St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh
Midweek Devotion 29th June 2023
Led by Rev Sigrid Marten
Welcome to our Midweek Devotion from St. Giles Cathedral, the High Kirk of Edinburgh on Thursday, 29 June. This is the date when the Church remembers the apostles Peter and Paul.
The apostle Paul says,
“Creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God.”
(Romans 8:18)
Our lesson today is written in the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 11 (verses 1-18).
Reflection
“What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” (v9)
It is so easy, isn’t it, to create boundaries in our heads between ‘us’ and ‘them’? Most of us will have ideas about who belongs to our community, and who doesn’t, whom we perceive to be different, beyond the pale.
It happens in wider society where we are quick to judge people over the way they talk or dress, or their life-style choices. It also happens among people of faith. Many people have strong views on what constitutes the right religion, and even which branch of the Christian faith is the ‘true’ one. Often we are convinced that we are basing this on sound theology, quoting scripture as our witness. We even find it hard not to act as if only our own congregation were doing Christianity properly.
I wonder how many of those judgements and attitudes need to be re-examined in the light of the words Peter heard, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane”?
In his dream Peter is confronted with all that was abhorrent to him as a faithful Jewish person, all that he felt he should avoid if he wanted to be close to God. And God says to him, “I have made all things clean”. This vision prepares him for his encounter with the group around the centurion Cornelius in Caesarea who are drawn towards the Christian message. He sees how God’s Spirit is with them in the same way as it is with the disciples in Jerusalem, and he says to himself, “who am I that I could hinder God?”
May we have that kind of open heart and mind to see where God’s Spirit is at work in people, to embrace all who are doing God’s work in this world as partners in our common calling of reconciliation and healing, and to live as children of the one God who calls us into unity.
Prayer
(adapted from material for the Week of Prayers for Christian Unity, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland)
Eternal God,
you made us in your own image,
and then became one of us,
proud of those you have made.
Make us proud of being part
of that worldwide family,
and eager to discover and celebrate
your image in every person, every culture,
every nation that we are privileged to encounter.
God of Unity,
forgive us when we are judgemental and self-serving
and help us to grow in unity and understanding
as we extend your love and justice to all.
Expand our vision that it may be wide enough
to recognise the beautiful complexity
of the tapestry you chose to weave,
using each and every one of us.
Gather our frayed edges, our loose ends,
and bind us together in your love.
Creator of all, Saviour of all,
Spirit in all, one God in perfect community,
stay with us now.
Where there is apathy,
kindle the flame of your love.
Where there is deceit,
confront every lie with your truth.
Where there is hopelessness,
reveal deep wells of compassion.
Where there is joy,
let your kindly protection be known.
Where we hesitate to serve you,
make us restless until we change.
All our prayers we gather into the words
that Jesus taught us to pray together:
Our Father which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power,
and the glory, for ever and ever.
Amen
Blessing
The light of God to lead you.
The power of God to hold you.
The joy of God to heal you.
The grace of God to caress you.
The love of God to bless you.
Amen
Organ Music
Felix Mendelssohn Sonata VI - Fuga