By Liz Core, a senior at Goshen College Reprinted from Lenten Devotions DEVOTIONAL: The word “repentance” is daunting. This probably has something to do with the not-too-uncommon depiction of a lofty God furrowing his brows down on a Sodom-esque community, commanding “Repent, sinners!” in a booming tone. The broader Christian tradition has also had its own unfortunate history of preachers and people shouting from pulpits or street corners: “Repent, for thou art lowly!” This constant reminder of our sinfulness can do only harm. And, as I have learned from my own past feelings of self-loathing because I believed sermons that told me God does not accept me, I am not sure if dwelling in disgust for ourselves is holy at all. Not one bit. Though, this is not to say that repentance is unimportant. After all, the theme of repentance occurs numerous times in Scripture. Even Christ reminded a crowd that “Unless you repent, you will all perish” in Luke 13:5. Again, this is scary. But, real repentance is not a threat. It is an invitation to allow more of God’s goodness into ourselves by giving up the fight to hide our sinfulness. Repentance allows God to dig through our bulky, embarrassing baggage that we’ve been hiding or avoiding. This is a step towards more growth, so that we may thrive. And, this is far from a command to cower before an angry throne. After all, we all know that we are sinners already. But it is when we are ready to admit this and move on, through repentance, that we grow and bear the fruit. And this kind of repentance is not scary. It is lovely. SCRIPTURE: Luke 13:1-9 (NRSV)
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By Heather Goertzen, resident director, Goshen College Reprinted from Lenten Devotions SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 (NRSV) DEVOTIONAL: Most of my life I have known the protection of the Cloud. I have poignant stories to tell about seas parting for both myself and those I love. I have lived in various communities who drink from (and draw me back to) the Rock who is Christ. Sometimes – even usually – it’s easy to feel caught up in the current of these “in-groups,” all chosen and royal, you “Children of the Most High God” you. This is precisely why I need the Church calendar to bring me to the Savior-waiting season of Advent and today, to the self-excavation of Lent. The fasts and feasts make monotony impossible and make way for both gratitude and humility. So if you think you’re standing – all satiated by the spiritual and tucked into the cozy hug of that cloud – not so quick. Watch your step. In fact, you might already be down. These are the messages of Scripture that startle me from the secure (along with Matt. 21:31 and Rev. 3:17). The plot switches and we, chosen cloud-dwellers, have to take pause. Just being here, at this table, just having the right juice in my chalice may not be enough? Have my hymnsings become more lullaby than worship? Is my service more about me than the Other? What I do when I get up from this table, the places I crawl for comfort, distraction, ego-soothing may reveal more about my gods than I care to let on. So if you think you are standing… By Michael Sherer, IT director, Goshen College Reprinted from Lenten Devotions DEVOTIONAL: As human beings, we are designed by God with appetites. Our creaturely drives for food, water, sleep and sex keep us alive and sustain the species, but we are obviously far more complex than that. George Otis, Jr.’s “Life Appetites Test” lists 35 possible appetites, and I think he missed a few! Who of us can claim that our own appetites are always in balance and healthy? They compete with and even replace one another. Any dieter knows that eating is often not about hunger. Teens have sex for a raft of reasons that are not sexual. Drugs and alcohol are dangerous in part because their addictive powers can overwhelm other important and socially redeeming appetites. The season of Lent is an annual reminder that we are by nature not in balance, and that by giving something up we can better focus our attention on God. North American culture has little room for asceticism, and I would argue, little room for God either. We have 35+ appetites ready to take the place of our need for God and a 24/7/365 consumer culture ready to sate them. In today’s passage, Psalm 63, David speaks to us across time, space and culture about his relationship with God. And he does it in terms of appetites. David thirsts for God. God’s love satisfies him as much as the richest food. He thinks about God all night long in bed (instead of sleeping? while sleeping?). In the process, David frames his relationship with God as a powerful appetite. God’s love is better than life! It’s no accident that this Psalm was written in the desert, a barren place barely able to support life, but with a long tradition of stimulating spiritual reflection. In that place, where hunger and thirst are never far away, David stimulated his appetite for relationship with God. His writing conveys a spiritual capacity that far outstrips my own, and I admire it. I want it. Lent provides me with the opportunity to work at it. SCRIPTURE: Psalm 63:1-8 (NRSV) By Grace Boehm, a sophomore at Goshen College Reprinted from Lenten Devotions “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?” This is a question that all of us should ask ourselves each and every day. Why do we do things that do not make us happy or do not fulfill our spiritual needs? Why do we ignore God and indulge in unsatisfactory actions? The theme for this week is to “seek the Lord and be fruitful.” Seek the Lord while he may found; call on him while he is near. If seeking God in a holistic and loving way provides the spiritual nourishment that our souls need, really, why would we not? Lent is a season where we are sometimes asked to give something up and seek the sober realization of what it means that Christ gave his life for us. Instead of giving something up for Lent, what I do is make a gratitude list for each day of the season. I write the little things that I fall in love with each day, and the people with whom I am grateful to spend time. My action of recognizing the love in my own heart allows me to understand a part of the love that God has for me. Seek the Lord and be fruitful with love and spirit, and the Lord shall bestow on you the ability to engage in that love and gratitude that praise Him the highest. So instead of wasting time on fruitless actions that do not satisfy, put your heart into the season and seek God through gratitude. SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 55:1-9 (NRSV) By DaVonne Harris, resident director and director of student activities, Goshen College Reprinted from Lenten Devotions THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURES: DEVOTIONAL: I grew up in church. I had the privilege of knowing that I had a Creator; that he loved me and had a plan for my life.
