Lent 2010 #36

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written:

      "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
      the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."

20 Where are the wise? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: "Let those who boast boast in the Lord."

THOUGHTS:

Jon Foreman calls us "The Church of the dropouts, the losers, the sinners, the failures, and the fools." Throughout the New Testament we are called to forget every law that society has taught us--every iPod commercial and body-image-centric magazine--and to take up the cross. When Jesus was crucified, the cross didn't mean glory; it meant death and torture, but most of all, utter humiliation. It was heavy and victims were forced to carry it the longest path to their final resting place. Jesus' crime read simply, "King of the Jews," and he was nailed, naked and exposed before all, between two rebels.

This is our image of mercy and love and salvation: our mighty King killed the way of dropouts, losers, sinners, failures, and fools. Once a symbol of shame, the cross has become our greatest comfort.

I found myself coming to God during the same time I was finding out that I was gay. While I was finding that I was something that by societal means is despicable and foolish, I was being called into that very body that so publically abhors me and yet was experiencing God's indiscriminate love. It was humbling. It is humbling. It's my cross to bear. So daily I lift this heavy cross as the outcast and the despised. Likewise, Paul tells us, we all come from humble origins of sorts. Each of us has our cross to bear, that which separates us from each other and from God. And so we come humbly to the Lord, so that none of us can boast except in Him.

PRAYER:

Lord, we come to You on our knees, a people weary from status and rules and ostracism. As we carry each our crosses, lift us not into shame but to Your eternal glory. 

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Thoughts by Sarah, student 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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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 2010 #35

John 12:1-8 (and 9-11 also) (NRSV)

Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5 'Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?' 6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7 Jesus said, 'Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.'

THOUGHTS:

In the three other canonical gospels, a "nameless" woman anoints Jesus' feet with expensive perfume and is praised by Jesus for her act of love. This woman-- "Mary" in John's gospel-- is "nameless" only because those writers chose not to bother with recognizing her worth. Unlike Mary, whose actions communicated to Jesus in an intimate way that he mattered to her, that he was a beloved child of God who faced a certain and unjust death, these writers chose consciously or unconsciously not to extend love. Why does it matter? Because those choices, and others like them made by the gospel writers, come to bear on the decisions of others that echo into our future. Interpretations were formulated that colluded with negligence, erasure, and the destruction of others. The intention of these writers does not make the impact of these words any less real.

This has been on my mind lately, especially  when I encountered the rest of the verses that are included in this selection from the "revised" "common" lectionary. John 12:9-11 reads thus:

9 When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.

Rife with anti-Judaism, these verse portray Jewish leaders as petty and clannish representatives who would rather turn to murder than face the supposedly "obvious" insufficiencies of their religious practices and beliefs when compared to those of Jesus. No matter what one might argue about why these verses were written, this is how they are heard, and they justify the false dichotomy of good, grace-lovin' Christians and bad/confused law-keeping Jews. I was pissed to hear them read aloud last Sunday in the progressive Lutheran church I attend, by the warm-hearted and intelligent pastor no less. I became enraged when this pastor at no point addressed these verses in his sermon about God's love reflected in Mary's acts. He could have pointed out their dissonance with this love that God gives and inspires. He could have chosen to not give them any air-time. Instead, he consciously or unconsciously chose to read them and participate in approximately two thousand years of Christian anti-Semitism.

Mary's love is a concrete action, and so is Jesus' in this instance. Jesus defends Mary's dignity, safeguarding her well-being under Judas' attack (who has his own shit to examine). This is what love does: it builds up other people in their humanness (and respects all other living creatures and life-giving systems) and resists the forces, ideologies, and conscious and unconscious choices that lead to wanton destruction. And let's be clear: we don't love because we're innocent of these destructive ways. Hell no. We love because we've a encountered a Love that has has showed us that life is better for all when we, for example, reside in religious identities that do not affirm their value by badmouthing people of different faiths. Love affirms us in our inherent worth, and, if we allow it to work through us, uproots the violence of oppression in our souls and in our societies. Love enables us to call out these forces that mindlessly enslave others (or ourselves) for our own (or other people's) social, economic, and political gain. Love does this and, as another John wrote, love comes from God.

PRAYER:

Holy One, during Lent you teach us your love again and again. May our hearts grasp hold of this wisdom. Lead us to repentance, Lead us to action, and give us hope for a new creation, where love reigns and no one or nothing is ever crucified again. May it be so. Amen.

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Thoughts by Ben Masters, a graduate of George Mason University and an alum of Lutheran Campus Ministry at GMU. He is currently working at Open Arms of Minnesota in Minneapolis, through Lutheran Volunteers Corps and is a proud member of the Wellstone House, who also says: "P.S. For folks on college campuses, folks in diversity and multicultural services often have some good resources for resisting oppression. Go look them up. A shout out to the folks at George Mason, who have some kickass opportunities to resist heterosexism and transphobia for LGBTQ Pride Week this week. Blessings and peace, y'all."

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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 #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 2009 #31

2 Corinthians 3:3-6,12,17  

3 You show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God, 6 who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 12 Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

THOUGHTS:

"You may be the only Bible that some people will ever read." This phrase gets thrown around sometimes within Christianity. I think it's true even in subversive ways we might not like. As a Christian, if I snub people, then I am telling them that God doesn't want anything to do with them. If I take the time to listen to people and value people, then I am telling them that God cares about them.

As Lost and Found, one of my favorite bands, once said, "The Good News is always good news.  If someone tries to tell you the Good News and it doesn't sound like good news, then it's not the Good News, because the Good News is always good news."  (Gospel is the theological word for "Good News".)

To me, this says the same thing as the verses above, which is that the Gospel is life-giving. It isn't about tearing people down, but rather about connecting people to God, who loves all people! We have freedom in the Spirit, but it comes with a great responsibility: sharing that freedom of the Spirit with others!

We are all ministers (see day #14) of a new covenant that gives life and brings freedom. God's "Law" in scripture isn't abolished, but we aren't to focus on using the "letter of the Law" to condemn others. Instead, we are charged with boldly sharing the life-giving good news of the Good News with our world!

As Martin Luther wrote in "The Freedom of a Christian" (1520): 

"Just as our neighbor is in need and lacks that in which we abound, so we were in need before God and lacked his mercy. Hence, as our heavenly Father has in Christ freely come to our aid, we also ought freely to help our neighbor through our body and its works and each one should become as it were a Christ to the other that we may be Christs to one another and Christ may be the same in all, that is, that we may be truly Christians."

How do you act as a Christ to...

... your roommate?

... the person who serves you lunch?

... the LGBTQ community?

... your co-workers?

... those who don't "look like you"?

... others you meet each day?

 

Take a moment to read all of 2 Corinthians 3.

PRAYER:

Lord, help us to boldly act as your body to all those we meet.  Give us the strength to love freely.  Give us the courage to step outside our comfort zones to be Christ to those we meet today, and every day.  In Jesus name we pray, AMEN.

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JOIN US for worship TONIGHT (Wed 4/1) at 7:47pm in the BISTRO as we celebrate PRIDE WEEK, exploring how we can all identify with living in exile or on the margins ... and how God's love reaches us wherever we are. http://GMU747.org 
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LCM at GMU has been recognized as a Reconciling in Christ organization for taking a stand as being opening and affirming of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, as well as ... pretty mucheveryone (see http://gmu.edu/org/lutheran/affirmation.html).  We invite you to stand up for the LGBTQ community this week during Pride Week 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 #30

Psalm 139:13-24 

13 For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed. 17 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 I try to count them—they are more than the sand; I come to the end—I am still with you. 

19 O that you would kill the wicked, O God, and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me— 20 those who speak of you maliciously, and lift themselves up against you for evil!  21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? 22 I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies. 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. 24 See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.


THOUGHTS by Ben Masters, a senior at GMU:

Happy Pride Week! 

Pride Week at Mason is a time when we celebrate and honor the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, queer and ally members of our community. This is a week when we have an opportunity to give thanks to God for our very being-- for being fearfully and wonderfully made, for being known by God even when our birth and ongoing growth is a secret to us. This is a week when we can return to God, our loving creator, and turn away from the ways we belittle each other's created-ness. Even though we argue over how people come to know themselves as LGBTQ (genetics, culture, sin, grace, etc.), the psalmist reminds us that God's thoughts are vast, and that when we try to count them they are more than the sand-- and yet at the end of the day God is still with us all.

