Devotion

Scripture

Genesis 22. 7-9

Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

Abraham answered, “God will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.

A Word of Hope

How much are you willing to give up for Lent? In today’s strange and often troublesome, reading from Genesis, the patriarch of the family that would later become the nation of Israel has to make that decision, but not for Lent…forever.

Most of us are familiar with the story of Sarah and Abraham, the ancestors of every shero and hero of the Hebrew Scriptures. They had been promised a child by God, one who would grow up to bless all of the nations of the world through the lives and works of his offspring. The birth of this promised infant didn’t happen right away however, not until the couple had waited until Sarah was ninety years old and Abraham was well over 100. Sarah named him Isaac, which means “the child of laughter” since, at 89, she finally couldn’t hold back laughing at the very thought of giving birth, but Isaac was a miracle child, and the blessing prophecy was now in motion.

About 20-or-so years later, God spoke to Abraham again, saying take your son, your only son, Isaac, and sacrifice him to me on an altar. Without any questions, Abraham packed up his rope, knife, and firewood (which Isaac carried) and they headed for the designated altar of sacrifice. Isaac was not privy to all of the details about this particular burnt offering, as the above scripture makes us aware, and even though, in his youth, Isaac could have easily overpowered his centi-genarian dad, he allowed himself to be bound up for death.

This is not my favorite Bible story. Oh yes, it does have a happy ending. Sure enough, the Angel of the Lord appears with a ram, and Isaac does live to fulfill his destiny. This bizarre tale about Abraham’s obedience to his God and to his faith had much more meaning to its original readers than it does to us. In the days of Sarah and Abraham, children were possessions. The donkey, the crockery, and the kids were all counted as possessions of the patriarch and all were assets that could be traded or sold to pay off a debt. Today, it is an eye-opening metaphor that asks us both what is your most precious possession, and would you be willing to give it up?

In our me-centered generation, possessions are nor necessarily material objects. Some of the possessions many of us carefully guard and protect are deeply rooted inside us; among them jealousy, greed, fear of change, stubbornness, lack of forgiveness, prejudice, bigotry, pride. To some degree, each of us carries such internal lists; tendencies so strong, so familiar, that they are no longer our possessions. They possess us. Lent is the perfect time of year to be totally honest with ourselves about those inclinations we should prayerfully examine and perhaps exchange for an uncluttered walk with God.

How much are you willing to give up for Lent?

Prayer

Direct me to your altar of Love. Help me to leave the ashes of my deficiencies there. AMEN

Devotion Author

Dan Peeler
Order of St. Francis and St. Clare

Scripture

John 11.32-35

When Mary [of Bethany] reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” she replied.

Jesus wept.

A Word of Hope

Centering Prayer: Lord God, quiet my thoughts and open my spirit to receive your words into my soul. May they find rich opportunity to grow and nourish my spiritual journey with you. Amen.

“God is full of compassion and mercy, come let us adore God.” This phrase forms an introductory statement to a Franciscan morning prayer which has been prayed for centuries, and its message represents an essential aspect of the Christian lifestyle.

Let’s look at the word compassion. From its Latin origin, it is a compound word: com meaning with and passio meaning sympathy; to be in sympathy with, suffer with, experience the distress or sorrow of others. Referring back to that introductory phrase (“God is full of compassion”), it means that God experiences our suffering alongside us. This is a startling pronouncement about the character of the Absolute Sovereign God of this universe.

Earlier humanity viewed God as very distant, up in the heavens and away or out of reach for human beings. However, Jesus revealed to us a God which is close, nearby, whose Spirit can live with and in our daily experiences; a God which also senses our sorrow, pain, loss and even our joy; a God which wants to be a true participant in our full life. God wants to live our daily life, step-by-step, in intimate relationship with us!

