by Rev Douglas Brauner

We are empowered by God to love our cities.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“May there be abundance of grain in the land; on the tops of the mountains may it wave; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field!”
Psalm 72:16 English Standard Version

After work one day I grabbed my Pentax K1000, loaded it with Fomapan 400 film, and headed for the streets of Colorado Springs. A local pastor, and friend of mine, asked me to send him a few pictures that might be used to grace the walls of a collaborative work space for Christian ministries. This friend wanted a picture of Pikes Peak taken from the middle of downtown. My goal was to capture people interacting with our static city.

I’ve seen numerous pictures taken from this intersection at Pikes Peak and Nevada, but I hadn’t seen them from this perspective. Most pictures attempt to eliminate any sign of people and focus on the street, and buildings, pointing to Pikes Peak.

Before I took this picture I had in mind what I wanted. The picture needed to show a moving car as a way of depicting the interaction of people with the city. Our cities are more than static buildings aging over time. They’re a place where people interact within these buildings, and with each other.

Jesus has interacted with us as the King who rules our lives.

Psalm 72 is attributed to King Solomon. It’s a song in praise of the king who rules God’s people in faithfulness. Jesus is our King who has poured out peace on us through his sacrifice and victory over death.

Just as Jesus interacts with us, we play an important role in our cities as we interact with others who make our cities what they are. The mercy and grace of God empowers us to “blossom” where he has planted us. Our cities need us, not so much to change governments but to be his presence as we interact with people.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado