Tuesday August 1, 2006

Text for the Day -- Exodus 24:1-2, 7-9, 11
----------
Then he said to Moses, 'Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab,
and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship at a
distance. Moses alone shall come near the Lord; but the others shall
not come near, and the people shall not come up with him.' Then he
took the book of the covenant, and read it in the hearing of the
people; and they said, 'All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and
we will be obedient.' Moses took the blood and dashed it on the
people, and said, 'See the blood of the covenant that the Lord has
made with you in accordance with all these words.'

Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of
Israel went up, God did not lay his hand on the chief men of the
people of Israel; also they beheld God, and they ate and drank.

Devotional
----------
Meals are often associated with significant events in the scriptures.
On this occasion, the ratifying of the covenant with God, a meal ends
the event. It also includes an audience in the presence of God. Does
all this sound familiar? We share in the ongoing feast of the Holy
Communion where we eat and drink as a community and delight in the
living presence of God. This meal reaffirms for us the ongoing
covenant of grace in Christ Jesus. Let us celebrate the covenant of
God's love with joy.


Prayer
-----------------
Open my heart at each meal I share with the Christian community,
gracious God. Amen