Devotional

Jesus asks, “Do You Want To Get Well?  Excerpts from my Red Rock News Religion Column May 23, 2025 Rev. Dona Johnson |May 25, 2025 Jesus has an amazing way of asking good open-ended questions. And asking good questions is key to active listening and getting beneath the surface of things. Researchers believe Jesus asked over 300 questions in the New Testament. The questions he asked people engaged them, forced them to have to think about life and made them more likely to own their own conclusions.       A great example of Jesus’ ability to ask provocative questions is in John 5, when he meets a man who had been paralyzed most of his life—for 38 years. Jesus saw the man lying by the pool, and every time the waters were stirred, other men at the pool would run and tumble over him to reach the waters first. When Jesus discovered the man had been lying there helpless for so long, it raised up within Jesus a penetrating question, a question that got to the heart of the matter. He asked the man, “Do you want to get well?” And that same powerful question speaks into our lives today. Do you and I want to get well?       What is wellness? Well, there is physical, emotional and spiritual wellness. Our wellness has a direct impact on our relationships with God, those around us and our overall quality of life. We play a crucial role in staying well. In other words we have a responsibility in maintaining wellness. If we are not feeling well, we see a doctor. If we have experienced some sort of emotional crisis, addiction or a relational impasse, we may seek a counselor, or a support group such AA or grief support. If we are having a spiritual crisis, we may seek soul care from a priest, pastor or spiritual director. And there is no shame associated with getting third party intervention. None what so ever. God sprinkles our world with physicians, therapist and spiritual directors to help us out of what often seems like an impossible situation.  Sometimes, we need someone to peel back the layers of excuses, fear and self-preservation by asking us the really hard questions that often wake us up. In fact, seeking help is a very healthy response. And for those of us who are experiencing a period of wellness, we can be God’s encouragers, not naggers to those who may be stuck and afraid to get help. We can be God’s prayers warriors calling on the power of the God to bring healing to those who are suffering. For sometimes we are so ill, we cannot help ourselves, we need the help of the Holy Spirit to intercede for us, and we need the help of others to assist us. And yet, on the flip side we can be overfocused on wellness—where we are overly obsessed or compulsive with it to the point that it controls our lives.     After Jesus asked the disabled man if he wanted to get well, and after the man gave a few excuses for why he laid there in despair for 38 years, Jesus said with exacting firmness, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured. He picked up his mat and walked (Jn 5:8). As William Barclay writes, “It was as if Jesus said to him, “Man, bend your will to it and you and I will do this thing together.”     There is a life-giving message here for all of us. God wants to heal us, and he also wants us to take an active part in it—to have an intense desire for it. Barclay continues, “There are so many things in this world that try to defeat us, but when we make the slightest effort, hopeless as it may seem, the power of Christ gets an opportunity to conquer what for so long conquered us.”     Where might you be stuck today? Does Jesus’ question, “Do you want to get well?” resonate with you in any way. If so, what does it mean in your life today? What do you see when you re-image your life and who you are? You and I are so worthy of wellness. May God fill your soul with true healing, not healing from the waters of some magical pool of water but from Christ himself, the source of wholeness and peace. Amen.Prayer: May Christ in his resurrection power bring his healing presence to our minds, our bodies and our souls. Rev. Dona Johnson |May 25, 2025

The Goodness Of God Will  Always Prevail  Excerpts from my Red Rock News Religion Column May 16, 2025 Rev. Dona Johnson |May 18, 2025 The Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum’s exit faces north for a good reason. As visitors complete the somber and soul-searching journey through the museum, the tunnel-like prism walls open up to a panoramic view of Israel. As one stands on the balcony to catch their breath from all the harsh reality of evil, one looks out at the sunlit Jerusalem forests and urbanized hills beyond. The architects wanted to reinforce that no matter how dark and horrific evil can be in this life, and it can be horrendously dark, new life and the goodness of God will always prevail.        In Revelation 21, the Spirit gives John an image of a new future with a Christian conviction that at the end of time, God promises a new heaven and a new earth, and a new holy city, a new Jerusalem will come down from heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. The end we meet will not be an event, but a Person. In the new Jerusalem, unlike Moses who never got to see God’s face, only his backside, God’s people will finally get to see him fact to face.        