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.
WEDNESDAY, June 24 The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
Luke 1:57-80. And you, child,...will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.
These words of Zechariah are the job description for John the Baptist, whose birth we remember today. To prepare for Jesus requires repentance, and repentance presupposes sin, which has become unfashionable in our culture. Those of us trying to live a Christian life may have trouble recognizing our sin (as did the Pharisees). Sin, however, is anything that keeps us from God.
Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh has written about the parallels between Christianity and Buddhism. Rather than speak of sin, he writes of unskillful states of mind. He identifies fifty-one such states, including anger, fear, and restlessness.
Restlessness hardly seems a sin, but being unable to sit still and be keeps me from God, the great I Am. Repentance of restlessness means recognizing it and stopping. Stopping can bring discomfort. Inertia is a powerful force, and stopping is not easy. Just stop.
Restlessness is but one of my habitual sins. Repentance is the task of a lifetime.
PRAY for the Diocese of Athabasca (Rupert's Land, Canada)
Ps 85; Isaiah 40:1-11; Acts 13:14b-26
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