Quiet Devotions is a daily devotion based on one of the readings from the Daily Lectionary (as it appears in the back of Evangelical Lutheran Worship, Augsburg Fortress, 2006). All biblical quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) unless otherwise noted. May these devotions help bring you in closer relationship with the Triune God.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Year B, Easter 6, Thursday


Inspired by Acts 10:1-34

“The voice said to him again, a second time, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’”  Acts 10:15

We have strong opinions about what is right or acceptable, and what is not.  Some of those opinions are based on our own experiences, some are based on conventional wisdom, some are based on long-standing traditions.  Some are based on ignorance or prejudice.  However those opinions came to be formed, we hold onto them wholeheartedly, and they help inform our lives and our interactions with others.

But they can also hinder us from doing God’s work in the world.  If we understand something or someone to be wrong or unacceptable, we can convince ourselves that God sees them the same way.  We close ourselves off to the possibility that God might be calling us to minister to this person because they make choices that we don’t agree with or live according to values that we reject.

All our judgments are based on worldly observations, but God’s love transcends the world.  Our vision is limited by worldly experiences, but God’s vision is limitless.  Our opinions are based on cultural context, but God transcends culture.  And where we might see a barrier to God’s holiness, God may see an opportunity for growth and sacrificial love.

Let us pray.  Transcendent God, your ways are mysterious to us.  Enable us to be open to your call, that we may show your love to all your people.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

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