Public opinion, and particularly social media and advertisers, try to set forth certain products and services as truly worthy of our attention and approval, and, of course, our spending power. What they seldom talk about, except perhaps on a ‘friendly’ Face Book post, is the pearl of great price, the treasure of surpassing value, which, of course, is Jesus. So, perhaps a reminder that He, and He alone, is truly worthy of our lives, and of our ‘investments’.

Today’s psalm and meditation constitute a sort of wake-up call for me. I am so easily distracted by the latest breaking news, the weather, my aches and pains, or my present agenda, which means that I don’t always maintain my focus on God or on His will or His purposes for us and our world. Our psalmist reminds us of where our focus rightfully should be.

Money, wealth and possessions in general have always been a tricky and somewhat contentious subject. While few, if any, of us fall into the categories of the very rich or the very poor, what we own, or don’t own, still is rather important, such that we don’t willingly or easily part with them. I, for instance, am quite attached to my books. These things, unfortunately, can become part of our identity, part of who we are. In fact, we can easily attach a meaning or a significance to them far beyond what we should, even to the point of our coming to depend upon them--even, I might suggest, crowding out God. And so, Paul’s warning in his letter to Timothy is most appropriate to all of us.

In the Scriptures we are told to praise God with every part of our beings, whether that be by words or deeds, or even by our thoughts and intentions. So, how do we do this? I guess the first part is to become more aware, more aware of all the blessings that God has given us, and, perhaps even more, to be aware of just how wonderful, gracious, and loving our God is. It is so easy to take all these blessings for granted, and to gloss over them and forget them, so I’m thinking that cultivating an awareness is a crucial first step. From there, hopefully, it will be all the more natural to praise Him.

Is there anyone out there like me? I mean, anyone who is prone to fretting about things, or getting worked up or ‘bugged’ by fairly minor things or occurrences? (I sometimes think that in my ‘old age’ I have become especially susceptible to such behaviour). Anyway, I have found Psalm 37 to be an excellent wake-up call and corrective to such. Maybe you will find this as well.

Much has been said about the church as a ‘family’, and quite properly so, we are indeed a family, with Christ as its head. And, sadly, unfortunately, like our ‘natural’ families, things don’t always go smoothly or harmoniously. And then there are the issues that can sometimes arise between our ‘natural’ families and our church family. In times past, there was often great turmoil and consternation when a family member married someone from a different church denomination, but this isn’t so great an issue now. But for many people, coming from non-Christian faiths--such as Judaism, Islam or Hinduism--it is indeed a very large issue, and often one that can break apart families and even cause a potential convert to rethink whether he or she is really willing to take that step, especially considering the very real risks involved.

So, it is important, on both counts--that of our Christian family and our natural ones--to really think about what family means to us and see how we might honour each of them.

Here, I really have to agree with our commentator in the Forward Day by Day post. Often the Prayers of the People, as ‘performed’ as part of our Sunday liturgy, come across as something rather perfunctory, as something we ‘have to do’. And, even when they are not like this, do we really treat them seriously when it comes to our everyday lives? Of instance, are there people in need that we pray for intentionally and regularly, and by name? And, when it comes to our officials, do we bother to get to know what they are like--what motivates them, for instance--what they consider important, and what issues they’re facing? And, in this, do we rely on more than the snip-its, the brief sound bites, that we get from the media? In other words, have we put ourselves in a place where we can pray meaningfully for them? That, obviously, will take some work, and apart from the fact that we may not even like some of them, puts us in something of a bind. And yet, it is something that God calls us to--and for good reasons. And, speaking of that, who knows what might happen?

Today’s Scripture and meditation put us in mind of considering what impact our lives will have on the world around us, especially upon those who come to know us well. Will our words and works have a positive impact, or not? Now, I’m not for a moment suggesting that we should always ‘look around’ to see how we’re doing, to see how others are reacting, no, not in the least. Rather, I think it’s a case of trying to do what is right and good, and then just ‘letting the chips fall where they may’. I’m thinking that if we try to do what God wants, the impacts will indeed be good.

Today’s Scripture and meditation speak about the idea that God speaks, and that He actually speaks to us human beings. An obvious way is through the Bible, the Holy Scriptures, but that means that we have to read them, meditate on them, digest them, and allow them to become part of our very beings. And, of course, this is best done while in an attitude of prayer, which means that we have to quit our busyness for a moment or more, and actually be still and quiet and receptive. This is what I call my Quiet Time.

