Matthew 7:12a - (Jesus said) "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them ...."***
As far as I can tell, singer Rachel Platten, who made her reputation with the hit "Fight Song," has a pretty good set of pipes.
Now a person needs to have a good set of pipes if they are going to attempt the National Anthem. Yup, the experts pretty much agree, that song about the "rocket's red glare" and "bombs bursting in air" has a range which makes a great many trained voices grow quavery. Understand, that's only the first verse.
If you go further, even the vocabulary gets tricky. I mean you try saying "foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes" and "fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses," three times, really fast.
At any rate, Platten volunteered to sing at a Saturday night contest between the Utah Royals and the Chicago Red Stars. Sadly, her problem was not the melody. It was the lyrics she forgot. Attempt number one, she started out, "O, say can you see, by the stars early light." Not realizing it should have been "dawn's" early light, she floundered.
In the best showbiz tradition, she began again, and ground to a halt again.
Asking for, and receiving assistance from the crowd, she started yet a third time and managed to get all the way through. Of course, the media was aghast. Some were shocked and others were amused but, either way, it was embarrassing.
I think most folks can understand Platten's situation. I know I do.
How do I know? Let me tell you a secret. Almost every broadcast of The Lutheran Hour includes the Lord's Prayer. I learned that prayer when I was but a child and have used it all my life. I know it like the back of my hand. That being said, whether I am in church or in the broadcast booth, I always have a written copy of that prayer in front of me.
Why? I have a dread fear of saying, "Let us join in the Lord's Prayer" and then starting out with "Now I lay me down to sleep." And don't think it can't happen. I've seen it happen to a wonderful preacher who did great things for the Lord. But every time his people come together it is that flubbed prayer they remember.
Which really takes me to the point of this devo. Jesus summarized it best when He said, "Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them." In the case of Platten and the National Anthem, I am inclined to feel sorry for her, and give thanks for a crowd that didn't boo and hiss but -- recognizing her uncomfortablity and embarrassment -- helped out.
Similarly, if you ever hear me begin the Lord's Prayer by saying, "Come Lord Jesus, be our Guest," don't assume I am deliberately trying to rewrite Scripture. I'm not. I'm just like Platten ... and you. Together, we are all just sinful people who regularly make mistakes and who always are in need of some support and encouragement.
That's what Paul said when he wrote to the church in Thessalonica: "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing" (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, grant that Your people follow Your Word and condemn the sins that You condemn. At the same time, grant us the ability to encourage each other during times when we just simply mess up or unintentionally make mistakes. This I ask in the Savior's Name. Amen.
The above devotion was inspired by a number of sources, including one carried by Karen Mizoguchi for People on April 16, 2018. Those who wish to reference that article may do so at the following link, which was fully functional at the time this devotion was written:http://people.com/music/rachel-platten-national-anthem-flub-my-mind-just-wasnt-cooperating/
In Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible in a Year Reading: Psalm 52; Psalm 57; Psalm 142; Luke 22:24-46
Psalm 52:1
(0) For the leader. A maskil of David, 2 when Do’eg from Edom came and told Sha’ul, “David has arrived at the house of Achimelekh”:
3 (1) Why do you boast of your evil, you tyrant,
when God’s mercy is present every day?
4 (2) Your tongue, as sharp as a razor,
plots destruction and works deception.
5 (3) You love evil more than good,
lies rather than speaking uprightly. (Selah)
6 (4) You love all words that eat people up,
you deceitful tongue!
7 (5) This is why God will strike you down,
seize you, pluck you from your tent
and uproot you from the land of the living. (Selah)
8 (6) The righteous will see and be awestruck;
they will jeer at him, saying,
9 (7) “This fellow would not make God his refuge,
but trusted in his own great wealth,
relying on his evil plots.”
10 (8) But I am like a leafy olive tree
in the house of God;
I put my trust in the grace of God
forever and ever.
11 (9) I will praise you forever for what you have done,
and I will put my hope in your name;
for this is what is good
in the presence of your faithful.
