15 Days Until - Countdown to Jubilee

FOR TODAY As we draw nearer to our Jubilee Revival, we have traveled through important themes thus far:

1. What we “expect” in terms of committing our hearts and minds to a revival in our diocese for our 50th anniversary.

2. How we can be “awakened” to a deeper awareness of God’s presence and call upon our lives.

3. The many ways we are “strengthened” to serve and give witness to our faith even in difficult times.

4. The glorious but hard work of “restoration” that accompanies our growing pangs in faith.

5. The various ways we can engage the word “just” in living into God’s dream for our world.

This week, we ponder the word, “mercy” in our devotions. As many of you know, this is the second word in the title of Bryan Stevenson’s book, Just Mercy. It is a book that tells a powerful story of the battle for mercy in our judicial system. Stevenson gives us some context for the book title: I told myself that evening what I had been telling my clients for years. I am more than broken. In fact, there is a strength, a power even, in understanding brokenness, because embracing our brokenness creates a need and desire for mercy, and perhaps a corresponding need to show mercy. When you experience mercy, you learn things that are hard to learn otherwise. You see things you cannot see otherwise; you hear things you can’t otherwise hear. You begin to recognize the humanity that resides in each of us. Mercy is a word we use frequently in religious contexts or even colloquially: “mercy me, Lord have mercy!" Such common usage can sometimes dilute the true depths of this word. Being “merciful” is a quality attributed to God and one that God asks of us in return. We will explore various aspects of this attribute and its impact on our relationships in the coming week. Our revival with Bishop Curry and Bryan Stevenson will highlight that mercy moves us, changes us, and does not leave us the same. It is our hope that having become more merciful through prayer and revival that we will find ourselves boldly impelled to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God in ever new and creative ways.

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION Think of a time you have experienced mercy in your life. How did that experience change you? If God asks of us to be merciful, what does that look like specifically in your daily life?

MERCY This week we focus on mercy, a word we use frequently in religious contexts or even colloquially: “mercy me, Lord have mercy!" Such common usage can sometimes dilute the true depths of this word. Being “merciful” is a quality attributed to God and one that God asks of us in return. We will explore various aspects of this attribute and its impact on our relationships in the coming week. Find all previous daily devotionals here