But my spiritual life changed forever when I was 16. My mother, a single parent, had gotten ill to the point that she was sent to a nursing home 45 minutes away. I was left to live with my sister and new baby nephew. I felt like I was wandering through a rugged wilderness. I desperately needed solace. It was then that I told God: “I surrender.” I made a covenant with him that there was nothing that the world could offer to help me in the way that I needed. I gave my heart to him, and I began to experience the fruits of the spirit like never before: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). When I think about all that has transpired in my life, I have no other explanation than God’s intervention. It has been through my surrender to God that my life has blossomed. Through my seeking, I have gained a greater sense of self esteem. Through my seeking, I have had the confidence to seek opportunities that have helped me succeed in life. I have sought, and God has responded. He has responded with love, hope and healing. In spite of my life’s difficulties, I have overcome and God has shown himself faithful (Selah). By Sophie Metzger, assistant director, diverse student support, Goshen College Reprinted from Lenten Devotions DEVOTIONAL: Waiting is difficult. I find it especially difficult when I don’t know what I’m waiting for. There have been various points in life that I know something will happen; I’m just not sure what. The first time I remember this was my senior year of college. The BIG question was: “What am I going to do with the rest of my life?” As I have spent “the rest of my life” in higher education, I have heard this question over and over by students, and truthfully, asked this question over and over. In my most recent quest to answer this question I have become more keenly aware of my pattern. Name the problem: find the solution and map it out step by step. Fix my eyes on the prize and “GO!” That’s my pattern. The universe has a pattern too: throwing curveballs. Sometimes the curveballs are surprising, better than anything I ever imagined, and other times they are stunning and throw me down to the ground. While Peter, James and John might not have been asking the exact same question or know what their plan was, I can guess they didn’t expect the transfiguration. And the transfiguration seems to be one of those instances that is both surprising and stunning. As I see it, the call for each of us living in wait for the promise of God to be both surprised and stunned is twofold. First, we are to live in trust and surrender by not trying to hold onto the beautiful surprises too hard and fast. Second, we are to cultivate the knowledge of being loved beyond measure – even in the moments of feeling knocked to the ground and stunned. It’s Lent again and we remember the great gift of God made-flesh who lived as we are to live – celebrations, sufferings and unknowns. Let it be done according to your will… SCRIPTURE: Luke 9:28-36 (NRSV) By Brian O’Leary, a senior at Goshen College Reprinted from Lenten Devotions DEVOTIONAL: In the passage for today, Philippians 3:17-4:1, Paul writes to encourage his readers. He encourages them to join in his example regarding his actions. Earlier on in this epistle, Paul mentions his own upcoming death sentence and notes that his imprisonment has actually, “served to advance the Gospel.” In the same vein of support, Paul seeks to encourage Christians even in the face of denial and the enemies of the cross of Christ. He notes suffering as his example, an example we must all follow. Paul makes no apologies for the difficulty of the path of God, and although Paul’s struggles with imprisonment and death may seem more serious than our own struggles through the season of Lent, they both have their roles to play. Lent may not bring an omen of death for all of us, as it did to Jesus, but whatever our struggles we must not let the enemies of the cross cause us to lose heart. Though Lent may seem to be a difficult time, we can also recognize that “our citizenship is in heaven.” We are not people whose minds should be, “set on earthly things.” Instead, we “stand firm in the Lord,” and seek hope during Lent. SCRIPTURE: Philippians 3:17-4:1 (NRSV) By James Townsend, vice president of enrollment management and marketing at Goshen College Reprinted from Lenten Devotions DEVOTIONAL: When you were growing up, where did you go when you were afraid? Did you hide under your bed or behind the clothes in your closet? Did you feel safer inside or outside your house, in your room or another room? For many of us the place we would run and hide was into the arms of a family member – often our mother or father. We felt no shame, all we knew is that we were afraid and needed a place to go for love, not judgment. While we may not have realized it at the time, these places and people became a