United in Mind
Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,
by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you,
but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose.
1 Corinthians 1:10 (NRSV)
Dear friend,
There’s so much going on as I write this, within our individual lives, within
our families, within the family of our church, the family of our nation and world.
And there’s a whole lot of stressing and worrying and doom scrolling happening, and
in part because so much is beyond our control. And yet, if only we could focus on
what is within our control, how we are living our lives this day, the ways
in which we are tending to our little corner of the world.
In the scripture verse above, the apostle Paul is speaking to the people of Corinth,
folks who were in a state of great disunity. There were disputes over what were the
best foods to eat, how best to use resources, sexual morality, the role of women, inequities
between races, class and more. And while that sounds cut from today’s headlines,
these are issues folks were dealing with more than 2,000 years ago.
Yet, don’t feel hopeless. Paul offered a prescription for healing and a better way,
Jesus’ Way. If only we’d follow. If only we’d let go of worry over all we can’t control
and instead focus our minds on the mind and purpose of Christ. Then, taking
what we’ve learned, we could move forward with others, perhaps not always agreeing
on every detail about the best way forward, yet always agreeing on the goal, to be
united in the same mind (the mind of Christ), to be united in the same
purpose (the purpose of Christ), for the healing of the world.
Blessings and love always,
Pastor John
by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you,
but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose.
1 Corinthians 1:10 (NRSV)
Dear friend,
There’s so much going on as I write this, within our individual lives, within
our families, within the family of our church, the family of our nation and world.
And there’s a whole lot of stressing and worrying and doom scrolling happening, and
in part because so much is beyond our control. And yet, if only we could focus on
what is within our control, how we are living our lives this day, the ways
in which we are tending to our little corner of the world.
In the scripture verse above, the apostle Paul is speaking to the people of Corinth,
folks who were in a state of great disunity. There were disputes over what were the
best foods to eat, how best to use resources, sexual morality, the role of women, inequities
between races, class and more. And while that sounds cut from today’s headlines,
these are issues folks were dealing with more than 2,000 years ago.
Yet, don’t feel hopeless. Paul offered a prescription for healing and a better way,
Jesus’ Way. If only we’d follow. If only we’d let go of worry over all we can’t control
and instead focus our minds on the mind and purpose of Christ. Then, taking
what we’ve learned, we could move forward with others, perhaps not always agreeing
on every detail about the best way forward, yet always agreeing on the goal, to be
united in the same mind (the mind of Christ), to be united in the same
purpose (the purpose of Christ), for the healing of the world.
Blessings and love always,
Pastor John
God,
thank you for creating us to be
united in mind and purpose.
Jesus,
forgive us,
for every time we find ourselves worshiping the god of Being Right.
Even as we stammer out our excuses,
we know this is not your Way.
Your Way is a way of
relationship, discipleship, neighborliness and servanthood.
Your Way is a way of
hope, peace, joy and love.
You Way is a way of
courage, discipline, justice and wisdom.
Your Way transcends the dim truths we fashion
from our small perspectives,
moving us to live in your mind and purpose for our lives.
Holy Spirit,
help us love as Jesus loves,
help us forgive as Jesus forgives,
help us heal and show mercy as Jesus heals and shows mercy.
God, Jesus, Holy Spirit,
form us and transform us, we pray.
Amen
________________________________________________________________________________
thank you for creating us to be
united in mind and purpose.
Jesus,
forgive us,
for every time we find ourselves worshiping the god of Being Right.
Even as we stammer out our excuses,
we know this is not your Way.
Your Way is a way of
relationship, discipleship, neighborliness and servanthood.
Your Way is a way of
hope, peace, joy and love.
You Way is a way of
courage, discipline, justice and wisdom.
Your Way transcends the dim truths we fashion
from our small perspectives,
moving us to live in your mind and purpose for our lives.
Holy Spirit,
help us love as Jesus loves,
help us forgive as Jesus forgives,
help us heal and show mercy as Jesus heals and shows mercy.
God, Jesus, Holy Spirit,
form us and transform us, we pray.
Amen
________________________________________________________________________________
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