One Word
This winter on The Daily Pattern we’re in a series called One Word. Each day we take one word – a feeling or circumstance – and bring a word from God to it. Let the Word of God speak to your life.
Invocation
Make the sign of the cross, and say,
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Invitation Prayer
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matt. 5:5) O Lord, I am lowly and humble. You alone are my inheritance. Amen.
Word: Luke 6:27
“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
Meditation
Hate by Bobbi Cloeter
“I hate you.” Have you ever had those words spoken to you? Have you spoken them? Words have power and purpose. These words are used to cause hurt and separation. Hate is a word that intends to rip and wound.
Jesus’ disciples had picked and eaten grain on the Sabbath. Jesus had healed a man with a disfigured hand. Both actions caused the Pharisees to question him and his commitment to the law. After Jesus rebuked them, they began to plot how to get rid of Jesus-because they hated him.
Jesus is the all-powerful Son of God and could have dealt his enemies a death blow without lifting a finger. Instead, he loved them. He taught his followers to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them. Even when Jesus was nailed to the cross, bleeding and broken, he prayed for those who yelled and mocked and tortured him. He asked the Father to forgive them. He didn’t retaliate or respond with the same hatred. He had compassion on them and chose love over hate. Why? Because he is love.
Hate seems to be at an all time high in our culture. I’m a high school science teacher. I see firsthand that pain, stress, and trauma are affecting youth and families. My students see a world of hate in the media and on the streets. Frustration turns to anger, and anger bubbles over into hatred. It’s overwhelming.
Have you experienced hatred directed at you? How did you react? Or maybe have felt hatred ooze from your own heart. What do you do with it? It’s easy to be a mirror of the hatred around us. Sometimes I’m unsure of how to be Christ-like when the gravity of circumstances is pulling on me. I often fail in my effort to resist hatred. My only hope is the One who said, “Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you.” I’m thankful he loved me when I was an enemy. Only in Him can I resist the hatred around me.
Lord Jesus, how did you love your enemies? How did you do good when others hated you? You are love incarnate. Forgive me. Shape my heart for love, not hate. Help me to live a life that is distinct from the darkness around me. Amen.
Prayer for Family
· For my immediate family (parents, spouse, siblings).
· For extended family (cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents)
· For close friends that are as family to me.
· For those who don’t have families, or whose families are broken.
· For forgiveness and reconciliation where there is division in my family.
· For provision where there is need in my family.
· For God to be the foundation, and the cross the center of my family.
· For a generation yet unborn, future members of our family.
Closing Prayer
O Lord and King, your Kingdom comes even without our prayer. But we pray that it would also come among us. We are desperate for your reign and rule, for all we see is rebellion. Come into my heart, my home, my family, my work, my church, my community. Rule with justice and with mercy. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.