I am reminding you, brothers and sisters, of the Gospel . . . you indeed received and in which you also stand.
We all need a little reminder every now and then, and what wonderful reminders are found in our readings today!  If you are like me, the passages from the Gospels and Paul’s letter are familiar, which can cause me to read quickly with an attitude of “I already know this.”  Resist that temptation and take time to read the verses for today slowly, to interact with the Scriptures, and to recognize anew just how amazing and deep God’s love is for us.  As you do, the Holy Spirit will bring to your attention any number of things you should remember.

For me, that happened with the Gospel of John, when Jesus tells Philip that “whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these.”  I am embarrassed to admit that I all too often focus on my personal limitations and forget that with God all things are possible (Mark 10:27).  We who believe in Christ have the capacity to do greater things than the miracles the disciples had seen Jesus do.

When Paul recounts to the people of Corinth what he had preached, he begins with the statement “that Christ died for our sins.”  The implications of this astound me.  I think of John 3:16-17, which tells us that God loved the world so much that He sent his Son, not to condemn us but to provide a path to salvation.  In other words (that is, words from The Message translation):  God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was.  He came to help, to put the world right again.  I think of John 1:29, when John the Baptist recognizes Jesus as  “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” [NRSV]  For a culture that butchered animals on an altar to atone for sins, Jesus came to be sacrificed to atone for the sins of all.  And then I think of a favorite hymn, “It Is Well with My Soul,” which includes the beautiful words:

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
This glorious thought humbles me to the point of tears.

Allow me to share one last reminder, prompted by today’s Psalm:  Let us join with the heavens each day to declare the glory of God, and let our message go out through all the earth.