Thursday, February 19, 2015

Lent 2015: God's Radical Hospitality...

Radical...defined:
Change or action relating or affecting the fundamental nature of something; far-reaching or thorough.

Radical...enacted by God:
...then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Gen. 2:7)
 "As for me, this is my covenant with you...I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant to be God to you and to your offspring after you." (Gen. 17:7)
 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. (Deut. 7:6-8)
O LORD, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away...Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there... (Psalm 139: 1-2, 7-8)
How can I give you up, Ephraim? (names understood as the collective people of God) How can I hand you over, O Israel?...My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my fierce anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and no mortal, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath. (Hosea 11:8-9)
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David...Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant... (Luke 1:68-69, 72)
Radical...commanded by God
"You 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 neighbor as yourself." And [Jesus] said to [the lawyer], "You have given the right answer; do this and you will live." (Luke 10:27-28)
Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me. (Matt. 25:34-35)
Can we be radically hospitable?

Would our obedience affect the fundamental nature of life together?


 


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