We often reprint prior devotions that now reflect on the coming lectionary texts. This is a reprint from a devotion originally published on December 4, 2015.
Prayer: Stir up our hearts, Lord God, to prepare the way of your only Son. By his coming give all the people of the world knowledge of your salvation; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen Reflection: The prayer of the day for this Sunday begins with “Stir up,” just like last week. Last week we prayed to stir up God’s power. This week we pray to stir up our hearts that Jesus might come to all people that they would know about God’s salvation. What an interesting idea. That Jews, Moslems, Hindus, Buddhists, Agnostics, Atheists would know about God’s salvation. Not only interesting, but also complicated. What is my responsibility in this? Am I to understand that Christianity is the only way to salvation? Am I to proclaim that Allah brings salvation? Is the agnostic incapable of understanding God’s salvation? Finally, it’s not up to me. It is God in the flesh who convicts the world of the Lord’s salvation. I’ve given up trying to figure how that works in the midst of the world’s faiths. My heart has been stirred to accept that this is all up to God who lives among all people of the world. How God does it and through whom and by what faith…I don’t know. This may be a bit of a crass rewrite of the prayer of the day for this week, but here goes. Come, Lord Jesus. Do your thing. --Jim Bricker 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.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Authors
Anyone is welcome to contribute! If you'd like to write for us, please e-mail [email protected] Email
Get our daily devotions delivered to your e-mail box each day by signing up below:
Archives
May 2022
Subscribe |