Lessons from the Daily Lectionary – Thursday, March 5, 2009
Psalms 18; Deuteronomy 9:23-10:5; Hebrews 4:1-10; John 3:16-21
Meditation: I read by counting, most of the time. No, that doesn’t mean that I love math books or have been taking accounting courses (although I do love numbers and still believe the poster that was on the wall in my advanced algebra class: “Math is better than ice cream”). I read by counting pages. I look at how long a novel is. I measure how many pages I can read in whatever time I have. And I progress to the end of the book.
I do the same thing with exercise. I count miles, half miles, tenth of miles, how long it takes me, how fast I’m going. I hope that doesn’t mean something bad. I actually do enjoy and find both reading and walking quite fulfilling. But I also tend to quantify things.
That’s probably a male thing or bad habit, I suppose, but I do see something of this in our daily readings for this eighth day of Lent (32 more to go). The texts are saying: Persevere. Keep on going. Take one more step after another. Don’t quit.
Perseverance is a quantitative living out one’s life. In the Deuteronomy reading, Moses makes his prayer for the people, lying prostrate before the Lord God for forty (40) days and forty (40) nights. He reminds God that even though the people have been stubborn and unappreciative, God had them out in the desert as a way of showing the world that God was able to take an oppressed people, folks who are down and out, and make them into something that would speak to God’s graciousness and glory. “Give them a second (2nd) chance, God,” Moses is praying in his forty days prostrate. Take another step towards them. And God does. “Go carve out a second (2nd) set of stone tablets, I’m going to write down the Ten (10) Commandments for them another time.”
The Hebrews lesson says much the same, except this time it’s the church folks who are called to persevere. There’s been trouble in this church. Some people have been leaving. They want the message to be fresher. The pastor/writer counters: “The Lord is in the faithful steps, not the whims and the wanderings. Keep counting the steps, stay the course as the road bends around the corners. The promised Sabbath rest awaits your faithfulness. Persevere. Hang in there.
Perseverance isn’t the death of creativity, but the foundation of it. Newness of life has a grounding in the steadfast love of God and the covenant by which the people are called. Today, keep yourself grounded in prayer, mutuality, and an extended hand to the neighbor and the stranger. Through such perseverance, the love of God of the whole world continues to be proclaimed.
Prayer: God, let us find routines of scripture reading, prayer, hospitality to others, and friendship within the community of faith so that we may have a foundation for joy and discipleship. Put one opportunity before us today to persevere in our faithfulness, letting us act in obedience to your calling. We celebrate your great love and blessings in daily life, asking that we might pay forward a portion of what wonder we have received. Amen.
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