Jesus is the great revelation of this divine nature as expressed in human form. The Gospel of John (Chapter 11) gives the account of Jesus’ response to the emotional pain experienced by the sisters and friends of Lazarus who had died. When he arrived, Jesus found them in deep sorrow and crying over the loss of this friend who was such a good man. “When Jesus saw them weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved.” As he approached the tomb, “Jesus wept”. Jesus felt their pain and sorrow. As a human, Jesus genuinely expressed sorrow

for the loss of Lazarus’ friendship and cried as we might do in that experience. Jesus demonstrated to us in human form the depth of God’s compassion at Lazarus’ death and the family’s grief.

As the Franciscan prayer phrase reads: “Our God is full of compassion”, let us adore God which loves us so much and wishes to experience that love in an intimate relationship with our full life.

Prayer

God of all, today, may we strive to practice the same compassion for others as you have forever felt for us.

Devotion Author

Donald (Luke) Day
Order of St. Francis and St. Clare

Scripture 

Psalm 23:6. 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long. 

Word of Hope 

Some days are better than others, of course. I have had “good” experiences and my share of “bad” ones. I use quotation marks for both of those judgmental words. The “good” experiences have sometimes been fleeting or in some way had “bad” consequences. The ones I considered “bad” have often taught me valuable lessons. Sometimes they prepared me to understand and be of service to someone else. 

I have learned to pay less attention to my immediate reactions to life’s circumstances. 

I do draw upon past experiences to understand the present of course. I appreciate that I have acquired some education and wisdom along the way. Mostly though, I give credit to my faith for keeping me from the doldrums every time something “bad” happens to me. 

I find that the words in Psalm 23:6 remind me that God has my back in every circumstance of my life. 

I wake up most mornings and lie in bed to give thanks for the many blessings God has granted me. The first thing I usually see is a beautiful painting hanging on my wall. I thank God for my comfortable home that shelters me and also is filled with beauty and loving people. 

As my day progresses, I learn the foundation repair I just paid massive amounts to have done, has exposed serious problems with the plumbing. The estimate for those repairs seems impossible. I start to panic. Is this repairman reliable? Where will I find such money? Will I be able to continue to live here? And the list of worries mounts. It seems like the time for panic, but it is not. I declare boldly, “This too will work out. It always has and always will. Surely goodness and mercy…. my whole life long!” 

The truth is, nothing I ever worried about has ever been worth the time and energy I spent on the worry. Everything always has worked out and I still have a wonderful life. And no, I won’ t even have to move this time. 

Prayer 

Beloved God, keeper of my soul and my whole being, I love you. Help me to spread the good news of your love for all of us. Help us to bring comfort and peace to troubled 

hearts and worrying minds. Help us to live for you and rest easy in your loving arms. In your Holy Name, we pray. Amen 

Devotion Author 

Carole Anne Sarah

Scripture

Luke 19.1-7

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

A Word of Hope

Most of are familiar with the story of Zacchaeus. Remember that he was a Jew who supervised the collection of taxes for Roman authorities. Those townsfolk in the crowd surrounding Jesus probably hated Zacchaeus and those who worked with him. For them, he could have stayed up in that tree even as Jesus called him to come down. Surely, the crowd was amazed that Jesus saw him up there and more amazed when Jesus announced that he wanted to visit the tax collector’s home. Goodness, how could a wise and holy man like Jesus associate with a probable crook like a tax collector? Jesus had never met Zacchaeus before this encounter, and it is clear that he did not label him with the evil reputation of a tax collector.

Now, here’s a lesson for each of us today. When we encounter someone whom we don’t know or a person who is different from us, don’t prejudge them! How other people may think about them, may not be how God values them. And our assessment of others should be based on that of God, not the jaded judgment of the crowd around us. Jesus realized that Zacchaeus had as much need to “fine-tune” his spiritual life as the personal need of anyone else in that crowd. Jesus greeted this tax collector and went to his home for a meal. He accepted God’s valuation of Zacchaeus and was willing to interact with him. We also live in a world where people and ideas are sharply divided, good or bad, true or false. As we encounter others who are different from us or who hold different opinions, I hope we can let Jesus’ example teach us to act toward others as God would; always keeping our minds and hearts open to interaction which expresses divine love, forgiveness and welcome!

