Devotion
Freedom from the Law of Sin
Frances Taylor
What is this law of the Spirit of life in Christ? Jesus gave us the answer in his last discourse to the apostles during the Last Supper. His law is the law of love. When we obey this law, we don't need to worry about whether or not we are following the commandments. After all, is lying, cheating, stealing, loving? Are we showing love when we act out of anger, refuse to forgive – or ask for forgiveness? Is being prideful, acting out of prejudice, envy or greed, loving? Is neglecting God, having no respect for others or ourselves, loving? You get the picture. When we live lives guided by Jesus' law of love, we don't have to worry about anything else. We are free. God knew the weakness of humanity and gave us Jesus as the model of how human beings should live. When we act according to the "flesh" or pleasure, we can easily be led from temptation to sin. Living in the "spirit" means that we are making choices according to Jesus' law of love. It's not easy. There are times when we face choices where it seems impossible to know what the right thing to do is. The question we can ask ourselves is, "Which choice is the most loving?" Which is the choice Jesus would make? It is then that we need the guidance of the Spirit. We can pray, make our most loving choice, and know that God will not condemn us if we choose wrongly. Remember, Jesus was accused of breaking the law when he healed people on the Sabbath. Would God really have wanted someone to suffer unnecessarily because of the day of the week?
Prayer
Lord, I love you and try to live your law of love each day. Guide me through the difficult decisions that life brings me. Amen.
Devotion
Culpability
Frances Taylor
This is an interesting passage because, among other things, it talks about sin and who is considered guilty of sin. Paul is talking about how he has been forgiven, how God has been merciful to him because his actions were committed in unbelief. In order for sin to be committed, one needs to know he is committing it. No one can commit sin in retrospect. Sin is always a deliberate act. This can be hard for some to understand. Actions can be considered sinful, even though the person committing them may not be culpable. For example, lying is a sin. However, is the two year old hiding behind the curtains sinning when he or she claims not to have broken the vase? No, because the child has no understanding of the difference between truth and lie. Those who do not have a relationship with God, who do not know the commandments, who have never heard of Jesus, may commit sinful actions, but are not guilty of sin. This is what Paul claims is his situation. Paul ...
Morning Prayer
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, ) full of grace and truth.
Inspiration
When the Lord sent his only Son, he sent also his word. For his body was this very word made flesh. Importantly this was not simply a manifestation of God's word, but also rather an 'animation' of it (meant here in the original Latin as 'animare' –'to instill with life or spirit'), an instance of God's love and divine grace in action, among us.
Prayer
Lord, I am grateful for your mercy in showing us your word made flesh so that we may be redeemed. Further, I am grateful to you for showing us your love and grace through your only begotten son. Let his body not have been torn and broken for no avail, but feed us now in the Eucharist. Let not his blood have...
