Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
NL Daily Devotion for Thursday, April 11, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
I’ve often thought about living in intentional community. There is something so appealing about these stories of the earliest days of The Way. What a beautiful, simple life devoted to prayer and sharing food and learning to live together in peace. In some ways this passage makes me think of being in college. It was a time in my life when I had nothing to pull me away from my academic pursuits. I had time to share fellowship with friends. I was as yet fairly exempt from the greater responsibilities of “the rat race” that beats so many of us down. I’m not saying a person should relinquish all responsibility in life—we all ought to be contributing in some way. But I am saying that we make our lives far more complicated than they need to be. That there is a way to simplify, to set aside our Martha-ness and be Marys (Luke 10:38-42), and enjoy time with our fellows in spiritual pursuits. Mind you, I am a classic Martha and I truly struggle with this (which is why I keep thinking that living in intentional community would be good for me—though it might be a serious challenge at first!) But before I run off to Iona, I would do well to explore simple, concrete ways in my current living situation to carve out space to devote myself to “teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and the prayers.”
How could I simplify my life even a little to make more room for spiritual pursuits?