In this new creation, there will be no more tears, death, mourning, crying and pain. In the end, the light which is Christ himself will absorb the darkness of human suffering. For many of us have experienced more than our share of tears in this life. For those who have cried themselves asleep, tears aroused by death and deep sighs of grief for the abuse of animals and the natural world, tears stirred up by painful persecution, discrimination, poverty, disease, betrayal and abandonment, all of this suffering will pass away to make room for something new to be born. Then God will fill this vacuum with things that make a glorious new creation. All that now robs life from being fulfilled, from being a vibrant joyful life will be replaced with something beyond our imagination.       God will dwell, make his tabernacle with his people forever. This is what formed the dreams and laments of the early prophets. We hear this longing from the Prophet Isaiah, who heard God say, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing.” Paul also declares, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Cor 5:17). Over and over again, we hear throughout Scripture Christ’s promise to restore what is broken, and redeem the relationship between God and humanity. This is the powerful mystery of faith found only in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Yes, God can take any man or woman and re-create him or her, and will someday create a new universe.       With God’s banishment of death, the last enemy as Paul declares, all God’s people will experience eternal life. And that is what every Christian sees waiting for them on the horizon. Although death is still a reality for us and all creation, a painful and sad reality, we no longer have to fear death. For in death we will not die, but move from life to life. Each and every day, God’s love prevails for “all” people, raising up people who are spiritually dead, into the promise of eternal life with him. Shabbat Shalom. Rev. Dona Johnson |May 18, 2025

From The Wilderness Of Sinai To TheEmpty Tomb, God’s Love Calls To Us Excerpts from my Red Rock News Religion Column May 9, 2025 Rev. Dona Johnson |May 11, 2025 One of the most iconic images given to Jesus is the image of the good shepherd. And it is central to our understanding of God’s character. As sheep, Christians belong to him, they can distinguish his voice among other voices and thus, not blindly but intentionally follow him. But for many of us, we have never seen a real shepherd, let alone a fold of sheep. That image is as foreign to most of us as being with a real cowboy in Wyoming or with some Inuit fisherman in Alaska.       At the end of Gospel of John 10:22-31, Jesus was walking in the colonnade of Solomon’s Temple, when a few Jews crowded around him determined to get an answer. They asked him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? Tell us plainly are you or are you not the Messiah?” Although he had not made his position clear to them. He had appeared to the Samaritan woman (Jn 4:26) and she believed him, and he had also disclosed himself to the man born blind man (Jn 9:35). Maybe Jesus’ teachings were so clear, had they come to him with the right attitude they would have believed just as his Jewish disciples had believed. Herein lies the point of his message. Many people still today have heard about Jesus but they have yet to hear his voice. Many Christians who were raised in the church, may remember teachings about Jesus, but have strayed away from the fold and have been seduced by the flimsy promises of false shepherds.  Many today mix new age thinking with tried-and true Christian teachings. Many have wandered away because they were hurt and disillusioned by the church. But in all those situations God will never stop loving us and calling us back to his fold.       Jesus continues his conversation with the Jews who doubt his supremacy, “You do not believe because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal live, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.”       Christ’s sheep know his voice, and they follow the sound, the inflection and subtle nuances of their Shepherd’s voice. Oh that’s not to say its always easy, because it isn’t. Sometimes we hear God’s voice clearly and distinctly speaking to us. While at other times his voice is like whisper and we can barely sort it out. Though, one thing is for certain, one has to stay in close proximity to Jesus to hear his voice.      In Palestine, shepherds might overnight in a cave with their flocks mingled together. In the morning, each shepherd will call for his sheep, they hear the distinctions of his voice and automatically sort themselves out. Sheep were not killed for food but were kept alive for their wool. Therefore, the shepherd had his sheep for many years. He gave each one a name. Every now and then a sheep would stray away from the fold or feared crossing a stream and the shepherd would carry the lamb wrapped around his shoulders back to the safety of the fold.      This you can stake your life on: God knows each of us by name. He knows our address. He knows what each one of us needs, and he knows the hardships we suffer through.      Jesus, the Good Shepherd continues to call and search for us—sometimes we stray off course, sometimes we lose our way. But Jesus’ love and compassion for his sheep is a love like no other. To those to whom Jesus gives the gift of eternal life, they will never be forsaken. The promise of eternal life will never be revoked. Oh the ways of this world may chip away at our faith, may discourage us at times and cause us to doubt and even wander off. But the love and grace of God keeps speaking from the wilderness of Sinai to the empty tomb, Jesus keeps calling us back to his eternal love. Rev. Dona Johnson |May 11, 2025

Genuine Love Involves  Responsibility And Sacrifice Excerpts from my Red Rock News Religion Column May 2, 2025 Rev. Dona Johnson |May 4, 2025 Only two weeks ago, many of us participated in Easter worship and celebrated the risen Christ with family and friends. For many Christians, Easter stirs up feelings of hope and love. But now weeks later, we are back in the world, back on the job, spring break is over and we are left with all the stress and responsibilities of life. For some, the impact of Jesus’ resurrection is wearing off, but our longing to be loved still remains.       In Jesus’ third post-resurrection appearance, he appears to his disciples while they are fishing on Lake Tiberius (John 21:1-19). He calls out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. He said, “Throw your nets on the other side and you will find some.” Suddenly their nets are filled with a miraculous catch fish. The miracle gave John all the clue he needed to recognize the man on the shore. He said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Jesus invited them to have breakfast. After they had finished eating, Jesus pulled Peter aside and asked him, “Do you love me more than these?” In other words, do you love me more these fish? Do you love me more than a successful fishing career? Are you prepared to give them all up to love and give yourself to my people? Jesus asked Peter not once but three times the same question, “Do you love me?” One must remember, Peter had once promised Jesus that he would never desert him (Matt.26:33). Though it was Peter who denied he knew Jesus three times. Peter’s love for Jesus was suspect. But Jesus looks into Peter’s heart, and sees the real Peter. He forgives Peter. He reinstates Peter to give him a future. After Peter affirms his love for Jesus. Then Jesus challenges his love with a task. “If you love me,” Jesus said, “then feed and care for, be a shepherd to the lambs of my flock.” Love brought Peter a task and it brought him a cross.        Genuine love includes words that affirm love followed by actions of love. To say you love someone is a very weighty declaration because it requires a great deal of responsibility to live out those words. Authenticated love, love that is tried and found true involves responsibility and sacrifice—the sacrifice of pride, the sacrifice of our self-centeredness and our attachments to other things and a surrender of our wills.      Millions of people grabble with love; feeling loved, receiving love and giving love. There are so many people who feel unloved today. For whatever reason they don’t feel loveable or worthy of love so they resist giving themselves to others. You can’t give what you don’t have. Many people are able to love God only so much and are willing to sacrifice only so far because they fear intimacy. They fear being hurt. When we love deeply there is always the risk of being hurt. Love gets messy sometimes. But greater yet, there is always the possibility of forgiveness. When we fear intimacy with God, we compensate by intellectualizing God, knowing God as information rather than experiencing God’s love in their hearts.      David Benner, a depth psychologist and author of “Surrender to Love” writes, “Millions of people fear intimate relationships with God and other people because they have experienced rejection and abandonment by a parent, friend of lover. Love is dangerous because it invites us to surrender. . . The saddest thing of all is when our crippling fear and anxiety stops us from encountering “Perfect Love”—the one thing that has the potential to heal us from our fears.”        One question that surfaces from Jesus’ encounter with Peter is this: how deeply do you and I love God? As God invited Peter to love him deeply, the amazing grace of God gives us the faith and courage to be shepherded and loved back into the fold of his eternal love. Rev. Dona Johnson |May 4, 2025

The Resurrection Turns Skepticism Into Joy Taken from a Red Rock News Article Rev. Dona Johnson |May 25, 2025 Jesus’ resurrection appearances turn disciple’s skepticism into joyful determination. The entire Christian faith rests on this one single truth: Jesus Christ died on a cross and was raised on the third day fully resurrected—body, mind and Spirit. The Christian movement could not have come into being without the disciples’ belief in the resurrection. The disciples knew there was something extraordinarily special about Jesus. Afterall, they had witnessed Jesus’ miraculous healings, his fearless attack on corrupt and fraudulent behavior inside the religious establishment, and the depth and breathe of his spiritual power to bring the dead back to life. But with Jesus’ death, they still wondered if they had been mistaken. They had doubts. They had watched Jesus suffer one of the most excruciating deaths any human being could experience. All they knew was that Jesus was dead. And with his death, the death of his mission. To go on believing in his mission, the dream of a new kingdom of love and mercy—had all but died.         