Daily Devotion for Sunday 29th June 2025
On the holy mountain is his city
cherished by the Lord.
The Lord prefers the gates of Zion
to all Jacob’s dwellings.
Of you are told glorious things,
O city of God!
Babylon and Egypt I will count
among those who know me;
Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia,
these will be her children
and Zion shall be called “Mother”
for all shall be her children.”
It is he, the Lord Most High,
who gives each his place.
In his register of peoples he writes:
“These are her children,”
and while they dance they will sing:
“In you all find their home.”
Reflection
A dear church friend is probably the best possible ambassador for his place of birth. Although he and his family have lived in London for many years, it is Birmingham that is home. His accent has never dropped, his eyes light up when he talks about the place and even his cat was called Blue after the best football team. Another dear friend is from the West Country. She has lived in exile for 60 years but will always be a Cornish Maid at heart and woe betide if you don’t put jam on your scone first (if you know you know).
Where we are born truly shapes our lives and often defines who we are. But as we move around communities end up being very diverse and full of differences as in this Psalm. All are welcome there – people from as far apart as Ethiopia and Babylon (maybe as far away from each other as the Psalmist could imagine) and people from different regions and beliefs. Zion is the City of God, a place of integration and acceptance not of separatism. This is truly groundbreaking ideology – a real challenge in practice as well as in theory.
Our fellowship in North London has as many cultures and backgrounds as it does members and yet we too are bound together as the People of God. We are not asked to become one homogeneous assembly but to practise harmony in diversity as a gift from God although we know that’s not going to be easy.
Pope Francis’ last Urbi et Orbi message was delivered on Easter Sunday. It included this sentence which can speak to us all. ‘On this day, I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas! For all of us are children of God!’
May we all dance and sing together; true to ourselves and respectfully loving to those we do not yet understand. In God all shall find their home.
Prayer
O God,
you created all people in your image.
We thank you for the astonishing variety
of races and cultures in this world.
Enrich our lives by ever-widening circles of friendship,
and show us your presence
in those who differ most from us,
until our knowledge of your love is made perfect
in our love for all your children;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
– From the Lutheran Book of Worship: Minister’s Desk Edition