Devotional of the Week

In God I trust. I will not be afraid.  Psalm 56:11

Highway driving in India is a life –threatening adventure. Every car we saw had numerous dents and scratches. There are no enforced traffic rules. Roads are shared by such a variety of vehicles and animals that navigating your way safely is a feat of skill and daring. We had no choice but to place our trust in our driver the intrepid Mr. Singh.   He could stop, start, swerve and blast his horn with enough determination to get us through the most snarled traffic jam. On several occasions buses veered into our lane suddenly, but Mr. Singh always turned just in time to avoid them. Once a camel loaded down with logs careened across our path. Somehow Mr. Singh anticipated the animal’s contrary movement and pulled onto the shoulder to avert certain disaster. One morning a white haired grandmother in a bright red sari, with spectacles perched on her nose, and four huge shopping bags in her arms, stepped off the highway median right in front of our van. Mr. Singh had noticed her out of the corner of his eye and came to an abrupt stop. He had some kind of sixth sense. Every time we were sure a collision with a herd of goats, rickety donkey cart or stray cow was imminent; Mr. Singh managed to maneuver his way out of it.

Our first few hours on the highway were a bit hair raising but it wasn’t long before we realized we had no choice but to trust Mr. Singh and by the end of the first day we knew our trust was well placed. Our complete confidence in Mr. Singh allowed us to concentrate on the marvelous movie- like view of India we had through the van windows while he transported us safely down a highway filled with all sorts of dangers.

We get to choose whether to trust God as the driver who will navigate our life’s journey for us. Will we trust God to help us maneuver safely and successfully around the obstacles and dangers in our way so we can move forward? Placing ourselves in God’s hands can ease our fears and make it possible for us to enjoy life. Trust in God is trust that is well placed.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28

So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.  Genesis 1:27

Visitors to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem write their prayers and hopes on pieces of paper and slip them into cracks in the wall. The wall is all that is left of a temple erected by King Herod twenty years before Jesus was born. The Wailing Wall is a holy place. People come to Jerusalem from all over the world to pray, read Scripture and feel God’s presence at the wall.

I was upset when I visited the Wailing Wall because a huge section of it has been reserved as a place for men to pray, while women are assigned only a small portion of the wall. Consequently the women’s part of the wall is very crowded and women have to wait a long time before they can have a chance to approach the wall, place their precious papers in its crevices and pray. Men can just sashay up to the wall anytime.

I was visiting the wall with twenty -two high school students many of them seniors about to graduate. The girls in our group were undeterred by the fact that their side of the wall was smaller and the boys who were traveling with us were encouraging them to ‘hurry up.’ They spent considerable time writing meaningful letters to God and then waited in line to approach the wall with their prayers.

Despite the inconvenience due to the fact that the female side of the wall was smaller, the young women with me were touched and inspired by their visit to the wall. One wrote in her journal it made her feel special to know she had participated in a religious ritual established over 1600 years ago.  Another wrote that even after she returned home, she would be happy thinking about the fact that her hopes and dreams were tucked away in a wall many people call “God’s most holy place on earth.”

God created human beings as male and female. Jesus Christ said in his kingdom both men and women were of equal value. Hopefully someday the Wailing Wall will be divided evenly, so both men and women have an equal opportunity to use it, or perhaps, someday there will be no need for separate male and female sections of the wall at all.

God I know your listening ear is equally available to all people all the time.

We will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord

– Psalm 78: 4

 I visited the cities of Beijing and Xian and saw the monuments built to remind coming generations of the glorious deeds of China’s first emperor Qin Shi Huang.  Qin united his nation’s warring factions. He instituted uniform systems of writing, taxation, law, measurement and money. He ordered the construction of roads across the land. Qin also fostered national unity by bringing together hundreds of thousands of laborers from all over China. They began building the Great Wall, and sculpted eight thousand life size terra cotta soldiers to be buried in Qin’s tomb with him as a testament to his military might. I am only one of millions of modern day visitors who have flocked to the Great Wall near Beijing and to the excavation site of the terra cotta warriors in Xian to be impressed first hand by the glorious deeds of the great Lord Qin.

          The Psalmist talks about the importance of informing the coming generation of God’s glorious deeds. Will we do that by building impressive architectural wonders to honor God like the ancient Chinese emperor did to honor his own greatness ?  I don’t think so. Our testament to God’s greatness lies in the way we live our lives and relate to those around us. Millions will also flock to honor our God when we consistently imitate Jesus Christ in our daily walk. True godly living by Christians everywhere could bring about a change in our world that would be far greater than any of the changes Emperor Qin brought to China.

God my daily actions should be a testament to your glorious deeds. I want to pass on your legacy of love and peace to coming generations and to the world. 

……give attention to the public reading of Scripture…… 1 Timothy 4:1

“ The Lord is my refuge and strength.”  A woman’s voice rings out clearly across Hong Kong’s Central Square.  It’s Sunday morning. Thousands of Filipino maids, who work for the city’s wealthy have flocked together to eat, visit and worship. They’re in Hong Kong because a maid’s wages here are three times those of a nurse or teacher in the Philippines. The women work twenty four hours a day, six days a week. Labor laws force employers to give them twelve hours off each Sunday. Since most send their money home to their families they can’t afford to meet in restaurants or theatres. Instead they congregate in public parks or squares. Worshipping God is a key part of these gatherings . The women stand in circles to sing joyously, pray fervently and read Scripture aloud expressively. One Sunday I went to Central Square to talk with the women. It was clear their faith in God was important. “ I pray to God and my burdens are lifted”, one woman told me passionately raising her hands to heaven. Indeed these women bear difficult burdens. Many are treated harshly by their employers and must endure long separations from their husbands and children in the Philippines. Yet their sense of hope is evident as you listen to them praise God in song and prayer. They joyfully share Scripture aloud not only with each other but also with the citizens of their adopted city who may be passing by. The Filipino women’s willingness to publicly proclaim their trust in God’s word is an example to everyone.

God may I trust in your Word and have the courage to share its message of hope with everyone.

They kept looking for Jesus.    John 11:56

Be kind and compassionate to one another.

Ephesians 4:32

Who was Veronica? I didn’t know anything about her until I visited Jerusalem and walked the path that Jesus is said to have walked with his cross. At one point along the way a stone marker bears the name Veronica.  I learned there is a legend that a woman named Veronica made her way towards Jesus as he passed by with his heavy cross. Braving the soldiers’ swords and possible ridicule from the crowd she stepped forward and used her veil to wipe the spit and sweat from Jesus’ face. As she took the veil away the image of Christ’s face was imprinted on it.

        There are many theories as to who Veronica actually was. Some say she was really Martha, Lazarus’ sister. Others claim she was the woman that Jesus had healed of a flow of blood. There is a theory that she was the wife of Zacchaeus and still another that her real name was Sheraphia and she was the wife of an influential member of the Sanhedrin. It was believed she had followed Jesus secretly in the past but on this day she publicly supported him as he walked through the final hours of his life.

        Later I visited the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. I saw a painting that seemed to depict the scene from the story of Veronica. I asked one of the priests if it was a painting of Veronica and he affirmed it was.

           We are called to be compassionate like Veronica. When we meet those whose pain might be eased by an act of compassion we should willingly offer our services. The name Veronica means ‘true image’.  When we show kindness to people the way Veronica did we are indeed portraying a ‘true image’ of Christ.

God gives me eyes to see those who might be encouraged by an act of kindness or compassion today. May I reach out in a caring way.