Quiet Devotions Has Moved!

Quiet Devotions can now be found at www.QuietPublications.com.  Please update your bookmarks, and I hope to see you over there!

Quiet Publications is an independent publishing house that will continue to publish the free online daily devotions that began on this site.  It will also offer other devotional resources, worship resources, bible studies, and books on religion and theology.

Year B, Pentecost 3, Friday

Inspired by Hebrews 11:4-7

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”  Hebrews 11:6

Oh, to be rewarded by God!  Such is the objective of many well-intentioned Christians.  To be blessed by him, receive favor from him, and to know the satisfaction of having pleased the God of heaven and earth.  What can one do to achieve such a thing?

The first step is to know that we can do nothing.  The second step is to disregard all hope for specific rewards.

Without faith it is impossible to please God.  Whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.  We don’t have to find him first.  We don’t have to know all the right answers or do all the right things.  All we have to do is seek him.  Our act of searching for him will please him, and we will know that he is pleased when he reveals himself to us, and affirms his relationship with us, and assures us of his love for us.

All this is made possible by faith, which is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  We have not seen God, but we seek him nonetheless.  And why do we seek him?  Because he has given us the faith to do so.

God has given us the means by which we may please him and be rewarded by him.  The first move was his; he gave us our faith, and that has opened up a world of possibilities for us.

Let us pray.  Lord of all, you planted within us the desire to know you.  Nurture that desire and increase our faith, that we may seek you and be pleasing in your sight.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Year B, Pentecost 3, Thursday

Inspired by Genesis 3:14-24

“Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken.  He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life.”  Genesis 3:23-24

Most of us can look back on a time when things seemed better or easier.  We do it as individuals, we do it as a culture, and we do it as a society.  We long for the glory days of old when everything worked the way it was supposed to, and things were good.

Frequently our ideas about how good things were ‘back then’ are faulty, and what we’re longing for is not days gone by, but a fictitious reality that never actually existed.  Sometimes, however, things really were better or easier once upon a time, and we work hard to get back there.

But we were never meant to go back.  Adam and Eve had it ‘good’ in the garden of Eden, but God drove them out with a purpose to fulfill and a life to live elsewhere.  He moved them forward, and guarded the way back with a flaming sword, preventing them from ever returning.  Going back was not an option; they could sit and pine away for what was lost, or they could try to make something good out of their current reality.

We have the same choice.  Whatever circumstances existed to enable our glory days gone by have since changed, and we can never go back.  God continues to move us forward, and all we have to work with is the reality we’re in now.  We can use it to help determine the future, but we can never reclaim the past.

When God drove Adam and Eve out of the garden, he went with them, and helped them to shape their new reality.  God is our past, our present, and our future hope.  Let us be grateful for the past even as we look ahead to the future, and live the lives we have been given right now.

Let us pray.  Eternal God, the whole history of the earth is known to you, including the parts we haven’t lived yet.  Help us to look forward to what you have in store for us, that we may continue on with sure and certain hope in your presence and your love.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Year B, Pentecost 2, Wednesday

Inspired by Luke 11:14-28

“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”  Luke 11:23

In these days of relativism, it is tempting to sit on the sidelines and not take a stand for anything.  We don’t want to offend anyone, or minimize someone else’s beliefs or opinions by coming out strongly for our own.  So we minimize the importance of our own truths while affirming everyone else’s, and in the end we stand for nothing.

But standing up for what we believe in doesn’t necessarily minimize someone else’s beliefs.  Tolerance is a worthy goal, but it means supporting someone else’s right to their own opinion.  It doesn’t mean having to give up your own for their sake.  You respect their right to believe and practice as they choose; you also have the right to expect the same tolerance for your own beliefs and practices.  And if you don’t respect your own beliefs enough to stand up for them, why should anyone else respect them?

Jesus came with a mission: to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God.  He worked to demonstrate what that kingdom is like: a place where justice and mercy reign hand in hand, where the poor and downtrodden are cared for, and where all people are treated with dignity and grace, because all people were created in the image of God.  He calls all Christians to stand with him in his mission, and to live according to the values of the kingdom of God.  Standing on the sidelines means not proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God, and standing on the sidelines means not working against systems of injustice and exploitation.  Neutrality is not an option; you stand with him or you stand against him.

