by Pastor Doug Brauner

Our Peace in Troubled Times

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

Some of you have followed my photography project: 1 Camera, 1 Lens, 1 Film, 1 Block, which I began in January of this year. One day each month I make a trip to downtown Colorado Springs to take pictures of one city block.

I never know what I’m going to see.

I had planned on heading downtown on St. Patrick’s Day to capture the flavor of this moment. Because of the weather forecast, I made the outing a day earlier than planned. I still hoped to capture a little Leprechaun charm.

It’s hard to find people celebrating when a viral pandemic hits the globe. A number of restaurants had already closed their doors in anticipation of our governor’s edict that they shut down their in-store operations.

This picture captures the first scene I saw when I began my journey around this city block. I was captivated by the emptiness, the chairs stacked on tables inside, and the reflection in the window.

After I developed the picture, I saw something that I hadn’t seen when I pressed my shutter button.

I saw a cross in the reflection.

I’ve had a person say that they saw it, then didn’t see it, then saw it again. Isn’t that how it is with seeing what Jesus has done for us? There are times that we clearly see what he has done and there are other times when we don’t. There are times when all we can see is God’s love poured into our lives through Jesus and other times when we question his love.

Whether you see the cross or don’t, it stands present everyday of your life.

“God was pleased to have all of himself live in Christ. God was also pleased to bring everything on earth and in heaven back to himself through Christ. He did this by making peace through Christ’s blood sacrificed on the cross.” 
Colossians 1:19-20 God’s Word to the Nations

You have peace with God through Christ. May people see a reflection of his cross, his peace, in you today.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado