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Morning Devotion for the Season after Pentecost
July 19, 2024
The Invitatory
The earth is the Lord’s for he made it: O come, let us adore him.
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.
Reading: Romans 12:9-21
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones
First some context: It was the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that demonstrated his love for us. This astonishingly generous act of self-sacrifice won for us forgiveness of our sins and restoration of the world. In this unselfish act Jesus Christ won for us a start of a new creation. The love of Jesus Christ calls us to continue on, for “The love of God has been poured into our hears through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.. This is God’s expression of his own love for us, that Jesus Christ died for us while we were still sinners. And, thanks be to God, nothing shall ever separate us from that love. The past is redeemed, together with the present and future. A new creation is here to be captured in a glimpse of praise and worked through vocation and, most importantly, known in love.
“Let love be genuine…” This is the opening salvo of Paul’s stage-direction to the Roman believers living in the heart of the Roman Empire. This is to contrast with that which is fake, bogus, disingenuous, insincere and hypocritical. It can be given to be playacting or a charade In our age full of distractions and easily kindled social media spats. If the world is our stage, then our temptation is to sprout into self-authored superheroes and cast our enemies as world-wrecking wretches. “We” make the world a better place; “they” are destroying this place and corrupting all that used to be good.
Up to this point in Paul’s argument, love is something that only God or Christ has performed. In this shift toward the redeemed vision of humanity, it is something that the followers of Jesus will perform as the fulfillment of Torah. And this can only be carried out by them acting as a team, that is together and collaboratively, with equal regard for each other. This love is something that originates from within and then transforms communities.
The challenge is both great and consequential - to bless those who persecute you, for example. Aren’t we more prone to do just the opposite? But Paul’s call to us is one of seeing that person whom we have labeled as a persecutor. What if we try to identify those qualities that are common to us all? Then notice how the persecutor begins to look more like we do. And what, if we were to find ourselves on the opposite end of that “label” would we want for ourselves.? It is both a humbling, yet humanizing exercise in which to engage. And then pause to recognize our limitations in meeting that need. Our appeal to God for freedom from that judgment we have made and then for guidance are the next helpful steps. And we need to recognize that it takes a healthy measure of humility to display the genuine love that Paul calls for. We might then discover for ourselves what a genuine God-pleasing human life looks like. And, more specifically how we discern what God’s will is. And we can take heart in that there is freedom from the constraints of sin and death to allow us to discern and pursue a wide array of gifts and callings.
For the Human Family
O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus Christ you Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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