Daily Prayer: a resource of Forward Movement

The Forward Day by Day Meditation for June 3, 2020

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WEDNESDAY, June 3 The Martyrs of Uganda

Matthew 14:9 The king was grieved, yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he commanded it to be given.

Everything about this story feels wrong. The king has no moral compass or spine. An underage girl is being manipulated by a murderous, spiteful mother. The guests hold the king to a promise that ends in the brutal murder of a prophet of God. Presenting John the Baptist’s head on a platter highlights the grotesque nature of the whole scene.

And yet, how often do we allow things to happen around us because “that’s just how the world works?” How easy is it to lose our own moral compass for the promise of wealth or pleasure or admiration—or to let anger fester into spitefulness and vengeance?

We don’t belong to that sort of king or kingdom. The kingdom of God is one of forgiveness, boldness, innocence, strength, and love. Our citizenship is in heaven, and it’s time we started acting like it.

MOVING FORWARD: Name something wrong in the world that we accept as “just the way things are.” Does naming it change how you will respond to this wrong thing in the future?

PRAY for the Dioceses of Llandaff (Wales), St. Edmundsbury & Ipswich (England), and St. Helena (South Africa)

Ps 119:49-72 * 49, [53] | Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 | Galatians 2:11-21 | Matthew 14:1-12