Like many of us when we go through a dark time, the disciples were deeply discouraged, perplexed and questioning their faith. In fact, when Jesus’ resurrection first reached their ears, they doubted and were skeptical. Who would not be doubting that type of news? What would any of us say if someone came up to us three days after a loved one’s funeral to say they’d run into the once-dead person at the supermarket. Not one of us would say, “Oh that’s fantastic! Thanks for telling me!” No, we’d say “Right! How dare you be so disrespectful!”         But Jesus in full resurrection power appears to his beloved disciples. Immediately upon seeing their risen Lord, their skepticism instantly changed into a confident and courageous faith. They felt great joy and a determination to preach the good news to the ends of the earth. And that is the part that is hard to refute. We have this turnabout, this transformation of a discouraged and bewildered following who now see their once dead Lord alive. Somehow you have to explain this explosion of scared followers who run away fearing for their lives but then with great exhilaration want to worship him, continue to live for him and pray to him. Oh, there had been other messianic figures that had risen in the past and claimed to be somebody. They were suppressed and killed by the Romans. No resurrection nor movement arose around these dead messiahs. Jesus’ resurrection caused the disciples’ transformation, and that inner spiritual shift caused them to take the Good News to the ends of the earth, to risk being tortured and killed for the sake of what they had witnessed—the mystery and miracle of Jesus’ resurrection. Truth when discovered is often unstoppable.         What god who suffers death, comes back to eternal life and then with great devotion returns to his followers, a friend to sinners and offers them forgiveness for their doubts, personal intimacy and companionship?         In the 40 days after Jesus’ resurrection, he appeared 12 times to his disciples and this includes appearing to a group of 500. He then ascended to his Father. All of these eyewitness accounts are recorded in the four gospels and throughout the New Testament (Mt 28:1-10; Mk 16:1-8, 9-14; Lk 24:1-44; Jn 20:1-29. . .). Jesus’ death and resurrection is the only reason the Christian church exists today. It’s the only reason the church gathers each Sunday—to celebrate and proclaim the death, resurrection and eternal love of Jesus Christ! “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (Jn 20:29). Rev. Dona Johnson |May 25, 2025

Jesus’ Silence Perseveres  Before Pilate   Red Rock News April 11, 2025 Rev. Dona Johnson |April 13, 2025 Jesus did not leave things to the last moment. His plans were made. He would have a last meal with his beloved disciples before Judas, one of the twelve would betray him and give his whereabouts to the Roman authorities. The Savior of the world, the one who had healed the sick, made the blind to see, the deaf to hear, raised the dead to life, forgave adulterers, ate with prostitutes and railed against the religious elite who used the law to condemn and punish people with little regard for mercy and human suffering, this was the man who took on the establishment and generations of corruption to demonstrate there is better way— God’s unconditional love for humanity (Matt. 26:30-27:66, Mark 14:26-15:47, Luke 22:39-23:56, and John 18:1-19:42).       In his last meal with his disciples, he had an intimate moment with them where he communed with them. He shared a loaf of bread and a cup of wine and with those two elements Jesus activated a new covenant, a covenant that would forever change the world. He would offer his life for the sake of delivering humanity from their sin. The life blood of God himself would be poured out as the final sacrifice.       As Jesus stood before Pilate, he uttered no defense, no insults and did put up a struggle. He stood silent. Jesus stood there shackled in chains, a man before God and a God before man. In his gut, Pilate felt something strangely wrong with sentencing Jesus to death. He didn’t quite know what to do with the accusations. But one thing is for certain, he did not want Jesus’ blood to be on his hands. So Pilate handed over the decision to the mob. The mob was a Jewish crowd who coerced an experienced Roman governor to sentencing Jesus to death. Mob or herd mentality is not a new thing in any society. It’s been around a long time. Psychologist who study mob behavior say when people are in a mob protest, they can lose their sense of awareness, emotions are heightened and people feel anonymous so they feel more empowered to act out overtly with violent and destructive behavior.      The Roman government could not afford to tolerate any civil disobedience in the empire. So, Pilate a weak man sacrificed justice rather than lose his post. So the mob screamed for Barabbas, a convicted criminal to be freed in exchange for Jesus. Jesus was sentenced to death row. On the cross, as Jesus took his last breath, ‘he” gave up his life. He died alone, betrayed and abandoned by those he came to save. His dear mother was there with his beloved disciple John, but many of his disciples scattered for fear they too would be hunted down and killed.      Eyewitness accounts record that creation experienced the deep sorrow of their Creator’s death. The sky grew ominously dark, the ground shook and rocks split apart. Something mysterious was happening. Many thought Jesus’ death marked him as a fraud and failure.      But for we who believe, we live with the promise of the Third Day, Easter in our hearts. We live every day with resurrection power running through our veins. By God’s grace, through faith, we embrace this one fundamental truth: Jesus, was, is and will always be the Lamb of God who comes to take away the sin of the world, and his mercy, his forgiveness and redemption have no end. Sola Deo Gloria. Rev. Dona Johnson |April 13, 2025

