{"id":19524,"date":"2022-07-08T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-08T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/urc\/urc-daily-devotion-8th-july-2022"},"modified":"2022-07-08T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-07-08T05:00:00","slug":"urc-daily-devotion-8th-july-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/urc-daily-devotion-8th-july-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"URC Daily Devotion 8th July 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

St John 18: 28-38<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate\u2019s headquarters.  It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters,  so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover.  So Pilate went out to them and said, \u2018What accusation do you bring against this man?\u2019 They answered, \u2018If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.\u2019  Pilate said to them, \u2018Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law.\u2019 The Jews replied, \u2018We are not permitted to put anyone to death.\u2019   (This was to fulfil what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Then Pilate entered the headquarters  again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, \u2018Are you the King of the Jews?\u2019 Jesus answered, \u2018Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?\u2019  Pilate replied, \u2018I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?\u2019  Jesus answered, \u2018My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.\u2019  Pilate asked him, \u2018So you are a king?\u2019 Jesus answered, \u2018You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.\u2019  Pilate asked him, \u2018What is truth?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflection<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAlas, poor Yorick. I knew him well.\u201d If you are anything like me, you picture Morecambe and Wise mucking around with a skull. Did you know it\u2019s a mis-quote? I\u2019m so familiar with Eric and Ernie\u2019s version that I remember it better than old Billy Shakespeare\u2019s.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s another: \u201cDo you take this man?\u201d \u2026 \u201cI do.\u201d<\/span>
Except it\u2019s not \u2018I do\u2019, but \u2018I will.\u2019 It makes a difference. Little words can mean a lot. 
                      (Editor\u2019s Note – \u201cI do\u201d is used in Scotland!)<\/span>
There\u2019s a little word in today\u2019s passage that means a lot.<\/span>
‘of’.  <\/span>Words don\u2019t get much shorter than that.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy kingdom is not of this world.\u201d That\u2019s how many of us remember it. Jesus is explaining that he\u2019s not the \u2018riding on a noble steed, vanquishing the enemies\u2019 type of king that many were expecting, and that\u2019s true. But it might sound like his kingdom is other-worldly, ethereal, nothing to do with the here-and-now, and that\u2019s not.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Greek word for \u2018of\u2019 is another short one: \u2018ek\u2019. It means of, but also <\/span>out of, either physically (like \u2018exit\u2019) or logically \u2013 the reason or source. \u2018My kingdom is not from this world.\u2019<\/p>\n

So where is it from? Where does \u2018kingness\u2019 come from?<\/span>
Here in the UK we\u2019re celebrating our Queen\u2019s diamond jubilee, but some time over the next few years we\u2019ll be mourning her loss and proclaiming a new king. Who proclaimed Jesus king?<\/span>
It sure as heck wasn\u2019t Pilate!<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s what Jesus was saying: \u2018Yes, I have a kingdom, but it comes from a much higher authority than this world. I\u2019m not a king because the Roman Empire recognises me, or because the Jewish people call me that. I\u2019m a king because God says so. My identity and calling are from God, not from this world.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

So what about us? What about me, what about you?<\/span>
Are our identity and calling from this world, or from God?<\/span>
 
Prayer<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

God of eternity, God of present,<\/span>
God of there and then, God of here and now,
may I find the source of my being in your love,
may I know the base of my calling in you,
may I rest content in hearing you call me your own.
Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

St John 18: 28-38 Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate\u2019s headquarters.  It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters,  so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover.  So Pilate went out to them and said, \u2018What accusation do you bring against this … <\/p>\n

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