{"id":22877,"date":"2024-12-10T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-10T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/urc\/urc-daily-devotion-10-december-2024"},"modified":"2024-12-10T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-12-10T06:00:00","slug":"urc-daily-devotion-10-december-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/urc-daily-devotion-10-december-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"URC Daily Devotion 10 December 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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10 December 2024<\/strong><\/span>
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St Luke 5: 27 – 32<\/strong>
After this Jesus went out and saw a tax-collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, \u2018Follow me.\u2019 And he got up, left everything, and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house; and there was a large crowd of tax-collectors and others sitting at the table with them.  The Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, saying, \u2018Why do you eat and drink with tax-collectors and sinners?\u2019  Jesus answered, \u2018Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick;  I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.\u2019<\/p>\n

Reflection<\/strong>
In our readings from Luke\u2019s gospel we are regularly confronted by Jesus\u2019 encounters with those who are on the margins of first century Palestinian society. Today\u2019s reading starts with \u2018after this\u2019, which begs the question \u201cafter what?\u201d  Jesus has just dealt with some wanton destruction of property, and a person excluded from society through disability. He is now dealing with someone who, for whatever reason, has marginalised himself, through collaboration with the occupying forces. <\/p>\n

Not only does Jesus befriend this traitor, but then feasts with Levi\u2019s friends and acquaintances, none of whom belong in polite society. The respectable citizens are enraged. Quite why they want Jesus to themselves is questionable – though they do enjoy trying to trip him up with their questions, and when they ask him why he\u2019s mixing with all the wrong people, he manages a response which is both flattering to them, and also a bit of  a put down.<\/p>\n

At our last General Assembly we were challenged about being a church with people on the margins. The question of who is on the margins is a fascinating one. We might even perceive ourselves, as people of faith, to be those who are on the margins of society ourselves! Who are the people in our own communities who, by choice or chance – or a combination of the two – are on the margins? And how can we, as individual disciples, or as a community of Christians, work with them to bring about signs of the Kingdom?<\/p>\n

Prayer<\/strong>
Lord Jesus, help us to see those who are marginalised, to listen to voices are seldom heard, and to be changed by those who have a different perspective on life and faith.
 
Help us to work together to bring about your kingdom – your rule – in and beyond the Church.<\/p>\n

Amen<\/p>\n

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Today’s writer<\/span><\/h2>\n

The Revd Clare Downing, Synod Moderator, North Western Synod<\/span><\/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 10 December 2024  St Luke 5: 27 – 32After this Jesus went out and saw a tax-collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, \u2018Follow me.\u2019 And he got up, left everything, and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house; … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “URC Daily Devotion 10 December 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-22877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22877","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=22877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22877\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}