Lent 2010 #4 - Walk while you have the light

John 12:27-36 ("The New Testament and Psalms: An Inclusive Version")

²⁷"Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—'Mother-Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. ²⁸Mother-Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." ²⁹The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." ³⁰Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. ³¹Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. ³²And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." ³³He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. ³⁴The crowd answered him, "We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever. How can you say that the Human One must be lifted up? Who is this Human One?" ³⁵Jesus said to them, "The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. ³⁶While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light." After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them.


THOUGHTS:
"Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you," Jesus says. And then, as if to prove his point, the lights in my bedroom wink out. A fuse is blown, so down three flights of stairs I go to check the circuit breakers in this old house where I live with five other Lutheran Volunteer Corps volunteers. Every LVC house has a name, and my housemates and I named our home the Wellstone House in honor of Shelia and Senator Paul Wellstone, progressive politicians in Minnesota who died in a plane crash in 2003 and who reflected the kind of light that Jesus speaks of in this passage-- as much as they could have, at least.
I'm relieved to see that Jesus also has trouble in his soul; its often difficult, especially in this sunshine-scarce Minnesota winter, for me to remember that I am not the only one who struggles. Jesus, a few verses before these, made the connection between a life of service and a life of sacrifice-- even to the point of death. But will that upcoming hour of sacrifice, that last witness to love in the midst of violence, do any good? And I wonder, too, about whether the joys that accompany living in intentional community are worth the painful pieces or whether the draining work I do to lighten the burdensome loads of other makes any difference. Does any of this glorfiy God's name, to use Jesus' phrase?
God's reply to Jesus resonates like thunder: I have glorified my name, and I will glorify it again. God, who has in the past stood in solidarity with those who labor for justice in love, also stands with us. Our actions matter, our lives matter, our sacrifices matter.
So for now I will try to walk in whatever light comes my way, relfecting the love of God and illuminating the way of shalom. During this Lenten season, I hope to get an inkling about what it might mean to be a child of this light-- to live as God's own beloved, whose name is glorified and whose light is reflected by my life.


PRAYER:
God who is faithful to all times, Christ who draws all people to yourself, Spirit who moves all the earth: accompany me on this journey towards justice and peace. May your light and love make the path visible to me, and to others through me by your unfathomable grace. Thank you. Amen.

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Ben Masters is a graduate of George Mason University and an alum of Lutheran Campus Ministry at GMU. He is currently working at Open Arms of Minnesota in Minneapolis, through Lutheran Volunteers Corps and is a proud member of the Wellstone House.

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These devotions for young adults are provided by:
Lutheran Campus Ministry at George Mason University http://www.gmu.edu/org/lutheran
Lutheran Student Association at the University of Maryland http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~lutheran/lsa/
DC Young Adults http://www.dcyoungadults.org/
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Lent 2010 #3

Acts 7:35-42

³⁵"It was this Moses whom they rejected when they said, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge?' and whom God now sent as both ruler and liberator through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. ³⁶He led them out, having performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years. ³⁷This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, 'God will raise up a prophet for you from your own people as he raised me up.' ³⁸He is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living oracles to give to us. ³⁹Our ancestors were unwilling to obey him; instead, they pushed him aside, and in their hearts they turned back to Egypt, ⁴⁰saying to Aaron, 'Make gods for us who will lead the way for us; as for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.' ⁴¹At that time they made a calf, offered a sacrifice to the idol, and reveled in the works of their hands.

⁴²But God turned away from them and handed them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: 'Did you offer to me slain victims and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

Thoughts:

God raises up Israel and lifts them out of slavery from Egypt using an ordinary man named Moses. Yet the people are never happy. Despite the people's sin and rejection of God Moses says in verse 37 that God will raise up a prophet who will come from your own people. Many thought this prophet was Joshua but actually Moses was referring to one yet unborn, namely Jesus. Despite what God has done for us and continues to do for us how many times have we been ungrateful or unsatisified with what we have? How easy it is for us to turn to other gods, wanting more and more.

Prayer:

O Lord I thank for all that you have given me. Help me focus on my devotion to you rather than devotion to those things that separate me from you. Amen

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Thoughts by Rev. Tom Knoll

Pastor First Trinity Lutheran, Washington D.C.

