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.

--

Thoughts by Ben Buss, Lutheran Campus Minister at George Mason University

--

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 2010 #15

Psalm 63:1-8

1 O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

2 I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.

3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.

4 I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.

5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

6 On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.

7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

THOUGHTS: 

The very poetry in this psalm appeals to me.

Verse 1 "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you,"

The imagery of seeking God reminds me of a beautiful Michael W. Smith song built around the metaphor of a game of Hide and Seek.

"Of my young heart beating fast behind the willow tree


I was counting out loud, and I only peeked a time or two


And the only purpose in my life was finding you


Singing, "Ollie, Ollie, everybody free!"


Now was I chasing you or were you chasing me?"

Verse 1 continues "My soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water."

I have thirsted for completeness before- have you? Sometimes our lives can leave us so empty, so broken. We can try to make it on our own, but ultimately fall down again.

"We all grow up and put away our childhood games


But deep inside I wonder if we really change


'Cause I'm still seeking, though I've learned to hide so well

And I can still remember how it felt


Singing, "Ollie, Ollie everybody free!"


Will I ever find someone pursuing me?

Verses 3-4 "Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you- I will praise you as long as I live and in your name I will lift up my hands!"

How wonderful is it that we are pursued! How beautiful is it to be loved by our Creator so unconditionally. How can we keep from singing at this knowledge?

"And then you caught me by surprise

I found my tears are in your eyes

I hear my heart inside of you

At last I've found somebody who


Can free my soul


And love me too"

Verses 5-6 "My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.  On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night."

At last, we are full. At last, we are satisfied. We are the free and beloved children of God- oh how blessed are we!

"I can't believe we hide so long and run so well


When all the while we're aching to be caught and held


But it's only in surrender that our freedom comes


And so I run abandoned to your waiting arms


Singing, "Ollie, Ollie everybody free!


I belong to you and you belong to me!"

Verses 7-8 "Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me."

When we run into his arms and are covered "in the shadow of his wings," truly we can do anything. We are part of his family, now and forever. We belong and will never be alone.

And we are free. : )

Excerpts from Michael W. Smith, Everybody Free 

--

Thoughts by Rachael Dickson, senior history major, happy member of Lutheran Campus Ministry at GMU

--

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 #37

Hebrews 12:1-3 
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.

THOUGHTS:

This is what we've been doing during Lent: stripping ourselves of our sins, those things that we so often build up as obstacles in our relationship with God.  We free ourselves of these weights so we are free to endure life's struggles.  In right relationship with our Lord, we help each other to wrestle with issues.  Although we focus on these things during Lent, it's good to remember that we will create new barriers for ourselves each day, so regardless of the season, it's always good to be mindful of freeing ourselves of these weights.  Support each other whenever the need arises!  Faith run free!

PRAYER:

Lord God, thank you for washing us clean.  Help us to daily rid ourselves of those things that stand between us and you.  Help us to be as free as you created us to be.  In Jesus name, AMEN.

---

REMINDER: Carpool to worship with us during HOLY WEEK (meet at SUB 1 room 207).  Email lutheran@gmu.edu if you have questions.

4/9 - MAUNDY THURSDAY:  Meet at 6:50pm and we'll head to services at a local Lutheran congregation.

4/10 - GOOD FRIDAY:  Stations of the Cross in mixed media -- The object of the Stations is to help the faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage of prayer, through meditating upon the chief scenes of Christ's sufferings and death.  We'll meet at 6:15pm to check out this mixed media experience created through the collaboration of 4 faith communities.

4/12 - EASTER: Meet at 10:25am to carpool to a local Lutheran congregation for Easter worship!

---

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 #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.

---

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 
---

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.

---
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 #25

Romans 8:1-2 (ESV)
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

THOUGHTS:
In Jesus the Christ we have been set free from the law of sin and death. What does this mean to you?

Do you live any differently because of this knowledge? Do you think this frees us to do whatever we want with no consequences? Probably not. We all know that there are consequences for our actions. We can hurt those around us. We know that we should love God and neighbor...

Maybe this "law of the Spirit of life" has set us free to love neighbor even when the law doesn't require it.

How does this impact your life?

PRAYER:
God, we ask that you are with us each day -- that every day you help us to set our hearts and minds on your ways -- that you help us to use this freedom we find in Jesus for doing your work here and now. Please lead us and guide us all the days of our lives. AMEN.