Morning Prayer
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Inspiration
Paul gives thanks to God the Father (verse 12) for delivering us from the power of darkness and moving us into the realm of light, which is the Kingdom of Christ and of God. The kingdom will come to the earth in an outward form in the thousand-year reign of Christ and then in his everlasting reign in the New Heaven and New Earth. But even now it is here in a "hidden" sense in the form of the subjects of King Jesus (his Church) being present. Satan's kingdom also is here in this world, and it is a kingdom of darkness and sin. Only God's power could overcome the "power of darkness" and make us children of light.
Prayer
We give thanks to you, O Father, along with Paul for transferring us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. You have made us to be a light to the world, insofar as your light is in us and shines out from us. Help us to walk as children of light and to overcome the surrounding darkness of this present age. Amen.
Devotion
Culpability
Frances Taylor
This is an interesting passage because, among other things, it talks about sin and who is considered guilty of sin. Paul is talking about how he has been forgiven, how God has been merciful to him because his actions were committed in unbelief. In order for sin to be committed, one needs to know he is committing it. No one can commit sin in retrospect. Sin is always a deliberate act. This can be hard for some to understand. Actions can be considered sinful, even though the person committing them may not be culpable. For example, lying is a sin. However, is the two year old hiding behind the curtains sinning when he or she claims not to have broken the vase? No, because the child has no understanding of the difference between truth and lie. Those who do not have a relationship with God, who do not know the commandments, who have never heard of Jesus, may commit sinful actions, but are not guilty of sin. This is what Paul claims is his situation. Paul ...
Morning Prayer
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, ) full of grace and truth.
Inspiration
When the Lord sent his only Son, he sent also his word. For his body was this very word made flesh. Importantly this was not simply a manifestation of God's word, but also rather an 'animation' of it (meant here in the original Latin as 'animare' –'to instill with life or spirit'), an instance of God's love and divine grace in action, among us.
Prayer
Lord, I am grateful for your mercy in showing us your word made flesh so that we may be redeemed. Further, I am grateful to you for showing us your love and grace through your only begotten son. Let his body not have been torn and broken for no avail, but feed us now in the Eucharist. Let not his blood have...
