Thursday in the Second Week in Lent

Psalm 70 • Jeremiah 4:9-10, 19-28 • Romans 2:12-24 • John 5:19-29

This is not a day of friendly readings. They remind me of last Advent: the separation of sheep and goats followed by, “Repent, you brood of vipers.”

Psalm 70, Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies, begins gently enough, “¹ Be pleased, O God, to deliver me,” and “⁴ Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you.” Prayerful supplications to God until the last, “⁵ But I am poor and needy. . . . O Lord, do not delay!” A lot of doom and destruction.

Jeremiah writes, “⁹ courage shall fail the king” and “the priests shall be appalled and the prophets astounded.” Verse 19 begins a section called Sorrow for a Doomed Nation. Not a nation in trouble but a doomed nation. “¹⁹ My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the walls of my heart!” and “¹⁹ the trumpet, the alarm of war, ²⁰ Disaster overtakes disaster, the whole land is laid waste.” The earth, “²³ was waste and void . . . the heavens had no light.” A return to before creation. Not very friendly.

John 5:19-29 speaks of the authority of the Son, “¹⁹ Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.’” The passage moves on to its great promise and hope, “²⁴ Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life.” “Has passed” sounds awfully present tense to me. Not, “will pass from death to life,” but “has passed.”

Thus our great promise and hope, “²⁴ Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.”

Listen. Believe.

— Lawrence Elliott

Wednesday in the second week of Lent

Psalm 72  •  Jeremiah 3:6-18  •  Romans 1:28–2:11 • John 5:1-18

Thirty-eight years of infirmity had the man.  38 years an “invalid.”  Can you imagine? Yet, Jesus first asks, “Do you want to be made well?”

“I have no one to put me into the pool. . . .”

Nowadays, we have poolside immersion machines allowing individuals with infirmities to exercise with or without physical therapists in the water; can you imagine how hard it was in Jesus’ day for people without social support to manage their disabilities? Yet, are there not people who still say, “I have no one to help me?”

Jesus heals the man, but disappears because it’s festival time and there’s a crushing crowd.

“See, you have been made well,” Jesus says, finding him in the temple. Shall we also walk—or run—to our temples (i.e., sanctuaries of prayer, church) when we’re healed?

“Do not sin anymore,” he continues, “that nothing worse happens to you.” Ponder what could be worse than not having been able to walk for 38 years.

More difficult to ponder is the lack of rejoicing on anyone else’s part on behalf of the former cripple, when the zeroing in on the law of the Sabbath day to do no work is considered. 

In our days, pretty much anything goes on the Sabbath day as far as work is concerned. Even the liquor stores in Virginia are open on Sundays now. So, how do you keep your Sabbath day holy? It’s a commandment, right? How could Jesus offend the “holier than thous” so badly that they disregard the fact of the miraculous healing?  Isn’t it precisely here that the first note sounds in John in the concert of effort to kill Jesus?

Do you have difficulty with the miracles?  How could a man do miracles? 

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul,

What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss

To lay aside his crown,

to bear the heavy cross,

for My Soul.

— Margaret Lee

Tuesday in the Second Week of Lent

Psalm 61   •   Jeremiah 2:1-13   •   Romans 1:16-25   •   John 4:43-54 

The priests did not ask, “Where is the Lord?” Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols.                                                                                               — Jeremiah 2:8

Then I will ever sing in praise of your name and fulfill my vows day after day.                                                           — Psalm 61:8

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.                                                   — Romans 1:16

“Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”                                                 — John 4:48

            In the Old Testament readings we learn that the Israelites have turned away from God and practice the worship of false gods. They have lost their focus on God and their need for the “refuge” and “heritage” obtained through prayer and acknowledgement of God. They have lost sight of the grace God has bestowed upon them. 

As our own modern society continues to frustrate us, are we experiencing the same diversions experienced by the people of Israel?   Are we unknowingly distancing ourselves from God and the salvation he offers? 

Paul and John both tell us that through our belief we will receive God’s grace and salvation. Belief is difficult without proof.  The royal official wanted proof that Jesus could heal his son. Jesus simply asked that he believe. 

There is good news! We can find the strength and reinforcement needed to believe within our St. Paul’s community. The hundreds that come to worship, practice their faith, and care for one another are examples of our belief. The energy and faith in our community will impel us forward in our beliefs.  The simple act of believing is a powerful force that will shape our lives and help maintain our focus on God.

— Daryl Russell

Monday in the second week of Lent

Psalm 56 • Jeremiah 1:11-19 • Romans 1:1-15 • John 4:27-42

For you have delivered my soul from death,

And my feet from falling,

So that I may walk before God

In the light of life.

—   Psalm 57:15

Sunlight is falling upon a flower. Why does light make the flower so beautiful? The answer is, because light gave it life. Without light there would be no photosynthesis, and no living thing would exist on the planet. Life is like a spark—a flash of energy we cannot comprehend, but when the spark goes out the life we cherish is gone. Hold the hand of a loved one as he or she dies. You know death has come when there is no warmth in the hand, no blush in the cheek. The spark is no longer there.

God is the light of life. God is the spark. Christ focused these rays of mystical light directly into our souls. God also bathed the humble living creatures of this planet with the warmth of his light. We are charged to be responsible stewards of these beings of His creation.

As we look into the heavens and learn there are far distant planets similar to ours, we ask, “Is there life there?” The answer is: only if there is a spark, a mystical light bathing those planets as it bathes ours.

I ask, “What is life?” Only God can understand life or give life. We are so blessed on this planet to be the recipients of this unfathomable light called life. Life is a mystery, so unique in the universe that only a loving creator could mold us from such a rare and beautiful thing as light in an act which we know is love.

— Lucy Byrd Pegau

Second Sunday of Lent

Psalm 24 •  Jeremiah 1:1-10 • 1 Corinthians 3:11-23 • Mark 3:31–4:9        

 When I was first contemplating my entry for this devotional, I felt a little desperate.  The readings that I have, well, I feel as if I have already said what I can say about them. Prophets? I discussed this last year. Building a life with Christ being the foundation? Two years ago. There is nothing new. This is not to say that there is nothing more to them, just that I have not (yet) found it.

But then I get to Christ’s parable of the sower, scattering the seed over good ground and bad. It is so well known, what is there new, or at least, not so worn, to say? Probably nothing. So I started to think less of the meaning of the seed and the fertile and unfertile ground, and more about the actions of the sower, who can otherwise be known as the gardener or farmer. The parable sounds as if there is this only one opportunity to receive and nurture this seed, and that’s it. But really, it’s a poor gardener or farmer who does this only once. There will be a harvest of what is good, followed by a fallow period, and then it’s spring again. The soil will not be as it was before, and there has even been time to amend it. Perhaps that which was unreceptive or too shallow before is now more ready for the seed. And the sower comes back through, scattering that seed once again. And again the next and every year.   

The human heart can be a hard thing. But it is a living thing, and it can soften and change, becoming more receptive to the Word of God. A year can make a great or a subtle difference. Perhaps the lesson for me is to worry less about trying to be profound and just using my head, and instead work the ground of my heart so that it is more receptive. Our lectionary ensures that the Word will come round again, and as long as I live I will have an opportunity to struggle with trying to make sense of much of it. But first and foremost, I must just be ready to receive it.

—  Michelle Allen