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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***Feel free to share them with your friends!***

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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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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 #27

Isaiah 43:8-15 (NRSV)

Bring forth the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears! Let all the nations gather together, and let the peoples assemble. Who among them declared this, and foretold to us the former things? Let them bring their witnesses to justify them, and let them hear and say, "It is true." You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior. I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you; and you are my witnesses, says the Lord. I am God, and also henceforth I am He; there is no one who can deliver from my hand; I work and who can hinder it?

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake I will send to Babylon and break down all the bars, and the shouting of the Chaldeans will be turned to lamentation. I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.

THOUGHTS:

These words from Isaiah come from the time of exile in Babylon. Here, God challenges the people and gods of Babylon and asserts His dominion, his prominence as THE God, the one and only. Even the blind and deaf of Israel can witness to God's saving power.

I read these words as both a comforting reminder and a strong challenge. We are so blessed that this creating, powerful God is our Savior. But we are also called to witness and proclaim His Gospel. Where is God calling you to witness today? Are there people around you who need to hear His saving message?

PRAYER:

Lord, we thank you for your saving love and grace. We know that you are the one and only God, our Creator. We ask that your Spirit guide us and help us share your message. 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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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 #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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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/

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

Lent 2009 #26

Isaiah 30:15-18 
15 For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. But you refused 16 and said, "No! We will flee upon horses"— therefore you shall flee! and, "We will ride upon swift steeds"— therefore your pursuers shall be swift! 17 A thousand shall flee at the threat of one, at the threat of five you shall flee, until you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill.
     18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. 

THOUGHTS by Ben Masters, senior at GMU:
Here at George Mason, "busy" is default. And things are beginning to get busier; April brings Pride Week, International Week, final projects and papers... and who knows what else. It's one of those seasons I'm not sure I'll survive-- rushing from place to place, not getting nearly enough sleep, trying to get everything done. Into this context Isaiah drops this string of verses, deep and ringing like the rhythms rolling off of one of B-Buss' djembes. Rest. Quietness. Wait.

What gets me is that this rest is not complacent-- in it is salvation. Quietness isn't a sign of weakness-- it's strength. And the waiting isn't about us being impatient to get the next thing over and done, but God is waiting to be gracious. God is waiting to show mercy and establish justice. God is waiting for us to slow down enough to see that and to let "God give God" as St. Augustine puts it. Maybe if we pause, we might even hear an invitation to join in the work of justice, mercy, and peace-- not out of anxiety, but out of whatever quiet strength that Isaiah is hinting at.

PRAYER:
(Breathe slowly for a few moments, holding the breath in for a moment before breathing out.) 
Holy Spirit, breath of life, breathe into us space and time in which to behold your grace, and to behold each other as neighbor and family. Rise up to show us your mercy, O God, and renew in us your dream of a world restored to wholeness. 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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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 #2

Thoughts:

Many people perform some type of "fast" during Lent.  This is people are doing when they give up chocolate, or don't eat meat on Fridays, etc.  In the passage below, Isaiah is asked to tell the people about the kind of fast God desires from them.  It isn't a fast about giving up something you may or may not miss.  It isn't a fast about personal suffering.  It's a fast of working for justice, feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, repairing fallen walls, and making this world we live in more habitable.  How can you use your time and abilities this season to make the world we live in a more hospitable, habitable, and hopeful place for others?  How can we use this type of fasting to strengthen our relationship with God?

Isaiah 58:1-12
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.

13 If you refrain from trampling the sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs; 14 then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Prayer:

O Lord God, we thank you for our very lives.  Without your spirit, we would have remained dust forever.  Now, as we live, we wish to fast as you desire.  Call us to grow closer to you through service this Lent.  Give us a heart to carry out your Will in our world.  Help us to be your hands.  For the sake of your son Jesus the Christ.  AMEN.

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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 Day #30

Ephesians 4:25-32 (NRSV)
25 So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. 26 Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not make room for the devil. 28 Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. 29 Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. 31 Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, 32 and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

THOUGHTS:
Verse 26: "Be angry but do not sin ..."
Verse 31: "Put away from you all ... anger ..."

Sometimes it seems we are given mixed messages. Yet, maybe we aren't. Jesus appears to get angry (for example with the moneychangers in the temple ... and in other passages with the Pharisees). Yet we are told he never sinned. The key may be that the feeling passes: "... do not let the sun go down on your anger ..." Is there a righteous anger?

