Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, July 21, 2020
by R. Fergus Moir, Clergy Stuff
The term “freedom” gets tossed around a lot these days. To some it means the right to do whatever we want whenever we want without consequence. Any time you try to hold such folks accountable to the greater community, they bristle and claim they’re being infringed upon. For others, freedom is something still elusive; black, indigenous and people of color, LGBTQ+, and other marginalized people suffer under systemic oppression, and do not have their rights protected by our laws.
Paul writes of a new covenant. The old way of Moses’ 600-plus laws is gone, replaced by Christ’s justification of all people—freedom from condemnation. This does not mean a freedom in which we can do whatever we please without consequence. It is not a freedom from, but a freedom to. A freedom to live as God would have us, in love and service to God and neighbor.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Where, then, is the Spirit of the Lord? Wherever we, as the body of Christ, act on behalf of others, of the marginalized communities who do not enjoy the earthly freedoms of the white, wealthy wielders of power.
God, grant me the freedom to love and serve my neighbor.
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