57:1 (0) For the leader. Set to “Do Not Destroy.” By David, a mikhtam, when he fled from Sha’ul into the cave:
2 (1) Show me favor, God, show me favor;
for in you I have taken refuge.
Yes, I will find refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the storms have passed.
3 (2) I call to God, the Most High,
to God, who is accomplishing his purpose for me.
4 (3) He will send from heaven and save me
when those who would trample me down mock me. (Selah)
God will send his grace and his truth.
5 (4) I am surrounded by lions,
I am lying down among people breathing fire,
men whose teeth are spears and arrows
and their tongues sharp-edged swords.
6 (5) Be exalted, God, above heaven!
May your glory be over all the earth!
7 (6) They prepared a snare for my feet,
but I am bending over [to avoid it].
They dug a pit ahead of me,
but they fell into it themselves. (Selah)
8 (7) My heart is steadfast, God, steadfast.
I will sing and make music.
9 (8) Awake, my glory! Awake, lyre and lute!
I will awaken the dawn.
10 (9) I will thank you, Adonai, among the peoples;
I will make music to you among the nations.
11 (10) For your grace is great, all the way to heaven,
and your truth, all the way to the skies.
12 (11) Be exalted, God, above heaven!
May your glory be over all the earth!
142:1 (0) A maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A prayer:
2 (1) With my voice I cry to Adonai,
with my voice I plead to Adonai for mercy.
3 (2) Before him I pour out my complaint,
before him I tell my trouble.
4 (3) When my spirit faints within me,
you watch over my path.
By the road that I am walking
they have hidden a snare for me.
5 (4) Look to my right, and see
that no one recognizes me.
I have no way of escape;
nobody cares for me.
6 (5) I cried out to you, Adonai;
I said, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
7 (6) Listen to my cry,
for I have been brought very low.
Rescue me from my persecutors,
for they are too strong for me.
8 (7) Lead me out of prison,
so that I can give thanks to your name;
in me the righteous will be crowning themselves,
because you will have treated me generously.
Luke 22:24 An argument arose among them as to which of them should be considered the greatest. 25 But Yeshua said to them, “The kings of the Goyim lord it over them; and those in authority over them are given the title, ‘Benefactor.’ 26 But not so with you! On the contrary, let the greater among you become like the younger, and one who rules like one who serves. 27 For who is greater? The one reclining at the table? or the one who serves? It’s the one reclining at the table, isn’t it? But I myself am among you like one who serves.
28 “You are the ones who have stayed with me throughout my trials. 29 Just as my Father gave me the right to rule, so I give you an appointment, 30 namely, to eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom and to sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Isra’el.
31 “Shim‘on, Shim‘on, listen! The Adversary demanded to have you people for himself, to sift you like wheat! 32 But I prayed for you, Shim‘on, that your trust might not fail. And you, once you have turned back in repentance, strengthen your brothers!” 33 Shim‘on said to him, “Lord, I am prepared to go with you both to prison and to death!” 34 Yeshua replied, “I tell you, Kefa, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know me.”
35 He said to them, “When I sent you out without wallet, pack or shoes, were you ever short of anything?” “Not a thing,” they answered. 36 “But now,” he said, if you have a wallet or a pack, take it; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your robe to buy one. 37 For I tell you this: the passage from the Tanakh that says, ‘He was counted with transgressors,’[
Luke 22:37 Isaiah 53:12
] has to be fulfilled in me; since what is happening to me has a purpose.” 38 They said, “Look, Lord, there are two swords right here!” “Enough!” he replied.
39 On leaving, Yeshua went as usual to the Mount of Olives; and the talmidim followed him. 40 When he arrived, he said to them, “Pray that you won’t be put to the test.” 41 He went about a stone’s throw away from them, kneeled down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, let not my will but yours be done.” 43 There appeared to him an angel from heaven giving him strength, 44 and in great anguish he prayed more intensely, so that his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground. 45 On rising from prayer and coming to the talmidim, he found them sleeping because of their grief. 46 He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you won’t be put to the test!” (Complete Jewish Bible).
***
Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
CHANGE THEIR WORLD. CHANGE YOURS.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
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