Anger seems so negative to me. It can eat me up inside. It can lash out in damaging ways. It can certainly be a factor in my sin, but maybe it isn't the anger that is sinful, but how I deal with it. How do we find constructive and positive ways to deal with our anger?

This passage is so jam-packed. Look back at the beginning -- why do we speak truth to our neighbors (fellow humans)? Verse 25 says that "we are members of one another." Think about that. Doesn't it mean that you are part of me and I am part of you? That you are part of your enemy and your enemy is part of you?

How does that make you feel? How does it affect the way you think about your actions?

Does that allow you to follow verse 31, putting aside all anger, bitterness, and malice. Does seeing yourself in others help you to be kind and forgiving?

Verse 32 is so powerful to me. It says to forgive one another as God in Christ has forgiven. We are told that God forgives in such a way that the sin is not even remembered. (Look back at to Isaiah 43:25 - discussed Lent Day #24). 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 says:

18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Through Christ, God reconciled the world to God -- effectively erasing all of our shortcomings from the mind and memory of God. Take a minute to let that soak in -- it still blows my mind sometimes. Now look at verse 32 again: that's the kind of forgiveness we are to practice.

Read the passage above one last time. There is more there than I touched upon. What details are still tugging at you?

PRAYER:

Dearest God, your forgiveness is so vast that we sometimes forget to acknowledge it. We struggle to accept the knowledge that your forgiveness of us is so complete. We also have trouble embracing the thought that might immerse our enemies in this same forgiveness. Help us to forgive all those around us with your kind of forgiveness. Help us to see the world through your loving eyes. In Christ. AMEN.

NOTES:

Remember that you can always find the devotions for past days at http://lentendevotions.blogspot.com/

You may even find more hyperlinks in the posts there to help you cross reference past posts or get more information on a person that gets quoted in a post.

Lent Day #24

Isaiah 43:22-26 (ESV)
22 "Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob;
but you have been weary of me, O Israel!
23 You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings,
or honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings,
or wearied you with frankincense.
24 You have not bought me sweet cane with money,
or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins;
you have wearied me with your iniquities.
25 "I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins.

26 Put me in remembrance; let us argue together;
set forth your case, that you may be proved right."

THOUGHTS:
The speaker here is God (see Isaiah 43:15). There is a common perception is that God is all wrath and retribution in the Hebrew Scriptures ... and that the Christian Scriptures are all Jesus, love, and grace. In truth, we find a lot of love and grace throughout the Bible (and yes, there is some smiting too). It's not a simple story about a "vengeful God" and a "loving Jesus" who shelters us from God's smiting. Sometimes, it seems like God is a bit moody, but we see repeatedly where God loves all of creation. God tries time and time again to reconcile the world even in the midst of his dissatisfaction with our sins. God seeks to draw us in under God's wings and hold us close.

God gives us free will and then longs for us to focus our attention on God. Sometimes I can't help thinking that God seems immature -- that God's jealously seems to win out and control decisions. In these times, I am comforted that God kept trying and trying to erase the roadblocks that kept us far away -- that God is always doing new things (see Isaiah 43:19). At the times I want to argue with God, I take comfort in the fact that this is part of the Judeo-Christian heritage. It isn't sacrilegious or irreverent or heretical to argue with God. God invites us to argue together -- insisting that we could even be proved right! (See Isaiah 43:26 above.)

One of my favorite things about this passage is the imagery of God's forgiveness in verse 25. It says that when God forgives us, our sins are no longer remembered -- the forgiveness is so complete that it is like the sins never even happened! Here is another translation of Isaiah 43:25 (JPS)

"It is I, I who -- for My own sake --
Wipe your transgressions away
And remember your sins no more."

Wait -- for whose sake? God forgives us for God's sake. Why?

I think maybe God will do whatever it takes to erase the things that separate us from God.

What do you think?

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, we thank you for the sheer depth of your love. Help us to remember that your ways are not our ways, and help us to do our part to remove the walls we build up between us and You. We know that we can't do it on our own. We want to dwell freely in your shadow and to recognize Your Spirit moving in the world around us. In Jesus name, AMEN.