IT JUST GOT PERSONAL

Lent

Scripture:

Read Mark 9:2-10, 30-32

"The Son of Man is going to be delivered
into the hands of men, and they will kill Him."
(Mark 9:31)

Reflection:

Have you ever asked an engaged or married
couple how they first met? Often they were just
friends until one day their friendship was
transformed before their very eyes- they realized
they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together.

That helps explain what happened when Jesus
took Peter, James and John up a mountain by
themselves. In an instant His familiar appearance
was transformed before their very eyes. His divine
glory as the Son of God began shining through His
human face and body. They were seeing Jesus' full
glory as the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Afterwards Jesus ordered them to keep it to
themselves until after He rose from the dead.

Leaving the mountain behind, Jesus leads His
disciples through Galilee on His way to Jerusalem.
Along the way He makes His second prediction of
His coming suffering and death. But this time He
adds a chilling detail- He will be "delivered into the
hands of men." Someone close to Him, someone
who should stand up to defend Him will instead hand
Him over to His enemies.

If you've ever been betrayed by a close friend, a family
member- a husband or wife- then you know what bitter
pain will strike Jesus when He watches one of His own
disciples bringing soldiers into the garden where He
often meets with His disciples.

But in the midst of all the bad news, Jesus makes
another promise- after three days He will rise from
the dead.

THE PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, You were betrayed into the hands of
your enemies to save me from eternal death and
suffering in hell. Help me when I face betrayal from
those close to me. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

WE LOVE A WINNER

Scripture:

Matthew 5:43-45

[Love for Enemies] “You have heard that it
was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your
enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you, that
you may be children of your Father in heaven.
He causes his sun to rise on the evil and
the good, and sends rain on the righteous
and the unrighteous.

Reflection:

I think that Matthew 5: 43-45 are among the
the most difficult verses in the Bible to
understand and to follow. The problem lies,
after understanding, we do not follow.

I'm, what they call, a product of the 60's.
I was a college student, who was very
much, against the war in Viet Nam. I
marched and demonstrated and put all
of my effort into ending of that horrible war.

I would like to pass along a couple of
things I learned about people in this
country during that Viet Nam period. I
learned that mainly people in this country,
all types of people, love a winner. You
see when I was demonstrating against
that war, I was not demonstrating against
the men and women who were fighting in
that war. I loved those men and women
and my main concern was not that they
were fighting in an immoral and unjust war,
my concern was to bring them home. I had
people who I loved very much, dying in that
war, and above everything I wanted all of them
home. The people who yelled and cursed at
me, didn't seem to understand that! They
thought I hated the young men and women
coming back from the war. They were so
very wrong, it was because I loved them
and I wanted them home.
When they did come home, we "hippies"
were among the first to greet them and to
help them. The people who yelled and
cursed at me weren't there. Why?
America loves a winner and hates, what
they think of as a loser, What does that
say about the moral grounds of our
attitudes? Sadly, the primary reason for
this change of attitude was not the result of
a growning awareness of the possible
immorality of the War.
Instead, it was due to images and stories
from the media, whether true or not, that
gave the strong impression our side was
losing. Social critics said that if we were
winning the war, support for the War would
have been strong. That is why I say, " America
loves winners and is harsh on losers. These
young men and women, coming home from
that war, were now seen as losers. Those
veterans, who had lost their lives, the many
more thousands who were suffering from life-
crippling wounds, the large percentage of
veterans who required psychiatric care and
psychological counseling, were all seen as
losers.
Jesus once said that before a competent king
goes to war, he takes stock of his army and
resources and considers whether or not he has
enough to win that war. If he is not sure he
tries to negotiate some kind of settlement (Luke
14: 31-32). It now seems obvious that our leaders
failed to take stock of what would be required not
only to win the war, but also to secure the peace.
The results were disastrous.

We could make a lot of friends out of our enemies
by meeting the needs of the poor and oppressed
people of the world with the billions and trillions of
dollars we continue to waste on war.

That is why Jesus says "[Love for Enemies] “
You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your
neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you,
love your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you, that you may be children of your Father in
heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil
and the good, and sends rain on the righteous
and the unrighteous.

THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME VENT!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, who commanded us to love
our enemies and all those who insult and hurt us,
and to pray for them and forgive them; you yourself
prayed for your enemies, who crucified you. Give us,
we pray, a spirit of Christian reconciliation and meekness,
so that we may forgive every injury and be reconciled
with our enemies. Grant us Christian meekness and true
love of our neighbor. Give to our enemies true peace and
forgiveness of sins; and do not allow them to leave this
life without true faith and sincere conversion. Help us
to repay evil with goodness. --

adapted from the Orthodox "Prayer for Enemies"

IT'S A SECRET

Scripture

Matthew 6:1-6

Teaching about Giving to the Needy

"Watch out! Don't do your good
deeds publicly, to be admired by others,
for you will lose the reward from your
Father in heaven. 2 When you give to
someone in need, don't do as the
hypocrites do-blowing trumpets in the
synagogues and streets to call attention
to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth,
they have received all the reward they will
ever get. 3 But when you give to someone
in need, don't let your left hand know what
your right hand is doing. 4 Give your gifts
in private, and your Father, who sees
everything, will reward you.

Teaching about Prayer and Fasting

5 "When you pray, don't be like the
hypocrites who love to pray publicly on
street corners and in the synagogues where
everyone can see them. I tell you the truth,
that is all the reward they will ever get.
6 But when you pray, go away by yourself,
shut the door behind you, and pray to your
Father in private. Then your Father, who
sees everything, will reward you.


The Easter season is often marked by
spectacular displays of art and public
worship--we might sing beautiful Easter
hymns at church, attend moving Easter
pageants, or participate in public acts
of prayer, fasting, or devotion. The
Scripture reading reminds us that in
the midst of these outward displays,
however appropriate they are, we are
called to humility, self-sacrifice,
reflection, and quiet suffering.

Prayer

O Lord, who hast mercy upon all,
take away from me my sins,
and mercifully kindle in me
the fire of thy Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone,
and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore Thee,
a heart to delight in Thee,
to follow and enjoy Thee, for Christ's sake,
Amen.
-- Ambrose of Milan, 4th century bishop

(Lent Devotional from Bible Gateway)

AN IRRATIONAL HATRED

(A brief thought from Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein)

Scripture:

"Therefore pride is their necklace;
they clothe themselves with violence.
From their callous hearts comes iniquity;
their evil imaginations have no limits.
They scoff, and speak with malice;
with arrogance they threaten oppression."
Psalm 73:6–8

Have you ever felt like someone didn’t like
you – maybe even hated you – for no
particular reason? It’s puzzling, isn’t it?
You wonder what you did to provoke a strong
reaction, and if you can’t think of anything
you did, it seems irrational. We Jews often
find ourselves as the objects of such irrational
hatred.

For example, at various points in history,
Jews have been accused of being too poor or
too wealthy; too politically domineering or too
politically uninvolved. We’ve been accused of
being too spiritual and too secular,
unambitious and overly aggressive, too
separated from others and too assimilated.
Does that make sense? How can we be all
those things?

Anti-Semitism, like other forms of racism, is
a condition of the heart. It reflects a callous
heart that has lost sensitivity to others. The
writer of Psalm 73 says that “from their callous
hearts comes iniquity” (v. 7). A hardened heart
that has lost sensitivity to others is a breeding
ground for evil.

In addition to a callous heart, anti-Semitism
forms in a conceited mind. At the base of racism
is the conceited belief that one person or group
is better than another and “their evil imaginations
have no limits” (Psalm 73:7). Rather than
listening to the voice of reason, irrational thoughts
prevail, driven by passionate hatred. For those
who promote anti-Semitism, their hatred is simply
hatred, without any reason or justification for it.
This irrational racial hatred has often led to
inconsistent accusations against the Jews –
such as those above – because the accusations
are not based on logic or merit, but hate.

Finally, the psalm writer says that those with
callous hearts and conceited minds also have
threatening lips, for “they scoff, and speak with
malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression”
(Psalm 73:8). Anti-Semitism, and other racial
prejudice, often expresses itself in threats,
intimidation, and oppression. Acts of terrorism
against Jews and Jewish icons are an attempt
to instill fear in the lives of Jews.

As the psalm writer concludes, when faced with
unreasonable and unmerited prejudice, there is
only one place to find hope and to remember,
“Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my
right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and
afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have
I in heaven but you?”(vv. 23–25). We can have
confidence in God’s presence and guidance no
matter what our circumstances or difficulties.

With prayers for shalom, peace,

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

(from: Holy Land Moments Daily Devotional)

THERE MUST BE SOME MISTAKE

Lent

Read Mark 8:31-33

"And Peter took Him aside and began to
rebuke Him." (Mark 8:32)

Reflection:

It was just a routine checkup and Ann
expected everything to be fine. She felt
good, was sleeping well, had plenty of
energy, she even had been losing weight
like she wanted. The doctor said she was
in perfect health but he wanted her to take
a routine test. She left his office in high
spirits. But when she phoned for the results
on Monday she felt like she'd been slapped
in the face- she had cancer.

Peter must have felt a similar shock when
Jesus said He "must suffer many things, be
rejected and be killed." He couldn't wrap his
mind around it. "Jesus will suffer and die?
There must be some mistake. Jesus is God's
Son, the promised Savior. He can't die! He
has to save us from the Romans." He turned
Jesus aside and started trying to straighten
Him out.

Peter must have been shocked and hurt when
Jesus turned and forcefully said, "Get behind
Me, Satan!" After all, he had only the best
intentions for Jesus.

But Jesus knows mankind's true enemies
are not political rulers like Tiberius Caesar,
but spiritual rulers like Satan, death and hell.
They must be defeated- and the only way to
defeat them is to walk the road of suffering
and death. Jesus' suffering is necessary- so
necessary He will permit nothing and no one
to stand in His way. Jesus is determined to
save us from our sins and win eternal life for
Peter, His disciples, and all people.

THE PRAYER:

Lord You showed such determination to
save us from our enemies. Give me such
determination to follow You in all circumstances.
Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT MY MISSION

Read Mark 8:29-31

Scripture:

"And He began to teach them that the
Son of Man must suffer many things."
(Mark 8:31)

Reflection:

What is your mission in life? What do you
think you were put here to do? Some of us
find it difficult to answer that question. But
for Jesus the answer is crystal clear. The
reason He became human and was born
into this world at Christmas was to suffer
and die for us.

At Christmas when you look down at that
baby lying in Bethlehem's manger, suffering
and death is the farthest thing from your
mind. But there are already hints about
where His life will lead. If He had not come
to suffer, then why was He lying in a feeding
trough when He should have been lying in a
soft crib? Why was He raised by a carpenter
as His foster-father when that meant He
would take up that trade and everything that
goes with it- the cuts and bruises, the
blisters and calluses?

If God's Son became human to share our
life- and to transform it for us- He had to
share all of it. Not the life of ease and luxury
that few enjoy, but the very opposite- the
worst experiences people have. He had to
know poverty, physical suffering, grief,
loneliness, abuse, ridicule, torture, rejection
and finally death. That was Jesus' mission-
to exchange His life for ours, to overcome
our suffering by His own suffering- and free
us from death by His own death.

And more than that- Jesus tells them the
end of the story- He will not remain dead.
In three days He will rise again.

THE PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, You did not hold Yourself
back from suffering, but sacrificed Your life
to save us all. Thank You for giving meaning
and a purpose to my life. Amen.

(Lutheran Hours Ministries)

BE ALL YOU CAN BE!

"Repent, and believe the Good News"
(Mark. 1:15)

There's an amusing story of a farmer
who owned a very beautiful horse of which
he was very proud. One day he rode him
into town and carefully tied the animal to
the hitching post in front of the general
store. Two thieves, passing through the
town, spied the handsome horse and
decided to steal it. They also decided
on a clever strategy to carry out their
plan. One of them untied the horse and
rode swiftly away. The other remained
by the post. When the farmer emerged
from the store and saw that his horse
was gone, he was about to shout for
help when the conspirator walked up to
him. In a sad, low tone he said, "Sir,
I am your horse. Years ago I sinned,
and for my sins I was punished. I was
changed into a horse. Today my
sentence is over, and I can be released
if you will be so kind." The farmer was
dumbfounded, yet touched by the story.
So he sent the man away wishing him
luck in his new life. Several weeks later
the farmer went to a fair in a neighboring
town. Great was his surprise to see his
own horse for sale there. After gazing
long at the animal to make sure that his
eyes did not deceive him, he walked
over and whispered into the horse's ear,
"So -- I see you've sinned again!"

When we sin again, even though we
don't turn into a horse, our humanity is
diminished. And we are called to
repentance, which means to restore
our lost humanity -- to transform
ourselves into the fully human person
God wants us to be.

(Sunday Sermons on Line)