SCRIPTURE: Luke 24:1-12 (NRSV) DEVOTIONAL:
The first weekend of the semester on an unseasonably warm and sunny January afternoon, I stood in a circle with students at a student leaders retreat. We were engaged in an intense game of “Ninja,” a game involving quick, deliberate movements. When my turn came around I quickly took a big step toward the student on my left. Unfortunately, the deck we were standing on was a bit slippery and I landed on the ground as the classic “pop” from my hamstring immobilized me in pain. I became very dependent on the students around me and on the grace of colleagues in that moment and over the next days and weeks of gradual recovery. The incident slowed me down, making me significantly more aware of pain; pain that we live with daily and pain that is a part of being human; pain that is superficial and pain that burrows to the core of our beings; pain that is physical and pain that is profoundly emotional; pain that we bring on ourselves and pain that is the result of injustice; pain that is personal and pain that ripples far beyond the initial point of trauma to effect the whole of communities, of countries and, indeed, of the world. The story that we proclaim and are invited to live into each Easter is a story that begins with very deep pain, very profound suffering, cosmic despair. It is a story that calls us, like the women who accompany Jesus through the final days of his suffering, to be present to the anguish, the fear, the pain; to tenderly pour the oil, to bake the bread, to lovingly accompany, to hold one another, to weep and, yes, to prepare the spices and ointment – to do the very hard work of suffering together. But the story doesn’t stop with the pain-filled suffering. The empty tomb, while confounding initially, leaves us all with a glimmer of hope. Could it be that the pain and despair and loss and injustice do NOT have the last word? The good news of Jesus Christ is that our lives (and indeed the lives of all with whom we share this existence), in all their struggle and pain and brokenness and frailty, are framed by this profound, persistent and perplexing hope. Therefore, we carry on, with eyes wide open to signs of life beyond the suffering and pain. Christ has risen! Hope endures! Alleluia!
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By Ann Hostetler, English professor at Goshen College Reprinted from Lenten Devotions DEVOTIONAL: On this Saturday before Easter we remember that Jesus’s body lay in a tomb, subject to decay. Yet as we prepare for tomorrow, we know that when Jesus’s disciples and friends came to visit him in the tomb, they discovered that the stone had been rolled away. As we say farewell to our loved ones in this world, we may experience the holy moments when the body leaves the soul, as well as the grief of sitting with the body they have left behind. Yet we can also sense through grief the release and joy they must feel in their transition to a new state of being, because the scripture has given us these words: “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” Transfiguration When I enter your room for the last time, I see a shell-- broken—your head thrown back, mouth open—as though something has hatched and taken flight. Just this morning I rubbed your ankles with oil, but now your legs are stiff to the touch, purple stains pool under tissue paper skin as capillary walls give way, the process of return beginning. At the hospital entrance, I met the women weeping-- mother, sister, niece, pastor-- who tell me the story of your last breath, which I imagine now-- my sister plays her violin—Cast thy Burden Upon the Lord—and after days of uphill breathing your face reflects a moment of sheer delight—Christ We Do All Adore Thee. I carry this story with me like a garment. Each time I tell it the circle widens as with the telling of another story, an empty tomb, the stone rolled away, and nothing to fill the empty space but language. SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 15:19-26 (NRSV) By Natasha Weisenbeck, a junior at Goshen College Reprinted from Lenten Devotions DEVOTIONAL: I have been very anxious these past months as I have tried to figure out what to do with my summer. In addition, the fear of what to do after college began to creep into my skin as I fear being left jobless and worthless, possessing such a hodge-podge resume that nobody would want to hire me. Too often I forget God wants me. If I want the plans he has for me, I must trust God in my deeds. Jesus was scared too. In the garden, he asked for his responsibility to be eradicated. Was he afraid of death? A death which God planned to null and void in three days, a fact Jesus told his disciples frequently. He knew the plan. He still had fear. But that fear was overcome. Because God was with him. Because God has called us by name. Because he chooses no one based on their background or nation’s history, fear can be overcome. Because God is with me and I choose to act in his ways, I need not fear. Because God is with you today, I pray that you put down your anxieties. I pray you know your worth and your opportunity despite your position. I pray that you are able to do good with each day of your life. Because God is with us. SCRIPTURE: Acts 10:34-43 (NRSV) By Ammon Allen-Doucot, a sophomore at Goshen College Reprinted from Lenten Devotions DEVOTIONAL: It may be a first-year college student problem, but of late I feel as though I have no free time. There are, of course, classes, which come with no small amount of work. I also have my job in the Campus Center for Young Children and daily practices for track. And then there are those little things that take