Dear Friends,
As we enter the Season of Lent it is good to take time to pray and reflect on our faith. Many of you spend time each week working out at the gym or exercising your bodies in an effort to stay healthy and in shape. Think about the readings below as a kind of devotional workout. They are intended as a simple guide to help you stay spiritually in shape. You may wish to approach them, therefore, as a kind of entry-level spiritual aerobics class. Although I have listed all the lectionary readings for Lent, the devotions themselves are based on the Gospel readings only. As such, they are also a good way to prepare for Sunday worship. I hope that you don't find them to be an unwelcome homework assignment but rather a helpful tool to assist you on your journey through these Lenten days.
May God bless you on your way.
Faithfully yours,
Sheila
Rev. Sheila Macgregor, Lead Minister and
Minister of Worship and Pastoral Care
February 17 – Ash Wednesday – Joel 2:1_2, 12_17*Isaiah 58:1_12*Psalm 51:1_17* 2 Corinthians 5:20b–6:10*Matthew 6:1_6, 16_21*
These readings call us to return to God by facing up to our weaknesses and shortcomings and by turning to God in prayer. The ashes, which are used in some Christian churches on this day, are both a reminder of the brevity of human life and an ancient symbol for mourning for things that are not right. God is not interested in a showy display of piety or almsgiving, but rather in the charity that issues from a pure heart. Jesus tells us to find a quiet, safe, secluded spot where we can pour out our hearts to God. We begin by reflecting on all those things that are not right in our lives and which we need to turn around. This is what we mean when we talk about conversion. The word conversion means, literally, “turning around”. It is an ongoing process and not a once-only event, since we all need constantly to turn back to God. Today God is inviting us to consider those places in our lives that are not right and “turn things around”, first of all in our relationships with our partner, our family and friends, our neighbours and co-workers, and most especially with those in our society who are underprivileged or in need. By beginning with the people whom God has placed in our midst, we turn our hearts and souls back to God.
Prayer: Loving God, grant me the grace to return to you wholeheartedly. May I learn to acknowledge those places that are not right in my life and, with your help, endeavour to turn things around. May I reach out with open and generous hands to the poor and hurting in my community. Amen.
February 21 – First Sunday in Lent
Deuteronomy 26:1_11*Psalm 91:1_2, 9_16*Romans 10:8b_13*Luke 4:1-13*
Our first stop in our journey through the Season of Lent is the wilderness, that barren, lonely desert that Jesus visited immediately following his baptism. We wonder why the Spirit thrusts Jesus out into the wilderness. The wilderness is such a forbidding, threatening place, a land where nothing seems to grow. The people of Israel wandered around in the wilderness for forty years before God allowed them to enter the Promised Land. It was an in-between place for them, a place where they could begin to shed all the attitudes and habits they had learned while they were slaves in Egypt and prepare themselves for a new life as God’s children. We too experience “in-between times” in our lives. A marriage or a job comes to an end, a loved one dies, or a close friend moves away and we find ourselves in a kind of “in-between time.” We feel like we are living in a vacuum. The pain of the loss is there and the future does not seem to be anywhere. Like the Israelites we also need to develop new attitudes and rituals if we are going to be able to move into the new land. Likewise Jesus enters the wilderness as a way to let his former life die and his new life, his ministry, be born. Today we are asked to let die whatever is old or stale in us or our faith, whatever is loveless or hopeless, whatever is holding us back from living life to the fullest, whatever is keeping us from making room for God’s amazing love, so that something new and wonderful can be born. It is important to remember that both the people of Israel and Jesus went into the wilderness to prepare themselves for the important ministries to which God was calling them. As followers of Jesus, we too may need times apart in order to discern the direction in which our life needs to go. Do we give ourselves this opportunity? Lent is a good time to seek out quiet time when we can strengthen our relationship with Christ. It is a good time to engage in study and spiritual nurture and to ask some of the hard questions we all face. Starting the first week of March we will be embarking on a new study called Beginnings, which I hope you will consider joining. This is a great opportunity to come together in a safe, friendly, informal setting to explore some of the questions we have about life and faith. Whether you have been a church member for many years, or whether you are new to the faith, you will find this a most helpful series.
Prayer:
Gracious and loving God, stay close when I find myself in an “in-between time” or going through any kind of wilderness experience. Help me to discern your true intention for my life, even when times are hard. Amen.
