Trust and Hope in God/Love God and Your Neighbor

It's Saturday night, and time for another lectionary reflection. 

This week has been a mix for me. 

As my post yesterday indicates, there has been a lot of joy, for which I'm thankful.

But I'm struggling with the news cycles,

with having hope for our country, 

for our world.

At a time when voting seems so important I hear story after story of places where voting is difficult.

I keep wondering about how much hate there is expressed by people...

the shootings

the inflammatory remarks

the lack of common ground

the helplessness to see anything that will make a difference beyond getting the 'right side' to win and election.

Can that really be true?

After nights of being awake with these kinds of thoughts, I checked the lectionary readings in preparation for this post. 

These are the readings for this week:

Ruth 1:1-18 and Psalm 146

Deuteronomy 6:1-9 and Psalm 119:1-8

Hebrews 9:11-14

Mark 12:28-34

The theme that stood out to me is voiced most poignantly by Psalm 146.

What I noticed when I read the passages for this week were two themes.

First, place your hope and your trust in God first and foremost.

Second, devote your life to loving God with everything in you, and loving your neighbor as yourself.

I can't say it better than the Bible does. 

The words are just a balm to me. 

They don't mean to me that I should back away from activism, or voting, or working for change.

They do mean to me that there is more at work than what I can see. My job is only to do what I can.

So I'll leave you with the words from Psalm 146 and from Mark 12. 

Psalm 146

Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul!

I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.

When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.

Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their Go

who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever;

who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free;

the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.

The LORD watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD!

Mark 12:28-34

One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, "Which commandment is the first of all?"

Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one;

you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

Then the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that 'he is one, and besides him there is no other'; and 'to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,' and 'to love one's neighbor as oneself,' --this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."

When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." After that no one dared to ask him any question.