 Welcome to our weekly devotion. This Sunday, Nov 26th, we celebrate Christ the King Sunday or otherwise known as Reign of Christ Sunday. The titles for this Sunday, expressed in those two ways, made me think about what this really means.
For me, the image of a king includes riches and a crown of jewels. However, Christ doesn’t fit into that image. No jewels and riches, and Christ’s crown, as we know it, was a crown of thorns. In Jesus’ world, he reached out to the poor and the hungry. He ate with those whom the world despised, and he preached forgiveness and love, often clashing with the norms of his day. He didn’t preach about a King’s power but his words were about the power of God’s love. The world we seek where Christ is King is a world that serves others. When we live out Jesus’ teachings – that is where the power really is. That is when Christ reigns! What do or can you do to bring about the reign of Jesus in your community? Jesus ate with people who were looked down upon within the society of his time. Who are those people today in our society? Don’t we find them on our street corners holding signs asking for help? What do you offer them? When have you sought to bring hope, reconciliation, and healing to a corner of your community? I find that the idea of the Reign of Christ means so much more. A king represents the government side of power. And today, in our country and in the world, there is upheaval, divisiveness and violence in words and actions. It is the reign of Christ that is needed. We need to love and value humankind in the ways Jesus taught. Whether you live a life where “Jesus is King” or where “Christ Reigns”, how do you show this in your community? Next week we begin Advent and emphasize love, hope, joy and peace in our church services. But we need to do more than light candles and share the stories of old. We need to go outside the doors of the church, out into the mission field, and take love, hope, joy and peace into the world. Show what it means when “Christ Reigns”. We must heed the words in Doctrine and Covenants 162:7d. “The call to respond is urgent. Look to the needs of your own congregations, but look also beyond your walls to the far-flung places where the church must go. Each disciple needs a spiritual home. You are called to build that home and care for it, but also to share equally in the outreaching ministries of the church. In that way the gospel may be sent to other souls also yearning for a spiritual resting place.” Christ Reigns. His heart is our mission.
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 Welcome to the Sunday Devotion. We see the effects of fall around us – the crisp air, the leaves changing to beautiful colors, the energetic activity of the squirrels gathering acorns. With these transitions to our autumn season, I find myself nestling into the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, which in turn, turns my thoughts to a mood of thankfulness. I admit the pressure of preparation for Thanksgiving day can interrupt the tranquility of peaceful thankfulness, but in silence and solitude I find my way back to that place where I embrace the people, opportunities and events for which I am truly thankful. Take a deep breath, hold, exhale. Close your eyes if you need to so you can shut out the clutter of the world around you.
Where do your thoughts go when you reach out to embrace thankfulness? I asked my students this question the other day. There were no immediate replies. As I prodded for their answers, a couple students hesitantly voiced a reply. Perhaps I should tell you that these students were adult ESL learners. I had shared some background about Thanksgiving in the United States and encouraged them to tell me if they had holidays in their countries where thankfulness was the focus. They couldn’t identify anything similar. What would we miss in our lives, without this emphasis on being thankful? Even if we did not have our Thanksgiving holiday, we do have faith connections where we are reminded to be thankful to God for our blessings. Yet sometimes we may feel so much weight of the inequities and suffering in our world that we push aside what we are thankful for. I am not advocating that we turn our eyes and our hearts away from the pain and hate we see in the news. But it is okay to focus on that for which we are thankful. Focusing on positive emotions can affect our mental and physical health. And when you merge it with your faith, it turns your mind and heart to God. What would you say to God as a thank you? Starting your day with thankfulness can help that positive mood seep into your day. I recently placed a dry erase marker in the bathroom. When I brush my teeth at night, I use that marker to write something for which I am grateful on the bathroom mirror. When I get up in the morning that’s what I see that first thing. It’s a small act but it does start my day in thankfulness. It can be a positive earworm. Scripture tells us to be "thankful in everything, in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). In embracing gratitude, our actions can become positive actions. We must love one another and be a source of encouragement and hope. May you all have a blessed Thanksgiving. |
AuthorVarious authors throughout the Chesapeake Bay Mission Center and beyond provide these thought-provoking weekly devotions. Archives
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