Lent 2010 #10

Matthew 23:37-39 (NRSV)

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you, desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'"

REFLECTION:

The contrast between harsh and tender in this passage really strikes me. On one hand, Jerusalem "kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it", but on the other hand, Jesus longs to gather us "together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings". Jesus tells us that if we allow Him to gather us together, God will give us comfort and strength against the harsher parts of life, and we will have each other in community, under the wings of God, for support. So let us say "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord (verse 39)" and return to our Mother Hen to be kept safe.

PRAYER:

Comforting God, help us to listen to your call, and be gathered up in your wings together; so that we can have strength, comfort, and support on our journeys. AMEN.

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Thoughts by Anna Jones, Sophomore at George Mason University involved with Lutheran Campus Ministry

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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 #9 - Faith and Doubt

Psalm 27 (NRSV)

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh— my adversaries and foes— they shall stumble and fall.
3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.

4 One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.
5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.
6 Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!
8 "Come," my heart says, "seek his face!" Your face, Lord, do I seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!

10 If my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up.
11 Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
12 Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence.

13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

THOUGHTS:

The psalmist begins with such confidence:  I won't fear when my enemies come to eat my flesh! (verses 1-3)

Yet, it is the pleading that catches my attention today: the cry for graciousness and for an answer (verse 7) and the request to not be forsaken (verse 9).

One of the things I value about the Bible is that it affirms us even in our questions.  We see that even great people of faith like King David, to whom this psalm is attributed, can bounce between assuredness and doubt in the flicker of an instant. People sometimes call this type of moment a crisis-of-faith, but I think these times help to form our faith.  

This summer, it was pointed out to me that we can only have faith when we doubt.  Certainty doesn't require faith.  Doubt does.  In the words of my friend, Pastor Jay Gamelin: 

"Faith is the ants in the pants of your doubt."

So the next time you find yourself wrestling with faith and doubt, remember that they work together, and remember the goodness of God.  As you journey though life, "be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!" (verse 14)

PRAYER:

Almighty God, our light and salvation, dispel our fears and comfort us when the world seems to be consuming us.  Allow us to sit at your feet, and to learn your ways.  In the name of Jesus the Christ we pray. 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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Lent 2010 #8

PHILIPPIANS 3:2-12 (NRSV)

²Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! ³For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh— ⁴even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh. 

If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: ⁵circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 

⁷Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. ⁸More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. ¹⁰I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, ¹¹if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 

¹²Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.

THOUGHTS:

Some people seem to have it all.  They come from the right families, attend the right schools, choose the right majors, land the right internships, make the right connections, and for them the sky seems to be the limit.  Yes, some people seem to have it all.  And some others try to get for themselves as many of the "right" things as they can.

At one time, Paul was one who certainly seemed to have all the right stuff.  He had a resumé of rightness, or of righteousness, that his friends would have looked at with envy.  But then he encountered Jesus Christ and Paul's eyes were opened to seeing that all of what he did, and knew, and achieved, was not enough to put him right with God; that no matter what, he would always come up short because he was a flawed, frail and finite human being.  Through his encounter with Jesus Christ, Paul learned the good news that he didn't have to rely on his own attempts at achieving rightness, and instead could count on the rightness of a relationship with God made possible to him through his faith in the crucified and risen Christ.  And so it is for us.

Like Paul, this Lenten season we can take heart in knowing that for us, it isn't about what we do, but about what God has done, is doing and will do for us.  That frees us to do what we do, know and achieve, not because we have to (in order to prove our worth, our value, our importance, our lovability), but because we want to.  Doing so not for our sake, but for the sake of others out of our love of God and our neighbor in response to what God has done for us in Christ Jesus.


PRAYER:

Gracious God, as we continue on our Lenten journey, help us always to remember that we love and serve you, and our fellow human beings, not to try to make us worthy of your love and forgiveness, but in response to the love and forgiveness that you have first showed us through your son, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

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Thoughts by Rev. Mark W. Olsen, Director of Admissions and Enrollment Services, Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg

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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 #7

Luke 21:34--22:6 (NRSV)

"Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man." Every day he was teaching in the temple, and at night he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives, as it was called. And all the people would get up early in the morning to listen to him in the temple.

Now the festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was near. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus to death, for they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve; he went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers of the temple police about how he might betray him to them. They were greatly pleased and agreed to give him money. So he consented and began to look for an opportunity to betray him to them when no crowd was present.

