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| Image by Young Shanahan |
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A GREETING
Teach me your way, O God;
I will walk in your truth;
Unite my heart to fear your name.
(Psalm 86:11)
A READING
And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring[fn] out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. ‘And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; ‘for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’
(Luke 15:20-24)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
Let not mercy and truth forsake you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart,
(Proverbs 3:3)
A POEM
A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wing
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
- from "Caged Bird" by Maya Angelou
VERSE OF THE DAY
But You, O God, are a God full of compassion, and gracious,
Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.
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| "Reflecting My Grace," by Calida Garcia Rawles (2020), Modeled by her own daughter, Rawles' portrait embodies qualities of being both resistant and submissive to the water she is in. |
The neck holds a place of spiritual and theological value in the biblical story: it joins the head to the body, bringing together the will and intention of the mind, with the active purpose of the body. In the Hebrew Bible, there are people who are described as "stiff-necked," meaning they will not allow themselves to be led. The term derives from the resistance of an ox to a yoke and symgolizes a refusal of relationship, the unwillingness to be directed by God.
The neck is sometimes the place where life is lost or spared. In Waters rise in Isaiah until they reach the neck, the point just before breath is cut off, the moment between survival and death. The neck is the narrow passage through which life must flow. What happens at the neck determines the wellbeing of the rest of the body.
By contrast, the expression "falling on the neck" of someone describes a moment of intense emotion, often involving reconciliation. When a father runs to his lost son, they fall on one another’s neck. Here the neck is no longer stiff, no longer yoked, but exposed and vulnerable. The place where the yoke once rested becomes the place of embrace. The father of the Prodigal Son speaks with his body before actually speaking. He falls upon his son's neck so that they may feel the life flowing between them.
In Jewish tradition, the "resurrection bone" is at the base of the back of the neck. The belief is that this bone will be the one used when the messiah comes and raises all people from the dead. Coincidentally, when a pastor kisses their stole before putting it around their neck, that kissed spot then lies across the place of the special bone.
We all experience times in our lives when we are stiff-necked in our stubbornness and resistance to where God is calling us. There are also times when we are more willing to be obedient to how we hear the Spirit's movement in our lives. When have you been "stiff-necked" in your relationships within your faith community? And when have you put your arms around another, grateful for a chance to embrace them in God's love?
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| Image by Capt. Spaulding |
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Scripture passages are taken from the New King James Version.
On Saturday, there will be a special devotion to pray for the war in the Middle East and its impacts.
Next week, the devotional will move into reflecting on the body and identity.
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LC† From Dust, Still Holy is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work.
Thank you and peace be with you!