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Thread: Lent

  1. #11
    Princess Sparkles Paula's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stella180 View Post
    or am I missing something?
    A little bit, yes. It’s not that literal. These men were all saying, ‘I want to follow you but there’s so much else going on in my life’. What Jesus was saying was that, if what’s going on in your lives is stopping you following me, then you obviously don’t want to follow me. I’m fortunate, Si has always supported me having a faith but many, many people (mainly women) have partners who won’t support them and actively discourage them. This makes it very difficult to keep a faith and many fall away rather than lose their partner. Jesus is asking us to be realistic and honest with ourselves whether dealing with the difficulties is too much
    The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.

  2. #12
    Ok so it’s more a case that these people are making excuses for why they can’t follow him.

  3. #13
    Princess Sparkles Paula's Avatar
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    Exactly
    The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.

  4. #14
    Boss Lady ;) Suzi's Avatar
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    I've had partners who have had faith and been scarily pushy with it, I've had others who saw faith as a thing to mock etc. Now I have Marc who has always understood I had a faith, I lost it and have been trying to regain it... He's been actively supportive and it's been really fab. He's grown from being a complete non believer to someone who has an open mind and is happy to come to Church on a Wednesday (I miss that so much) for the small service..

    Thank you for talking me through this one Paula.I've never really talked about things like this before, I'm finding it really interesting.
    Do a little of something that makes you happy every day!


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  6. #15
    Princess Sparkles Paula's Avatar
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    Luke 10:25-37 [25] On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” [26] “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” [27] He answered, “ 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' ; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' ” [28] “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” [29] But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” [30] In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. [31] A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. [32] So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. [33] But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. [34] He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. [35] The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' [36] “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” [37] The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

    This is probably the most famous parable in the Bible and once again, returns to the hatred between the Jews and Samaritans. For context, the priest is a Jew, and the Levites are the historical tribe of the Israelites who were responsible for all religious matters. So the priest and Levite had a religious responsibility to help the man, whereas the Samaritan would have known he was a Jew and be expected to walk by.

    The expert in the Law was trying to test Jesus and expose him as an uneducated carpenter from Galilee who had no right to be teaching the Law. So ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus answers with the law given to Moses by God:

    Deuteronomy 6:5
    [5] Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

    Leviticus 19:18
    [18] “ 'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

    The lawyer must have been spitting. So he tries again ‘who is my neighbour?’ Jesus doesn’t answer this question but gives him an example. The lawyer has to then answer his own question and cannot give any answer but ‘the one who had mercy’.

    This section isn’t just about mercy, it’s also about perceptions and expectations of Jesus. My separate bible reading today talks about how Jesus was seen in his home town of Galilee:

    Mark 6:2-3
    [2] When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What's this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? [3] Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

    Even the people he grew up with, and despite all the signs and wonders he did, didn't want to accept who he is....
    The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.

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  8. #16
    Boss Lady ;) Suzi's Avatar
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    The parable of the Good Samaritan has always resonated with me. It's what I've always strived to do - not judge and help those who I don't know in the same way for those I do. I s'pose loosely that's how this place started - I didn't want anyone else to go through what I did without having anywhere they could turn for help, support and maybe some answers and a community which understand and listen. Not that I'm for one second claiming to be anywhere like the good Samaritan however! I'm not, because those same reasons for starting here were also so I had all those things too...
    Do a little of something that makes you happy every day!


  9. #17
    I remember an incident many years ago, I fell out with a friend in a big way after he cheated with his best friends girlfriend. She was a vile person and after warning him that she would only use him the same way she did his friend and just discard him when she was done was didn’t speak for the longest of times. Anyway, true to form I heard from anyone friend that she had literally dumped his stuff on the doorstep and left him with nowhere to go. The last person anyone expected to pick him up off the street and take him in was me but they is exactly what I did. He had no family to turn to and had severed ties with anyone who could’ve helped him because of this woman. I got a text from a friend asking why I did it after what happened between us. The answer being that I hoped if ever I was in his position someone would do the same for me and I treat others the way I would expect to be treated. Kindness isn’t something you give because someone has earned it. It’s something you do because it’s the right thing to do.


    And Suzi, I am so grateful you did start DWD, you have changed so many lives because of it, mine being one of them.

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  11. #18
    Boss Lady ;) Suzi's Avatar
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    That's a perfect example of someone doing what I consider to be the "right thing"....
    Do a little of something that makes you happy every day!


  12. #19
    Princess Sparkles Paula's Avatar
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    Luke 10:38-42
    [38] As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. [39] She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. [40] But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” [41] “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, [42] but few things are needed---or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

    I don’t think this passage is about ‘poor’ Martha having to do everything while her sister sat on her backside. This is about service to Jesus. It seems to me that Martha was reprimanded, not because she was rushing around preparing sandwiches but because of her attitude to service - she was making a point about how much she was ‘serving’ and how little Mary was. She was bigging up her role that day and forgetting about the reason she was supposed to be serving - to serve Christ. Who serves better - the person that donates to a worthy cause because of the publicity and kudos it gives them, or the person who quietly donates every month but expects nothing, no recognition, in return?
    The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.

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  14. #20
    Boss Lady ;) Suzi's Avatar
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    I think it's something we've all been guilty off - I know I have. I think you're right, it definitely feels that way. However, poor Martha!
    Do a little of something that makes you happy every day!


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