Redeemer Devotions for March 26, 2013

God as journey. If you have any comments - adebelak@redeemerluth.com [mailto:adebelak@redeemerluth.com]In many states in the U.S. legislators tied to the group ALEC have brought forth

many pieces of work from that conservative working group. One of them is the now-well-known

'stand your ground' law. It is meant to give folks the ability to use lethal force

if threatened. In the stories of the week of the Passion in Luke, there is a scene

in which Jesus 'stands his ground.' In the face of being humiliated and beaten,

he stands without attaching. He takes it. He knows who he is and he knows that his

journey has been one that reflects the love of the God who journeys with him. Stand

your ground as a follow of Jesus is not a position of self-protection or retaliation

or tit-for-tat. Stand your ground is to be grounded in an identity as the beloved

of God - no matter what the world may think about who we are or who we have been

accused of being. God as journey takes us through the days of our lives that can

so easily move us to fight back and try to control how things will go - and in the

middle of all that we are invited to rest in God alone. Rest within the power of

a love that works for the well-being of those who threaten us and those who are

threatened. This 'well-being' is the vital force that will not stop working for

reconciliation until all sides are taken up into the mercy and justice and peace

of God's Reign. That must be a non-violent journey otherwise, we will fall for scenes

of beatings and humiliation and spit and degradation. God as journey promises to

take us along for the ride of our lives.



O God of love and new life, take us on that ride - move us along the way of your

peace - open our minds and our lives to your endless healing ways. Amen.