{"id":8651,"date":"2024-01-19T00:00:24","date_gmt":"2024-01-19T00:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/burnheadchurch.com\/?p=8651"},"modified":"2024-01-18T21:32:01","modified_gmt":"2024-01-18T21:32:01","slug":"wpcu-2024-day2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/burnheadchurch.com\/?p=8651","title":{"rendered":"Week of Prayer for Christian Unity – Day 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jesus answered, \u201cYou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.\u201d (Luke 10: 27)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Help me, Lord, to receive your love, that I may make you manifest in loving well, both myself and my neighbour.<\/em><\/h2>\n

Additional scripture passages<\/span><\/h3>\n
    \n
  • Deuteronomy 10: 12-13<\/li>\n
  • Psalm 133<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Commentary<\/span><\/h3>\n

    The answer Jesus draws out of the lawyer, from the well-known commandments of God, appears simple. However, the command to love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind will be a constant challenge, requiring a lifelong determination to learn, reflect and seek radical change in ourselves through the power of the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

    The instruction to love our neighbours \u201cas ourselves\u201d demands equal consideration. To love and value ourselves as God would wish demands intimate relationship. Is God saying that we cannot love our neighbour fully unless we love ourselves? It seems so, which is an immense challenge for so many of us. Do we recognise that we live in the glory of the love of God, whose compassionate gaze is always upon us. We are God\u2019s beloved creation, made in God\u2019s image, and adored.<\/p>\n

    God\u2019s commandment to love, calls for deep commitment and means abandoning ourselves entirely, offering our hearts and minds to serve God\u2019s will. God\u2019s grace to us is never ending. Ask, says God, and we will receive such grace to follow Christ\u2019s example, the one who offered himself up completely and said, \u201cNot my will but yours be done\u201d (Luke 22: 42) demonstrating great love to all humanity, including his enemies.<\/p>\n

    We do not get to choose our neighbours. Sometimes we must cross difficult barriers to serve them, rather than walking by. Loving means being attentive to their needs, accepting who they are, with humility, encouraging their hopes and aspirations. Christian unity demands the same humility \u2013 in Christ, we are one. Let\u2019s learn to celebrate difference and glory in Christ\u2019s unifying life, death and resurrection \u2013 inaugurating a new way of living available to all.<\/p>\n

    Reflection<\/span><\/h3>\n

    Beloved, my heart is for you.
    \nI created you, I know you.
    \nYour name fills me with delight.<\/p>\n

    My every action, reaction, thought, emotion
    \nand prayer for you is founded
    \non love at its highest.<\/p>\n

    Receive my compassion,
    \nbask in my gentleness,
    \ndelight in my joyful kindness.<\/p>\n

    Let me cherish you \u2013
    \nlet me die for you \u2013
    \nmay my heart become your heart.<\/p>\n

    A renewed heartbeat,
    \nflowering within you,
    \nunfolding its gentle,
    \nlove-soaked vision;
    \na courageous, unswerving hope
    \nbursting with grace.<\/p>\n

    Dear one,
    \nallow heaven to manifest
    \nin every human encounter,
    \ntenderising it
    \nwith love\u2019s dignity
    \nand promise.<\/p>\n

    Prayer<\/span><\/h3>\n

    Lord, give us the grace to know you deeply, in order to love you entirely.
    \nMay the gift of your Holy Spirit enable our eyes, ears and minds to receive the unconditional love with which you love us.
    \nPurify our hearts that we may always be ready to love our neighbour, however different, as ourselves.
    \nThrough the self-giving life of Christ our Lord. Amen.<\/p>\n

    Questions<\/span><\/h3>\n
      \n
    • Personal:<\/strong> How do you see yourself? How do you think God sees you?<\/li>\n
    • Local:<\/strong> Does God\u2019s view of you change your view of those around you?<\/li>\n
    • Global:<\/strong> How does God\u2019s view of you change how you respond to the news?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Go and Do<\/span><\/h3>\n
        \n
      • Personal:<\/strong> Resolve to get to know a new person in your road and find a loving way to engage with them.<\/li>\n
      • Local:<\/strong> Explore where you live and what opportunities there are to cross barriers to serve.<\/li>\n
      • Global:<\/strong> Explore an issue regarding the displaced and dispossessed. How could you meaningfully contribute to the situation?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Jesus answered, \u201cYou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.\u201d (Luke 10: 27) Help me, Lord, to receive your love, that I may make you manifest in loving well, both myself and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8648,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/burnheadchurch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8651"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/burnheadchurch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/burnheadchurch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/burnheadchurch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/burnheadchurch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8651"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/burnheadchurch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8651\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8656,"href":"https:\/\/burnheadchurch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8651\/revisions\/8656"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/burnheadchurch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/burnheadchurch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/burnheadchurch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/burnheadchurch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}