sacred space for us – a place where the noise of the world is muffled, the flashes of lightning were hidden, and the arms and warmth of another human being insulated the coldness of the outside world. So where is your safe place today? Do you have a sacred place where you feel protected from the dangers of the world? Have you found someone who will hold you and protect you from danger? God, our Creator and Sustainer of life, is right in front of you with arms wide open, calling your name to come as you are, in whatever condition you are in to be loved and cared for. If you’re like me, knowing this causes shouts of praises to God for the unconditional love and blessings and a desire to live a life that honors God to the fullest. May the text from today’s readings be a reminder of how much you are loved by God no matter where you are today on your journey. Do not be ashamed, but lift your head high for the Lord God loves you dearly! SCRIPTURE: Psalm 27 (NRSV) By Abby Deaton, a junior at Goshen College Reprinted from Lenten Devotionals DEVOTIONAL: I was talking to someone recently about my “life’s plan.” After uttering that phrase, my friend simply laughed and said, “You see why that’s funny, right? When has your life ever gone according to plan?” She’s right. In the past week and a half, what I’m going to study, where I’m going to live and what I am actively pursuing as a career has changed drastically. I have had those elements of my life planned out since 5th grade. It took three days for everything to change. So much for my plans. Abram and Sarai were faced with the reality that Sarai wasn’t able to conceive. It was a tough reality, but a reality none the less for them. With this in mind, Abram and Sarai made “life plans.” Abram lets God know that “a servant in my household will be my heir.” That’s the plan. Even after God promises children to Abram and Sarai, Abram has a child with his slave Hagar. Sure, Abram and Sarai would have loved to completely trust in God, but they couldn’t. Sarai wasn’t getting any younger. Heirs were needed. Decisions were made. That’s that. Years go by. Ishmael is 13, Sarai is 90 and Abram is 99. God reminds Abram that the promise God made still stands: Sarai will conceive and they will have a son. Abram responds by rolling on the floor and laughing. Good one, God. It’s not that Abram and Sarai don’t want to believe God. They just don’t see how their life could pan out any other way. Often times, I have found myself feeling the same way. It’s always nice to think that things are going to work out alright, that God has a better plan than we have. But sometimes, it just doesn’t seem like there is any other way. Our plan is the only option. When has life ever gone according to plan? Abram and Sarai did have a child. They named their son Isaac, which is Hebrew for “he laughs.” We will make our life plans. We’ll work towards them and laugh at the idea that there is a better alternative. But just remember, God gets the last laugh. SCRIPTURE: Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 (NRSV) By Becky Horst, associate registrar at Goshen College Reprinted from Lenten Devotions THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURES: Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18; Psalm 27; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 9:28-36
DEVOTIONAL: This week’s twin themes of courage and waiting seem like opposites, but they have the same source: trust in God. In the past two years, I have walked alongside my husband Ken on his journey from good health through a rare heart disease to a heart transplant, with several complications. Last month, he ruptured a disc in his spine while playing racquetball. Now he is dealing with severe pain and a slow process of rebuilding his muscular strength. Ken has always been physically courageous, but he is not someone who likes to wait. He enjoys motorcycles, model rockets and sports like racquetball that rely on fast-twitch muscle response. But Ken’s health issues have pushed him to new levels of courage and have taught both of us how to wait on God. The two practices that help us most are Gratitude and Hope. Most days, Ken looks for beauty of some kind to photograph. Each night we name the things we are grateful for. Each morning, we welcome the new day with hope. When we focus on Gratitude, it builds our trust in God. Trust gives us Hope. It gives us the courage to face difficult or unknown circumstances. It gives us the patience to wait for God’s timing. PRAYER: God, we are grateful for your love, and the ways you have helped us in the past. Give us courage to face an unknown future. Give us patience to wait for you. Help us to trust you with our whole hearts. AMEN |
Melanie Stanley-Soulen pastored Allen-Lee United Methodist Church from 2007 until 2013. Archives
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