But Pride Week also reminds me that the world is many times neither a safe nor loving place for LGBTQ people. Yesterday (Monday), protesters came from the Westboro Baptist Church to shout out messages of hate: that "God hates fags" and that God had condemned GMU for supporting programs like Pride Week, and that AIDS was God's curse to same-gender loving people. Like a lot of my friends, messages like that get a rise out of me and I want to echo the psalmist's feelings: I hate them, God, and they tell lies about you!  If only those hate-mongers would leave people alone! And yet, when I listen to the lines again, it strikes me almost as if Fred Phelps, founder of WBC, is saying those words: "O that you would kill the wicked, O God... Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? ...I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies." Didn't Jesus say something about loving enemies? Blessing those who curse me? Praying for those who mistreat me? (Yes, if I take Luke 6:27-28 seriously.)

And so, this Pride Week, as I begin to celebrate my LGBTQ and ally brothers and sisters, I hold the last two lines of the psalm close: "search me, O God, and know my heart... see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." 

PRAYER:
Search me, O God, and know my heart. See if there is anything in me that scorns my neighbors. See if there is anything in me that keeps me from upholding their dignity as beings created in your image. See if there is anything that keeps me from dwelling in loving and just community with them, and lead me in the way everlasting-- the way of our brother Jesus. AMEN.

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Ben Masters is a senior at GMU involved with LCM.  He plans to spend the year after graduation involved with Lutheran Volunteer Corps, and he blogs at http://letusbebread.blogspot.com/

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JOIN US for worship this Wendesday at 7:47pm in the BISTRO as we celebrate PRIDE WEEK, exploring how we can all identify with living in exile or on the margins ... and how God's love reaches us wherever we are. http://GMU747.org
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These devotions are provided by Lutheran Campus Ministry at George Mason University .  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 #29

Romans 12:10 

10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.

THOUGHTS by Chris Bergtholdt, junior at GMU:

First off, I suggest you read the whole section this is from (Romans 12:9-21).  These thoughts, however, are just on this single verse.  At times I feel Christianity can be boiled this single line.  It is simple, yet so complicated.  Now a lot has been said about putting this principle into practice.  This is an important idea for us to reflect on during Lent, and for those of you who are a part of the GMU community, isn't this what Pride Week is all about.

 PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the complexity that simple ideas can contain.  Keep us mind of love as we reflect on our spiritual practices this season.  Help us rejoice in the diversity of life and the power love. AMEN

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JOIN US this Wendesday at 7:47pm in the BISTRO for our PRIDE WEEK themed worship service. http://GMU747.org 

Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=64244846540&ref=ts  

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These devotions are provided by Lutheran Campus Ministry at George Mason University .  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: Fifth Sunday

As mentioned previously, Sundays are not part of Lent, but rather always celebrations of the resurrection.  To mark this distinction, instead of my thoughts on scripture, here's some interesting stuff I've stumbled upon lately...

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"The Bible does not tell us what faith is, only what it does."  ~ Rabbi Abraham Heschel 

"The Gospel is scary – if we are saved by our good works there are limits to what God can expect of us; if we are saved by grace there is nothing he cannot ask of us. Following Jesus — accepting the Gospel — is total surrender."  ~ Scot McKnight 

In response the question "Who is my neighbor?"...

"That's not a hard question to answer, in my opinion.  It's in Africa, because that's where the greatest concentration of the poorest people on the planet are, where you have 8,000 people dying every day from mosquito bites and lack of clean drinking water.  This is the work of following Jesus.  If you don't follow Jesus to places like Africa, India, and Asia, you might want to check whether or not it is Jesus that you are following" ~ Derek Webb in Sojourners magazine (April 2009, page 15)

In speaking about the Bible and God's multifaceted depiction in the Bible...

"We do not find some simple, linear understanding of YHWH developing through the text, and thus we do not find a single, coherent definition of God as proclaimed by many contemporary churches."  ~ Peter Rollins in "How (Not) to Speak of God"

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LCM at GMU has been recognized as a Reconciling in Christ organization for taking a stand as being opening and affirming of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, as well as ... well, pretty much everyone (see http://gmu.edu/org/lutheran/affirmation.html).  We invite you to stand up for the LGBTQ community with us this week during PRIDE WEEK.  Join in spreading God's love, join us for worship on Wednesday in the Bistro at 7:47pm, and check out the Pride Week calendar at http://pride.gmu.edu 

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Also, Peer Ministry application for next school year is online now -- see http://gmu.edu/org/lutheran 

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These devotions are provided by Lutheran Campus Ministry at George Mason University .  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