Today’s passage from Romans hits us with a double whammy: firstly, we ourselves don’t like to be criticized or held accountable, and secondly, we often feel quite free to do the same thing with other people. Paul, however, lets us off the hook on both counts. He says that we are accountable to God and to no other. What a relief!

The Eucharist or Holy Communion is a powerful reminder of just how much God loves us and just how far Jesus was willing to go in His love for us. Let us, therefore, never take this act of worship for granted or take it lightly for it cost God His very life.

It is no small wonder that the Scriptures continually call us to remember, for we fallible humans are much too prone to forget, to forget in particular what God has done for us. It is this remembrance of God’s past deeds that informs and encourages today’s psalmist in his continued faith and trust in God. God has ‘been there for him’ in times past, so he is confident that He will continue. May the same be for each of us as well.

Over the centuries there have been some terrible ‘dogfights’, theologically speaking, in terms of certain doctrines or beliefs. One of these has to do with whether a believer can ever lose his or her salvation. Those who say ‘no’ point to Scriptures such as John 6:37, that says ‘that he who comes to me, I will in no wise cast out'. Those on the other side of the argument point to the example of Judas Iscariot and to today’s text from Romans. Today’s text, a warning written to Gentile believers, certainly holds out the possibility that they might be removed from the olive tree, therefore signifying, I think, that they are no longer part of the Church, no longer believers. And so, the jury is out.

My suggestion therefore, is not to be dogmatic about this in either direction, but simply to be careful and diligent in keeping close to Jesus. Like any relationship, it needs to be fostered and developed, so why would we ever want to allow it to wilt or go dormant? So, best to do whatever we can to nourish it.

Sometimes faith appears in the unexpected people and places, which is exactly what we find in today’s story of Rahab and the two Hebrew spies. Who would have ever expected a Canaanite, and a woman of her trade and reputation, to have such an ardent and practical faith in God, and who was willing to put it into practice in such a foolhardy way? But then, we never know, and so we should always be on the lookout for it, and then foster it and expand upon it the best we can.

The apostle James uses the image of a mirror, the mirror of God’s word, which is supposed to help us see how we really look. And here, in today’s passage from Amos, we have another image, that of a plumb line to show us how much we do or do not deviate from God’s standards. The sad truth is that we probably deviate a great deal and probably don’t see very well either. Jesus uses a rather apt image to describe this act of seeing, saying that it is like having a log in our eye. But then He offers some hope in that He suggests that the log can indeed be removed, so that we can see. And here God can be of great help. In Amos, and in many other passages, we have some advice about how to do so

Today’s Scripture reading and meditation raise a most important--and, potentially disturbing question--namely, what or who is it that we depend upon? Do we depend totally and absolutely on God? Or, do we largely depend upon a whole bunch of other things, peoples and institutions? Years ago I read the biography of J. Hudson Taylor, British missionary, and the founder of the China Inland Mission, and I must say that I was shocked. During the founding of that mission society and over the entire period that he was in charge of it, he allowed no fund-raising letters and no telephone or television appeals of any sort. In fact, even during a worship service or meeting connected to the mission, he made no mention of money and no mention of their needs. He expected God to provide--without any human prompting or intervention--and He did! For years! I found this example to be most disturbing and upsetting, for I, for one, could never measure up to that kind of faith. Sure, I might pray, but then I’d always hedge it a bit by just ‘happening’ to mention the need to someone. Anyway, it is something to think, and pray, about.

Our lives are full of choices. Every day we make hundreds, if not thousands of them. Now I happen to think that they do make a difference. Not as ‘Star Wars’ and its somewhat New Age thinking would have it, where everything in the cosmos is interconnected and one small change has a rippling effect through the entire universe, but as something that connects up with God and His will and purposes for us and everything else. And so, seeking first [that is, only] the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33), and making our choices accordingly, certainly will have an impact. And yes, anything and everything, even if small, done in His name and according to His will. All of this He uses and fits into His most perfect plan.