Don't miss the opportunity to get closer to our neighbors across the world and love them more deeply through a unique opportunity this week at Calvary. More info here.
Love Your Neighbor (Grant Gourley on Workcamp)
Grant talks about how he and other students and adults from Calvary loved their neighbors this summer in Crossville, TN.
Love Your Neighbor (1 John 4.7-21)
This section in 1 John is one of the most compelling calls to love each other (our neighbors) in the whole Bible. In other areas of the Bible, love of neighbor is seen as central in the work of the Law (the first five books of the Old Testament) and the Prophet (a majority of the rest of the Old Testament) – it comes from obedience (the Law) or correction (the Prophets). But John tells us that love for our neighbor ushers us into the very heart and life of God. God’s nature is an ever flowing circle of love that seemlessly connects
Father,
Son,
and Holy Spirit.
When we love one another,
we step into that triune circle of love
and are caught up in the giving and receiving,
the emptying and filling,
the sacrifice and fullness,
the ongoing and endless energy that binds the whole universe together and makes it sing.
We step into
the oldest,
largest,
and most mysterious experience humans have ever known
by simply loving each other.
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About the Author
Isaac Gaff is the Managing Director of Worship and Creative Arts at Calvary UMC
Love Your Neighbor (Luke 5.17-26)
On Monday, we explored what Jesus' subversive reexamination of what's important and what's not in the life of faith through the lens of prayer. Today, that same reexamination is timely when it comes to loving our neighbors.
In Luke 5.17-26, Jesus subverts the common idea that forgiveness is something that should be held tightly and controlled through a system of religious ideals and professionals (the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law). In this story, Jesus unleashed forgiveness for this paralyzed man, but he also set in motion one of the foundational practices for what he calls the Kingdom of God – the practice of forgiveness as a continual and frequent experience, both received and given by those who are a part of this new thing God was (and is) doing. The Lord's Prayer is a great example of this received/given pattern of forgiveness: "forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us."
As you encounter your neighbor today, step into that healing circle/flow of forgiveness. If they've wronged you, forgive. If you've wronged them, make amends. When we step into the virtuous circle of forgiveness, the world becomes more like the world God longs for it to be - a world where each person recognizes the value, worth, uniqueness, and solidarity of the other in, by, and through the grace of God.
About the Author
Isaac Gaff is the Managing Director of Worship and Creative Arts at Calvary UMC
Love Your Neighbor (1 John 5.6-15; 4.16-21)
As we talked about in Tuesday's podcast, John's first letter is an incredibly rich appeal to the churches who received John's letter. As we consider how to better love our neighbor this week, I want to jump to the end of the chapter that comes right before the text we talked about Sunday (1 John 5.6-15):
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
1 John 4:16b–21 (NIV)
John reminds us that our claim about loving God first begins in the action of loving our neighbor. In fact, he says that you can't have one without the other. Understandably, this is a hard thing to do – almost impossible. But John reminds us at the beginning of this passage that "we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment." In a world where fear is used on a regular basis to prompt us to not love our neighbors, John reminds us that in this world we take on the fear-dispelling nature of Jesus – a nature that is centered, grounded, and continually revolves around a love that operates out of identity with the other ('in the flesh' or incarnation, John would say) instead of fear of the other. May God fill us with that kind of love today and in these days ahead.
Love Your Neighbor (Romans 9.1-5)
On Monday, we talked about how to pray for those who haven't seen what we've seen, tasted what we've tasted, or experienced what we've experienced. As you encounter your neighbors (all those around you) today, continue to pray for that attitude of Jesus to shape and form you. Let what Paul later calls "the mind of Christ" rest on you and in you today.
Love Your Neighbor (Psalm 86.1-13)
This week we’re taking a second pass at Psalm 86.1-13. If you missed lasts week’s reflection on Psalm 86 and your neighbor, check it out here.
Love Your Neighbor (Psalm 86:1-13)
At first glance, Psalm 86 (both 1-13 and the concluding verses of 14-17) have little to do with our neighbors. The text seems to deal mainly with the solitary inner life of an individual, and the last few verses (14-17) seem to locate the Psalmist’s trouble in other people (mainly his enemies who are also his neighbors). In these kinds of moments with Scripture, I think it’s good to remember larger principles as we read this text.
First, the principle that our interior life is important and connected to how we love others. Jesus tells us in Luke 6:45 that “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Work on the heart bears fruit outside the heart.
And second, the principle that we (both Israel than and us now) don’t fully realize that the telos (the final or highest goal) of our interior work is the love of God and a love of neighbor. Again, Jesus sums up all of Israel’s history with God when he says “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40). Love of God and love of neighbor go hand in hand and are the fullest expression of an undivided heart. While King David (the writer of Psalm 86) is credited with being “a man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22), he missed out on the fullness of God’s presence because he chose war and blood over love of neighbor. God kept him from building a permanent temple in Jerusalem because of this disconnect between love of God and love of neighbor (see 1 Chronicles 22:6-10).
When our interior work finds its telos (the final or highest goal) in love of God and neighbor, we become undivided in our pursuit of Jesus.
About the Author
Isaac Gaff is the Managing Director of Worship and Creative Arts at Calvary UMC
Love Your Neighbor (Ecclesiastes)
On Sunday we talked about the Hevel (smoke, vapor, non-permanence) nature of things. The Teacher in Ecclesiastes urges us to take this smoke for what it is - it’s temporary, it’s not the big deal you might think it is. Daniel Kahneman in his book /Thinking, Fast and Slow/ says it this way: “Nothing in life is as important as you think it is, while you are thinking about it.” When we try to give the smoke too much weight, we introduce worry and conflict into a situation and/or relationship. This often happens with both our physical neighbors and our figurative ones. When we hastily escalate an issue or problem, we “chase after the wind” instead of resting in the gift of God (which for the Teacher in Ecclesiastes is joy and thanksgiving in the present moment). As you work at loving your neighbor today, remember that the things that separate you and your neighbor are smoke. Instead of chasing down that argument that won’t satisfy, rest in the opportunity that God has given you to love and enjoy each other today, no matter what your temporary differences might be.
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About the Author
Isaac Gaff is the Managing Director of Worship and Creative Arts at Calvary UMC
Love Your Neighbor (Ps 22:24 and Romans 8:14-19)
As we talked about Sunday, compassion is both the catalyst and engine that helps us reach out beyond ourselves and our already existing groups of relationships to love all those around us (our neighbors). Compassion for those we already know and love is a great way to begin to cultivate the practice of compassion/action, but compassion inside a closed circle is compassion in it’s infancy – as we turn our compassionate gaze toward those we do not easily identify with, our compassion begins to grow and mature toward the compassion Jesus demonstrates for us in his ministry, death, and resurrrsction. Consider these words of his from the sermon on the mount as you pray and go about your day:
43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. 46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47 If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. 48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48)
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About the Author
Isaac Gaff is the Managing Director of Worship and Creative Arts at Calvary UMC
Love Your Neighbor (Jonah 4:1-11)
The ending of the Book of Jonah reminds us that we are creatures who are defined by both doing and being. Even though Jonah did the right thing (delivering God’s message to the Ninevites), he refused to let the right thing remake and refashion his soul in the process. Throughout the history of God’s people (both Israel and the Church), we have tinkered with trying to divide actions and beliefs, head and heart, doing and being. Christian history is a see-saw battle to elevate one over the other. But Jesus encourages us to hold onto all of them with both hands and pull ourselves toward the life of God - a life that is fully action, fully belief, fully head, fully heart, fully doing, and fully being. All of them work together; all of them are connected, all of them at rest with each other. When we wrap our arms around this kind of wide embrace, we’re able to complete what Jonah did not. Our obedience opens up a chance for our souls to share God’s excitement when those who are lost return home. As you pray for your neighbors today, ask God to begin to move both your hands and heart toward love of neighbor.
About the Author
Isaac Gaff is the Managing Director of Worship and Creative Arts at Calvary UMC
Love Your Neighbor (Jonah 3:1-10)
In our text for the week, Jonah listens to God and begins to tell his Ninevite neighbors the message from God. The Ninevites listen and respond to God's call through repentance. One of the main themes of the Book of Jonah is God's vigorous and tenacious work of restoration even when God's messenger (Jonah) is fearful and slow to action. God's love for our neighbor is already in motion and at work. Our task as disciples of Jesus is to step into the work God is already doing in the lives of our neighbors. When we don't, we walk in the path of Jonah and miss the opportunity to celebrate with God when people seek him and find him.
About the Author
Isaac Gaff is the Managing Director of Worship and Creative Arts at Calvary UMC
Love Your Neighbor (Jonah 1:17-2:10)
On Monday, we prayed the prayer of Jonah from three different perspectives; one of those being the perspective of someone going through trouble. It’s good to remember that our neighbors living around us don’t always wear their trouble on their sleeve. Thoreau was keen when observing “the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation” (Walden, ch 1). As we pray for those around us today, let’s be mindful that many of their ‘belly of the whale’ moments may be under the surface and more quiet in nature. When we pray prayers like Jonah’s through the eyes of our neighbors, we begin to cultivate a heart of solidarity, empathy, and love for them that reflects the heart of a God who spent “three days and nights in the heart of the earth” and knows our deepest pain.
From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said:
“In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.
You hurled me into the depths,
into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
swept over me.
I said, ‘I have been banished
from your sight;
yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.’
The engulfing waters threatened me,
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.
To the roots of the mountains I sank down; “
“the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
brought my life up from the pit.
“When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.
“Those who cling to worthless idols
turn away from God’s love for them.
But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’ ”
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About the Author
Isaac Gaff is the Managing Director of Worship and Creative Arts at Calvary UMC
Love Your Neighbor (Jonah 1:4-16)
The big picture story in the Book of Jonah is about loving God and loving your neighbor, but that love comes from the unlikeliest of characters. God’s prophet, Jonah, runs away from the call to love his neighbors, the Ninevites, by boarding a ship headed for the edge of the world crewed by sailors who did not share his religious, political, or social ideology. These sailors, even though they share little in common with Jonah, wind up demonstrating how to love your neighbor when they work for Jonah’s rescue and stand in solidarity with Jonah through the storm. Even though Jonah ends up thrown into the sea, the crew’s efforts to save him and their worship of the God of Israel are examples of mercy and love to this runaway prophet. The Bible is full of God using those on the “outside” to demonstrate his purposes to this on the “inside” (think of Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan). As you love the neighbors around you this week, be mindful and aware that God may be using them to speak to you instead of the other way around.
About the Author
Isaac Gaff is the Managing Director of Worship and Creative Arts at Calvary UMC
Love Your Neighbor (Jonah 1:1-3)
As we talked about in Tuesday's podcast, Nineveh was not just a place that Jonah preferred to avoid simply because "bad company corrupts good character," it had a reputation for violence, war, and general unsafety for non-natives of the city. As we reflect on how to love our neighbor in light of this passage, I want us to stand in the shoes of both sides.
First, are we afraid to reach out to those around us who have a reputation for violence - for those who intentionally create environments of unrest and terror? If so, how can we begin to gain God's perspective for these people who are our brothers and sisters?
Second, have we ourselves become know for a reputation of violence and aggression among our neighbors? Perhaps we're not throwing punches or bombs, but maybe our speech is more caustic than needed toward our neighbors. How can we watch for the Jonahs coming our way and be ready to hear what they have to say?
About the Author
Isaac Gaff is the Managing Director of Worship and Creative Arts at Calvary UMC
Love Your Neighbor (Matthew 5:13-16)
Often, reading a familiar passage of Scripture in an alternate translation brings new and nuanced insight to the text. Eugene Peterson’s translation of the Bible called “The Message” has been extremely helpful to me (and many others) in this kind of study for the sake of transformation. Below is his translation of the familiar words of Jesus from Matthew 5. Notice how the neighbor-loving and God-revealing purpose of salt and light are brought out of the text:
“Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.
