Daily Devotional • November 25
A Reading from Zechariah 10:1-12
1 Ask rain from the Lord
in the season of the spring rain,
from the Lord who makes the storm clouds,
who gives showers of rain to you,
the vegetation in the field to everyone.
2 For the teraphim utter nonsense,
and the diviners see lies;
the dreamers tell false dreams
and give empty consolation.
Therefore the people wander like sheep;
they suffer for lack of a shepherd.
3 My anger is hot against the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders,
for the Lord of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,
and will make them like his proud war horse.
4 Out of them shall come the cornerstone,
out of them the tent peg,
out of them the battle bow,
out of them every commander.
5 Together they shall be like warriors in battle,
trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;
they shall fight, for the Lord is with them,
and they shall put to shame the riders on horses.
6 I will strengthen the house of Judah,
and I will save the house of Joseph.
I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,
and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,
for I am the Lord their God, and I will answer them.
7 Then the people of Ephraim shall become like warriors,
and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.
Their children shall see it and rejoice;
their hearts shall exult in the Lord.
8 I will signal for them and gather them in,
for I have redeemed them,
and they shall be as numerous as they were before.
9 Though I scattered them among the nations,
yet in far countries they shall remember me,
and they shall rear their children and return.
10 I will bring them home from the land of Egypt
and gather them from Assyria;
I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,
until there is no room for them.
11 They shall pass through the sea of distress,
and the waves of the sea shall be struck down,
and all the depths of the Nile dried up.
The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,
and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.
12 I will make them strong in the Lord,
and they shall walk in his name,
says the Lord.
Meditation
Did you know that there is a name for the smell of rain? It is “petrichor,” and it is strongest when that rain is falling on dry ground.
When we are cut off from God by our iniquity, we find ourselves separated from the only water which may quench our dry thirst. Such was the case for Israel and Judah as they were exiled from the Promised Land and separated themselves from the Lord by their iniquity.
By repentance, God’s gracious nourishment flows anew to revive the parched soil of our hearts. It is a beautiful image and an invitation to us. The fruit of repentance is abundantly poured out upon us when we return to the Lord. More than just setting us free from sin, the Lord brings forth life and growth in his people, flourishing in his presence so that we exude the beautiful fragrance of life again.
The fragrance of new life in Christ is a kind of petrichor. Even as we seek solace in the arid places of our lives, there is much dry ground in the world around us. And we are to be a petrichor to the world, so that by the very fragrance of our witness and ministry, they may know that God’s grace has drawn near to them, and that it is freely offered to all. It is living water reviving the parched and sin-sick souls of this world.
The Rev. Benjamin Hankinson serves as Director of Community Life and Operations for his alma mater, Nashotah House Theological Seminary. He also serves as Priest-in-Charge of St. James Episcopal Church in West Bend, Wisconsin.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Diocese of Kindu – Province de L’Eglise Anglicane Du Congo
St. Joseph of Arimathea, Hendersonville, Tennessee
