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
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Invitation
Lord Jesus, you once came to humanity in a rustic barn and a messy manger. Do not be distant from the rough places of our lives. We often find ourselves far from you. In mercy, come near to us, our Lord, Emmanuel; for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Confession
Forgive my sins, O Lord – forgive me the sins of my present and the sins of my past, the sins of my soul and the sins of my body; the sins which I have done to please myself, and the sins which I have done to please others. Forgive me my wasted and idle sins, forgive me my serious and deliberate sins, forgive me those sins which I know and those sins which I know not, the sins which I have labored so to hide from others that I have hid them from my own memory. Forgive them, O Lord, forgive them all.
Word: John 17:11,23
“Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name…so that they may be one as we are one. … May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you…have loved them…”
Meditation: Get Along with One Another
Today’s meditation is written by Pastor Paul Cloeter.
“Can’t you kids just get along?” the exasperated mom asks as her three young children engage in yet another round of sibling bickering. That’s not asking too much, is it? When it comes to positive interpersonal relationships, “getting along” is a minimum requirement. It doesn’t necessitate conversation or even physical presence. In fact, sometimes it’s better if two or more parties in conflict separate in order to make “getting along” possible.
“Get along” is one of those idiom phrases whose meaning is different from that of the individual words. For example, it doesn’t refer to a clothing size for a tall person! Perhaps, though, this phrase does come from the idea of not being above, below, in front of, or behind, but rather “getting alongside” those we walk through life with. Such unity requires that we at least be civil in our physical and social interactions with others.
Speaking of others, another idiom that expresses this unity is the phrase “one another.” St. Paul uses it often in his letters: “love one another,” “admonish one another,” “serve one another, ”submit to one another,” and the list goes on. In Greek, it’s one word. Our English makes it a phrase that unites the “one” with an “other,” the emphasis certainly being on the “other.”
In his so-called High Priestly prayer recorded in John 17, Jesus doesn’t use the phrase. But on this holy night as he prepares to sacrifice his life in order to accomplish the world’s salvation—the ‘one’ for ‘the others,’ Jesus has the others on his mind. Forty-three times in this chapter-long prayer, Jesus uses the pronouns “they/them” to refer to his present and future disciples. And his overriding concern: “that they may be one,” (v.11, 22) as Jesus and the Father are one; and that “they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you [Father]…have loved them…” (v.23)
These days it’s become easy to villainize “the other,” those of a different political tribe, race, culture or religious persuasion; to view them as the enemy. Sadly, this is happening even in homes and families where there is much more that unites us than divides us; where exasperated moms love their children, and warring children really do love each other!
Now, maybe more than ever, we need the intercession of our High Priest, Jesus, and the awareness of his blood-bought forgiveness. Only in him, and with him in us, are we able to “get along” as we live together with “one another.”
Give me your eyes, Lord Jesus, to see the others in this world and in my life, not as the enemy, but as my neighbor. And then give me your heart to work for the peace that unites them to me, and through me to you. Amen.
Benediction
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:7)