Devotional of the Week

I attended an evensong service at Westminster Abbey. People have been worshipping at this historic spot in London for a thousand years. My chair was beside a pillar decorated with a black marble bust of poet and painter William Blake. Blake believed imagination was God’s greatest gift to human beings.

The worship hour began with the choir’s soprano soloist singing My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord. The service went quickly. We rose and sat and kneeled. We said the Lord’s Prayer and the Nicene Creed. The rector read the story of Joshua from the Old Testament and then prayed for each member of the royal family. No doubt despite their wealth and notoriety, or perhaps because of it, they need God’s grace and guidance as much as any of us do.

I walked out of the sanctuary past the graves of the first Queen Elizabeth and her sister, who was also a queen and known fondly as Bloody Mary. The siblings were archenemies in life, but they rest in peace beside each other in Westminster Abbey.

Just before I stepped out the door I looked down and found my feet firmly planted on Charles Darwin’s tombstone. A recent issue of an American magazine describes the evolution/creationism wars going on between public school boards and some Christian churches in the United States. It seems ironic that the ideas of Darwin are causing such problems for church going people, when he is buried in the world’s oldest and most famous church.

As I exited the wrought iron gates around Westminster Abbey I looked at the blessing engraved on the outer wall of the church.

To the living-grace       To the dead-rest                To the world- peace

I quietly whispered- Amen.

For it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:8

Peace I leave with you. John 14:27

Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

The former regulation is set aside, . . . and a better hope is introduced.

—Hebrews 7:18-19

On trips to the Chinese cities of Shanghai and Macau, I toured two homes owned by China’s first president, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen. I also visited the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Museum in Hong Kong. I learned that as a 17-year-old student, Yat-Sen was baptized as a Christian. Some biographers claim that his faith influenced the way he governed China after ending the age of emperors.

Just months after Sun Yat-Sen took office, he outlawed foot-binding, a practice that began around 1200. Mothers would break the four smallest toes on their daughters’ feet when they were five years old. The feet were bound tightly for the next ten years. This painful process frequently led to infection and even death among young girls. Small feet were difficult to walk on and insured that women remained helpless and dependent on their husbands. Still, small feet were considered beautiful. Mothers knew that if they didn’t bind their daughters’ feet, they would never find husbands. Dr. Sen’s own mother always walked with a cane because her feet had been bound. He begged his mother not to bind his sister’s feet.

When Yat-Sen banned this practice, women’s lives changed rad­ically. The law was the first step toward women gaining freedom to get an education and to become more involved in the life of their nation.

The author of Hebrews describes a law that was changed to allow Melchizedek to become a priest. Previously, no one of Melchizedek’s tribe could serve at the altar. The new law brought new opportunities for people like Melchizedek to take part in God’s plan. What new and freeing changes is God calling us to make in our lives and in our society?

God, I want to support laws in my country that open rather than close doors for people. Help me pray and work for such hope-giving changes.

They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep ( Psalm 107:24)

My husband and I went kayaking in Johnstone Strait, just off Canada’s west coast. We were privileged to witness God’s wonderful deeds in the deep. Johnstone Strait is home to hundreds of killer whales. These magnificent creatures swam around, beside and right underneath our boats. The first day of our paddle two huge adult orcas breached not a hundred meters from our kayaks, landing on their sides in the water with a mighty splash. I have never been so excited or terrified before in my life. One morning we woke to the sound of water spouting from the blow hole of a whale. We managed to scramble out of our tent on time to see a giant orca glide right by the rocky shore where we had camped for the night.

We visited a research station where professional whale watchers taught us many new things about the legendary “rulers of the sea”.  Each one is absolutely unique. Scientists can easily identify every single Johnstone Strait whale either by the markings on its body or the shape of its fin. They give each resident orca a name and know all about its life history.  It reminded me of how God recognizes each of us and cherishes the life of every human being.

The First Nations people of the Pacific Northwest think killer whales help to teach us spiritual truths. I couldn’t agree more. Orcas are truly miraculous works of the Creator, amazing and wonderful proof of God’s mighty deeds and awesome power.

Response: God help me to see the miracles of your creation all around me. Make me open to learning new things about you as I survey your mighty works.

Blessed are you who are poor for yours is the kingdom of God.

Luke 6:20

Joe and Imi live in a house less than two meters long and two meters wide. Walls are woven bamboo mats and there is a thatched palm leaf roof. Cooking is done outside over a fire. There are no bathroom facilities. They have a rusty ceiling fan and lone light bulb.

Joe is 38 years old and lives in the Philippines. He took us in his little motorcycle wagon one day to visit his home on Boracay Island. Joe spends a quarter of his monthly income on rent for his small property, that includes his home and two additional square meters of land.

Imi, Joe’s wife smiles as she graciously welcomes us to her home. The tiny place is immaculately clean, with belongings carefully arranged on the shelves lining the walls. Imi and her five- month- old daughter Joanna are neatly dressed.  How does Imi manage their beautifully clean clothes and shining hair when washing facilities consist of a tin basin outside filled with water toted from a central village pump. The battered basin is used for laundry, washing dishes and bathing little Joanna.

Joe tells us Joanna was baptized in the large cathedral in the city of Balabag. The Philippines is 90% Catholic. My conversations with people in the Philippines made it clear their faith provides hope in the midst of poverty, but it is also the source of population problems. The powerful Catholic clergy forbids the use of modern contraception. No government- funded clinics are allowed to dispense condoms or birth control pills. This means only the rich can afford family planning. An article in Time magazine says population growth in the Philippines is outpacing agricultural and economic growth and creating real problems. The average Filipino family has six children. It was impossible for me to imagine Joe and Imi in their tiny house with six children.

Joe and Imi are poor and live in what many of us would think are crowded, primitive conditions.  Yet painted on the inside of Joe’s motorcycle wagon I saw the words………..  God bless us always.

God help me to realize how blessed I am and to share those blessings with others who may not be as fortunate.

Now there is in Jerusalem…….. a pool called Bethesda which is surrounded by five great colonnades…….. here a great number of disabled people used to lie- the blind, the lame, the paralyzed

John 5:2-3

I was visiting the site of the Pool of Bethesda in the Muslim quarter of Jerusalem. I explained to my traveling companions that the hospital in my hometown was called Bethesda and that my Dad had worked there as a physician for over thirty years. “I have to take a picture here”, I said. One of my colleagues obliging took a photo of me at the spot where Jesus is said to have healed a lame man who was almost forty years old. The man was lying by the pool because people believed when its waters stirred; an angel was present and would heal those who entered the pool.  Jesus talked to the man and healed him on the spot- an act that got him into trouble. The authorities said he shouldn’t be healing on Sunday.  Really they were worried Jesus’ growing popularity might cause political problems.

Our guide pointed out the five porches on the pool, which match the Biblical description in John 5. The guide told us archeologists discovered the pool forty feet below ground in 1960. That was nearly twenty- five years after the pool’s namesake Bethesda Hospital was opened in my hometown but about the same time my Dad started working at Bethesda as a doctor.

Jesus healed many people during his time on earth- people with many different kinds of illnesses of the body, mind and spirit. He healed a man at Bethesda. My father brought hope and healing to many people too at his Bethesda.  I know that it was his belief in God and his desire to follow Jesus Christ that motivated my father to dedicate his life to helping those who needed healing. Many of his patients have attested to the Christian compassion he exhibited on the job. Through the hands of doctors and other medical personnel the healing hand of Jesus continues to reach out to people today.