Love, Authority, and Healing

Jim:
Daniel 4:28-37
I’ve underlined verse 37, which says, “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are truth, and his ways are justice; and he is able to bring low those who walk in pride.” Over and over again throughout scripture God is said to oppose those who pride themselves or who take advantage of their own position. The most familiar example of this idea is perhaps the Magnificat of Mary (Luke 1:46-55) where we read, “…he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones…” Mary’s words could be referring directly to Nebuchadnezzar and his experience as related in Daniel. Clearly, God takes issue with haughtiness and pride. What God seeks is faithful humility. According to Daniel this is the lesson that the king learned from his experience as a social outcast.

1 John 4:7-21
This has been a time of weddings for us, with five in about six weeks. And we’ve begun each of those services by reading 1 John 4:16b, “God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.” Love is a gift of God to humanity. It builds community and allows us to care for one another. Here again there are echoes from elsewhere in scripture, in this case 1 Corinthians 13, where Paul speaks of love as the greatest gift and the one that should motivate our actions.

Luke 4:31-37
In the reading from Luke I focused on verse 32, “They were astounded at (Jesus’) teaching, because he spoke with authority.” Jesus was a great teacher because he knew, not only the scriptures, but also the will of God which he accepted with perfect obedience. It was this faithfulness that allowed Jesus to demonstrate power and authority. King Nebuchadnezzar’s authority was not based on faithfulness to God and so it was fleeting. The writer of 1 John recognized love as a sign of God’s presence in our lives and the source of community, so that those who do not love do not demonstrate God’s presence. It all has to do with accepting God’s will and living God’s love in the world.