URC Daily Devotion Monday 30th June 2025

St John 12: 37 – 43

After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them.  Although he had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in him.  This was to fulfil the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

‘Lord, who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’

And so they could not believe, because Isaiah also said,

‘He has blinded their eyes
    and hardened their heart,
so that they might not look with their eyes,
    and understand with their heart and turn—
    and I would heal them.’

Isaiah said this because he saw his glory and spoke about him.  Nevertheless many, even of the authorities, believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue;  for they loved human glory more than the glory that comes from God.

Reflection

“After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them.”

It’s funny (or maybe strange or confusing) how we take some things from the Holy Scriptures and implement them into our worship and yet ignore others.

Once a month (other traditions are available!) we remember, in worship, Jesus sharing a meal with his friends. It was an important meal, so that’s all well and good and proper. After all, it is mentioned in three of the Gospels and in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. But what have we missed out on simply because it was omitted from the final drafts, deemed unworthy or irrelevant by those early editors?

If it had been recorded in one of the Gospels (not St John, obviously, he is way too serious) that Jesus enjoyed nothing more than a game of Shove Ha’penny well, Shove Shekel, with his mates would that make it into our regular pattern of worship? Maybe instead of a hymn… would our services look any different? Would they be more welcoming? Would they be more inclusive? Would they be more intergenerational? Would they be more FUN? I mean, everyone can play shove ha’penny, can’t they?

So why isn’t a game of Hide and Seek part of our regular worship services or, at least, once in a while?

If it was good enough for Jesus…

Prayer

Playful God
we are sorry when we stifle the joy of worshipping you
remind us that our services can be times of fun and play
and forgive us when they aren’t.
Amen.