February 28 – Second Sunday in Lent
Genesis 15:1_12, 17_18*Psalm 27*Philippians 3:17–4:1*Luke 13:31_35*
In today’s Gospel passage Jesus weeps for the people of Jerusalem. “Jerusalem! Jerusalem! Jerusalem! Killer of the prophets! Stoner of those who were sent to you! How often I wanted to gather together your children as a hen gathers her brood under her wings – and you would not!” Here we have a very tender picture of Jesus’ love for his people. His words imply that he has in fact gone to Jerusalem far many more times than the gospels actually record, which reminds us that in the gospels we have only the merest sketch of Jesus’ life. Jesus also comes to us, again and again. He comes through family and friends, neighbours and even strangers. He comes to us through the words of the scriptures, the community of the Church, in the various events and circumstances of our lives, and especially in the cries of the poor and needy. And still we reject him. Nothing hurts so much as to go to someone and offer our love and then have that offer spurned. Nothing hurts so deeply as giving one’s heart to someone and having it broken. This is what happened to Jesus in Jerusalem. It is also what happens to Jesus every time we fail to take up his mandate and do his work. But the Good News is that God never gives up on us. Let us pray that we have the courage to become Christ’s hands and feet in this hurting world. Let us pray, as our Siloam mission statement declares so well, that “we may be Christ to each other and God’s world.”
Prayer: O God, gather me and all who resist coming together with you. May we “be Christ to each other and God’s world.”
March 7 – Third Sunday in Lent
Isaiah 55:1_9*Psalm 63:1_8* 1 Corinthians 10:1_13*Luke 13:1_9*
Jesus’ Parable of the Fig Tree is packed with words of both hope and caution. Biblical teacher William Barclay reminds us that the fig tree occupied a favourable position back in Jesus’ day: “It was not unusual to see fig trees, thorn trees and apple trees in vineyards. The soil was so shallow and poor that trees were grown wherever there was soil to grow them; but the fig tree had a more than average chance, and it had not proved worthy of it.” By implication Jesus is inviting us to consider the many opportunities we have for service. Would God be pleased with the way we have used our gifts and talents? Or are we like the fig tree, which has plenty of opportunity to grow fruit, but only takes from the soil without ever producing anything? There is an important warning here: nothing which only takes out can survive. The truth of this message is seen all around us in a world that is beginning to feel the impact of global warming, and consequently also the loss of many vital natural resources, because we have continually taken from the earth without giving anything back. Recognizing that we are all fundamentally responsible for our earth's ever-worsening ecological crisis, our United Church Creed reminds us that as Christians one of our first duties is "to live with respect in creation." The fig tree in Jesus’ story is given a second chance to produce fruit. In speaking about the recent heartbreaking failure at Copenhagen, which has left us now without any real plan to reduce the deadly emissions of carbon dioxide, United Church Moderator Mardi Tindal declares that we cannot and will not give up hope. She writes: “I believe...that hope is in you. It is in me and in all of us who choose to reject despair and embrace hope. Together, we will replace the Copenhagen failure with success. It is up to us.” I think she is right. We too have another chance to set our house and our world in order. Every day we make decisions about our personal use of the earth, and thus participate in the earth's further degradation or rebirth. Every day we have an opportunity to make important changes in the way we live and in the way we treat God’s gifts of earth and sea and sky; but the parable (like many environmental scientists today) also makes it quite clear that there is a final chance. Let us pray that we do not miss it!
Prayer: Teach me, God of love, that the earth and its fullness is yours, the world and those who dwell in it. Help me to learn ways to safeguard the gift of life. Amen.
March 14 – Fourth Sunday in Lent
Joshua 5:9_12*Psalm 32*2 Corinthians 5:16_21*Luke 15:1_3, 11b_32
Sometimes the hardest people to forgive are those to whom we are related by blood or marriage. Indeed, the most difficult of reconciliations is generally between relatives who have been split apart by money, scandal, wasteful living or just plain ingratitude. This is made abundantly clear in today’s Parable of the Prodigal Son. We identify with the elder brother, who is understandably (we feel) enraged by the father’s unconditional, open-hearted and enthusiastic acceptance of his wayward brother’s return. Imagine! Here is this spendthrift younger brother, who brazenly demanded his inheritance long in advance, immediately abandoned parents and home, returning only after he had gone through his father’s wealth with loose women. Meanwhile, the elder brother has dedicated his whole life to his parents and their business, working faithfully and diligently, week after week, year and after year, cultivating the crops, caring for the livestock, carefully making the entries into the books and overseeing the farm accounts. Yet, no one throws a party for him. It’s not fair. We can certainly relate to how he is feeling. The sense of being unappreciated is one of the most hurtful of life’s experiences. It is so painful, in fact, that it often blinds us to the love that is all around us, namely, the love of God as portrayed by the father in this story. “Child,” he says to his elder son, “you are always with me. Everything that is mine is yours.” This parable begs us to come home. Whatever may be happening to us, there is one thing that is sure: we are dearly loved.
Prayer: When I feel hurt and unappreciated by those around me, help me to remember that you love me with an everlasting love and that everything you have is mine. Amen.
March 21 – Fifth Sunday in Lent
Isaiah 43:16_21*Psalm 126* Philippians 3:4b_14*John 12:1_8
At first glance the story of Mary’s anointing of Jesus seems a shocking incident. Breaking the normal taboos of respectability, this young woman from Bethany pours a huge amount of costly ointment over Jesus’ feet and then dries his feet with her hair. Normally only prostitutes would let down their hair in public. Her passionate and extravagant action aroused deep suspicion and anger. “Why was this perfume not sold for 300 days wages and given to the poor?” asks Judas. Jesus silenced him by saying that money could be given to the poor at any time, but a kindness done to him must be done now, for soon the opportunity would be gone forever. There are two things to note here. First, some things we can do almost any time, but some things we will never do, unless we grasp the chance when it comes. The tragedy is that we often put off thanking people or showing them how much they mean to us until it’s too late. This happened to me once. I had planned to treat a friend to lunch because I wanted to sit down and say how much I appreciated this individual’s hard work and kind support. Alas, the date of our get-together had to be postponed on two or three different occasions, so that by the time we did actually meet, it was too late. My friend felt unappreciated and taken for granted. Now we rarely see each other. In today’s gospel lesson, Jesus is telling us that there is a time for doing and a time for saying; and, when it is past, they may never be said and never be done. So if you care about someone, tell that person now. Secondly, this story encourages us to do things for God that may seem wasteful or extravagant in the eyes of the world. While it is true that we must always feed the hungry, at the same time we should never be afraid to allow generosity and beauty to permeate our worship. When we love Jesus as much as Mary did, it doesn’t matter what other people think. Today’s gospel invites us to consider how we can love God with everything that we have and are.
Prayer: Loving and Generous God, do not let procrastination or fear of criticism hold me back from showing people how much they mean to me. Most of all, help me to love you with my whole being. Amen.
March 28 – Palm/Passion Sunday --
Liturgy of the Palms: Luke 19:28_40*Psalm 118:1_2, 19_29
Liturgy of Passion: Isaiah 50:4_9a*Psalm 31:9_16*Philippians 2:5_11*Luke 22:14–23:56*Luke 23:1_49*
We leave the readings associated with the Passion of Christ until Good Friday and visit first of all the village of Bethphage, where Jesus made plans for his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. No one knows where this little town was. It did not even count for much in Jesus’ day. It is an important place, though, on our Lenten pathway because it is the place where we hear our orders to carry our Jesus’ purposes. As he approached Bethphage at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it.' " This was not a big job. There was nothing thrilling about the work that Jesus had given them to do. Yet, we hear of no grumbling. The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. Their quiet response reminds us that the small tasks we perform are important and our Lord has need of them. Today we are invited to consider the many ways in which Jesus calls us to serve him: through our prayers, our donations to places like the Mission and Service Fund and the Stephen Lewis Foundation; by volunteering our time and talents at ELUCO, the Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, the Women’s Shelter, the Nursing Home, Big Sisters and Big Brothers, the Hospitality Meal, Welcome Wednesdays,, or helping with the reading program at the local school. We can write to our local MP and MPP when government policies threaten to undermine the most vulnerable of God’s people. As a congregation we can actively support those community initiatives and programs that lead not only to improved living conditions for the neediest in our city but also greater independence and self-sustainability. Again, we can support the important work of our United Church Mission and Service Fund (which is facing a time of crisis, in spite of its excellent record of getting aid to the people in our country and our world who are in greatest need) and also donate to the United Church’s Haiti Emergency Relief Fund. These are just a few examples of how we obey Jesus’s call to follow him. There are many other people and charities that need our gifts and our service. Mother Theresa once said, “We can’t do the big things, you and I. We are not great enough. But we can do the little things with great love.”
Prayer: Sometimes I think that I have nothing to offer you, Lord. Help me to recognize that, even though I may not be able to do the big things, I can do the little things faithfully and that even small acts of kindness count in your Kingdom. Help me to recognize that by working together with my faith community, and trusting in your love, O God, I can do even greater things to help those in need get back on their feet and live the complete and joyful life you desire for all your children. Amen.
April 2 – Good Friday
Isaiah 52:13–53:12*Psalm 22* Hebrews 10:16_25*Hebrews 4:14_16; 5:7_9*John 18:1–19:42*Luke 22:14-23:56
We journey now to Golgotha, the site of our Lord’s agony and death. In spite of the brutality and mocking cruelty that were unleashed on this gentle, unarmed man, Jesus retains a peaceful attitude, quietly and sensitively responding to each new moment of sorrow and each new pain that is inflicted upon him. Throughout the Passion narrative Jesus appears as a person absorbed in prayer and in communion with God. Even while he suffers horribly, he remains attentive to the smallest needs of those around him. On his way to the cross, he tries to comfort the women, telling them not to weep for him but to think of their children. He remembers his mother and entrusts her to the care of his dearest friend. He prays that forgiveness be graciously shown his executioners, as the nails tear through his body. He forgives the thief, and his final words are the peaceful prayer, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” In these passages we learn from Jesus that our greatest triumph lies more in how we respond to others than in how they treat us. Transforming the cross into a focus and symbol of hope, our Lord asks us to forgive others, as he has forgiven us. Sadly, we are too often like the people who witnessed Jesus’ death, about whom Luke writes: “When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away.” Like these early witnesses we too often go away, beating ourselves up with guilt and remorse. In doing so we fail to truly appreciate the words of mercy spoken from the Cross, liberating us to live, not as guilt-ridden men and women but as freed and forgiven servants, empowered to carry the Good News of God’s love to all in word and in action.
Prayer: Lord, help me to remember that your love frees and empowers me to live the life of a servant. Amen.
April 4 – Easter
Acts 10:34_43*Isaiah 65:17_25*Psalm 118:1_2, 14_24*1 Corinthians 15:19_26*John 20:1_18*Luke 24:1_12
The season of Lent gives way to the glory of Easter. It has been a long stretch of prayer and meditation on the scriptures, intensified by the agony of Good Friday; but now it has come to an end in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The response to the news is striking. The women are frightened, half-overjoyed, half fearful, as in bewilderment they flee from the spectacle of the empty tomb. When they tell the disciples what they have seen and heard, the disciples tell them that they are raving mad. To them the news of Jesus rising from the grave seems “too good to be true.” And what of us? How do we respond to the news of our Lord’s resurrection? The all-important question today is that of the messengers in the tomb, “Why are you looking for him who is alive among the dead?” Canadian theologian Herbert O’Driscoll writes, “Many of us still look for Jesus among the dead. Sometimes when we have had to leave a place we love we spend a long time searching for remembered experiences. Sometimes when we have been bereaved we lose the capacity to live in the present, and live in the past in that relationship”. My father did this when my mother died. Devastated by her death, he spent the rest of his life re-living her memory. In other words, he never left her grave. Today we are invited to return from Christ’s grave, to live, not in the past, but rather to live fully in the present, trusting in God’s power to use it to transform the future. As British theologian N.T. Wright says on page 193 of his book, Surprised By Hope, "The point of the resurrection...is that the present bodily life is not valueless just because it will die. God will raise it up to new life. What you do with your body in the present matters because God has a great future for it. And if this applies to ethics, as in 1 Corinthians 6, it certainly applies to the various vocations to which God's people are called. What you do in the present---by painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neighbour as yourself----will last into God’s future....they are a part of what we may call building for God's kingdom."
Prayer: Come to me, risen Lord, and let me be a part of your new creation. Help me to see that I too have a role to play in your coming Kingdom. Amen.
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