Let us pray.  God of justice, you sent your Son to save all humanity from our sins.  Help us to actively work to bring about your kingdom, that all people may experience your grace and love.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Year B, Pentecost 2, Tuesday

Inspired by 1 Kings 18:17-40

“So they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, crying, ‘O Baal, answer us!’  But there was no voice, and no answer.  They limped about the altar that they had made.  At noon Elijah mocked them, saying, ‘Cry aloud!  Surely he is a god; either he is meditating, or he has wandered away, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.’  Then they cried aloud and, as was their custom, they cut themselves with swords and lances until the blood gushed out over them.  As midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice, no answer, and no response.”  1 Kings 18:26-29

False gods are frequently more comfortable to deal with than the God of Christianity.  False gods don’t expect much of us, are conveniently absent when we want them to be, and affirm and justify everything about us.  They fit perfectly into the god-box we’ve fashioned for them, perfectly match the job description we’ve created for them, and are very pliable when it comes to changing the rules to fit our changing circumstances and preferences.

Unfortunately, they never seem to be there when we really need them.  And for some reason, that actually surprises us.

We like our idea of what God should be so much that we manage to convince ourselves that the god of our imaginings is the God of reality.  But the one true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit does not bow to our will, does not abide by our rules, and keeps his own council regarding expectations.

But the one true God is also more powerful than we can imagine, more just than we can imagine, and more merciful than we can imagine.  The one true God is not limited by our imaginations, and does not carry the human flaws that all our false gods are prone to.  The one true God is the only God worthy of our trust and our worship.

Let us pray.  God of truth, you alone are God.  Open our eyes to the many falsehoods that we worship, that we may know the truth of your grace.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Quiet Devotions Has a New Home!

Quiet Devotions has moved to www.QuietPublications.com.  Quiet Publications will continue publishing these daily devotions under the Quiet Devotions tab, and will also offer bible studies, worship resources, other devotional resources, and religious and theological books as time goes on.

This site will publish the daily devotions concurrently with Quiet Publications through Friday, June 15, 2012.  After that this site will remain static, with a link to the new site.

If you have an e-mail subscription to this devotion, your subscription will automatically transfer to Quiet Publications.  You will receive an e-mail asking you to confirm your new subscription.  Once you do, your subscription will transfer, and you'll continue to receive the daily devotion in your in-box each morning.  That's all you have to do!  If you're just finding this site and would like to subscribe to the new one, there is a subscription box at the bottom of the sidebar at www.QuietPublications.com. 

I have not sold Quiet Devotions, and these daily devotions will continue to be written by me.  Quiet Publications is an expansion of my writing endeavors, and will enable to me offer resources in addition to these daily devotions.

Thank you for your support, and I look forward to seeing you at Quiet Publications!

Sincerely,
Karen Goltz

Year B, Pentecost 2, Monday

Inspired by Psalm 74

“They set your sanctuary on fire; they desecrated the dwelling place of your name, bringing it to the ground.  They said to themselves, ‘We will utterly subdue them’; they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.”  Psalm 74:7-8

There have been many wars fought in the world, and many strategies were used to claim victory.  Those who wanted to conquer a land but keep it intact allowed a number of liberties for the conquered inhabitants and made relatively few changes to their society, minimizing their desire to fight against their new rulers.  But those who wanted to utterly destroy their enemy didn’t stop at killing their bodies; they killed their families, they killed their way of life, they killed their beliefs, they even tried to kill their god.

But our God cannot be killed, and our belief in him does not depend on physical structures.  An enemy can burn down every house of worship, desecrate and destroy every bible, but God our King is from of old, working salvation in the earth, and his Spirit is with us, showing us his ways, guiding us in his truths, and no enemy can ever conquer that.  Our bodies might be killed, but we are more than our bodies, and once our bodies are dead our souls are beyond the reach of our enemies, and in the presence of the One who will ultimately triumph.

Human beings are capable of terrible destruction, but our God created the world out of nothing, and he can rebuild whatever humanity tears down.  Whatever calamity befalls you, whatever evils you must stand against, know that your Redeemer lives, and that his love can overcome all the world’s hatred.

