Today’s Readings: Psalm 133; Genesis 13:2-18; Matthew 22:15-22; Romans 5:12-21; Psalm 112
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I am a person who struggles with issues of co-dependence. This means in my quest to earn people’s acceptance and approval it’s very easy to ignore boundaries I have and become overwhelmed with people’s requests. In the past four months, however, I’ve been doing some good work and making progress thanks to some good friends and good resources. Today’s Gospel passage from Matthew is another good resource in my quest to set and maintain healthy boundaries. In the story the Pharisees try to draw Jesus in to a dangerous conversation where they seek to pit Jesus’ faith against the government. The Pharisees do this in hopes of getting Jesus into trouble with the Roman authorities. Thankfully, Jesus immediately recognizes the Pharisees’ attempt for what it is. How does Jesus do that? He does it by maintaining healthy boundaries. He has a clear sense of his call or purpose in his life. This prevents him from getting taken off course by others. My question for you today is this: do you have a clear sense of call or purpose for your life, or are you prone to getting distracted by the equivalents of the Pharisees in your life that would set you up for unnecessary conflicts and expenditures of energy? If you do have a clear sense of call and purpose in your life, give thanks. If you don’t, then I would encourage you to spend some time (with God and with a faith community) discerning your call. Til next time…
PS I will be in Rock Springs, WY for the Annual Meeting of the Rocky Mountain Conference of The United Church of Christ from today (Thursday through Saturday). You can look for my next posting on Sunday, June 15. Take care and be well!
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I am a person who struggles with issues of co-dependence. This means in my quest to earn people’s acceptance and approval it’s very easy to ignore boundaries I have and become overwhelmed with people’s requests. In the past four months, however, I’ve been doing some good work and making progress thanks to some good friends and good resources. Today’s Gospel passage from Matthew is another good resource in my quest to set and maintain healthy boundaries. In the story the Pharisees try to draw Jesus in to a dangerous conversation where they seek to pit Jesus’ faith against the government. The Pharisees do this in hopes of getting Jesus into trouble with the Roman authorities. Thankfully, Jesus immediately recognizes the Pharisees’ attempt for what it is. How does Jesus do that? He does it by maintaining healthy boundaries. He has a clear sense of his call or purpose in his life. This prevents him from getting taken off course by others. My question for you today is this: do you have a clear sense of call or purpose for your life, or are you prone to getting distracted by the equivalents of the Pharisees in your life that would set you up for unnecessary conflicts and expenditures of energy? If you do have a clear sense of call and purpose in your life, give thanks. If you don’t, then I would encourage you to spend some time (with God and with a faith community) discerning your call. Til next time…
PS I will be in Rock Springs, WY for the Annual Meeting of the Rocky Mountain Conference of The United Church of Christ from today (Thursday through Saturday). You can look for my next posting on Sunday, June 15. Take care and be well!
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