We find a similar story about accepting others as God values them in John 8:1-11. In this passage, Jesus was teaching some followers in the Temple when the scribes brought before him a woman whom they claimed was caught in the act of adultery. They hoped to trick and condemn Jesus if he did not agree to stone her to death. But Jesus turned the question of

personal sin on to them when he told those pious men in attendance: “Who among you has not sinned?” The accusers were forced to withdraw in defeat.

But how would the sinless Jesus encounter this woman? Finally, only Jesus and the accused woman were present when he told her: “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way and from now on sin no more.” Jesus offered this woman the divine forgiving embrace. Rather than a judgmental rejection of her, he offered forgiveness and a better chance to live as God wishes, once again teaching all of us how God meets us in our imperfect lives. We should love others as we have experienced God’s love, a divine love of acceptance and help.

Prayer

Today, as we encounter others, may we open our hearts to God’s forgiving love and let that inspire our words and actions as we interact with them. May we become the all-understanding and loving heart of God to the other person.

Devotion Author

Donald (Luke) Day
Order of St. Francis and St. Clare

Scripture

Isaiah 1.18

‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ ” says the Lord, ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool’

A Word of Hope

The Guilty

Of all the spirits I have encountered, Guilt, is the worst. If you can defeat Guilt, then you will overcome every evil. Guilt teaches you that you have to hide to protect yourself when the only danger is forgetting how to fly. It is better to take the easy way up the mountain.

If you only forgive the deserving, then you are a poor judge, for God forgave without discrimination when Jesus was sacrificed for the forgiveness of our sins. Consider that before we ever had a chance to repent, Christ died. He forgave us before we ever earned our forgiveness. Could there be any guilt if we are taught that we are born forgiven, or does God require payment? How then does a person earn forgiveness? God, knowing your mistakes from afar off, gave us Jesus on the cross not to condemn us, but to say, “I love you”, to anyone who was listening.

If God loved us before we loved God, then we were already forgiven. Guilt is not the absence of a mistake, but it is the presence of an accusation with the desire to condemn. Do not accuse the blood of Christ of not being enough to forgive everyone, for Christ died for everyone. Why then, does guilt remain? It is altogether confusion.

Parents punish their children to teach them discipline, not to imply that they are worthless. God is not saying that you are worth less, but the cross says that you are worth more. When you realize your worth, no one can ever make you feel guilty again. It is time to forgive yourself because God already did. God never stops loving you no matter how many mistakes you make. Beware those who teach that love is given to the deserving, for no one deserves, yet God loves everyone. Likewise, this message is for everyone, and yet, there will be few who find it.

Prayer

God,

Help us to accept Your love and learn to love ourselves. Free us from guilt and the desire to make others guilty. Thank You for the message of the cross. May we never forget. Amen.

Devotion Author

Jonathon McClellan
Order of St. Francis and St. Clare

Scripture 

Micha 4:3-4 

They will hammer their swords into plows and their spears into knives. Nations will never again go to war; never prepare for battle again.’ 

[Preparation: Take a deep breath and exhale slowly….do it again. Place yourself gently in the presence of your God] 

Word of Hope 

How often do we recognize that the most quotable passages from the sacred texts occur in the Hebrew scriptures? The Christian Testament is founded upon a long and rich tradition from which we extended the conversation with the Lord found in earlier texts. And we believe that God is still speaking to us today in words and signs and prophets and events and in our hearts – if we but truly LISTEN. We are told that our faith can move mountains and yet, when is the last time we tried?! 

“They will hammer their swords into plows and their spears into knives. Nations will never again go to war; never prepare for battle again.’ Micha 4:3-4) 

This, obviously, remains a prayer and a goal in the face of the human condition. But it is a worthy aspiration and one in which we have some control. In or own lives do we strive to be just and fair as peacemakers? Are we argumentative with others and even those we proclaim to love? Are we generally oblivious to the weapons produced for domestic consumption and use and those that are designed and manufactured for international use? 

