It's interesting how we see things through the lens of our own life experience. Two people can hear the same speech or read the same words and draw very different conclusions. Luther's explanation of the second article of the creed is written personally and with an eye toward the individual. "I believe that Jesus Christ.....is my Lord." "He has redeemed me..." "He has purchased and freed me from all my sins..." And of course it is Jesus who has made this personal relationship possible. "Not with silver or gold, but with his holy, precious blood and his innocent suffering and death." Thanks be to God!
The writer of today's devotion, Rozella Haydee White, says she reads these words from her "lived experience of a Black woman of Christian faith." From that life experience, she is familiar with how individualistic faith can be improperly used to perpetuate injustice "and a complacency that prevents people from addressing oppressive systems and structures." This is certainly true as well. So we need voices like hers, reminding us that the cross does save us personally, but also calls us to eradicate injustice, oppression, and suffering wherever it is found.
...as stated in the devotion prayer: "open us up to new ways of thinking and being". We often are so focused on our own perspective, that we miss what is happening in the larger community.
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