We sometimes say we don’t care what other people think of us.  And while that may mean that our decisions are not necessarily guided by how other people see us, we should always be aware that we spend our lives in three courts of justice.  There is the court of personal justice where we justify ourselves whether we are right are wrong.  There is the court of God’s justice where we are held accountable for all of our decisions whether we are right are wrong, hoping for God’s grace when we make a mistake, and hoping for God’s blessings when we do something right.  But there is also the court of public opinion.  It highlights how we look in the eyes of other people.

         When we make a decision or take some action that impacts us personally as well as the world around us, we don’t often consider those three courts.  And yet in the eyes of God, as representatives of God and Christ’s justice and mercy (2 Corinthians 5:20), our position should be one in which we allow people to see God present in us rather than exalting ourselves above God to be God (justifying ourselves).  If we act faithfully to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord, then those who stand in the court of public opinion may judge us, but it will be Christ who will justify us.  When we stand in the court of our God justified by Christ, then we can be satisfied that we have done what is right, whether humanity has understood it that way or not.

• How often do you justify your actions as being right for you, yet giving no thought about how other people might see it?
• What would it mean for you to examine your decisions to act or react in view of what is right in the eyes of God?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Loving Christ, lead me in the paths of righteousness that my decisions — such as they are — will enable people to see that I am guided by what is right in Your eyes and not mine.

         Our biblical mandate to ”treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself,… “ is no different than the Levitical Law, “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.  I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:18).  It’s no different than the “Golden Rule” — “do to others as you would have them do unto you.” (Luke 6:31).  Nor is it any different than the first and second commandment, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.’ (Deuteronomy 6:5).  And it’s reemphasized when Jesus said: “A new command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35).

         Yet our difficulty in living this our comes because there are some people who are willing to throw out the biblical mandate to love when they find that the people living around them don’t look like them, speak like them, or are strangers from other cultural communities.  God’s commandment to honor the stranger or to love one another isn’t negotiable.  We don’t have the liberty to choose those to whom we will extend Christ’s hospitality.  It’s not our hospitality we offer.  It is Christ’s.  We can’t be self‑selective about to whom we will offer the love of Christ and who is deserving of it.  It’s not our love to offer, but the love of God that was offered to us freely that we offer in Jesus’ name.

         Those who are immigrants and migrants among us are often seeking a better opportunity, fleeing political persecution, or seeking asylum from cruel dictators.  They are spiritually and socially due what God decrees.  And those of us who define ourselves as Christians should obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29).

         Whether we are obedient to God’s word or simply apply the ideals noted in The United Methodist Church’s social principles, we will have honored God by our actions and not chosen our will purely on the merits of our emotions and prejudices.

• What makes our United Methodist Church’s Social Principles so important to know in our culture and world today?
• How can we be more active in promoting these social principle as we invite all people as our neighbors to join us as committed followers of Jesus Christ?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Loving God, grant me the courage to stand against the inhumane treatment of those who are sojourners with me in this land. Help me to help them experience human dignity as You demand.

         Within a community of believers who are known to each other, sometimes the love they show between each other is very evident.  They greet each other differently.  They have prayer groups where they share, they welcome each other into each other’s homes and share the benefits of common beliefs among themselves.  They study together, laugh together, worship together, comfort one another in times of trial, and seek the welfare of each other, often without question.

          Strangers are sometimes left to experience hospitality in an entirely different way.  Someone once asked Perle Mesta, the great Washington hostess, the secret of her success in getting so many people to attend her parties.  She said it was all in the greetings and the good-byes.  As each person arrived, she met him or her with “At last you’re here!”  And as each person left, she expressed her regrets with: ”I’m sorry you have to leave so soon!”

         Now, fast forward to the picture of immigrants and refugees in this country who have arrived hearing the greeting, “I’m sorry you came and are now here!”  And as each person is escorted out of the country hear the words, “You’re not welcome here, I’m glad you’re gone and don’t come back!”  Now imagine that level of hospitality as standard for many people who have been made to feel like unwelcome guests because of their ethnicity, their race, the color of their skin, their language, their gender, nationality, or language.  How many angels do you think may have been placed in ICE Detention Centers?  How many angels do you think may have died in ICE custody?  How many angels may have been deported illegally because of poor hospitality?

         While we can’t be responsible for a nations hospitality toward the strangers among us, we are responsible to ensure that our personal hospitality doesn’t imitate that of those whose hospitality toward strangers is highly suspect or cruel.  We’re called to live our lives as imitators of Christ and not the social structures under which we live.

• What can we do to make the strangers among us feel more welcome in our community? In our church?
• How does our hospitality reflect the love and welcome of Christ to others?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Gracious God, give me a heart of love and acceptance of all people that they may experience the hospitality of Christ in our relationship.