Forward Movement is an official, non-profit agency of the Episcopal Church whose mission is to create compelling content for Christian living. Since 1935 we have published the quarterly devotional Forward Day by Day, as well as pamphlets, booklets, and books that encourage and nourish people in their lives of prayer and faith.
TUESDAY, August 23
1 Kings 1:38—2:4. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who today has granted one of my offspring to sit on my throne.
To say that King David had some family problems would be an understatement. Finally, after several of his other sons had attempted to seize the throne from him, and under pressure from Solomon’s mother Bathsheba, he anointed Solomon king and invested him with the symbols of royal authority.
Among the readers of these meditations there are not many reigning kings or queens concerned with their succession, but all of us have to face the fact that our work and our lives will not continue forever. The tasks and responsibilities that we carry will one day belong to someone else. Do we prepare for that? It’s more than the practical issues of training another person. Are we prepared to let go, accepting that a new hand will do things differently, and perhaps not as well but perhaps better than we would have done?
It’s not so fashionable to contemplate our own death as it once was, but it is still valuable to reflect on questions like: If I weren’t here, would the world end just because no one could replace me? Of course it wouldn’t. It would just be a little different.
PRAY for the Diocese of Sabongidda-Ora (Province of Bendel, Nigeria)
Ps 5, 6 * 10, 11; Acts 26:24—27:8; Mark 13:28-37
View the daily Lectionary Readings at Satucket.com.
Or view the Bible passages at Biblegateway.com or Oremus Bible browser.
A Meditation for Pentecost
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