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 #25

1 John 3:16-18

16 We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. 17 How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? 18 Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.

THOUGHTS:

Jesus modeled perfect love for us in allowing himself to be crucified for our sake. He allowed himself to be tortured to death so that we might have life. This is one of those passages that can convict us, because it asks how we are responding. It tells us we should be laying down our lives for:

... others

... friends

... neighbors

... strangers

... communities

... and all humanity.

Verse 17 reminds me of a quote from Dorothy Day: "If you have 2 coats, you've stolen one from the poor."

It reflects that most of us live in abundance: with closets full of shoes, numerous pairs of shoes, several coats, hats, and other accessories ... many purely for "decoration" of our bodies. We like the way they make us look and we enjoy the variety. You may even have the luxury of having things like iPods, computers, TVs, and video games.

Yet most of the world, and many people not far from where we live, have little. There are people struggling to stay warm. There are people without food to eat. There are many people who need your extra coats and shoes.

When asked why so many people live in poverty, Rob Bell has responded that the reason is because the church isn't doing our job. We are called to care for each other, to give from our abundance to those who have less. It isn't easy. I struggle with this all the time.

PRAYER:

Lord God, we thank you for all the blessings in our lives: food, clothing, education, housing, friends, medical care, and so much more. Help us to lay down our lives for others. Help us to learn that there is joying in giving things away. Help us to learn the way of Jesus. All this we pray in your holy name. AMEN.

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TODAY: Worship with us. 7:47pm in SUB 1 room B (3rd floor) on Wednesday 3/25/2009. Bring a friend: ALL are welcome!

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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 #10

Mark 8:27-30 
27 Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" 28 And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." 29 He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah." 30 And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

THOUGHTS:

Who do we say that Jesus is?  
The world hears about Jesus by observing how Christians act and live.

When we judge people, we are telling them that Jesus is judgmental.

When we retaliate, we are telling those around us that Jesus is vengeful.

When we say one thing and do another, we are telling the world that Jesus can't be trusted.

When we heal the sick, we are telling people that Jesus cares about them.

When we comfort the suffering, we are telling them that Jesus is compassionate.
When we act out of love, we are telling the world that Jesus is loving.

So really, who do you say that Jesus is?

PRAYER (A Four-fold Franciscan Blessing):

     May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.
     May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.

     May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.

     May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really CAN make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God's grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.

     And the blessing of God the Supreme Majesty and our Creator, Jesus Christ the Incarnate Word who is our brother and Saviour, and the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Guide, be with you and remain with you, this day and forevermore. 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 2009 #5

Ephesians 2:1-10
     1 You were dead through the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. 3 All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us 5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— 9 not the result of works, so that no one may boast.10 For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

THOUGHTS:

Let me repeat verse 8: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God." Our salvation is not based on what we do, say, think, or set out to do in life. Our salvation is solely a gift of God. To put it simply, it comes for FREE, merely because God wants us to have it.

     To put it another way:  "And if by grace [that God is motivated], then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. Because if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work" (Romans 11:6).  In other words, if you try to combine grace and works, then grace is lost in the process.  Put simply, if you have to "do something" to acquire salvation, then salvation isn't through grace.

     Back to Ephesians, verse 10: "For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life." Good works aren't about earning salvation. We were made for good works to be our way of life.

     Write this down someplace you'll see it numerous times in the next few days: "I was made for good works to be my way of life."  Spend some time thinking and praying about what this simple statement might mean in your daily life.

PRAYER:

Lord God, you have been so gracious to us.  We frequently try to make everything about ourselves, and have trouble understanding our salvation is for your sake.  Help us to live the way of life that you have prepared for us, to do good in the world as a way of life.  In Christ Jesus we pray, AMEN.

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PS:  If you want to discuss theology -- to talk about questions you have reading the above -- in a safe, open environment, then join us at Brion's Grille on Tues 3/3 at 5:15pm .  Contact lutheran@gmu.edu for details/rides. 

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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 #33

Luke 19:1-10 (ESV)

1 [Jesus] entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small of stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today." 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold." 9 And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."

THOUGHTS:
In the Roman Empire, taxes weren't collected based on complex formulas based on income and deductions like we use today. Roman citizens didn't have to pay the taxes -- that burden fell on all the conquered nations. Tax collectors bid on the priviledge to collect the taxes in each community. Whoever bid highest would then front some portion of the money to the treasury. Then, the tax collector basically went around squeezing people to cover what they thought they could collect. Anything they raised above the pledged about was personal profit. It sounds to me like the tax system worked a lot like the mob payoffs on TV.

