With all the noise in the world, do you hear the voice of God? Your calendar tells you what to do, but do you remember who you are? Being comes before doing. This is a call to put first things first. Return to the Lord with this daily pattern of prayer and devotion. Set aside this time as a sanctuary. Find a space free of distraction and follow this pattern.
Invocation
Make the sign of the cross and say,
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Invitation Prayer
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 5:3) O Lord, my poverty is the place where you meet me with grace. My spirit finds all I need in you. Amen.
Meditation: “Nevertheless, afterward!”: Selections from “The Death of Evil Upon the Seashore” by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., often alluded to Exodus in his sermons and speeches, using the story of the Israelites’ journey from bondage to freedom to unify and encourage supporters of the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King gave the sermon entitled “The Death of Evil Upon the Seashore,” which is about the parting of the Red Sea, more than once. In the sermon, King speaks of his belief that “that in the long struggle between good and evil, good eventually emerges as the victor.” King writes:
The death of the Egyptians upon the seashore is a glaring symbol of the ultimate doom of evil in its struggle with good. There is something in the very nature of the universe which is on the side of Israel in its struggle with every Egypt. There is something in the very nature of the universe which ultimately comes to the aid of goodness in its perennial struggle with evil. The New Testament is right when it affirms: “No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness.” Pharaoh exploits the children of Israel until they are relegated to the status of things rather than persons—nevertheless, afterward! Pilate yields to the crowd and crucifies Christ on a cross between two thieves—nevertheless, afterward. The early Christians are thrown to the lions and carried to the chopping blocks until man’s inhumanity to man becomes barbaric and unbelievable—nevertheless, afterward.
Above all, we must be reminded anew that God is at work in his universe. He is not outside the world looking on with a sort of cold indifference. He is here on all the roads of life striving in our striving. Like an ever loving Father, he is working through history for the salvation of his children. So as we struggle to defeat the forces of evil, we do not struggle alone; we have cosmic companionship. The God of the universe struggles with us. In the final analysis evil dies on the seashore not merely because of man’s endless struggle against it, but because of God’s power to defeat it.
From a draft of “The Death of Evil Upon the Seashore” by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Full text can be found at
The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Center: kinginstitute.standford.edu
Benediction
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph. 3:20-21)