In worship on Sunday, I challenged the congregation to read two of our Scripture readings every day for this entire week – the reading from Acts and John’s gospel listed below. As you read these, try to resist rushing through them. Give yourself plenty of time to let these words wash over your soul. Even if it is typically not your habit, take some time to write your thoughts down or talk with someone else about what you’re thinking, feeling and hearing from God. Here are a few questions to guide your devotion:

What does love look like? When Jesus gives the disciples a new commandment to love one another, what did He mean by that? Is love about being “nice”? About doing “good things”? Is there more to it? To get the context of Jesus’ statement, read the rest of John 13 in which Jesus washes the disciples’ feet.
In Acts, we hear of Peter’s vision in which God declares that animals once considered “unclean” are now “clean”. What blew me away personally was the fact that God Himself was specifically rescinding part of the Law of Moses … why? So that Peter could reach out and spread God’s Good Message to the Gentiles.
Are there boundaries or even prejudices that exist between people now? How does Jesus’ command and Peter’s vision in Acts challenge us to address societal, religious, and personal barriers that exist between people?

Scriptures

For Your Consideration

As I prepared the sermon for Sunday (4/28), a few wonderful references could not be included. If they were, I’d still be preaching 😉 So, I included them here.

Slavery

On April 24, I went with a group to visit the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. We met with students, toured portions of the battlefield, and toured the new Seminary Ridge Museum (www.seminaryridgemuseum.org). Our student guides for the battlefield had taken part in a class that examines faith and freedom. One of their projects was to select a location on the battlefield to reflect socially and theologically. The grounds of the seminary were intimately involved in the Civil War, and the seminary’s president at the time, Samuel Schmucker, was an outspoken abolitionist. The museum pointed out that there were congregations and theologians on both sides – some gave reasoned, moral, and Biblical justification for slavery and others in opposition to slavery. Each side claimed to represent the true interpretation of Scripture. Schmucker drew a clear line in the sand by saying “All who fail to work for the abolition of slavery are guilty of sin.”

World War II

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.

Martin Niemöller

Evil

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

Edmund Burke

Song Lyrics: “Something That We Do”

Songwriters:Skip Ewing;Clint Patrick Black

I remember well the day we wed
I can see that picture in my head
I still believe the words we said
Forever will ring true
Love is certain, love is kind
Love is yours and love is mine
But it isn’t something that we find
It’s something that we do

It’s holding tight, lettin’ go
It’s flying high and laying low
Let your strongest feelings show
And your weakness, too
It’s a little and a lot to ask
An endless and a welcome task
Love isn’t something that we have
It’s something that we do

We help to make each other all that we can be
Though we can find our strength and inspiration independently
The way we work together is what sets our love apart
So closely that we can’t tell where I end and where you start

It gives me heart remembering how
We started with a simple vow
There’s so much to look back on now
Still it feels brand-new
We’re on a road that has no end
And each day we begin again
Love’s not just something that we’re in
It’s something that we do

We help to make each other all that we can be
We can find our strength and inspiration independently
The way we work together is what sets our love apart
So closely that we can’t tell where I end and where you start

Love is wide, love is long
Love is deep and love is strong
Love is why I love this song
And I hope you love it too
I remember well the day we wed
I can see that picture in my head
Love isn’t just those words we said
It’s something that we do

There’s no request too big or small
We give ourselves, we give our all
Love isn’t someplace that we fall
It’s something that we do