THOUGHTS:

"Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve…" (verse 22:3)  

This line from Luke's gospel has always left me a bit confused.  How exactly did Satan enter into Judas?  What did it feel like?  Was Judas aware of what was happening in that moment?  If Satan entered into Judas, can Satan enter into me, too?  

To really understand what is happening here, though, we have to go back to the beginning of Luke's gospel.  At the beginning of chapter 4 the devil (otherwise known as Satan) tempts Jesus, trying to get Jesus to worship him instead of God.  Scripture says, "When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time."  Here, in today's passage is that opportune time!  

Satan's opportune time was Judas' moment of weakness.  It was the moment when he took his eyes off of Jesus.  It was the moment that he lost his way and got off track.  And, unfortunately, Judas isn't the only one who has such moments.  We all do.  We all have those moments when our lives seem to get off track and we are tempted.    

Hence, we need the season of Lent.  The Lenten journey is about getting ourselves and our lives back on track.  It is about refocusing our eyes on Jesus and the cross.  Lent is God's opportune time to enter into us and to fill us with God's Spirit.  God's Spirit within us is then able to protect us from evil forces and guide us in our journey.    

PRAYER: 

Gracious God, we pray that you would enter into us, protecting us from all evil and guiding our ways.  Amen.  

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Thoughts by Rev. Meredith Lovell Keseley, Lutheran Church of the Abiding Presence

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

Lent 2010 #6

2 Peter 2:4-21 (The Inclusive Bible):


When the angels sinned, God did not spare them, but condemned them to the dungeons of the underworld to await the final judgment. Nor did the Most High spare the ancient world. God spared Noah, the paragon of justice, along with seven others, but flooded the ungodly world; God rescued the just Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of wicked people that he both witnessed and heard about as he lived among them; he suffered daily torment to his soul because of their lawlessness. But God knows how to rescue the godly from torment, and to incarcerate the unjust until the day of judgment. 

This pertains especially to those who succumb to the desires of the flesh, and to those who rebel against all authority. These bold and willful people are not afraid to revile the glorious angels - even though the angels, with all their superior strength and power, don't speak a word of judgment against them in the presence of our God. These people - who blaspheme anything they don't understand - are irrational animals, bred to be captured and killed, destroying themselves with their own destructive instincts. They will reap evil in reward for the evil they do. They revel in the daylight just for the fun of it. They are nothing but stains and blemishes. And they make amusement at your expense, even when you sit as a guest at their table. With their adulterous eyes they seduce the unstable because of their infinite capacity for sin. Their profession is greed - an accursed breed! They have abandoned the straight and narrow, straying onto the way of Balaam ben-Beor, who lusted for the wages of injustice. But he was admonished by a mute animal, a donkey speaking with a human voice, which put an end to the prophet's madness. These people are waterless wells and storm-driven mists. Utter darkness is reserved for them. With their hollow, arrogant talk about the pleasures of the flesh, they will seduce people who have only just escaped from those who live in error. They promise freedom, while they themselves are slaves to sin - for whatever dominates you makes you a slave.

If you've survived the enticements of the world through knowing our Sovereign and Savior Jesus Christ, you'll be ultimately worse off than at the start if you slip and are overcome a second time. Better not to have known the way of holiness, than to have known it and later reject the holy commandment.




THOUGHTS:

The first thing that strikes me about this passage is it's harsh language. "Irrational animals?" The traditional translations are even worse, using phrases like "brute beasts" in the NIV. What brings on these words? These are people who "blaspheme anything they don't understand." They are accused of "greed," and "make amusement" at others' expense. 

In today's world, multitudes are exploited daily in the name of greed and selfishness. Millions of people are daily treated like animals - or worse. The Bible tells us that people who do this are essentially behaving like animals themselves. "For with what judgment ye judge, so shall ye be judged..." If we treat others as less than human, if we do not give basic respect, we also disrespect ourselves, for we are human too.

A few questions to contemplate:

These days, many different cultures and types of people interact in unprecedented ways. How do we react to people who are different from us? 

How can we be more patient when others act in ways we find offensive? (This can range from big things like racism to relatively small things like being cut off when parking.) 

How can we be more self-aware and diffuse a situation if we find we have offended others (whether intentionally out of anger or accidentally)? 

How much greed do we act with? Are we often jealous of what others have? Do we take for granted the blessings that we are given? Do we waste not only money, but time, resources, or even friendships? (For example, by not taking opportunities to be a friend in the first place, or by treating a friend as worthless. )

Balaam needed something as crazy as a talking donkey to bring back his sanity so that he could do the work of God. May we need far less motivating to love as God has called us.

PRAYER:

God, help us learn to walk in love and patience as Jesus did, creating peace between ourselves and others.
May we learn to not take for granted the gifts you have given and the people you have placed around us. Amen

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Thoughts by Victoria Meixell, student 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
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Lent 2010 #5 - True faith

Matthew 15:21-28 (NRSV)

Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon." But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." He answered, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed instantly.


THOUGHTS:

"Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed instantly. (verse 28)

Often we are afraid to ask for help. We fear that we are undeserving or that the help will not be delivered. Yet the woman in this story is a striking example of how powerful our pleas to God can be. Despite not being an Israelite, one of God's chosen people, she had faith that even the "crumbs" of God's grace would be sufficient to cure her daughter.

PRAYER:

Awesome God, may be too have the faith to intently and expectantly make our pleas to you. Amen.

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Thoughts by participants in the Lutheran Student Association at the University of Maryland

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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 - First Sunday - Temptations

Sundays are not part of a Lenten fast, but are always feast days -- celebrations of the resurrection, for we know the tomb is empty. See more on this concept at:

http://lentendevotions.blogspot.com/2008/02/first-sunday-in-lent.html

and

http://lentendevotions.blogspot.com/2009/03/lent-2009-first-sunday.html

When these devotions were my Lenten practice, I marked this by doing something distinctly different on Sundays -- but this year, we won't have that distinction to enable more authors to share thoughts with you. Enjoy!

Luke 4:1-13 (NRSV)

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, ²where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. ³The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread." ⁴Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone.'" ⁵Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. ⁶And the devil said to him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. ⁷If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours."⁸Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'" ⁹Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, ¹⁰for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,' ¹¹and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'" ¹²Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" ¹³When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

THOUGHTS:
Much has been written on these temptations of Jesus. I remember growing up thinking that they were special challenges for God's son -- things that were only meaningful temptations because Jesus had superhero abilities and divine connections. I mean, I can't turn stones into food. I'm not sure I can even process being given all of the kingdoms of the world. If I jumped off of a skyscraper, I would expect to meet the pavement rather than God's hand.
Over time, my views of these temptations has changed, and they really came home recently when reading some devotions written by Father Richard Rohr. He says that these are the temptations we *ALL* must face. He says that the temptation to turn stones in to food is about "our need to be immediately impressive and effective, successful, relevant, and make things happen right now. It is our natural desire to look good." Oh, I guess I can relate to that. I like to have my finger on the pulse of what is going on, and to quickly solve any problems I encounter. I always want my work to be top notch. I face this temptation all the time. Instead of filling the immediate need, maybe I need to be more patient, to trust in God and others more, and to dig deeper into the meaning of my daily actions.
The second temptation is the only place in the Bible where the devil quotes scripture. Father Richard points out that "Holy words can be used for evil purposes, it surely says. This second temptation is to think of yourself as saved, superior to others, the moral elite on the side of God and religion, and to quote arguable Scriptures for your own purpose—being against God in the name of God. Actually it is quite common. .... It is the common temptation of actually loving ourselves under the guise of loving God." I also face times when it is tempting to focus on the scriptures that support my view, while shying away from those that seem to contradict it. I've fallen into playing righteousness games where I feel like someone else is wrong, but that I know what God wants. Instead, keep in mind these world of Mother Teresa: "We were not created to be successful, but to be obedient." Maybe I need to focus on loving, and listening to, God more.
The third temptation, according to Father Richard, "is the need for control, importance, and power. The devil tells Jesus to bow down before the power systems of this world ...Make these into your actual belief and security system." Sometimes, it is so hard not to be in control. I like to rely upon myself with rugged american individualism. I want to know that we can spin the situation around. I want to ensure that I never need charity from anyone else. This isn't following Christ, who wandered without a home and relied on the generosity of others. This third temptation tells us that the cost of aligning our beliefs around worldly control is equivalent to bowing down and worshiping the devil. I indeed may need to reexamine my actions, to loosen my grip on controlling my life.
In your life, how do you face the temptations that Jesus faced?


PRAYER:
God of all holiness. Help us to overcome the power of these temptations, to trust in you with our hearts and lives, and to follow you with every step. In the name of your Son, Jesus the Christ, we pray, AMEN.
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Thoughts by Ben Buss, Lutheran Campus Minister at George Mason University (and inspiration from Father Richard Rohr)

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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