Let us pray.  Eternal Lord, you were before the beginning, and you will endure through the end.  Comfort us in our trials, that we may be strengthened by the knowledge that neither death nor life nor anything in all creation will be able to separate us from your love.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Year B, Second Sunday after Pentecost

Inspired by Genesis 3:8-15

“[God] said, ‘Who told you that you were naked?  Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’  The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.’  Then the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this that you have done?’  The woman said, ‘The serpent tricked me, and I ate.’”  Genesis 3:11-13

When asked why we do the evil things we do, most of us can point to reasons why the guilt isn’t actually ours, why it’s someone else’s fault, or why there are extenuating circumstances.  While it seems as though this excuse-making is a new threat to our society, the truth is that human beings have been doing this from the very beginning.

Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  When confronted by God, Adam confessed to having eaten the forbidden fruit, but only after casting blame on both God (for giving him Eve in the first place) and Eve (for giving him the fruit).  Eve also confessed to having eaten the forbidden fruit, but only after putting the fault squarely on the serpent who had tricked her.  Neither Eve nor Adam took responsibility for their own actions by simply admitting, “I did it.  I was wrong.  I’m sorry.”

Sometimes there are extenuating circumstances, but ultimately we’re all responsible for our own choices.  Sometimes we’ll make good choices; sometimes will make bad ones.  But God’s love doesn’t depend on the choices we make.  He knows what we’re capable of, and what we’re not capable of, and he is prepared to forgive us all our sins.  But in order for that to happen, we must first be willing to admit that we have sinned, by our fault, by our fault, by our own most grievous fault, and are in need of his forgiveness.

Let us pray.  Merciful God, you are ready to forgive us all our sins.  Help us to recognize our own sin and culpability, that we may confess our sins to you and be freed from their power over us.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Year B, Pentecost 2, Saturday

Inspired by Luke 8:4-15

“‘A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up.  Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture.  Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it.  Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.’  As he said this, he called out, ‘Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’”  Luke 8:5-8

What more is there to say?  Jesus told a parable, and then he explained what it meant.  We’re supposed to hear the Word, understand it, not be lured away by wealth or the cares of the world, and not fall away when trouble or persecution comes our way on account of our faith.  But truthfully, how many of us are confident in our ability to be that good soil?  How many of us are confident that we do understand the Word, that we won’t be lured away by other concerns, and that we will stand strong in our faith come what may?

It’s really rather an anxiety-provoking text.  It’s clear from Jesus’ explanation that we’re supposed to be the soil in this metaphor, but can soil control whether it’s packed firmly into a road, surrounded by rocks, invaded by thorns and weeds, or pristine enough for planting?

Fortunately this parable is not about us.  This parable is about God, the sower.  And what does God do in this parable?  He sows the Word everywhere, indiscriminately, on every type of soil, over and over and over again.

What kind of soil are you?  Who knows?  God does.  And God doesn’t care.  Whether at this moment you’re hard-packed road, producing a bumper crop of rocks, infested with thorns, or rich and fertile, Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, has come to you, exactly as you are, and he alone can transform you and help you to bear fruit, fruit that produces seeds of its own in an abundant yield.  Let anyone with ears to hear listen.

Let us pray.  Generous God, you shower us with an overabundance of grace.  Till the soil of our hearts to make it good soil, that we may receive your word and bear good fruit.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Year B, Pentecost 2, Friday

Inspired by Deuteronomy 1:34-40

“When the Lord heard your words, he was wrathful and swore: ‘Not one of these—not one of this evil generation—shall see the good land that I swore to give to your ancestors…And as for your little ones, who you thought would become booty, your children, who today do not yet know right from wrong, they shall enter there; to them I will give it, and they shall take possession of it.’”  Deuteronomy 1:34-35, 39

God commanded the Israelites to go up and take possession of the land he had promised their ancestors so long ago.  However, fear seized the Israelites, and they refused to go, even accusing God of hating them for so callously rescuing them from slavery in Egypt only to deliver them into the hand of the Amorites.  Their refusal and lack of faith in his promises angered the Lord, and he declared that they themselves would never see the land they’d left Egypt for, the Promised Land of their hopes and dreams.

