Clinton Street UMC

Clinton Street UMC
Lectionary Devotions
By Pastor Lyn Ende
Devotion for Friday July 10, 2026
Please read Lectionary text for Sunday July 12: 7th Sunday after Pentecost: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23.

Matthew chapter 13 is known as “The Parable Discourse.” Matthew presents a series of parables told by Jesus that describe the kingdom and reign of God. “Parable” means to “throw alongside.” They present comparisons meant to be revelatory through the engagement of the imagination. Many of the parables Jesus tells are agrarian in nature, using things that would be common to, and easily understood by, farmers and peasants – to people living close to the land and often on the margins of society.

Maybe that is why He had to explain the parable of the sower to the fishermen, the tax collector, and whatever previous occupations His twelve disciples represented. All in all, they seem to be a clueless bunch – until imbued by the Hoy Spirit.

Where have you found yourself in the parable previous times that you have read it? Where do you find yourself in the parable this time? As the sower, or the soil? As which kind of soil?

We would like to think of ourselves as the “good” soil, bearing a fruitful harvest. At times, we probably are. But at other times, we may be one of the other types of soil.

We might like to think of ourselves as the sower, freely and indiscriminately spreading the gospel everywhere we go. Too often, though, we restrict our “sowing” to what we think is “good” soil, receptive to the message. But the quality of the soil is not our responsibility; we are only called to spread the seed.

At other times, though, we might be the birds, or the rocks, or the thorns, preventing the seed from growing. May God grant us the vision to see that and the willingness to repent, and then seek and accept God’s forgiveness, and God’s help in mending our ways.

Clinton Street UMC
Lectionary Devotions
By Pastor Lyn Ende
Devotion for Thursday July 9, 2026
Please read Lectionary text for Sunday July 12: 7th Sunday after Pentecost: Romans 8:1-11.

Paul, in Romans 7, has painted a dire picture of the consequences of sin and our inability to control/subdue/eradicate the power of sin in our lives. Chapter 8 begins with the antidote to that “wretched” state: “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 8:1).
No condemnation.
We are freed from the power of sin by the Spirit of God which was active in the life and person of Jesus Christ and now abides in us.
It is not something we can do for ourselves. It is a gift of grace; a gift of God, enabling us to live life in the Spirit. Transforming us to be more like Christ; enabling us to live differently.
If we cooperate. If we choose to allow the Spirit to guide us.

Clinton Street UMC
Lectionary Devotions
By Pastor Lyn Ende
Devotion for Wednesday July 8, 2026
Please read Lectionary text for Sunday July 12: 7th Sunday after Pentecost: Psalm 119:105-112.

How do we know where we are going? How do we see our path?

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Ps. 119:105).

God’s word is our guide. Scripture. All of Scripture, not just the parts we like, the parts that make sense to us, the parts that agree with our ideologies. Scripture, taken as a whole, viewed as a whole, including its contradictions and challenges.

God’s Word made flesh – Jesus – is our guide. What He said, how He lived, what He did.

Let us “incline (our) heart(s) to perform Your statutes forever, to the end.” (Ps. 119:112).

Clinton Street UMC
Lectionary Devotions
By Pastor Lyn Ende
Devotion for Tuesday July 7, 2026
Please read Lectionary text for Sunday July 12: 7th Sunday after Pentecost: Genesis 25:19-34.

The story of God’s covenant promises to Abraham of progeny and land continue in the next generation, as does the seeming precariousness of those promises. Rebekah, whose procurement as wife to Isaac seemed so providential, is barren. Isaac prays to God, and God grants his prayer: Rebekah becomes pregnant. Was God waiting for Isaac to ask Him? To become desperate enough to turn to Him?

The story of family conflict also continues, with the struggle between the brothers beginning in the womb, evidently making it a very difficult pregnancy for Rebekah – to the point where she despairs of her life. She goes somewhere to “inquire of the Lord:” to a prophet or oracle, and receives the prophecy of two nations, two peoples, and the supremacy of the younger over the older. The Jacob-Esau story is not just a story about one particular family: it is the origin story for the nation of Edom, which will often be in opposition to Israel in the future.

