Lent

Jan 14 2025

Destination 1—The Desert

Twice a year the Gospels take us to the desert. John the Baptist cries out on two Sundays every Advent, and Jesus encounters Satan every Lent. What makes the desert so ideal a setting as we prepare to celebrate the two great mysteries of our faith?

The desert is a place of testing, as God’s people learned when they wandered around it for forty years. With hardened hearts, they had rejected the God who had liberated them from slavery in Egypt, losing faith even while God was talking to Moses and setting down the conditions for their adoption. Up went the golden calf and out went the memory of what God had just done for them.

Even Eden wasn’t enough to keep the human heart open. Even there it was clear that we could be seduced by anything that looked good and promised more than it could deliver. But Jesus showed that one of us could measure up to the test and reveal himself as the “beloved Son” that he had been called at his baptism (Matthew 3:17).

The desert is also for wooing. The prophet Hosea quotes God saying, “So I will allure her [Israel]; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart” (Hosea 2:16). And when Satan left Jesus, God sent “angels [who] came and ministered to him” (Matthew 4:11).

So we come to this Lent and the possibility that God wishes to draw us out into a quiet, lonely place to have us meet the One who made us, redeemed us, and continues to shape us into temples of the Holy Spirit.

Consider/Discuss

What do you associate with the desert?
Is there any particular place you consider “the desert” where God meets you?
Are you being tested today in terms of living out the baptismal call to be a beloved son or daughter?

Responding to the Word

We pray that this Lent will be a time of deeper understanding of what it means to be God’s beloved child. We ask God to open our eyes to recognize those things that draw us away and to be open to how God might be drawing us closer.

Jan 14 2025

Scripture Study for

The reading from Genesis is the first account of sin. The sin itself was disobedience, but the inclination that gave rise to it was a form of hubris—the desire to be like gods. The cunning serpent should not be confused with the devil who appears much later in the biblical tradition. This mysterious creature has been used by the writer to point out how vulnerable to temptation humans are. The tree of knowledge plays no role except that it was very enticing, yet forbidden. The subtlety of temptation is obvious. It is admirable to want to be like God, but it is hubris to take things into one’s own hands and make decisions contrary to God’s will.

Paul speaks of the incomparable nature of God’s salvific grace. He compares the universal effects of sin and death with the all-encompassing power of forgiveness and life. He then contrasts Adam, “the type of the one who was to come,” to Christ, his unrivaled counterpart (Romans 5:14). Sin entered the world through Adam. The evidence of this is the universal reign of death. All die, therefore all must have sinned. As universal death entered the world through the sin of one— Adam—so grace was won for all through the gift of one—Christ. However, grace is much more powerful than sin.

The place of Jesus’ testing is the desert, traditionally believed to be the abode of evil spirits. Reminiscent of Israel’s forty years in the wilderness, Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights. The devil challenges Jesus’ identity as Son of God, urging him to turn stones into bread. The devil then proposes that Jesus test God’s promise of protection by throwing himself from the pinnacle of the temple. Finally, the devil offers Jesus dominion over the world. Jesus’ responses outline a very different approach. He will allow the word of God to direct his actions, he will rely on God’s providence, and he will remain faithful to God. Jesus is steadfast in the face of temptation.

Jan 08 2025

Sweet Mystery of Life—and Death

Martha cried out, “Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died!” What had she been thinking and discussing with Mary during the days of her brother’s illness and now after his death? Surrounded by friends, she did not find the one friend that she was looking for—he who had the ability to help. She may have whispered, “Jesus, where are you? Where are you right now when Mary and Lazarus and I so need you?”

Have you ever been in a situation in which someone who could have chosen to help you would not? Someone who is in a position of authority—who you thought had your back and did not? The betrayal cuts deeply, causing anguish, high blood pressure, anger, grief, hurt, and sleepless nights—in short, a crisis of trust in the one who could have helped, but did not. Where was he/she when I needed him/her?

We don’t always know why things work out as they do. Human beings let us down. Sometimes it feels as though God lets us down— our prayers are not answered as we expect. These are our personal crucifixion moments. We may later see clearly why things happened and God is glorified: these are resurrection moments. Sometimes we never know why and life and death remain a mystery.

In today’s story, the Lord did finally show up. Then he quaked with grief. Jesus wept. For the sake of his friends, he called Lazarus out of the tomb. It was personally perilous for him to do so. But out of love, he revealed his power. At the same time, he was about to take the pains of the world upon himself. When he saw his friends’ grief, did that reveal how much they would suffer from his upcoming death? No wonder he trembled.

Consider/Discuss

Every person has foretastes of death and resurrection in this life. In difficult moments, how have you (or have you not) identified with Martha’s whisper, “Where are you, Lord?”
In bleak moments, we may be tempted to give ourselves (and others) glib answers that do not satisfy or are suspect or hollow, shallow answers like “God wanted another angel in heaven” or “Well, it was God’s will” or . . . How does that artificial certainty belittle the mystery dimension of God and life? How else could we respond more truly to the puzzlement of betrayal and/or grief?

Living and Praying with the Word

Lord, I hope you don’t mind the honesty, but sometimes it feels as though you aren’t showing up. We need you. We believe that you are the resurrection and the life; help our unbelief. Give us the strength to cling tightly to your steadfast love when life bears down hard. Most of all, thank you for taking our pains upon yourself. Ezekiel’s dry bones give us hope in this parched valley. We look forward to the day when you bring us to a new and fresh life, good and gracious God.

Jan 08 2025

Scripture Study for

In Ezekiel’s time, Israel was in exile, estranged from God. Thus in his vision of the “dry bones” (37:1–14), he sees Israel as truly dead. This “death” easily led to despair of eventual reconciliation with God and a return to life. In response to doubts of God’s continued love of them, Israel receives divine assurance that although they are dead now, the time of alienation will come to an end. Israel will be restored to God and to the land. This spiritual rebirth is characterized as resurrection from the grave. God confirms that Israel remains “my people,” and will certainly bring them back to life: “I have promised, and I will do it.”

For Saint Paul, physical and spiritual death are inherently related. Bodily death is ultimately the result of sin—the body is dead because of sin. In Christ, the Spirit of God brings life first by attending to the condition of sin, conquering it and “replacing” it with righteousness, spiritual life. This same Spirit is also able to raise the physical body from the dead, as the Spirit did for Jesus. The Spirit of Christ, belonging to those who have turned away from “the flesh” (a metaphor for all that is in us opposed to the will of God), resurrects us from both spiritual and physical death.

When Jesus hears that his friend Lazarus is ill, he first says that the illness will not end in death. One gets the impression from this that he is not worried that Lazarus will actually die, which would explain his delay of two days before returning to Bethany. Yet Jesus knows in fact that Lazarus has died in that time, and we realize that he has allowed this to happen so that he can “awaken him.” In this final and most dramatic sign, Jesus allows the death of Lazarus so that he can publicly raise him from the dead. Such a feat is intended to provoke belief that he is who he has been claiming to be all along, the One sent by God, who alone has the power to give life.

Jan 08 2025

Led by the Light

In some places in the U.S., flowers are blooming and the sun is shining: spring has come. Here at my house in the Midwest, it is still late winter. This particular week in March is when I plant my tomatoes and my peppers in my seed room. I suspend bright lights two inches above the flats to keep them warm. Where light glows, the plants spring upward when they germinate. Did you know that seeds with no light will grow in any direction—sidewise, upwards, or upside down?

Similarly, people in nursing homes or hospitals, having only artificial lightbulbs, can lose track of the natural rhythms of night and day. Third-shift workers may experience that same disorientation. The body does not know when it is dark and when it is light.

I recall a disoriented time in my life at seventeen. The world felt directionless. Was there was a purpose to anything that I did? I remember thinking, as we sped down the interstate, “If I opened the door and fell out of this car and died, nobody would really care.” I had a vague sense of God’s care, but that love was like a weak light bulb far away.

The letter to the Ephesians calls us from darkness to light: “Live like those who are at home in the daylight.” Jesus touches the blind man’s eyes and he sees. The “Light of the world” changes things. He did for me. I hope that he has done so for you.

Yet some may prefer the darkness, Jesus says. Nobody enjoys being directionless, so other directions are marketed to “save us,” to lift us from darkness to light —from football to coffee, yoga, and massage therapy. But can any “thing” truly replace Jesus as Savior, the true Light of the world?

Consider/Discuss

Depression and despair are growing in our culture. Suicides and drug use rates have lowered life expectancy. How do we help those we love to transform from a perception of God as “a weak light bulb far away” to the radiant Love who is near? What can we personally do to be Jesus’ light to a world that feels hopeless and directionless?
When have you ever felt like the man born blind? When have you experienced Jesus as the light who brings you out of that darkness? Personal stories are most effective in bringing about transformation. Could you share that story with someone who is feeling as though he or she lives in the shadows?

Living and Praying the Word

Jesus, Light of the world, thank you for leading us through dark valleys and out of despair. Like young David, anoint us to follow you wholeheartedly wherever you direct. We want to sprout. We want to grow. We want to bear fruit that will nourish others. Help us to grow always toward your light.