Devotion
All Are One
Frances Taylor
Wouldn't it be great if we lived this way! No one better than another, no prejudice, no discrimination, all the same! Unfortunately we seem to live in an "us" and "them" world. If you look like me and speak the same language you're one of us, if not, you are one of them. Think about what the world would look like if we only had green trees, green grass and green flowers. No reds, yellows, blues, purples; no trees that changed color in the fall, nothing but green! It would be pretty boring. What about only one tone of sound? No scale of notes, just one sound. How would we enjoy a world without music? We look at the beautiful nature around us, we listen to the birds chirp and the sounds of nature and we are amazed at God's glory in creation. Why is it that we don't appreciate seeing the beauty of God in all the faces he made??? We are not a one note world, neither is our planet limited to one color of face. In order to see the face of God, we need to turn to one another in the variety of colors around us as well as the face we see in the mirror and say, Thank you for showing me the face of the living God.
Prayer
We are one in you Lord; let us never forget that we only have to turn and look at our neighbor to see your face. 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...
