Scripture: Matthew 27:46-50
And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last.
Thought for the Day: My colleague and fellow Disciple Minister, Glen Miles, gave the message two days ago at the Service of Unity and Hope in Kansas City, an Interfaith Worship Service in response to the shooting at the Jewish Community Center. During his words, Glen quoted Brene Brown who said, “We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be deeply seen and known…” In the aftermath of violence, there is a choice we have in how we will react. Will we take on the tactics of the perpetrator, or shall we look to cultivate a deeper sense of love by our willingness to become open and vulnerable before others? It was Christ upon the cross who believed that an act of selflessness, vulnerable to the point of death, would cultivate within others a new kind of love. Let us choose the way of Christ ourselves, and in doing so, the love will continue to be cultivated in all kinds of places…even in the darkness of hatred and bigotry.
Prayer: O Holy One who cultivates and tills the soil of our souls, allow your spirit to create within us that place where the seeds of love can take root and grow. Amen.
