Showing posts with label Ben Buss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ben Buss. Show all posts

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Lent 2010 #38

Exodus 12:1-14 (NRSV)




The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the Lord. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.




THOUGHTS:

As Christians, we believe that is was not a mere coincidence that Jesus was crucified on the day before the Passover (see John 19:14,31), the same day that the Passover lambs were being slaughtered.  The blood of Jesus smeared on the cross on that hillside outside Jerusalem is effectively smeared on the doorposts of the universe.  Jesus is the sacrificial lamb, without blemish.  The blood of Jesus is the sign on our world that we are all God's people, God's beloved children.


PRAYER:

Dear Lord, thank you for your mercy.  Today, and everyday, we remember your grace.  Help us to live out your grace and mercy, sharing your love with all those we meet.  In the holy name of Jesus the Christ we pray, AMEN.
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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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Sunday, March 28, 2010

Lent 2010 - Sixth Sunday

Luke 19:28-40 (NRSV)

 After [Jesus] had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

 When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, saying, 'Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, "Why are you untying it?" just say this: "The Lord needs it." ' So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, 'Why are you untying the colt?' They said, 'The Lord needs it.' Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying,

'Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!' 

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, 'Teacher, order your disciples to stop.' 
He answered, 'I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.'


THOUGHTS:

Jesus was probably not the only one entering Jerusalem that day.  Millions of Jews would have been walking into Jerusalem on pilgrimage to the holy city for the observances of Passover.

On the west side of Jerusalem, opposite from Jesus' entry, historians tell us that there would have been a magnificent military procession as Pontius Pilate and other Roman officials would have been riding horses amidst an entourage of imperial soldiers wearing armor and carrying weapons.  They came to town for most Jewish festivals to beef up security in case the crowds got restless and started causing trouble.  It was intentionally a visible depiction of the oppression of the empire.

Back on the east side of town, Jesus enters on an animal that has never been ridden -- a practice denoting kingship, but it is a donkey.  It was a parody of the grandness of the Roman procession, and it carried the opposite message as well: hope for the downtrodden, liberation for captives, and freedom from oppression. 

As we continue through Holy Week, remember that God is concerned with the here and now in the world we live in.  As we live our our faith, how do we continue to proclaim and work for hope, freedom, and liberation?


PRAYER:

Lord God, you give us hope in times of suffering and darkness.  Guide our lives in faithful service to you.  In all we do, we are yours!  AMEN.

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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/
--
***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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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Lent 2010 #25 -- Fast-food people?

Psalm 53 (The Message)

A David Psalm

 1-2 Bilious and bloated, they gas, "God is gone."
   It's poison gas—
      they foul themselves, they poison
   Rivers and skies;
      thistles are their cash crop.
   God sticks his head out of heaven.
      He looks around.
   He's looking for someone not stupid—
      one man, even, God-expectant,
      just one God-ready woman.

 3 He comes up empty. A string
      of zeros. Useless, unshepherded
   Sheep, taking turns pretending
      to be Shepherd.
   The ninety and nine
      follow the one.

 4 Don't they know anything,
      all these impostors?
   Don't they know
      they can't get away with this,
   Treating people like a fast-food meal
      over which they're too busy to pray?

 5 Night is coming for them, and nightmare—
      a nightmare they'll never wake up from.
   God will make hash of these squatters,
      send them packing for good.

 6 Is there anyone around to save Israel?
      God turns life around.
   Turned-around Jacob skips rope,
      turned-around Israel sings laughter.



THOUGHTS:

The Message is Eugene Peterson's interpretive translation of the Bible in an attempt to capture the vitality of the scriptures.  It isn't a study Bible, and it isn't the most "academic" of translations.  Yet, sometime I find it to be incredibly thought provoking -- especially after reading the same passage in my New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).  It encourages me to look at the passage a new light.  This Psalm is a great example of this:

I can easily plow past verse 4 in the NRSV which talks about evildoers "who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon God?"
The Message phrases this as impostors "treating people like a fast-food meal over which they're too busy to pray?"

That got me to stop and think about the ways I have treated people as a means to an end, such as the cafeteria workers who serve my food.
It forced me to recognize that I am sometimes too distracted by my agenda to fully listen to the person with whom I'm conversing.
I recognized how impatient I can be with telemarketers and salespeople who come knocking at my door to try to sell me things I don't need.

It got me to realize that sometimes I am the impostor.

Take some time today to think a minute to be honest with yourself and with God as you think about the ways that you might treat people like a fast-food meal over which you are too busy to pray.  Then, repent of these ways, and celebrate by skipping rope, singing, and laughing.

PRAYER: 

Lord God, we confess that we can become distracted and inward focused.  Open our eyes to the beauty and dignity of all that you have made, and enable us to fully appreciate it in the moment.  We pray in the name of Jesus the Christ, AMEN.

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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/
--
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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Sunday, March 14, 2010

Lent 2010 - Fourth Sunday

2 Corinthians 5:16-21 (NRSV)

From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.


THOUGHTS: 
Passages like this give me immense hope:
   *Everything* has become new!  (verse 17)
    In Christ God was reconciling the *world* to himself (verse 19).
In Christ there is a new creation.  The whole world has been reconciled to God.  God's action is the focus of the story.  This is exciting news.  This is the Good News, and it is spectacular!

It isn't up to us to achieve reconciliation -- but to share with everyone this news about God being at work healing the world, and pulling us close to God.  All the real work is done by God, leaving us the exhilarating opportunity to spread the news that God does not hold our sins against us.

I recently heard that blogger Andrew Sullivan of "The Daily Dish" once wrote: 
"I call myself a Christian because I believe that, in a way I cannot fully understand, the force behind everything decided to prove itself benign by becoming us, and being with us. And as soon as people grasped what had happened, what was happening, the world changed for ever..."

Isn't that a beautiful image.  God, the creator of everything, proved that God poses no threat or danger to us by putting on skin and moving into our neighborhood as one of us.  Our sins died with Jesus, and God remembers them no more.

How can we be silent in the face of this awesomeness?  

We are called to be *ambassadors* for Christ (verse 20), meaning is is our task to spread the word.  How do you live out this calling with your life?  


PRAYER: 

God Almighty, give us the courage to share YOUR love, awesomeness, compassion, hope, joy, grace, mercy, peace, and healing with the hurting world all around us.  We pray this in the name of Jesus, the Christ.  AMEN.

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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/
--
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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Friday, February 26, 2010

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/
--
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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Sunday, February 21, 2010

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:
and
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!



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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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/
--
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

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Wednesday, February 17, 2010

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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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/
--
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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