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Renewal Through Routine
The Upper Room Disciplines has been a source of strength and comfort to readers for decades. Read More
Flora Slosson Wuellner | Read Genesis 24:42-49
How does Rebekah feel about this startling encounter at the well? There, on an ordinary day, taking her ordinary trudge to fill the water jugs, suddenly she meets a travel-stained stranger who hails her as a bride and decks her in jewels. She might feel much the same way Sarah...
Open our eyes, God of love, that we may know you are with us wherever we are, that your Spirit enfolds us, and new hope and life is breathed upon us. Amen.
The reading in Genesis transitions our attention from Abraham to his son Isaac. When Isaac comes of age, Abraham sends a servant to find a wife for him. When the servant meets Rebekah, her kind hospitality convinces him that she is the one. Isaac marries her, and the readings in the psalm and Song of Solomon celebrate nuptial love as a symbol of God’s love. Paul in Romans reflects on the human condition. We desire to do what is right, but we fall short over and over again. What is the solution? God delivers us through Jesus Christ. In Matthew, Jesus emphasizes his intimate relationship with God and invites all who are weary to enter into Christ’s rest.
Read Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67. Which of these or other biblical stories model for you the relationship between God and humanity?
Read Song of Solomon 2:8-13. How have you seen God at work in the way loving relationships have transformed you?
Read Romans 7:15-25a. When have you refused to participate in Communion because you did not feel worthy? How might participating in Communion in times of strife or sin help you be reconciled to God and others?
Read Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30. The life of faith holds many ironies. How do you hold together the seeming opposites of Jesus’ and John’s focus in their ministries? of seeking to be yoked to God when your burden is too heavy?
Respond by posting a prayer.
