Devotions January 1 2019

Devotions January 1, 2019

And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? KJV Luke 2:49

Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”[f]  NIV Luke 2:49

Did you notice the difference between the King James version and the New International?  The difference is in the original language Greek house means more than a building, a temple or a place.  Here are the translation notes from the Disciples Literal New Testament Notes; That is, engaged in the interests or business of My Father (answering the stated ‘Why’ question); or, located in the possessions or house of My Father (answering the implied ‘Where’ question).

By engaging in these kinds of conversations with Jesus and with those around us, I believe, we take seriously God’s desire that we cooperate with God’s great dream of bringing about what Jesus called the kingdom of God. On our planet, at least, God wants a world where we live in harmony with God, with one another, and with the whole of creation. God invites each of us to do our part in our small and big ways to make the world a more harmonious and life-giving place for all. We can’t do everything; we are not God. But we are created in God’s image, and we can choose to live out that identity. God dreams of us living out his image and character wherever we are—at home, in our neighborhoods, in our churches, in our jobs, in our play, in the voting booth, in our contacts with our elected representatives, in all we do. That’s our part to play in God’s great work- Excerpted from An Invitation to Love by William A. Barry, SJ

Be Free for God
I have a need
Of such clearance
As the savior effected in the temple of Jerusalem
A riddance of clutter
of what is secondary
That blocks the way
To the all-important central emptiness
Which is filled
With the presence of God alone.

Jean Danielou