June 7, 2025

READ: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 

Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 1 Corinthians 11:26

A seemingly plain table with thirteen simple cups divided across separate panels make up the contemporary painting, “That They May All Be One,” which hangs in Wolfson College at Oxford University. Its simplicity actually emphasizes the significance of the event: Jesus’ last supper with His disciples. The most prominent panel, containing bread and a cup representing Jesus, is surrounded by twelve individual panels to signify the disciples’ presence.

The painting is a beautiful reminder of the meal where Jesus took bread and a cup to start a new celebration for all His followers, the practice of communion. And I appreciate the row of empty panels that complete the picture because the space seems to invite the viewer to join them at the table.

Paul encourages us that “whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). Everyone who believes that Jesus’ death and resurrection provides the way for peace with God has a space waiting for them at the table.

And when we proclaim, or remember, Jesus’ sacrifice when we take communion, we act as one community of believers across the world and throughout time. It is as a beautiful image of the unity of the church.

— Lisa M. Samra

Jesus, as we take part of the celebration You gave us, remind me that we do it as one community.

Source: Our Daily Bread

John 14:23-24 – Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. Whoever does not love Me does not keep My words. And the word that you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.”

Have you heard of a concept called a love language? It’s the idea that people have their own ways of understanding and communicating love. Some people do it by giving, some through service, others by spending time with the ones they love. In this passage, Jesus tells us His own love language, and that is “keeping My word.”

For Lutherans, that sounds troubling. We immediately think of all the ways we fail to obey Him, every day of our lives, and then we are filled with guilt! But that’s a misunderstanding. When Jesus says “keep My word,” He is using the Greek word tereo, which includes among its senses the meaning to protect, to guard, to preserve, like you would do with jewels or the photo of the person you love most in the world. We keep and guard in our hearts what Jesus says because we love Him dearly, and every word that comes from His mouth is precious to us.

Of course that includes obedience! But Jesus is no fool. He knows He’s not going to get perfect obedience from us, that’s the whole reason we needed Him to become our Savior! He suffered and died and rose again so that we could be God’s children—not by our own hard work, which could never be good enough, but by trusting in Jesus to make us right with God. What Jesus did for us is enough. Now we are set free to keep His word in a different way—out of free love, knowing that He will treasure and delight in even our weakest attempts to obey Him.

It’s like a toddler gathering dandelions for a parent or teacher. The dandelions have no real value in themselves—you can find them on any roadside. But when a toddler comes to you and hands you his gift of love, what do you do? You’re delighted. You’re overjoyed. You take those dandelions and you put them in water, like the rarest flowers on earth. Because they are a gift of love—and that is how Jesus treats our smallest efforts at obedience, however broken they may be. They are precious to Him.

And see how He rewards us! About those who love Him this way, He says, “My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” Now that’s a promise to make any Christian drool. God Himself will move in with us, and live with us on a daily basis, making His home with us! We will have Jesus’ company all the time, as close and familiar as anyone we have ever loved in our lives. What could be better? What more could we want?

WE PRAY: Dear Lord Jesus, teach me to love You with all my heart, because You have loved me first. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.

Let God Do His Work

God gives us more by going deeper than we ask. He wants not only your whole heart; he wants your heart whole. Why? Well hurt people, hurt people. Think about it. Why do you fly off the handle? Why do you avoid conflict? Why do you seek to please everyone? Might your tendencies have something to do with an unhealed hurt in your heart?

God wants to help you for your sake. Your family history has some sad chapters, but your history doesn’t have to be your future. The generational garbage can stop here and now. You don’t have to give your kids what your ancestors gave you. Talk to God about the scandals and scoundrels. Invite him to relive the betrayal with you. The process may take a long time—it may take a lifetime. Difficult for certain, but let God do his work.


Read more You'll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Turbulent Times

Luke 23:39-43 – One of the criminals who were hanged railed at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And He said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise.”

Just who was this blessed criminal who turned from his transgressions to the Savior, from death to eternal life? History and the Bible are silent, but tradition has given him a name: Dysmas. Christian chapels inside prison walls have sometimes been named in his honor: “The Church of St. Dysmas.” That’s not irony. It’s reassurance for those who are incarcerated. In the hour of his horrific execution, Dysmas, a great sinner, became a saint, that is, he became a child of God whose sins have been forgiven.

On the cross, Dysmas was in the presence of the Holy Christ. It is possible that Dysmas had been among the many publicans and sinners who had come to hear Jesus. The seed of God’s Word can lay dormant in a man’s heart for a long time and then sprout unexpectedly, growing quickly. Dysmas must at least have heard about the “prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee” (Matthew 21:11b). For three years there had been a great deal of talk about Him. And, no doubt, this day Dysmas was watching Christ with extreme interest ever since their death march began along the Via Dolorosa to Calvary.

