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Morning Devotion for the Season of Easter
May 15, 2024
Invitatory
On this day the Lord has acted; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
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: Ephesians 4:1-7, 14-16
I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace: there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.
Meditation - Peter Vanderveen
I think it can rightly be said that the concept of equality, particularly as we speak of it now, can’t be found within the Bible. Jesus never advocated for it, even though he had the opportunity to do so in many of his personal encounters. The prophets, who are often employed by us as examples of strong voices for moral change, never called for equality as the founding principle for a new social order. Paul referred to equality chiefly as something that Jesus gave up, on our behalf.
And yet, for us, equality is considered a categorical imperative. It’s not only unquestioned as a basic right; it’s also unquestionable. Any diversion from the prime importance of equality is considered an ethical offense. Equality, however, is fiendishly elusive, both as something that might be actually realized and, more problematically, in determining that to which it refers. Equal rights, or equal opportunity, or equal treatment before the law all seem straightforward until these concepts are put into the human context, where almost nothing seems equal at all. Then pursuing equality can seem like a frustrating and ultimately futile task.
Public life used to be conducted under a different motto: e pluribus unum – out of many, one. This phrase served as a succinct recognition of the deep interconnectedness we all share. Indifference to one another is not a viable option. This is the persuasion, too, of John Donne’s famous poem “For whom the bell tolls.”
No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.
In comparison to the communion of such oneness, equality is an abstract and sterile term. It allows us all to be islands to ourselves. But oneness is essentially inclusive, and the dignity which it confers to each and every person, regardless of their status or station, is not individual. It is collective. For dignity is the product of the coming together of many into one. And on this the Scriptures are eloquent. And the oneness to which we are called takes full account of the vast differences and, yes, inequalities, inherent in being human.
Today’s text from Ephesians should sound familiar. It is reiterated at every service of baptism, and, thus, defines the unity that is the core of the Christian message and life: love builds up, in such a way that we may all find our places in the “all in all” of God’s grace.
Prayer
Risen Christ, in the midst of grief and despair, at the very point when all seemed lost, you stood in the midst of your friends in the fullness of your resurrection reality and proclaimed your peace; a peace that reorders and renews all things.
May the same peace find a home in us and, at the urging of your Spirit, may we be today and every day bearers of hope and enablers of peace in the power of your name.
The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold
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