Daily Devotional for June 5

 

June 5                                                                 Luke 17:1-10

Being right is not important. Being in right relationship is all
important. Right relationship is faithful relationship. In right
relationship, I do God's work on earth without harm to my
brothers and sisters, for who can knowingly cause another to
stumble, being bound to them in unbreakable spiritual
communion?

I say to the mulberry tree, "Plant yourself in the ocean." I
say to a friend, "you are wrong." I say to God, "Let me come
in and eat with you. I am tired of doing the work assigned
me." I say these things without recognizing the nature of the
spiritual bond between me and each of them.

And so the mulberry tree stays planted, the friend distant, and
God weeps at my spirit's unwillingness to recognize faithful
relationship with God and all creation.

Could faith the size of a mustard seed possibly be enough to
satisfy God's desires for me? The tiny seed contains growth
for a lifetime. But the shell of the seed is very hard. Responding
to the sun's warmth, the seed's shell must crack. Responding
to God's love, my shell must crack too, leaving me vulnerable
as I open to God's movement in my being. When I can allow
the mulberry tree to stand where it will, allow my friend to
be wrong or right, say "yes" to God's direction for my life
instead of asking God to say "yes" to my own, then faith-full
growth can happen and right relationship flourish.

Imagine yourself as a seed, a small seed with a hard little shell.
Imagine God watering you. Feel nourishing sunshine on your
body. Begin to open. Feel your shell cracking. Allow the out-
side to get in. Allow your inside to get out. Your faith grows
today as you seek out right relationship with God and all
creation.

from The Road to Emmaus - An inclusive devotional Edited by Joseph W. Houle

Emmaus House of Prayer - Washington D.C