As you can imagine, tax collection was exceedingly profitable, and tax collectors were not popular. Zacchaeus was a "vertically challenged" tax collector, and he was stinking rich. Try to imagine his situation for a moment. He probably owned whatever he wanted, but he probably didn't have many friends. He made his riches through extortion. When he walked down the street, people might have tried not notice him. Can you imagine what they said behind his back? He may have felt like he was very important sometimes, but I bet he also had a big gaping hole inside -- I doubt his riches brought him joy.

Zacchaeus climbs a tree to see Jesus moving through the crowds. Why? Scripture says he was "seeking to see who Jesus was." Had he been up the tree to see others in the past? Was it a mere whim or was he specifically intrigued about Jesus from stories he had heard? Jesus sees him in the tree and calls him by name, asking Zacchaeus to take him home for lunch. Zacchaeus "hurried" and "received him joyfully". I wonder if the reason he was so joyful was because he felt overwhelmed by the love and compassion of Jesus. This is all we now of Zacchaeus -- we're left to assume that this one encounter -- this one shared lunch -- changed Zacchaeus' life.

He was lost and he probably knew it. He obviously knew he had treated people unfairly. He had all the money he could ask for, but he was lost. After meeting Jesus, he volunteers to give half of his good to the poor and pay back four times any unfair profits. Talk about life changing!

How has Jesus changed your life?

PRAYER:
God, thank you for coming for the lost and broken. Help us to admit that we are lost. Make us whole through Christ. AMEN.

Lent Day #12

John 14:1-14 (ESV)
[Jesus speaking:] 1 "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going." 5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."

THOUGHTS:
It's an interesting exchange, isn't it?

One of the many books I'm currently in the middle of is "Organic Community" by Joseph R. Myers. It's mostly old-hat about working in dynamic non-hierarchical ways rather than with a master plan and a chain of command. Then there's this chapter on language where he says we are moving from a noun-centric culture into a verb-centric culture. He asks how that might change our understanding of the Bible. Here in John, we have Jesus saying his is "the way, and the truth, and the life."

Traditionally, these have been given static interpretations. Christians try to devise a specific prayer for using Jesus as the way to God -- like a password you have to know -- and if you haven't said the password, you aren't "in". We talk about "truth" as an immutable and dogmatic "thing" we need to know and attempt to perfectly understand. We end up with a "life" that must be lived by an accumulation of rules. What if these terms were dynamic?

What if "the way", "the truth", and "the life" are verbs being acted out for you, in you, or through you right now?

Why do we limit Jesus to only being "the way" in one way? Do we really have to treat him as the express lanes on a highway, where you have to get on at a specific point and then stay in your lane until you reach the destination? What if Jesus as "the way" is more dynamic than that? What if Jesus is "the way" to God in the way that highways lead into a metro area like spokes on a wheel? Instead of a particular rigid lane, what if Jesus is the highway system, where different people enter from different places going different directions, and through improbable detours or in ways we never thought possible, we are led to God? What do you think about Jesus as "the way"?

Why do we see "the truth" to a formulaic and rigid type of "thing"? In the musical Jesus Christ Superstar, Pilate's line to Jesus from John 18:37-38 comes out as: "What is truth? Is truth unchanging law? We both have truths? Are mine the same as yours?" What exactly is the "truth" to which Jesus bears witness? Is it every little detail that we glean from the parables or scripture as a whole -- literally or interpretively? Maybe it is a broad sweeping truth like "God loves you" -- which is true, but also works dynamically in our lives. If Jesus is the embodied form of God's Word -- the fleshy version of God's love -- and "the truth", maybe they are all the same thing. How do you understand Jesus as "the truth"?

What is "the life" we find in Jesus? Is it a litany of rules prescribing what we may and may not do? Or is it a dynamic adventurous journey of a life, where we are free to live as God's children: playing, loving, learning, and even making a mess of things? Is this "life" one in which we need to struggle to be good enough, or is it one where our struggle is to be open to letting Christ live through us? Who are you, and how do you live, if Jesus is "the life"?

PRAYER:
Dear Lord, thank you for community -- for people who journey with us. Help us to work together for the good of Your kingdom. In, through, and with Jesus the Christ, AMEN.