St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh
Midweek Devotion 27th October 2022
Led by Rev Calum I MacLeod
O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvellous things.
Psalm 98: 1
Let us worship God
The lesson is Romans 3: 21-26
21But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets,22the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; 26it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.
The word of the Lord; thanks be to God
Reflection
While living in the US, the last Sunday of October was one of my favorite worship services in the church year because, along with many other Protestant churches in the country, we observed this as Reformation Sunday, remembering and giving thanks for the rich heritage of this part of the Christian family to which we belong.
The ministers wore colourful stoles – sometimes tartan – I would wear my Church of Scotland preaching scarf.
The date marks the Sunday closest to October 31, the day Martin Luther famously posted his complaints about church abuses (the ninety-five theses) on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517, providing a catalyst for the series of movements for change in the church, which we know as the Reformation.
However, let’s not kid ourselves. The history of the Reformation is not to be thought of simply as a ‘spiritual’ event; rather it is mired in the political, social, economic and even technological realities of the time (the invention of the printing press being a central event.) In many countries which experienced a reformation, civil war ensued and the Protestant/Catholic identities became war cries for years to come (and still are in some places!)
The irony in this fallout from human frailty and brokenness is that it is precisely this topic which was at the heart of the transformation in understanding the relationship between God and us which the reformers were proposing: a re-emphasis on Paul’s theme in our text, that ‘all have sinned’ and are now ‘justified by God’s grace.”
As people ‘justified’ by God – let us live always for justice in our world.
Let us pray.
What is wrong you forgive
and the new life you live
is what’s turning
the world upside down.
Inspire us to live compassion in the face of meekness,
wholeness in the place of suffering,
life in the face of bereavement,
love in the face of fear.
O Lord hear our prayers for ourselves and others as we join together in the Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father,
which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done
on 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.
The Benediction
Be of good courage, render no-one evil for evil,
but hold fast to the good; honour all of God’s people,
and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
and the Communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you
and all whom you love
this day and for ever.
Organ Music
J.S.Bach Wir glauben all an einen Gott BWV 1098