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 those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.” (Matt. 5:6) O Lord, you are my sole satisfaction. I am hungry and thirsty for righteousness. I long for you. Amen.
Word: John 21:20-22
Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”
Meditation
It would seem that nearly everything Peter does in the Gospels ends in a correction, a rebuke, or a red-cheeked failure. With one notable exception, of course: when asked by Jesus, “Who do you say that I am?”, Peter acknowledges that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and he is the first of the disciples to do so. Otherwise, though, one almost wonders whether Jesus’ name for him, which means “rock,” was an ironic gesture. Far from acting as a stable leader of the faith, when it was time for action, he could be relied upon to fail. Indeed, short of him rejecting the faith entirely, it is hard to imagine a worse Christian than Peter. And yet in this passage, the resurrected Christ gives Peter even more authority than he had before. Why?
It is no coincidence that Peter is both the weakest and the one who recognizes who Jesus is. He can recognize the savior because he knows how much needs one. The ‘perfect’ Christian is not a person who looks like Jesus, but a person who looks like she needs Jesus. Many of us are full of shame deep down because of our private failures and our private fears. Like Peter, we question whether God would love us and care for us if He really knew what went on—and how we really feel—and if He really knew how little we think about Him some days, and how often we choose our own desires over His commands.
Love wants to pour itself out into you. But you can’t receive that Love, if you secretly hate who Love made you to be.
The comfort that Peter finds on the beach is our comfort, too, that the only thing God requires of you and me is our deep-seeded and ongoing need. Like Peter, we are met in our shame and embarrassment and to our great surprise, given the opposite of what we deserve.
Prayer for Daily Callings
· For my occupation, workplace, coworkers.
· For my work to be good for others, an extension of God’s love and care.
· For the unemployed.
· For growth in my career; not to work for a paycheck but for you and others.
· For discernment, if I should pursue another job or direction in life.
· For my callings at home as spouse, son/daughter, brother/sister.
· For schools, teachers, classmates.
· For eyes to see God’s work around me this day. For the courage to participate in it.
· Not to be comfortable in my callings, but to be useful.
Closing Prayer
Father, may the urgency with which I approach my work never become anxiety. The world is not mine to save. In Jesus’ name, Amen!