Charitable Living, Charitable Love

Reflections:

Owe no one anything, except to love each other,

for the one who loves another has 

fulfilled the law. (1)

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God,

and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. (2)

There is liberation of mind through love. (3)

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future,
concentrate the mind on the present moment. 

Scripture Reading:

How easily we can forget how precious life is!
So long as we can remember, we've just been here, 
being alive.
Unlike other things for which we have a comparison-
black to white, day to night, good to bad-
we are so immersed in life that we can
see it only in the context of itself.
We don't see life as compared to anything, to
not-being, for example, to never having been born.
Life just is.
But life itself is a gift.
It's a compliment just being born:
to feel, breathe, think play, dance, sing, work, 
make love, for this particular lifetime.
Today, let's give thanks for life. 
For life itself! For simply being born. (4)

Moment of Reflection

Scripture Reading

The Buddha saw into the heart of the supporter of orphans; 

and knowing that unselfish charity was the moving cause of his offer,

in acceptance of the gift, the Blessed One said:

'The charitable man is loved by all; his friendship is

prized highly; in death his heart is at rest and full of joy, for he suffers

not from repentance; he receives the opening flower of his

reward and the fruit that ripens from it. Hard it is to

understand: By giving away our food,

we get more strength, by bestowing clothing on others, 

we gain more beauty; by donating abodes of purity and truth,

we acquire great treasures.' (5)

Moment of Reflection

Sermon

When the love of God is manifested through the life of the child of God, someone becomes the recipient of that which the Bible calls “charity.” God’s supreme and sacrificial, unconditional compassion for mankind is captured in the Greek word “agape” and is on most occasions translated love. However, in more than two dozen instances in our King James Bible, we find the word charity selected to describe God’s love at work in and then through a believer to a needy person. People who live in the love of God are living charitably. This way of living leads to loving others with the love of God, hence, “Charitable Living: Charitable Loving.” (6)

Memory Verse

Thou hast given so much to me,

Give one thing more, a grateful heart. (7)

Closing Prayer

Great spirit, who hast blessed the earth that it should

be fruitful and bring forth whatsoever is needful for the

life of man, and hast commanded us to work with

quietness, and eat our own bread; Bless the labors of

those who till the fields and grant such seasonable

weather that we may gather in the fruits of the earth. (8)

(1)The Holy Bible(NIV). Romans 13:8. Colorado Springs, CO: The International Bible Society, 1984. 

(2)The Holy Bible(NIV). 1John 4:7. Colorado Springs, CO: The International Bible Society, 1984.
(3) Ragland, Thomas. The Noble Eightfold Path of Christ- Jesus teaches the Dharma of Buddhism. Victoria, BC: Trafford, 2003.
(4)Kingma, Daphne Rose. How easily we can forget.... A Grateful Heart. Edited by M. J. Ryan. San Fracisco: Conari Press, 1994.
(5)  Carus, Paul. Buddha, The Gospel. Chicago: The Open Court Publishing Company, 1894. http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/btg/index.htm (accessed November 27, 2012).
(6)Wikel, Andrew. FastPencil, "Charitable Living: Charitable Loving." Last modified 2011. Accessed November 27, 2012. http://www.fastpencil.com/publications/1581-Charitable-Living-Charitable-Loving.
(7)Herbert, George. Thou hast given...A Grateful Heart. Edited by M. J. Ryan. San Fracisco: Conari Press, 1994.
(8)  Book of Common Prayer