Morning Devotion for the Season after Pentecost
October 22, 2021
The Invitatory
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
Praise ye the Lord.
The Lord's Name be praised.
Reading: Psalm 31:1-5,14-16,24
1 In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame; *
deliver me in your righteousness.
2 Incline your ear to me; *
make haste to deliver me.
3 Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe,
for you are my crag and my stronghold; *
for the sake of your Name, lead me and guide me.
4 Take me out of the net that they have secretly set for me, *
for you are my tower of strength.
5 Into your hands I commend my spirit, *
for you have redeemed me,
O Lord, O God of truth.
14 But as for me, I have trusted in you, O Lord. *
I have said, "You are my God.
15 My times are in your hand; *
rescue me from the hand of my enemies,
and from those who persecute me.
16 Make your face to shine upon your servant, *
and in your loving-kindness save me."
24 Be strong and let your heart take courage, *
all you who wait for the Lord.
Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones
Laura and Howard were nearing the end of their rope. The months of unemployment, childcare, virtual school and now the loss of unemployment compensation and the end of the eviction moratorium had undone their sense of peace of mind. With the looming probability of homelessness, they moved from worry to high anxiety, desperation, desolation, hopelessness, and now face resignation and despair. Their downward spiral had been dizzying and dislocating. They saw no way forward for themselves.
Jesus the Christ ---- the Logos----the Word made Flesh
We have heard him proclaim the Word in His teaching. We have witnessed him be the Word in His healings, signs and wonders and miracles. Now we find him deeply in the Word. For in these three hours it is the Word of God that bears Him up, more than the nails driven through his wrists and feet. Imagine that he hears the words of his ancestor David as a mantra.
1 In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge; do not let me ever be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me.
2 Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily. Be a rock of refuge for me,
a strong fortress to save me.
3 You are indeed my rock and my fortress;
for your name’s sake lead me and guide me,
4 take me out of the net that is hidden for me,
for you are my refuge.
With his very last breath, as the last drop of blood and water falls from his body, he speaks the words of the next verse – Into your hands I commit my spirit. Indeed he has committed all His life for all of ours. God has been Jesus’ refuge – through the conspiracies formed about him, betrayal, arrest, abandonment; brutal beating and torture and this horrific death. And God has been our refuge through natural disasters of storms, blizzards, hurricanes, tornadoes, unprecedented murder rates in major cities, rage; in our trials and temptations, pain and suffering, failures, depression, poverty; Where is our refuge in moments of our depravity and utter despair, that we, like the Prodigal Son, might come to ourselves?
The rest of that passage, “ you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God,” he does not speak, but will express it in his very person on the third day.
This communion prayer speaks into this moment:
O, Lord Jesus Christ, who in a wonderful Sacrament hast left unto us a memorial of thy passion: Grant unto us, we beseech thee, so to venerate the sacred mysteries of thy Body and Blood, that we may ever perceive within ourselves the fruit of thy redemption.
First there is deliverance, that opens forth to praise, then thanksgiving, followed by peace, growing into trust, leading to faithfulness, flowering into adoration and love, and finally to eternal life.
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
