love God, love others

Sunday December 14th, Isaiah 61: 1 The Spirit of GOD, the Master, is on me because GOD anointed me. He sent me to preach good news to the poor, heal the heartbroken, announce freedom to all captives, pardon all prisoners. In Luke 4:14-20 we read where Jesus began his ministry in Nazareth reading from this section of the scroll of Isaiah. One could call it Jesus’ mission statement, and by association, our mission. Christ is coming, that we know, but what should we do in the mean time while we wait and live life? How should we live this life that has been sanctified by the grace of a loving God? Bringing good news to the poor, healing the heartbroken, and working to free all those who are bound by whatever it is they are bound by, these are the marks of the saints who “get it”. In the simplest terms, we are called to love God and love others. Others defined as whoever God places before you or on your heart. Those at the bottom need it more than those at the top and in order for both to get help, the ones at the top should be helping the ones at the bottom, in doing so, both are blessed. We often confuse Jesus message with our own agendas and that often times gets us in trouble as we step outside of the simple message to love God and love others, and end up primarily loving ourselves and the others who are like us. This Christmas, follow the mission of Christ and let God be God.