Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
NL Daily Devotion for Thursday, June 27, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Fellowship in Christ is a powerful restorative. Mind you, it’s not as though Jesus doesn’t cleanse us from sin if we’re not in a Christian community. Jesus’ sacrificial act on the cross was universal. End of story. BUT, if I may draw on my recovery experience again, I can tell you from experience that having a fellowship of people working a spiritual program with me goes a long way to connecting me with God in relation to dealing with sin, or as we sometimes refer to it in recovery, “character defects.” There is such a wonderful mutual acceptance of the fact that being human means we will fall short, that we are always in need of grace, and that we are always called to be completely honest about our missteps and willing to make amends for them.
I don’t know how this would work within a congregation. I suppose the weekly practice of confession and forgiveness is good as far as it goes, but I suspect most of us are only partially aware of what we’re saying in that part of the liturgy. Are there opportunities for us to “walk in the light” together and mentor each other as we work, with God’s help, to release those persistent twists of personality that get us in trouble in our relationships? Something to ponder.
Do I have a way to engage in meaningful confession?
