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| Arctic Terns in migration. Image by Maggie and David. |
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A GREETING
‘Come,’ my heart says, ‘seek God's face!’
Your face, Lord, do I seek.
(Psalm 27:8)
A READING
When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem.
(Luke 9:51-53)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
There are many who say, ‘O that we might see some good!
Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!’
(Psalm 4:6)
A POEM
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting --
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
- "Wild Geese," by Mary Oliver
VERSE OF THE DAY
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.
(Psalm 80:19)
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| Image by Airwolfhound |
Today, we are half way on the journey to the Great Three Days and the death and resurrection of Jesus. Today might be a good time to take stock of what has been arising over this time. How is our faithful appreciation of God’s mystery and enduring love finding expression in the activity of nature, and those people who are helping to keep care of it?
In today’s reading, Jesus “sets his face” for Jerusalem. In Hebrew, “panim” means ‘face’ in the sense of the face of a human being, but it also means ‘presence’, most often used for presence of God. We might say, therefore, that Jesus sets his ‘presence’ for Jerusalem, his commitment to going. Yesterday we reflected on the nature of covenant and the need for reciprocity. In a sense, by setting his ‘face’ and ‘presence’ for Jerusalem, Jesus is fulfilling the covenant he is making with us in his death and resurrection, established through grace and forgiveness. Perhaps today is a good day (and going forward each day) to renew our own internal commitment to Jesus and to God, from within our own wildernesses.
Throughout these days of the devotional story, we have been journeying on the ocean currents. Today, we take a different series of streams and currents — those in the air — in order to return to the Arctic and start again.
Arctic Terns spend the summer in the Arctic when the sun is available for almost 24 hours. They then fly south during the Northern Hemisphere winter to join the summer season of the Antarctic regions, where the sun is also visible almost 24 hours a day. Scientists believe they follow the sun because the sun illuminates the water allowing them to find fish during their travel. As a result, Arctic Terns are believed to experience more daylight in their lifetime than any other creature. Right now is the time of the Arctic Tern’s return migration to the Arctic.
As we head back towards the Canadian Arctic and prepare for the second half of our journey, how can the face and presence of Jesus become the ‘sun’ of our faith? How might we all ‘set our face’ for Jerusalem, with renewed commitment to how following Jesus transforms our lives?
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JOURNEY OF ENDURANCE
Enjoy a few moments with the Arctic Tern.
How is the flapping of its wings to both travel and also stay in one place --
inspiring to us in our own journeys of faith?
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Resources in today's devotion:
Scripture passages are taken from the New Revised Standard Version.
Ludovico Einaudi is an Italian composer and pianist. Go here to listen to an interview with Einaudi about today's music, "Elegy for the Arctic," and its development.
Mary Oliver was an American poet who has inspired many with her deeply spiritual crafting of words and her focus on Creation. To learn more about her, go here.
For more on the Arctic Tern, go here.
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LC† Streams of Living Justice is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work.
Thank you and peace be with you!