a surprising amount of time: eating meals, cleaning the room, calls home, showering and that minor thing called sleeping. Upon realizing the time I "lost” to these things, I began to cut them out. First it was the occasional skipped dinner on Mondays, then it was a quick text to Mom: “I’ll call on Sunday, no time now.” As the workload increased, more things were removed. This culminated in the flu I caught the week before spring break. I became more or less incapable of doing anything without help. Help from my teammates at practice, help from my friends finding food and studying whilst having no energy, help from professors when all I wanted to do was sleep for a straight week. This dependence on others, especially in light of my recent “cut out” incidents, is what I was thinking and praying on before writing this devotional, which is focused around Jesus teaching the disciples about the importance of communal care. I guess an extension on an assignment, or a glass of water and an Ibuprofen aren’t exactly the same as feet washing, but I definitely have a better understanding of the relationship between disciples. I encourage you to remember to make time for the little things, which when combined create a big thing: community. I am unashamed in my need for my community and the Holy Spirit therein. SCRIPTURE: John 13:1-17, 31b-35 (NRSV) By Grace Parker, a senior at Goshen College Reprinted from Lenten Devotions DEVOTIONAL: In our culture that is addicted to fast solutions and technological convenience, God offers something different— a long-term and transparent relationship. All too often, I find myself scanning Facebook statuses or reading friends’ blogs in the hopes of finding some relational connection. However, these mechanisms do not allow for the immediate and two-sided interactions with people who are physically present with me. God continually invites us into relationship. In today’s Scripture, the psalmist says that he loves and calls on the Lord because God heard his cry and prayers. God listens and we, yearning for authentic relationship, must respond with thanksgiving and humility as we hold up our side of the relationship. God’s companionship has been a comfort to me as I’ve felt the emotional distance from family and friends created by long-distance and international travel. During my semester abroad in Peru, I initially felt disoriented by my separation from so many people who I normally relied on for support. Turning to God for relationship, through reading the Bible, praising with the church I was working with, and moments of stillness, deepened my awareness of the mutuality expected by God. As we experience emotional alienation and yearn for true relationship, let us remember the Lord, who hears our voice and answers with love. SCRIPTURE: Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19 (NRSV) By Jenny Beer, director of counseling at Goshen College Reprinted from Lenten Devotions DEVOTIONAL: What strikes me most about the 12 plagues inflicted on the Egyptians is God’s unswerving commitment to set the Israelites free. In spite of God’s anger at the Egyptians for their cruel treatment of the Israelites, God gave them chance after chance after chance to respond to his request. Each plague intensified the Egyptians’ misery until at last, in a final act of persuasion, God enacted the Passover, not because he wanted to take the lives of the firstborn sons, but because it was the only way. God demonstrated he was willing to do whatever it would take to free the Israelites from the Egyptians. Many years later when Jesus was sacrificed as the Passover Lamb, God demonstrated his unswerving commitment to us again, showing he was willing to do whatever it would take to free us from our sin and bring us into a right eternal relationship with him. Today, God is still prepared to do whatever it takes for you, with the same unswerving love and devotion. Know this – the Israelites weren’t protected from the tyranny of slavery – but they were delivered from it. Many of us know pain – pain that couldn’t be prevented because free will prohibits God from judging us for what we haven’t done yet –but also know the God of the universe is a God of justice and love, and is prepared to do what it takes to deliver you from your pain and suffering into a life of joy. We remember because it reminds us of an enduring quality of God – that God is devoted to us, and in return wants our worship, our love and our time. SCRIPTURE: Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14 (NRSV) By Annika Miller, a senior at Goshen College Reprinted from Lenten Devotions THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURES: DEVOTIONAL:
When I was in junior high, my family took a four-week summer vacation, driving from Pennsylvania to California to visit my aunt and sightsee along the way. Early on in the first week, we heard a family friend preach about “God things.” “God things” start out as situations that aren’t too favorable, but somehow turn around in the end. They can also be an outcome or gift that you didn’t even realize you needed. My family realized we had already encountered several “God things” and then became more and more aware of them as we looked. One such experience was when we were in danger of being stranded after having engine problems with our van in Wyoming. We were able to make it to a small gas station in the middle of nowhere, which happened to have a full-time mechanic who willingly ran a diagnostic test despite it being near the end of his shift. After replacing a faulty wire for next to nothing, we were on our way, having met a compassionate stranger. God took our bad situation and