The Israelites appropriately took this as bad news, but it was also good news.  God keeps his word.  God declared that they would not be the ones to take the land, and they didn’t, even after they decided to fight and gave it all they had.  But God had promised their ancestors that he would give their progeny a good land.  This particular generation squandered their chance at being the ones to actually settle the land, but their children would be the ones to inherit it.  And even though this generation of Israelites had angered God and lost their chance to settle the land, God still gave them the opportunity to prepare their children for it.  God sent them back into the wilderness, but God also went right back into the wilderness with them.  Even as they paid the price for their disobedience for the rest of their lives, God never abandoned them.  The promise had been made to those who came before them, and it would be delivered to those who came after them, but they themselves still had a part to play.

God has been working his plan of salvation in the world long before we were born, and he will continue working his plan of salvation in the world long after we’ve left it.  We weren’t the original recipients of the promises, and we may not see many of them fulfilled during our lifetime.  However God promised us salvation in Christ and his Spirit to guide us, and those promises are being fulfilled just as he said, every moment of every day of our lives.

Let us pray.  Faithful God, your word is trustworthy.  Help us to trust in your promises, that we may be obedient to your will and experience the blessings you would like to give to us.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Year B, Pentecost 2, Thursday

Inspired by 1 Peter 4:7-19

“Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.  Be hospitable to one another without complaining.  Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.”  1 Peter 4:8-10

Above all.  There are many things required of us as Christians, but in all practicality no one can practice all of them equally at all times.  Sometimes choices have to be made, and priority has to be given to one aspect of the Christian life over another.  Here we have guidance on what must take priority over everything else when a difficult choice must be made: love.  Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.

When we’re at loggerheads with someone else, the best thing we can do is choose our next move based on love.  Even if that means not getting our own way or not proving that we’re right, it’s still best to act out of love.  If we give the other person a chance to have it their way and it turns out to be a disaster, because of our moving forward in love we have maintained the relationship and will have the opportunity to help the other person recover from their mistake.  Love will cover their sin of selfishness.  If it turns out to not be a disaster at all but rather an unmitigated success, then we will be there to celebrate with the person.  Love will cover our sins of arrogance and self-righteousness.

God has given us each a variety of gifts, and none of us can do it alone.  That is why God has elevated love as the highest priority of all, so that we can nurture and maintain the bonds that keep us working together for his kingdom.

Let us pray.  God of love, you created us to work in harmony with each other.  Give us humble hearts, that we may build each other up and encourage one another for the sake of your kingdom.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Year B, Holy Trinity, Wednesday

Inspired by Numbers 6:22-27

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.”  Numbers 6:24-26

We ask for many things when we come to God in prayer.  We may ask for wealth, power, or the esteem of others.  We may ask for love, health, or happiness.  Even in our most fervent and selfless prayers we may ask for wisdom, strength, or courage to do God’s work in the world.  But the truth is that God has already given us all that we need.

In the litany from Numbers, God puts his name on the Israelites, and thus blesses them.  It’s not just that the Israelites are blessed and kept; it’s that the Lord has blessed them and kept them.  It’s the Lord whose face has shined upon them and been gracious to them.  It’s the Lord who has lifted his countenance upon them and given them peace.  With these blessings from the Lord, everything else will fall into place.

We belong to the Lord.  He’s created us, he’s redeemed us, and he sustains us.  He has adopted us as heirs with Christ, and has put his name on us.  When we seek those things that are contrary to his compassionate will for all humanity we spurn his blessings, but when we accept that he is the one keeping us and being gracious to us, then no power or element in the world can challenge the peace he gives us.

Let us pray.  Gracious Lord, you have called us your own.  Help us to receive your blessings, that we may recognize all the gracious ways you act in our lives.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Year B, Holy Trinity, Tuesday

Inspired by 1 Corinthians 2:1-10

“[T]hese things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.”  1 Corinthians 2:10

How can we know the will of God?  This is the question asked by faithful Christians for generations.  We envy the original disciples; they actually knew Jesus, God incarnate, and heard him speak.  If they were unsure of what he wanted of them, all they had to do was ask, and he was physically right there to answer.

Those of us who have come later have a more difficult time of it.  All we can do is read the scriptures, search our hearts, and hope that our feelings will lead us along the right paths.  Sometimes it seems like a fool’s hope.

But faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  And we’re not just relying on our own understanding of the scriptures, and we’re certainly not relying on our feelings.  God sent not only his Son into the world, but his Spirit as well, and while his Son is no longer physically here, his Spirit is.  That Spirit knows us to our very depths, and it knows God to his very depths.  God knows us and created us, and the Spirit binds our hopes, our dreams, our gifts, even our weaknesses to God’s purpose for us, and guides us according to his will.

What does God want you to do?  What were you made to do?  God gave you the abilities, the cultural context, the desires, and the perspective to do what he has called you to do.  Let the Spirit help you discover who you are, and then you will know who God created you to be, which will help better define what God is calling you to do.  Trust in the Spirit of God; he knows not only the answers you seek, but the answers to the questions you haven’t even thought to ask yet.

Let us pray.  Lord of truth, you sent your Spirit to guide us.  Give us open and willing hearts, that we may recognize his encouragement and discern your will.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Year B, Holy Trinity, Monday

Inspired by Revelation 4:1-8

“And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and inside.  Day and night without ceasing they sing, ‘Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come.’”  Revelation 4:8

Who is this God we worship?  Whenever mortals have tried to describe their visions of him, their attempts are somewhat nonsensical or incoherent, describing creatures with multiple wings and covered with eyes, even (somehow) on their insides, standing in attendance of this mighty, majestic, holy BEING that is God.  Yet even those descriptions do not adequately convey what any of these visionaries have seen.

These few who have tried to describe standing in the presence of God have all had one thing in common: they were all human.  They were all limited by human experience; their senses had only sensed what exists in creation.  But God is not part of creation; God is the creator of creation.  Everything these morals have ever seen, heard, tasted, touched, or smelled had come from the imagination of the one they were trying to describe, but their senses had never perceived anything that came close to the one who had willed their very lives into existence.

The God we worship is beyond our comprehension, but he is not beyond our reach.  In fact, in order to bridge the gap between him and us, he became human himself, and lived as one of us in this world he’d created.  While he was here he told us about himself, and then he gave his very life for us, conquered death for us, and sent his Spirit to dwell with and in us for all the days of our lives.  That Spirit is with us now, reminding us of a truth and a love that exist beyond our senses, and encouraging us to share that truth and that love with everyone we encounter.

The God we worship is the God who was, who is, and who is to come.  The God we worship defies definition and description.  The God we worship is, simply, God.

Let us pray.  God Almighty, you willed us into existence.  Grant us the wisdom to accept that which we cannot understand, that we may experience your transcendent love.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Year B, The Holy Trinity

Inspired by Isaiah 6:1-8

“Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs.  The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: ‘Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.’  Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’  And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!”  Isaiah 6:6-8

Like Isaiah, we deserve to stand in terror before the holiness of the Lord God, because we too are sinful people living among other sinful people.  None of us deserves to stand before the throne of the Holy One and live, because our sins have earned us nothing but death.

But by the will of God, the touch of a coal which had been burning on the altar was enough to cleanse Isaiah of his sins, and he was able to stand blameless before the throne of God.  And by the will of God, the death and resurrection of his Son is enough to cleanse us of our sins, so that we too may stand blameless before the throne of God.

When Isaiah was cleansed by the coal, the Lord asked, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”  Without knowing where, when, to whom, for what, or for how long, Isaiah responded to the call by crying out, “Here am I; send me!”  He was bold and he was rash, but he knew he’d deserved death and had been given life instead.  Isaiah wanted to use that life to serve the one who had given it to him.

God still has work for us to do.  Because of the grace of God in Christ, your guilt has departed you and your sin is blotted out.  You stand blameless before the throne of the one who gave you new life.  How will you answer his call?

Let us pray.  God of holiness and might, you have chosen to blot out our sins and cleanse us of our guilt.  Strengthen us to boldly respond to your call, that we may use the new life you have given us to be your faithful servants in the world.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Year B, Holy Trinity, Saturday

Inspired by John 15:18-20, 26-27

“If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you.”  John 15:18

Hate.  Such strong language, especially when compared to how much Jesus has to say about love in John’s gospel.  But here he is, suggesting to his disciples that the world would indeed hate them, just as the world hated him before them, just as the world hated God before Christ came.

The world is God’s good creation, but it is fallen and groaning for redemption.  That fallen state causes humanity’s judgment to be clouded, and we cannot always recognize what is helpful and what is harmful.  God is good, and desires our salvation, but just as a drowning man might fight off his would-be rescuer, we fight off God’s good efforts to save us from our peril.  We have a strong aversion to God’s salvation because, like the drowning man, accepting his help means we have to stop flailing about and just let go, trusting that we won’t perish even though every part of our being is convinced that we will.

Jesus came to save the world, and he commands his followers to love one another in the face of the world’s hate.  We ourselves understand the world’s hatred, because we also were drowning along with it.  But when Christ called us we stopped flailing, and we discovered that by letting go and trusting our lives to God not only did we not sink to the depths, we experienced a life more beautiful and meaningful than we could every have imagined.

There are many around us still drowning, and we are called to proclaim Christ’s salvation, and encourage our fellow humanity to stop fighting him off, to let him carry them to safety.  Many will hate our efforts and fight us off, but buoyed by the love that our Savior has for us and commanded of us, we can remain faithful to our call.

Let us pray.  Savior God, you alone are our salvation.  Support us with your love, that we may overwhelm the world’s hate with that love.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Year B, Holy Trinity, Friday

Inspired by Romans 8:9-11

“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.”  Romans 8:11

Throughout history people have struggled to understand our relationship with the Divine.  Some have believed that we ourselves are divine; others have believed that we are nothing but crude matter, and that anything or anyone divine must avoid us for fear of being contaminated by our filthy base elements.  Both understandings have influenced various cultures’ worldviews, with either the individual being elevated as all-important and all of creation there to cater to the individual’s pleasure, or the individual being considered no better than the animals, and freedom from this profane creation as the only hope of ever even glimpsing the divine.

Even today it isn’t very difficult to find people who live according to one or the other of these two beliefs.  Yet the truth is far more nuanced.

We are creatures, formed by God along with the rest of creation.  But unlike the rest of creation, we were formed in God’s own image, and he breathed his Spirit into us and gave us life.  We have his Spirit dwelling in us now.  This does not make us equal to God, or divine in our own right, but it does suggest that the Divine One was not afraid of being contaminated by our filthy base elements.  Quite the contrary, not only did God create us in his image and give us his breath of life, but he also took on flesh of his own, and was born human as Jesus.  Jesus lived as a creature, suffered as a creature, and died as a creature, but that was not the end of the story.  For God also raised Jesus from the dead, conquering death for all creation and promising new life to his children.

We are not divine.  But the Spirit of the Divine One dwells in us, and gives us life, body and soul.  We are creatures, but we are beloved creatures, beloved enough to have the Spirit of God with us and in us at all times as we live in this good creation.

Let us pray.  God of life, you created the world and called it good.  Help us to understand our proper place in your creation, that we may be good stewards of your good earth and all those who call it home.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Year B, Holy Trinity, Thursday

Inspired by Isaiah 1:1-4, 16-20

“Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”  Isaiah 1:16-17

What does faithful living look like?  According to many adherents of Christianity, faithful living means abiding by a strict morality code.  Such adherents put their faith in acting or dressing modestly, avoiding ‘worldly’ pleasures such as movies or literature that are not explicitly Christian, and preaching against the dangers of sexually immoral lifestyles.

Living according to a strict morality code can help to keep one focused on God, but is not itself what makes a good Christian.

The word of the Lord that came to Isaiah was for the people of Israel whom God called a sinful nation, utterly estranged from God.  His instruction for them was to cease to do evil, learn to do good, and then that ‘good’ was defined: seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.  The evil that the Israelites were doing that was so offensive to God had nothing to do with sex or leisure activities; the evil that God wanted the Israelites to turn from involved practicing injustice, oppression, and disregard or exploitation of the poor and marginalized.

What does faithful living look like?  It looks like someone working to see that justice is served regardless of the power or social status of the parties involved.  It looks like someone giving up some of their own comforts and even rights in order to protest the forced labor of those who have no choice other than to provide goods or services at a price lower than their work is worth.  It looks like someone lending their voice to the plight of those who have no voice of their own, whose interests and wellbeing are beneath the concern of those in power.  Those are the behaviors that God considers moral, and practicing them is how we can answer God’s call to live faithfully.