Favoritism, and the resulting family dysfunction, also becomes a prominent theme. Isaac favors Esau; Rebekah favors Jacob. The twin brothers are very different individuals, with different attributes, different interests, and different pursuits. Esau is a hunter of wild game, whereas Jacob is pastoral – tending domesticated flocks; a distinction which will become more significant after the Mosaic covenant and the dietary laws which develop later in Israel’s history.

We also see different personality characteristics. Esau is impulsive and rash. He is given to “instant gratification:” he wants what he wants and he wants it now. Was he really that hungry that he was willing to trade his birthright for a bowl of stew? Jacob, on the other hand, emerges as cunning and sly, able to delay gratification of immediate needs or wants in favor of a long-term aim or gain.

Where do we see ourselves in this story? As a parent favoring one child over another? As given to impulsivity, or to cunning? How often do we choose the immediate over the long-term? Are we able to see past the immediate gratification of a temporary, physical need or want to the long-term, often intangible, rewards?

Clinton Street UMC
Lectionary Devotions
By Pastor Lyn Ende
Devotion for Friday July 3, 2026
Please read Lectionary text for Sunday July 5: 6th Sunday after Pentecost: Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30.

Jesus compares His generation – Judah in 1st century CE – to spoiled, bratty children, unsatisfied with what they have and contradictory about what they want. He is referring specifically to those who complain and criticize John the Baptizer for his ascetic lifestyle AND complain and criticize Jesus for His non-ascetic lifestyle.

What would Jesus compare our generation to?

Spoiled, bratty children, never satisfied with what we have and contradictory about what we want, still fits.

What else would He say about us? I shudder to think. We, as a society, are so far from being what and who He has called us to be, so remiss in doing what He has called us to do.

Thank God that He sees more than I/we see. That God sees the whole picture, all of history. That God sees hearts and intentions. That God sees the progress that has been made in building His kingdom, even when/if I/we can’t.

Clinton Street UMC
Lectionary Devotions
By Pastor Lyn Ende
Devotion for Thursday July 2, 2026
Please read Lectionary text for Sunday July 5: 6th Sunday after Pentecost: Romans 7:15-25a.

Paul is talking about a conflict between grace and sin; between the law of God and the law of sin.
Paul sees sin as an active power, not just as individual acts. An active power opposed to God; a force that damages and can destroy our relationship with God and a power over which we have no control. We can know what we should or should not do, but we lack the power or strength to resist sin’s influence. Sin’s influence starts in the heart and mind, even if we never act upon it, and it is not enough for us to govern our actions if our hearts and minds are still subject to sinful influences. We can attempt to control our thoughts; we can choose not to dwell on certain things, but things will still pop into our heads: our sinful, human nature will manifest itself.
We are not able to rid ourselves of this sinful nature. It is not a matter of sufficient or more willpower. We need a Deliverer; we need a Savior. We need to recognize the presence and power of sin AND our inability to control/subdue/eradicate it in order to recognize our need for Jesus. We need to recognize our sinfulness, our sinful nature. We need to repent and ask Jesus for help.

Clinton Street UMC
Lectionary Devotions
By Pastor Lyn Ende
Devotion for Wednesday July 1, 2026
Please read Lectionary text for Sunday July 5: 6th Sunday after Pentecost: Psalm 45:10-17.

Scholars believe this psalm commemorates a royal wedding, as indicated by the subtitle in the NRSVUE: “Ode for a Royal Wedding.” They aren’t certain (or in agreement) regarding the original marriage partners, but see it as appropriate for any royal wedding in ancient Israel. The first 9 verses primarily focus on the groom: his handsome, physical appearance, his military prowess, his responsibility as God’s anointed leader for enacting and assuring justice and righteousness. The Lectionary omits that part, and begins its selection with the bride: her physical beauty and gorgeous attire, her subservience to her husband, and the deference she will receive as queen.
It is difficult to see modern relevance for this psalm as an “Ode for a Royal Wedding.” It came to be read messianically in both post-exilic Judaism and later in Christianity: the king/groom is Christ and the queen/bride is the church.
That interpretation makes the psalm more palatable for me. I view marriage as a partnership, with each person loving, honoring, and respecting the other and seeking the welfare of the other, with neither one subservient to the other.
But the church is subservient to her Lord, and I will, and do, bow to Jesus.