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As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:12-17) Reflection I am at a writing retreat with a friend, Ruth. In talking about Christmas and “hot” gift trends for 2021, she stumbled upon a cute idea for spiritual reminding: Guide Birds at uncommongoods.com. Seven little ceramic figures remind the holder to embrace gratitude, love, patience, honesty, courage, joy, or generosity, one for each day. It would appear that the notion to live by the Spirit remains one in demand, with many creative expressions for inspiring you throughout your week. Ruth joked instead she might stick with the fruits of the spirit, sticking a banana in her pocket or grabbing up a bunch of grapes on the way out the door in the morning. The notion of keeping these aspects of Christ-like love in mind and deed is not new. But I like the idea of focusing intently on a single quality, like patience, throughout the day. How might that attention affect my interactions with others – at the checkout, in traffic, with my mother? To begin the next day with a meditation on courage, then watch for moments to call forth bravery in daunting encounters, while preserving the element of love? It could be life changing. Mind-altering. Something for which to really be thankful. Yes, indeed, it seems like a nice thing to try. I don’t think I’m going to shell out fifty dollars for those ceramic birds, but maybe I’ll find seven nice stones I can paint and label to serve the same purpose. After all, I think I’d rather carry a rock reading generosity in my pocket than a banana. –Heather Wolf Prayer God, all the guidance for living and loving well has been provided to us. May we focus on you, first, and next on loving our neighbor as you love us. And let us be thankful each and every day. Amen. Our devotions are based on this Sunday’s Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). The RCL is a three-year cycle of readings telling the story of our Christian faith and corresponding to the season church calendar. On any given Sunday, we are hearing and praying and examining the same Scripture with millions of Christians around the world. In our current Year C, the Old Testament readings progress through the Prophets and have the theme of the day that it is connected to the Gospel reading. The Psalm, a song the congregation sings in response to the Old Testament reading, most often corresponds to the theme of the Hebrew Lessons and/or that of the Gospel Lesson. The lesson from the Epistles or from Acts typifies the church’s focus on the meaning of Christ for today. The Gospel lesson is connected to the season of the Church Year. This year, our gospel readings are from Luke, who writes that Jesus is the universal Savior and the perfect Son of Man. In the current season of Advent, we long for Christ’s coming: Christ coming as a baby; Christ coming again; Christ in our lives today.
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