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--- jn_en_2020_01_07 [2020/01/07 08:11] – potthast
+++ jn_en_2020_01_07 [2020/01/07 08:32] (current) – potthast
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 Tuesday, Jan 7, 2020. At the beginning of a new year we might feel like getting
-a new start. We might feel like cleaning up or life, and changing some things which
+a new start. We might feel like cleaning up in our life, and changing some things which
 caused us trouble. Usually, here we talk about our own life, about our own habits,
 about the patterns in our behaviour.
@@ Line 57: / Line 57: @@
 ** Develop New Habits ... **
+Jesus also wants us to work on the behavioural patterns of our life. The whole New
+Testament is an invitation to discover completely new patterns: the patterns of truth,
+love, faith, faithfulness. The gospel starts with the command to change our
+behavioural patterns. Its language calls this "repentence", and it is put into a
+clear framework. In the gospel of Matthew, we hear:
 <color #aa0000>
 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
-<color> (Matthew 3, 1-2)
+</color> (Matthew 3, 1-2)
+The kingdom of heaven in at hand. That is the target point of John the Baptist. He is
+the prophet preceeding the messiah, he is coming to announce the "son of men", which
+we identify to be Christ Jesus.
+Sometimes people see Christianity primarily as a system of ethics. And indeed, ethics
+plays an important role. Behaviour is at the heart of our life. At the same time we
+have to see that ethics can only be understood properly if it is put into the overall
+framework of faith, which is deep trust in the love and truth and character of the
+eternal God.
+In this sense we need to see that the call to repentence, which we hear from John
+the Baptist, is not primarily a call to some particular ethical rule. It is a call to
+trust the Lord. He calls us to base our life on his full trustworthiness. When
+we live with him in a relationship of full trust, we have the proper basis to address
+our habits and behaviour, our ethics.
+Faith and trust is also a habit. Your emotions are linked to it. Your decisions.
+Your expectations. The perspective of your actions, the framework and compass of
+what you feel, what you think, what you decide, what you dream, what you do. John
+calls us to develop the habit of trusting the Lord. He calls us to develop the habit
+of living based on his character, his eternal love, his truth, the fidelity of
+his whole existence.
+To develop this habit of faith and trust, you need to take action. You need to
+do your bit, you need to practice. It is decisions today, in the morning, in the
+afternoon, in the evening, which need to be taken. Look into his word, the biblical
+books, the psalms, the gospels, the letters of the apostles. Pray to him, take
+time to bring your problems to him. Take also time to listen to him, to become
+silent, to wait for him to talk. It might take you time. There IS time during your
+day, whatever busy life you lead. Develop the habit of trust: repent :-).
 (Roland Potthast)