Love Is Not Love If Has To  Count The Cost  Red Rock News March 28, 2025 Rev. Dona Johnson |April 6, 2025        It was coming to an end for Jesus. To come to Jerusalem for the Passover was quite a courageous thing for Jesus to do. The authorities had already labeled him a heretic and an outlaw. They were waiting for him.        Jesus stopped at Bethany, a small town outside Jerusalem for a meal at the house of Martha, Mary and their brother Lazarus. It was during that same meal that Mary took a very expensive ointment, spikenard, an aromatic herb and anointed Jesus’ feet (John 12:1-8). As Mary expresses her love for Jesus, we also get a clear picture of what humility looks like. Whereas kings are anointed on the head, the dead are anointed on the feet as part of their preparation for burial. Did Mary know Jesus was going to die soon, or was she proclaiming Jesus is the one in whom death becomes life? Probably both, Mary had witnessed Jesus’ calling to Lazarus’s dead body in the dark tomb and watched him walk out alive—breathing again. Judas was also there. He was closely watching Mary rub Jesus’ feet with the expensive perfume. He asserted, “Why not sell the perfume and give the proceeds to the poor?” This was no surprise. Judas Iscariot’s chintzy comment only highlighted his true character. Judas was known to be a pilferer. And even though he was one of Jesus’ twelve disciples, he later sold Jesus’ whereabouts to the authorities for a bag of coins. Judas was an embittered man and he took an embittered view of things. He probably did not like his lot in life and that caused him to react in a mean-spirited way to things that were good.       There are always those people who are so tight-fisted and frugal they take the joy right out of giving. Generosity and gratitude are not in everyone’s vocabulary, let alone their hearts. But for Mary, her affection, her extravagant love for Jesus far outweighed the price of an expensive bottle of perfume. Mary took the most expensive possession she had and spent it all on Jesus. Love is not love if it has to count the costs. When we truly love someone, we are willing to give them almost anything—an extravagant gift, or give them a good deal of our time and demonstrate to them that we really do care.       You see we live in a world that by its very nature is transactional. We pay for something (service or commodity), or we do something for someone and we automatically expect to get something back. But genuine love is love that gives and then gives again without counting the cost and expecting a return on one’s investment. Genuine love rejoices in opportunities to give. It is a natural, not a forced response. How often do we calculate consciously or unconsciously our giving by what we expect to get back?       We end this scene with Jesus responding to those present, “You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” Jesus would not live to old age. His time was short. The time for any action of devotion or words of love for him is much shorter than any of sitting around the table think. It too is a powerful reminder to us all, to express love towards people ‘now,’ while you have them in your midst. For, who knows where you or I will be tomorrow and tomorrow may be too late.Prayer: Lord, help me to love generously, with little Rev. Dona Johnson |April 6, 2025

When Lost, The Holy Spirit Brings Us  Home To God’s Embrace Red Rock News March 28, 2025 Rev. Dona Johnson |March 30, 2025       The Prodigal Son is a beautiful parable of a father’s love for his rebellious son. Many a parent who has had a strong-willed child, understands very well this painful family dynamic.       Jesus provides a story of such a child, who felt entitled and emboldened to demand his part of his father’s estate before his father dies. Surprisingly, the father honored the callous request of his son. The son wasted no time in squandering every cent of his inheritance. Then a famine struck the land. The son found himself working knee-deep in the slop of a pig-pen. After the son hit rock bottom, he had a change of heart. He decided to come home. He pleaded with his father to take him back not as his son but as one of their servants. The son understood how his rebellious behavior had deeply hurt his father. He felt the shame and guilt of his sins. Now when the father looking out at the horizon, saw his son walking towards home, rather than scold him he grabbed him and kissed his son with a tight embrace. The boy’s homecoming was such an answer to the father’s prayers, it felt like soothing balm on the open wound of his troubled heart. The father responded with a great deal of love and forgiveness. In fact, the father’s heart was so moved by his son’s homecoming that he called to his servants to cloth his son in a robe, a sign of honor. Then he called for a signet ring to be put on his finger, a sign of authority. Then his father called for a feast to celebrate his son who was dead but came back to life. He was lost and now has been found.       