Who is the largest manufacturer and seller of weapons of war in the world? When it comes to the most destructive nuclear weapons – how many times do the stockpiles of various countries destroy the earth? How many times over will it take to make us feel “safe” and never be afraid again.? Peace starts with us and the relationships that we have. 

Prayer 

O Holy One! We are so far short of your desire for us to create the sort of world that Micha proclaimed as your Will. We desperately need your guidance and your reminders about the love you have for each of us. Let us be peacemakers in our own little world and with that little positive ripple in the Universe be joined with millions of others to form a tidal wave of faith, joy, 

peace and understanding. We are not alone because we know You are with us and we know others want to be with us, too. 

[Take a deep breath and exhale slowly….do it again.] 

Amen. 

Devotion Author 

Bob Shea 
Cathedral of Hope / United Church of Christ 

Scripture 

Acts 14. 8 

In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. 

A Word of Hope 

I have to be honest and say that when I first read this passage, I found it to be troubling. I was immediately drawn to the fact that Paul healed a man who had been lame from birth simply because Paul looked at him and “saw that he had faith.” Paul called to him to “stand up on your feet” and the man jumped up and began to walk. If the miracle here is simply about the lame man’s faith, I am left wondering why so many people of faith are left struggling with disease and adversity. For those of us with a strong faith, we are confident that God is with us through our difficulties, but we are also confident that miraculous healing does not happen as often as we’d like. So, what is the point of this passage? 

The main character in this story is Paul. Paul’s ability to heal the man is intended as proof to the non-believers in the power of the good news of the living God. As is often the case, especially to those of little or no faith, the act of God, performed through Paul, was misinterpreted by the people of Lystra. They attributed the healing of the lame man to the gods Mercury and Zeus being sent in human form in Paul and Barnabas. In response, the Lystra people wanted to offer sacrifices to these gods. Paul and Barnabas tried with all their might to hold back the sacrifices offered by the crowd and show them that they were humans. The event led to Paul being stoned and thought dead. The next day, he got up and walked, continuing his mission in another city. 

As Paul was fighting of the crowds, he drew on the language of the creation story to further explain the power of God. “He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”. Paul is trying to show the people of Lystra the goodness that is available to them through faith. This passage is meant for non-believers. Paul is trying to persuade them to turn away from the things that separate them from God. 

That is the same message that comes to us as we begin this first full week of Lent…turn away from those things that create a barrier between us and our God. As we embark on this Lenten journey, let us pray about what creates that barrier. Is it really chocolate? Is it busy-ness that keeps us from quiet time with God? Is it hardness of heart? 

We may not be experiencing a physical lameness as was the man in Lystra, but we may indeed have symptoms of a spiritual lameness, things that keep us from walking strongly and confidently with our God. Lent provides us with a season to look our faith in the eye, to nurture it so that with the sounding of the Easter Alleluias we can jump up and walk in faith like we never have before. 

A Prayer 

True and living God, nurture in me a faith that strengthens my body, mind, and spirit so that through darkness and light I can walk confidently as a witness to your power and love. Amen. 

Devotion Author 

Kris Baker 
Order of Saint Francis and Saint Clare

Scripture

Daniel 7:13-14 (NRSV)
To him was given dominion and glory and kingship….His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.

A Word of Hope

About 2500 years ago, the prophet Daniel saw those around him grow disheartened by a nation rife with growing inequality, injustice, and oppression in their nation. The belief that God would right all wrongs seemed improbable, if not ludicrous. If God was either in control or had any plans to make things right, the evidence did not suggest it.

Daniel had a dream and prophesied that God would send a King to both rescue the people of God and to establish eternal dominion. The audience in Daniel’s time would have heard in his words the promise of a physical kingdom, one set up by God, with a just and powerful ruler whom God had established.

