Devotional for Palm Sunday
by Vickie Machado
to
loose the bonds of injustice,
to
undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go
free,
and
to break every yoke? (Isaiah 58: 6, NRSV)
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I love biking around town. It’s an easy, sustainable form of
transportation. However, choosing to bike to work or school is a lot easier
than having no other transportation options. When stormy weather moves in or if
heavy loads appear, I reluctantly (yet thankfully) start up my car. Often times
we forget that choice is a powerful gift. Choices provide a sense of control,
autonomy, and privilege. We all have decisions in life, some more optimal than
others. When situations are dire, our choices seem to dwindle. They become harder
to make as the question becomes: feed the children or put gas in the car to go
to work in an effort to create a sustainable source of income? It is choices
like these that are difficult to make. A lack of options takes away
decision-making abilities and reduces a person to a follower, a child, unable
to decide their path in life.
As people of faith, we have the choice everyday to follow God. We
choose how we live our lives. A positive choice to follow our Creator does not
always mean an easy choice. We decide
the fast we take. To choose to loosen the
bonds of injustice is a choice for justice. To choose to undo the thongs of the yoke is a choice
for freedom. Injustice and oppression are a lack of opportunity. If we have the
choice to fast, to follow Christ, and to undo the hurt in our world, then we
are making the decision to expand that choice to others. A fast is much easier
to make when you choose it. God is not demanding we stand for justice, listen
to the voiceless or help our down-trodden brothers and sisters, out of spite
but rather, is asking us to choose, with love in our hearts, to stand against
oppression. Choosing justice is a decision to stand in solidarity with the
poor, care for the earth, and promote sustainable, healthy futures for everyone.
Choosing justice is choosing to stand for God, God’s people, and all of
Creation.
Prayer: God, thank you for this day. Thank you for
the choices you place in my life. Please help my actions to further your
kingdom by breaking the bonds of injustice and providing healthy, sustainable
choices to others and your creation.
______________________________________________
Vickie Machado lives in
Florida and is part of the Leadership Team for the EcoStewards program, a grassroots
community that shapes young adult leaders (ages 20-30) through place-based
experiences that connect faith and the environment. For more information see: https://ecostewardsprogram.wordpress.com
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