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| Image by Zdenek Bardon |
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The Ancestors of Jesus:
Rahab
A GREETING
For your love is before my eyes,
and I walk in your truth.
(Psalm 26:3)
READINGS
...and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth...
(Matthew 1:5)
The two spies set off and went to Jericho. There they went to the house of an innkeeper named Rahab, where they spent the night. When the word reached the ruler of Jericho that two had arrived that evening to scout the territory, the ruler sent this message to Rahab: “Bring me the two who are lodging in your house, for they are here to spy on my land.” But Rahab took the two spies and hid them, then told the ruler, “Yes, they did come here, but I didn’t know where they were from. And after dark, knowing that the gate would be closed soon, they left. I don’t know where they went. But you might catch up to them if you hurry.” As a matter of fact, Rahab had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under stalks of flax stored there.
(Joshua 2:1b-6)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
Even so I have confidence
that I’ll see the goodness of God
in the land of the living!
(Psalm 27:13)
A REFLECTION
We can choose life. Even as we face global climate disruption, world-encompassing nuclear contamination, hydro-fracking, mountaintop removal mining, tar sands extraction, deep sea drilling and the genetic engineering of our food supply, we can still choose life. We can still act for the sake of a livable world... For, if there is to be a livable world for those who come after us, it will be because we have managed to make the transition from the Industrial Growth Society to a Life-Sustaining Society. When people of the future look back at this historical moment, they will see more clearly than we can now, how revolutionary our actions were. Perhaps they’ll call it the time of the Great Turning.
- from Coming Back to Life: The Updated Guide to the Work That Reconnects
by Joanna Macy and Molly Brown
VERSE OF THE DAY
I set before you life or death, blessing or curse.
Choose life, then, so that you and your descendants may live.
(Deuteronomy 30:19)
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| Illustration by Dori Midnight representing the four stages of The Work that Reconnects, a community and a philosophy that identifies four stages of a spiritual journey. The image symbolically takes the shape of a spiral, always ongoing. Taken from Coming Back to Life by Joanna Macy and Molly Brown, as linked above. |
Yesterday we explored the tenacity and courage of Jesus’ ancestor Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi. Today in the story of Rahab, we hear once again an account of a woman’s attempt to save and protect her family. Rahab’s decision to hide the spies is a courageous one, even if she is assisting those who will ultimately take over her people. She is imposing an exile on herself: she knows that she will have to move in order to stay alive. Yesterday, Ruth, a Moabite woman, is a stranger in her new context. Today, Rahab, a Canaanite woman, will also be an immigrant in her new life. Jesus’ heritage is filled with ethnic diversity and migration: his ancestors come from far and wide in the nations and region of his birth.
This interconnectedness is echoed in the work of Joanna Macy, whom we began exploring yesterday. Founder of The Work that Reconnects, she invites us into a way of acknowledging our own intergenerational belonging, and to recognize our own ancestral legacy for those to come. The Work that Reconnects identifes four parts of a spiritual process or journey. The starting principle is gratitude. Not just a list of things we are grateful for, “the Work” invites us to dive deep into what has made it possible for us to be here, doing what we are doing, among the communities we serve and belong to. Next, the Work suggests we reflect honestly on our own pain and the pain of the world. The reason we feel the pain of the world, this teaching says, is because of our deep interconnectedness. Our empathy is a natural response to a hurting part of ourselves. Acknowledging this allows us to ‘see with new eyes’, that is understanding how much our own actions and work for change (on whatever scale) can help to transform the world. This physical work of 'going forth' into the world, using our own individual unique gifts — is the final stage of the process.
The Work that Reconnects brings people of many traditions together. It also has echoes in what Christians think of when we talk about building the kindom of God. When we encourage ourselves to step out of the narrow vision of our own lives — and join with others in caring for each other and Creation, we help to fulfill what Jesus commands and calls us to do.
How does this work live in your day to day life? How does anticipating the birth of Jesus help you renew your commitment to it?
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| Image by Alexandre Santerne |
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Scripture passages are taken from The Inclusive Bible.
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LC† Vigil in Hope is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work.
Thank you and peace be with you!