But, if we so desire, we can also make this even more personal. In this time of quiet we can ask God two questions, “Who do I need to minister to today?” and “Where can I make amends or make things better?” Both of these questions presuppose that we are in this world to minister to others and to make a difference.

Today’s passage and meditation could never be more needful than in our world of today. Knowledge, ‘facts’, opinions and ideas are in great abundance, sometimes confusingly so. What is missing is the wisdom to know how to deal with them, how to sort them out and tell ‘one from tunder’ and how to act on them. It is something we so desperately need, and yet it is freely available in God and His word--if only we are willing to go to it, listen to it and abide by it.

I think that I would have made an excellent Pharisee. After all, as a life-long Anglican, stubborn Englishman, and devotee of the Prayer Book, I like established routines and set out procedures. What is more, except perhaps for going over the speed limit a bit, I try to be pretty conscientious when it comes to traffic laws and regulations. And, like the Pharisees in their devotion to even coming ‘close’ to breaking the law, I park ‘miles’ away from curbs and such like, just to avoid hitting and causing damage to whatever car I’m driving. And, like them, I tend to be somewhat disapproving of people who continue to dress slovenly or inappropriately or people who have an overly developed sense of entitlement and who feel that everyone else should step up to the place and do their bidding. And like them, I love the Scriptures and love studying them. As I said, I would have made a great Pharisee.

But then, there is the ongoing question, namely just what rules and regulations, what expectations, are worth keeping and adhering to, and what ones are not. Here we need God’s help and direction. Anyway, I suspect that this is something that probably most of us need to work on.

There are many remarkable things that set apart the Christian faith from other world faiths and philosophies, but one of the greatest is the confidence that we can have through Jesus Christ. In both Islam and Judaism, there is always a constant striving, trying to ‘be good enough’, trying to do the right things, but never knowing whether you have ‘made it or not.’ This is why the apostle Paul, prior to his conversion, strived so mightily to try to ‘make himself right with God’, but in the process, knowing whether he’d succeeded. And in Islam, the whole question is whether your good deeds outweighed the bad ones, but never knowing until death how this panned out.

Christians, by way of contrast, can know whom we have believed and where we are going. It is like travelling on a road or pathway--which is Jesus, by the way--confident that we are ‘on the right track.’ And rather than creating a kind of nasty or destructive arrogance, it can give us a sense of assurance. That is, we don’t have to be continually checking up on some road sign or marker to make sure we’re heading the right way, but can just busy ourselves with the journey and what it holds. To me, that is incredibly good news. I can just get on with life, all the while trying to listen to God and obey what He says.

So, here is the million-dollar question: why do some people, even when they have heard God’s message or seen Him at work, still refuse to believe, still refuse to turn their lives over to Him? While I have admit that for many of them we will never know, though I suspect that there may well be interior, personal reasons for this decision--things like fear, doubts, reluctance to change, conflicting agendas and behaviours, or ideas or prejudices or misconceptions gleaned from their upbringing, education or social media.

On these matters, we will probably never know, but there is one matter that we can know, namely, that we should try to communicate the gospel message as best and as lovingly and sensitively as we can, and then mirror that message, live out that message, in our daily lives. Maybe this way we can overcome some of their inhibitions.

Our meditation for today reminds us of something so very important, namely that God knows us inside and out, knows our needs, and cares for us. And, so we need to trust Him more fully and go to Him more consistently, faithfully, and expectantly in prayer.

Today’s Scripture and meditation should give all of us pause for thought. Ezekiel is saying that God has been profaned, simply on account of His people’s behaviour. It should certainly cause each of us to consider our own behaviour and how it might impact people’s perception of God. As one of my old bishops was accustomed to say, “You may be the only Jesus Christ that some people will ever meet.” In other words, Jesus is being assessed by our words and actions. Whoa. Something to think about.

Today’s passage and meditation speak of something that was near and dear to Jesus, namely the unity and oneness of His Body, the Church. But, as the apostles Paul and John both allege, it does not come naturally or easily, and nor does it come just by ‘wishing that it was so’. There are certain standards, ethically and doctrinally, that must be present if true unity and oneness are to be achieved. (By the way, oneness does not mean sameness. We can be one, can be united, even if there are variations in belief and practice, though not at the expense of certain core values and truths). Sad to say, however, we are far from that, even within single congregations and denominations. It is, therefore, still something to work on, and work for, in whatever ways we can.