Hundreds of years later, Jesus arrived on the scene. And those who followed him believed him to be the predicted ruler whose kingdom would be established and last forever. Finally, it seemed God had sent the one who would set all things right. But Jesus must have surprised his followers by teaching them that “The Kingdom of God is within you.”  (Luke 17:21)

He showed that the Kingdom of God does not refer simply to a physical reign of God, nor to a solely spiritual one. Rather, it encompasses both the earthly and heavenly domain of God. It is the realm where God is sovereign and we are living in the peace, beauty, love, and justice God has called us to. This Kingdom began with Christ and is both current and future, at once present and to come. And that Kingdom is eternal.

When we choose to practice these principles, we essentially seek asylum from the ways of our culture that do not correspond with the ways of Christ. This Kingdom has no walls, no repatriation. We need only agree to usher in the rule of peace, mercy, beauty, kindness, and justice by practicing them. The teachings of Jesus and the predictions about him tell us that one day the Kingdom will be fully established, and all will be made right. On Earth as it is in Heaven. But Jesus emphasized that until that day, the principles of the Kingdom and the abilities to usher it in exist in all who follow him.

The Kingdom of God operates under a different set of principles. The first shall be last and the last shall be first. The face of Christ can be found in the hungry and homeless. The poor, lonely, marginalized, infirm, and incarcerated. Those who mourn and those who seek peace.

The reign of God takes place in our minds, hearts, and our interactions with others.

Let us seek those areas in our lives where we have the ability to increase justice, mercy, peace, love, and joy in the world around us and the ways in which we can do so.

Let us ask: where am I holding on to resentment, being unkind, passing by those who could use an encouraging word? Do I see caring for the poor, needy, and ill as someone else’s job or ministry? Have I become adept at explaining why others find themselves in difficult situations rather than compelled to mitigate their pain?

Until such time as all the earth is made as just, peaceful, and beautiful as it is in Heaven, let us remember, to quote the late author Rachel Held Evans, that “at the end of the day, we’re all in this Kingdom thing together. We’re all loved by God, all in desperate need of grace, all in need of one another.”

Devotion Author

Matthew Crawley

Scripture

1 John 3:2

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

A Word of Hope

Today is Ash Wednesday, when people of many faiths, around the globe, receive ashes placed upon their foreheads in the shape of the cross. This anointing symbolizes both birth and death, revealing we can choose to grow spiritually in our walk with Christ as we move towards our physical end.

There was a time in my life when I unquestionably knew more about Fat Tuesday than Ash Wednesday and was mesmerized with Mardi Gras! Then, after understanding the meaning of the 40 days of Lent, I fell in love with Jesus in a different way. I wanted to explore how his sacrifice would symbolically and literally make a difference for all humankind. When I realized the true meaning of this day, I was awe struck and wanted to know more.

As I continue to explore and appreciate this time as a sojourn, I am also aware of this space between the first breath in the manger and the last breath on the cross, while the empty tomb and resurrection bring the promise of everlasting life.

Ash Wednesday gives us an opportunity to surrender “self” during Lent so we can be filled with God’s will and purpose for our lives.

As an adolescent, I looked forward to Easter festivities with the family, all the while knowing my mother’s plan was to stick me in an uncomfortable dress with a huge bow, matching hat, and stiff shoes. Like the resurrection bringing new hope, I knew if I could get through Sunday morning, my baseball glove was tucked into my easter basket and ready for play.

Like the ashes leading into lent, death and resurrection are not just a one-time event, they become the tapestry of our lives. Each time we allow old fears to die, we open a space to embrace the future. When we allow the spirit of Christ to break down walls that keep us from knowing peace, we come home to ourselves and the promise of eternal life through the sacrifice of Jesus.

Prayer

Creator God, as we begin this journey into Lent, let our walk with Christ begin anew this day and every day, for the rest of our lives. Amen

Devotion Author

Donna Jackson