Today’s Lectionary Reading: Psalm 20; Zechariah 11:4-17; John 11:1-16; Judy 1-13; Psalm 124
I can sure relate to the disciples in this morning’s Gospel passage from John. They are a step or two behind Jesus. When he talks with them about Lazarus’s condition, for instance, they don’t understand. That’s why Jesus has to move from coded language (“our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep”) to explicit language (“Lazarus is dead”). There are many times when I, like the disciples, am a little slow on the uptake. This is particularly true around Thanksgiving. When it comes to giving thanks, I go part of the way. I stop and give thanks for the blessings in my life. But I often miss an important step in my spiritual walk. In addition to giving thanks, I forget to experience those blessings as signs that both point me back toward God and strengthen my experience and understanding of God. To say it another way, it’s kind of like what Jesus said to the disciples as they approached Lazarus and his circumstance: “You’re about to be given new grounds for believing” (John 11:15 – The Message). What signs have appeared in your life that could be considered “new grounds for believing”? This Thanksgiving let us not stop just to give thanks, but explore those blessings as new opportunities to strengthen our relationship with God. Til next time…
I can sure relate to the disciples in this morning’s Gospel passage from John. They are a step or two behind Jesus. When he talks with them about Lazarus’s condition, for instance, they don’t understand. That’s why Jesus has to move from coded language (“our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep”) to explicit language (“Lazarus is dead”). There are many times when I, like the disciples, am a little slow on the uptake. This is particularly true around Thanksgiving. When it comes to giving thanks, I go part of the way. I stop and give thanks for the blessings in my life. But I often miss an important step in my spiritual walk. In addition to giving thanks, I forget to experience those blessings as signs that both point me back toward God and strengthen my experience and understanding of God. To say it another way, it’s kind of like what Jesus said to the disciples as they approached Lazarus and his circumstance: “You’re about to be given new grounds for believing” (John 11:15 – The Message). What signs have appeared in your life that could be considered “new grounds for believing”? This Thanksgiving let us not stop just to give thanks, but explore those blessings as new opportunities to strengthen our relationship with God. Til next time…
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