Daily Devotion for Tuesday 5/12/26
Psalm: Psalm 47
God has gone up with a shout.
1 Clap your hands, | all you peoples;
shout to God with a | joyful sound.
2 For the Lord Most High is | to be feared:
a great king over | all the earth,
3 who subdues the | peoples under us,
and the nations un- | der our feet;
4 who chooses our inheri- | tance for us,
the pride of Jacob, | whom God loves. R
5 God has gone up | with a shout,
the Lord with the sound | of the ram’s horn.
6 Sing praises to | God, sing praises;
sing praises to our | king, sing praises. R
7 For God is king of | all the earth;
sing praises | with a song.
8 God reigns o- | ver the nations;
God is en- | throned on high.
9 The nobles of the peoples have gathered as the people of the | God of Abraham.
The rulers of the earth belong to God, who is high- | ly exalted. R
Our Luther Seminary sister Liz, is off on another Psalm so we'll go with the one we have for our Ascension Sunday.
This Psalm is about a King being annually crowned King, reminding the King who he really is and that God is the real king. Verse 5a reminds us of Jesus' Ascension that we discuss in the First Reading and in the Gospel for today.
Daily Devotion for Monday 5/11/26
First Reading: Acts 1:1-11
Before he is lifted into heaven, Jesus promises that the missionary work of the disciples will spread out from Jerusalem to all the world. His words provide an outline of the book of Acts.
Devotion
A well-known optical illusion, sometimes called “My Wife and My Mother-in-Law”, is a drawing that appeared on a German postcard in the late 19th century. In it, the viewer may see a young girl, or an old woman, or both! I get frustrated looking at these picture puzzles, especially if someone else has to point out the solution. (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Wife_and_My_Mother-in-Law) Perhaps a similar confusing vision happens for the disciples. Not only are they witness to the risen Christ, but now they see his ascension, and the messengers in white. They also long to see freedom from oppression and tyranny. So much so that it clouds their vision. What they do not see is Christ’s purpose for them—and God’s true deliverance—in God’s call to be witnesses to the resurrection to “all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Beloved, how do we miss the big picture of God’s mission because of our own preconceptions?
Prayer
Abba/Imma, only you see the final picture, even as it unfolds around us. May we be agents of your vision to the ends of the earth. Amen.
Liz Rossing ‘14 M.Div.,Luther Semnary