Family Sunday Dinner- Abide In My Love

It’s 3 o’clock in Central Florida and I realized a few minutes ago and said, “If next week is Easter then that means this is Palm Sunday.” Happy Palm Sunday Everyone

I’ve started reading a book called The Wisdom Jesus by Cynthia Bourgeault. She is an Episcopalian priest. If you’re familiar with Richard Rohr, they kind of run in the same group of people, promoting each other’s books, things like that.

At the beginning of the book she talks about trying to put aside all the things you think you know about Jesus, all the stories like the Good Samaritan and Prodigal Son, and try to look at Him with a fresh perspective. Without any preconceived ideas. Forget the, what I call, the feel sermon stuff and look at what Jesus was really trying to get across to the people. And as long as we’re looking at Jesus’s teachings in relation to the Old Testament, let’s look at the phrase “Abide In My Love.”

All passages taken from The Hebrew Bible

While Jesus wasn’t quoting an exact phrase in the Old Testament, the focus of God’s instructions in the Old Testament was to abide or dwell in God’s presence. Meaning the temple or tabernacle. In John 15:9&10 Jesus says 9)Even as the Father hath loved Me I have also loved you; abide in My love 10)If ye keep My commandments ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments. I abide in His love.

When I read that I thought a person could read into it that if we don’t keep Jesus’s commandments, He won’t love us. But in reality He will always love us, it is us who will distance ourselves from Him by not keeping His commandments. He is the vine and we are the branches of that vine. To not keep His commandments we will be pruning our branch from the vine that is the love of Jesus.

The Hebrew word Yashab means to sit, remain or dwell. In Psalm 91:1&2 it says 1) He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2) I will say of YHVH He is my refuge and my fortress; my God in whom I trust.

Jesus is now taking the Old Testament promise of God dwelling with His people and telling us that His love is the dwelling place. In Matthew 22: 36-40 When asked of Jesus which is the greatest commandment, Jesus said Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second and like unto it is this, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and the prophets. I’ve heard it often said that if you keep these 2 you can’t break the other ones.

I was reminded that when we do something for another person, it makes us feel good inside. Maybe that is that connection to the vine. Maybe that is the connection growing even stronger. Our branch growing bigger and harder to be cut off. Like us studying the words of Jesus and having a regular prayer time is us growing stronger on the vine, like how a plant is easy to cut down when it’s small and weak but grows stronger with sunshine and water and is harder to cut down.

Until next time Keep your connection to the vine growing stronger and

Keep Searching,

Paul