As Dysmas gazed at Christ from his cross, the picture changed as a scene on a screen fades from one image into another. The innocent Christ became the diehard sinner’s Comforter, his life-giving Savior. Dysmas knew that Jesus would be able to help him. For Dysmas there was no time to atone for his sin, so he cast himself completely at the mercy of the Savior.

And Jesus’ reply to this last-minute plea? “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise.” Human justice was saying, “Punish the criminal severely.” God was saying, “Forgive the man completely.” Most of us would consign such a man to hell or certainly to jail; instead, Christ took him to heaven. Many would say he would first have to be purged before God would accept him. But Christ’s forgiveness is complete. His mercy sweeps aside all thought of atoning for one’s sin. Therefore, rather than condemnation, the Savior welcomed this man into heaven.

This is the same love and mercy God has for you and me! No matter what our sin, God’s forgiveness is greater. On the cross, Jesus atoned for the sins of the world. With His triumphant resurrection from the dead, God declares the believer forgiven, so that like Dysmas, you and I can live forever in the presence of God.

WE PRAY: Heavenly Father, thank You for the forgiveness made possible for all of us through Your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.

From “The Savior Takes a Sinner Home,” a sermon excerpt from Rev. Dr. Armin Oldsen, former Speaker of The Lutheran Hour

Reflection Questions:

1. Do you know someone who has been forgiven of a great many sins?
2. Have you ever identified with one or the other of the two criminals who were being crucified with Jesus?
3. Have you ever considered doing prison ministry?

Luke 24:44-53 – Then He [Jesus] said to them, “These are My words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His Name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” And He led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up His hands He blessed them. While He blessed them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.

Note to readers: This is an alternate reading from the Three Year Lectionary, and may not match up with the readings your church uses this Sunday.

I wonder why Jesus had them walk all the way out of the city up the Mount of Olives to Bethany. I can think of one practical reason—maybe He didn’t want to go up like a helicopter out of the middle of Jerusalem, with everyone staring! But there’s another possibility, too.

Jesus is sending them out into the world to tell the Gospel story to every human being—to let the whole world know that God Himself came down into our world as a human being, to live and to suffer and die on a cross for our sakes, to set us free from the power of evil. That’s a huge job to do! Now that Jesus has risen from the dead and is returning to God the Father, you could say that He’s setting their feet on the road—helping them take their first baby steps out of Jerusalem into the world.

Of course, they return to Jerusalem the hour after Jesus ascends into heaven, because they’re waiting for the Holy Spirit to come first before they can really get started. Jerusalem is home—at least for now. And we too have our own comfortable places that feel like home, where God nurtures us and helps us to grow up and become mature.

But we can’t stay there forever, can we? Jesus comes to us in our own daily lives and helps us take our own baby steps in God’s mission. As we move out of our own comfort zones, we do it with Jesus leading us and the Holy Spirit filling us, God working through us—so that what we do doesn’t come from us but from God.

WE PRAY: Lord, when You call me to do something I’m uncomfortable about, lead me Yourself, and let me walk in Your footsteps so I know what to do. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.

Storms and Delivery

Everybody has bad days. And then there’s Paul.

Let’s recap: Paul was wrongfully imprisoned, and then a plot was made to kill him. Even though they were unable to kill him, he was still kept prisoner, awaiting trial for more than two years. A spectacle was made of him. Then he was sent on a boat to Rome that was almost blown apart in a storm, and he was shipwrecked on an island. In the next chapter, he even gets bit by a snake. Talk about adding insult to injury.

While I hope this hasn’t been your particular experience, maybe this story resonates with you. Maybe you’re stuck in what started as a bad day, but progressed into a bad week, and is now a bad season.

Throughout the recounting of this story in Acts 27, we see how people react to this parade of bad events. They don’t listen to each other; they try to run away to save themselves, even when they’re needed; and they even plan on killing those who they’ve been charged to deliver to Rome—all because of situational anxiety and mistrust, combined to bring out the worst in people.

But how did Paul respond? Paul calmly encouraged people, telling them they would be OK, and he listened to the instructions of God. He told the people each of them would survive, and they needed to eat and take care of themselves. It’s likely this behavior saved his life from those looking to get rid of the prisoners.

The way we react when things go wrong is an indicator of the future—not because we go through the day like the sky is falling, but because it is inevitable in this fallen world that we will endure hardship. We get to choose to build that foundation, and like Paul, hopefully, it will be God who delivers us from our storms.