Ordinary Time

Pause

“I feel so alive!” We all have experiences that can make us shout that phrase. But we can also feel those occasions don’t come along often enough and we long to know that feeling again, especially in difficult times.

Feeling alive is attached always to the One who gives us life. Open yourself in these next moments to be touched by life as it is meant to be.

Listen

"Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows."

Matthew 10:28–31

Think

During Vacation Bible School this week, I talked to our children about bullying. I knew it would be challenging because our church is in a rather violent part of the city, and bullying is the norm. Their conversation was honest.

“Let’s just be real,” one fifth-grader said. “We’re at this elementary school, and you’re crazy to stand up to a bully.”

I didn’t have an easy answer for them. What we agree to as Jesus’ followers is active participation in a kingdom vision that, in all honesty, puts us right in harm’s way.

Jesus reminds his disciples that the work they are going to do is not going to be attractive. The message they have is simple, but they are inevitably going to make people mad. There is good news, however. God journeys with us through the pain and the discomfort and the heartache, experiencing it all with us while opening up the avenues of justice and peace we are looking for.

Lesley-Ann Hix

Pray

God of goodness, you give messages that are not the most popular. Thank you for your continued movement among our brokenness. Help me live into the sustaining hope of your kingdom vision. Amen.

Go

Breathe. Breathe deeply and feel the spirit of life within. Know that the Giver of life is with you, making you alive by the Spirit that is still at work in all of creation.

Then walk. Walk confidently into your day, aware that the life-giving Christ is alongside you with every step.