{"id":21728,"date":"2024-02-17T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-17T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/urc\/urc-daily-devotion-saturday-17-february-2024"},"modified":"2024-02-17T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-02-17T06:00:00","slug":"urc-daily-devotion-saturday-17-february-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/urc-daily-devotion-saturday-17-february-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"URC Daily Devotion Saturday, 17 February 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
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inspiration in your inbox<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Saturday, 17 February 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

St Mark 8: 22 – 30<\/strong>
They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him.  He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, \u2018Can you see anything?\u2019  And the man looked up and said, \u2018I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.\u2019  Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.  Then he sent him away to his home, saying, \u2018Do not even go into the village.\u2019  Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, \u2018Who do people say that I am?\u2019  And they answered him, \u2018John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.\u2019  He asked them, \u2018But who do you say that I am?\u2019 Peter answered him, \u2018You are the Messiah.\u2019  And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.<\/p>\n

Reflection<\/strong>
Jesus\u2019 encounter with the blind man at Bethsaida serves as a reminder that sometimes we need a second chance to fully grasp what is before us.   Even when we have Jesus\u2019 saliva on our eyes and his hands laid upon us our grasp might be partial \u2013 \u201clike trees walking.\u201d  We need to be humble and honest enough to seek \u2018a second touch\u2019 to enable us to \u201c[see] everything clearly.\u201d   Our Reformed conviction is that, alongside scripture as \u201chighest authority\u201d, we discern the mind of Christ by listening for and recognising the voice of the Spirit in our meetings.  We may approach our engagement with one another from our limited understanding of things that \u201clook like trees walking\u201d but it is through \u2018a second touch\u2019 \u2013 the touch of Christ upon our commitment to the pursuit of truth \u2013 that we have the potential to \u201c[see] things [more] clearly\u201d.   And very often that \u2018second touch\u2019 is enabled by those who see things differently to us.   The humility of seeking that \u2018second touch\u2019 can reward us in discovering Christ in and through the unexpected and their insights.   As Fred Kaan put it: We meet you, O Christ, in many a guise;  your image we see in simple and wise.<\/p>\n

As well as enabling the blind man to see clearly Jesus puts his disciples on the spot and asks them, \u2018Who do people say that I am?\u2019   They respond with other people\u2019s answers and he presses them further:  \u2018But who do you say that I am?\u2019   Similarly we need to balance the benefit of others\u2019 insights with the call to speak of what we see ourselves.   Sometimes we will be able to use a common script;  at others, in true dissenting spirit, we will need to have the courage to articulate a view that contrasts with what others are saying they see.<\/p>\n

Prayer<\/strong>
Touch the eyes of our minds, O Christ,
as many times as it takes for us
to grasp more clearly how things look in you.
 
Enable us to meet you in many a guise
that we might see your image in simple and wise.
 
Grant us the wisdom to know when to endorse the views of others
and when we must say what you lay upon our hearts and consciences.
 
In the name of Jesus, we pray.  Amen.<\/p>\n

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Today’s writer<\/span><\/h2>\n

The Rev\u2019d Geoffrey Clarke, Moderator, East Midlands Synod<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright \u00a9 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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inspiration in your inbox Saturday, 17 February 2024 St Mark 8: 22 – 30They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him.  He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his eyes … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “URC Daily Devotion Saturday, 17 February 2024”<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21728\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}