Lent 2010 #33

Isaiah 54:9-10

^9"This is like the days of Noah to me:

Just as I swore that the waters of Noah
would never again go over the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
and will not rebuke you.

                               
^10"For the mountains may depart

and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,"
says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

THOUGHTS:

As an ordained member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, I understand my vocational calling to be that of parish pastor.  During the past three years, however, my call has, in actuality, shifted from that of pastor to primary caregiver for my 66-year old husband.  Following complications from back and knee surgery, and the onset of Parkinson's disease, John's mobility and his independence   have diminished significantly.  Just this past December, he had another operation, on the "good" knee this time.  I'm pleased to report that after what seems like forever, he's making significant progress.  Still, those marriage vows I made of "for better or for worse" have taken on a whole new meaning than they did during our wedding ceremony!

There have been numerous occasions over these three years when my "for worse" chores have seemed insurmountable.  I have had a few frustrated conversations with God and have asked "why?" a lot.  "You called me to be a pastor, Lord!!  So why am I behaving like a nursemaid rather than preaching and making disciples?"  "Why, why, why?"

What has provided ongoing hope for me are words throughout scripture, like the ones in this passage, assuring me of God's promise to be with me no matter what—"for better or for worse."  And as I remember that promise, my one-person "pity party" quickly comes to an end.

In the case of Isaiah, those words were a reminder of God's promise to God's chosen people.  They were still in exile in Babylon following the destruction and takeover of God's holy city of Jerusalem by enemy forces—an exile caused, as the Israelites understood it, by God's wrath at their sinfulness and their violation of covenant to be God's people.  In spite of the worst, God assures them that God still loves them—that God will never leave them—that God will never break God's covenant with the people.  No matter what, we might paraphrase, God will keep God's "wedding vows" to remain faithful.

That promise is as sure for us today as it was for the Israelites of long ago.  In those times that God may seem distant, whether caused by our own sinfulness or as a result of illness or happenstance, our compassionate God will never depart from us—from you.  And that's a promise!!

PRAYER:

God of love and peace, you have promised never to forsake your people.  Open our hearts to an awareness of your steadfast love for each of us, especially during times and circumstances that seem particularly dark and hopeless.  We pray in the name of your Son Jesus, our crucified and risen Lord.  Amen

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Thoughts by Rev. Terry Hannon, Vice-President of the Board for Northern Virginia Lutheran Campus Ministries, Inc.

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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 #32

Isaiah 53:10-12 (NRSV)

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the Lord shall prosper. Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

THOUGHTS:

We've all heard the phrase "no pain, no gain". The image that comes to my mind most readily when I hear it is of some beefy exercise guru like Billy Blanks or Gilad encouraging faltering exercisers to keep going, conveying the idea that their suffering will pay off in improving and strengthening their bodies. It may hurt now, but you'll reap the benefits later. These verses also talk about how suffering can "payoff" later, but in a much different way. Isaiah's prophetic illustration of the "suffering servant" describes a kind of pain that typically runs counter to human understanding of the world. The servant is "crushed with pain", but to provide benefit to many others, not himself. This self-sacrificing attitude is the kind I imagine parents feel about their children, but it is in opposition to the basic nature of survival.

Counter-intuitive or not, this is the life and the example Christ set for who follow him, promising that by losing our life we will gain it but if we seek to save our own life we will lose it (Luke 17:33). The life that Christ is speaking of is much more than a heart beat and brain waves. It's a depth and fullness of life that connects us intimately with God and with all of those around us. It builds community, protects those in need, and comforts the sick. It is a life that connects the most vulnerable to God's grace, through the "hands and feet" of those that follow Jesus' example.

As we draw closer to the end of the Lenten season we find ourselves drawing closer to the suffering and sorrow of Jesus' sacrifice. We are reminded our how much Jesus' gave out of his love for us. And we are challenged to give of ourselves towards the needs of others.

PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, we cannot begin to thank you for the gifts of salvation and grace. We pray for the guidance and strength to support the needs of others and to connect with the deeper, fuller life you promised. Amen.


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Thoughts by Kriss Buss, Young adult member of King of Kings Lutheran Church (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 #31

Matthew 12:22

Then they brought to him a demoniac who was blind and mute; and he cured him, so that the one who had been mute could speak and see.

THOUGHTS:

How many times am I blind to the pain and suffering of others or blind to the ways I may hurt those around me.  How often am I mute when Love would ask me to speak.  I tell myself I am too busy or what will others think.  I leave it unsaid.  It is with the strength of Christ's love for me that I dare to see and it is in the compassion Christ brings to my life that I dare to speak engaging the world.

PRAYER: 

During this time of repentance help our blind eyes and muted voices to come to life as instruments of the spirit of God at work. 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 #30 - The Parable of the Trees

Judges 9:7-15

7 When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and cried aloud and said to them, 'Listen to me, you lords of Shechem, so that God may listen to you.
⁸The trees once went out
   to anoint a king over themselves.
So they said to the olive tree,
   "Reign over us."
⁹The olive tree answered them,
   "Shall I stop producing my rich oil
     by which gods and mortals are honored,
     and go to sway over the trees?"
¹⁰Then the trees said to the fig tree,
   "You come and reign over us."
¹¹But the fig tree answered them,
   "Shall I stop producing my sweetness
     and my delicious fruit,
     and go to sway over the trees?"
¹²Then the trees said to the vine,
   "You come and reign over us."
¹³But the vine said to them,
   "Shall I stop producing my wine
     that cheers gods and mortals,
     and go to sway over the trees?"
¹⁴So all the trees said to the bramble,
   "You come and reign over us."
¹⁵And the bramble said to the trees,
   "If in good faith you are anointing me king over you,
     then come and take refuge in my shade;
   but if not, let fire come out of the bramble
     and devour the cedars of Lebanon."

THOUGHTS:

So I wasn't sure what to make of this passage after reading it a first time.  I needed to open up my annotated Bible to get a little context for this passage.  From what I read, Jotham was the only son of seventy to survive the slaughter by a man who wanted to be king.  That is an over simplification of the story, but run with it for now.

This is an interesting parable when you look at it.  The way I read it, is that the other trees were too busy doing other things.  They were all doing things that were too important to them not to devote all their time to that task.  So the trees literally ask everyone, including the lowly bramble, the least of all the trees.  His response is basically, if you really want me to be king, good.  Come hang out and let me rule you.  If not, you will pay and I will destroy the greatest among you (the cedars were highly regarded as trees). 

Now, you might ask what the lesson is.  I think it is to be honest in all your pursuits, and never doubt the ability of the lowly to be great and do more than you think they can.

PRAYER: 

Heavenly Father, thank you for the continual grace we receive from these devotions this Lenten season.  Allow us to gather the meaning of parable and always remember the bramble. Amen.

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Thoughts by Christopher Bergtholdt, a Senior at George Mason University involved with LCM-GMU

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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 # 29

Hebrews 10:19-25 (The Inclusive Bible):

Therefore, sisters and brothers, since the blood of Jesus makes us confident to enter the holy place by the new and living path opened for us through the veil - that is to say, the body of Jesus - and since we have the supreme high priest presiding over the house of God, let us enter it filled with faith and with sincerity in our hearts, our hearts sprinkled and cleared from any trace of bad conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us keep firm in the hope we profess, because the One who made the promise is faithful.
Let us always think how we can stimulate each other to love and good works. Don't stay away from the meetings of the community, as some do, but encourage one another; and do this all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

THOUGHTS:

The Holy Place in the Tabernacle, and later in Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, was separated from the people by a one-to-two foot thick curtain. Only the priests could enter. This was no thin veil that ripped when Christ died. Think of the dividers that are used to split off large meeting rooms, and imagine them twice as thick! That's quite a barrier between God and the people.

God, of course, is present in and with all creatures and places, but when a place is set apart as sacred, particularly by many people and for a long period of time, it develops a certain air of holiness, if you will. God declared a particular dwelling in the Holy of Holies. It is interesting to observe that this residing place was essentially a box - the one thing we are NOT supposed to put God in. This box was special though. Instead of a box that keeps God limited, sterile, and safely hating only the sins of the people we hate and not our own, the Ark of the Covenant kept God hidden, unknown.

Jesus changed all that. Instead of unknowable and distant, the Trinity adopted us. We are not only family to other believers - the Creator of the universe calls us family. If someone told you Obama was their second cousin, that would probably come across with thoughts that this person must "have it made, " knowing someone that powerful and being a relative on top of it. How much more the God who created the universe? And we are God's relatives - and we can now relate to God, since God came down to our level and took on human flesh. The blood of Christ and the water of Baptism are free gifts which have been given to us to cleanse us. We may now approach our new Family, not seen as the weak people we sometimes are - for this is covered in love - but rather as a child of grace, adopted by the Holy Spirit. We are called to the radical power of love, of forgiveness, for we have been forgiven and made heirs to the kingdom where Love reigns eternal.

God has left the box.

PRAYER:

Abba, we enter your presence today, not as strangers but as family. We rejoice that we have been given the opportunity to really, truly know You, and also to know and love our brothers and sisters in Christ.
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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Lent 2010 - Fifth Sunday

Philippians 3:7-14 (NIV)

7. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9. and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11. and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

12. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

THOUGHTS:

I love how I can go back to a Bible verse I've read a million times and find new meaning in it based on where I am in my life. As a student near the end of my college years, looking back over everything good and bad within my time at Mason, this verse is currently speaking to me in relation to how the events in our life affect us.

"Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ." You know, the good things in our life are great to experience at the time, but I know for a fact that the events that really mold us and bring out our character as a human being are the bad times. You find out who you really are when you're in a situation that you can only hand over to God. It's hard to thank God for those hard times.

But everything pales in comparison to the power of God to shine light into our lives and change us. Comparatively, it's all "rubbish," as this translation calls it.

Sometimes, the yearning for God is all that gets us through. Verse 10 reminds me of a favorite line from a beloved book- Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert- that I'll leave you with today.

"I just want God. I want God inside me. I want God to play in my bloodstream the way sunlight amuses itself on water."

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Thoughts by Rachael Dickson, senior history major, happy member of Lutheran Campus Ministry at GMU

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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