“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
Questions or discussion? Click here to comment.
Tomorrow on the Daily Connection: Who Is My Neighbor?
About the Author
Isaac Gaff is the Managing Director of Worship and Creative Arts at Calvary UMC
Love Your Neighbor (Acts 1:1-11)
The tone of God’s work in the world gets transposed at the beginning of Acts. Up to this point in the story of God (the life cycle of Israel and the ministry of Jesus), the focus was on “come and see” – see how Israel lived a God-infused life, come Jesus’ call to see God at work in the lives of those on the boundaries of Israel, etc. But at the beginning of Acts, the tone shifts from “come and see” to “go and tell.” From it’s beginning, this new chapter (called the Church) in the story of God has been about going and telling. As God’s people in the world, our lives are proactive in sharing the work of God. As you consider how to love your neighbor today, remember that our DNA as the church is one of initiative and proactivity, not one of hesitancy and passivity. Make that invitation to lunch or coffee, ask your neighbor what you can do to help them out, serve them without expectation of response. When you do, you stand in a long tradition of “going and telling” while simultaneously being a part of the brand new work God is doing in the world.
Questions or discussion? Click here to comment.
Tomorrow on the Daily Connection: Who Is My Neighbor?
About the Author
Isaac Gaff is the Managing Director of Worship and Creative Arts at Calvary UMC
Love Your Neighbor (Matthew 19:13-14)
As we reflect on how Jesus welcomed the children around him, we explore how we welcome the children around us. Christina Embree (family minister at Nicholasville UMC) has some great thoughts on how we welcome and love the children around us. Read more…
Love Your Neighbor (Hebrews 10:23-25)
We often read Hebrews 10:25 exclusivley in the context of the full church gathered in worship on Sunday (and it does speak to that), but there is a larger (and smaller) context of gathering that is rooted in the DNA of the early church that is hyper-local (neighborhood based). In the book of Acts, Luke tells us that "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts" (Acts 2.46). Both the temple courts (the large gathering) and the home (the small gathering) were places of ministry, encouragement, and love.
In 21st century culture, our homes tend to be places where immediate family members seal themselves off from the world around them. Even our home architectural shift in the last century illustrates this move. As Christians, our homes are as vital a place of ministry as the church building (maybe even more so). Sharing a meal together is the center of one of our most sacred actions (Holy Communion) and is, in a small and localized way, enacted every time we sit and fellowship at a table with our neighbors. Take time this week to plan a meal, open your home, and invite others to share a meal with you sometime in the coming weeks. You'll be tapping into the roots of our faith where you'll find the beautiful intersection of love of God and love of neighbor.
Questions or discussion? Click here to comment.
Tomorrow on the Daily Connection: Who Is My Neighbor?
About the Author
Isaac Gaff is the Managing Director of Worship and Creative Arts at Calvary UMC
Love Your Neighbor (Matthew 18:21-35)
This parable brings to light the connection between gratefulness and forgiveness (love) for neighbor. When we neglect to reflect and be thankful for our own life and experiences, we often try to make a neighbor's loss our gain in an attempt to fill the void only deep gratitude can fill. When we look at life from a perspective of scarcity (they must lose in order for me to win), love for our neighbor becomes malnourished and eventually dies. When our attitude and posture toward each other begins with reflection on the abundance of God's presence in our lives (and the life of the world), we begin to see that our relationship with our neighbor is built on a foundation of infinite abundance and not of exhaustible scarcity. There is no beginning and no end to the amount of love accessible through the act of forgiveness.
As you encounter those around you today, ask God to open your eyes to gratefulness that leads to an infinite abundance of neighbor-loving forgiveness.
Questions or discussion? Click here to comment.
Tomorrow on the Daily Connection: Who Is My Neighbor?
About the Author
Isaac Gaff is the Managing Director of Worship and Creative Arts at Calvary UMC