Devotions Week of May 6

May 6-Ps.22 served as a template for some of the Passion events. Like most laments, it ends in hope. V.26 looks to a day when the poor shall be satisfied. We continue to live in its promise that posterity will proclaim deliverance to generations yet unborn (31). V. 39 makes this passage a good reading for Eastertide. Monday-Memory is unstable. It is not like a videotape but more like an image being photoshopped where ti can be altered by the passage of time and experience.The good news is that we cna adjust our memory to focus less on the pain and more on good parts. I love the idea in process theology that our lives are kept intact within the memory of God. Tuesday- A new Groff piece mentioned that we have a choice when faced with a hurtful moment. We can keep it alive with bitterness or we can transform it by making it a spur to action.I was just reading about a young girl who started an organization against bullying. When have you let bitterness fester in your soul? How do you handle grudges? When have you used a hurt to help yourself or others as motivation? Wednesday-Air travel is wonderful, as I do not like to drive long distances, but it has lost its glamor. With the long wait times and crowded planes, it feels like the name of one of the companies, an air bus. As made in the image and likeness of God, we deserve more respect than being herded about like cattle. When have you received or felt properly respected and recognized? When have you been hurt by lack of recognition? Recall that God does note and recognize all that you do. Thursday-An acquaintance of mine put out on facebook that he was getting sick after workouts. I could not believe the flood of advice that poured in, but no one, no one told him to go to the doctor. People were put out with me when I gave that as my response. the internet has many values, but it has deluded us into becoming amateur physicians. Part of humility is realizing our own limitations in knowledge, emotional range, or advice. Friday-forgiveness is a fundamental christian virtue and practice. I was so pleased hwo well the confirmation students discussed it on Sunday. I just witnessed the pain of being unable or unwilling to forgive in the family members of a difficult person who died. Their grief was as much about being unreconciled to their faults and expectations as to the death itself. Learn to let go of resentments and bitterness. Learn to let og of the desire for revenge. Learn to “live and let live.” Saturday-Lately, some interest in Protestant circles is growing around the biblical concept of theosis/divinization, where we will become like Christ.When do you think we will follow peter’s notion of becoming partakers in the divine nature? Don’t rush to say heaven. Is it not a continuation of sanctification, of growing more holy, in the here and now? Where have you sensed Christ in us? Where have you sensed a move toward holiness in your own life?