12 As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.
13 Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
-Colossians 3:12-14, NRSV
Today, I’m praying for our leaders.
Over the course of the last several decades, as affiliation with or trust in institutions (including the institutional church) has waned, it has become more common to hear people describe themselves as “spiritual, but not religious.” The phrase implies that for the speaker, there’s something lacking, defective, or corrupted in religion’s very nature.
Over the course of the last several decades, as affiliation with or trust in institutions (including the institutional church) has waned, it has become more common to hear people describe themselves as “spiritual, but not religious.” The phrase implies that for the speaker, there’s something lacking, defective, or corrupted in religion’s very nature.
Yet, I was reminded recently of the origins of the word “religion.” “Re-ligio,” contemplative writer and Franciscan friar Richard Rohr writes. “To re-ligament or bind together.” To bind together… like the ligaments beneath our skin, the ligaments that literally hold us together.
To bind together. In this season of isolation and distancing… maybe we can all use a little more religion, in the best and healthiest sense of the word.
And so, I call to mind one of the hymns of my religion, one that draws its inspiration from one of the scriptures of my religion:
Bind us together, Lord,
bind us together with
cords that cannot be broken.
Bind us together, Lord,
bind us together, Lord,
bind us together in love.
(The Faith We Sing, #2226)
If that’s what religion is…
then I think we could all use a little more religion right now.
Blessings,
Pastor Candy
Be bound together in love, friends, and remember:
Our God is bigger than coronavirus.
Our vision is bigger than coronavirus, too.
We are people blessing people.
We are Wesley Church.
Want to know more?
- Learn about our church and its ministries: https://wesleychurch.com/
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- View previous devotionals: https://wesleychurch.com/pastor-candys-devotionals-2/