Let us pray.  God of justice, you sent your Son to rescue the oppressed and help the disenfranchised.  Save us from our evil ways, that we may reflect his grace in our lives and do the same.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Year B, Pentecost Wednesday

Inspired by John 20:19-23

“When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’”  John 20:19

There are many things to fear in this world.  We fear instability, poverty, lawlessness.  We fear injustice, chaos, persecution.  Sometimes we have very clear images of exactly what we fear, and sometimes we know the faces of the people we fear.  Many of us live in constant fear, venturing out only when we have to, looking over our shoulders when we do, hiding behind the safety of locked doors when we can.

Even if we aren’t consciously aware of our fear, many of us are ruled by it nonetheless, and we make our decisions based on it, and we limit our interactions with others and the world because of it.  What if I’m rejected?  What if I’m ignored?  What if I’m made a fool of?  What if I fail?  Better to not try at all.  So we lock ourselves away, and hope that those we fear will never find us.

But no matter how deeply we bury ourselves, Jesus will always seek us out and offer us his peace.  No matter how hunted we may feel, Jesus will bring us respite.  No matter how risky or frightening the situation might seem, Jesus will stand with us, and remain with us, and assure us that he has already conquered death for us, so we have nothing to fear.

Let us pray.  Lord of peace, you have already conquered that which we fear most.  Let your peace reign in our hearts, that it may drive out all fear and we may engage with the world confident of your grace and love.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Year B, Pentecost Tuesday

Inspired by 1 Corinthians 12:12-27

“If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.”  1 Corinthians 12:26

Our modern society operates as though life is a zero-sum game.  If there are going to be winners, then there has to be losers.  There are limited resources, and some will be the ‘haves’ while others will be the ‘have-nots.’  We all want to make sure we’re the winners and the ‘haves,’ and while we may not actively spite the losers or the ‘have-nots,’ we are certainly guilty of overlooking them, or of making up reasons to justify their unfortunate circumstances as appropriate or deserved.

But that’s not the community that God in Christ has called us to.  The Lord our God created this world and all its resources, and he made sure that there was enough for everyone.  He created humanity with wondrous diversity, and he made it clear that only when we honor each other’s differences and contributions can all people live with the dignity that God intended and with sufficient resources to meet everyone’s needs.

Rather than looking at those who suffer and thinking, “There but for the grace of God go I,” let us instead suffer with them, and work to alleviate their suffering as though it were we who suffered.  Rather than being envious of those who have achieved more than we have, let us celebrate that they are using the gifts that God has given them to do well, and let us strive to do the same.

We’re all in this world together.  We’re all in this life together.  We’re all living by God’s grace.  What happens to one of us happens to all of us.  Living as though we are responsible only for our own happiness not only denies the good gifts of God’s grace, but also guarantees that we will never achieve the complete satisfaction and contentment that only comes from recognizing God as Lord.

Let us pray.  God of abundance, you created this world and everyone in it.  Enable us to see the world and its inhabitants as you see us, that we may recognize that we all possess dignity and honor, and that we are all connected to one another.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Year B, Pentecost Monday

Inspired by 1 Corinthians 12:4-11

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone…All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.”  1 Corinthians 12:4-6, 11

What is the proper way to serve Christ?  Most churches spend a good deal of time encouraging their members to serve Christ, and many of them have pretty clear ideas about how their members should do that.

And most of those ideas are good examples of how one might serve Christ.  However even the most creative, innovative congregation is going to be limited in its vision.  Each individual person is a member of the body of Christ in his or her own right, and each individual person has a unique blend of gifts, experiences, and perspectives which can be used for the good of the Church as well as all of God’s creation.  Churches should certainly encourage each of their members to discern what their gifts are, and they should certainly be willing to give some suggestions on how those gifts might be used.  But churches must beware of valuing certain gifts over and above others, because that can lead some members of the body of Christ to mistakenly believe that they have nothing of importance to offer, or that God has forgotten them, or that they don’t belong in the fellowship of believers.

