Lent Week 4

Psalm: Psalm 23 

Old Testament: 1 Samuel 16:1-13 

Gospel: John 9:1-41 

Epistle: Ephesians 5:8-14

Welcome to the fourth week of Lent. We are now around the halfway mark of our Lenten journey.  Hopefully by now if you decided to give something up for Lent you are seeing some benefits in your relationship with others and with God.  I hope you are also experiencing a deeper commitment to your faith in the Lord.  I know at least from a practical level I have more space in my life to do more worthwhile things.

This week I want to focus on the idea of anointing, or being called and sent for a purpose.  In 1 Samuel it is the story of the anointing of David by Samuel.  The Lord tells Samuel to go to Bethlehem and anoint a son of Jesse to be the next, and second, king of Israel.  On arriving, Samuel is shown all the sons of Jesse by age until none of them are chosen, and Samuel asks if there are any other children.  David, being the youngest, wasn’t even invited to the party. He was out tending the sheep.  When David arrives, he is anointed, and although the words of Samuel are not recorded if he said anything like “I anoint you as the king of Israel,” it must have been a strange experience for those present.  The Spirit of the Lord then comes “mightily upon David” (13) at that point and Samuel leaves to another city.  It is actually a pretty strange story and David won’t be king for quite a while after this scene.

Lent Week 3

Psalm: Psalm 95

Old Testament: Exodus 17:1-7

Gospel: John 4:5-42

Epistle: Romans 5:1-11

Welcome to the third week of Lent. The time of preparation continues as we are about half way through Lent.  Hopefully this time of intentional preparation and drawing closer to God is of some benefit to you.  Unfortunately, sometimes we want to slow down and have more time for God and others in our lives, but life events get it in the way.  Even in the midst of our business and circumstances though it is vital we remember that it is in Christ that we find meaning, hope, love, and salvation. God, revealed in Christ, and present in us through his Spirit must be the center of our lives, busy or not.

Lent Week 2

Psalm: Psalm 121 

Old Testament: Genesis 12:1-4a 

Gospel: John 3:1-17 

Epistle: Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

We are entering into our second full week of Lent and by now the things we are giving up might be kind of dragging on us, but hopefully we are also gaining something as well as we spend more time in reflection and prayer.  This week, we reflect on the person of Abraham, or Abram, as he is called in Genesis 12.  The calling of Abram is such an interesting passage because it just comes out of nowhere.  If you were reading through the first 12 chapters of Genesis for the first time, the calling of Abram is something different then what has come before.  God had a relationship with Adam and Eve and he placed them in the garden.  He called Noah to build the Ark and rescue his family from the flood.  But here, the Lord speaks to Abram uniquely out of his lineage and chooses to bless him and his descendants to be the blessing for all the families of the earth.  Abram is apparently as normal as could be.  Nothing sets him apart at this point. In fact, anybody else in the lineage of Adam or in the line of Noah, through Shem, which Abram came could have had this call given to them.  Yet the call came to Abram and he immediately was obedient and left his country and family to follow the Lord.

Lent Week 1

Psalm: Psalm 32 

Old Testament: Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7 

Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11 

Epistle: Romans 5:12-19

This is the first Sunday in Lent.  The first Sunday after celebrating the glory of Jesus revealed in the Transfiguration and our task is to reflect on our own mortality and sin.  Each passage deals with the sin of the world and humanity. In Genesis we read of the Fall of humanity when Adam and Eve disobey the Lord and ate the apple.  In the Psalm, the Psalmist declares the blessedness of the one who has been forgiven and had their sins covered by the Lord.  Matthew 4 explores the temptation of Jesus by the devil.  Although Jesus was tempted, he was able to withstand temptation through the use of Scripture.  Finally, in Romans Paul compares the sin and death Adam brought into the world through his sin, against the life, grace, and righteousness brought to all through Jesus Christ.  Our Scriptures bring us on a journey through the story of salvation from the Fall up to the salvation wrought by Christ.  

Ash Wednesday and Lent

Here is re-post of a post from Lent 2012 concerning the practices of Ash Wednesday and Lent. I think it is always good to review and remember why the Church practices these things. So if you are interested continue reading.

I want to offer a defense of Lent in response to some of the blogs I have seen from Nazarenes and other evangelicals who think this is too “Catholic” (by that they mean unchristian and pagan).  The accusation is that Lent arose hundreds of years after Christ and was an adoption of pagan practices.

In order to understand Lent, we have to understand Easter.  In the early Church, Easter was much more important than Christmas and was the first festival Christians celebrated.  Easter was originally the day for new Christians to be baptized and in order for baptism to occur a time of preparation was required.  Some in the Church advocated a time of 3 years for preparation. This time of preparation/fasting, whether 3 years or something much less, developed into the time of Lent.  A time of preparation before Easter is mentioned in the earliest documents of the church. Irenaeus, sometime in the 2^nd century, wrote a letter discussing the fast before Easter.  The 40 day fast was settled by the 4^th century with the whole Church participating alongside those who were preparing for baptism.  It was a time of community-building and solidarity with those who were fasting and preparing for baptism.

Transfiguration Sunday

Psalm: Psalm 2 or Psalm 99 

Old Testament: Exodus 24:12-18 

Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9 

Epistle: 2 Peter 1:16-21

Yesterday was Transfiguration Sunday, celebrated in Protestant traditions the Sunday before Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent.  Chronologically, the Transfiguration happens just a few verses before Jesus heads to Jerusalem and the events of holy week so it makes sense to celebrate it now.  But the Transfiguration, at least from my perspective, is a little bit confusing both in terms of the actual events and the significance for the followers of Jesus.  Just to review the events, Jesus brings Peter, James, and John up to a mountain where he is “transfigured” or “metamorphosed” before them.  Moses and Elijah appear as well and Peter speaks up and offers to build three tabernacles, one for each of them, to commemorate the event.  But while he is still speaking, a cloud comes and overshadows them, and repeats the words from Jesus’ baptism, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to him.” (17:5) Finally, the three disciples look up and Moses and Elijah are gone and Jesus tells them not be afraid or tell anyone what has happened there until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.