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Morning Devotion for the Season after Pentecost

September 27, 2023

Invitatory

Their sound has gone out into all the lands, and their message to the ends of the world. 

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Reading: 1 Corinthians 6:1-8

When any of you has a grievance against another, do you dare to take it to court before the unrighteous, instead of taking it before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels—to say nothing of ordinary matters? If you have ordinary cases, then, do you appoint as judges those who have no standing in the church? I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to decide between one believer and another, but a believer goes to court against a believer—and before unbelievers at that? In fact, to have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud—and believers at that.

Meditation - Rebecca Northington

I once heard a Jewish folktale about a man who searched the world for many years looking for people who practiced true justice. He made his way to the ends of the earth, traversing witch infested forests when he stumbled upon a little house.  He opened the door and found himself in an enchanted room full of flickering candle wicks set in a variety of canisters each containing oil.  An older man with a long white beard appeared and explained that this was the house of souls. Each flame represented a living soul, and when it went out the soul left this life. 

The man noticed that the canisters had varying amounts of oil, with some nearly empty as their flames were flickering low. He asked to see his own. They went through hallways and up staircases navigating the labyrinth of rooms containing the many souls of the world, thousands upon thousands of flickering lights. When the old man showed him his own he saw that it was nearly empty which panicked the man as he had yet to achieve his goal, the location of a just people. He turned to ask the old man what this meant and found that he was alone. He looked around the room and saw that many of the canisters around his were full. Almost without a second thought he went to pick up the brimming canister beside his own, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Is this the justice you are looking for?” The man had searched the world over, but had never looked within himself.

We have always been a people obsessed with justice, and yet how can we definitively identify it within ourselves much less amongst our dearest companions or our greatest adversaries? Paul often reminds us that only God can know our hearts, our intentions, what we would do if we knew our life was about to be snuffed out. He challenges us to consider, “Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to decide between one believer and another”; and a couple of lines later, “But you yourselves wrong and defraud-and believers at that.” 

How do we even define justice, or Christian justice? Do we turn the other cheek, do we forgive 77 times the abuses that harm us? The Christian Way is not an intuitive or easy path. It is in many realities unachievable. One could argue it is aspirational at best. But imagine a world in which we did truly turn the other cheek, and forgive relentlessly. How much better does it feel to offer grace and absolution, than resentment and anger? What does it truly cost us in comparison to the peace that we gain from sharing God’s love that is housed in us? I believe this folktale is trying to tackle the same reality that Paul is exploring. Perhaps justice is an illusion that all humans cling to in order to have a sense of control over the uncontrollable in this world. Maybe the only justice we have control over in this life is how we treat every person: friend, stranger, family member and enemy. 

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,

    and the power, and the glory,

    for ever and ever. Amen.