All You Need is Love

After Paul and Barnabas had proclaimed the good news to that city and made a considerable number of disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.

They strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying, “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” They appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord in whom they had put their faith. Then they traveled through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia. After proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia. From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now accomplished. And when they arrived, they called the church together and reported what God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

Psalms 145:8-9, 10-11, 12-13

• A Kingdom for all ages……is that eons, millennia, centuries?  Or, is it for baby boomers, generation X/Y-er’s, millenials?  Is it both or more than just that?  The Bible frequently references “this age” leading many to believe that our time on Earth is but a chapter in something broader.  The Bible also encourages us to mature into and think like an adult while having the Faith of a child.  How do you interpret “all ages”?

Revelations 12:1-5

• Boy, it’s great getting something new.  A new car.  A new shirt.  A new CD or a new song download for your MP3 player.  A new Friend.  A new home.  A second chance.  We now see a new Heaven and a new Earth.  We’re told that in Heaven, we’ll get new bodies and a new name that only Jesus knows.  I’m thinking that by the time I pull into the Eternal “pit-row”, my car will need four new tires, a full-body makeover for all the dings, dents, & scrapes, and a complete engine overall.  My face will be covered in soot and my race suit will smell like a local Greek restaurant.  But, to drink the glass of milk waiting for all of us in the Eternal “winners circle” will be awesome!  And, guess what; all Believers get to Win!  Does focusing on the “Eternal something new” allow us to deal with the current challenges a little better?

John 13:34

• God’s commandments are irreducibly simple.  But, they are infinitely hard.  It is hard to love everyone – especially the guy that just cut you off on GA-400.  But, it’s pretty simple.  How can we as men of Christ love unconditionally?  What is stopping you today from loving freely?

John 13:31-33, 34-35

• Paul McCartney famously sang to us that, “all you need is love”.  How rightly said.  That is the obvious story in this week’s Gospel and probably where most Priests, Deacons, etc. will focus their Sermons.  What might be easy to miss is that right after Judas departed to betray Christ, Jesus tells his Disciples, “now I and the Father are glorified”.  In what is considered the most famous betrayal in His-story, Jesus loves.  He doesn’t stop Judas; in fact, He even encourages him to “act quickly”.  Kind of like pulling a Band-Aid off – the proverbial “let’s get this over with”.  You see, Jesus knew that He had to die in order to establish the new Promise and Testament.  He loved us so much that He came down from His throne in Heaven to become a common man and die a brutal death and show us the greatest love of all – to die for another.  When have you been betrayed by another?  Have you forgiven your Betrayer the way that Jesus has forgiven Judas?  Or, how He has forgiven you?

This Week’s Prayer: