Daily Devotional

Now after the sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Mag′dalene and the other Mary went to see the sepulchre. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. Lo, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Hail!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” 

“But while he is steadily fixed in his religious principles in what he believes to be the truth as it is in Jesus; while he firmly adheres to that worship of God which he judges to be most acceptable in his sight; and while he is united by the tenderest and closest ties to one particular congregation, –his heart is enlarged toward all mankind, those he knows and those he does not; he embraces with strong and cordial affection neighbours and strangers, friends and enemies. This is catholic or universal love. And he that has this is of a catholic spirit. For love alone gives the title to this character: catholic love is a catholic spirit.”

Recently I came across an article, “100 Worst Foods in the World” list. I quickly agreed with some of the items that were mentioned – a German food called, “Zungenwurst” which contains blood sausage and pickled tongue… “Tête de veau”, a French dish made up of slices of meat from the head of a calf… any number of dishes that featured “offal” (which I pronounce as “awful”)… and a fermented shark meat called “Hákarl” from Iceland. But when I really scanned the article, I found that both American Goulash and American Chop Suey made the list. Basically, they’re the same dish – pasta (typically elbow macaroni), ground beef, and tomatoes often with grated cheese. Growing up in Ohio, the dish was called “Johnny Marzetti”, named in honor of the nephew of the owner of the Columbus, Ohio restaurant Marzetti’s. Granted, Johnny Marzetti isn’t fine cuisine and I’ve only made it a couple of times, but I don’t think it ranks as one of the worst dishes in the world. But of course, I imagine there are people who grew up in Germany and say the same thing about zungenwurst. It is easy to see different kinds of foods and label them as the worst without ever having tried them.

A few years ago, St. Luke’s went to Germany and England to study the Protestant Reformation. While in England, I was committed to trying blood pudding (which also made the list of 100 Worst Foods in the World)…

Last summer, we had a chance to lead a group of nearly 80 people from St. Luke’s to Europe for a spiritual pilgrimage through Italy and Germany. We ended the trip in Oberammergau, Germany to witness “The Passion Play.” This incredible play has been put on once every ten years for nearly 400 years since the time of the Black Plague.

It started as an offering to God from the people of Oberammergau. They were expressing gratitude to God for keeping them safe through the plague and giving thanks for God’s faithfulness and mercy. For 400 years, the townspeople of Oberammergau have carried on this tradition to tell the story of God’s great love and how it overcomes all things.

For me, one of the most striking parts of the play we witnessed was seeing how they portrayed the character of Judas. I have spent most of my life picturing Judas as this traitorous, greedy, self-centered man. But that was not at all how he was portrayed in the play…

There are times when I’m reading scripture and a particular phrase or word will jump out to me. I have learned over the years that when that happens, God is inviting me to spend time with that word or phrase. It was during worship while reading the scripture for the congregation that I had one of those experiences.

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly; never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all. – Romans 12:9-18

The phrase that spoke so powerfully was verse 18, If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all. It didn’t take long before the message of that verse convicted my heart…

I enjoy J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novels The Lord of the Rings very much. They are a series I read for the first time when I was 12 or 13 years old. Tolkien’s writing can be quite verbose, and he often trails off into too much detail on different characters, situations, or various histories within his fantasy world; but these wordy paragraphs give weight to the story. All of Tolkien’s world is designed around the battle between good and evil. Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic, and he admits that his stories reflect his Christian faith.

Without getting too complicated, the main story follows a group of heroes who are on a mission to destroy the ultimate evil…

This past year, my family had the privilege of traveling with St. Luke’s to Italy and Germany, which ended with attending the Oberammergau Passion Play. The play is put on every ten years by citizens of a small town in Germany. This tradition started in 1633 and we were able to see the 42nd installment of the play, which is a five-hour performance – all in German. The play walks through the final week of Jesus’ life as he enters Jerusalem through the Passover meal, trial, and crucifixion, and ends with the resurrection. During the play, besides seeing the life of Christ, there were choir numbers along with what they called Living Pictures. These pictures included actors illustrating an Old Testament story that connected Jewish history to what Jesus was going through during that section of the story.

One of the things this Passion Play brought out that I think many times we overlook is the fact that Jesus was a Jew…

And they compelled a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). And they offered him wine mingled with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. And it was the third hour, when they crucified him. And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.”

“Since he (God) worketh in you of his own good pleasure, without any merit of yours, both to will and to do , it is possible for you to fulfil all righteousness. It is possible for you to ‘love God, because he hath first loved us’, and to ‘walk in love’, after the pattern of our great Master. We know indeed that word of his to be absolutely true, ‘Without me ye can do nothing.’ But on the other hand we know, every believer can say, ‘I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me.’”

Because God loves us so much, He wants us to live our lives to the fullest. Like any loving parent, He wants us to use our God-given talents to make each day count. I think God uses those around us to encourage us to make the most of what God has given us.

For Taylor Robertson, that person was first her dad, and later her teammates, and even her NBA role model who she recently got to meet. Taylor is a member of the Oklahoma Sooners women’s basketball team. This is her last season and it’s been a special one. In a game against Iowa State in January, Taylor hit her 498th three-point shot, and that set an NCAA record for the most three-pointers in women’s college basketball.

For a girl from a small town in Kansas, she has always dreamed big, and it was her dad who encouraged her dreams and challenged her to shoot from downtown, beyond the three-point line. Taylor said her dad took her to the gym when she was just six…