Pastor’s Email Devotion The Week of Easter 4 May 11, 2014 SCRIPTURE -- “Absolve, O Lord, your people Israel, whom you redeemed; do not let the guilt of innocent blood remain in the midst of your people Israel.’ (Deuteronomy 21:8, NRS) REFLECTION -- Recently I had a chance to clean out one of my junk drawers at home. The drawer is in what we call the “back room” of our home, the unfinished basement that adjoins the garage … which is itself a kind of a “junk drawer” writ large. But that is a devotion for another day, maybe. We all have junk drawers in our homes, right? In mine I found a set of directions to a stop watch I no longer have; a pull chain from a lamp that had been replaced years ago; a couple of pictures of the kids from a non-descript setting I no longer remember; some thumb tacks along with an odd assortment of screws and nails; an unopened tube of super glue; a broken miniature golf trophy from my teenage years; a couple of sticky and lint covered hard candies; along with a great number of other random objects I can’t recall at the moment … the drawer was pretty full, after all, a reality which led to it being ignored for so many years. As I cleaned out the drawer, I drew the conclusion that this odd collection of items had only one thing in common – I no longer needed any of them, but at some point I had not been able to throw them away. They all must have had some value at some point in my life. There is a junk drawer in my soul, too, I suppose. A place where the remnants of unfinished human business reside, forgotten, but not completely resolved. Sins unknown to others that I have confessed to God, but for which I have been unable to believe God’s forgiving word. Critiques leveled at others that shouldn’t have been spoken. Praises left silent that should have been voiced. Moments of misunderstood shame or pride, memory lapses that disappointed someone, failures, underwhelming successes, and missed opportunities. For most I only still remember the sting of the related emotion, and enough details to recall a dim setting. But I can no longer really reconstruct the original event. In short, they are things that were important once, but which no longer are … at least in any meaningful way. They are junk. They are the flotsam and jetsam caught in the weeds along the river banks of life. They are worthless. They have no doubt been long forgotten, forgiven and cleansed by God. I should do the same and dump them. It is spring in God’s created world, a time when nature regenerates and restores the beauty and vibrancy to the dormant world of winter. So in your prayer and reflection this week, why not empty the spiritual junk drawers in your life and feel the freeing and life-giving breath of God blow through your life. Pray for courage and strength to let go, and for eyes and ears and a heart that can fully embrace God’s potent forgiving love and grace. PRAYER -- Gracious Lord you are always full of compassion and mercy. You do not judge forever, nor keep your righteous anger eternally. You do not deal with me as my sin requires, but with mercy and grace. You are my Father and you love your children … all of us. May I experience that love in a transformative way that frees me from my broken past. Amen.
Posted on: Mon, 12 May 2014 03:29:03 +0000
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