Midweek Devotion 30 May 2024

Reading

Mark 2:23-24

One sabbath Jesus and his disciples were going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?”

Devotion

James Tissot (Nantes, France, 1836–1902, Chenecey–Buillon, France). The Disciples Eat Wheat on the Sabbath (Les disciples mangent du blé au sabbat), 1886–1896.

This lovely watercolor by French artist James Tissot is held by the Brooklyn Museum.  Unfortunately, it is not among the works on public display at the moment and so only visible online.  There is an orderliness to the agrarian scene.  Jesus and his disciples among the wheat remind me of the enjoyment of the original Garden.  It is very good.  The walls of order, however, can also be walls of separation.  The gathered religious authorities are above Jesus and the disciples, looking down on them.  They strain to look over the wall into the field below.  They point.  The murmur.  They condemn.  They are in the shadows while Jesus and the disciples are in the light.

We live in the most virtually connected yet socially isolated time in human history.  The means of connection often, often, often become ways to increase estrangement instead of overcome it.  Cyber bulling, cyber stalking, cyber phishing, are all on the rise, all symptoms of this estrangement.  Human beings are starving for community, true community based on the agape love of God.  This week, dear reader, seek out a worship service.  Is it a time of enjoyment in a rich, golden, field that feeds body, mind, and spirit?  Are there walls of separation and condemnation?  Are people looked down upon or welcomed?  May you find re-creation, rejuvenation, and refreshment for your soul!

Prayer

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, page 815)