Read:
What are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them? (Psalm 8:4, NRSV)
Remember, remember, the fifth of November,
Gunpowder treason and plot.
I know of no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot. (Traditional English rhyme)
Ponder:
Last week we asked ourselves the question: what is a saint? This week, on 5 November, we remember the Gunpowder Plot of 1605—one of the great acts of treachery in our history. We could be forgiven for thinking that Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators could hardly be called saints. So, if they are not saints, must they be sinners?
When people do serious harm, especially to innocent people, our indignation is understandable. But it can also lead us to label people and feel morally superior. We can condemn wrongdoing without dismissing the people responsible as beyond God’s concern.
Last week we said a saint is someone in whom God’s image is being renewed and God’s grace is becoming visible. If that is the case, are people who commit criminal or harmful acts saints as well, or are they sinners? Being a saint does not mean having never sinned. Saints, too, need God’s forgiveness and transforming grace.
Oswald Chambers reminds us of our dependence on grace. We all need God’s grace, and none of us is beyond his concern. (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, Classic edition, 8 February, “Instantaneous and Insistent Sanctification”.)
If you watch fireworks tonight and reflect unfavourably on Guy Fawkes, you might ask yourself: where do I still need God’s forgiveness, and where is his grace becoming visible in my life? Then give thanks to God once again for his grace.
Pray:
Gracious God, forgive me when I judge others and overlook my own failings. Help me to stand against wrongdoing without losing compassion. Renew your image in me, and may your grace become visible in my words and actions, especially when I am faced by things that others do that hurt me, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.