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FOR TODAY Read this quote by Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “While we exert ourselves to grow beyond our humanity, to leave the human behind us, God becomes human; and we must recognize that God wills that we be human, real human beings. While we distinguish between pious and godless, good and evil, noble and base, God loves real people without distinction. God has no patience with our dividing the world and humanity according to our standards and imposing ourselves as judges over them.¹” Today is the eve of our election. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote these words fully feeling a distinction between himself and the culture around him. Central in Bonhoeffer’s theology is the assertion that God has already laid the foundation for our fellowship and community and we enter into that common life not as demanders, dividers or judges, but as thankful recipients and participants of the divine work already underway.
FOR FURTHER REFLECTION What distinction between yourself and those not like you might you need to relinquish or rethink? What does it mean for you to be a “real human being” whose heart can be moved to honor and live out the ideals lifted up in our collect?
In anticipation of the upcoming election, each day of this week we will invite you to pray an additional collect appointed from the Book of Common Prayer.
Pray for discernment O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
STRENGTHEN
This third week focuses on the word strengthen. Soon we will gather virtually for our Jubilee revival. We hope it will be a time that we are strengthened as the people of God. Asking for strength is a testament of our faith; strength is not merely of our own, it is a gift from God. It can be so easy for us to give into worry, fear or despair; yet with God we pray for strength and look forward to wonderful things like our upcoming revival. Find all previous daily devotionals here