worked through it. At the time of Jesus’death, I’m sure it was next to impossible for Jesus’ followers to imagine any good coming out of the situation. Knowing now of the resurrection, however, it’s easy to see Jesus’ death as the beginning of a “God thing” as God worked through the hopeless situation and brought about life-giving good. By Eva Lapp, a sophomore at Goshen College Reprinted from Lenten Devotions DEVOTIONAL: Growing up, memorizing Bible passages never made sense to me. My experience at church and school was that I would repeatedly stumble through a passage until the words stayed in my mind and on my tongue just long enough that I could receive a golden sticker or a shining A+. Occasionally I would convince myself that the next time I would really study the passage and become a good Christian who could rattle off any number of memorized verses. But this spiritual discipline never became my “thing.” Then this past fall I took a required Bible course here at Goshen College and, lo and behold, we had Scripture memorization quizzes. What a joy, I thought sarcastically. After slogging my way through several passages and fulfilling my grade expectation, I came across today’s passage, the Christ Hymn. I went through the same motions: memorize, take the quiz, get an A, forget the passage. But, a few weeks afterwards, I came across the passage again and wrote it in my journal. The next day I looked at it again and tested my memory skills to find that I could recite most of the passage! The lilting nature of this hymn speaks to my poetic sensibilities. Memorizing this passage was natural and in these days and weeks of Lent I recover this passage each day as a reminder of my faith. It is a reminder of my decision in life to follow Christ and what that entails. It is a reminder that Christ comes in the name of God, that Jesus is God and thus his actions reflect God’s vision for humanity. As I relish each word and savor the gentle prayer-like movement of the verses, I remind myself that…. The blessed one comes in the name of the Lord and thus, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus” (2:5). SCRIPTURE: Philippians 2:5-11 (NRSV) By Jessica Gotwals, a senior at Goshen College Reprinted from Lenten Devotions DEVOTIONAL: Many of the people who are most important to me in my life are teachers by profession: my mother, my siblings, my cousins, my aunts and multiple friends from high school and college. Because of these relationships, I’ve seen the time that goes into lesson planning, the energy that goes into building relationships with students and the hope teachers have for the ones they teach. And since I admire the teachers in my life, it is not surprising to me that I often conceptualize God as a teacher. There are two main things that I appreciate about today’s passage in Isaiah. First, I love the beginning verses, because they remind me that God is also a teacher, committed to challenging us and making us Christ-like. Verses 4 and 5 say that God has “opened our ears”and helps us to listen “like one being instructed.” Understanding God as a teacher is particularly helpful to me during Lent. Lent is a time to clear the excess from our lives and expose the things that block us from the Divine. There is something about being emptied that leaves us more open to the possibility of learning and gaining the new wisdom God has to offer us. What have you removed from your life this Lenten season? What wisdom have you gained in turn? The second thing I appreciate about this passage in Isaiah is the striking assurance the author has in his faith. In verses 6-9, he is not phased by oppression or by the opinions of others. This passage encourages us to be assured that the teachings of the Lord are good. Once we open ourselves to receive God’s teachings, we cannot ignore what we have learned, and our lives are inevitably changed. The convictions we have for our lives as people of faith may not always make us more well-liked, more wealthy or more successful by the world’s standards. However, these things are not our highest priority. God equips us with the Holy Spirit to be more like Christ. And, when we walk in the way of the Lord, we are not ashamed. During the remainder of the Lenten season, may you be receptive to the teachings of the Divine, and may you be confident that the direction you are going is blessed. May you be made aware of the ways you fall short, but be reassured that you are learning to embody shalom. Praise to the God who teaches us patiently. SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 50:4-9a (NRSV) By Saralyn Murray, a senior at Goshen College Reprinted from Lenten Devotions DEVOTIONAL: In the midst of an Ohio winter, nothing expresses love like a singing valentine. As a high school student I had the privilege of traveling all over the community singing to unsuspecting recipients on that annual holiday. We would walk into different businesses, schools or homes unannounced and sing a love song. We surprised each person and it was so fun to see the reaction on their faces. Then, just as quickly as we arrived, we were gone. “Flash mobs” are everywhere. In our Scripture today, a common Nazarene named Jesus entered the city riding on a colt, and it took the crowd by surprise. But just as quickly as the parade started, it was over. Often life seems normal and ordinary, and suddenly love appears out of nowhere. I wonder if the bystanders were left with the warm glow of having witnessed the Messiah. SCRIPTURE: Luke 19:28-40 (NRSV) |
Melanie Stanley-Soulen pastored Allen-Lee United Methodist Church from 2007 until 2013. Archives
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