Devotion for Thursday, March 19

Lessons from the Daily Lectionary – Thursday, March 19, 2009

Psalms 108; Jeremiah 10:11-24; Romans 5:12-21; John 8:21-32

Meditation: There are lots of memories from childhood that we lose in our lifetimes. So, it’s always intriguing to think about what memories one retains. One of those early memories for me comes from a family vacation to the “Land of 10,000 Lakes.” It was there that I saw the huge statue of Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe.

In those early years I also remember Sunday morning programs like the biblical show on “Davey and Goliath” (Goliath was Davey’s faithful dog), as well as a show on Davy Crockett. (If you’ve detected a theme, I won’t deny a certain affinity with those who shared my name!) All of those characters seemed large to me, making a lifelong impression as larger than life figures. I’d say they held mythic proportions – the grand, outdoor statue of Paul Bunyan in the wild woods of Minnesota holding the largest of spaces in my imagination.

As I write this, I’d ask what person or character holds that kind of place from your childhood imagination? How were they larger than life? What lifelong impression did they make? For me, Paul Bunyan embodied strength and hard work. He was the silent type (big statues don’t usually have much to say!), but was honest, constructive and enjoyed himself in the outdoors. He lived well in his natural surroundings, respecting nature, but using what he needed, he provided life for himself and his community. Wow! That’s a lot more stuff in my mind about Paul Bunyan than I would have thought was there! But it also shows what values such memories bring to a person throughout a lifetime.

These are the measure of the images which are in today’s readings from Romans, today. There, Paul about Adam and about Jesus Christ. They are more than just particular persons. They carry a mythic quality with them, as well. Adam is the figure who lets sin into the world. It was actually St. Augustine and John Milton who took Paul to mean that Adam’s sin was spread almost genetically from parent to child. Paul does not force the carrying of Adam’s sin through biology. Yet, what ever the means, the effect of that loss of relationship with God and with God’s good purposes is ubiquitous. Adam is a larger than life figure whose influence has tainted us all.

Yet what’s more remarkable is how Jesus comes to reverse the influence of Adam and his sin. The Adam myth, the effect of sin is countered in Jesus Christ. An opportunity for newness has reversed what had always been. History’s course has a new possibility of good, of grace, of life.

The influence of Jesus ought to work that way. As we welcome his presence into our imaginations, it frees us to follow what we see in his way of life. He was gracious, inviting little ones to know they are loved. He was clear that he had a relationship with God that was vital and gave him a mission for his daily interaction with others. He even endured the hostility of others, serving a redemptive purpose. Today, give Jesus some room in your imaginative world, seeing what grace and redemption might live through you.

Prayer: God, don’t let us take those blind alleys where we close down our imaginations believing that you want only obedience and not relationship. Instead, let Christ be one who opens up the possibilities of new grace and goodness to work its way through us and into the way we live out our lives. We give thanks for Jesus, the new person who transforms the world. Amen.