Devotion for the Wednesday of the Second Week in Advent

Theme for the week: love

Devotion for the wednesday of the second Week in Advent (Day 11)

Reading: Luke 13:10–13 (NRSV)

¹⁰ Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. ¹¹ And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. ¹² When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” ¹³ When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.

REFLECTION:

In another evidence of the Kingdom of God in the midst of us, Jesus heals a woman whose spirit had crippled her and bent her over. Imagine what it would feel like to be able to stand up and move easily after eighteen years of living a handicapped life. Jesus healed her spirit which freed her from her physical ailment.

How many of us suffer physical disease which is brought on by a crippled spirit? Unresolved anger at someone can cause ulcers and high blood pressure. High stress levels can depress the immune system making you more vulnerable to everything from the common cold to more serious diseases such as cancer. People who live in circumstances with high levels of interpersonal tension are more likely to suffer from heart disease.

Jesus wants to set us free from a crippled spirit that keeps us from being whole. Some of the aspects of a crippling spirit emerge out of our lifestyle choices. We choose who we are angry with and how we hold that anger. Some of us choose to live a high stress lifestyle, while others have it thrust on them by economic circumstances. Some of us choose to maintain very high expectations, with a potential downside of stress if those expectations are not achieved. These high expectations may also put stress on those around us, spreading a crippling dysfunction.

When we were baptized, we were baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and anointed with the cross of Christ. This baptism anoints us with the Holy Spirit, not a crippling spirit, and sets us free from the power of evil. We are freed to live whole, healthy lives, not lives of bondage. Jesus wants us to fully appreciate this freedom and the healthy life that it gives to us.

PRAYER:

Pray that the Holy Spirit, who entered you in baptism, may keep you whole, holy, and healthy. Pray for the strength to resist those lifestyle choices that endanger your health. Amen

Christ releases you from burdens--Lent Day 4

Reflection for Lent Day 4 (Saturday February 20)

Theme for the Week: Confession, Forgiveness and Reconciliation

Passage for the Day:

1 John 1:8-10

⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Reflection:

If you worship in a church with a liturgical tradition, you may recognize these words, or words similar to these as being used in worship during the “Confession of Sins.” We use these words to admit to God that there are so many ways we have not done what God would want us to do. And we also admit that, by ourselves, we are simply unable to stop doing stuff that is wrong.

The writer of John’s first letter says that if we claim that we aren’t sinning, we just aren’t facing reality. Each and every day, somehow we manage to do something which either alienates us from God, from someone we love, or from someone who plays a role in our lives. Can you think of some way in which you have done something wrong in the past day?

The Good News for us is that God has promised us that if we believe in Jesus, Jesus’ death releases us from sin. Wrong doing no longer controls our lives. Instead, if we believe that Jesus saves us, each morning as we wake up God frees us from our past sins and gives us a new start. If we know that God gives us new starts, our wrong doings and mistakes cannot take control of our lives. Is there something in your life from which you want God to free you and grant you a fresh start?

If, on the other hand, we assume that it is all up to us and that we can manage to do everything right and never sin, then the entire burden is on us. As humans, we are simply unable to do everything right, and we drive ourselves crazy trying to do so. When we try to be perfect by ourselves, we set ourselves up to become ever more disenchanted with ourselves and our failures. Do you ever get angry at yourself because you can’t do everything right? Do you feel the burden of trying to be perfect?

Think about it, if we think we can achieve perfection by ourselves, why did Jesus have to die?

Prayer Themes for the Day:

Pray for faith to believe that Jesus frees you from sin. Pray for forgiveness for the things you have done wrong and the things you have neglected to do. Pray for release from the tyranny of perfectionism. Thank God for the gift of Jesus.