May 2025 Devotional

OPENING PRAYER

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Prince of Peace, we come before You with heavy and restless hearts. Grant us the inner peace that surpasses all understanding. Calm the storms within us and fill us with the assurance of Your presence. Help us to cast our anxieties upon You and to trust in Your perfect peace. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

READINGS FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 25, 2025

Psalm 67 (NLT)

May God be merciful and bless us. May his face smile with favor on us. Selah
May your ways be known throughout the earth, your saving power among people everywhere. May the nations praise you, O God. Yes, may all the nations praise you. Let the whole world sing for joy, because you govern the nations with justice and guide the people of the whole world. Selah
May the nations praise you, O God. Yes, may all the nations praise you. Then the earth will yield its harvests, and God, our God, will richly bless us. Yes, God will bless us, and people all over the world will fear him.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; As it was in the beginning, it is now and will be forever. Amen.

The Gospel: John 14:23-29 (NLT)

Jesus said to Judas (not Iscariot), “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. He who does not love me does not keep my words; and the word which you hear is not mine, but the Father’s who sent me. “I’ve told you these things while I’m still with you. But the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. You heard me say, “I’m leaving, and I’m coming to you.” If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe.”

MEDITATIONS

An Exhortation, an Amazing Promise, and an Extraordinary Gift
(CQ Anglican Church)

INTRODUCTION:
Have you ever been told something that didn’t make any sense to you until later? Maybe it was your parents, a school teacher, or a friend who gave you information about something and then days, weeks, months, or even years later, it all made sense. Part of our Gospel reading today is a bit like this.

Just as Jesus prepared for his death, he also prepared his disciples for his departure. John, chapters 13 to 17, have been called Jesus’ Farewell Messages. It is clear from this section that at that time, the disciples did not understand some of what Jesus was saying to them. In John 13:12, after Jesus washed their feet, He asked them, “Do you understand what I have done for you?” In John 16:17-18 some of the disciples said to one another, “What does it mean… We don’t understand what he means. This is now the fifth Sunday after Easter. Next Sunday we remember the ascension of Jesus and the following week we remember the coming of the Holy Spirit. The resurrected Jesus continued to appear to his followers for a period of six weeks before ascending to heaven. The disciples must have thought deeply about all that Jesus had said to them during the previous three years of his ministry and especially during the time leading up to his crucifixion. They were beginning to understand things they hadn’t understood before, like the passage we’ve heard read today from John 14. Jesus did not waste words. Here are three things that were important to the early followers of Jesus and should be important to Christians today:

JESUS’ EXHORTATION: IF YOU LOVE ME, OBEY ME!
It’s easy to say that we love Jesus, but is there any evidence of such love? Jesus repeats what He had said before, as in John 14:15-21: He who loves Me will obey My teaching. Obedience is a test of genuine love for God. In fact, it is a test of whether a person is a genuine Christian or not. Jesus also put the same idea in a negative way: He who does not love me will not obey my teachings. Being a Christian involves accepting Jesus as our Savior, our savior, the one who paid the penalty for our sin on the cross. But it also involves accepting Jesus as our Lord, our boss, our Master.

Having Jesus as our Lord means that we live for Him and obey Him. As someone has said, if Jesus is not the Lord of all, then He is not Lord at all! This is an excellent reason to read the Bible regularly. If we want to obey Jesus, then we need to know what he says! If we want to improve our golf, our cooking or anything in life, then we turn to experts, books or DVDs or attend courses so that we can learn and grow in our particular interest. If we want to grow as Christians and our obedience to our Lord, then we have to go to the manufacturer’s manual!

JESUS’ AMAZING PROMISE:
Jesus made an extraordinary statement at this time about those who truly love Jesus: My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Jesus was speaking of the coming of the Holy Spirit into the lives of all those who repent of their sins and accept Jesus as their savior, as we see in John 14:25-26. This Holy Spirit will teach you all things and remind you of all that I have said to you.

Jesus had taught his disciples many things before his death. Now, the Holy Spirit brought those things into their minds and they began to understand. Jesus’ promise was being fulfilled. As we read the Bible and listen to sermons and read good Christian books, the same Holy Spirit will help us understand. As we converse with others, He will bring to mind parts of God’s Word that would be helpful to mention.

AN EXTRAORDINARY GIFT:
While the Holy Spirit is certainly a great gift for every Christian, Jesus gave the disciples another as well. The disciples were anxious for Jesus to leave them. They were afraid. Jesus gave them peace: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. When Jesus appeared to the frightened disciples in the Upper Room after He had risen from the dead, John records that He said to them on at least two occasions: Peace be with you!

How we need God’s peace: in family life, in the life of our church, in our personal lives, in our worries about money, wayward family members, in times of drought, fires, and floods; the loss of our jobs, as we age, as our memories are challenged, in times of sickness and grief. There are so many circumstances in life that have the potential to cause us stress and anxiety. How much we need God’s peace! Jesus said all these things in preparation for the disciples for the time when he would no longer be with them physically: “All these things I have spoken while I was still with you. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it happens you will believe. What a loving Savior!

CONCLUSION:
Before he was crucified, Jesus prepared his disciples by teaching them things that would be useful when he was no longer with them: he exhorted them to obey him. He made the amazing promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit. He gave them peace for their troubled minds. May God help us this week to live for Jesus as our Lord, strengthened by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And may we experience God’s peace every day and in every situation.

CHRISTIAN POEM

Perfect Peace
(Nathaniel Hendry)

On the highest hills and in the deepest depths
I sought lasting rest
however, no distraction could calm
The deadly claws of the dark cage of fear
Until this call put an end to my search:
“Come unto me; I will give you rest”

When my mind is full of stress and care
And in my darkness I despair
When all seems lost and hope cools
Let Your deep stillness flood my soul
On You alone I take my care
‘Cause in my sadness You’re there

When I’m lying in my bed at night
With past regrets flooding my mind
My Thoughts Point to Calvary
Where all my sin was nailed to You
The weight is lifted from my chest
For in the grace of Christ I find sweet Rest

The Peace Christ Gives Me
Because He lives in me
He gently wipes away every tear
Like perfect peace melts all fears
The world’s distractions can’t be compared
To the peace that God gives to the desperate

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. ‘Cause yours is the
the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

BLESSING

A Gaelic Blessing
(John Rutter, 1978)

Deep peace of the wave that runs for you
Deep peace of the air that made for you
Deep peace of the quiet land for you
Deep peace of the bright stars for you
Deep peace of the soft night for you

The moon and stars shed their healing light on you
Profound Peace of Christ, of Christ
Of Christ, the light of the world for you
Profound peace of Christ to you.



Respectfully presented by Lori Toro
Verger, Chaplain Corps, OTJ

Translation assistance by Archbishop Raul E. Toro, Jr
Chaplain Corp, OTJ