does it mean to be a friend of God? Friendship certainly entails a relationship of love which goes beyond mere duty or loyalty. Scripture tells us that "a friend loves at all times; and a brother is born for adversity" (Proverbs 17:17). The distinctive feature of Jesus' relationship with his disciples was his personal and unconditional love for them. He loved his own to the very end (John 13:1). He loved his disciples selflessly and generously because his love was wholly directed to their good. His love was costly and sacrificial - he gave not only the best he had, but all that he had. He gave his very own life in order to bring the abundant everlasting life of the eternal Father to those who believed in him. The love of Jesus Christ compels us to give our best not only to God but to our neighbor who is created in the image and likeness of God. God's love purifies and transforms us into the likeness of Christ. The Lord Jesus promises that those who abide in his love will bear much fruit for the kingdom of God - fruit that will last for eternity as well (John 15:16). If you seek to unite your heart with the heart of Jesus, you will bear great fruit in your life - the fruit of joy, peace, friendship, and love that lasts forever. "Lord Jesus, make me fruitful in your love, mercy, kindness, and compassion. May there be nothing in my life which keeps me from your love and joy."
One of the special marks of favor shown in the Scriptures is to be called the friend of God. God called Abraham his friend (Isaiah 41:8), and God spoke with Moses as a "man speaks with his friend" (Exodus 33:11). Jesus, the Lord and Master, calls the disciples his friends rather than his servants (John 15:15). What does it mean to be a friend of God? Friendship certainly entails a relationship of love which goes beyond mere duty or loyalty. Scripture tells us that "a friend loves at all times; and a brother is born for adversity" (Proverbs 17:17). The distinctive feature of Jesus' relationship with his disciples was his personal and unconditional love for them. He loved his own to the very end (John 13:1). He loved his disciples selflessly and generously because his love was wholly directed to their good. His love was costly and sacrificial - he gave not only the best he had, but all that he had. He gave his very own life in order to bring the abundant everlasting life of the eternal Father to those who believed in him. The love of Jesus Christ compels us to give our best not only to God but to our neighbor who is created in the image and likeness of God. God's love purifies and transforms us into the likeness of Christ. The Lord Jesus promises that those who abide in his love will bear much fruit for the kingdom of God - fruit that will last for eternity as well (John 15:16). If you seek to unite your heart with the heart of Jesus, you will bear great fruit in your life - the fruit of joy, peace, friendship, and love that lasts forever. "Lord Jesus, make me fruitful in your love, mercy, kindness, and compassion. May there be nothing in my life which keeps me from your love and joy."
Psalm 113:1-8
1 Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of
the LORD, praise the name of the LORD!
2 Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore!
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the LORD is to be praised!
4 The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens!
5 Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high,
6 who looks far down upon the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.
2 Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore!
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the LORD is to be praised!
4 The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens!
5 Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high,
6 who looks far down upon the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.
Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Love your
enemy and make a friend, by Gregory the Great, 540-604 A.D.
"The unique, the highest proof of love is this, to love the
person who is against us. This is why Truth himself bore the
suffering of the cross and yet bestowed his love on his
persecutors, saying, 'Father, forgive them for they know not what
they do' (Luke 23:34). Why should we
wonder that his living disciples loved their enemies, when their
dying master loved his? He expressed the depth of his love when he
said, 'No one has greater love that this, than that he lay down
his life for his friends' (John 15:13).'
The Lord had come to die even for his enemies, and yet he said he
would lay down his life for his friends to show us that when we
are able to win over our enemies by loving them, even our
persecutors are our friends." (excerpt from FORTY
GOSPEL HOMILIES 27)
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