Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.”
NL Daily Devotion for Saturday, January 6, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
This is Jesus, but it is also us. We are God’s servants and God delights in us. God puts God’s spirit upon us and calls us to bring forth justice. Walking in the way of Jesus necessarily puts us on this path. We cannot simply sit back and hope for the best, basking in our privilege not to act while so many struggle for survival and basic human rights. We don’t have to become itinerant preachers and wander the countryside. We don’t have to literally go to the cross. But God equips each of us to make a contribution in our own way. What’s important is to set aside the false narrative of charismatic people single-handedly transforming the world, as Jesus did. For us, as finite humans, our only successes in bringing about justice are collective. Martin Luther did not single-handedly bring about the Reformation. Sure, he lit the powder keg, but it wasn’t long before all kinds of people were taking action (in some cases to protect Luther from assassination!) Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not act on his own. He was part of an enormous movement of committed people from all walks of life. Throughout our long history of changing the world for the better there are thousands of unknown, unsung servants of God who walked in Jesus’ footsteps, filled with the Holy Spirit, in whom God delighted. This is our call. May we heed it with joy.
How do I act on God’s call to servanthood?
