Lent 2010 #22 – SEARCH and RESCUE!!

St. Luke 15:1-10 (NRSV)

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them." So he told them this parable: "Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. "Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.' Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

THOUGHTS: 

This text from St. Luke's Gospel tells a couple of parables of things that are lost and the rejoicing that occurs when they are found.  A sheep and a coin were lost and in both of them Jesus lifts up the importance of the single person who is lost and then found by God.

How important that has been in recent weeks when one was found among the rubble in Haiti, or Chile or Turkey and the rejoicing that followed.  These parables raise for us the consciousness and awareness of what is really valuable.  

I read recently a devotional that talked about the value of our possessions – how common possessions can become extremely valuable, even priceless if they have been owned by someone who is powerful, wealthy or famous.  For example, did you know that Napoleon's toothbrush sold for $21,000?  Can you imagine paying thousands of dollars for someone's crude old toothbrush?  Hitler's car sold for over $150.000 years ago!  At the Sotheby's auction of Jackie Kennedy Onnassis' personal belongings, he fake pearls sold for $211,500 and JFK's wood clubs went for $772,500.  It is not that the items themselves are worthy, but that they once belonged to someone significant.

If we, as humans, place value on things because they belonged to people – stop to think for a minute of the value of something owned by God.  God singles us out and places value on us that is beyond human comprehension.  God cares about EACH and EVERY ONE of us as individuals and will never stop searching for us when we get lost and will rescue us at whatever the cost might be.  Now that's what search and rescue is all about!  That's the value and importance of ONE that God makes in claiming us found!

PRAYER: 

Lord Jesus, thank you for your continual search and rescue efforts in our lives – especially when we find ourselves lost from you.  Thank you for never giving up on us even when we give up on ourselves.  AMEN.

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Thoughts by Pastor Mike Magwire, King of Kings Lutheran (Fairfax, VA)

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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 #21

Joshua 4:23-24 (NRSV)

²³For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we crossed over, ²⁴so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, and so that you may fear the Lord your God for ever.

THOUGHTS:

The first part of this passage is a thought that is always a favorite; simply put, through God all things are possible.  It is hard to imagine a river drying up and people being able to cross it.  What a sight it must have been to see a massive group of people crossing a dry river bed and the water flowing back after they pass.  It is just another reminder that God can move mountains.

The second part caught my attention.  Growing up I was never taught to fear God.  There was no need to because he loved all mankind.  I wonder if a better translation would be "may be in awe of" instead of "may fear".  There are other examples of this, such as Ivan the Terrible should be Ivan the one who should be held in awe (just rolls off the tongue, I know).  Take it as you may, but I have a feeling that a God who would send us Jesus to die for our sins is not one we need to fear.

PRAYER: 

Heavenly Father, renew us as we continue along our Lenten journeys this year.  May you open our eyes to see the wonder of your mighty works in our everyday life. Amen

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Thoughts by Chris Bergtholdt, senior 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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Lent 2010 #20

Joshua 4:1-13 (NRSV)
When the entire nation had finished crossing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua: ²"Select twelve men from the people, one from each tribe, ³and command them, 'Take twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests' feet stood, carry them over with you, and lay them down in the place where you camp tonight.'" ⁴Then Joshua summoned the twelve men from the Israelites, whom he had appointed, one from each tribe. ⁵Joshua said to them, "Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, one for each of the tribes of the Israelites, ⁶so that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, 'What do those stones mean to you?' ⁷then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off in front of the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the Israelites a memorial forever." ⁸The Israelites did as Joshua commanded. They took up twelve stones out of the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord told Joshua, carried them over with them to the place where they camped, and laid them down there. ⁹(Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day.) ¹⁰The priests who bore the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan, until everything was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to tell the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people crossed over in haste. ¹¹As soon as all the people had finished crossing over, the ark of the Lord, and the priests, crossed over in front of the people. ¹²The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the Israelites, as Moses had ordered them. ¹³About forty thousand armed for war crossed over before the Lord to the plains of Jericho for battle.



THOUGHTS:

My teenage daughter and I recently journeyed together by train to New York City to see the Pittsburgh Penguins (her favorite team) play the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.  It was the first time she'd seen a hockey game in person and she is enamored with New York City as well.  On our way home, after what she described as one of the best days of her life, she informed me that her tickets from both the train and the game would be going into her "ticket box."  As the name implies, her ticket box contains used tickets from all of the memorable sporting events, movies, plays, museums and other events and places that she has enjoyed throughout her life.  Each ticket serves as a marker, and as a reminder, of some fantastic event or place that she has experienced; event and places worthy of being remembered.


The elaborate and detailed story told in our reading for this day from Joshua describes a fantastic event and a place worthy of being remembered by the people of Israel.  It is as if the people are saying, "Do you remember when God acted to bring us out of our wilderness wanderings, making a dry path for us to cross the Jordan River, enabling us to then enter the Promised Land?  Do you remember where that all happened?  It happened right there, where we piled those rocks from the river to be for us a marker, a reminder to us and our descendants of what God has done for us!"



During our Lenten journey we would do well to occasionally stop and remember the fantastic events and places where God has been active in our lives.  Some of us may even have, or might find, markers that we can use to remind us of those fantastic events and places where we have experienced God acting for us: a baptismal candle we can light on the anniversary of our baptism; a Bible given to us as at our Confirmation; a t-shirt from a youth gathering, service learning project or mission trip; a cross necklace or an Ichthus (fish) tattoo.  These are but a few examples of the kinds of markers, signs and symbols that can be, for us, "rocks" that we use to mark the fantastic events and places where God has acted for us.  Each and every one of them are worthy of being remembered.



PRAYER:

Gracious God, you have been, are and will be at work in our lives.  Throughout this season of Lent, help us to be mindful of those fantastic events and places when they occur.  May we ever be thankful for them and may we always remember them.  In your holy name we pray.  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 #19

Psalm 39 (NRSV)

I said, "I will guard my ways that I may not sin with my tongue;
       I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
               As long as the wicked are in my presence."

I was silent and still; I held my peace to no avail;
       My distress grew worse, my heart became hot within me.
               While I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:

"Lord, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days;
       Let me know how fleeting my life is.
               You have made my days a few handbreadths,
                       And my lifetime is as nothing in your sight.

Surely everyone stands as a mere breath.
       Surely everyone goes about like a shadow.
               Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
                       They heap up, and do not know who will gather.

And now, O Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.

Deliver me from all my transgressions.
       Do not make me the scorn of the fool.
               I am silent; I do not open my mouth,
                       Or it is you who have done it.

Remove your stroke from me; I am worn down by the blows of your hand.

You chastise mortals in punishment for sin,
       Consuming like a moth what is dear to them;
               Surely everyone is a mere breath.

Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry;
       Do not hold your peace at my tears.
               For I am your passing guest, an alien, like all my forebears.

Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again,
       Before I depart and am no more."

THOUGHTS:

I have from time to time been inspired by the third chapter of James to try to "tame my tongue."  So I aim for wit that is less sharp, less directed at others, less likely to incite anger or shame in others.  Invariably these efforts fall short:  Just when I think I've got things under control, I let my guard down, open my mouth, and something comes out that I REALLY regret.

Though the Psalmist bites his tongue for a different reason, I recognize the same tension building the longer I keep my mouth shut: A strong sense of mortality and sinfulness, as I am left alone with nothing but my own thoughts rattling around my head.  And just as the Psalmist concludes, I want God to turn away from me and my guilt and shame.

Only one thing turns the gaze away, of course, and the price is unimaginably high.  On the cross, Jesus turns our mortality and sinfulness upon himself.  Beholding that sight, we might want to try to do it for ourselves instead.  Step in and save him the trouble—it's our fault, after all, not his.  But to no avail.  Only the cross is enough; only the Son's sacrifice is enough.

So like the Psalmist, we do finally keep silence before the awesome majesty of God.  And then we cannot keep our mouths shut any longer, so we open our hearts and mouths and cry, "Deliver us!"  We wait for our Lord and place our hope solely in him.

PRAYER: 

Let us pray:  God, our Creator and Redeemer, we cannot tame our worst habits by our own power, but by your power you blot out our offenses, and strengthen us to overcome them.  Even so, come, Lord Jesus.  Amen

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Thoughts by Jon Myers, ELCA seminarian at Princeton Theological Seminary

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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 #18

Romans 2:12-16 (NRSV)


All who have sinned apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous in God's sight, but the doers of the law who will be justified. When Gentiles, who do not possess the law, do instinctively what the law requires, these, though not having the law, are a law to themselves. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, to which their own conscience also bears witness; and their conflicting thoughts will accuse or perhaps excuse them on the day when, according to my gospel, God, through Jesus Christ, will judge the secret thoughts of all.

THOUGHTS:

God's judgement is pervasive, reaching both those who are "apart from the law" (the Gentiles), and those who are "under the law" (the Jews). Death and judgement will come their way, no matter who they are. This is a terribly humbling thought, especially for those of us who grew up watching Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society climb on desk tops, let out barbaric yalps, and dramatically implore his students to carpe diem, to seize the day. Seize the day and let out barbaric yalps all you like, Paul might say, but God's judgement remains.

Notice that in this text Paul speaks of judgment in a future context - all who have sinned will also perish ... will be judged ... will be justified ... on the day when Jesus Christ will judge. The Christian tradition has understood the Day of Judgment as that day when Jesus returns "to judge the living and the dead," (the Nicene Creed) and to fully inaugurate his reign, a kingdom that will have no end.

Judgment, then, is the final reordering of all creation to conform to and to truly become his holy Kingdom. Judgment is the eve of eternity for a renewed creation, for the Kingdom of God.

In baptism we receive the forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life, for Jesus - whose life, death, and resurrection is the first flowering of the New Creation (1 Corinthians 15:20) - grafts us to him and takes us into his own self. We are his, and nothing is going to shake that (Romans 8:38-39). Do we sin? Do we merit judgment? Yes, and yes. But on that Day of Judgment we are promised that Christ will hold us close to him (1 John 2:1-2), perfect us in love (Colossians 1:22, 28), and make us new creations in him (2 Corinthians 5:17). Is this an escape of judgment? A cop-out? No. Instead it is the renewal that takes place as part of God's judgment, slaying our sin (Romans 6:1-11) and birthing in us new hearts (Psalm 51:10) for a new kingdom.

PRAYER:

Gracious God, you judge the world with justice and mercy. Forgive us our sins, and grant us in this world the strength to live according to your love. Hold us in your embrace, so that on the last day we might be remade to stand with Christ at the dawning of a glorious and holy kingdom. Through your Son Jesus Christ, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we pray.

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Thoughts by the Rev. Chris T. K. Duckworth, Associate Pastor, Resurrection Evangelical Lutheran Church, Arlington, VA

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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 #17

Romans 2:1-11 (NRSV)
Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things. You say,* 'We know that God's judgement on those who do such things is in accordance with truth.' Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will
escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God's righteous
judgment will be revealed. For he will repay according to each one's deeds: to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honour and immortality, he will give eternal life; while for those who are self-seeking and who obey not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be anguish and distress for everyone who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honour and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.


THOUGHTS:
You might have seen the article in last week's Washington Post about the juror who failed to show up for his second day of jury duty. (Check it out at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/05/AR2010030504193.html?sub=AR) Apparently the man was summoned for jury duty, seated on a jury and then participated in the first day of the trial. On the second day of the trial, however, he failed to show up. By day three the roles had been reversed. The juror suddenly found himself in the courtroom standing before the judge as a defendant who was charged with contempt of court. The one who had been called to judge was now being judged himself.

In many ways, this was kind of role reversal is what the apostle Paul was writing about to the Romans in our text for today. Paul makes clear that "God shows no partiality". Everyone, including the Gentiles, was subject not only to God's judgment, but also to God's "glory and honor and peace". This was quite a reversal in roles. The Jews were experiencing things from the eyes of the Gentiles and the Gentiles from the eyes of the Jews.

Paul suggests that God sees both groups equally. Ancestry alone was not going to give anyone a place of honor before God. All people would be judged accordingly. All people would be in equal need of God's grace and, through Christ's death and resurrection on the cross, all people would receive that gift. Thanks be to God for God's gift of grace to all!

PRAYER:
Loving God, we give you thanks that we all come before you equally as your children. We are in need of your grace and ask that you would freely bestow it upon us. Amen.

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Thoughts by Rev. Meredith Keseley, pastor of the 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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Lent 2010 - Third Sunday

Luke 13:1-9: (The Inclusive Bible)
"On the same occasion, there were people present who told Jesus about some Galileans whose
blood Pilate had mixed with their own sacrifices.
Jesus replied, "Do you think these Galileans were the greatest sinners in Galilee just
because they suffered this? Not at all! I tell you, you'll all come to the same end unless
you change your ways. Or take those eighteen who were killed by a falling tower in Siloam.
Do you think they were more guilty than anyone else who has lived in Jerusalem? Certainly
not! I tell you, you'll all come to the same end unless you change your ways.
Jesus told this parable: "There was a fig tree growing in a vineyard. The owner came out
looking for fruit on it, but didn't find any. The owner said to the vine dresser, "Look
here! For three years now I've come out in search of fruit on this fig tree and have found
none. Cut it down. Why should it clutter up the ground?""
"In reply, the vine dresser said, "Please, leave it one more year while I hoe around it and
fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine; if not, then let it be cut down.""

THOUGHTS:
This story is similar to the one in Mark 11:12-14. In that story, Jesus curses a fig tree
for being fruitless. Mark notes that it was not fig season - however, fig growers know that
when leaves first appear on the tree, (during the time of year we know as Lent,) there are
almond-sized mini-figs, called the breba crop, that were often left for the poor to pick off
and eat. The tree had leaves, but no mini-figs - and if there are no mini-figs, there will
be no real figs that year. Also, since the mini-figs and leaves tend to grow together, the
appearance of leaves without figs were a form of false advertising. Essentially, the tree
wasn't "walking it's talk."

Back in Luke 13, we read in v2-5 a speech that would not be out of place on a TV preacher's
lips after some disaster - saying, perhaps, it is a curse for allowing things like feminism
to take root. Yet it wasn't prostitutes and tax collectors Jesus was speaking to, but the
religious. Many preachers who talk about God cursing Others have also been subjects of news
articles detailing their multi-million-dollar spending habits. Is greed less sinful just
because it's popular? We are ALL sinners, from preachers and priests to pimps and embezzlers
- who among us has the arrogance to throw stones?

Let's combine these ideas: Jesus wants to see fruit. He doesn't want classy sounding
theological words, which are just so many leaves. He doesn't want us to waste time pointing
fingers and bickering about other people bringing disaster in their wake because God has
somehow cursed them more than us. (Weren't we all cursed by Adam's fall?) Jesus cares about
generosity, gratitude, humility, patience, how much hope we spread, how much faith and trust
we have in God, and - most importantly - how much we love. He doesn't even care if we aren't
there yet - He doesn't expect perfect figs, even little, tiny, mini-fig tries will please
Him. What matters is whether or not we're letting God take our heart of stone and turn it
into a heart of flesh (Ez 36:26). What matters is if we're there to look into the eyes of
those who believe life is hopeless and that even God can't heal and forgive their past - and
then not only tell, but show them that God loves them.

PRAYER:
Jesus, forgive us for thinking of others as worse sinners than ourselves.
Soften our hearts to Your voice, so that we may produce True Fruit this Lenten season.
Amen.

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Thoughts by Victoria Meixell, student at George Mason University and community member of Lutheran Campus Ministry