<p><em>As Christians we believe the Scriptures moral code is grounded in the Divine Delight in all creation and in the dignity Love imbues to every corner of the universe. Todays reflection reminds us that such lofty faith must be rooted in concrete actions. Our salvation and survival depend on it.</em></p><p><strong>October 29 2023: Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A</strong></p><p>Exodus 22:20-26</p><p>Psalm 18:2-4 47 51</p><p>1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10</p><p>Matthew 22:34-40</p><div><div class=titan__email-divider>&nbsp;</div></div><h3><strong>Loving God and Neighbor: Blessed and Blessing<br></strong></h3><p><em>A reflection by Thomas DeVoyd</em></p><p>The readings for today focus on how we treat people. That is something we truly need to reflect on: God wants us to treat each other as we want to be treated. Instead at time we make decisions based on things that make little difference in the grand scheme.</p><p>In the first reading God is specific on how others should be treated and what will happen if this is not followed. Following God requires that we not take advantage of others and that we not charge interest on loans to the needy. The book of Exodus says those who do not follow this will be destroyed. Gods people should not oppress foreigners because they have been in that vulnerable place (as have we!) Gods love is not constrained by those who are not a part of the Chosen community. However the Hebrew Scriptures do seem to contain a lot of violence. Aaorn Currin an apologist studied this very issue. According to him God shows anger for five main reasons in the Hebrew texts: to show his people how to fight well (there are many instances where he directs leaders how to disperse troops) it was used as a consequence of sin (the flood and Noah) to protect and purify the people to preserve the line of Christ and to foreshadow the passion of Jesus. The fact that in this reading God is very specific on the consequences of unjust actions tells us both of Gods love for us as well as the importance of these mandates.</p><p>The second reading from First Thessalonians speaks of the reception of Paul in Macedonia and Achaia. The Thessalonians and their neighbors were receptive to Pauls teachings. Paul was able to convert many of the listeners to God and he told them to await Jesuss return. This is a work of joy. Paul was converted to believe in Jesus as the Messiah and proclaimed that truth for the rest of his life. Paul spoke of an abiding faith in Jesus as the Christ and that through Jesus all sins can be forgiven. Paul visited influenced and wrote to much of the early church. As far as we can tell he is responsible for more New Testament verses than any other author.</p><p>The gospel is a challenge to Jesus from the Pharisees. They asked what the greatest commandant was. The answer they received was to love God with their entire heart soul and mind; then to love their neighbor as themselves. Both are important. I was on &nbsp;social media recently and I saw someone who was very proud to be anti-religious. This made me very sad. People of faith were being ridiculed for following fairy tales. But this is not what I am doing: I am allowing my faith in God to influence how I treat the people around me. At times I fear the voices of disbelief are getting stronger. There are those that would see all religion cast aside. But what might this accomplish? I fear it will destroy any belief in power greater than ourselves. Given our track record as a species this does not seem like a positive development to me. Left to ourselves we do not always treat one another or our world with sufficient care and respect. Perhaps if we look at how we treat our neighbors we are not doing well enough at this either. It can be so easy to treat someone with whom we disagree as if they are our enemy. The LGBTQIA+ community has been minoritized in just this way and so Exodus reminds us we should treat others with a greater compassion. Even within our community we can opt for division. There are organizations whose goal seems simply to be louder and more radical than others. This can make the world feel like a scary place. And yet God promised not to destroy the world again after the flood in the Noah story. It seems today that our real worry is not God destroying the world but that we might destroy it ourselves. I pray that we can finally come together and learn to love and not to destroy each other and that our care for one another can be rooted in each persons awareness of Gods love for them.</p><p>This week may each of you know Gods great love for you and share that love with any neighbors who come into your midst. May your week be both blessed and a blessing to others!</p><p></p><div><div class=titan__email-divider>&nbsp;<img src='https://www.dignityusa.org/sites/default/files/tom.png'></div></div><div class=mobile-full><div class=mobile-full><em><strong>Tom DeVoyd</strong> is a nurse in long term care and works with resident with Dementia. He is an advocate for his residents and has a Masters Degree in Nursing in Adult Psych/ Mental Health. He is also an advocate for the LGBTQI+ community. Tom currently lives in a small town in NH with his partner of years Phil. He enjoys reflecting on the scriptures and focusing on the world of when the scriptures were written.</em></div><div class=mobile-full></div></div><p style=text-align:center><a class=btn btn-primary href=https://dignityusa.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/dignityusa/event.jsp?event=148&>Subscribe to Breath of the Spirit</a></p>