Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia; and from there they sailed to Cyprus.”
NL Daily Devotion for Monday, May 1, 2023
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
The Holy Spirit sends us out. In Paul’s time, no one had heard anything about who Jesus was or what Jesus did or how Jesus calls us to follow in his way. Two thousand years later, give or take, we can fall into the error of thinking the work is done and we can just go to church on Sundays and that’s all there is to it. Except Jesus wasn’t about just hearing or knowing the word. Jesus was about living the word. So the Holy Spirit still sends us out. We don’t have to go to Seleucia or Cyprus to preach the good news of Jesus’ redemptive and transformational love. We can go down to the nearest food shelf or animal shelter or protest for BIPOC rights and live out our faith in acts of radical welcome in our own communities. If we listen, the Holy Spirit will grab us by the lapels, shake us out of our complacency, and put us to work—God’s work of justice and equity for all of creation.
Am I listening for the Holy Spirit? What is the Spirit calling me to?
