Psalm 22:27 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 22:27 on biblegateway.com
Verse 27All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.
Devotion
I had occasion last summer to attend an unusual dedication service. An open country congregation, well over 100 years old, was forced to close its doors because of normal economics and population decline in rural areas. The church building would eventually be taken away and only the cemetery would remain.
The wise people who made this decision did not want their church to be forgotten. They set up a stone memorial to say that a congregation had once lived in this place. This was more than a cemetery; it was a place that had been a center for the proclamation of the Gospel. In this place hundreds had been nourished on the Word and now are in other places around the world exercising their faith. Echoes of that Word still ring wherever its sons and daughters worship. One of the dedication service participants was a young pastor, a son of the congregation, now serving another parish. The closing of a church may be inevitable, but the results of its ministry continue.
Prayer
Lord, remind those whose congregation must close its doors that its ministry continues wherever its members have gone. Amen.