Devotion
It’s Not Fair!
Frances Taylor
I have to admit that I love this gospel! I am so reminded of people who want to balance everything so it's fair. I do something for you, so you have to do something for me that is equal to what I did for you. You know what I mean.
The child who counts the presents under the tree and sees that little brother or sister gets 10 gifts and he/she only gets 3 – never mind the fact that the three cost a lot more than the 10! Of course it goes deeper than that when it comes to a person who has changed his or her life around, whether from alcohol, drugs, criminal activity, etc. There are those who believe that a person should be punished for life. Generosity of spirit is considered the crime when someone gives a person a second chance. Two weeks ago, the gospel talked about helping a person change and last week it spoke of our need to forgive. Now we are asked to not judge and to give someone a chance.
Several years ago, I asked the middle school children to bring in a can of protein filled food for the food pantry. One girl came with nothing because her mother had said that the people didn't deserve to get food as they came in a car to collect it. Just as with the people at the food pantry, the workers who came late to work in the vineyard have various reasons for needing help. I once had a student who spent several weeks in a residential program to get over her drug addiction. When she returned to school, she was shunned by the "good" kids because they were told by their parents to stay away, and by her former friends because she wouldn't party with them anymore.
The same happens to many who have paid their debt to society, but people won't let it go. Jesus didn't worry about keeping score; God doesn't keep score. Those who come to know and believe in him early in life will have a more fulfilled life on earth, but those who come to know him at whatever stage of their lives, will be welcomed into the kingdom with open arms. Which of you would not welcome back a "lost" child? Why would you expect anything less from God?
Prayer
Thank you, Lord, for your generosity; may we be equally generous with others. Amen.
Night Prayer
A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
Inspiration
Often, we speak before we have to opportunity to think about our words. In the heat of the moment, we immediately express negative feelings without analyzing the situation first. We jump to conclusions when directing meetings and speak in haste with our children before evaluating all sides. As leaders in any setting, we must be tactful and make decisions by weighing all details. Instead of expressing emotions with our authority, we must seek to mediate justly and reflect the mercy of God with our decision-making.
Prayer
Dear Lord, Please forgive us when we jump to conclusions and fail to lead with mercy and grace. Guide us to reflect Your character when You place us in a position of authority. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Devotion
A Simple Creed
Frances Taylor
Although the last verse of this passage is considered to be a portion of a hymn prayed by the people in the communities around Ephesus, I think of it as a creed, a simple statement of beliefs. It lets us know that they believed that Jesus was God, coming in the flesh, who was justified, or vindicated as another translation has it, by the Holy Spirit, seen by the angels, which could mean actual angels in heaven, or that he was seen by the disciples and others considered to be holy, preached by those disciples to reach out to a world that believed in the message of the Good News and was received by the Father into heaven where he would reign. Of course, I could be wrong about the actual meaning of the hymn, but it really doesn't make any difference. It makes me think about creeds, or statements of belief. I know there are a few formal ones such as the Apostles' Creed, or Baptismal Creed, and the Nicene Creed which expands a little on the first. But ...
Morning Prayer
For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.
Inspiration
It may seem that the lives of some non-believers are often much easier and carefree than our own. Unshackled to principle, they may float free between pleasures with no particular conscience. But this 'freedom' is not true freedom, and one shouldn't mistake it for what it really is; being lost in the wilderness. This 'freedom' of the non-believer does not extend into the afterlife, and is in fact, shackled only to this, our material world. Since they have not had to endure the call of their consciences, they will not find our God's eternal peace.
Prayer
Lord God our Creator and Father, let me endure all that is sacred, just and fair in this world. Help us understand in facing our sufferings that we are doing so for you sake, in your glory. Thus, give us grace and show us mercy, for in answering to our consciences, we know we are doing your work. Help us stay pure ...
