Daily Devotional • November 29
A Reading from Romans 15:17-13
7 Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. 8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the ancestors 9 and that the gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
“Therefore I will confess you among the gentiles
and sing praises to your name”;
10 and again he says,
“Rejoice, O gentiles, with his people”;
11 and again,
“Praise the Lord, all you gentiles,
and let all the peoples praise him”;
12 and again Isaiah says,
“The root of Jesse shall come,
the one who rises to rule the gentiles;
in him the gentiles shall hope.”
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Meditation
On this day after our American holiday of Thanksgiving, we give thanks for the hope which we have in Christ Jesus. Though we were and are a rebellious people, our Lord has welcomed us into his fold and teaches us by his example to welcome one another for the glory of God.
Unlike earthly kings who come demanding submission by their might, our Lord came in humility to serve his people. And then when the time was right, he suffered and died upon the cross for the sake of our rebellion and our sins. Rising to new life on the third day, Jesus conquered death and the grave.
And so, we who are in Christ do not witness to ourselves, and our ministry is not for our own glory. Rather, we are to ever grow in our witness to the Gospel. We are called to come and drink deeply of the Word of the Lord, to partake of the Lord’s Supper, and in so doing to learn how to welcome others to the same.
The testimony with which we have been entrusted is nothing less than the good news of Jesus Christ for the life of the world. It is the word of hope, full of joy and peace for those who believe, so that those who we encounter and minister to in Jesus’s name may hear and see him alive and at work in us. In season and out, we welcome brother, sister, and stranger alike, just as Christ has welcomed us, for the glory of God.
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 Kisangani – Province de L’Eglise Anglicane Du Congo
The Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida