25 Days Until - Countdown to Jubilee

FOR TODAY This quote is a portion of the sermon that Presiding Bishop Michael Curry preached at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Pay attention to the point Bishop Curry makes about the way we are called to enflesh love: “When love is the way we treat each other as family. That is a new heaven. A new earth. A new creation. A new human family.” This is what it means to be a part of the mission of restoring people to unity. This is something in which each of us can participate.  Both the way of love and the mission of restoration involve patience and very small acts. A furniture restorer will spend hours sanding and dusting. Love involves small acts of kindness, attention, listening and a lot of patience. Barbara Brown Taylor has a wonderful way of drawing out how we can carry out a ministry of love in our homes and in our communities: “The Church can reach those whose lives are breaking down simply by forming Christians who know how to practice compassion, listen, how to withhold judgment, how to bake casseroles, how to look after other peoples’ children when those people are too confused or grief-stricken to do it themselves, how to give away their money and their time without expecting any direct return, how to be quiet with people in a noisy world, how to see God in the least and the lost, how to work for justice instead of talking about it, how to make decisions that will benefit the widest number of people, how to swallow bitterness and choose peace, how to love God so much that they see God in every person they meet.”

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION What are the sacrifices one makes when you consciously choose to love one another?  In addition to love, what else do you think is necessary for the work of restoring all people to unity? 

We are now 25 days away from the Just Mercy, Just Jesus virtual revival, on December 3-5, the culminating celebration of our jubilee year. While we are unable to gather in person, how might you make creative plans to participate online and invite others to join in with you? Details for the revival are available on our website at www.diocgc.org/just-mercy-just-jesus.

RESTORE This fourth week focuses on the word restore. No one expected 2020. Our country has been driven apart by a virus, ravaged by storms and fires, divided by protests and riots, and ripped asunder by the demands of an election. All of this has affected us.  Our hearts are heavy, our minds are confused, our souls are weary, and our society has been fractured. WIFI connections have disconnected us and left us in isolated pods. And yet, amid the chaos sounds our mission "to restore all people to unity with God and each other.” Our catechism goes on to ask two more questions about the mission of restoration. Find all previous daily devotionals here