So who is the hero here, the son or the father? This story should be called the parable of the loving father, for it demonstrates how the father’s love for his son eclipses the sin of his son. How often do we offer our forgiveness while also holding a grudge? How often do we offer forgiveness and continue to make the person who wronged us pay for it? Yet, this father expressed no recrimination towards his son only intense joy. When we repent, the Holy Spirit carries us home to Christ’s heart in heaven where we are covered by his righteousness, and we learn to follow and emulate a new way of life.      William Barclay gives a wonderous illustration of the father’s love. “Once Abraham Lincoln was asked how he was going to treat the rebellious southerners when they had finally been defeated and had returned to the Union of the United States. The questioner expected that Lincoln would take a dire vengeance, but he answered, ‘I will treat them as if they had never been away.’      Jesus’ parable points to the very heart of the Christian faith, the unconditional love of God for his people—all people. No matter how far we’ve strayed from God, no matter how deeply we rejected his love for us, when we do come home to God with repentant hearts, God responds in love as if we had never left.      God’s love can defeat the most hardened and rebellious of hearts. God is more merciful in his judgments than we make him out to be. Where we refuse or make forgiveness difficult, God, will forgive when we refuse to. God takes on the responsibility and the burden without counting the cost to find us and bring us home. That is amazing grace!Prayer: Lord Jesus, we all have prodigal strands of rebellious entitlement and we often fail at faithfully stewarding what you have so graciously given us. Call us back to our first order calling, to sit quietly at your feet, in your holy presence and experience your profound and unconditional love for us.In Jesus’ + name, we pray. Amen. Rev. Dona Johnson |March 30, 2025

Through Jesus, God’s Margin of  Mercy Is Made Wider Red Rock News March 21, 2025 3rd Sunday in Lent Rev. Dona Johnson |March 23, 2025         “The Jesus in Luke 13 is not the person we want in the modern world,” writes Pastor Scott Hoezee author for Excellence in Preaching. He continues, “We want Jesus to be soft and light, kindness and grace where he can mingle into the marketplace of religions and religious figures pretty easily. Let charming parables and memorable phrases of love and the gathering of little children and everyone is fine with him.” But that is not the Jesus we get here in the second Sunday of Lent. Instead we get a serious Jesus issuing a few terse warnings. Pilate had killed Galileans because he thought they were rebelling against Rome. But they were only offering sacrifices in the temple. The Pharisees, who were opposed to using force to deal with Rome, believed the Galileans deserved to die because they rebelled. Jesus dismissed the idea that human fate and cruelties that befall us are God’s judgment on sinners and bad actors. Whether a person survives or does not survive a tragedy or crisis is not an indicator of his or her righteousness. One very harmful temptation for those who are self-righteous is to blame someone’s suffering on their sin.         Jesus would have none of that bad theology. Instead, Jesus points out everyone’s need for repentance.   One temptation of many of us is that we put sin into categories or degrees of sin from the big and serious to the smallest and incidental. But this type of thinking is flawed. Sin is sin. It’s so easy to relax our guard on judging the sins of others. When we fear or feel troubled by the personalities, behaviors and the suffering of others, or by the beliefs and doctrines they practice, it creates in us an unsettled anxiety, so we judge them and put them into camps. I am in and you are out. In other words, my sin is ok because it’s a small sin and your sin is not for it is quite sizable. So, that makes you the bad person and I am a better person.         You’ve heard the well-known saying, “There but for the grace of God go I.” As legend has it, the pious martyr John Bradford uttered the expression using his own name when seeing criminals being led to their death, realizing it could be him. Sadly, he didn’t escape such a fate for long: He was burned at the stake in 1555. Thus, like Bradford’s revelation, Jesus warns us that if we judge the sins of others and yet do not use the same critical voice on ourselves, we are making a crucial mistake. Every Christian is in need of repentance.        Jesus closes his message with a parable of hope. There was a vineyard owner who wanted to cut down a sterile fig tree for it was not producing fruit. But the gardener advised him to give it more time, cultivate it, pay it special attention and wait a year. In other words don’t rush to judgment. For those eager to judge others as more deserving of God’s judgment than themselves, Jesus insists the unrepentant have escaped judgment not because of their relative sanctity—righteous piety, but through Jesus God’s margin of mercy is made wider.        Judgment is coming for all people. Perhaps the ax will strike the fig tree today. Maybe it will get a reprieve of a year or so. Jesus uses a temporal example to relate an eternal, spiritual eventuality. Repent. Or else. Trust his righteousness instead of your own. Turn back to God’s counsel. Hear what the Lord will speak. Believe.        Despite the fig tree’s history of sterility, there is always the hope that things can change, faith can grow, an obedience to God’s purposes can take root which brings to each of us clemency. Rev. Dona Johnson |March 23, 2025