No matter who you are, no matter what your position in life and society, you have a place in the body of Christ.  You have gifts that are needed for proclaiming the gospel to the world, even if those gifts are more solitary, understated, or behind-the-scenes than we usually think of evangelical proclamation to be.  God created you thoughtfully, lovingly, and with a purpose in mind that you and you alone can accomplish, using the gifts that you have, which may not necessarily be the gifts that everyone else sees and recognizes.

Let us pray.  Lord of all, you created each of us individually.  Help us to discern our gifts and the gifts of others, that we may work in harmony to proclaim your good news to the world.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Year B, The Day of Pentecost

Inspired by Romans 8:22-27

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.”  Romans 8:26

God is the creator and we are his creation.  He is holy, and we are sinners in need of his grace.  With all that we’ve done against him and his creation, be it intentionally, accidentally, or thoughtlessly, it is no wonder many of us fear to approach him in prayer.  We don’t know what to say, or else we fear saying the wrong thing and making our situations worse.

But God wants us to approach him in prayer.  He has sent us his Spirit not only to guide us in our ways, but also to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.  When we don’t know what to do, the Spirit will encourage us in the ways of righteousness.  When we don’t know how to pray, the Spirit will pray for us.

We are welcome and encouraged to bring our concerns, our desires, our praises, our fears, and our thanksgivings to God.  If we have something to say, God wants us to say it.  But even when we don’t know what to say, God still wants us to come before him in prayer, and his Spirit will express those feelings which defy words, which defy explanation, but which help define us.  God knows us to our very core, even better than we know ourselves, and when we trust his Spirit to guide even our wordless prayers we will grow closer to the One who created us out of his love, who redeemed us with his mercy, and who sustains us with his grace.

Let us pray.  God of life, you sent your Spirit to guide us in our ways and bring us closer to you.  Enable us to trust in your Holy Spirit, that we may indeed grow closer to you in our prayers and in our lives.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Year B, Pentecost Saturday

Inspired by Exodus 15:6-11

“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?  Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in splendor, doing wonders?”  Exodus 15:11

In this day and age, it’s very hard to be truly impressed by something.  To one degree or another we’ve seen it all, done it all, been everywhere, and we know all the tricks.  Even when we do acknowledge that something is impressive in one way, we’re very quick to point out all the other ways in which it falls short.

Many of us live in a constant state of disappointment because we want to find something that is truly worthy of our adoration, but everything we put our faith into fails.  Money loses its value, beauty fades, power and prestige are fleeting, and relationships require compromise.  Even while we may take some contentment or satisfaction out of some or all of those things, none of them is impressive enough to warrant our adoration.

Perhaps we’re looking in the wrong places.  All those things—money, beauty, power, even love—we set up before ourselves as gods, but none is God.  God alone is worthy of our adoration; God alone is impressive in every way and disappointing in none.

Put your faith in the One who created the world and everything in it: the One who is more valuable than the world and all its contents, the One who created the very concept of beauty, the One who is all-powerful, and the One who is himself love.  Put your faith in the One who gifted his people with all these good things, and worship the giver instead of the gift.

Let us pray.  Magnificent God, your majesty is beyond our comprehension.  Remove the cynicism from our hearts, that we may experience anew the wonder evoked by your awesome works.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Year B, Pentecost Friday

Inspired by Psalm 33:12-22

“A king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.  The war horse is a vain hope for victory, and by its great might it cannot save.”  Psalm 33:16-17

We have many resources at our disposal.  Some of us have great wealth, some of us have great physical strength, some of us have a keen intellect, and some of us have an ability to connect with people well.  Some of us have elements of all those things; some of us have other resources and abilities entirely.  But none of us can save ourselves, and all of our earthly resources will fail us when we need them most.

All that we have is from God, and he gave us what we have so that we can live according to his will in the world that he created.  All that we are is from God, and he made us who we are because he loves us, and we have an important role to play in his creation and in his kingdom.

Whatever challenges we may meet, whatever trials we may face, we are encouraged to use whatever gifts God has given us to stand firm in his word.  But remember that our deliverance is from God, not from ‘our’ resources, and his grace and mercy will not fail us when we need him.

Let us pray.  Omnipotent God, your steadfast love endures forever.  Turn our heart toward you, that we may recognize your grace in all that we have.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.