Lent 2010 #31

Matthew 12:22

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

THOUGHTS:

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

PRAYER: 

During this time of repentance help our blind eyes and muted voices to come to life as instruments of the spirit of God at work. Amen.

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Thoughts by participants in the Lutheran Student Association at the University of Maryland

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These devotions for young adults are provided by:

Lutheran Campus Ministry at George Mason University http://www.gmu.edu/org/lutheran

Lutheran Student Association at the University of Maryland http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~lutheran/lsa/

DC Young Adults http://www.dcyoungadults.org/

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Lent 2010 #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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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/

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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 #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