Category Archives: 2 Corinthians

Restored to harmony

Rembrandt (1606 – 1669)
The Return of the Prodigal Son /
De terugkeer van de verloren zoon
drawing with pen and brush
ca.1640 – ca.1645
Teylers Museum, Haarlem
Object number: O+ 048

[Jesus addressed this parable to them:] “His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.'” Luke 15:21

It isn’t easy to admit I’m wrong, that I’ve caused harm with my words, actions, attitudes, and behaviors. But God is always calling me home to the original harmonic of goodness and love, peace and compassion. When I pay attention to God’s will for me, I find the humility to take responsibility for what I have done or failed to do.

Today I will turn to God and ask for the courage to take the initiative to be reconciled with God and my neighbor.

By the grace of God

António de Oliveira Bernardes (1686/1687 – 1732)
A Rejeição de Jesus em Nazaré (“Um profeta não deixa de receber honra, senão na sua terra”)
painel de azulejos, século XVIII
Igreja da Misericórdia, Évora, Portugal

The Lord said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 9

Vulnerability and weakness remind me of my humanity. In humble awareness that I can do nothing without God, I turn to the Lord whose grace gives me the power to keep going.

Today I will ask the Lord to grace me with mercy, love, trust, and courage.

Plant a seed of love

Mustard Seeds in a Plate at Reganigudem
By Adityamadhav83

We are always courageous, although we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:6-7

It takes only the tiniest seed of faith to keep going each day. Faith the sun will rise and set, faith we are where we need to be, faith we live in the heart space of God.

Today I will give thanks to God for the courage to get out of bed and be in the world. I will plant a seed of love by performing an act of kindness for someone who needs shelter from the stresses of life.

Harmonic power

Domenico Piola (1627-1703)
Blessed Maria Vittoria Fornari’s Vision of the Trinity, circa 1670 National Gallery of Art

Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. 2 Corinthians 13:11

Every day we are welcomed into the harmonic power of the Holy Trinity, a united community whose unfailing vision for our world is love and peace.

Today I will unite myself with the power of the Holy Trinity and help carry out God’s vision of love and peace by intentionally treating all people with respect and compassion.

Live in peace

Retable de la Trinité. Musée d’art Hyacinthe Rigaud, Perpignan (1489)

Brothers and sisters, rejoice. Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. 2 Corinthians 13:11

To serve the cause of justice, I must be aware of God’s presence and ask God to show me the next right action. I must be grounded in love of my neighbor and ask the Lord to give me the courage to love unconditionally. I must empty myself of self-serving justification and ask the Holy Spirit to fill me with love and peace.

Graced

Orant statuette
alabaster, 3300 BC
Uruk Period
Louvre Museum [CC BY-SA 2.0 fr, CC BY-SA 3.0 fr or CeCILL], from Wikimedia Commons


Three times I begged the Lord about this [thorn in the flesh], that it might leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:8-9

In those moments when I am nagged by sadness or pain or fear, when I feel I cannot live one more second in this affliction, grace nudges me to call on the Lord, whose faithful compassion blesses me with a moment of rest from the “angel of Satan.” God’s power carries me because I cannot carry myself.

Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy. Psalm 123:2cd