Have you ever had a friend whom you thought was lovely and smart, but who referred to herself as plain or dumb or boring? I have. It made me sad to see someone with so many gifts who felt unworthy, discouraged and stuck. What happened?
Messages conveyed to her by adults during her childhood? Being teased by kids at school? Some failure or embarrassment she was never able to shake off? We sometimes find that barriers such as these prevent us from experiencing the new life that God intends.
For some of us, keeping the sabbath is a way we can shake off those barriers and experience the new life we have in Christ. Every Sunday reminds us of the Easter miracle. We are reminded that we regularly need to make space in our week to slow down, connect with God, and be renewed.
Paster Maggie Rourk challenges us to live an Easter life every day: “In infinite goodness and mercy, our Lord blesses us with a call to resurrection life now. . . . A gift is meant to be used and enjoyed, so let’s get on with it!”
Today is the fourth Sunday after Pentecost and Father’s Day. The readings for today are Job 38:1-11; 1 Samuel 17:[1a, 4-11, 19-23] 32-49 or 1 Samuel 17:57–18:5, 10-16 (semicontinuous); Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32; Psalm 9:9-20 or Psalm 133 (semi-continous); 2 Corinthians 6:1-13; Mark 4:35-41. This message was adapted from the “Resurrection Life” article by Kate Sprutta Elliott that first appeared in the April 2011 issue of Lutheran Woman Today (now Gather) magazine.