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| Image by Shellie Evans |
A GREETING
You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy.
(Psalm 16:11)
A READING
I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learned from God. It was not you who chose me; it was I who chose you to go forth and bear fruit. Your fruit must endure, so that whatever you ask of God in my name God will give you. This command I give you: that you love one another.
(John 15:15b-17 TIB)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
Therefore, my siblings, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown,
stand firm in God in this way, my beloved.
(Philippians 4:1 var)
A POEM
This ordinary time is
gifted in its quiet, marked passing
Christ slips about
calling and baptizing,
sending and affirming,
pouring Spirit like water
into broken cisterns,
sealing cracks and filtering our senses,
that we may savor the foolish
simplicity of his grace.
- from "Passing Ordinary Time" by Enuma Okoro
found in At the Still Point: A Literary Guide to Prayer, edited by Sarah Arthur
VERSE OF THE DAY
Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me,
and the God of peace will be with you.
(Philippians 4:9)
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| Image by Shellie Evans |
In today’s music, we hear the renowned Aeolians choir of Oakwood University in rehearsal. We have seen them before in rehearsal. A year ago on Ash Wednesday, we featured the video of “Someday,” made on the day of the Parkland school shooting in Florida. In that video, the choir came as they were to an impromptu outpouring of grief and hope. In today’s video, we hear them express their commitment to take our burdens to Jesus or God in prayer, and never be discouraged.
There is something special about a choir rehearsal. Those who are gathered are relaxed but present, and the focus is on the community of the gathered singers, as much as it is on perfecting something for performance. The connections are anchored in the thoughtful reflections of the moment and the sheer pleasure of singing together.
In our own lives, we have many times when we are gathered to prepare something and the sheer pleasure of coming together in that preparation is as satisfying as the event we are working toward. How often in your communities of faith, have you felt the joy of working together — cooking, painting and renovating — working toward a common purpose, but doing so in quiet moments of connection? These simple times of collaboration are the steps and pieces of building the realm of God. Even when we can’t see yet what we are building, we are laying each brick.
Sometimes, on the other hand, the work is challenging, and relationships feel strained. The project did not bring in the result we had dreamed of or the cost seemed too high. The hardest thing to do in these moments is to take the next step anyway, to carry on and keep trying.
The song lyrics talk about friendship, and particularly the friendship offered by Jesus. In his most challenging hours, Jesus turned to those around him and called them friends. He then hoped they would lean on this friendship, whenever they needed to.
“We should never be discouraged, when we take it to the Lord in prayer,” sing the choir. What are you bringing to God today in prayer, and who are the community you can share that prayer with? Maybe over a meal or a song?
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A STORY OF ENDURANCE
Yesterday, we looked at the initiative of giving a river legal personhood as a means of saving it. Today, we see the flip side reality: climate change has dried up rivers throughout Europe. As the water recedes and disappears, that which was once flooded to make reservoirs is now re-emerging: entire villages, bridges and even an outcrop of stones called the Spanish Stonehenge, are now rising like ghosts. The ruins of places once filled with life are drawing back the people who once lived there. Like museum diaramas, these places evoke a haunting sense of life-interrupted. At the same time, the stories of once-drowned communities and ways of life are now rising to be retold. They remind us that we carry our history with us always, despite what we do in the name of progress. Read an article about the sites throughout Europe that are re-emerging. Another video shares the experience of a former villager in the re-emerged town of Aceredo, Spain.
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| Caption from the NYT article linked above: "The Dolmen of Guadalperal, also known as the Spanish Stonehenge," Image by Susana Vera |
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LC† Awakened by the Spirit is a project of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook, and on Twitter. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work.
Thank you and peace be with you!