Thursday February 26th, 2009

Lessons from the Daily Lectionary
Thursday, February 26, 2009

Psalm 104; Deuteronomy 7:6-11; Titus 1:1-16; John 1:29-34

Meditation:
Animals again! I’m not making this stuff up. Who thinks that one will end up finding a National Geographic-type presentation when opening the morning Psalm for the second day of Lent? But there they are – in a setting of mountains and waterfalls, blue skies overhead, we see God giving drink to birds nesting in bushes, cattle grazing in fields, wild goats springing on mountain boulders and badgers finding refuge in the hollow of the stones (Coneys in the Rocks, Bonnie!). If you feel like singing: “Fairest Lord Jesus, robed in the blooming garb of spring,” you’re not out of tune, here.

I’ve heard that the literal meaning of Lent is “spring.” (And indeed, Wikipedia confirms: “In the late Middle Ages, as sermons began to be given in the vernacular instead of Latin, the English word ‘lent’ was adopted. This word initially simply meant spring [as in Dutch lente] and derives from the Germanic root for ‘long’ because in the spring the days visibly lengthen.”) I’ve always liked the juxtaposition of the rather staid and solemn reputation of Lent with its “hidden” meaning of creation, spring, providence, life.

How do we hold these things together? Lent is the period when we are invited to think with Jesus: “there’s a road ahead. It leads to Jerusalem, to a trial, to Calvary.” That’s the sober reality of Lent. Yet, beyond Jerusalem, trial and Calvary, we see that the road also leads to new life.

So, in other words, underneath the daily challenges and cross-bearing, there is a pull of hope that comes with following Jesus. There is a trust in God’s providence which underlies the bright National Geographic pictures of nature (Psalm 104), which resounds generation to generation in the faithful (Deuteronomy 7), which calls us to the testimonies of “aha” John 1).* Dear friends, walk with Jesus today. He is on a cross-bearing journey, but the days also “lengthen” as he walks forward. Mark his steps as you journey today in Lent.

Prayer:

Fairest Lord, Jesus, Ruler of all nature, O Thou of God to earth come down.
Thee will I cherish. Thee will I honor, Thou, my soul’s glory, joy and crown.
Fair are the meadows, Fairer still the woodlands, Robed in the blooming garb of spring.
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer, Who makes the woeful heart to sing.

Amen.

*The Titus reading truly leaves me speechless!

Ash Wednesday February 25th, 2009

Greetings St. Andrew members and friends. The forty days of Lent begin today. I am writing to ask you to join me in scripture reading, meditation and prayer for the season. To help with that, I will be sending you an email each day with passages to read, a brief devotion and a prayer. I’ll send it out the day before, so that you can open your email as early as first thing in the morning, if you would like. I won’t include Sundays, however, since Sundays are not counted as a part of the forty days of Lent. They are supposed to be little Easters. I’ll let the worship service on Sunday count as our devotion for that day.

Lessons from the Daily Lectionary
Ash Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Psalms 3 and 143; Jonah 3:1-4:11; Hebrews 12:1-14; Luke 18:9-14

Meditation:
Having a new house (well, it still seems new to Bonnie and me) has certain drawbacks. The biggest one is that we have been reluctant to make the move to get a new pet. We had our Ruby dog put to sleep the day after Easter, four years ago, and we’re still a bit traumatized, I must admit. So, between concern for the carpet and having to open our hearts up to a new family member we are waiting for some God-given calling to “get ye to the shelter,” and start anew.

Perhaps, it’s for such reasons that I am starting Lent out noticing the presence of animals in the Bible. On Sunday, I’m planning to talk about how Jesus was “ministered to” by “angels and wild beasts,” upon his completion of the forty days of temptation he endured in the wilderness (Mark 1:13). In today’s Old Testament reading, Jonah is rebuked for his petulance to welcome God’s grace for the Ninevites. He had been assigned to preach wrath to the hated Assyrians, but then they became sorry for their sins. Then, just as Jonah had anticipated God forgave them – typical! – and Jonah was still left with his enemies. God says: Don’t be angry that I spared a city of 120,000, who are in fact, innocents. “They do not know their right hand from their left!” And of course, there are their animals (cattle), too! (Jonah 4:11).

I’m so glad that God didn’t leave out the animals in either the temptation story (the forty days become the basis of the forty days of Lent), and in the reading that comes on its first day, this year. The wild beasts and the cattle become companions to Jesus and the people of Nineveh, not unlike the pets in our homes. Their presence is a sign of God’s love in the companionship of others. In other words, when we are facing the challenges and temptations of life, we ought sometimes to look around to see who is with us and how the love that they give can get us through.

Prayer:
God, you have surrounded us with a great cloud of witnesses. Let us open our ears to their voices, that in times of trouble and times of abundance, they bless you for your presence and giving hand. Let us not be duped into thinking we have it all together on our own. In humble thanksgiving, let us follow the way you lead, knowing that we walk with you and with other companions – some of whom are our pets or the creatures you put on this planet with us.
Amen.