A final message from the LPC 2014 Lenten Devotional blog

If you followed Lewinsville’s member-written Lenten devotional via blog or email in 2014, and would like to do so again in 2015, you’ll find the 2015 devotional at http://lpclent15.wordpress.com.  If you’d like to subscribe, please enter your email where indicated at the top of the righthand menu, just below the banner image (subscriptions from 2014 don’t transfer).  If you’re already following the 2015 devotional, apologies for the unnecessary message.

By next year, we hope to have an ongoing Lenten devotional blog, to which you can subscribe just once to receive posts during any Lent when we have devotions available, set up on the Lewinsville website. Until then, thank you for your patience with the need for yearly re-subscription.

Easter Day, April 20

Services of Worship at 9 a.m. (children’s choirs) and 11 a.m. (Chancel Choir & Brass)Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper
Rev. Deborah McKinley, preaching
Don’t Let the Stone Stop You

Readings:

Jeremiah 31:1-6
Psalm 118:1‑2, 14‑24
Acts 10:34-43
Matthew 28:1-10

Here endeth the Lenten Devotional. Thank you for joining us on the Lenten journey.

Holy Saturday, April 19

Great Vigil of Easter

7:30 p.m. – Service of Worship
Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper
Reaffirmation of the Baptismal Covenant
Rev. Emily Berman D’Andrea, preaching
No Fear, All Joy and Praise
Quartet
Reception Following Worship

Readings:
Genesis 1:1-2a
Psalm 136:1-9, 23-26
Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18, 8:6-18; 9:8-13
Psalm 46
Exodus 14:10-31; 15:20-21
Exodus 15:1b-13, 17-18 
Isaiah 55:1-11
Isaiah 12:2-6
Proverbs 8:1-8, 19-21, 9:4b-6
Psalm 19
Ezekiel 36:24-28
Psalm 42 and 43
Ezekiel 37:1-14
Psalm 143
Zephaniah 3:14-20
Psalm 98
Romans 6:3-11
Psalm 114
Matthew 28:1-10

Matthew 27: 62-66

The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”

“Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

Devotion

We know the chronology of the last days of Jesus’ life: his entry into Jerusalem, the trial, the condemnation to death, the crucifixion and resurrection. In this passage, Matthew describes the hours after Jesus’ death and burial. Chief priests and Pharisees appealed to Pontius Pilate to help prevent any tampering with Jesus’ body out of fear that the prophecy might be fulfilled as Jesus said, “After three days I will rise again.”

Pilate agreed to place guards at the tomb, but they had to be members of the temple police, Jews, and not the Roman police. Since the following day was the Sabbath, the guards were placed at the tomb to make it as secure as possible. So, the guards went to the tomb “and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.”

For me, the important meaning from this passage is not in the details themselves but rather in the broader message. No matter how much others try to persecute Christians and keep the Biblical message from others, God’s gift to us transcends all. He is always there for us, no matter how much we or others try to keep him away.

Prayer

Dear heavenly father, thank you for sending me your son. Through your gift, I know I can never be separated from your love. You are an eternal living presence in my life always. Amen.

Harriet Hopkins

Good Friday, April 18

7:30 p.m. – Service of Tenebrae (Darkness)
Rev. Emily Berman D’Andrea, preaching
Waiting
Soloist  

Scripture Readings:

Isaiah 52:12-53:12
Psalm 22
Hebrews 10:16-25
John 18:1-19:42

Isaiah 53:2b-6

He had no form or majesty that we should look at him,

nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by others;

a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;

and as one from whom others hide their faces

he was despised,

and we held him of no account.

 

⁴Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases;

yet we accounted him stricken,

struck down by God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions,

crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the punishment that made us whole,

and by his bruises we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;

we have all turned to our own way,

and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Devotion

That I was given this passage to write a devotional about is truly luck of the draw – bad luck. I absolutely do not believe that a loving, devoted, beneficent God who walks with us in the midst of our life, and suffers with us, would need a scapegoat to punish for the sins of others. That is the worst of simplistic salvation thinking to my mind. Nor do I like or “believe in” prophecy such as foretelling.

So can I pull anything useful out of this passage? Perhaps the idea that Jesus was not recognized at the time of his life as God; the disciples didn’t know that God was here in disguise. Why would they – what sort of God takes on mortal flesh and dwells with us and suffers with us? Why then? Why there?

And then to nudge this idea a little more, although the life of Jesus takes place in a specific moment on the time-space continuum, in another equally true manner his incarnation is above time and heals time. The incarnation leads inevitability to his crucifixion, which leads to the glory and rejoicing of his resurrection. All time with each slow steady tick tock is leading to an ultimate place or peace of union and re-union. “If we really believe that this is the intersection of timelessness with time, then it has a transcendent quality that reaches out beyond itself and transfigures the ordinary into the extraordinary” (David S. Cunningham, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Westminster John Knox Press 2007).

And the only response to that is “thank you, God, thank you.”

“Jesus in Disguise” by Brandon Heath (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VEyouQhBtY)

Prayer

Dear God,
In our moments of deep dark despair and worry
Or in our moments of transcendent joy
Open our eyes so that we can see
Your amazing love, your boundless grace and hope.

Rachel Russell

Maundy Thursday, April 17

7:30 p.m. – Service of Worship
Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper
Foot Washing (Optional)
Rev. Deborah McKinley, preaching
Washing Jesus’ Feet
Chancel Choir
Stripping of the Church

Scripture readings:

Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14
Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19
I Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-17, 31b-35

1 John 4:7-12

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

Devotion

How perfect for “Maundy” (from mandatum, “commandment”) Thursday! At the Last Supper Jesus commanded us to love and serve, remember his sacrifice, and “do this in remembrance of me” in communion with God and one another. Protestants name as sacraments only Baptism and Communion, rituals Jesus explicitly commanded. These fit in the context of loving God and one another in all of life, which is commanded in Old and New Testaments. The imperative to love is enigmatic and impossible to contain in ritual. It is as elusive as the pesky Holy Spirit, the surprising Savior, and the transcendent and immanent Creator God, because God is love, and who can understand God?

So we dismiss “God is Love” on stickers and tee shirts as fuzzy sentiments, more like candy heart language than the deepest, most essential theology. We skim the 14 “loves” in this six-sentence passage, although each sentence deserves a sermon, book, or seminary class. There is no room to explain each here (as if I could!), so I’ll mimic the feisty Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:1-42) and pose questions. How am I being called to reflect and actively practice God’s love within my church and with “everyone who loves”? Which comes first, the loving or the knowing—or is that irrelevant, for God and for us? What spiritual practices could help me see God’s love in others? In the dark and light of Holy Week, how can I balance penitent reflection with grateful joy and exuberant love?

Prayer

Dear Loving God, send your Spirit to me, this church, and all your children everywhere, to help us grapple with the meaning of love, the inclusivity of love, the difficulties and challenges of love, in this special week and all weeks. In the strong name of Jesus Christ, the face of Love brought into the world and our Risen Savior, Amen.

Carroll Leslie Bastian

Wednesday, April 16

As it Depends on You

Romans 12:17-21

Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

I remember when I was in high school and playing a board game with my brother. My roll of the dice allowed me to move my token in a way that really angered him. I’m sure I did my best to rub in this moment of superiority. The result was that my brother hit me, hard, in the arm.   Without hesitation I hit him back and the game was over.

My brother and I loved each other very much, and still do. But, we had to let the other know that we could only be pushed so far before we took action to express our feelings. I think sometimes we purposely do things to anger others and to get on each other’s nerves. And that little devil sitting on my shoulder says, “Yeah, and it’s fun.” It may be fun, but is it how God wants us to behave?

On this week before Easter we can do well to look at the example of Jesus. Jesus certainly felt free to speak the truth. He did not hold back before the Jewish religious leaders, his followers, or the Roman authorities. But when he spoke, he did not speak down to people. Instead he spoke to people. He did not speak from a position of anger, but from love.   He did not speak to make people insignificant or small. He spoke to build them up and help them become the people God created them to be.

As followers of Christ we are called to live peaceably with all.   Through the things we say and do, we should strive to show God’s love to those around us. My prayer is that we would strive to make this a part of our daily witness as we share God’s love. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. What a challenge! What a way to live! What a gift from God!

 Prayer

Dear God, let us not be afraid when you interrupt our lives. Don’t let us be angry or upset that things aren’t going our way. Let us see your presence as the gift that it is and let us respond in service to you and your people, to do our part to bring peace to the world and live peacefully with all.

Rick Neldon

Tuesday, April 15

Peter 3:18

Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.

Devotion

The central message of the resurrection story summarized so succinctly in this verse is that Christ was put to death in the flesh, once for all of us, the worthy and unworthy, in order to bring God’s message of forgiveness through the spirit.

How do we even begin to understand what this means for us? When I reflect on the rest of the Bible to this point, it seems to me that God has been trying to send us a clear message about His presence in our lives, His love for us, and His charge that we will love our neighbor, and yet we struggle to understand this simple message and translate it into action. Jesus has been sent to deliver God’s message and to teach by example. God asks Jesus to make this final sacrifice to demonstrate for all of us, the “righteous and the unrighteous,” His love for us, and forgiveness for our sins. In the final act of Jesus’s life God asks that we re-experience Christ’s suffering during Holy Week. It seems to me that our task during Holy Week is to live through Jesus’s experiences as he suffers on the cross for our sins, and to understand on a personal level what this means for us. I believe that God wants me to make this personal. So my job is to ask: what do I do with this message? How will my life be different having experienced the resurrection?

Prayer

Dear Lord help us to prepare for the message of Easter; to be ready to receive the Good News of Jesus Christ, that God forgives us for our sins.

ScriptureRelease video putting the text to picture and words

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeNaJn7G7nU

Carol Kaffenberger

Monday, April 14

Ezekiel 18:31-32

Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord God. Turn, then, and live.

Devotion

The book of Ezekiel often seems scary and bizarre with the words of an angry God, obtuse imagery and bizarre actions on the part of Ezekiel.   And yet in the middle of all of this, God says “I have no pleasure in the death of anyone…..Turn, then and live.” According to the prophet Ezekiel, the people of Israel have “messed up big time.” They’ve behaved so badly that God actually leaves the temple! And yet, God sends the prophet Ezekiel to tell the people how badly they have missed the mark. God seems angry and destructive and yet God says “I have no pleasure in the death of anyone.”

The book of Ezekiel can be seen as a warning to the people of Israel: get your act together or you will suffer the consequence! It can also be viewed as an explanation to an exiled people as to why their country has been invaded and they are now captives in Babylon. No matter which interpretation, underneath all of God’s seemingly angry outbursts, God remains with the people, going with them into exile. God tells them what they have done wrong and tries to get their attention so that they can live in right relationship with God and with others. Despite all that they have done, God has not given up, but calls them to turn from their ways and live.

The people of Israel experienced a God who never gave up on them, but continued to reach out in relationship. God didn’t cut them off with no explanation or destroy them completely.   The message is one of great hope; no matter what we do, God will always be there, waiting for each of us to turn toward God and live.

Prayer

Gracious God, we know that we are far from perfect, and often turn our backs to you. Yet you continue to seek relationship with us. Help us to live into the life that you intend for us so that each of us may “turn and live.” Amen.

Judy Herseth

Palm/Passion Sunday, April 13

Holy Week

Palm/Passion Sunday, April 13

There will be one service of worship this morning, at 11 a.m.  The Chancel Choir will sing Gabriel Faure’s Requiem, and the stories of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and of his Passion, will be read.

Matthew 21:1-11

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29                                      

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Philippians 2:5-11

Matthew 26:14-27:66

Saturday, April 12

1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Devotion

Somehow I flinch when I read this verse. I think it’s the part about being a chosen race, a royal priesthood, being a holy nation, even God’s own people. How can that be? And why? Chosen, royal, holy, God’s own—it all sounds a bit much for my taste.

My Harper Collins Study Bible says these are “four honorific titles taken from Exodus:19:6 and Isaiah 43:20-21. What in the Old Testament describes Israel is here applied to the Christian community.” These titles take us back to the Torah and the Prophets. God’s Hebrew people are chosen, royal, and holy, and Peter says those titles can be applied to Gentiles as well.

In our Baptism we also take on these titles—we are God’s own people, holy and beloved, chosen by God and delivered by God out of darkness into God’s marvelous light. When I think of Baptism I am able to wear this verse more comfortably. In our Baptism we are set apart for a holy and special purpose. In our Baptism God says, “you are my beloved; in you I am well pleased, you are my own and I have chosen you, I call you by name.” In our Baptism we become heirs, adopted into the family of faith—that royal family united with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Prayer

Lord, help us to claim the love you lavish on us in our Baptism as those who are chosen, royal, and holy—your own. May we wear those designations in ways that point to the saving grace of your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God in whose name we pray. Amen.

Emily Berman D’Andrea