Devotion for Monday After the Second Sunday After the Epiphany, Year C (ELCA Daily Lectionary)

Above:  Live Coals

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Grace, Demanding Faithful Responses, Part II

JANUARY 17, 2022

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The Collect:

Lord God, source of every blessing,

you showed forth your glory and led many to faith by the works of your Son,

who brought gladness and salvation to his people.

Transform us by the Spirit of his love,

that we may find our life together in him,

Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 22

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The Assigned Readings:

Isaiah 54:1-8

Psalm 145

Romans 12:9-21

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That sentiment fits well within the contexts of the previous post and this one.  In readings for both God takes a people back–idolatrous Hebrews in Jeremiah and Hebrew exiles (soon to return to their ancestral homeland) in Isaiah.

Such generosity calls for faithful responses to God.  One category of such responses covers how we treat each other.  The excellent advice in Romans 12:9-21 fits neatly under the heading of the Golden Rule.  St. Paul the Apostle’s counsel acknowledges total human dependence on God, human dependence on other people, and responsibility to and for others in society.  It also contains a corrective measure against vengeance, one of the most powerful emotions.

The world would be a better place if more people were to seek common ground, respect others, and forgo repaying evil for evil.  What we humans do matters.  Often, when we think we are behaving righteously, our sinful deeds and attitudes belie that illusion.  One might, for example, commit a violent act against a person whom one thinks has wronged one.  That other person might indeed be in the wrong, but so is the perpetrator of the violence if the motive is revenge.  Two wrongs do not make a right.

May we hold fast to the good, by grace.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 27, 2015 COMMON ERA

PROPER 21:  THE EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR B

THE FEAST OF SAINT LEOBA, ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN AND MISSIONARY

THE FEAST OF THE INAUGURATION OF THE CHURCH OF SOUTH INDIA, 1947

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/09/27/grace-demanding-faithful-responses-part-ii/

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