Ordinary Time

Pause

deliver:
verb / de•liv•er

: “to set free”
: “to take and hand over”
: “to give birth to”
: “to speak, sing, utter”
: “to send to an intended target or destination”
: “to come through with”

From Merriam-Webster, “Deliver.”

Listen

You are all God’s children through faith in Christ Jesus. All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Now if you belong to Christ, then indeed you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise.

Galatians 3:26-29

Think

When I was in the 6th grade, I wondered if God could ever call me to ministry, but I had never seen a pastor who looked like me. I wondered if God could ever call me to preach, but I had never heard a preacher with a voice quite like mine.

Today’s Scripture reading gave me hope as I dreamed about what God could be calling me to do and who God could be calling me to be. I learned that Jesus’ ministry was all about breaking down the barriers that so often divide us. Jesus didn’t put people into categories; he challenged us to no longer see categories, for we “are all one in Christ.”

After some time, a good mentor told me that the world didn’t need me to look or to sound like anyone else. The world needed to hear God’s word through me — through my unique voice, perspective, and experiences. These words gave me such freedom!

I wonder: What unique word from God does the world need to hear through you?

Mary Alice Birdwhistell

Pray

Deliver me, oh God, from the temptation to underestimate what you can do in and through me. Amen.

Go

May our good God fully deliver you
from whatever it is that is
holding you back,
dragging you down,
locking you in,
or drowning you out,
so that you might be free
to do what God is calling you to do
and to become who God is creating you to be.
Amen.