Devotion
A Church at Peace
Frances Taylor
Peace is such a nice place to be. Interesting that the church was at peace and that more people were coming into the church during this time when this area of the world was in turmoil. Judea and Samaria were still under Roman rule, Christians were still being persecuted but the church was at peace. Makes you wonder what being at peace really means. When my children were young, I longed for peace! With 5 of them all around the same age, there were battles over who was wearing whose clothes, who was hogging the bathroom, who had taken the last piece of whatever! When I think back on this time, however, I know there was at the same time as the chaos a certain amount of peace. There was chaos but love. Just when you thought one of them would kill the other, there was a spirit of generosity that seemed to come out of nowhere. Peace lived in our hearts even if the world was spinning around us. I believe this is the peace of the early church. They had "died in Christ" so they were at peace in their hearts even though there was the threat of persecution. Today there are parts of the world where Christians cannot live in peace, where there is the very real threat of death for those who are known to be Christians. For those of us who are able to live in peace, I believe we have an obligation to pray for those in danger. May our prayer for peace continue until all Christians have peace.
Prayer
Loving God, may we never take peace for granted. Let us pray for those who live in danger and we ask that they may have peace in their hearts knowing that you are with them. 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...
