Eastertide
May 30, 2020
Scripture Reading: Luke 1:39-57
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’ –Luke 1:39-45
Isn’t it wonderful when we have a cousin, other relatives, friend, or pastor that we can go to in times of trouble and know we will be welcomed with open, loving arms? Elizabeth was such a person to the young scared Mary, pregnant and unsure of the future even though she has received God’s assurance of God’s support and purpose in her situation.
I fear we judge too soon too often before we fully understand the situations of the people we encounter in our world. I was glad I received a social media post forwarded to me written by a young black minister calling all who care about justice to continue every effort to make our world a better place while practicing God’s love and forgiveness. I am old enough to remember the Watts riots watching them on TV. Our world was already a powder keg then because of the Vietnam War. Our powder keg now is a virus over which we have little or no control, and people, out of work, scared, with family and friends dying, are at varying degrees of anxiety. Some voices are making matters worse. Others, like the young minister, are speaking God’s truth to the forces of evil in our society. I thank God for such a man as this. He is the future of our nation and the coming of the Kingdom of God.
Watching those riots in 1965 a few months after I graduated from high school changed my life forever. The events happening in our land today are changing lives too. We have choices to make whether those changes will be driven by the love and justice of God or the forces of evil that inflame them.
Prayer: Lord, we live in troubled times. Help us understand your justice and how to make it a reality. Amen.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.