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These devotions for young adults are provided by:
+ Lutheran Campus Ministry at George Mason University http://www.gmu.edu/org/lutheran
+ Lutheran Student Association at the University of Maryland http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~lutheran/lsa/
+ DC Young Adults http://www.dcyoungadults.org/
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View or subscribe to these devotions by RSS or email from http://lentendevotions.blogspot.com

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Lent 2010 #2

Acts 7:30-34

30 "Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight; and as he approached to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 "I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, "Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the mistreatment of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Come now, I will send you to Egypt.'

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THOUGHTS:

This New Testament passage retells the story of Moses. In the story, we hear God telling His prophet that He sees the suffering and is going to do something about it. I find that to be a rather comforting thought. This is a story of God calling Moses and is one of the many “call” stories from the Bible.

What makes this passage so different is that instead of God coming to the person he is calling, Moses comes to him, on accident of course. This is what really got me thinking. As Christians, I find we spend a lot of time talking about what God is calling us to do. We spend much less time talking about where we meet God.

God called Moses from a burning bush: just a lowly bush and basic elemental fire. Where do we find our own burning bushes? In what places does God surprise us?

I know for me, one of those places is in sunrises and sunsets. The picture above does not do justice to the sunrise from the top Mount Sinai. While there I could feel God’s presence and the sacredness of the location. For me it was a “burning bush” moment, even though I am still working out what God was saying to me. It just so happened that the burning bush is in the Monastery at the base of the mountain. (see the picture below)

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PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, as we celebrate Lent, our attention turns to you. Allow us to see Your presence in our lives and in the world around us. Make us more aware of the “burning bush” moments in our lives. Grant us what we need to continue to on our paths through Lent so that our Lent might be fruitful. In Christ name we pray, Amen.

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Thoughts by Christopher Bergtholdt, a Senior at George Mason University
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These devotions for young adults are provided by:
Lutheran Campus Ministry at George Mason University http://www.gmu.edu/org/lutheran
Lutheran Student Association at the University of Maryland http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~lutheran/lsa/
DC Young Adults http://www.dcyoungadults.org/
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View or subscribe to these devotions by RSS or email fromhttp://lentendevotions.blogspot.com
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Lent 2010 #1 - Ash Wednesday

It's Lent again, and we'll be sending out these daily Lenten devotions until Easter. They are geared to young adults, and will be written primarily by students and staff involved with the Lutheran Campus Ministries near DC, a variety of Lutheran Pastors in the DC Metro Synod, and some others as well. Feel free to share them with your friends!

Isaiah 58:1-12 (NRSV)

1 Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Announce to my people their rebellion, to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet day after day they seek me and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments, they delight to draw near to God.

3 "Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?" Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day, and oppress all your workers. 4 Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high. 5 Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?

6 Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

8 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.

If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, 10 if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. 11 The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. 12 Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.

THOUGHTS

In this passage, the prophet is very critical of what were understood to be proper religious observances at the time. These are people who "delight to draw near to God" (verse 2). They are fasting and laying in sackcloth and ashes. But they are doing it for themselves – and it is causing divisions within their communities (verses 3-5).

Lent is the season of the church year in which we focus on drawing closer to God – during which we talk about returning to God. Many times you hear of people fasting by giving up chocolate or swearing. Is this being turned inward to a time of general self-improvement or are these the fasts that God chooses? (See verses 6-7.)

If you are giving up something for Lent, take some time to really think about the spiritual component. How is it helping you grow closer to God? If you give up TV for Lent, think about how you can use that time to work for justice for the oppressed (verse 6). If you give up a particular type of food, think about how you can use the money you save to feed people who are hungry (verse 7). If you give up shopping, consider how you can use the money you save to clothe people in need of clothing (verse 7).

How will your Lenten practices help you grow closer to God and the things that God loves, such as the other people around you? How will you grow closer to your family? How will you share God's love with others this Lent? How will you repair breaches, restore streets, and heal communities?


PRAYER

Lord God, may this Lent be a time in which you lead us to walk in your ways. Help us to feed, forgive, heal, repair, and restore according to your will. In Jesus name, AMEN.

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Thoughts by Ben Buss, Lutheran Campus Minister at George Mason University

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These devotions for young adults are provided by:

Lutheran Campus Ministry at George Mason University http://www.gmu.edu/org/lutheran

Lutheran Student Association at the University of Maryland http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~lutheran/lsa/

DC Young Adults http://www.dcyoungadults.org/

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Feel free to share them with your friends!

View or subscribe to these devotions by RSS or email from http://lentendevotions.blogspot.com

Also available on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7958874287