A Reading from Luke 9:51-62

51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to prepare for his arrival, 53 but they did not receive him because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 When his disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 Then they went on to another village.

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 And Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Meditation

Jesus is fully aware of the fate that awaits him, but his disciples are slow to understand. Christ knows that rejection by the Samaritan village is only one of many rejections to come, but the disciples’ reaction reminds us that they’re still expecting a conqueror. It’s easy to follow someone we believe will use his overwhelming power to bring us political, financial, and spiritual victory – with ease. But Jesus rebukes His disciples. Following Jesus means following him into rejection, humiliation, suffering, pain, and ultimately death. And there’s no time to delay! 

Jesus says there isn’t time to wait for a parent to die (and mourn). There isn’t time to say goodbye. Making sure people know about the gift that Jesus is offering and working to make the world right is so important that we must be willing to drop everything, even if it brings social scandal upon us. Sharing the gospel and bringing forth Christ’s kingdom are acts of love and devotion far greater than anything else we could do. This is the best way to honor our parents. This is the best way to care for our siblings, spouses, and children.

Yes, Jesus warns us that if we follow Him, many will not welcome us. If we follow, we must leave behind some we love who have chosen not to follow. If we follow, we must press forward in the difficult work and not look back.

Are there ways Jesus has been inviting you to follow him that are difficult but ultimately life-giving for you and those around you? How have you been resisting that invitation? What  small step could you take in that direction today?

Pieter Valk is a licensed professional counselor, the director of EQUIP, and cofounder of the Nashville Family of Brothers, an ecumenically Christian brotherhood for men called to vocational singleness.

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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:

Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, Maitland, Florida
The Diocese of Kansas – The Episcopal Church

A Reading from 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

1 I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.

6 Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not become idolaters as some of them did, as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.”8 We must not engage in sexual immorality, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. 10 And do not complain, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.11 These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. 13 No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

Meditation

Imagine if Paul referenced 21st century movies. He could ask the Church in Corinth, “Hey, you know in horror movies when the group splits up and someone watching yells, ‘What are you doing?! Never split up!’ Horror movies are predictable. We know what happens if we repeat the same mistake. My siblings in Corinth, don’t be foolish. We’ve seen this movie before with the Israelites — their blessings, and their failures. You’re retracing the same steps. Turn back!”

Israel was freed from slavery in Egypt, yet they squandered their freedom and indulged in immorality, leading to death. Similarly, believers in Corinth were delivered from death by Christ’s work on the cross and blessed with the Holy Spirit in baptism, yet they risked repeating history. They dabbled in former idolatries and ignored their call to chastity. They were blessed beyond measure yet they flirted with well-deserved destruction. Perhaps we’re not too different today. While sometimes God distinctly punishes us, more often we experience the painfully natural consequences of ignoring God’s warnings against touching proverbial hot stoves in our broken world.

Thankfully, God doesn’t give up on us. In verses 11 through 13, Paul challenges us to repent, turn to God, choose to rely on Him, and look for a way out [of sin]. He reassures us that God wants to help us resist and be faithful. While sometimes God distinctly tests us, more often the trials we experience are challenges that naturally arise in a broken world. God wants to come alongside us and help us build up spiritual muscles to say “yes” to the fullness of life with Him.

Pieter Valk is a licensed professional counselor, the director of EQUIP, and cofounder of the Nashville Family of Brothers, an ecumenically Christian brotherhood for men called to vocational singleness.

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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:

The Episcopal Church in Minnesota
Eglise Anglicane du Rwanda

A Reading from Acts 28:17-31

17 Three days later he called together the local leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, he said to them, “Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, yet I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. 18 When they had examined me, the Romans wanted to release me because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. 19 But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to the emperor—even though I had no charge to bring against my people. 20 For this reason therefore I asked to see you and speak with you, since it is for the sake of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.”21 They replied, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken anything evil about you. 22 But we would like to hear from you what you think, for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against.”

23 After they had set a day to meet with him, they came to him at his lodgings in great numbers. From morning until evening he explained the matter to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the law of Moses and from the prophets. 24 Some were convinced by what he had said, while others refused to believe. 25 So they disagreed with each other, and as they were leaving Paul made one further statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah,

26 ‘Go to this people and say,
You will indeed listen but never understand,
    and you will indeed look but never perceive.

27 For this people’s heart has grown dull,
    and their ears are hard of hearing,
        and they have shut their eyes;
        otherwise they might look with their eyes
    and listen with their ears
and understand with their heart and turn—
    and I would heal them.’

28 “Let it be known to you, then, that this salvation of God has been sent to the gentiles; they will listen.”

30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him, 31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance..

Meditation

With this passage, St. Luke concludes two magisterial volumes: the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Paul and Luke have finally arrived in Italy after wintering in Malta and are welcomed by believers. Although under guard, Paul has his own lodging in Rome and invites the Jewish leaders to visit him. They have not heard from Paul’s enemies in Jerusalem, but they have heard objections to “this sect.” They come “in great numbers” for an all-day seminar. Paul explains to them how Jesus fulfilled Messianic expectations in the Torah and the Prophets, and testifies to his own encounter with Jesus. 

As in other cities where Paul preached, his audience is split: some are convinced, others refuse to believe. Paul rebukes those who refuse with the words of Isaiah: “This people’s heart has grown dull…”  His next words sum up the situation of the Jesus movement in 60 AD. Having done his best to persuade his own people that Jesus is their Messiah, he brings up the issue that enraged the mob in Jerusalem: the Messiah is calling Gentiles into his kingdom along with Jews. Hated Romans, like the soldier guarding Paul, are being invited to follow Jesus too. The kicker is Paul’s last word — and Luke’s summation of the Acts of the Apostles:  “This salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”

For those of us who are not Jews but follow the Jewish Messiah, this is a joyful word.  Through twenty centuries those who listened, like Samuel Scherechewsky and Henry Martyn, have spread the gospel around the globe. And yet—in an age of audiovisual distractions, “dull heart syndrome” frequently afflicts God’s people today. Let us faithfully reserve time to be attentive to God’s presence and respond as young Samuel did: “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”

Dr. Grace Sears is past vice president of the board of the Living Church Foundation and past president of the Order of the Daughters of the King, as well as former editor of its magazine, The Royal Cross.

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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:

The Diocese of Kano – The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)
The Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast

The Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist

A Reading from Luke 1:1-4

1 Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative about the events that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, 3 I, too, decided, as one having a grasp of everything from the start, to write a well-ordered account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may have a firm grasp of the words in which you have been instructed.

Meditation

How could we sing our favorite Christmas carols, from “Away in the Manger” to “While Shepherds Watched their Flocks,” if St. Luke had not written his gospel? On this day let us honor him — physician, historian, and evangelist. 

As surely as St. Paul was called to preach to Gentiles, St. Luke was called to write the Jesus story for Greek skeptics and polytheistic Romans. He compiled an “orderly” account, “after investigating everything carefully from the very first,” foregrounding Elizabeth, Mary, and Anna in the first chapters. In his preface to Acts, Luke reminds Theophilus how Jesus “presented himself alive to [his disciples]”, and then, starting from Pentecost, explains how non-Jews became full members of the early churches. 

In Acts 20:6 we learn — by the pronoun “we” — that Luke joined Paul and others at Philippi on their journey to Jerusalem. After Paul was imprisoned and transferred to Caesarea, Luke probably helped to supply his needs, including medical care (in addition to past hardships, Paul had been beaten by a mob). Two years later, when Paul defended himself before King Agrippa, Luke was still there, taking notes. 

During those years, Luke had the perfect opportunity to travel to places where Jesus had taught and healed, and the early church was born. Local believers in Caesarea could have identified the centurion’s house where Peter had been invited to preach. In 57 AD, some eyewitnesses were still alive. Luke may have interviewed elders and tracked down Aramaic memoirs — “so that you may know the truth.” In keeping with his scientific training, he recorded precise details: names, times, places, relationships.  

Thanks be to God for St. Luke! May we strive not only to cherish his wonderful books, but to follow his example, passing on the story of God’s faithfulness in our own time to a generation yet unborn.

Dr. Grace Sears is past vice president of the board of the Living Church Foundation and past president of the Order of the Daughters of the King, as well as former editor of its magazine, The Royal Cross.

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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:

The Diocese of Kampala – The Church of the Province of Uganda
The Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta

A Reading from Jonah 3:1-4:11

1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, 2 “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.

6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. 8 Humans and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. 9 Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.”

10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them, and he did not do it.

4 But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning, for I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from punishment. 3 And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 And the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

Meditation

Which of us would choose Jonah for a challenging mission? Called to go to Nineveh, he sails in the opposite direction. Thinking he is sacrificing himself to save his shipmates, he asks them to throw him to his death. Yet instead of heroic death, he gets a miserable ride back to shore, comically draped in seaweed. Even when he finally obeys God and preaches to the Ninevites, he hates them.

During the week-long caravan trip to Nineveh, he had time to frame his prophecy in the Akkadian language. In 40 days God will destroy those cruel Syrians. Excellent! God abhors their violence, their cruelty, and the lascivious rites of Ishtar. That will preach! 

Jonah must have spoken eloquently, though he didn’t expect the Syrians to listen. Yet his preaching was a huge success. To his horror, the city’s king put on a sackcloth and asked the whole city to turn from evil, fast, and pray for mercy. Worse, God heard their prayers! 

Perched in a hut above the city, Jonah once again had a death wish. It was good for God to show mercy to Israelites like himself (even when he ran away from God), but a serious error to pardon those horrible Syrians. If Jonah were God, he’d destroy them.

Did God laugh a little at this absurd prophet, who couldn’t stand success? A vine grew over Jonah’s flimsy shelter, and his mood improved in the shade. But when the vine shriveled, Jonah raged again in the heat. Patiently God explained that Jonah’s desire for the vine to flourish was nothing compared to God’s desire for the children and animals in Nineveh to flourish.

When I wonder why God has not eliminated contemporary warlords, Jonah speaks to me. God is concerned about the children and the animals, not just the rulers — and not only in the countries I approve.  

Dr. Grace Sears is past vice president of the board of the Living Church Foundation and past president of the Order of the Daughters of the King, as well as former editor of its magazine, The Royal Cross.

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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:

The Diocese of Kamango – Province de L’Eglise Anglicane Du Congo
St. Pierre’s Episcopal Church, Gautier, Mississippi