Culture: Week 24 of Ordinary Time
Look: Make All Things New, James B. Janknegt - Source
Listen: Add to the Beauty, Sara Groves - Lyrics | Spotify | YouTube
Read: 1 Kings 17:8-16; Psalm 146; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44
Readings for the rest of the week*: Psalm 98; Genesis 4; Exodus 35:30-36:7; Nehemiah 2; Isaiah 60; Matthew 5:13-16; Revelation 21:22-27
Pray: Book of Common Prayer, Collect for the Twenty-Third Week After Pentecost
O God, whose blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life: Grant that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves as he is pure; that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Do: For the final seven weeks of Ordinary Time, we’ll consider God’s gifts of work and rest - both spiritual acts of worship.
Bobby Gross introduces this week’s chapter:
“Put simply, culture is what we make of the world. The concept of culture is incredibly complex, encompassing all human endeavors and social structures and material artifacts. It certainly means more than “the arts.” We are all inescapably embedded in culture. And culture-making is part of what God intended us to do from the start. How we create and shape culture - and how it shapes us - matters to God. We are either using our cultural capacities to honor or dishonor him: we can build tabernacles or craft golden calves, erect Babels or rebuild walls, make war or make music. And the best of what we make of this world will be redeemed and find its place in the world to come."
Think about the myriad of ways you play a part in preserving, changing or making culture, whether in your home or your community, whether by your work or your creative expressions. What is one opportunity this week to affect culture so that it is more pleasing or honoring to God?
Related: Browse the Creators & Cultivators page on my website for recommended reading and featured posts about culture making.
*During Ordinary Time this year, I’ll be sharing readings from the excellent devotional guide, Living the Christain Year: Time to Inhabit the Story of God by Bobby Gross. While it’s not necessary to purchase the book to follow along with us, it’s an excellent resource we’ve dog-eared so often the pages are falling out of our copy!