Missionary Renegade: Daily Guide grow. pray. study. Daily Devotion from The Resurrection United Methodist Church of Leawood, Kansas, United States

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Daily Guide grow. pray. study. Daily Devotion from The Resurrection United Methodist Church of Leawood, Kansas, United States - "Reconciling broken relationships"

Daily Scripture: Luke 1:13 But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Z’kharyah; because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elisheva will bear you a son, and you are to name him Yochanan. 14 He will be a joy and a delight to you, and many people will rejoice when he is born, 15 for he will be great in the sight of Adonai. He is never to drink wine or other liquor, and he will be filled with the Ruach HaKodesh even from his mother’s womb. 16 He will turn many of the people of Isra’el to Adonai their God. 17 He will go out ahead of Adonai in the spirit and power of Eliyahu to turn the hearts of fathers to their children[Luke 1:17 Malachi 3:23–24(4:5–6)] and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready for Adonai a people prepared.”
Reflection Questions:
At the end of the film Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner as Ray Kinsella meets his father when the father was a minor-league catcher. It’s awkward, because Ray had rebelled by refusing to play catch with his dad. Now, emotionally, he asks, “Hey...Dad? You wanna have a catch?” The young man who would become his father replies, “I'd like that." That kind of reconciliation was what the prophet Malachi promised, and John the Baptist and Jesus came to bring.

What were some of the main “connecting thread” experiences (if any) between you and your father? What were some of the preferences or choices (if any) that created tension or stress between the two of you? If your relationship was mainly positive, how has that shaped the way you relate to God? If tension or pain defined much of your relationship, how has your faith nudged you in the direction of seeking reconciliation?
Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball, wrote that baseball “is the one sport that is transmitted from fathers to sons.” Observation certainly suggests that fathers also often transmit faith to their children. Did your father help to transmit faith into your life? If so, how? If your father didn’t do that (or even if he did), who else has played a “father” role in your journey of faith?

Today’s Prayer:
Lord Jesus, Father’s Day last weekend triggered quite a mix of feelings. I ask you to guide me to relate to my father in as positive a way as possible. Help me honor all of the “father figures” in my life. Amen.Insights from Rev. Steven Blair

Rev. Steven Blair is the Congregational Care Pastor of Live Forward and Live Well Emotional Wellness Ministry. www.cor.org/liveforward
Reconciling is a loaded word. It is different than forgiveness. Biblical forgiveness had a financial dimension to it. To forgive a debt meant to send the person away, happy that they didn’t have to keep returning to pay a debt. Reconciling means ‘coming back together.’ (See ‘re’ meaning ‘again’ and ‘council’ which is a gathering of people).
In some situations, especially related to abuse, the call to forgive is different than reconcile.
In this Scripture, John the Baptist is ushering in full reconciliation. The Spirit that will be in Him will bring people back to God and reunite relationships that are strained. Are we willing to let the Spirit do the same for us?
Not all forgiveness will include Reconciliation, but all reconciliation will include some level of forgiveness.
May the Spirit of God move you towards reconciliation in all the appropriate ways possible today.