#no partiality

Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth, I perceive that God shows no partiality.” Acts 10:34 Partiality or preferences are shown everywhere. People tend to only get together with other people who act, talk and look like they do. It is also seen in the workplace where a certain person gets preferential treatment over others regardless of how poorly the work is being done. Mistakes are…

6 But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality )-well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me

Galatians 2:6

To Paul, it was more important to him what God said not what any man might say. No matter how important others think that a person might be, Paul knew that we are all equal before God. God does not have…

Hebrew Scripture Lesson from the Latter Prophets: Jeremiah 11:1-17

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Cursed be anyone who does not heed the words of this covenant, which I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron-smelter, saying, ‘Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, that I may perform the oath that I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.’” Then I answered, “So be it, Lord.”

And the Lord said to me “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. For I solemnly warned your ancestors when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of an evil will. So I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.”

And the Lord said to me: “Conspiracy exists among the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They have turned back to the iniquities of their ancestors of old, who refused to heed my words; they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant that I made with their ancestors.” “Therefore,” thus says the Lord, “assuredly I am going to bring disaster upon them that they cannot escape; though they cry out to me, I will not listen to them. Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they will never save them in the time of their trouble. For your gods have become as many as your towns, O Judah; and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to make offerings to Baal.

“As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done vile deeds? Can vows and sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? The Lord once called you, ‘A green olive tree, fair with goodly fruit’; but with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. The Lord of hosts, who planted you, has pronounced evil against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.”

Psalm 39

I said, “I will guard my ways  that I may not sin with my tongue; I will keep a muzzle on my mouth  as long as the wicked are in my presence.” I was silent and still;  I held my peace to no avail;  my distress grew worse,  my heart became hot within me. While I mused, the fire burned;  then I spoke with my tongue:

“Lord, let me know my end,  and what is the measure of my days;  let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a few handbreadths,  and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight. Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. Selah  Surely everyone goes about like a shadow. Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;  they heap up, and do not know who will gather.

“And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?  My hope is in you. Deliver me from all my transgressions.  Do not make me the scorn of the fool. I am silent; I do not open my mouth,  for it is you who have done it. Remove your stroke from me;  I am worn down by the blows of your hand.

“You chastise mortals  in punishment for sin, consuming like a moth what is dear to them;  surely everyone is a mere breath. Selah

“Hear my prayer, O Lord,  and give ear to my cry;  do not hold your peace at my tears. For I am your passing guest,  an alien, like all my forebears. Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again,  before I depart and am no more.”

New Testament Epistle Lesson: Romans 2:1-11

Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things. You say, “We know that God's judgment on those who do such things is in accordance with truth.” Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. For he will repay according to each one's deeds:¹ to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; while for those who are self-seeking and who obey not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be anguish and distress for everyone who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.

¹Psalm 62:12 and Proverbs 24:12

Year C Lent 3 Monday

"For God shows no partiality." (Romans 2:11)

God does not love any child more than another.  He loves all of His children equally.  He loves each and every one as a unique soul created in His image and likeness.  He loves each and every one as a loving Father who wishes the best for His children.  He gives to each everything that is needed to live a life full of hope and joy.  He blesses every person with the fullness of His love and wants each one to experience His deep and abiding love for them.  He is a tender, loving Father who wants all of His children to know Him and love Him in a profoundly personal way.  God is love and His love for each person is perfect and complete.  He shows no partiality.  He simply loves all.

Prayer: