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!

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Lent 2010 - Second Sunday

Philippians 3:17-4:1 (NRSV)
Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation* so that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

THOUGHTS
Paul's words here are quite challenging, even condemning. But I wonder how many today read them in that way. It seems easy to read Paul's lament of those who are "enemies of the cross", solemnly nod our heads, and then feel thankful that we are not in that category, that we are "citizens of heaven." But are we? Paul writes that those who are enemies of the cross have their god in the belly; that their minds are set on earthly things. If we truly examine ourselves can honestly say that we are much different?

For the early Christians, committing oneself as a follower of Christ was not a decision lightly made. It meant turning one's life away from the common (and often mandatory) practices of daily life. Citizenship in heaven meant and still means that our loyalty is to God and God's ways first. But it seems that often the "heft" of the cross of Christ is ignored or pushed aside. Who is our god? The God of love, grace and forgiveness or the god of success, comfort and personal security? Where are our minds focused? On service, community, and God's will or on gaining wealth, ladder climbing, and the accumulation of possessions?

PRAYER
Dear Lord, during this time of Lent, let us examine our thoughts and our hearts and hear the challenge Paul raised to the church at Philippi to be "citizens of heaven". Help us to hear your voice and follow your path throughout each day. Amen.

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Thoughts by Kriss Buss, young adult member of King of Kings Lutheran Church

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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 #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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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

Lent 2009 #33

Philippians 2:12-18 
12 Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
    14 Do all things without murmuring and arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world. 16 It is by your holding fast to the word of life that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17 But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you— 18 and in the same way you also must be glad and rejoice with me.

THOUGHTS by Katie Kane, junior at GMU:
Today's passage tells us to "shine like stars in the world."  It's a vivid image – thinking of the stars shining in the night sky.  I'm taking an astrobiology class right now, and we're learning all about stars – how stars are created and destroyed, how the planets that orbit them are formed, and the effects they have on the universe around them, and a bunch of technical jargon.  But every time I go outside at night and look up, I'm not thinking about any of that.  I think about how beautiful they are, how vast the universe is, and how much I love looking at the night sky. 

And now we're being told to shine like those stars.  And not in some far-off sky or distant solar system, either.  We're told to shine like stars within the world that we inhabit daily.  It sounds like a big job!  But as Christians, we have that job entrusted to us – people can and do shine like stars in other peoples' lives, sometimes without even knowing it.  It's not always huge bursts of brightness that affect the world around us; sometimes all it takes is to just be you.  Often, it's a matter of remembering the unique gifts and talents we each have, and then using them to help our communities.  And when we can't do it, when we feel like our light is dimming, we have each other to help us recharge – to remind each other of our own beautiful light, which might shine differently for each person, but still shines.  In the community of Christians, we are never alone.  So as you go through each day, remember to shine your light on others, and take time to notice and appreciate the light that others are shining on you! 
 

PRAYER adapted from a prayer from Concordia Publishing House's "My Prayer Book": 
Dear Father in heaven, thank You for all of my blessings of body and mind.  Help me to make the most of them, and help me to be myself.  Too often I want to be or act like somebody else, and I forget that I have talents to use as You have given me.  Help me to understand myself, to see who I am and what I can do, and then to have the wisdom, courage, and endurance to do it.  Help me to see Your beauty and wisdom in the diversity of talents and powers, and help myself and others to use these gifts for the joy and benefit of all people.  Lord, above all, strengthen my faith and trust in You that I may serve the purpose for which you created me, and let my light shine in the world. Amen

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Katie Kane is a junior at GMU and a Peer Minister with LCM at GMU.

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These devotions are provided by Lutheran Campus Ministry at George Mason University.  Please feel free to share them with your friends!  For more information on our ministry and events, see http://gmu.edu/org/lutheran  

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

Lent 2009 #32

Philippians 2:3-8 
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.

THOUGHTS:

I don't think that Paul is suggesting we look down on ourselves.  Know that you are a loved child of God, more valuable than you can imagine.  Accept that.  Own it.  Feel it.  You are loved.

Then, with knowing that, try to see everyone around you as being at least that precious too, for they are each also loved children of God.  And don't just think of them that way, treat them that way.  Not just your friends, but also those who might seem incidental to your life, or even as enemies to you!  Treat the person who screws up your lunch order as a loved child of God, with the dignity and compassion they deserve because of their status in God's eyes.  Love the person who backs into your car, for they are more valuable than any car could be.  And when someone tries to tear you apart, show them compassion.

That's what this passage says to me when it talks abut acting humbly and emptying ourselves as Jesus did.

PRAYER:   

Lord God, we know that you love us more than we could ever fully comprehend.  Help us to humbly accept that love, sharing it with all those we encounter during our journey in life, each day, every day.  For the sake of Jesus the Christ, AMEN.

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These devotions are provided by Lutheran Campus Ministry at George Mason University.  Please feel free to share them with your friends!  For more information on our ministry and events, see http://gmu.edu/org/lutheran  

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

Lent Day #16

Philippians 2:1-8 (ESV)
1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

THOUGHTS:
Paul writes to the Philippians to encourage unity in their community. He implores them to be "of one mind". I don't think this means we all have to think alike. He's not saying "check your mind at the door and toe the line". He's telling them that they shouldn't have rival factions among them. They should lovingly work out what they are going to do as a community so that they will be "in full accord". This reminds me of how Quaker (Society of Friends) communities traditionally do business: seeking consensus, and if they can't come to unanimous agreement, they table the issue to be decided at a later date. Then when they act, they are all "in full accord and of one mind." Is this what Paul is calling for?

Also, take another look at verses 3-4 (emphasis added): "...in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." I find it interesting here that he's not telling them to ignore than own interests, but rather to also look to the interests of others. However, "others" aren't aren't second rate, but rather more significant.

Our society tends to value the self foremost. We always look out for #1 (ourselves), right? Sure, we value certain causes and it feels good to be charitable, so when it comes time to give, we look in our wallet, pick the medium-sized bill and give it away. It feels good & we helped someone else -- we're doing God's work...but don't we put ourselves first, rather than others? We value the new iPod we want to buy more than the food that could be bought for a family who desperately needs it. I'm not saying it is intentional, but as we talked about at the "Gospel According to the Simpsons" on Friday, we all benefit from the misfortunes of others in one way or another...

As Shane Claiborne points out in "The Irresistible Revolution": The world doesn't have enough resources for everyone to have a big house with a white picket fence and 2.3 kids driving a SUV everywhere -- but there are enough global resources to meet the basic human needs of every person on the planet. When asked why there are so many poor people whose needs aren't being met, Rob Bell told his congregation that it is because we, as the body of Christ, haven't been doing our job.

What if each of us put the needs of all the lonely and hurting people that we pass each day above our own time commitments each day? What would it look like if we led our local congregations work with other congregations and communities to prioritize caring for all the poor people in our neighborhoods above building renovations, carpet cleaning, new sound system or discussions about changing worship services? What if all Christian communities united together with "one mind" to, working with other like-minded organizations, to attempt to wipe out hunger in the world? Is it really possible for us to treat others as more significant than ourselves?

Note that I'm not saying to neglect your own needs, but to consider the implications of thinking about the needs of others as more significant. I'm not advocating starving yourself to death to feed others for a few days! What I'm asking is if we might be able to start by putting the basic needs of others before the luxuries we want? I don't know if I can do it, but I pray that God help me to try...

PRAYER:
Dear gracious God, you have given us so much. Help us to share this bounty with those who have not been so fortunate, that their struggle may be as if it were our struggle. Lead us to be the Church, uniting all of Your communities to do Your work.. Aide us in doing Your Will in all aspects of our lives. In the name of Jesus, we pray. AMEN.

NOTES:
We'll be gathering at the George Mason Statue on campus at 8:45am tomorrow (2/24/2008) morning to carpool to the Washington National Cathedral to hear bestselling author Jim Wallis speak, worship there, and return to campus by 1:00pm. RSVP by email or at http://gmu.facebook.com/event.php?eid=10421801061 appreciated, but not required.